Cronky

I can't see Bayern failing to score. I'd bring on Macheda. They need a goal and he might just produce something.

Rooney looks like he's protecting that ankle. He had that twinge half way through the half, and he's not been the same. He needs to come off. Berbatov isn't that bad, surely.

I do think that playing Rooney is a gamble. Off after 20 minutes and goodbye, World Cup.

Well that might explain his performances. He was very indecisive and kept getting caught in no man's land.

No shit. Applies to any player in any team. A yellow card for selective quoting. The second half of my post made my position clearer.

mcnally implicitly implies that carroll attacked taylor in a shameful, outrageous incident and the club have done and said sod all about it. don't really see what wrong in that. too many NUFC fans prepared to pull their wagons into a circle. For all I know, Carroll may be completely in the wrong and the club may be wrong in not publicly disciplining him. But that's not the point here. Why complain about a wall of silence and then contribute to that wall by not saying what you know? He says it was a 'shameful, outrageous incident' but he doesn't give us any details that the reader can use to make his own mind up, or give anyone within the club a chance to comment. Even by the low standards of modern journalism, that's cowardly and lacking in moral principle.

Gross hypocrisy from Mr McNally. He says that the club is hushing up some terrible story, but he won't provide any of the details himself. Why not? If he's not sure of his information, he should shut up. If he is sure of his story, he should come out with it and give the other parties a chance to comment. He's got some nerve trying to seize the moral high ground here.

In a 'do fuck all but let the opposition cm's pass around you' sort of way? He wasn't as bad as that, but he's very frustrating to watch. He's a very gifted player, but sometimes he seems to leave his brain behind in the dressing room. His decision-making is improving, but the process could do with speeding up.

I'd consider selling any of those four, if the money was right and providing there was an available replacement. With Jonas I'd be much more reluctant than the other three, who I don't think would be that difficult to replace.

Hughton has had very little chance to build his own side. In his first transfer window, it was about shipping players out, and in the second, his scope was limited but he definitely improved the side. Generally speaking, he's had to make do and mend with the leftovers from other managers' work. There's a lack of pace about the side which I'm sure he'll try and address. Once he's had the chance to create his own team, then we can assess him. But as for how he's coped with the task that fell in his lap, he can't be faulted.

They just don't have a clue what to do when they don't have the ball for long periods of time, which is why they usually get battered by the biggest teams. Moritz Volz (I think) made a very good point on Radio 5 at lunchtime today about how Barca did to Arsenal in that first half an hour at the Emirates exactly what Arsenal normally do to other teams. It was always going to be difficult for them, because they play a similar game to Barca, only Barca do it better. They really needed to seize any chances that came their way. I suppose they did miss the likes of Fabregas and Arshavin, who always at least try and express themselves.

Arsenal's game depends on confidence, and it wasn't there tonight. Clichy is the only player that can look in the mirror and say that he really gave it a go. Their only chance was to shake Barca up a bit, but they weren't up for it.

I'm a bit disappointed with Arsenal. They seem very nervous and have made some strange decisions with what limited opportunities have come their way. They very nearly messed up their goal. If you're up against the best side in the world, you can't afford to be beaten in your head before you start. Having said that, Messi has been brilliant.

Interesting. I have doubts about both the runaway leaders, for next season. Colo's feeble challenge for the Sheffield goal last night highlights a weakness that I think will be found out more. He's poor in the air from set pieces, and that's a problem for a CB in the Premiership. He's also not the quickest. Enrique has got away with dribbling the ball out of defence this season, but will need to clear it more quickly next time. And there he has difficulty. Good left sided players aren't that plentiful, so I'm pretty sure Enrique will stay. However, it may be good business to sell Colo abroad while the going's good, and use the proceeds to bring in someone who's a bit more rugged.

I don't think it's sunk in yet. I've been waiting for a disaster that hasn't come. What I dreaded was a poor run of results (not necessarily bad - just the usual mid-season blip), leading to a lot of NUST-type unrest in the crowd, pressure on the players and the media then latching on to another failure story and stirring things up even more. Last season, we suffered from a kind of unholy alliance between the Ashley-out-at-all-costs brigade and the national media who loved to report all the unrest, preferably with bells on. I thought, at some stage, it was going to kick in again and results would suffer. The players and management have kept this very tight focus and there's been no opportunity for any kind of downward spiral to start. I'm a bit stunned really. We don't normally over-achieve.

This is the third promotion I've followed, and the first two felt quite different from this one. Then, it was like we had to be some way better than the opposition, because teams used to raise their games against us, and the team seemed to feel the pressure as the bigger club. This present team has over-achieved, and has handled the pressure very well. We haven't always been the better side by any means. The thing that makes me a bit nervy is that, by the time we'd won our previous promotions, we'd built teams that were well capable of handling life in the top division. This current side needs a bit of work.

The turning point that I was expecting never happened - ie some loss of concentration caused by pressure or over-confidence leading to a bad sequence of results, then more pressure etc. Instead, we've just kept going, meeting the challenge of each game as it came along, regardless of what's happened the previous week. We've not played great football, but mentally the team has been very strong.

Good bet for Manager of the Season.

A big turning point was the home game against Doncaster in October. 1-0 down with 10 men, but we won 2-1, with Nolan scoring the winner in injury time. Winning from that position gave the team real confidence. Certainly if we'd lost, the pressure would have really cranked up.

I couldn't care less about the Championship title. Promotion with six games left allows us to give the youngsters like Ranger and Kadar a chance to gain precious experience. The only disappointment this season has been our failure to do that, so that can change now.

Let's face it, Hughton has surprised us this season, and he may well surprise us again. I don't think he'll struggle tactically. However, it is a problem for a caretaker / coach who is promoted to manager, when it comes to replacing the players who got him the success in the first place. A caretaker has to rely on forming an alliance with the players, because he's not in a position to assert himself more aggressively. If he starts giving them the message that they're not good enough for him, then you have resentment. That's where Roeder came a cropper - he lost the dressing room when he laid into them after the Alkmaar defeat. Where I think Hughton has played it just right is he's never acted flash. Most managers by this stage would have acquired a bit of a public swagger, but he's been relentlessly downbeat. If he stays that way, he should be able to carry the dressing room with him.

Worrying about whether a manager is going to fail, and then not giving him all the money just in case he fails, is liable to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If he's the manager, Ashley has to show full confidence in him, regardless of any reservations he might feel in private. Sacking him at least has the merit of being decisive, but sends out all the wrong messages, and would disrupt the sense of unity that has been so important this season. The players, coaches and manager need to work in an atmosphere where they know that they'll be rewarded for success.

West Ham. If you look at their squad, they shouldn't be down there. There'll be some good pickings if there's a fire sale.

I won't miss anything. This season has felt like a punishment.

Adding to that, how long after promotion was it that we scrapped the reserves? I wasn't thinking only of that one particular decision, although it was very typical of the general policy. It was all a quick dash to get the Premiership title, and when that didn't come off, we were in trouble.