Cronky

I find it ridiculous that Wenger's abililty is now being questioned, just because it's six years since they won a trophy. Since the Abramovich takeover of Chelsea, it's become very difficult for anyone bar them and Man U to win anything. Assuming things go as is likely this season, of the 18 domestic trophies available in the last 6 years, 13 have gone to Man U or Chelsea. No-one else has won more than once. It's much more fair to compare Arsenal with Liverpool. Arsenal's finances have been inhibited by the debt incurred on a new stadium, but they've still kept themselves in a challenging position. Liverpool are now out of the top four, with no new stadium and a significantly older side. Wenger has worked something of a miracle with his young players, and may stand to really benefit when the financial fair-play rules kick in. This season has been Arsenal's chance, with Man U in a state of transition and suffering from Rooney's loss of form, and Chelsea losing their way in mid-season. Wenger has had bad lack with injuries, particularly with Vermaelen, and that's really cost him.

I did wonder how Bobby Charlton felt about his own portrayal, because he came across as a pathetic wuss. I assume there's some element of truth in the events, but there was probably some exaggeration for the sake of the drama.

The portrayal of Sir Matt was a strange one. They got the voice right, but the character in the drama seemed to have almost a sinister air about him. They also seemed to want to blame the disaster on Alan Hardaker and the Football League's insistence on the team getting back for the Saturday fixture. There may be some complaints about that. My understanding was that the decision to go for the third, disastrous attempt at taking off was Busby's. He was probably concerned that a postponement would lead to the players being very late and tired for the game on the Saturday.

I can't see us getting anything. I just hope we keep our cool and there's no red cards (Joey and Cheik take note)

Yeah, that was an elementary mistake that an apprentice would get a bollocking for. He seemed to be back to his mentally wayward days.

I think Pardew hit on the main point. We'd effectively had a hard midweek game and they hadn't. What's more, their style of play, with all that movement in midfield, seems to trouble us a lot and for long stretches of the game they seemed to be all over us. I worry about Nolan against Liverpool, because I can't see him getting anywhere near the ball. We were a bit lucky with the pens, because while none of them were clear cut, you can generally expect at least one in three of those to go against you. Maybe that was balanced by their goal, because it didn't look like the whole of the ball had crossed. If Jose didn't have his feet behind the line it would have been a much easier decision for the linesman.

I agree with that. He looks ready. Despite being under the cosh for the last two games, we've only conceded one goal, and he's played his part in that.

They've got some decent players and shouldn't really be in trouble. There'll be quite a few clubs hovering like vultures if they go down.

I'm not sure whether you're being sarcastic, but the teams at the bottom are pretty much averaging a point a game. It's very likely that someone with 40 points is going to go down this year. Although we're in the top half of the table, there are a lot of teams on 38 points who could overtake us with one game. We should definitely manage another 3 points, but we're not safe yet.

Well in England, I'm sure it's never happened, or anything resembling it. I feel a bit disappointed, because while Parker has shown a lot of committment and energy, I'd see him as quite a limited player. Incidentally, neither Bryan Robson nor Paul Scholes ever won either award. An unexpectedly eye-catching season is just as likely to get you a gong as consistent excellence.

No chance, he'd think it was below him. Look at how the cunt goes on man. Talking about how he's still got a big goal in him. He's no idea that he's done I found that talk of the 'big goal' so annoying. The game is about your team winning matches, not about one player grabbing the glory. If he's lost touch with that, he's better off retiring.

Just listened to the interview, and amongst the various loads of bullshit, I thought these were the highlights - 1) We would have signed Rooney but for the fact that at the last minute 'the Board' sacked Sir Bob - ie the deal couldn't go ahead without a permanent manager in place. 2) He only sold his shares in the club to Ashley because he was in hospital and powerless to resist.

Surely he's just there because of the ego-boost of playing for Man Utd, and the money? I doubt he believes he's going to break into the first team. Well, he's not actually playing for Man Utd, so if he's getting an ego-boost that's all a bit sad. And if it's pay-as-you-play as some suggest, then he's not getting much reward there either. I just think for his own sake, he'd be better off facing up to the situation and restoring a bit of self-respect.

