Cronky

Robson had a problem with Bellamy because no matter how badly he behaved, he was too valuable to the team to be dropped or transferred. Bellamy realised this and ended up doing what he wanted. We may shortly be in a position where we have a much better squad overall, and Allardyce could take a tougher line with Bellamy if it was needed. Bring back the Poison Dwarf!

I agree about Martins. I don't think Ashton would be a good choice. I'd agree with 1878 - that he'd be too similar to Viduka. Ideally, you'd replace Martins with a quick player and Ashton is very slow. After his injury, he might be even slower.

The value of Bellamy is he can play in that busy, free role, linking midfield and striker - a similar job to Beardsley or Rooney. Neither Owen nor Martins can do that, and it's a very good option to have. As I said, it really depends on the extent of the damage to dressing room relations that Bellamy did last time. Would the other players welcome him back? I hope they'd take the attitude that he may be a twat, but a talented twat. Very tempting. Viduka and Bellamy could be a brilliant combination.

A brilliant front six, but it would be a very brave manager to get rid of Owen just so that he could play a different formation. I can't see that happening. As for Bellamy, I certainly wouldn't write him off as a player, as some here have done. He did well at Blackburn, but at Liverpool he's not had an extended run in the team, and not had a regular striker partner. That whole team seems to have had a lot of chopping and changing, and it's not been easy on any of the strikers.

I think Martins was a good buy in the situation we were in last season, but with Owen back and more money to spend, it'd now be a good time to move him on. There seems to be clubs out there willing to pay £10 million plus for him, which is a good deal for a player who will struggle to make the first team next season. He's a good athlete rather than a good footballer, and so although he may improve I don't think he'll improve much.

The only reason I'd hesitate to buy Bellamy is the state of his relationships with the other players in the squad who were there when he left. If they were basically glad to see the back of him, then I wouldn't chance bringing him back. Otherwise, and purely on his ability, I think he's a very effective player and a great addition to any squad. There's far more to his overall game than Martins.

The way I see it, all the top teams, in the Premiership or an International level, have the option of playing the ball on the deck through the middle to the strikers. They aren't tied to long balls or crosses from wide, as we were on Wednesday. This lack of variety or guile to our play was what depressed me, partly because it was dull to watch and partly because it won't get us anywhere against top teams. Rooney makes a big difference because the sort of positions he gets into offers the midfield that option of interpassing through the middle. We miss him badly when he's not there. The presence of Owen and Beckham tends to hold us back. Beckham can certainly cross, but there's not much variety to his passing. He tends to bang it long to the wings, or over the midfield to the strikers. It's no wonder Gerrard and Lampard tend to look poor when he's playing. Owen hardly ever gets involved in the build-up, and doesn't create chances for his team-mates. We'd be better off with someone with more range to their skills rather than have a specialist finisher.

I don't think we need Koumas, but it's a bit of a mystery to me why he's not in the Premiership. Perhaps he soon will be. He looks very skilful and creative. Presumably there's some weakness in his game which is holding his career back, but his ability on the ball is very obvious.

All credit to the Guardian for looking beneath the scoreline to the performance. But I don't think wholesale changes are the answer. Some of the players they named - Lita, Parker, Jaglielka, Taylor - definitely wouldn't be an improvement. I'd question whether Owen now contributes enough. Given the way top level international football has developed, I don't think we can afford a specialist poacher who contributes absolutely nothing creatively outside the penalty box. When both are available, I'd play Crouch and Rooney. I also think we can only play two of Beckham, Lampard and Gerrard. Otherwise we become slow and predictable. Beckham isn't really a wide player and he tends to drift inside, cramping the other two. He also plays too many long balls which may be effective against the likes of Estonia, but won't work against better opposition. With Gerrard and Lampard, we should be playing it on the deck, but most of the time Beckham is just banging it over their heads.

I don't think LA have a choice about this. Clubs have to release players for international duty. They've got a right to be pissed off though, because the deal was probably struck with the assumption on both sides that Beckham's international career was over. In the circumstances, and in view of the money they're paying him, I'd say on moral grounds, Beckham should be putting his club first.

Very simplistic view. The Halls are in financial trouble and needed out quick. Shepherd and the Halls have raped the club for over a decade and it is mainly OUR money they've used to make their lives more comfortable. I doubt whether either party has put up £10m between them to attain the positions they achieved. In fact £10m could be way over the top in an estimation. Good riddance to the cunts. On the positive though Ashley should finance at least one major signing before the end of the transfer window - he'll need to convince the rank and file he means business. Sams shopping list will suddenly have became totally different to the one him and Shepherd were working on. You're living up to your username here. Rejoice! Okay, I wasn't meaning to say that the Halls deserve a medal for selling up. Sir John Hall did it in his own business interests, just as he got involved in the first place as a businessman. He's never hidden that. Where we seem to differ is I don't have a problem with club owners getting a return on their investment. I think clubs ought to be run as viable businesses rather than as the plaything of sugardaddies. There's enough money coming into the game as it is, and all the likes of Abramovic have done is artificially inflate transfer fees and wages, as well as threaten the fairness of the competition. In time, he'll lose interest, if that hasn't already happened. The value of someone like Ashley is that he'll be able to wipe out the debt, invest on a large scale and keep pace with the competition. We won't be back in the situation where we're having to recall players when they're half way down the motorway to join another club. I don't think we should be expecting him to dip into his pocket for £30 million players though. All in all, I'm glad Sir John Hall got involved, and I'm glad he eventually broke ranks with Shepherd. Whatever the motivation, at least he's spoken and acted as a gentleman throughout, which is more than can be said for Freddie.

