Cronky

Even if Zoggy was playing on the left of midfield, he'd still have to do some defending and he'd still have to face the situation where an opposition player was running past him to try and get on the end of a chance. Even if you don't get the ball, if you try to track back you may do enough to put them off or break their concentration. There's no excuses here. If Milner or Duff had let their man go past them and not make the slightest attempt to get back, they'd be getting a hammering.

In which case he's not much use to us at the moment. We need players who are going to give their team-mates a lift. He can be George Best for all I care, but if he's going to stand there looking gormless while a player runs past him then we'd be better off with someone with a better attitude.

We need a striker who can drop back and a midfield player who can get forward. That's the basics of the kind of movement that can unsettle defences. At the moment we're playing along tramlines. The '96 side had Beardsley dropping back and Rob Lee getting forward. Sir Bob had Bellamy going back and Dyer going forward. I'd give Duff the withdrawn striker role and get Barton moving forward. They won't be as good as the above combos, but it would be better than what we have now. At the moment, we're pinning all our hopes on Owen's finishing skills, such as they now are after his injuries. We won't improve that way.

I can't give you detail. Generally, I thought he did well as a target man. He won a fair few balls, linked with the midfield, worked hard, made himself available.

not sure how to respond... zoggy is one that i think has tremendous potential and talent and i've singled him out absolutely because of that. the absolute dross that has been pulling on a black & white shirt this season should be gone this summer, and good riddance. but, it's my hope that zoggy stays and comes good under kk. but he's certainly not the finished article and if he's not careful about his attitude, mentality, work ethic, whatever you want to call it, we'll suffer for it. obviously he's been played out of position, but even HE knew he'd blown it for their 1st goal. If he's being played out of position and he drops a rickett, then imho the finger should be pointed at the man who told him to play in that position, not blame N'Zogbia for making a mistake which might be basic for a FB, but not so obvious to someone who isn't accustomed to playing at FB. Bloody hell, you don't need to be Maldini to know that if someone is making a run past you that you track back with them. The problem there was attitude, not ability or experience.

There really is a huge gap between what's has been the professionals' view of Smith, and that held by a large number of fans. Both Allardyce and Keegan have clearly liked him, and played him in preference to others, both in midfield and attack. We weren't the only club that wanted Smith, and until recently he was in the England squad. Most of the negative comments about Smith are pretty fierce but not very specific eg he's shit, he's useless. So I'm not quite sure what it is that seems to drive so many people up the wall. He does get very involved, he does take responsibility and consequently he sees a lot of the ball. Inevitably that means he'll make more mistakes than a player who is hiding. Even so, it really has me shaking my head when he put in a good stint yesterday, and still gets slagged.

Shepherd has a lot to answer for. Due to his mismanagement, we ended up stumbling from one poor, reactive decision to another on the managerial front over the last few years. I don't think Allardyce was a bad appointment, but he was handicapped by having to work with a new Board that didn't really want him and didn't back him financially. With all the other pressures on him, it began to unravel. We needn't have got into that situation if Shepherd had co-operated with the Halls over the transfer of the ownership of the club into the hands of various possible buyers who were clearly in a much better position to put in the much-needed investment. That business had dragged on over the preceding months. In the end, the only way forward was to stage some sort of coup, and that inevitably left the managerial and planning side in a bit of a mess. In trying to maintain his control over the club, Shepherd was being selfish and not acting in the club's interests.

It really all depends on the three home games against Fulham, Reading and Sunderland, which we ought to win, even on current form, and that would see us safe. The unknown is whether the pressure on the players is going to inhibit them too much.

Completely believable.

Keegan inherited a bad situation, but he hasn't shown any new ideas, any initiatives, or any imaginative selections. Making Owen the captain was a very poor decision. He's not the best choice, either through his role in the team, or through his personality. He's not a leader. I won't win any popularity points here, but Smith was the right choice. He's prepared to take responsibility and gives 100 %. He's also a lot better than he's usually given credit for - that was certainly the case today.

I'd be tempted to give Edgar a chance. Pretty desperate to play such a young lad at CB in this situation, but Taylor is hiding and Cacapa lacks pace. We're getting murdered down the middle at the moment. I mean, normally, 'it couldn't be worse' is a bad philosophy, but maybe not on this occasion.

It's not that we lost to Man U. It's just that the performance showed the same flaws that have been obvious over the last few games, regardless of the opposition. Man U didn't break sweat. There's a lot that can be said. To pick one, I don't think Smith and Owen as a combination will get us goals. Smith does a good job as a target man but doesn't get on the end of chances. Owen gets on the end of the odd chance, but isn't that sharp any more and contributes nothing else. I'd put Smith in the anchor role instead of Butt. Viduka, Carroll or Shola as target man, and Duff or Martins playing off them.

THIS IS NOT MAN U'S STRONGEST SIDE. WE ARE MAKING IT EASY FOR THEM. THEY ARE 2-0 UP AT HALF TIME IN OUR BACK YARD WITHOUT HAVING TO BREAK SWEAT.

I get the impression his confidence has gone in recent weeks and he's hiding.

It's just like the second half at Old Trafford. They find it way too easy to find space in the final third. The general lack of pace in our side gets exposed defensively as well as when we're in possession. We've created a few good situations, but not looked like scoring. No-one from the midfield is arriving in the box with any intent. Smith and Owen aren't quick or sharp enough as a combination. I'm narked with Zoggy for the opening goal. That was just mental laziness. He's really let the team down there.

What the fuck was Zoggy doing? You don't have to be an experienced defender to know not to let someone run past you like that. The problem there was attitude, not ability. We need players who are going to put a bit of effort in. We actually seem to finding a bit of space. Either Man U are tired or they're over-confident. There's still hope.

That team would look twice as good with a better player than Butt in the anchor role. Next season maybe. Ronaldo v Zoggy looks like a mis-match.

Possibly he can't bear to be living on his own. I've always felt that Gazza was more to be pitied than scorned. Football seemed to be the one thing that kept him together, and now that he hasn't got that, he's gone downhill.

This is a good point. Young, inexperienced players are usually brought through in a planned way, by a manager who is able to implement a long-term strategy. A new manager pitching in a youngster in the hope that they'll improve a struggling team is the opposite of what you really want.

I don't care how old James is. He's in the best form of his life. He's always had a flaky temperament, but I think he's finally conquered that.

He's right, y'know.

Gazza's opening goal for Spurs in the Cup semi-final against Arsenal, 1990-ish. A free kick, 35 yards out, with the best keeper in the world to beat. Anywhere but the very top corner at the highest pace would have been saved, and he did it. Incredible.

Whatever the level of Hart's talent, the Carson fiasco should have alerted everyone to the risks of pitching in an inexperienced keeper into an important international match. Personally, I don't think Hart looks anywhere near ready.

There was an interesting piece from Tony Cascarino in the Times yesterday. He said that Benitez had always preferred to keep his distance from the players, and now that he was in trouble, he was trying to get more pally. His insinuation was that the players weren't having any of it.

Gazza edges it from Beardsley, Shearer, Bryan Robson and Bobby Charlton. He had the ability to produce something really exceptional. In his Spurs days, I can remember him scoring a hat-trick, all from free kicks outside the box. He didn't hit any of them with great power, but curled them into the corners in a way that gave the keeper no chance. There's an element of luck with free kicks, and to defy the odds like that is what set Gazza apart.