Cronky

It's not clear but it scarcely matters. He has team-mates like Williamson, Simpson, Tiote and Best who were bought for low fees and earn less than him. Whether or not they're as good as him, they've given their best and have each made their contributions. Barton has consistently let the club, his team mates and the fans down by his behaviour on and off the pitch. As a result, we haven't had a particularly good return from all the money that we've invested in him over the last three years. Who the hell is he to be delivering lectures to the owner about how he should spend the club's money?

Barton needs to climb off his high horse. We've paid him huge wages for long periods in his contract when he was unavailable due to offending behaviour and injuries. I don't like him giving the club a lecture. I also wonder what the players on lower wages than him feel about his 'pay peanuts get monkeys' comment. I'm sure he didn't mean to offend, but he should be more careful what he says.

At the present time, there are clubs that are far more likely to win trophies than us, and with their extra income they can pay bigger wages. When one of those clubs come in for one of our players, the player will want to go. It doesn't just happen to us. It happened to Villa with Barry and Milner, Spurs with Berbatov (and Campbell before that), arguably Liverpool with Torres. Players will chase money and success, and we're not in a position to offer that right now. 'Ambition' is just putting a postive spin on it.

Well you don't have to have been 70 to have seen Pele play, but the footage does actually give you an impression of the combination of power, pace and skill that he had. You also have to bear in mind that he was playing in an era where defenders had to commit GBH before getting a booking. Anyway, I've looked at the opposition, and I'd fully back my eleven to urinate over all comers - Yashin Thuram Baresi Luis Pereira Maldini Zidane Mattheus Cruyff Maradona Pele Messi

If Arsenal could play a defensive game like Inter last year, they'd have a chance. Trouble is, I don't think that's in their repertoire.

I wouldn't say you looked jaded, but you put a lot of energy into the first 70 minutes, and had to slow down some time. You only look vulnerable when the opposition can get at your back four. Most of the time, Arsenal couldn't do it because you defend so well up the field. But your pace had to drop some time. At the end of the day though, you were the better side and were unlucky to lose.

Wilshere - great to see a 19 year old English player looking completely at home at that level. The game needs Arsenal to score. If Barca get another - which looks likely - there won't be a way back this time.

We've had some exciting games, but I wouldn't say we're one of the more entertaining sides. We've relied a lot on long balls, crosses and set pieces. I haven't seen much sign of Arsenal-style creativity in playing the ball through the midfield. We've not been lucky with injuries, particularly now, when our style of play is dictated by the players available.

He will. Yeah. It was a workmanlike performance rather than a great one, in conditions that probably suited us more than Birmingham. If we're going to improve, we need more pace and guile in the side.

He looks a lot more confident going forward now. He's still clumsy on the ball, but at least he's making his presence felt. I'd agree about him backing off. Last night, that led to quite a few crosses coming in from his wing, and Birmingham should have scored from at least one of them. On the other side, Jose seems to get a lot closer, but he's probably helped by the fact that Jonas is better at helping him out. Barton tends to wander inside more, and Simpson seems to get more exposed.

I know I shouldn't moan when we're winning, but God, this is dire.

We've not played well since the goal. We don't look comfortable.

Only saw both Matthews and Bobby Mitchell play in testimonials but the old folk used to say that Mitchell was the better of the two. Bobby seemed to get more goals but can only rely on other older fans to verify or disagree as to who they favoured. The question of Stanley Matthews does raise the issue of how to compare players from different eras. Matthews was a teetotal fitness fanatic at a time when such players were rare. As a result he was able to play at the top level into his 50’s, which would now be completely unthinkable. He was able to skip past defenders who were considerably less mobile than those of today. I’m only going by footage, but I’m not at all convinced he’d now have anything like the same impact. Besides, a lot of the older guys will tell you that, of the two, Tom Finney was the better player. On a related issue, Moore and Beckenbauer were converted midfield players who were able to bring a lot of class to the centre back position, but again, I’m not sure whether that would work today. Centre backs now need to be a lot stronger and quicker to cope with the modern player.

Not with two goalkeepers they wouldn't.

if they win the league or CL when he's a regular in their team it's a success - that's how success is judged these days, not what the individual does imo Agree with this. I wouldn't see Carroll primarily as a goalscorer, though he should get a few. His power in the air should create a few chances for his team mates, and he'd also act as a very good target man. However, looking at the very very top sides, they don't usually play with a big, gangly striker like Carroll. It's a question of whether Carroll can be so good at what he does, that he overcomes his natural limitations.

Yashin Thuram Baresi Luis Pereira Maldini Zidane Mattheus Cruyff Maradona Pele Messi

Yes, from his Real Madrid days! Knew I recognised him.

To sell Tiote, Enrique and Carroll is to step backwards. They are probably the best players we can get in our position, and I don't trust Pardew in the transfer market. It all depends on the fees involved, and I certainly wouldn't agree that any of those players are irreplaceable, or to be more exact, that by spending the proceeds wisely we couldn't end up with a better team - as Spurs and Arsenal did. To take Carroll as an example, he's a good player and potentially very good, but £35 million is a hell of a lot for a player of his type, and is the sort of fee that normally only goes on the best players in the world. However good he is in the air, he's not going to get many goals by chasing on to a through ball or a ball over the top of a defence.

Selling a player to a bigger club doesn't have to be a backward step, providing the price is right. Look at Spurs after they sold Berbatov, or Arsenal after selling Anelka, Overmars and Petit. Trying to hold on to your best players regardless isn't the only way to move forward.

Woodgate didn't have a weakness in his game, and was head and shoulders above any CB that I've seen at the club. Not that that is saying too much. Over the years, for some reason, we haven't seen many top defenders. When you think of our attacking talent - Shearer, Beardsley, Gazza, Waddle etc - it's a bit frustrating.

Would have been great three years ago. Unfortunately his injury seems to have taken the edge off him. Also too similar to Ireland, assuming we get him long term.

I'm quite relieved it's Hodgson. The prospect of Chris sending us down on the last day was too awful to think about. The media would have been dining out on it for months.

He's an exceptional athlete. I think part of the problem is he hasn't had to work too hard at his game or acquire much self-discipline in order to get where he has. The challenge seems to be to persuade him to put in that extra bit of work and concentration that will make the difference between a top player and a journeyman professional.

Robert always had an inflated view of his own ability. Looks like nothing's changed.

It's sensible enough in the situation. With Shola and Best injured and Carroll gone, if anything were to happen to Ranger we'd have no-one for that position. We do need a short term back up.