Cronky

Whatever he's trying to do in terms of a new system, I don't see the point of telling the world that this is possibly the worst Man United side ever. It's not going to inspire the players at all, and it also isn't true. They have a good squad that should be challenging for the European places. There's a reckless aspect to his statements that make me wonder whether, deep down, he's in two minds about whether he wants to stay.

Yeah, I've just checked the stats and Bournemouth were ahead in the foul count by 18-7 and in yellow cards by 6-1. It's part of the professional game, and players have to find ways of dealing with it. We move on.

The team have had a lot of attention this last week, with getting into the top four, and suddenly being talked about as title contenders. Maybe a bit of edge went out of our game with those extra expectations. I particularly felt that at the start. But all in all, Bournemouth had us beaten physically. We were exposed as slow in defence and they won most of the 50-50 balls.

Fair do's, the better side won. They had the equipment to nullify our game. My heart sank when Isak grabbed the ball for that free kick near the end. I appreciate that as our star striker he wanted it, but Tripps is the free-kick specialist. It astonishes me when I see that kind of school playground mentality among professionals. Either the captain or the manager should have insisted on Trippier having it.

I agree. They're doing us for pace all over the pitch. Even before they scored, I was thinking I'd settle for a draw. Hopefully Isak will get more into the game in the second half.

The DCL rumours have been very persistent, but I think our interest may be dropping, purely on the basis of what I've seen of Osula. He may not turn out to be quite as good as DCL (who at his injury-free peak was a very tidy player) but I like what I've seen so far. He certainly looks quick and strong. Above all, he has what I always like to see in a young player - that belief that he belongs out there on the pitch and is going to make things happen.

One of the players from that era whose reputation is fully deserved. If I was to construct a UK first team from the last 60 years, he'd be in there. Despite being relatively short for a striker and quite slim, he was deadly in the air. My Dad knew him personally, and liked him a lot.

I've got a theory about a) why he's so good and b) why he's so underestimated. As anyone who has been in a management role will know, it's a position that demands a lot of diverse and not immediately compatible skills. Eddie doesn't seem to have a weakness. He's very clever and decisive on the technical and tactical side of the game, he's strong on detail but has his eye on the bigger picture, he can put his arm around someone's shoulder and discipline them too, he handles the people above him well, he's sure-footed on the PR side, he understands and respects people as individuals, he's cool under pressure, and to crown it, he has a capacity for hard work. But what you see is this modest, softly-spoken character who is happy to direct the spotlight on to others. It's then easy to make the assumption that there's some more exotic character who can do 'even better'. I don't think there is, and we're very lucky to have him.

Keegan, in partnership with Sir John Hall, changed the whole thinking and ambition of the club. I don't think we'll ever go back to a pre-Keegan phase, so he will always have a special and pivotal place in the club's history. I think the factor that's not been aired so far is that in his era, we were outspending every club except Man United. Every time the momentum stalled (even in the Championship), the club would go out into the transfer market. And I have to say it - when the money ran out, he left. Sir Bob and Eddie both over-achieved on limited resources. All subjective of course, but I think Eddie's situation at the start was far worse. We looked like going down with about 20 points, and I couldn't see any way of getting out of trouble, no matter who was in charge and how much money could realistically be spent. What stands out for me is the way he gets good performances out of ordinary players. He has improved every player that he's managed at our club. I think they are all playing the best football of their careers, and our team is so much better than the sum of its parts. The man is the complete package.

I've got to admit that I've started to dream of something more than top four and the League Cup. Liverpool are the only team that's significantly better than us, and they will have to face a heavy fixture load. They've got a great squad, but if Van Dijk gets injured..... It's possible, that's all I'm saying.

He has a good shot on him, but his touch on the ball isn't great. It was a very poor piece of play from him to let that guy through to what might well have been a second goal. You get taught to move towards the ball, but he stayed put in a bad bit of judgement. It suggested that he might not be in the best place mentally.

Names I don't like to see with the first XI, no matter what their ability - Batty - a player who could have been a very good all-round midfielder, but who at one stage in his career, decided to be a clogger and the master of the sideways pass. Ben Arfa - probably the most skilful player that we've ever had, but he had major psychological problems relating to father-figures / authority. (Well that's what I think). Every time his career looked like it was taking off, he sabotaged it. Any manager other than Eddie Howe. Come on guys, be all in!

