We are buying good quality players but....

Interesting article, but how the hell are we supposed to compete? They dropped €90m on Neymar! We can't match that kind of silly money without attracting the FFP drones.

But this is the thing. Barca have been found out for dodging taxes and UEFA don't bat an eyelid, but we try and bury a fraction of that in a vague pigeonhole in our expense sheet and they're all over us like a rash, despite the fact we're not just ensuring the taxes are paid, but we're actually investing in a deprived area of the city.

I'm willing to bet that there's only one team who are hit with any Euro sanctions. PSG will dodge the bullets because they're Pratini's team. Monaco will do likewise because there's a shitload of money there. Anzhi Macarena will get out of jail because Gazprom are sponsoring the CL. Barca, Real, Bayern, both Milan sides and United are all UEFA darlings and Chelsea once managed to record a tiny profit which apparently leaves them untouchable for the next half a decade.

It's just us.

I don't really think we need to go up 'against' the likes of Madrid or Barca for these players...we have the biggest scouting system in Europe.

The article, though it made some decent points...highlighted 2 players.

Aguero would be snapped up by any of the top clubs in the world if he became available. We got him for half the price of Neymar....and no dodgy tax issues.

Yaya, on form, would walk back into most top European clubs if he became available this summer....and we got him for a third of Neymar.

David Silva is another, that if available in the summer..every single club in Europe would want to sign...and he came to us at a third of what Neymar cost.

I don't buy it.

Our problem is one we've all identified, argued about on here.

We've known for the past 2 seasons....we need a top class LB/CB and another world class striker.

MP had all summer and again in January to make his moves.

We got DeMechelis as cover.

Navas...again, look at it this way...he's in the Spain squad and plays...he can't be that bad and it's his first season in the PL!

Negredo...bargain. He's been brilliant apart from his return from injury...another that is involved in the Spain squad.

Jovetic...was touted around the whole of Europe...we got him, he's been crocked...we really don't know his worth.

So I don't really agree that we have to go up against all the Spanish top teams when a player becomes available. Barca are third in La Liga...have great continuity, but some players are at the end of their career.
They bought Sanchez...and even though he's scored some goals..he's hardly set the world on fire since his arrival....and he cost £35m+ for a winger!

The problem we have is this...if, a top class player comes along, be it Bale or Isco...and the Spaniards want them, then it will be very difficult to compete, for all the reasons you mentioned.

I honestly believe that we are 3, at tops, 4 players away from being able to seriously compete with the best in Europe...but our scouts must identify them now...and our Board must back us to sign these players...not some £3m stop gap who goes on to be the first choice CB...that's the massive problem with our season so far....we've overloaded in certain areas...and completely fucked up in others....yet still didn't spend the money when we needed to.

If MP, come the summer, doesn't buy at least 2 top class defenders.... a la Shaw, Mangalla etc...then come next season, we'll be right back where we started this one...and regardless of who Barca or Real buy...it'll only be down to our poor identification of problem areas, and our lack of redress to sort our deficiencies out.

Maybe what we need is to spend more money on referees. They certainly helped out Barca, considering we finished both legs with 10 men to their 12...

I'm really hoping the problem areas have been identified though, because we can't have yet another season of being let down as a result of missing them out while we chase even more midfielders.

I think the article is pointing out that we bought players that Barca and Real didn't appear to bid for. Maybe they had already bust their transfer budgets and these players slipped away.

Hand on heart, do you think Silva is good enough for Barca's 1st team?

Silva, good enough for Barca? Hell yes! As is Serge, Vinny, Zab and Fernandinho. And on this season's performances, Nasri.

Hand on Heart...he's twice the player Fabregas is....so absolutely.

As Leo said....can you imagine Barca with Vinny K and Pique instead of Mascerano?

Or Aguero instead of Pedro/Sanchez? They've never replaced Villa...so could you imagine what Messi would provide for Aguero around the box?

Our problem is that we broke so many times last night...but it was out wide or central...and only Aguero anywhere near the box...watch Barca break...they have 4, maybe 5 options, 30 yards from goal...and that's what you call brave football....but they have the confidence to do it....they know if they get caught on the counter...as long as they keep doing it...they will have so much possession, a goal will come.

We just look as if we are too slow to support our strikers...and for me, that's the fault of Yaya predominantly.

But the daft part of this is, we WERE playing like that up until recently. Look at all those games from before the new year and we were rampant, getting bodies forwards and scoring goals.

This is a new thing. We've reverted to play it safe Mancini tactics because we lost the plot when Chelsea beat us in the league. We've not been right since then.

For me, it's the loss of Aguero that had a knock on effect on everything else. Our system has to change entirely due to Jovetic being out as well and our forward play without that link is not effective enough to make up for our defensive frailties. 

What I would have done yesterday is play Toure behind the striker and silva out wide and Milner in the middle. Silva is a provider, he has the shooting prowess of a blind arthritic cowboy with a nasty case of gout. With just Aguero ahead and no other runners, he is nullified as much as anyone else. He needs to be providing to Toure and the striker, it would have given us better outlets for me.

I see what you're saying, Melton, but we didn't suffer anything like as much when Serge was out the first time. It's been more of an issue that Nedge has been out of sorts.