Owen either has to retire completely or face up to the fact that he's now a very ordinary striker who would struggle to get a place in a Premiership side. He has to decide whether he'd like to play for the love of the game, and get a move to another club where he can play regularly. It should never be beneath the dignity of a footballer to play football, so if some people start laughing at him, he should be big enough to rise above it. Staying on the subs bench at Man Utd, nursing the idea that the good times are going to arrive again, is just a sad delusion. Everyone's rumbled that now so there's nothing for him to gain by clinging on.

I only saw the last 45 minutes of the game last night, but Barca have reason to be worried because it did look like Mourinho knows how to beat them. Now that they've got that result, the players will have that confidence as well. Despite all the possession and pressure, Real looked the more likely to score.

If we've got both Ben Arfa and Ireland, I can't see why we'd need Taarabt. Personally I wouldn't take the chance anyway. He has the ability to play in the Premiership, but he's selfish and doesn't release the ball at the right times. He needs to change his attitude.

I think we need another 3 points to feel safe, which shouldn't be a problem. There's no rule which says you can't be relegated with 40 points. This is an exceptional season, where the standard in the bottom half of the table has been fairly even.

Ranger's failure to make the expected progress has created a bit of a problem. I'm sure the hope would have been that he'd have got ahead of Best by now, but he hasn't. If he had, we wouldn't have needed to consider loaning him out. Substitute Shola for Best, if you happen to think he's the weaker of the two. (though I'm pretty sure Pardew doesn't see things that way)

It really all depends on who we can bring in. The only one I'd definitely keep is Shola. Best and Lovenkrands I don't think are quite up to it. The emergence of Ben Arfa and Ireland may mean we can part company with Loven. Best will still be okay as a stand-in target man if we don't bring in anyone better. The tricky decision is Ranger, who can look dangerous when he comes on as a sub. He'd benefit from a loan spell, but he's handy to have around.

That doesn't surprise me. What he needs to realise is that when he does that, he's giving the wrong message to himself. If he takes a slapdash attitude to his preparation, it's going to be difficult for him to be in the right frame of mind when he gets on the pitch.

Owen looked distinctly uncomfortable and nervous out there. I was a bit surprised at Fergie's decision to bring him on, in the circumstances. There was a point when Joey went over to him and said something, and I don't think they were words of encouragement. In his street-wise mode, he'd noticed Owen's discomfort and wanted to rub it in.

I know he's improved, but he just doesn't look confident or positive enough to me, either in defence or attack. He rarely tries to intercept the ball and doesn't get close to his winger. It's all very commendable to keep yourself goal-side like that and avoid getting beaten, but it's too easy for his opponent to get a cross in. He still needs to up his game, and I'm afraid I don't see it happening. I'd be looking for a replacement.

Amazing how we kept a clean sheet against Man U when only two out of the back five got more than a 6 6 to me is an average mark, so I'm not saying we were bad. It's clear I'm seeing things a bit different from others though. Our defence battled hard but at no time did I feel we looked solid.

Krul 7 - Decent. I wish he'd communicate a bit better with his defenders though. Simpson 5 - Usual issues. Too conservative in his decisions and allows his opponent too much space. Coloccini 6 - Struggled with their movement but kept battling. Williamson 6 - As for Colo Enrique 7 - Did well going forward in the first half. Barton 6 - Good first half, disappeared in the second. Tiote 7 - Not at his best, but a tireless warrior as usual. Guthrie 6 - Struggled but kept battling. Jose 8 - Created real problems for them in the first half and worked very hard. Shola 7 - Got involved in an important role, despite some misplaced passes. Lovenkrands 6 - Worked hard, played his best but his best isn't good enough. Ireland 6 - Some nice touches despite coming on in a difficult situation. Ranger 6 - Struggled to get involved but tried.

You could tell from the expression on Hernandez' face that he'd dived. He was doing his best to look shocked. If you're going to act, next time do angry.