Segun Oluwaniyi

Gouffran is actually worse outwide in matches where we won't see the ball very much because he doesn't really understand how to threaten from deep or run at a full back. He is fine playing wide when we are on top and he is able to show his quality on the ball and ghost into scoring positions. With this team, I don't really correlate one performance with another. We should still win this match, imo. I think we will achieve a surprisingly comfortable victory here before capitulating in the net match.

I know he was withdrawn, but he wasn't our worst centreback tonight. Colo looked scared to even approach Lukaku. It was an embarrassing performance from him. Between him and Krul, the third goal (the one that killed the game and rendered our obligatory second half surge meaningless) was some of the worst defending I have ever seen in our shirt. Although Mbiwa's backing off for the second was ridiculous, it least it required the opposing player to show skill to score.

How many times during the last two seasons of this man's tenure have we come out for a half look confused, scared, and completely lacking a plan? Tonight was the same as Manchester City. We were lost and looked likely to concede from the first minute of the match. I am not even exaggerating this. In both matches we nearly conceded within one minute and managed to finally concede within five. How often do you see this happen at this level? How many games have we played well for a half only to capitulate in the same scared manner? The players seem to like him anyway. I feel like he would have been sacked if we hadn't fought back in that second half. Much more so than after Liverpool or Sunderland. Maybe they just have some personal pride. I really don't understand how it has gotten to this point.

He's been very fit and available his whole career with the exception of the nearly career-ending heart ailment. Yeah, I don't know what to make of those comments, to be honest with you. He missed the Euros and had problems with with his groin/thigh throughout most of the the first half of last season, but he has still managed 30+ appearances for most every season of his career thus far. Maybe he is simply prone to muscle injuries.

He's been very fit and available his whole career with the exception of the nearly career-ending heart ailment.

Anelka and Kalou (a stretch, I know) are both strikers. They were simply deployed in different roles.

Not watching the game, is this s*** true? Yes, he's playing Moses centrally and Henderson wide. I don't understand why.

What is Moses supposed to be doing in this match formation? I've been following him all game and he just seems to be running around the middle of pitch doing....something.

He's good, man. At..? He's quite strong (for a footballer anyway) and relatively quick I suppose, but so is Kayode Odejayi.

Are people serious with this nonsense about the team being in 16th. If we win tomorrow we will be joint 6th at worst. It is six games into the season and we have played five,which is less than every other team. Have a beverage. Calm down. Every season people look at the fixtures and want to hurt themselves. Everyone else will play the same teams. Let things happen first.

The difference between Altidore and Anichebe is what?

What did he say? He said that Torres scratch had no place in football, it was as bad as the Suarez bite and if it was Suarez people would be calling for another 8 games ban etc.. but the other pundits were all "Really!?" and just seemed a bit too scared to actually commit to an opinion. It is nowhere near as bad.How can you compare a scratch, that is probably more a badly executed slap when not looked at in slow motion to what Suarez has done twice? I have been scratched or slapped a fair number of times in my life, but if anyone ever intentionally and forcefully bit me on the neck or shoulder, they would now be dead and I would be imprisoned or living the life of a fugitive.

Absolutely, and it's been the case for at least a couple of years with them. The fans won't like him saying it though. 30 million pounds is more than enough to buy a world class player, especially when you are a club of Manchester United stature. This is what Hazard cost. This is more than the price of Mata. Isco could have been acquired for this price. You could have three copies of Aubameyang for this. Gotze was also purchased for a similar amount. You cannot spend that amount on Fellaini and then complain that the team lacks world class talent on month later.

Russia is ranked higher than England, was in the semifinals of Euro 2008, has one of the better leagues in the world, and has a deep history of success dating back to the CCCP. If we are limiting ourselves to places that are more of a hotbed than Russia, not many places will be hosting. In what way is Qatar not civilised? I'm not just talking about the national team and their current ranking. Russian football in general ranks nowhere. The premier league, serie a, la liga... all followed globally. Even the Dutch league is on tv if you fancy looking for it. No one outside of Russia gives half a f*** about the Russian league or Russian players. So the World Cup should only be hosted in 4-5 Western European countries along with Argentina and Brasil, when 80-90 percent of the countries in the world love and cherish the game? The Russian league is either the fifth or six (depending on how you rate France) league in Europe and one of the ten most highly competitive championships in the world, fwiw. A hell of a lot better than the Netherlands anyway. You're confusing "rich" with "civilized." I'm not using the "uncivilized" in the colonial Brit sense, just good old fashioned, classic definition. A country with that much discrimination against homosexuals, women, other religions, the non-religious, using impoverished migrant workers as slave labor, isn't a civilized country. You might be ok with it, but I'm not. I doubt you'd sit on the fence if someone you met in a bar was being an abusive, homophobic, dip s***. Why is it any different when it's a culture and not an individual? Call it what it is. Europe was uncivilised 40 years ago? Qatar is changing anyway and will have been altered significantly by 2022 (or at least they will hide their transgressions in a better manner). They enjoy foreign money too much for them to allow things like these to keep hitting the world press.

