Cronky

Fergie's just a bad loser.

Clough and Taylor had a strange relationship. Beneath the bluster, Clough was quite insecure, and a loner. He needed someone to support him and bounce ideas off. At the same time, he needed to be the boss, so there was quite a power struggle between them which dated back many years. Clough was able to manage without Taylor, but I suspect the strain of it was a major factor in his transition from heavy drinker to alcoholic.

Amazing character with some amazing achievements. Unfortunately, drunk as a skunk on the occasion of that talk-in. I've read a lot about him. He has the most amazing record of over-achievement as a manager and I've often wondered how he did it. I think he could only handle relationships where he was in a position of power or authority. He clashed incessantly with Directors and spent a lot of time cutting players, journos and members of the public down to size. Once he'd established that domineering position, he could be kind and considerate, but only from a position of strength. It's why he couldn't cope at Leeds and would probably have made a hash of the England job. But with that strong will of his, I don't think there's every been a manager who was so good at sending his players out with the right levels of focus and confidence.

He hasn't played as well this season as previously, but I can't believe that he's seeking a move. It's like something's on his mind though. I don't think he's a natural captain, and being the captain in a struggling side isn't going to be much fun. Especially if there's one or two tensions within the group. (I'm not buying into the alleged Franco-Spanish split, but I do suspect there's been some difficulties around Ba)

You what? When he puts on a bit more muscle, he'll have the PHYSICAL attributes to perform as a modern day b2b midfielder. The closest thing we have to Yaya Toure. Not a crazy idea as people are making out, but I don't think it'll happen. I can't see that he'll have the stamina for that role. He seems to operate in bursts, so is likely to remain as an attacker. But I think I know where you're coming from. He's got that long stride, he's strong, he can shoot, and has that deceptive change of pace which can take him past people, like a Viera. Ultimately, I'm not sure what his best role would be. I don't think he'd reach his full potential as an orthodox winger. And incidentally, people are being very sparing in their praise of him last night. He was only on for 10 minutes, but looked dangerous nearly every time he had the ball.

I think you've made some very good points, but I wanted to highlight that particular one. I'm reliant on the TV, so it's not easy to see the overall picture, but I've been wondering why our back four gets so regularly exposed when we're actually playing with two defensive midfield players. Is dividing the responsibility creating confusion, and are they leaving things to one another? Would we be better off with someone just sitting permanently in front of the CBs? Or is Bigi the only one of the three with the pace to get back? Does having two DMs simply mean a waste of a player, and a greater likelihood of losing the ball? I don't know.

Marveaux and Obertan made reasonable attempts, Shola tried as well. The thing about Everton is they didn't need to rely on individuals trying to change a game on their own. Good point.

We've got skill, flair and close-control in the squad. Really? In the midfield and attack, I'd say we have three players that I'd call skilful - Marveaux, Ben Arfa and Cabaye. Four if you count Sammy, who's a bit raw. The rest all struggle to keep and use the ball when deprived of time and space. In the absence of two of those players, the balance isn't right. Anita struggles to keep or use the ball when deprived of time?, really? Anita isn't that neat on the ball, in truth he probably isn't that much better than Tiote... who does have it in him to play like an actual footballer, somewhere inside. How many times did he lose the ball today? Is that the definition of a skilful player? Part of the problem with the midfield was that we were spending so much time fighting to keep the ball by playing it sideways and backwards when under the least bit of pressure. Marveaux was the only one comfortable in possession who could lift his head up, take his time and play the ball into the feet of player further forward. Well there's no real definition of skillfull player, but I wasn't referring to that. I just questioned the suggestion that everyone outside of Marveaux, Ben Arfa and Cabaye struggle to keep/use the ball when deprived of time and space. Well let's not get into an argument over the definition of 'struggle'. I was reacting to an earlier post which said there was plenty of flair and skill in the squad. Well, at the moment, I beg to differ. Of the six players in the midfield and attack, there was only one who I'd feel confident could use the ball well when put under pressure, and that was Marveaux. The balance is wrong, and you can't play an effective 4-3-3 like that.

We've got skill, flair and close-control in the squad. Really? In the midfield and attack, I'd say we have three players that I'd call skilful - Marveaux, Ben Arfa and Cabaye. Four if you count Sammy, who's a bit raw. The rest all struggle to keep and use the ball when deprived of time and space. In the absence of two of those players, the balance isn't right. Anita struggles to keep or use the ball when deprived of time?, really? Anita isn't that neat on the ball, in truth he probably isn't that much better than Tiote... who does have it in him to play like an actual footballer, somewhere inside. How many times did he lose the ball today? Is that the definition of a skilful player? Part of the problem with the midfield was that we were spending so much time fighting to keep the ball by playing it sideways and backwards when under the least bit of pressure. Marveaux was the only one comfortable in possession who could lift his head up, take his time and play the ball into the feet of player further forward.

