Segun Oluwaniyi

I arrived home a bit later than anticipated and switched this match on just in time to see Dzeko easily score the third. Turned it off, and don't need to know anything else about the match. Every match at the Etihad is the same. On to Villa.

My opinion of him is fairly similar. Anita isn't necessarily a poor player and he can look fairly good in the right circumstances, but also isn't a top talent, doesn't have the attributes to exert major influence on the match, and has never been suited to NUFC's "way of playing. He should be sold for the betterment of both parties.

No idea how that Sanogo shot wasn't a goal.

Second straight offside goal for Everton, though both marginal. Gervinho back with his medal and opens up scoring for Roma against Feyenoord.

It is a bit ridiculous that Everton are behind Newcastle and competing with the likes of Palace and West Brom, just looking at the personnel they have, especially in forward positions.

Didn't Colback play as a fullback quite a few times for Sunderland as well?

They started out decently tbf, didn't let Real Madrid do much, but as the game progressed they just got worse and worse. I think their performance has generally been fine. The game changed essentially because Matip lost concentration for a few seconds. Prince Boateng has been embarrassing, though. He has not contributed one positive thing to the match.

Champions League teams are also not halfway through, tbf. The only difference is the round of 32. If Chelsea face any punishment for a few of their fans acting foolishly on a metro not connected to Parc des Princes in any way, they would have grounds for a lawsuit given the lack of punishment for sides in much more severe instances that occurred at their stadia. There is really little a club can do to control supporters away from official club events. They are not parents or guardians.

PSG have been impressive since the Chelsea goal. Much more dynamic than their usual dull league matches.

Aguero has started the last five matches and they have won once. I don't consider Bony a serious upgrade over Dzeko. The Toure factor is obvious as he is essential to their style of play. Honestly, I believe they will continue to sputter along unconvincingly.

Manchester City have been fairly poor for quite a while now. The last time MUFC kept a clean sheet in any competition was before Christmas, and they were fortunate to draw at home to Hull. Even their last victory against Stoke was unconvincing. Moses and Arnautovic were terrorising them first half and Milner should have been sent off, imo. The only reason they are even a thought in this title race is the consistent performances and sheer will of a few genuine world class players. I would pick 18 Premiership clubs to give them a serious challenge on Saturday. NUFC is the other club. This is at Etihad, so 4/5-0 is likely.

What are people expecting anyway? "This Carver person, who has a large degree of direct control over my immediate future, is an incompetent that should be sacrificed for the betterment of NUFC." This is just not going to happen. Krul is so attached to the club that he will want to leave at any chance of a starting position for a bigger club. Like anyone with common sense, he is self-interested. Pardew and Carver have also overseen his emergence during one of the most important spells of his career, you may underestimate his affection towards them. Anyway, outside of the negative substitutions in a winnable fixture at Selhurst, I don't see too much to complain about in the last three matches. My expectations are low under this management anyway, and my main annoyance at this moment is the complete lack of appropriate personnel at the back.

His career has been downhill since he made that ridiculous move to Monaco when he was at the peak of his career, which was his agent's doing. He's going to be remembered for nothing in the game. You don't think his decline is more to do with tearing his knee about a year ago (generally considered a injury that takes a year to fully recover) rather than a club he played less than 20 matches for with a 1 in 2 record?

Surely intelligence is that last part of your game to develop, though? Like most young forward talents, he is selfish and really only sees the pitch in terms of what he can do once he gets the ball. Doesn't understand the benefits of simply keeping defenders occupied, making runs to confuse/overload the defense and open up spaces. I understand this, firstly I believe he will learn as part of his footballing education and secondly I don't believe he is as underdeveloped as the two of you make out. The physicality and and finishing abilities are already exceptional. I was surprised Mourinho would not want to work with him, especially given the effect we have seen him have on someone like Hazard in only 20 months or so. I believe the problem is his attitude; his continual poor choices in the media support the theory. Do not forget he mentioned using Everton as a showcase for greater things when he joined. Willian sacrifices for the team and is a consistent starter on a the likely champions as a result. The role he has probably is not what he envisioned, but he performs admirably.

I wondered about that, the e is supposed to be sounded right? Yes, it should sound similar to "E-Bay". He was born in London, so I am sure they have simply Anglicised the name, but it still annoys me when I hear it.

Jordon Ibe for pronouncing his name incorrectly.

He scored 32 Premiership goals at ages 19 and 20, but didn't impress you? At 21, Drogba was failing to make an impact in Ligue 2. It is not surprising that he is struggling in this Everton side with the way they have been playing this season.

He didn't buy him. There was an entire article about how he had never seen him play when they signed him. I'm happy that he is doing fairly well recently because he is a decent player who works hard, but any club that makes Brown Ideye its record signing needs to reevaluate their transfer policy because something is wrong.

Like all intermediaries, agents perform tasks that the players/clients do not have the knowledge, time, or preparation for. The vast majority of players have no interest in handling the business the agents does for them and most are not capable anyway. It is unlikely that a negotiation between highly trained and profit-oriented club management and a player with no experience in the matter will go well. Agents are like banks, they are essential in the current system, but they need to be more closely regulated in their behaviour and duly punished for nefarious dealings because currently they have too much power and too much scope for moral hazard (i.e. the expensive, yet risky moves you covered). Football and sport in general would benefit from better oversight and organisation of agents.

He seems a decent player who just has a bad attitude and continually makes poor career choices. I don't believe he is rubbish or anything.

I see that Lassana Diarra is apparently going to sign with West Ham on a free transfer after having been unattached since August. He has had a very odd career. He has been at so many big clubs, but it has never actually worked out for him, except for maybe that one FA CUP winning season at Portsmouth after which he was inevitably sold.

For that reason, they were my favourite club to use back in the halycon days of landing in US for the first time and playing FIFA 06 every second of the day.

So less than Anita? Interesting I rate Abeid and he would be my first choice BUT would those that point to Anita's low number of passes as evidence of him hiding say Abeid hides in matches? There is some sample size bias at play there. Abeid has only started one home match all season, and this was against Liverpool. Probably with Anita as well, who is usually the first player substituted in every match. This is highly irrelevant.

Every 'player thread' on every football forum is exactly this way. As is talking about sport with the people around you. Just the nature of it. Just watching the games though, it is obvious Anita is nowhere as influential as he needs to be on the pitch. The stats support it, too. Whether that is because of his own failings or tactical ones from his manager, it really needs to change.

Not particularly. I liked them years ago because they have a beautiful crest and play in Africa. Nothing better to put at the moment.