Cronky

My old man isn't really into footy anymore but he never stops ranting and raving about how good Denis Law was. He's right. I thought of nominating him myself but I wasn't sure he met the criteria. I'm trying to think of a modern equivilent to give you youngsters a guide, but I don't there is one. Gareth Bale? Marc Overmars? only better and for a longer sustained period? No, nothing like. There were two characteristics of Denis Law that stick in the memory. Firstly, despite being quite slim and of average height, he was very good in the air and his headers were more like shots. Secondly, the ball would often come to him at an awkward angle or height and he'd somehow manage to twist his body into all sorts of weird shapes that would enable him to hit a powerful shot first time. He would score from all sorts of situations where you wouldn't have thought it was possible to even get a shot in. He had a fantastic ability to improvise. Those who saw him will know exactly what I mean.

Well yeah, Hughton's interviews have always been the perfect antidote to insomnia, but keeping things private was always part of his style and the players respected him for that. You've got to admit he did a very decent job in his time here. Very, very debatable.

That really made me laugh. Thank you. And Merry Christmas, everyone. If you can't be good, be careful.

My old man isn't really into footy anymore but he never stops ranting and raving about how good Denis Law was. He's right. I thought of nominating him myself but I wasn't sure he met the criteria. I'm trying to think of a modern equivilent to give you youngsters a guide, but I don't there is one.

Taarabt's a very skilful player who could easily play in the Premiership. The trouble is, he's allergic to passing the ball.

I wish he'd stop marking other people's cards and just concentrate on getting his own house in order. It's not long ago that we lost him for three games for punching an opponent with only the mildest provocation, and then he was making gestures at Torres which tbh I thought he was lucky to get away with. He's made a lot of progress over the last two years, but my worry is that looking at what other people are supposedly getting away with gives him an excuse when he behaves badly himself. You have to set your own standards, Joey, not measure yourself against others.

They had that wonderful midfield of Eder, Cerezo, Socrates, Zico and Falcao, but up front they had the ungainly figure of Serginho, who probably wouldn't have made it into any other Brazil team before or since. But yes, I remember at the time they were a sensation. Even non-football fans were talking about them.

I love watching Arshavin play, for his ability to produce moments of skill that you don't see coming.

I don't see why we'd want Wickham. We've already got two big young strikers on long-term contracts. There are other priorities.

I think this is the heart of the problem. Those players (and Taylor may be a similar example) signed contracts at a level that the club no longer feels it can afford. I don't think this is a matter of Ashley being stingy - many other clubs are now risk-averse, having seen what can happen to the likes of Portsmouth and Leeds. There's no simple answer, because the message - 'We'd like to keep you, now here's a pay cut' - is a mixed one. It may be an idea to offer the same contract, but with a significant amount being subject to performane-related bonuses. Then see if another club comes up with something better. Either way, the player has nothing to lose by hanging on until the last minute.

I think Pardew's relationship with the Board is bound to be a bit different. Ashley has stuck his neck out and taken a risk, going against all popular judgement. He's the manager that Ashley has singled out as his choice, whereas every other manager has been someone that he's had to accept through circumstances. Ashley has double the reason for not wanting Pardew to fail. You could say that Keegan was also Ashley's choice, but he was brought in at a point of emergency, with the flawed logic that he would keep the support onside whilst the slow process of rebuilding began. It was a choice based on what had happened in the past, and lacked courage.

When 4-3-3 works, it can be pretty spectacular.

Lovenkrands.

I hope this rumour of a £1.5 million transfer fee isn't true because we could easily get that amount and possibly more at the end of the season. Apart from weakening ourselves, why strengthen one of our rivals? I seem to remember that Ashley was supposed to be keen to dump Barton at the time of his off-field problems. His wages are supposed to be £60k a week, and Ashley may resent paying that amount for a player whose behaviour is so unreliable. We're being linked with Charlie Adam, who would be a reasonable replacement, but not as good as Barton. Could one move be conditional on the other?

It seems that his personal life is in a mess, and his professional life is being over-influenced by his agent. I don't exactly feel sorry for him, but he'll end up drifting like Anelka. As for Man City, again no sympathy, but if the captain starts carrying on like that, it can't do team spirit any good. If Man U had a home game against a team in the bottom half, with the chance of going top, would they lose? PS - quite incredible that he's retained the captaincy. At least Owen kept his mouth shut about wanting to go.

Brilliant.

For me, he has obvious strengths, but he's not the complete package. He's a great athlete, and his running with the ball, heading and shooting are top drawer. But his passing is a really weak area.

Mourinho's teams do tend to cheat. There was a lot of diving around, niggling fouls etc Sevilla were very poor. If they'd played with any belief, they might have nicked something. And Ronaldo is not, no way, not ever, the best player in the world.

I'm not sure whether Lua Lua has overtaken Routledge yet, but he will and we may as well move that process along. Lua Lua will improve but Routledge won't.

40+ trophies and counting. Amazing in his ability to re-energise himself and his players, season after season. You would have thought that all that success would blunt his appetite, but he never seems to let himself or his teams go stale. Far more clever and imaginative than he's given credit for too. He's not just a teacup thrower.

Team of the Year: (Can be a domestic or International Team) – Barca, for continuing to set new standards on how the game can be played. 2nd Blackpool – success against all odds. Player of the Year: Iniesta Young Player of the Year: Wilshere Most Improved Player of the Year: Wilshere Year to Forget: (Can be a team or player) England Player to look out for in 2011: McEacheran, if he gets the chance Manager of the Year: Mourinho (unfortunately) Favourite Football Moment of the Year: Joey Barton’s opening goal against the Villa Biggest Football Disappointment of the Year: England’s performances at the World Cup 2nd – Ben Arfa’s injury when he was looking so promising Most Shocking Moment of the Year: Green’s fumble against the USA

There would be no point in Ashley selling Carroll half way through the season. His value isn't going to decline between now and the summer, and we need him to ensure our Premiership place. We're not desperate to raise money. From what I can see, Ashley's main concern is the wage bill and getting to a point where income and expenditure are matching up. A short term infusion of cash through a transfer doesn't really address that problem.

I'm still hopeful for Kazenga, although not as hopeful as I was two years ago. I really thought he'd be in the first team picture by now, particularly seeing we're not that strong wide right. From what I've seen, he has great ability to get past his man, but like his brother, he's an individualist who hasn't the greatest football brain. Still, it sounds like Pardew relishes the job of working on him.

Williamson is the CB I have most confidence in, and it's preferable to go with the established combination with Colo.

regardless of whether this is true or not, would people really want a team of mercenary twats? If this does ever happen I hope they have a sensible tranfer policy as Pardew and Ashley apart, I quite like watching the current lot play as it looks like most of them give a s***. That was my first thought as well. I would hate for us to be a money wasting buy-team like City. Yeah, my thoughts too. In any case, the new regs will restrict the ability of owners to bankroll a club. I'm hoping for a level playing field, rather than joining the big spenders.