JayFSR - Would you consider The Rep. of Ireland a minnow team? Do you think they will be able to make it through with Italy? I Think Roy Keane should coach them. That would get some results!

Bobby – No. One of my criteria (and it is just how I separate countries in my mind) is to be a top class minnow a country must never have reached the Euro Championships or World Cup Finals.

A country can regain some sort of minnow status by not playing in major finals for the last 20 or 30 years. As it is the Republic fail to meet either criterion. 

I cannot see Italy not finishing first but the runners up spot is definitely up for grabs. You may think Roy Keane should coach the team but I doubt Roy does and I really doubt that the FAI does. You will need the entire group that was around in 2002 to be put out to pasture before Roy Keane is considered. What’s more an international team is no job for a very young coach.

Getz76 - What do you think of Sir Alex Ferguson resting C. Ronaldo for an EPL fixture and then losing?

Bobby – Understandable – Ronaldo played two international games with qualification at stake and these games would come with added pressure. United was also playing a team close to the foot of the league with only a single win.

If you are going to ignore these circumstances then you are never going to come up with a justifiable reason to give the player a break and he will just burn out. Ferguson is looking at a picture that is bigger than one game.

Yrusodull - Fergie looks like he may be in it for his comments to officials at the weekend, but I think the officials should be doing the explaining! Over the last 2 weeks bad or missed calls have ruined and / or decided the outcome of several matches. (Scotland vs. Italy, Canada vs. S. Africa, Tottenham vs. West Ham, etc.) Why are the governing bodies not held accountable for this? With the technology available today, some consistency in the calibre of officiating should be obtainable. What can be done to rectify this blight on the beautiful game!

Bobby – I’m not sure how you jumped from a Fergie rant (about Bolton being overly physical) to the issue of bad or missed calls but no matter. In the debate over the use of technology the proponents fail to explain the logistics of how and when it will be used and the longer term impact it will have.

From my perspective technology supporters focus on one off incidents to buttress their case but fail to acknowledge that once the cat is out of the bag then it will subsequently become open season on calling for replays. There is no doubt in my mind that the reviewing of refereeing decisions by replay would eventually lead to a substantial change in the character and quality of the game.

The logical conclusion of refereeing-by-replays– and supported by human nature – will be for the referee to call everything and wait for a replay to change it. Tackle in the penalty area – the referee’s normal response will become to award a penalty and then call for a replay to prove or disprove.

That option is far more palatable than the other which would be to let play go on and have the possibility o####oal at the other end. Then the potential is call back a goal at one end and award a “retroactive” penalty for the first incident. I can see that one going down well at Old Trafford in a scoreless draw with minutes left and United being on the wrong end of the decision!!

However, the best argument against decision by replay is the number of times that a television replay still fails to bring agreement on whether or not the referee was correct. 

Technology pushers tend to live in a world where if you just replay an incident then everyone will agree on the call. There is little evidence to support that. There are colour commentators (especially in the US) who operate on the basis that their primary job in the absence of analysis is to critique the referee’s decisions courtesy of replay.

Many times the referee is correct and the colour commentator is wrong and even though they’ve had the benefit of slow motion and time to think about the decision.

Finally you referred to the Spurs – West Ham game. I felt that Mike Riley got both penalty calls correct – you don’t (I assume), so how would technology help? We disagree after seeing the same incidents slowed down many times.

Craigy_f – 1) Who would a winter break in the Premier league benefit most? Is it likely to happen?
2) Do you blame the odd dodgy referee for Scotland’s exit or perhaps their failure to get anything in Georgia?
2a) Money aside - would you hazard a guess as to why top English players aren't a sought after export.
3) Care to have a stab at the next England manager? What do you make of the process to pick a new manager so far, Barwick aided by Brooking with input from 'a number of PL managers'?
4) My first and second best moments of the football weekend were 7-1 and Juventus giving Palermo an utter hiding, what are yours?
5) Just let us know how we can put you in a foul mood so we can see some more of that lovely stuff you produced the other day

Bobby 1) The players you would think. I saw some stats a couple of years ago that claimed that Bundesliga players suffered fewer injuries after the winter break than Premiership players. In order for it to work properly the Premiership would have to cut down to 18 teams from 20. Otherwise the same number of games will have to be packed into a smaller window. I don’t think you will see a winter break in the Premiership.

