Lord Nibbler

Looks like Benzema's move to Madrid has been confirmed. Are they still going for David Villa? I was kidding.

He's a box-to-box midfielder. That's how he played at Gremio, that's how he played at Porto, and that's how he plays now. And I can't believe you would even think about comparing him to Alan Smith. I'd love to see Benzema at United, but if Madrid are offering nearly £40m for him then I don't think we should be matching that. I don't think a striker should be our top priority. Rooney and Berbatov will be first choice, and I expect them to both score more goals next season. Another striker would give us depth, but it would also limit the number of chances Welbeck and Macheda would get. I think there are other areas that need more urgent attention.

Looks like Benzema's probably off to Real Madrid. No they didn't. Nani had a good first season, and a poor second season (not that he played much), and Anderson has steadily improved. He's quick, he's strong, he's a good passer, and he can defend too. The only thing he can't do is score goals. Fergie knew that when he signed him, since he wasn't exactly prolific at Porto. If he can improve in that area then he'll be pretty much a complete midfielder. And he's only 21. Bear in mind that before he joined United, he was on the sidelines for six months with a broken leg. You're the only United fan I've ever heard call Anderson a flop. Nani, at best, will be a good winger who scores a few goals. Anderson has what it takes to be world class.

Joined as Pompey. Not entirely sure what I'm doing...

I'm sure Ruud said he wouldn't want to play for another Prem team, though he might change his mind when he learns that Fat Sam Allardyce is interested.

The question is "what has Saviola been doing in the last few seasons?". And the answer is "not much". 16 league games in the last two seasons.

Rooney was a regular starter for Everton for two seasons before he joined United, Sturridge has been a bit part player.

Martins has also said he'd like to stay with Newcastle.

And thus, like all the 'New Zidanes' who came before him, his career is doomed to mediocrity. Up until recently he was the "new Ronaldinho". He's only the "new Cristiano" now that United are trying to buy him. A bit like how Abou Diaby was the "new Vieira" because he was lanky, black and played for Arsenal.

Yeah, I wasn't being serious. With Defoe, Keane and Bent it's not exactly a problem area. Any striker they bring in would surely spend a fair amount of time on the bench. Obviously if they sell Bent as well then they'd need another forward.

It's a bit harsh on Pavlyuchenko, but if you're buying van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, Crouch, Jones and Cisse then you'll have to offload a striker or two.

Rangers, United, Bayern Munich, Fiorentina... I wouldn't call any of them "awful". Because looking at the stats doesn't tell you the whole story. He's young, he's strong, he's quick, he's a good dribbler, he scores with both feet and he scores with his head. You can't ignore that just because you think the fifth best league in the world is "poor". The French teams in last year's UEFA Cup did a lot better than their English counterparts. Again, he's 21. Of course he's going to improve as a player, especially at a club like United.

Fernando Torres was completely unproven outside the Spanish league, and he wasn't even the top scorer there. He hadn't hit 20 league goals for At. Madrid, but he didn't exactly struggle in the Prem. If you start talking about players being "unproven" then you'd never sign anyone. Besides, he was top goalscorer in 2008, and he was second top scorer in 2009. Not too shabby for a 21 year old. He's clearly a quality player, so I see no reason to assume he wouldn't succeed in the Premiership. It's not like there are an abundance of world class strikers who do have Premier League experience, so clubs have to take risks. As for the quality of opposition, he can only score against the teams he's up against. As well as scoring 37 goals in his last two seasons in France, he's also scored 15 goals in 19 appearances in the Champions League. Including goals against Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Manchester United. With a better group of players around him, you'd expect him to score even more.

Actually, the transfer window re-opens on midnight of the last day of the season.

The Daily Express say: "Liverpool will have to finance the deal by selling defender Alvaro Arbeloa to Real Madrid for about £8m, while the fact that Portsmouth still owe the Reds £7m as part of the deal that took Peter Crouch to Fratton Park last summer will also reduce the overall fee."

There are only 5 London teams in the Prem. As this BBC article points out, it's fucking complicated.

Glen Johnson is off, presumably back to Chelsea/Liverpool, and it looks like Albiol is the new Real Madrid CB.

Pellegrini plays 4-4-2, I don't think he'll change that. I've heard that Huntelaar might be on his way to United as part of the Ronaldo deal. Whether that means £80m+him, or whether his value is part of the £80m I don't know. And it might not be true at all. Regardless, I doubt he'll be first choice next season if he's still there. Higuain will get in ahead of him, as will Villa if he joins. I think they'll bring in another CM to play alongside Diarra (Lassana, not Mahamadou) since it doesn't look like they're gonna get Alonso, and maybe a new CB to play with Pepe ahead of Garay.

Ribery is the only player who could be brought in to have an immediate impact really (other than Messi), but I don't think we'll get him. I'd like to see us move for Ashley Young. He's at a good age, he's English, he has Prem experience, he can score goals, he gets plenty of assists and he can play on the left. If we could get him and a new right winger (maybe Valencia) for a decent price then that wouldn't be too bad. The rest of the money could go towards the rest of the team (Tevez or a new forward, midfielder, centre back etc.) Just like no player was going to replace the goals Ruud van Nistelrooy scored for us?

20 on Bet 3 Blackburn vs. West Brom - Blackburn 4/6, Draw 12/5, West Brom 7/2 Doubler Wigan 1-0 Portsmouth

Eric Steele in goal, Solskjaer and McClair up top.

But the fact that United had this game in hand, rather than the three points on the board, meant that Liverpool went top with their win on Saturday. Surely there's a psychological edge in that too?

20 on Bet 1 Bolton vs. Hull - Bolton 11/10, Draw 9/4, Hull 2/1 Doubler Man Utd 3-0 Arsenal

15 on Bet 3 Fulham vs. Aston Villa - Fulham 5/4, Draw 9/4, Aston Villa 7/4 5 on Bet 4 Four or less goals in the three above games - 100/30 Doubler West Ham 0 - 0 Liverpool

She obviously heard about that Kenyan Arsenal fan who offed himself and got a bit worried about you...