The talks is there, now for some action, and well done Fulham FC

It's hard to disagree with Arsene's recent thoughts on the season gone:

"If you divide the season into two – going forward we have done very well but defensively we have been average....When you concede 40 goals you don't win the championship and I want to rectify that. My transfer policy this summer will be to keep our strengths going forward, add one player, and add more defensive strength to our team."

Among the players linked are Breda Hangeland and Pape Diakhate, I am sure these are just guesses though, I doubt that many people know who Arsene has his eye on. Interestingly and thankfully Bob Wilson is pretty sure a top class experienced keeper is on Arsene's shopping list.

Overall I think we need to get rid of a keeper, bring in one top class keeper with experience. We need a minimum of one experienced centre back who is first team ready. Silvestre is off, greedy Gallas is as good as gone, so even with Djourou back I think we need at least one, arguably two more centre backs, it also depends if big Sol is keen to stay for another year. Hangeland is a solid contender in my eyes, he ticks a lot of the boxes in terms of experience, strength, ability on the ball and leadership. Chamakh gives us more striking options and I would be very surprised if one of Eduardo/Vela did not leave. Several other players must be also rather close to the exit door. We should not forget some of the great talent we have coming through from the youth setup in the form of Gibbs, Wilshere, Bartley, JET, Lansbury, Frimpong, Eastmond, Szcezny et al

Personally I find all the transfer rumour is a bit tedious, so I won't be indulging in much of it here, just a few bits and bobs as I see fit. Useless stories like this Cesc one predominate, the quotes make no sense and are completely contradictory, we should rise above this guff and take most of it with a pinch of salt. I will concentrate on exposing idiocy and following the actual footballing action going on this summer, including the World Cup. Speaking of the World Cup, it looks very open, Spain must be the favourites but with several of their key men lacking fitness, it could be a very open competition indeed, the likes of Italy and Argentina may be decent outside bets.

Finally a word for Fulham who did the country proud last night. They were very unlucky to go down to Atletico in the end, the manner of the defeat was particularly painful and must have been very hard to take for all Fulham fans. They were magnificent, despite playing against a team of better players, they showed just what commitment and teamwork can make up for, their work ethic and togetherness combined with their great resilience is an example some of our own players could do well to learn from. Roy Hodgson has done a wonder job at the cottage, he has made a team that is far greater than the sum of its parts, this is the mark of a truly outstanding manager. Well done and Fulham FC, you did us all proud last night, it's a great shame you didn't get the icing on your cake.