2) I don’t blame the referee for Scotland’s failure. Going into the Georgia game I felt a win was needed – even a draw was not good enough. However, although it was a great effort the reality is that overall Italy and France have much better teams than Scotland.

3) The day before Martin O’Neill “declined” I suggested on the Team1040 radio program from Vancouver that I thought O’Neill would pass on the opportunity. It was a pure gut call. The problem is that after that my gut has taken a break and there are precious few other names that jump out at me.

I don’t think Capello will be offered the job; Louis Van Gaal – horrible media skills. I would be very shocked in Jose Mourinho was really interested let alone take the job. An interesting suggestion I read was Claudio Ranieri.

As for the process – I don’t think there is one. It sounds like another fly by the seat of your pants process. Barwick would give instill a great deal more confidence if he articulated a more formal process – even strike a three man advisory committee or something – and give timelines.

4) Dundee beating Hamilton Accies 1-0 to narrow the gap at the top of the Scottish First Division.

5) Good mood today – sorry.

amenina - 1. What has struck me about this is how huge this story is in the US and international football media. Do you think it'll be as huge if it were France/Germany/Italy/Spain who did not qualify? Somehow I think there wouldn't even be half as much coverage.

2. Do you agree with the following statements?
a. The EPL is the most watched league in the US; so naturally, many people support the England NT, 'cos they're familiar with all their players.
b. The British media is the most accessible (common language), so the US media report more on the England NT than other national teams.
c. Many US commentators are from Britain (you, Webster, Cohen at FSC, and a few folks at ESPN), so they talk more about the England NT 'cos that's what they're familiar with.
d. England is such a polarizing team (many love them, others can't stand them), and a "sexy" topic (Beckham, WAGs, all the business at the FA), that them failing is bigger news than many other teams succeeding. (kind of like the Yankees or Mets)

Bobby – 1. No there would not be as much coverage if France/Germany/Italy/Spain did not qualify.

2. a. Disagree – I would suggest that the Mexican league is the most watched league in the USA. I also disagree that you would support a country because you watch a domestic league. The might have a little bit more interest but “support” is too strong a term.

b. Part of the reason but there is much more to it than that. Political and economic ties for a start. Throw in US players playing in the league as well as well as players from a wide array of countries and it is difficult to find a part of the Premiership that someone can’t identify with.

c. I would suggest you have it the wrong way round. If there was more interest in the other domestic leagues then in all likelihood you would have commentators who are more representative of these leagues. In my case I’ve spent well over half my life and almost all my adult life in North America (and none of it in England) so I think your cause and effect is a bit suspect.

d. Who are the Yankees or Mets? Are they in the Conference?

Gregz - Q1. What’s up with Henry, he is really struggling in my opinion.
Q2. Tim Vickery seems to believe that Tevez may lose his place as first choice striker to Aguero for Argentina, any thoughts?

Bobby – 1. The season is only three months old. How is he struggling?

2. It’s strange that you should say that because I have never considered Tevez to be Argentina’s first choice striker. He wasn’t going into WC 2006 and certainly not during the tournament. Since then I have seen nothing to indicate that he was Argentina’s default choice to start up front. Aguero is going to become a fantastic player and from what I have seen he appears to be more adaptable to the style of the players – more so than Tevez.  

Redfan2000 - Looks like Alex McLeish just quit as Scotland manager Bobby, to take on Birmingham? Seems to me like a step down or is there more to this? What’s your take on this and who do you think will replace him?

Bobby – That is a big disappointment but understandable. International team management is not a career for younger managers more like a stepping stone to rebuild a career or to make a mark.