I do like the challenge of trying to pick an eleven that would fit together, rather than just my favourite players. So difficult choices. Given - No challengers. Trippier - Though I don't think we've had a lot of good RBs. Hopefully Tino will continue to develop. Woodgate - Our best defender of the last 60 years. Schar - Just makes it ahead of Botman. His technique on the ball gives the team an extra dimension. Hall - As with LB, not that many contenders. But I think he has really stepped up a gear over the last 2 months. His performances have been a major factor in our turnaround in results. Lee - A great all-rounder. He would really flourish in a three-man midfield. Tonali - A month ago, I would never have put him in. But he's now working very well with Bruno and within Eddie's system. It's a question of combinations. Bruno - Automatic choice. Classy player with virtually no weaknesses. Can stick his foot in too. The really tough bit comes now, because I really think I have to pick Isak or Shearer, and Isak gets it. I don't think they'd work as a twosome. Shearer also lost a bit of pace after he joined, though he was still a great player. The other thing is that I think a front three of Isak, Bellamy and Beardsley would wreck total havoc. If I were a defender I would dread facing them. So - Beardsley - With him, it was like we had 12 men. Full of energy, imagination and skill. Isak - A central striker of the like that I've never seen before. His technical skill and creativity is different class. I get the feeling now that as long as he's on the pitch, we've got a chance. He can get us something from nothing. Bellamy - Nearly won us the league before he did his hamstring. Great energy, pace and fire. Manager - Howe. The best and most complete manager we've had in my 60 years supporting this club. I'm distinctly partial to the ground he treads on.

I think Everton will go down now. Really bad decision.

I think he's the most valuable player in the world right now. With lone striker systems as standard practice, ones who don't have a significant weakness are like gold dust. Add to that his incredible skill on the ball, you really have someone unique. How he managed to dig that shot out to make the second goal, I don't know.

Don't write Hojland off. He's still only 21, and I've seen some signs of improvement recently. It's not an easy situation at Man U right now, but he's showing some resilience. There are rumours that they want to bring Gyorkores in, which would be a repeat of the same kind of mistake that they've been making for years - bringing in players who actually aren't much better than the ones they've already got. Otherwise I agree with your post. There's no shortage of ability among their players individually.

Eddie Howe has spoken of the particular isolation of the Professional Football Manager. Despite the importance of the position and the responsibility that goes with it, there's no-one above you in the organisation to turn to for advice or supervision. But if there were such a person at Tottenham, I think they would be saying this - 1. When answering questions from the media, don't stare down at the floor and mumble. I don't know what impression you're trying to give, but it looks a bit rude. 2. You seem to be treating any journo who asks you a tough question as though they're an arsehole who doesn't know about football, and that their question is a bit stupid and beneath your attention. You're paid a lot of money and part of that is promoting a good image of yourself and the club. 3. If you feel that a referee's decision is wrong and that you can't keep silent, say that in your opinion they have made a mistake. Don't say that they are corrupt or biased. Framing that accusation in a vague way does not help either. It makes you look a bit sneaky and I think you pride yourself on being a straightforward person. 4. I won't presume to talk about your footballing decisions, but be aware that flaws in your public presentation can have an affect on the morale of your players, coaching staff and supporters.

I just can't believe the barrage of negative messages that this guy has been sending out ever since his arrival. It can't be helping his team. Perhaps it's him who is 'too anxious, too afraid'?

I'm not looking forward to this one. Eddie hasn't been able to rotate, we look tired and have players missing. The strength in depth of our squad is nowhere near the level of the likes of Arsenal. It could be all over in the first leg. Eddie has defied conventional thinking so many times in the last three years, but this may be beyond him.

He is, and this is the guy who last season was climbing on the high horse of traditional sportsmanship and asking, 'Whatever happened to the referee's decision being final?' Don't talk the talk, mate, if you can't walk the walk.

Yeah, even if we'd scored, the goal wouldn't have been given. We'd had our cards marked. It looks like we've wisely given up on that strategy anyway.

Excellent performance. It's just a shame we're not further ahead. it's the best I've seen Livramento play.

I wasn't expecting to see Botman starting. It doesn't show much faith in Kelly. However, I'm sure Eddie will have weighed it all carefully. Kiss of death time - Spurs have a good attack but a weak defence so I'm expecting a high-scoring game, with us coming out on top.

Agreed, it was a good watch. The most striking comment he made came at the end - Ineos don't know what they're doing. The whole set-up at the club strikes me as dysfunctional. The majority owners wanted investment from Ineos, but didn't want to lose control of the club because it's a money-spinner for them. Ratcliffe came to a compromise whereby he'd take a minority stake but supposedly have control over the football side. I think that puts Ratcliffe in a vulnerable position, because he'll have responsibility without ultimate power, but he decided to go along with it because of the attraction, as a fan, of being able to play Football Manager in real life. We had a similar problem with Freddie Shepherd as a fan in the Chairman's seat - the temptation to make decisions based on emotions rather than sound, professional sense. A lot now hinges on whether Ashworth the professional or Ratcliffe the amateur turn out to be right about Amorim. Right from the start, Amorim struck me as a flavour of the month signing and the early signs are that he's struggling to cope. My money is on Ashworth.

Which forum is that?