Cronky

Good news

It's very easy for the opposition to pressure our players into knocking the ball backwards or losing possession completely. A difference between the sides today is Japan's ability to still play the ball forward quickly into space despite being closed down. We need players who can handle being pressured and even take advantage of it. Rooney, Gerrard and SWP can do it, but there's only one of them out there at the moment. Lampard can be forced backwards quite easily, which is why I wouldn't see him as a nailed on starter.

I just don't believe these rumours about big clubs chasing Taylor. He's simply not good enough. I think his agent is trying to tout him round.

The game has moved on and a specialist finisher is not as valuable at the top level any more. More is expected of strikers in terms of movement, holding the ball up and creating things for other players. We seem to be getting a bit obsessed about this, that or the other striker and how many goals they've scored, but if you're not creating chances than it's academic. We were quite predictable last season and that needs to be addressed regardless of who fills the forward positions.

We need to develop other ways of getting goals. At the moment, our only effective weapon will be Carroll at set pieces. We need a counter-attacking game. It's a long time since we've been able to hit teams on the break, so we need a bit more pace down the middle, both up front and in midfield. We also need to create more through the midfield, because lumping the ball forward in the hope that someone's going to get on the end of a flick-on won't work in the Premiership. It wasn't that effective in the Championship come to that. So a CM who can really get forward at pace and a striker who can link with the midfield would really broaden our attacking threat.

Mourinho has proved at Chelsea and Inter that he can handle the biggest jobs, so I imagine he'll do well at Real. His difficulty is that he's up against the best side in the world - a team that is so good that you can get 96 points and still finish second. He's only going to play them twice, so winning the league isn't entirely in his hands.

Dalglish came in at a bad time. The money had dried up, the team needed some rebuilding and expectations were still high. The pressure got to both him and Gullit. KD was also very unlucky in that Beardsley was our most important player, but lost his legs. Shearer was also injured at a crucial time, and in fact was never quite the same player after that injury.

We need a creative striker who can play in a more withdrawn role, linking midfield and attack. That's the situation vacant. Unless Vukcic fits the bill.

If the club is being 'sponsored' by one of the owner's companies, then that's a subsidy, not sponsorship. I suspect that a far more difficult loophole to close would be players' salaries. All sorts could go into different bank accounts that might be hard to trace.

Great news. Needs to be properly enforced and regulated in every country, which will be the difficult bit. The other thing that needs addressing is the distribution of TV money. The gaps between the Champions League teams and the rest of the Premiership, and between the Premiership and the Championship, are both too great. It makes it very difficult for clubs to plan properly, and it encourages them to take risks.

I've not seen a lot of the player, but if that's all he's got, that's not enough in the Premiership.

The Mail's actions were a disgrace, and a part of me would like to see them suffer a complete ban from the Premiership. The difficulty is though in maintaining consistency. If every paper was to be banned because of irresponsible behaviour, there wouldn't be any left. If it teaches the others a lesson, then fine, but I don't think it will.

There are so many one-cap blunders, but of those that won a load of caps but shouldn't have, I'd nominate Phil Neal.

Cleverley looked to me like an all-rounder like Fletcher who could defend as well as attack. He'd more likely replace Nolan or Smith rather than Barton or Guthrie. He seemed to have good pace and work rate, so would be able to move straight into the first team, which is what we need.

Dang, that was 90 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. One player they got spot on though - Michael Ricketts is the epitome of the bad England selection. The team was struggling and many in the media and public started getting behind a striker who happened to have scored a few goals that season. It's totally obvious he's not international class, but the manager decides to 'give him a go'. It was the sign that Eriksson was succumbing to the pressure and losing faith in his own judgement. It's happened to nearly every England manager in my lifetime - a 'Ricketts' moment - and it's downhill from there. So far Capello has escaped it, but he did look suspiciously close to picking Zamora...... hummm.

It seems pretty clear that he made it up to add a bit of drama to the story. His explanation for it is laughable.

Not seen anything of Wheater this season, but on previous form £4 million is a snip and he's miles better than Taylor. Any theories as to why his form could have slipped this season?

The lesson seems to be that deficit financing won't work if you're competing against clubs who are being subsidised from outside and who aren't going to have to balance the books at some stage. The new UEFA regulations can't come soon enough.

Well it doesn't look like Keegan has been flooded with offers since he left us. I suspect clubs view him as not worth the risk. We have no clue which jobs he's been offered. Perhaps he's saving himself for the Man U job.

Is the nub of the problem. And the higher the level of football you pitch him into, the more he struggles.

He's left three out of 4 clubs he's managed in higher leagues than he found them and not left a single club lower than he found it. How's that a risk? David Moyes hasn't won a single major trophy either, Souness has shit loads though. Which would you prefer? Well it doesn't look like Keegan has been flooded with offers since he left us. I suspect clubs view him as not worth the risk.

Top managers in England said they would have done exactly the same. Those top managers came out in Keegan's support before the tribunal findings. Afterwards, there was a rather deafening silence.

However loved he may be on here, he walked out at the end of the transfer window when he was over-ruled over a loan-signing and then tried to take the club for £25 million. No club Chairman with half a brain is going to take the risk of appointing him, especially when we're talking about a manager who hasn't even won a single major trophy. And that's not taking into account his other walk-outs.

I don't agree with this unwritten rule of no red cards in a friendly. If it's a friendly, don't commit that kind of foul. I'd like to have seen more of Adam Johnson. He is so composed.

Yeah, we seem to have switched to a straight 4-4-2. At least the players now look like they know what they're doing.