Either way a return to club management is normally the end result. As a Premiership team Birmingham can pay a lot more (a lot lot more) than Scotland can plus the position offers day-to-day involvement. (There again after picking up compensation payments for Walter Smith and Alex McLeish maybe the SFA will be in a position to pay more?) Plus it means Martin O’Neill and McLeish can again fight it out for city supremacy!

Who to replace him? Billy Davies will get a mention and probably has a shot at it – the name Graeme Souness will get press. I’ll throw in a couple of names and profiles that might fit – Jim Jeffries, George Burley and Bruce Rioch. Craig Levein at Dundee United will get a mention (although too young in my opinion) and Jimmy Calderwood at Aberdeen might be a good fit.

Sleeper000 – Do you think Modric is going anywhere in the winter or if Dinamo might keep him until the summer? Knowing how the Dinamo board functions, he's probably gone in the winter. Also, what club do you think he might end up at?

Bobby – I try as a rule to avoid comment on transfer speculation. Too many unknowns. One more caution, Daily Mail=Anything for a Headline. Also Daily Mail gets around 0.0005% of their transfer stories right.

RINGO - Have you been surprised by the results of the junior clubs on their first entry into the Scottish FA Cup? And when do you expect to see Tayport taking part?

Bobby - It has taken a long time for the juniors to be allowed into the Scottish Cup but I am not surprised at how well they did in the early stages of the Cup.

Only Linlithgow Rose is left and we have to wait until later this week to see who they draw next. However, from what I have been told there will be more than a few teams hoping to avoid Linlithgow in the next round.

The best run junior clubs have always been a step ahead of some of the teams in the lower reaches of the Scottish Football League – as have some non-league clubs. The decision to allow junior clubs entry into the full SFA Cup came a little too late for Tayport as last season they had a relatively poor season – the first in a long time. I’m confident that they will make it to the SFA Cup sometime soon and it might even encourage me to take a trip back for the game.

Tintagel - So, Bobby, just what was Benitez thinking of with his comments on the owners? How about another tack? It was a cry for help. Benitez's heavy workload increased when he restructured the Academy, and he took oversight responsibilities, and he still has not replaced Ayesteran. When you are overworked, you try to force the issues to shorten the time necessary to carry it out properly to make it fit your overly heavy schedule. Hicks and Gillett would be much farther ahead to get him help, i.e. a replacement for Ayesteran. I should be Rick Parry's job to sell this to the owners, so I hope that he is up to it, for Liverpool's sake.

Bobby - Interesting observation. Another possibility is that the real problem is between Benitez and Parry. I believe Benitez had a feud going with the Director of Football while at Valencia and perhaps something similar has erupted.

A bumper crop this week.

Ulsterson - I know you have been an ardent critic of the Glazers financial model used in the purchase United. As a United fan but not much of an economist I have tried, with marginal success, to follow your analysis and critique. I understand the concept of "bad debt" you have been warning against but I still don't see the upside, financially, for the Glazers if they don't keep the team competitive.

You have, since not long after or perhaps even before the takeover, come just short of predicting financial ruin leading to on field failure as resources for talent dwindle. As obviously smart business men, I cannot see the Glazers allowing the Team/product to suffer because of their financial scheme. Further, the purchases of late would indicate they do realize the necessity for success on the pitch for there to be success at the bank.

There is no question that their involvement in United is not based on a love of the team or even the sport itself and the debt situation does look dire on paper but could you please further explain any possible hustle we should be leery of? If you could, a "for example" of a possible scenario, in which they could make money at the expense of the team’s quality. Or, is it just a very risky gamble?

Bobby – You are right the Glazers have to keep the team competitive because the issue for them (at the moment) is a revenue shortfall rather than an expense problem. They bought the team believing that they could generate more and new revenue streams. The increase in revenue would then be used to pay down the large debt load.

The problem is where does the revenue come from and is it realistic to think it can be amount to the $100m or so in annual payments needed to pay the interest on the debt? Generally the revenue sources available to United fall into the following categories; ticket sales and hospitality, television and prize revenue domestic, television and prize revenue Europe, merchandising and sponsorship.