We've got skill, flair and close-control in the squad. Really? In the midfield and attack, I'd say we have three players that I'd call skilful - Marveaux, Ben Arfa and Cabaye. Four if you count Sammy, who's a bit raw. The rest all struggle to keep and use the ball when deprived of time and space. In the absence of two of those players, the balance isn't right. Anita struggles to keep or use the ball when deprived of time?, really? He's not the worst we've got, but he's not what you'd call a skilful player and he should be in the anchor role.

I wouldn't single Santon out for blame with the goal. You've got to stop that kind of situation developing in the first place. He doesn't look as confident at the moment, like something's got into his head. I don't know if he's been told not to go charging upfield so much, and that's induced some hesitation.

We've got skill, flair and close-control in the squad. Really? In the midfield and attack, I'd say we have three players that I'd call skilful - Marveaux, Ben Arfa and Cabaye. Four if you count Sammy, who's a bit raw. The rest all struggle to keep and use the ball when deprived of time and space. In the absence of two of those players, the balance isn't right. Anita is excellent on the ball and Obertan is looking far better recently, even discounting him though, 4 forward thinking technically gifted midfielders is probably more than most. No. Anita is a decent all-round midfielder but he is not 'excellent' on the ball. He should be in the DM position instead of Tiote, or at RB. Obertan is playing with far more confidence but his close control is not good and he needs space to operate.

We've got skill, flair and close-control in the squad. Really? In the midfield and attack, I'd say we have three players that I'd call skilful - Marveaux, Ben Arfa and Cabaye. Four if you count Sammy, who's a bit raw. The rest all struggle to keep and use the ball when deprived of time and space. In the absence of two of those players, the balance isn't right.

Very typical of recent performances, and we can't be surprised at the result. We start off trying to play 4-3-3 but the midfield and wide players lack the skill needed to play the ball comfortably on the deck. We should play either Anita or Tiote, not both, and there is no point in playing Cisse out wide. We struggled to keep possession, let alone use it. Eventually, we play to our strengths and play it long, and were unlucky not to get an equaliser. It might be ugly, but in the absence of our more skilful players we don't have much choice. The bright spots were Marveaux, once again, and the 10 minutes that Sammy gave us. People have been writing the lad off too early.

Shola is only judged on his mistakes, not on his overall contribution. I'm surprised you don't know that yet.

Shola for Ba, but basically we have the same performance. We look very nervous in possession and lack fluency through the midfield. I've lost count of the number or times when we get a turnover, and end up passing the ball back to Krul after half a dozen nervous passes designed to keep rather than use possession.

There's something almost surreal about such a great player and consistent goalscorer's exit being met by many fans with a mixture of relief and excitement. Relief, yes. Excitement, no. Given his general attitude, I'd rather he'd gone in the summer. I'm fed up of watching our manager arse-licking the player to try and persuade him to stay. I think it's been bad for team morale and unity and I don't think we'll miss him. And by the way, I don't actually think he's good enough to nail down a place at Chelsea tbh.

I'm with the Moody Blues on this one. Go now.

Lukaku looks a very good all-round striker in the making. As a sideline, it's the sort of transfer that I'd like to see banned in an ideal world. Chelsea paid about £20m for a player who couldn't make the first team, and who then gets sent out to play against every team except them. That doesn't sit right.

I think worst incorporates a number of things. Owen had a negative impact on all levels of the club especially our finances. This is the key factor. The other candidates didn't contribute very much. Owen actually had a negative effect. Apart from the huge amount of money wasted that could have been spent elsewhere, managers were afraid to drop him because of his reputation. If his name had been Jack Smith he wouldn't have played in half the games that he did. Injuries had rendered him an ordinary player. Owen actually had at least one positive impact in him actually.... and that's his goals. I don't know how anybody could deny that. A big twat and a wanker? Yes, absolutely. But I'm not going let our hatred of him blind my judgement here. I don't hate the guy. I just think it was a terrible signing. Far too much money for a player who was past his best, and who made it clear beforehand that he only wanted to come here on loan. The ones I blame are those who made the transfer happen.

I think worst incorporates a number of things. Owen had a negative impact on all levels of the club especially our finances. This is the key factor. The other candidates didn't contribute very much. Owen actually had a negative effect. Apart from the huge amount of money wasted that could have been spent elsewhere, managers were afraid to drop him because of his reputation. If his name had been Jack Smith he wouldn't have played in half the games that he did. Injuries had rendered him an ordinary player.

Yep.

I don't think Walcott at No9 is the answer at all. Arsenal are all about movement and Walcott is rarely straying away from the centre and the line of the last defender. He's dangerous in that area all right, but the team as a whole doesn't seem to play with the same fluency. It's a strange system. There's usually a target man in that position, but Walcott isn't being asked to operate with his back to goal at all. It's all about playing him in with a through ball. Most of the time they end up looking like they've got 10 men.

Bob Moncur was good, but for some reason we've had very few top quality defenders over the years, I'd say.

Time will tell with the current players, but certainly Hatem and Krul stand out. Woodgate was head and shoulders above any central defender that I've seen play for us. Losing him to injury and then Real was a crucial blow. If he'd stayed fit and with us, we could have kept that momentum going from the Sir Bob era.