Gunner 44 - 1. Race between Man U and Chelsea will come down to the wire. Arsenal might play the biggest part in deciding who gets to lift that title with that game just before Chelsea faces Man U.

2. Race for Player of the Year will come down to what Drogba and C. Ronaldo do in these last games. Right now Ronaldo has the upper hand.

3. Arsenal better wake up or they will be competing for 4th with The Coldspurs again, who will finish 5 above Bolton.

4. Relegation battle might also come down to the last games also. Charlton have a chance of surviving but I don's see West Ham surviving.

What do you think of these 4 issues?

Bobby –1. It is going to come down to more than Chelsea beating or losing to Arsenal. Although the gap is currently six points United have a much better goal difference which is the equivalent of an extra point. For the Arsenal game to mean something then United has to drop points somewhere.

2. Ronaldo gets my vote at the moment.

3. Arsenal cannot afford to be complacent but I cannot see them finishing lower than fourth. They have Bolton and Spurs coming up on April 14 and 21.

4. I agree, it looks as if West Ham have dug to deep a hole. All they can do is to focus on getting some points and hope somehow that the other results go their way.

Foxcube - I find the BBC (Lineker)/FA row fascinating. Would you add some comments? Plus what do you think of the new deal?

Bobby – 1. As someone wrote – only the FA can take a good story (a record TV deal) and turn it into a bad story. I think the BBC is trying to save face while the FA should have just said nothing. As for the new deal it only applies to the UK so in the short term it won’t affect us on this side of the pond.

oldcoach - Is it just me or do others view England's quest for a second WC as the greatest, longest running soap opera in sports? I know that Scotland must be enjoying it. Fergie defended McClaren but then added he wished they were playing Scotland next. From an objective point of view, do you think McClaren has what it takes? If not, would you run off McClaren now and give it to Venables for the Estonia game?

Should Man U be concerned about Rooney's form?

Bobby – Scotland has nothing to enjoy unfortunately. Not qualifying for the knock out stage of the World Cup in 8 attempts is an atrocious record. The FA will not get rid of McClaren because it would call into question their collective judgment to an even greater degree than it is at the moment. I thought at the time McClaren was a bad choice and that opinion remains. If the FA wanted to appoint Venables they could have done it on a couple of occasions since he resigned in 1996 but his past is still a factor. If United and Rooney were struggling then I think it would be a worry but as it is they are still getting good results and Rooney is bound to come good.

AlexMorph - Who is 1. your pick, 2. who you think will win PFA young player of the year. At first I might have thought Ces was a shoe in, except for a couple things. First, I thought it was a 21- award when infect it's 23-. Second, in yesterday's game it was said that Cesc has 0 goals in 56 goal attempts, a rather poor return for an offensive midfielder. His contribution in assists and overall play is not to be denied, but his competition is greater than it seems.......Martins, Rooney, Doyle, even Kalou for what little he plays, all having pretty big impacts on their teams this year.

Bobby – You have not included Ronaldo as an option. If he doesn’t win the Player of the Year he could still win the Young Player of the Year Award. If he doesn’t win the big one then he will get the Young Player, if he does then Fabregas will likely win. 

Henry 14 – Q1 Do you know how many goals Baptista score from open play from his 38 in 50 appearances, l would want to believe 95% were set plays?
Q2 - Now that Tevez seems to have settled in the Prem do you change your mind to see one of the big four going for him
Q3 - l am a big Lampard fan, l feel for the past three season he has been the outstanding midfielder in the Prem bar none, and still feel this season as no exception how would you solve the Gerrard Lampard conundrum

Q4 - l saw that you are showing UEFA cup why don't you do the same with CL

Q5 - As an Arsenal fan l am worried about Tottenham's form and since we have to go to the lane do you see them nicking fourth place

Bobby – Q1, I can’t say for sure but I don’t remember seeing an inordinate number of his goals for Sevilla coming from free kicks or penalties.
Q2 – No.
Q3 – If the feeling is that they can’t play together then one of them just has to be dropped. It is pointless simply hoping that they will gel. If you go back to the days of Alf Ramsey then you can find numerous examples of players who were regarded as better players being overlooked in favour of lesser players because the coach believed that it was more important for a player to fit into the team.  If it was me I would be playing Gerrard and leaving Lampard on the bench.
Q4 – ESPN hold the English language rights in North America.
Q5 – I don’t think Arsenal will finish lower than 4th and 3rd is still a very real possibility.

Foxcube - Regarding the booing fans, I don't think there is anything wrong with booing itself since I believe fans are bigger than clubs and teams and players so they are entitled to their actions. Have the England fans not suffered enough?

Bobby – McIlvanney’s piece was not about fans booing it was about obscene behaviour. 

RINGO - Do you think the rise of Gretna FC, from the English northern league to the SPL (almost), is the greatest footballing fairytale?

