Cronky

Don't know an awful lot about either of them but I get the impression Hicks will just dig his heels in. It's a situation that's been managed terribly by them all. For a club which allegedly doesn't wash it's dirty linen in public, they're giving an awful lot of interviews. You'd have thought they'd all just shut the fuck up and phone each other rather than inviting Sky round to discuss things. One thing that's always struck me is just how childishly a lot of rich and successful businessmen can be when they feel that someone has got one over on them. You'd have thought they could rise above it, but they can be incredibly petty and vindictive. That's how they got where they are. Then we live in a bad world. Discuss.

Being honest doesn't necessarily mean you've got something interesting to say. Unfortunately, in the case of Wrighty.

He deserted his country during a world cup. Any debate should have taken place after the tournament. He may not be lying, but that in no way excuses betraying your national team at such a crucial time. Wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. Phoney pikey tw@t. The worst I'd say about Keane is that he was a bully. He had an urge to dominate and intimidate which is often the flip side of a very competitive nature. Funnily enough, now that he's a manager and genuinely in charge, he's less frustrated and doesn't need to throw his weight around. He looks calmer, and his other qualities are starting to come through. But I've never seen him as a phoney. At times a twat, yes, but not a phoney.

......and managing a team that is sixth in the League and in the Cup Final. Let's give credit where it's due.

Keano has his faults, but I wouldn't mind seeing him manage our club one day. I think he's got what it takes. His words about KK sounded genuine, and he's right - Keegan does bring passion to what he does and that means a lot. There are two 'buts' though. Passion can be vulnerable during the difficult times, and there are also occasions when you need to step back and look at things with a cool head. Let's hope that Keegan has learned to pace himself a bit and / or he has got people around him who can help with the things he's not so good at.

Don't know an awful lot about either of them but I get the impression Hicks will just dig his heels in. It's a situation that's been managed terribly by them all. For a club which allegedly doesn't wash it's dirty linen in public, they're giving an awful lot of interviews. You'd have thought they'd all just shut the fuck up and phone each other rather than inviting Sky round to discuss things. One thing that's always struck me is just how childishly a lot of rich and successful businessmen can be when they feel that someone has got one over on them. You'd have thought they could rise above it, but they can be incredibly petty and vindictive.

With Ashley Cole, I don't think he's so much better than Enrique as to make it worth a big fee, if you get what I mean. If we're going to splash the cash, I'd rather it was elsewhere. If ever there was an example of what Wenger can do for a player, just look at what's happened to Cole since he left the Arsenal. He should be reaching his peak, but he looks only half the player he was.

It's very hard to know how this is going to end up. Successful businessmen hate losing, and there's no sign of one or the other backing down. (Tee hee)

Barton - 'He has made just 20 appearances this season'. Ummmm.... that hardly constitutes a bad injury record, and I think he's only been dropped once. The assessment of Bellamy is pretty crap too. Yes, he's injury-prone, but he's a far better player than he's being given credit for here.

Sidwell, deffo. SWP probably unrealistic, but would be a great buy. None of the others would come. Ben Haim if there's no-one better on the radar.

This 50-50 joint ownership is an unusual arrangement, and with hindsight, always likely to lead to problems. I wonder how much should be laid at the door of the ex-Chairman, David Moores. He dithered about selling up for ages, and then opted for this. The interesting thing is he was also the one who set up that equally strange and equally disastrous joint management partnership between Houllier and Evans. Is he just scared of decisions, and thinks that the safest way forward is to hedge his bets? He took over as Chairman in 1991, and Liverpool have barely taken a forward step since.

He looks to me to have bags of skill, but I suspect there are doubts about whether he's strong enough for the Premiership, and that's why there's hesitation about offering him a new contract. Given the right opportunity on the Continent, he could shine.

What success Man City have had this season has been based on the centre back partnership of Dunne and Richards, which has been superb, and nicking the odd goal by individual flair at the other end. Since Richards started struggling for fitness, their results have declined. There's no big problem. A good defence is the best starting point, and City should be able to push on from here.

I voted for Luque and Boumsong. There may have been others with even less ability, but those two didn't seem to even try.

Rooney is less fiery, and less selfish, but overall he's a better player. What ultimately counts is his contribution to the team as a whole. His sending off in the last World Cup seemed to be a watershed for him. Although, rather bizarrely, Ronaldo got the blame, Rooney himself knew the magnitude of what he'd done - ie cost us our chance of winning the competition. His on-field behaviour is now very good, and he's able to put in a solid 90 minute contribution, rather than play in fits and starts.

Well if Man U decide that his decline is terminal, I say we put in a bid.

Barnes is one of those players that is going to come good at some stage in his career, no matter what his current problems. This is the time to snap him up.

Owen does get cut an awful lot of slack. When he's not previously been scoring, the problem is apparently 'the service'. When he is scoring, it's like he's doing it on his own. I'm sure if he wasn't scoring now, everyone would be saying that he's being played out of position. His performances in the withdrawn role have been okay, not brilliant. He's still able to get on the end of chances in the box, and that's an asset. On the other hand, he's not a great passer of the ball, and longer term we need to look for better options in that position if we're going to progress.

I remember that, despite his size, Distin wasn't that great in the air at that time. That's why Sir Bob tended to play him at left back. He's developed since, but at the time, Keegan obviously rated him more highly and City were prepared to pay more money.

James McFadden, anyone? I think Birmingham will go down, in which case he'll become available.

'Arry is being influenced by the fact that Owen didn't play particularly well on Saturday. If his name has been Alan Smith, he'd be getting loads of abuse for being anonymous throughout and missing a sitter. Ultimately, what counts is how the team is playing, and not any one individual. Keegan has found a solution (perhaps only temporary) to the problem that both he and Allardyce were struggling with - namely, how to include Owen without resorting to a 4-4-2 that was very restricting to his other players.

Well thats debatable. Hats off to Mozy, I'd say he was right. Viduka was having to drop deeper and battle, and he was ineffective. I didn't have the courage to make the point re Smith myself. His popularity of this board is roughly on a par with Adolf Hitler.

But surely players have to be prepared to adapt for the sake of the team. You can't expect everything to be set up to suit you. If you look at yesterday, several players were arguably 'out of position' - Martins was wide, Owen was deep, Barton was on the left, and even Faye has said he prefers to be in the midfield. Nobody's complaining now about players being 'out of position' simply because the team as a whole is getting results. Zoggy seems unwilling / unable to adapt. He could be a useful left back, but his concentration and commitment is poor. He could play inside or further forward, but he doesn't seem to have the brain.

With Geremi's corners, I felt he was always aiming for the near post, which inevitably meant that most didn't beat the first defender. I didn't feel he had much choice there, because Portsmouth are so strong in the air that anything else would have got eaten up by Campbell, Distin or James.

When they played for him maybe but Barton, Enrique, Viduka, Beye and Faye cant really be classed as underachievers at the moment. Well exactly. Five of his signings started yesterday, and one came on as a sub. He didn't spend a lot of money compared with our competitors, but overall he spent well. The only one IMO who turned out to be an outright mistake was Rozenhal. Please don't start on me with Smith. Let's just say opinions differ.