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Thankfully the international break is over, and I no longer have to sit here and watch a US midfield struggle to figure out what a first touch is or their forwards not being able to hit a bull in the ass with a snow shovel or the entire team trying to win a match without actually passing the ball. What a relief.

Anyway, story of the day is that Lucas has signed a long term deal at the club. These announcement are always kind of funny, because these contracts aren't worth shit when a player decides he'd rather be fucking Italian fashion models. When did Torres's deal run to? Yeah, exactly. But still, it's always encouraging when a player signs up for something he believes is going somewhere. And Lucas has won us all over, and he's still far young enough to keep improving his game. He still fouls a bit too much, but his positioning and especially his passing have grown leaps and bounds, and is certainly a player you want to stick around.

There are other transfer stories abounding. Apparently some nameless either former or future #2 keeper for us is claiming that Reina wants out. I've failed to get too worked up about whether Pepe Reina is going or not, because I'm not convinced that you need an absolute stand out in a bright jersey to win trophies. It certainly helps. But Chelsea won the league last year with Petr Cech, who is always capable of a Python-esque moment. He gets a lot of plaudits, but has Edwin Van Der Sar ever struck you as a monumental talent? Meh. Better than most, but not the best either. As long as you don't have on that actively fucks things up for you, I think you're fine. Isn't that right Arsenal fans? Liverpool won a European Cup with Jerzy Dudek, for the love of god. If Reina can fetch you Buffon-like prices to rebuild elsewhere as well as replaced with a competent keeper, I think you'd have to think about that.

In other news, Alberto Aquilani's deal with Juve may not become permanent, and he may have to return to Liverpool. This could be posturing from both Juve and Aquilani in order to smooth a deal with Pool. But what if he did have to come back? Aquilani got a raw deal from Rafa Benitez, who got upset that he bought him injured and then wouldn't fit him into the side, even when it was clear that team was as insipid as could be. He got a raw deal from Roy Hodgson who wanted nothing to do with actual talent. I think Aquilani is still a wonderful player, just one that is sadly made of dreams and pixie dust. But would he even fit any more? Isn't hard enough to shoehorn Gerrard and Meireles into the same side without adding another player who wants those roles? Probably. Still, it's hard to say you don't need a talent like The Little Prince. They're not that abundant.