Bobby – It is a great story but you also have to place it into a context. It is doubtful if Gretna would have achieved what they have so far if it was not for the largesse of multi-millionaire philanthropist Brooks Mileson – the "Roman Abramovich of the Borders". Wigan is also a great story but would they have done it without Dave Whelan and his investment? That's why I think Wimbledon takes pride of place. Their run to the FA Cup Final and win over Liverpool should really be made into a movie but I am not sure who would play the part of Vinnie Jones!

atleti_female - I wonder why the English media don't rate Totti. Any ideas anyone?

Bobby – Although Serie A was shown for a number of years in the UK it only attracted a niche viewership. I think it is simply a case that many of his UK critics have never taken the time to watch him.  I have mates back home that have hardly see hm play.

Gongatore - How silly is it that people are calling for Wenger's head? Why would he leave Arsenal? IMHO he has done a fantastic job (this year, they have slipped, it happens to the best sides) and arguably one of the architects of why the EPL has become an exciting league.

How do you rate Mexes? Panucci? Taddei?

Bobby – Mexes - the French Rio Ferdinand. Panucci - the Italian Philip Neville. I should probably add that Mexes obviously has a lot of talent but he seems short on application. I can’t really explain my opinion of Panucci.

I like watching Taddei. He has been a great acquisition for Roma over the last couple of seasons.

The FA Cup is not just one of the most renowned sporting trophies in the world but also of the most copied in terms of format. Since the first tournament in 1871-72 the knock out format has become one of the most recognized systems for deciding sporting champions. However, the competition did not get off to the most au####ious of starts. In the book “The FA Cup The Complete Story” by Guy Lloyd and Nick Holt the first competition is described as a shambles. There were numerous walkovers with Scottish club Queen’s Park making it all the way to the semi final without kicking a ball. After drawing the semi final 0-0 Queen’s Park had to withdraw as they couldn’t cover the cost of the replay against Wanderers. Wanderers went on to beat Royal Engineers 1-0 in the final.

Other oddities from the first final include:

• Players were distinguished by their cap or garters rather than by their jerseys.
• Throw-ins were taken one-handed.
• The only field markings were the touchlines.
• Teams changed ends each time a goal was scored.

Despite the problematic start the FA Cup prospered until the arrival of the Premiership in the early 1990’s. Since then the glamour of the event has been dealt numerous blows, often from the Premiership clubs treating it as an inconvenience – unless of course they had nothing better to play for!

However, anyone who saw last seasons FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham United can vouch for the fact that there is life in the old competition yet - and not only in the late stages of the competition. It is the magnitude of the competition and the “David vs. Goliath” contests that the random draw routinely throws-up that is the real magic.

Normally, it is not until the first weekend in January when the big teams enter the competition that the FA Cup garners broad based coverage. But with nearly 700 entered into the 2006/07 FA Cup the competition actually gets underway this Saturday with the Extra Preliminary Round. Any club affiliated to the Football Association and that meets a basic standard of “stadium” facilities and of play can enter. After the Extra Preliminary round there is the Preliminary Round, then four Qualifying Rounds, six Rounds (Premiership and Championship teams join in Round 3) and finishing with semi finals and the final. Teams are generally given byes depending on their league position. The Extra Preliminary Round involves an 258 clubs. I have picked the tie between Jarrow Roofing Boldon Community Association and Billingham Synthonia as the start of the road to Wembley \ Millenium Stadium. We will follow the winner of this game until they lose and then follow whoever beats them until they lose…or win the FA Cup.

You can read more about Jarrow – founded 1987 – at their website highlighted above.

Billingham Synthonia has a more extensive history having been formed in 1923 but I could not find a dedicated website.  According to a wiki entry - “Synthonia have at least two unique records, the only Football Club in Great Britain named after an agricultural fertilizer and the only Northern League side to play an entire season without conceding a home goal. Connected with ICI Billingham until 1994 when the ground was sold to new owners, the club shortened its name from Synthetic Ammonia, one of ICI’s main products. Synthonia’s second distinction came in the 1950-51 season when they played 13 home league games, winning 12 and drawing one, with a goal tally of 44 for and none against. This was achieved with Goalkeeper Harry Armstrong saving a last minute penalty in the final game of the season.”

Apparently the great Brian Clough was a former player in the 1950’s.

Both clubs play in the Arngrove Northern League Division 1 which is rated step 5/6 in the English pyramid system. The Northern League is touted as the second oldest football league in the world having been formed in 1889.

I also discovered that the company that sponsors the league – the Albany Group – is owned by none other than Brooks Mileson the owner of Gretna. Mileson has guaranteed sponsorship of the league through his lifetime and through his sons’ lifetime by way of a trust.

If anyone can shed anymore light on the two teams it would be appreciated.