Cronky

On a totally different tack, I was interested to see that the boy wonder Giles Barnes didn't get voted into the Championship side. Gareth Bale (who I rate very highly) was. And I've just realised why I'm always getting the names confused. They're both GBs.

He can think whatever he likes, but he shouldn't be saying it in public. Why? Because Shola might get upset? I would much rather have confident players in the team who assume they are first choice than some of the players we have had recently! Well, generally speaking you shouldn't annoy a team-mate. But I'd lay any money that none of the squad were impressed by those statements from Oba. He needs to forget about forging this marvellous partnership with Owen that's going to take us to the top of the league and concentrate on improving his own game a bit. He certainly needs to.

He can think whatever he likes, but he shouldn't be saying it in public.

Its true though. TBH whou would you rather play alongside? Owen or Shola. I think Shola is a good player and doesn't deserve the stick he gets but it doesn't take a genius to know he is not as good as Owen really. What I was annoyed about wasn't so much the comparison between Shola and Owen, as Martins making this assumption in public that Shola, and not him, would be third choice. With Owen and Shola coming back, he should be thinking that he needs to improve if he's going to keep his place. Oba suggesting that we'll challenge for the title is similiar to you suggesting that Shola should start ahead of Oba. Either both of you are WUMs or are off your tits Well as I said, my main point was that Martins shouldn't be publicly assuming that he's going to get selected, regardless of what the competition is like. But anyway - with strikers, it's all about combinations, and I'm one of those who has doubts about Owen and Martins together. They both do nearly all their best work in and around the penalty area and we need someone - either a target man or a Beardsley / Bellamy type - who's going to be able to link up play with the midfield. Shola has his weaknesses, but he can do that role better than the other two. As for who's the 'better player', that's difficult because their styles are so different, but towards the end of last season, Shola was making a far better contribution to the team than Martins is now. We've failed to score in 5 of the last 7 games, and the strikers aren't creating anything. Martins was a good buy in the circumstances. With Owen out, we needed a goalscorer. But now he's got to fight for his place against a bit of competition. People say that he'll be better in his second season once he's got used to the Premiership, but it's also the case that defenders will now have had a chance to suss him out a bit. It won't be easy for him.

Agree with this. When he played for us, he didn't look strong enough and was easily out-muscled by Premiership centre backs. Defences in the lower divisions are a different proposition.

Players I'd definitely want to keep - Given, Taylor, Solano, Duff, Milner, Dyer, Shola, Owen. Players that I'd consider selling, depending on the offer - Bramble, Carr, Emre, Parker, Butt, Martins, Sibierski Players I'd like to see replaced - Babayaro, N'Zogbia, Luque. (Yes, I know that Bramble and Le Sib are at the end of their contracts, but that group was the best place to put them)

Its true though. TBH whou would you rather play alongside? Owen or Shola. I think Shola is a good player and doesn't deserve the stick he gets but it doesn't take a genius to know he is not as good as Owen really. What I was annoyed about wasn't so much the comparison between Shola and Owen, as Martins making this assumption in public that Shola, and not him, would be third choice. With Owen and Shola coming back, he should be thinking that he needs to improve if he's going to keep his place.

The way he's talking, it's like the only question the manager has to sort out is which striker to play with him. On Oba's current form, Owen and Shola might well be the best combination. The bit that the return of Owen is 'more interesting' for him than the return of Shola isn't very sensitive, and if I was Shola I'd use that as a bit of inspiration. Martins needs to grow a brain.

A draw tonight, Liverpool to go through after the second leg. I think their morale is better and they'll want it more.

I don't quite get all the aggro. If Rooney's not the best, he's certainly one of the best. A lot of the times I've seen him this season, he's not been playing in his best position, which I think is just behind a main striker. He's been out wide a lot of the time. Last night, he was playing as a lone striker and though he struggled in the first half, by sheer persistence and footballing intelligence, he managed to cause problems. He's matured into a team player, a journey which Ronaldo has only just started. I also wonder whether the World Cup affected him, in that he's trying to keep the fire in his belly under control. That may have temporarily hurt his confidence, but he'll be the better in the longer run.

I thought they'd had it at half-time. They seemed to get more energy as the game went on. Scholes was magnificent throughout. There seemed to be two of him on the pitch. One that was operating as the playmaker and the other getting forward to support every attack. Ronaldo just wasn't releasing the ball enough. There's still that streak of selfishness about him. Rooney battled very well and deserved that goal. I think Man U will get through now. Technically you might favour the team with the two away goals, but psychologically Man U now have the upper hand.