Because referees rightly don't want to have an overt effect on important and emotional football matches unless there is behaviour that is far above the norm. If he does it one more time he will go, I am sure.

It just happened in the Atletico-Real Madrid match. The entire "player goes down from minor contact , and the opposing team plays the ball in extremely tentative and confused manner for an entire minute while the crowd gets increasingly agitated until the referee finally blows" routine. It is ridiculous. can't be that natural when it doesn't happen in most other sports. Your sport and...the NFL are the only two I can think of that haven't taken steps to curb it. NBA players can't even look at a ref without getting punished, and MLB refs are so untouchable that they're the most power mad fuckwits on the face of the planet. Surely there is a balance between the lawlessness of football and the totalitarian regime Stern has imposed on the NBA.

This was my father's favourite club around 1998-2000 (age 8-10) when I was just beginning to follow the club game rather than just the national team. I have stuck with them since this time. What I did not realise at the time was that my father have moved on to Newcastle from Wolves and then Liverpool. He supports Chelsea now . I just don't understand how someone who is so passionate about his teams can switch every decade or so.

Unless people are flying in with elbows, is there ever any reason to give a player a second yellow because he competed for a header? It is a perfectly legitimate and common footballing motion. The commentators was acting as though two players colliding in the air was an automatic yellow card and whoever was at fault would have to be sent off.

I am quite sure that the laws in most every country in the world criminalise rape, and that Qatar is no different. Spousal rape is different, but actual street rape is banned everywhere.

Have I said these things?My opinion bears no policy on the government of Qatar, and I would seriously doubt that the written laws of this nation say that rape victims should be incarcerated in any case. I would assume that people base this off of isolated incidents that have been given to the media as always. Disprove my assumption if you feel the need. To say the country is not civilized is insulting and a joke. Their people live very well, there is little crime and there is little disorder. Uncivilised is a very ugly term and should be reserved for failed states such as Nigeria.

I forgot that rules, laws, and practices the West disagrees with=an uncivilised nation. Qatar is a fully industrialised and extremely organised nation with a very high standard of living for its people and a very educated populace.

Russia is ranked higher than England, was in the semifinals of Euro 2008, has one of the better leagues in the world, and has a deep history of success dating back to the CCCP. If we are limiting ourselves to places that are more of a hotbed than Russia, not many places will be hosting. In what way is Qatar not civilised?

So his 26 goals and 18 assists in 42 games for Brazil don't count? Besides he's been consistently productive at club level his entire career. And yes it is outrageous to say Bale is a better footballer... Neymar is a better passer, more skillful, better technique, more intelligent, better vision, better close control etc etc i could go on and on really. You don't really need to prove anything or have stats to show whether you are a better footballer or not.... your ability on the pitch determines that and besides Neymar has been instrumental in beating some of the best national sides in the world.... but apparently it doesn't count because he's not PROVEN. I don't care what Bale has done in England.... Neymar has been consistently brilliant at international level you know the highest level there is? Also if you really want to go through this proven crap.... Neymar currently is joint top creator in Europe this season with Fabregas and only Ozil has assisted more goals in 2013. Eighty percent of Neymar's goals at international level have come in friendlies. This is a symptom of circumstance and not the fault of Neymar, but I will not be told that what someone produces in money-grabbing friendlies against the likes of China and Iraq has an influence on their standing in the football world. Even the ones against top teams I care little about, Ikechukwu Uche scored a double against Argentina, so what? I just cannot believe that you "do not care what Bale has done in England", but will happily take noncompetitive football as scripture in the gospel of Neymar. The Confederations Cup was fantastic and he showed well in this, but it is only six matches in one of the more lightly regarded international tournaments. This is like saying Gareth Bale is the world's best in 2011 because of one hattrick against Inter Milan. The Brazilian league is a much weaker championship than the Premier League, which for all its faults is one of the most well funded and competitive championships in the world. This is simply a reality. Despite this, Bale has been just as productive as Neymar and just as influential to his sides. Neymar has more raw ability, plays the game in a more beautiful and intelligent way, and definitely can pass him in the future, but Bale has been a remarkably effective player. People enjoy dismissing his accomplishments for some reason I don't understand.

Neymar has never had a period of consistent production in his career that matches what Bale accomplished the past two seasons. It is not outrageous to think Bale is the better footballer. Neymar clearly has the higher ceiling of ability between the two, but we must observe what he accomplishes in one of Europe's top leagues and at the World Cup before anointing him.

We still have a long way to go before Brazil and there are some great matches in qualification to look forward to. All five African playoff ties should be highly interesting, with Egypt-Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire-Senegal being the most hyped. As far as Nigeria, we should handle Ethiopia, but the prospect of the games still has me shaking. Jordan vs. Ecuador or Uruguay should be more interesting than people believe. There is still much to be decided in Europe. England is still in a perilous position along with Portugal, the much hyped Belgian and Russian sides have a chance to finally secure a WC spot and there are some very intriguing sides who look destined for the playoffs.