Cronky

For me, Zoggy at LB is a mixture of the very good and the very poor. When he has space to get forward, he can really open things up for us with his pace. Defensively though, he's pretty horrendous. He often gives the ball away when not under any particular pressure, and lands us in the shit. His positioning (eg the Carlton Cole chance) is also very suspect. BUT, he now seems in the frame of mind to learn, and defensive skills can be taught. He reminds me a bit of Ashley Cole, and if he applies himself, he can reach that kind of standard.

I thought we were a bit lucky to get a win, overall. The back four had no protection from the midfield in the first half, for some reason, and West Ham looked the better footballing side. We went in ahead thanks to a header from Viduka that looked impossible, and Zoggy's pace for the second. We were better in the second half and made them battle for their chances. We looked like catching them on the break several times before we eventually got the third. The good thing is that we will get better, and if we're winning these kinds of contests that says a lot for our spirit and organisation. The passing through the midfield is still poor, and I think Barton will make a big difference. I disagree about Butt having a good game. He put in his usual share of challenges, but there were several times when he chose a negative ball when a pass forward was on. Owen looks a better all round player since his return from injury. He's slower but his link up play has improved immeasuarably.

I'd go for - .........Given Beye....Taylor....Cacapa....N'Zogbia Milner....Rozenhal...Smith.....Geremi ...............Owen....Viduka

That sounds pretty much like a bid to get the guy in to me.

Well worth a try. He's quicker and a better passer than either Geremi or Butt. He got criticised for his miss against Derby, but the interesting thing is that he outran all our midfield players to get there.

Amazing that the interview took place at all, because the two men couldn't stand each other. It would be like Wenger and Ferguson agreeing to do a joint interview.

Another case of the interfering Chairman / Owner syndrome. Still, I'm not sorry to see the back of Mourinho. I never saw him as a great comedian. A bit of a bore, in fact.

No, Allardyce should be given a chance. You don't get anywhere treating people like that.

A lot of people seem to be pinning their hopes on us improving if or when Zoggy moves forward into the midfield. Yes, it would be nice to relieve him of some of his defensive responsibilities, but at the same time he'd have less space and time on the ball when trying to move forward. I think there's a lot of room for improvement still with Zoggy even in an attacking sense, and I'm not that optimistic myself. It's a big advantage to a team to have a defensive midfielder and full backs who can use the ball well. Although they are mainly defensive positions, they do tend to see a lot of the ball and if they can pass it constructively that can be a real boost. Last night, we weren't getting much from Butt, Zoggy or Taylor and Allardyce needs to address that.

I'd agree that Allardyce was a bit too conservative last night. He seems to be very protective of his new players, but Beye should have played last night rather than stick a centre back out wide. I also think there's a case for playing Rozenhal is midfield, because he's quicker and more creative than either Geremi or Butt. Allardyce probably wanted to stick with the side that had served him well so far, and you can understand that. He'll have learned some lessons from last night, and it's way too early to judge him.

Harper 7 - Did all that could be asked of him. Taylor 5 - Struggled manfully, but isn't a full back. Unable to support the attack well enough. Cacapa 6 - Did okay Rozenhal 6 - Great reading of the game, but lost too many headers. Needs to be pushed into the midfield. Zoggy 5 - Wasted a lot of good situations through poor delivery, especially from free kicks. Smith 6 - Generally quiet, but what very few moments of class from the midfield, came from him. Butt 5 - Not a player you want in there when you're chasing a game. Geremi 5 - Looked very ponderous. Milner 6 - Kept trying, and produced a few good crosses. Ameobi 6 - Won a few good headers in the first half, but faded badly. There's always been a problem with his stamina. We had no target man to replace him with though. Owen 7 - Looked our best player. Quite inventive.

I'd put Rozenhal in the midfield anchor role instead of Butt. I know he's played there before. He's got more pace and he's more comfortable on the ball. What's more he's pretty hopeless at heading the ball under challenge, despite his other abilities as a Centre Back, and I'd rather see Taylor brought back in the centre.

Beye on at RB, Taylor into the centre, Rozenhal replacing Butt in midfield.

A good strike for their goal, but we've always looked likely to concede from a simple long ball down the middle. We can still win this, if we're a bit more positive. The opposition is poor. We've looked far too tentative.

I would see Barton as our best central midfielder, and I'd plan things so that he saw as much of the ball as possible. I'd definitely keep him involved in the centre.

Rooney is a great player. It's utter madness to decide, after two home wins against moderate opposition, that we can't accommodate him. It's a bit tricky because you have to then choose between Heskey, who's a good target man but a poor finisher, and Owen, who's a good finisher but a poor target man. Personally, I'd go for Heskey, because that aerial power is very useful. Rooney has got everything that Owen has got, plus that bit more. He's even faster now.

I'm trying to imagine what would happen if Rooney had been available for £9 million in the summer. Would Messrs Ferguson, Wenger, Mourinho and Benitez have said - Naah, don't think so? Rooney is a player who can make things happen no matter what the opposition. Owen depends on his team-mates being on top of the opposition to create chances for him. In a major international competition, when we're playing against the best in the world, you have to go for Rooney.

Yeah? I'd say that in the last World Cup and European Championships finals, he was fairly useless. The one where he broke his knee, you mean? Can hardly expect him to do the business on crutches. I meant before he broke his knee.

Yeah? I'd say that in the last World Cup and European Championships finals, he was fairly useless.

Which to drop then? Someone who makes few and scores many, or someone who makes many and scores few? We'll have to choose the right team for the situation. It's not a problem. Some teams aren't going to fall for the Heskey/Owen combination. I can't imagine getting much change out of Italy where we might need a bit of magic from Rooney to make something spark. The problem is that Rooney spark might create a chance for someone else. Who else can finish like Owen? It's a weird one. Can we have some heads on the block here? I say Rooney. What say you?

spot on. Central defenders can't go through Heskey, like they can Crouch. Even when Heskey doesn't win the ball, he makes them struggle. But there's not a lot to choose between them.

You'd drop Owen after three goals in two games? For Rooney, yes.

This game has finally convinced me that there's a better option in the middle than the Gerrard - Lampard combination. Gerrard looked good going forward, and Barry looked very confident behind him. Wright-Phillips has really added something - thank fuck he got his chance instead of Beckham. He can still improve though - which is very encouraging. What an awesome player Richards is. Barring injuries, Gary Neville has won his last cap. Still can't see why Phil Neville is in there. 90 minutes gone, 3-0 up, he had a chance to thread the ball through to a player going forward and he knocked it back to his centre back. Not an international player. It was interesting to see the three pundits humming and ha-ing about what to do when Rooney comes back. Heskey opened things up a lot for us, so I'd keep him, and Rooney is our best player. Tough on Owen, but in an away game when we're up against it, Rooney's the better option.

For the last few months, Bates has been asking businessmen in Leeds to dip their hands in their pockets and support the local team. Roughly translated, he wants some mug to pump in some money while he remains in charge. Perhaps his search for a suitable idiot is over.

Why can't we get that sort of interviewer over here - he asked straight, interesting, open-ended questions, and allowed his subject to answer. None of this 'How disappointed are you with this defeat?' crap. Interesting what Shearer said about Owen bulking up. He does look stronger but slower. And he seems less than enthusiastic about becoming a manager.