Cronky

Why should Southampton agree to sell Bale in advance for £3 million? If they wait till the end of the season, in all probability they could get more. Bale may not choose to go to Man U, if he has Evra to compete with for a place. With us, he'd be guaranteed a first team spot right from the off.

And booing somebody who still gave 100% effort out on the pitch despite being 'targeted for removal', and reportedly belittled in front of the entire 1st team squad by the idiot charge. Bellamy's performance level at the time, even when played out of position, imo overshadowed Shearer's showings and the subsequent body language & effort displayed out on the pitch during the final months of Gullit's tenureship. Both players', at their respective troubled periods at the club, days were numbered - ie. if both managers had their way - under two managers who had absolutely no confidence in the players in question whether it be for footballing or non-footballing reasons. So by comparing both Bellamy and Shearer's respective levels of effort & commitment during the aforementioned periods there's alot to be said in favour Bellamy's intestinal fortitude when faced with the environment of being targetted by an incumbent manger in charge. I know many supporters will obviously will take issue this point just because Bellamy and Shearer have mentioned in the same breath of air - as a point of comparison that is. On to another comparison, that being Bellamy's reception on the weekend & Owen's at Anfield last year. Owen, with the aid of his agent - by constantly stalling contract talks & essentially playing Houllier and the Liverpool for fools for about 18 months, engineered his way out of Anfield so his reception was to be expected. Many Liverpool supporters think ill of him and understandably so - he was developed & nurtured by the club before taking the piss. The reception afforded to Bellamy - ie. for a bloke who wanted to stay, contrary to Owen at Liverpool - was sad indeed. The same clowns, and they were probably the same type who were spouting s**** in the manner of "i hope somebody snaps the little Welsh f***ers legs off" in the week leading up to the game. I wonder if they also, and this refers to your point as to whether or not they'd shake the Scottish shitstain's hand, nodded in aknowlegement while shedding tears when Shearer dedicated his record breaking goal to the very same shitstain. that could be matched by the beardsley/waddle receptions at SJP after moving. strange for a player who gave 100%for us he told robson to "f*** off" and disobeyed match instructions,said if we bought rooney would have to /"consider his position"..even before this weekends shenanigans rumours were in hubcapland he was on his way this summer.as for body language blah blah,think of bellamys when played wide then think of taylors,solanos,milners,duffswhen played out of position...ffs man even steven carr!!!!!! More often than not talented players have an ego attached. In Bellamy's case there's a combustable personality to match, like Roy Keane. Robson's problem wasn't that he took s****/outbursts with a pinch of salt, afterall decent managers know that occasionally they have to let their players release a bit of steam on occasion. Roy Keane's frequent outbursts at training are an example. Ferguson took onboard Keane's personality, was prepared to live with it and the product was a decade or so worth of top football. That's decent man-management and i think Robson was handling Bellamy in a similar type fashion. IMO where Robson got it all wrong was the incessant need to blow hot air up the arses of the likes of Dyer, Jenas et al.... and Bellamy can be included to a lesser extent. By throwing out constant praise some of these blokes - ie. especially Dyer - thought they had become world-beaters and began to take the piss out of their careers. I think Robson handled Bellamy as well as any manager could, especially considering he's run into difficulties after less than a season at Liverpool. Robson knew that Bellamy was a key player in the team, and to get rid of him would have been to see us sink back into mid-table. I think the trouble was that Bellamy then became more and more aware of his power, and became more and more out of hand. It seems that it was reaching a point where Bellamy would have to go, although I don't think Robson can really be blamed for the problem escalating in the way that it did. He had to take the chance that the kid gloves would work. Where I'd differ is the comparison with Roy Keane. Yes, Keane had a temper, but he always put the team before his own individual interests. I've never heard any story that he abused Ferguson - only team mates who he thought were slacking. It explains why Keane seems to have taken to management quite easily. Bellamy still seems to be a big, self-centred kid who thinks the world's against him whenever he can't do what he wants.

I think Johnson has laid to rest the idea that he was just a one season wonder. I'd like to see how he could do in a really good side. I've also been impressed by Kuyt, who has adapted to the Premiership no problem at all.

i hope you are joking? he scored 111 goals in 5 seasons since then Well he only played 3 seasons after the Mpenza incident, but my point was that, during that period, the team went into a decline, from which we're only just starting to emerge. That's more important than how many goals a particular individual scores.

Who knows how we'd have fared with Mpenza, but sticking with Shearer wasn't exactly a howling success was it.

Scholes will walk it.

I can't say I share the optimism about Martins and Owen as a partnership, but no doubt we'll get a chance to see. It all depends on Martins playing in the more withdrawn, creative role that Bellamy and before him Beardsley did so well for us. Personally, I don't think he's got the ball control or the football intelligence to do it that well. I like him, but I see him as a finisher like Owen, and Roeder may need to show some courage to choose between the two.

Arguing about who's going to take free kicks, even more than penalties, is something that you see fairly often in football, and it always strikes me as strange. Unlike in sports like Rugby or Cricket, where the Captain is supposed to make quite a number of decisions on the pitch, the captain at football has a much more limited role. Last night, if the decision hadn't been made before by the manager, you'd expect the Captain to have the final word. I don't think you should just leave it for the two players to sort out. Footballers have egos, and someone who's eager to get his name on the scoresheet isn't going to be the best person to judge who should take the kick.

Agreed. It's something I mentioned on the Post-Match thread. There's no reason at all for players arguing or negotiating about it on the pitch. If Martins isn't the best penalty-taker (and I don't think he is) then that's that.