Man U just don't look like they've got the energy tonight. I can't see them coming back from this. It's tough on English clubs. Our football is so energetic that it's difficult to maintain form for two games a week at this stage of the season.

We shouldn't sell to just anybody who promises us a bit of money, but the game is moving on, more investment is needed to keep up with other clubs, and Shepherd is holding us back. People talk about the risks of a takeover, but the risks of staying where we are seem far greater.

This rumour that he's lost the dressing room worries me a bit. You can't do anything without the support of the players. His whole reaction after the Alkmaar game (which was his feck-up) seemed wrong. He blamed the players and singled out Bramble because his mistake led to a goal. Nothing is more guaranteed to alienate a manager from his team than that sort of behaviour. There's a story that a similar thing happened at West Ham. Things were going well, and suddenly he lost it with half the team. Long-term the Chairman is a bigger problem than the Manager, but I voted for a change. Overall, he's made the best of a difficult job, but I'm not confident Roeder can turn things back round.

Maybe Chelsea just expected to walk away with the points without having to work for them. You could be right, but that's not their normal attitude. They're usually up for every game, regardless of the opposition. That's why they're chasing four trophies, and managed to stay in touch with Man U despite the pace they were setting. On Sunday, they just didn't put their foot on the gas, and Mourinho looked - for once - helpless to do anything about it. I just wonder whether all this uncertainty over Mourinho staying or going has affected the side. There's bound to be one or two who'd rather he went, and they didn't look like they were giving their all for him, when the crunch came. I mean, Shevchenko was on the pitch for quarter of an hour, but I don't remember him even touching the ball. It'll be interesting to see how they end the season.

I didn't think our performance was significantly better or worse than any of our other recent performances. There were flashes of quality but overall our passing isn't good enough and the strikers aren't creating much. We got a draw not because we raised our game but because Chelsea fell way below their usual standard. You could tell that Mourinho was really angry at them. Normally he's very composed but this time he was seething. Either they were tired after the midweek game, or their minds were on the Liverpool game, or the pressure had got to them, or something. Normally even if they're not that inspired, their athleticism carries them through, but on Sunday it didn't happen.

I agree with the first part, not the second. When he came back from injury, he turned our season round. Without him, we'd be in the position that West Ham are in now. His form took a dip after the Alkmaar game. Since then, he's looked out of sorts and it wouldn't surprise me if he's fallen out with Roeder (and he may not be the only one). Roeder played him out of position in Alkmaar, and the whole game was a tactical mess. Bramble then ended up being publicly made the scapegoat, which was all wrong. Perhaps Dyer is a bit quick to get shirty, but I think Roeder handled the Alkmaar defeat very badly and a number of the players are probably pi$$ed off.

He's been very, very effective this season, but he'll be even better when he learns to be a bit less greedy. I watched the end of the Boro game, and there were two or three occasions when the Boro defence were exposed and he had a go himself when he really ought to have released the ball to a player in a better position. I had the impression that he wanted to be the hero.

I can't agree with you there. At first, he really struggled and I thought he was going to flop, but there seemed to be a sudden transformation half way through the season. Lately he's been brilliant.

I think this selection - to an extent - reflects how much professional players would like to see Man U turn over Chelsea. Vidic over Terry or Carvalho is quite dodgy, although he has played well.

Some very good observations there, mate, if I may say. I'd agree with 95% of that. Where I'd differ- I thought Martins was pretty poor today. His link up play and his reading of situations wasn't great. Emre lost the ball a lot. He showed a lot of spirit, but he often tried things that weren't really on. I thought your mark was a bit generous.

A draw was the right result. It was the worst Chelsea performance I've seen in a long while, but we weren't good enough to take advantage. Nothing stuck up front. Martins and Sibierski looked likely to lose control of the ball any moment. Once Carroll got over his initial nerves, he looked very promising. He really needed to chance his arm and shoot near the end instead of crossing. It looked like a young lad playing it by the book rather than reacting to the situation in front of him. Still, he showed some nice control. Best performances came from the back four. Solano and Carr did well supporting the attack. Bramble looked short of confidence at first, but then relaxed. And Taylor really looked the part. He actually looked stronger than Drogba.

This is the worst Chelsea performance that I've seen in a long time. Trouble is, I don't think we're good enough up front to take advantage.

I wouldn't argue with those three. Gazza in particular was heartbreaking. Our future went with him and we were relegated the following season.

He looks like a big fish in a small pool at Derby at the moment. I think he's a very talented player but he may be getting a bit big for his boots right now. A move to a bigger club at this point might be what he needs.