Neil

Gone purely with instinct on this occasion: Maccabi Haifa v Juventus APOEL Nicosia v Porto Standard Liege v Olympiakos E2.50 returns about £38.

Pretty difficult comparison considering they play in different positions?

Is this the same Nicky Butt who chipped Tim Howard from 25 yards in that 3-2 game 2/3 seasons ago?

Just got back from the pub and was quietly impressed. Mainly because that's another game that appeared to be fairly even, that you've got 3 points from. Ratings (probably got some inaccuracies in here, oh well): Harper 7.5 - Did what he needed to do. That late save was good but I'd hardly call it top-drawer. The header was near enough straight at him, and I'd expect most keepers to save that. But yeah, solid performance. Simpson 6 - Made some baffling decisions at times and looked increasingly nervy as the game went on. Kadar 7 - impressive from someone who hasn't played much. Colo 7 - on the whole, fairly solid. Was tempted to upgrade it to a 9 purely for that first half surge forward. Enrique 8 - whilst he didn't do a lot that was amazing, his performance showed once more he's ahead of this league. Butt 6 - didn't do too much damage apart from a decent attempt at a through ball to a Sheff Utd striker in the first half. Smith 6 - same, was fairly anonymous. Jonas 5 - pretty shite. Nolan 6.5 - played decent enough, sometimes some good play, holding up the play and keeping possession, other times gifted possession. Carroll 8 - tireless shift and enough to merit my MoM award - kept harassing their defenders. Only criticism was he started tiring, unsurprisingly, towards the end (like most of the team). Ranger 6.5 - did what he could in the time available. Harewood 6 - same. I could see the logic behind Hughton sticking 2 strikers on in order to try and push the play further up the field, and to give some added aerial cover for defending set pieces. In the 20 or so minutes where you took the time to consider the passes you were making, and kept it simple, you were on top. Otherwise it was periods of Sheff Utd going forward divided by periods of crap.

2-1.

Agreed, Babatunde. The argument seems to be though that he was never that good in the first place. Relative to that Bolton side though, he was hugely important, yes.

Forgotten where it is but there's an article about how the Everton Rooney was more feared than the current version. Makes for interesting reading.

2-2.

Bar Newcastle United, who is your favourite team? Everton. Which team do you hate the most? Liverpool. Who is your favourite player? Arteta, and many more. Which player do you have the most hatred for? Jamie Carragher, Michael Brown, and many more.

I rate Modric, but I wouldn't call him top class in this divison until he's shown consistently top class form.

like last thursday Aye, loved every minute. Also; David Beckham.

Think it might have been said already - a one-sided game where a team absolutely annhiliates the other.

Is that Inter's brilliance, or showing up the lack of quality in the league?

Absolute cracker.

As a slight aside, who do people think are going down? I'm sticking with Hull, Burnley and Wolves. Hull because they're awful, Burnley because I think they'll hit a bad patch sooner or later at home, and won't win for a while. The last place is close between Wolves, Birmingham and Portsmouth. I just think Wolves will be the ones who play well but don't get the results they need. Similar to Birmingham perhaps.

Who's this Ronaldo character? Ive only been watching the Premier League since this August you see. The inverse of Rooney. He can also clone himself, impressively.

Fixed. I wouldn't even say them, Blackburn who in their last few games have gone behind and in no way attempted to attack and take chances against opposition. The Premier league, may have some of the worlds best players, but it's not a strong league in terms of depth. On one hand, everyone merits their place in the league (staying up or getting promoted), but on paper it is depressing to see some of the teams who inhabit the table. Good example re: Blackburn.

Gerrard Rooney Gerrard Ronaldo Ronaldo Ronaldo Ronaldo Drogbarr Torres Osman + a goalie to go up front (Keefaz's choice).

Fixed.

Like any other best XI concept, it raises the question of whether we're looking for a team that would work formation-wise, and players that complement each other etc.... or 11 really good players.

The speed at which Torres can create something and execute it gives him the edge.

Everton > Inter.

Haha, nice job. Probably already mentioned but it's worth repeating. He thinks he'll be in charge of Hull next year, when they're in the Premiership. Not sure what's worse: the bit about still being their manager, still being in the Premiership, or the ludicrous claim that he actually thinks.

Bristol City v Sheff Wed MK Dons v Bristol Rovers Chesterfield v Barnet £4 pays £25.72. Leeds v Yeovil Leyton Orient v Southampton Dag & Red v Port Vale £2 pays £7.94. Man Utd v Blackburn Dag & Red v Port Vale Stoke v Wolves Stockport v Norwich Preston v Crystal Palace Wycombe v Walsall Portsmouth v Wigan 50p pays £45.34.

Genuine question: did Cox do much before that amazing season for Swindon last year?