Nonsense. You want your goalscoring centre-forwrds to be greedy for crying out loud! I think it's great to see him so desperate to get his name on the scoresheet. It's not 'just' to get his name on the scoresheet - it's not 'just' that. He's the number 9 centre-forward and he is desperate to be top goalscorer, and justfiy his price tag - and so he should do. I'm fecking glad Shearer was greedy... Agree (Yorkie-Geordie) Shearer wasn't greedy. He was the designated penalty-taker, and was good at it. Solano was given the job for a reason. Someone trying to take over the job during the game just reminded me of a bunch of a kids. If Martins wants to take the pens, he needs to earn the right. For what it's worth, if my life depended on it, I'd far rather it was Nobby taking the kick than Oba.

I thought Martins had a poor game. He's still got a lot to learn about his decision-making, and often looked a bit greedy. The penalty should have been taken by Solano. Who takes penalties should be decided before the game by the manager, and it feels a bit amateurish for a striker to be pleading to take one just to get his name on the scoresheet.

Difficult to really assess individual performances because the opposition was so weak. It was good to see Duff going past people but it all looked very easy. Likewise Bramble at the back, who won everything without looking like he was having to battle. A bit frustrating that our passing wasn't a bit better, because we could have got more.

Definitely not. The weaknesses in his game - lack of pace, lack of variety in passing, one-footed, inability to go past his man - have become more and more exposed over the last few seasons. Soon, the Americans are going to be wondering what on earth the fuss is about. The other problem about Beckham which I think led to his being dropped by McClaren is his inability or unwillingness to adjust to the players around him, and team instructions. For England he wanted to be a playmaker down the middle. It was tried and it didn't work. Then when he was pushed back out to the wing, he still wanted to be a playmaker, hanging back, playing long passes rather than getting on the end of passes further forward. It completely messed up the balance and fluency of the side.

He looks like a great talent, with both pace and good close control. Having said that, I've noticed that he has the usual English impulse to try to go past his man at every opportunity, whereas Arsenal of course have a continental style where they tend to try to pass their way through. It'll be interesting to see how he adjusts. But somewhere, some time, this lad is really going to hit it big.

I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned Adebayor, who I think has been tremendous this season, a real find.

In order, and restricting to centre backs - Terry Gallas Ferdinand Vidic Carvalho Terry may not be the best in possession, but his game is ideally suited to the Premiership. His ability to get on the end of crosses at both ends, and time last ditch tackles, makes him stand out.

Rooney better than Henry? Johnson better than Martins? Yes to both. Rooney I rate very highly as already the most complete striker. He's got skill, pace, strength and a football brain, whereas with all the others, good as they are, you can identify some weakness. Doesn't Henry have all of those plus more? Is Rooney a better goalscorer than Henry? Faster? More consistent? That's why I think people are over rating Rooney. Yeah he's a great talent, but he's still got a bit to go to match the likes of Henry. Well there's not a lot in it. Henry is faster, and technically better, although you couldn't say that pace or skill are problem areas for Rooney. My reservation with Henry is that he's not a physical player who's going to do much tackling back, or win many difficult challenges in the air. You won't see him battling with defenders to get on the end of many chances in the six yard box. He plays to maximise his abilities, and the Arsenal team fit around him. When he plays for France, and he has to fit into another pattern, he doesn't look that comfortable. Rooney, on the other hand, doesn't have a significant weakness that I can see, and can make the most of any situation that arises on the field. So for me, he edges it.

Rooney better than Henry? Johnson better than Martins? I'm looking at this thinking: in order of what? Overall effectiveness, I suppose. Who I'd most like to see play for the Toon. It's all a bit artificial, because they each offer a different package.

Rooney better than Henry? Johnson better than Martins? Yes to both. Rooney I rate very highly as already the most complete striker. He's got skill, pace, strength and a football brain, whereas with all the others, good as they are, you can identify some weakness. Johnson I think is under-rated, and a major reason why Everton are doing well. Martins is dangerous, but is still a bit raw, and needs to improve technically on the ball, and in his reading of the game.

In order - Rooney Drogba Henry Bellamy Kuyt Adebayor Johnson Saha Anelka Martins

A Chelsea style 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 - ..............Given Solano Onyewu Bramble Duff ........Parker...Butt....Emre ............Dyer.....Milner .................Martins Subs - Harper, Taylor, Owen, Shola, Babayaro It's nice that it's actually quite a difficult choice. It might be better to put Taylor at RB and switch Solano to replace either Butt or Parker. And no, I don't think Owen and Martins will make a good combination. They both need to play as the more advanced forward.

I think we're actually capable of winning all five, but football isn't like that of course. I don't think Charlton or Man City have got anything to hurt us with. Sheff U we're now strong enough not to be intimidated by. Boro and Wigan will be close, but they'll struggle to handle the pace of Martins and Dyer. So I say four wins and a draw. All depends on the defence, because we can open the oppostion up. If the back four play like they did in the second half on Saturday, it'll take a good side to beat us.

Well like you I'd question one aspect of Roeder's selection, although you'd have to say the decision came off. He's clearly not confident about Solano defensively, and it may have been better to play him at full back, keep Duff and Milner in their positions, and drop one of Taylor, Onyewu and Bramble. I assume he doesn't want to do that because he's worried about our lack of aerial power. Or maybe he's bottling it, I don't know. Having said that, I can't understand why you're being so negative about the game as a whole. We beat a good side, and though we rode our luck, there were periods when we more than matched them. This is Liverpool we're talking about. Babayaro terrible? I think you saw the performance that you were expecting to see, not the one he actually gave.

This was the one situation that Curbs didn't really want on his return. I have a feeling they still have time and it will go to the wire. Certainly many good players in the side. No question there's some good players there, but I can't see where they're going to get the goals from. I think the effort is there now, but I can't see Harewood and Zamora pulling them out.

It really looked in the interview that Curbishley had lost belief that West Ham can stay up. I don't think that labelling games as 'must win' particularly helps the players either.