Mehrino

He had a good game tonight. Confidence player in my opinion and should start against Stoke at the expense of Deco. For all his faults, and he has many, the guy's got pace, ok it's headless-chicken-ess at times, but pace nevertheless.

I think that's one of the few benefits of having sh*t tons of work to complete. I'm actively searching for new stuff to listen to and have been pleasantly surprised by some of it. Fleet Foxes and Empire of the Sun are two recent ones that spring to mind.

The Times have a story on Ballack possibly being offered a performance related pay contract, and that Drogba could possibly be in line for such a deal in the summer. Although I think he's ready to leave the club in the summer, I doubt the board will get a the kind of fee they want for us to target an adequate replacement (18-20million), whereas his agent will probably know that the even on a performance related contract, its unlikely any club will offer him the sort of wages we will. It'll be interesting to see how that one progresses in the summer.

Yup. He had a high profile splurge on a couple of paintings not too long ago either. Times must be tough...

He can't be too broke as he's just splashed the princely sum of 300K for a private gig by the Kings of Leon Always knew he was a man of taste our Roman.

Totally agree with that. DD's continued to show a flagrant disregard, not only for us fans, but his fellow teamates and everyone affiliated with the club. If the likes of Gallas, Ronaldo, or Gerrard were to come out in public on the consistent basis Drogba has over the past 18 months, I'm sure many of us on here would be have a right 'ol jolly about the disarray of their respective dressing rooms. Drogba is a world-class player, a credit to any team who could grace any top side in Europe, of that there's no doubt. But, he's no professional.

RICHARD HAWLEY :0 Simply sublime - just got into his stuff a few weeks ago and he's made my xmas.

Any swap deal or otherwise involving Drogs is a big no no. However, there are rumours flying about that Jose's looking at Ivanovic in Jan. A short-term loan deal involving the two could be ideal.

I'd only support Didi leaving in the summer if the club are confident of landing a top-class striker (Benzema)in the summer. A Jan transfer is a complete no-no; and personally an injured, moaning, diving Didi is still a better prospect than an Adriano and Vagner Love combo.

You beat me to it! DD's got a great knack of blasting the ball in from set-pieces, and his conversion rate is pretty good from memory. Essentially, he needs games and fitness. A few weeks and I think he'll be back to his brilliant best in all aspects of his game.

I'm not too fussed about Kalou either way. Decent squad player but has yet to show any major improvement in his game. We're woefully short on strikers as it is so a January trasnfer is out of the question imo. It just make me smile to see how this whole rumour has come about. He didn't start against Citeh or Bourdeaux and gave a rather ambiguous interview with Setanta. From what I read he didn't hint at a possible move but sounded quite frustrated - which is understandable. Suddenly the Arsenal rumour resurfaces and now Barca are also in the hunt! Must have been a slow news day.

One song I can't stop listening to at the minute is 'Death' by White Lies. Pretty recent British band who made their break on Jools 'Later' earlier in the year and should have an album out soon.

=) Nice. Almost on a par with Lead Foot.

Didi's first game in blue since Moscow, if I'm not mistaken. Reserves or not, he usually bangs them in against Arsenal.

The National have been plugged pretty heavily by both Jon and LTR on here, so I went out and bought 'Boxer' the other day after hearing only a few of their songs on YouTube. I have to say, I'm mightily impressed. After just one listen, the album has stuck! I can't stop listening to it; 'Slow Show' and 'Brainy' are probably two of the best songs I've heard in a v.long time. Also they're sufficiently melancholic and morbid for when Thurs 14th finally arrives. I'll be listening to them alot more if I don't get the bloody A2 grades I need! Thanks guys.