Things looked so grim only a few weeks ago. It looked like Freddie was there for life and we were just going to have to sit and watch while yet more clubs overtook us. Well done to the Halls for taking unilateral action on the situation.

The first goal wasn't much of a cross, Bridge was shocking all night (as was Brown down the right), it was Crouch's flick that made the goal. But the two long balls from Beckham were superbly executed and it was overall good attacking play. The movement from both Crouch and Owen was excellent and with Crouch's in-particular, it was a superbly guided header. The ball from Beckham just bounced, there was no pace on the ball by the time it reached Crouch, and he was still a good 12-yards out. Managed to get a lot of power and direction on it though, ace header. They were all good goals in fairness. Sorry, I think a half-way decent defence would have prevented the last two goals. Possibly. But Estonia's defensive line wasn't particularly bad, or no worse than the majority, and Beckham's passes split it inch-perfectly, twice. And there's no mistaking that Crouch's header was class. Well let's put it another way. Neither would have been goals against the top international sides. That performance was okay for beating the likes of Estonia. We had the power and the fitness to overcome them. But we ought to be aiming to win a major international tournament, and that style of play just will not be good enough. I've seen that kind of England performance so many times over the years. When we're up against someone decent, the lack of pace and quality in the passing counts against us.

The first goal wasn't much of a cross, Bridge was shocking all night (as was Brown down the right), it was Crouch's flick that made the goal. But the two long balls from Beckham were superbly executed and it was overall good attacking play. The movement from both Crouch and Owen was excellent and with Crouch's in-particular, it was a superbly guided header. The ball from Beckham just bounced, there was no pace on the ball by the time it reached Crouch, and he was still a good 12-yards out. Managed to get a lot of power and direction on it though, ace header. They were all good goals in fairness. Sorry, I think a half-way decent defence would have prevented the last two goals. Christ, what dull, unimaginative, predictable football we played. It really made me realise how much quality the foreign players have brought to the Premiership. We looked like an England team from the eighties. Crouch's suspension has saved McClaren from a tricky decision, because he contributed far more than Owen, and when Rooney returns, he ought to have retained his place.

I suppose it's okay to get worked up about football - it's an individual choice - providing there's a point where you can stop and get it in perspective. You can get angry about a referee if you want, but don't take it so that it intrudes on the guy's life outside football. I saw the documentary, and what struck me was how immature a lot of the attitudes are, that managers and players show towards referees. It's a difficult job, and there are so many decisions where there's no clear right or wrong. What's more, they themselves lie and cheat all the time to get an advantage, but react with outrage when the ref makes an honest mistake. The only manager that I thought really showed a bit of class when dealing with referees was Brian Clough. He never criticised any of them publicly, and wouldn't tolerate any of his players showing dissent. It didn't do his team any harm at all. They kept focused instead of getting worked up about things they couldn't control.

Last couple of times I've seen Smith, he's looked very poor. He's really struggled to get involved. I'd worry that his bad injury has robbed him of what little pace he had in the first place. If he has a future at the top level, I think it would be in midfield.

Looking at the article, at least part of the problem was that Roeder led him to think he'd get a two year deal, and then Freddie offered one year. The latest in a long series of examples of the Chairman and Manager at our club not working together properly. Hopefully, the situation will improve after the Ashley takeover.

I'd agree that Reo-Coker and Barton would make a really good partnership. Shipping on Emre and using the money for Reo-Coker would be a good move.

£5.5 million is actually dirt cheap for an English player of his age and ability. It's artificially low because of his disciplinary problems, which mean the big four won't touch him.

Apparently he did a U-turn on the motorway, headed back to the club and signed.

I think over his time at the club there have been more posts on this forum claiming how great he is and that is what is unbelievable. There was a time not too long ago when those who thought Parker was crap and said so were in a very small minority on here. It seems he's been sussed now by the majority. It took a long time but that's ok, just as long as this heap of talentless s**** buggers off. I was having a dig at the sheep. I think you called him right before most, along with Crumpy, although the criticism was ott. He's a canny player but nothing special imo. I think a move suits all parties. In fairness though i called it very early in the peace - ie. at the time of his signing - and when the vast majority were salivating over his 'gutsy defensive hacker-esque' performances under Clueless, when utilized as a sideline-to-sideline protector of the back 4, i also claimed that this particular role upset our formational balance across the midfield line. Well done to you too then I knew he was shit the first time I saw that MacDonald's advert.

Agreed. He is just staying in the comfort zone for me. I aint too sure wether he would be able to adapt his game to the Spanish/Italian game. I don't think that you have to play in different environments to be considered great. But in Gerrard's case, I do wonder whether he might actually do even better in a continental side where the style and formation is a bit more fluid. He's an awesome player. I seem to remember at the time that he was considering a move to Chelsea, there were rumours of threats in Liverpool either to himself, or his family, if he left.

Hmmm..... Anelka, Viduka, Barton, Dyer, Emre - there's some rampant egos in there. I hope Allardyce is as tough as he looks.

Not the worst idea in the world. He'd have opportunities to run forward into space, and he's good at getting to the by-line. Defensively... perhaps he'd just have to get in the way.

I think this has been a problem for many years now. By the time that major international tournaments or other games come round at the end of the season, our players are knackered and unable to play the kind of high tempo game which we need. That, and our younger players spend too much time competing, and not enough time practising their technique - although I think this is a problem that is improving.