If you look back to when the Glazers borrowed to take the club over (it is more accurate description than bought the club) it would be fair to say that none of these revenue sources have dwindled and most have in fact increased. Prices and capacity have increased at Old Trafford; TV and prize money for the EPL up; Champions League is still producing; there was word that they got more for the AIG logo on the jersey than from the previous sponsor.

But even then they renegotiated the debt and reduced the interest payment at a cost of a longer term repayment schedule. Think in terms of your mortgage – it’s the kind of thing you do when you find that the monthly budget can’t be stretched far enough. 

So the plan/hope is that the team can continue to be successful (and tap into an ever increasing pool of Premiership and CL money) but that is a risky assumption on two levels and in terms of continued succeess one that Leeds made. (Although in the case of Leeds they had nothing else to fall back on. Leeds also got caught with assets/players bought at inflated prices whose value then plummeted as the impact of the Bosman ruling took affect.)

Ticket prices will continue to be a place that the Glazers will feel they can generate much more money – Carling Cup this season as a prime example – because the stadium is playing to capacity. Demand high – a chance to raise prices.

The tricky part kicks in when the revenue increases don’t meet the money needed to pay the interest on the debt. It is at that point that the temptation might be to cut costs and pray that the product isn’t impacted. To date there has been money spent on players but it seems doubtful that it has been anything close to the numbers that have been widely reported. The deals for Anderson and Nani seem to have been done with relatively low initial payments with more to follow if certain targets are hit. The Hargreaves transfer involved more money up front but the same concept.

The other risk is Ferguson and who takes over from him. The Glazer deal is structured around a timeline that far exceeds the number of years that Fergie has left. He may think he can go on forever but he is 66 at the end of December and the day will come. The likelihood of a seamless succession appears to me to be a hope rather than the certainty that the Glazers need.

When you add up the finances, the risks inherent in what appears to be the Glazers assumptions, as well as the general uncertainty and risk that is involved in any deal, it seems to me that for this to work it needs an incredible amount of luck.

There again, they could always sell the Tampa Bay Rowdies or United for that matter. There would be no shortage of buyers for either team. If United was to be sold then the fans should be looking for a philanthropist not a businessman. 

RINGO - Dundee, six points behind Hamilton (who the hell are Hamilton anyway?), and you don`t like to brag on your hometown, so here`s your chance.

Bobby – A bad loss to Hamilton a couple of weeks ago and a draw with Partick Thistle on Saturday only increased the gap at the top. Keep your eye on Hamilton Academical. They have a very aggressive youth policy under manager Billy Reid and it is beginning to pay off. You will see the bigger clubs starting to pick off some of their players next summer.

Hamilton plays Dundee United in the quarter-final of the CIS Cup on Wednesday and it will be a very interesting game. Craig Levein seems to have United cooking.

Dasayev - Interesting that on more than one occasion Jol pointed to the absence of Ledley King as a reason for Spurs' poor defense. Is there any truth in that? What is Tottenham's record with and without King over the past few seasons? How many goals do they concede per game with and without him? They also recently lost Davids, who seemed to set the tone for them when he played.

Bobby – The statistics show that Ledley King is very important to Spurs. I looked at Premiership records over the last two seasons with King in the side and without King.

In 2005/06 King played 26 matches and Spurs averaged 1.00 goal against per game. That happened to be the same as they averaged over the entire 38 game schedule. However, the points per game with King in the team were 1.846 per game and only 1.416 without him – the season average was 1.71. That means with Ledley King in the side Spurs were 30% more successful.

Last season the goals against with King in the team for 21 games were 1.29 goals against per game and points gained were 1.81. Without Ledley it was 1.59 goals per game and an average of 1.29 points gained per game. Averaged over the full schedule Spurs conceded on average 1.42 goals per game and gained 1.58 points per game.

The difference a fit King made last season – an incredible 39.8%.

Source - premiersoccerstats.com

Davids was a peripheral player for Spurs – even two seasons ago. Last season he started six games and Spurs lost 3, drew 1 and won 2. The season before he started 28 games and played in 8 or Spurs’ 9 losses. Average points with Davids starting were1.57. Average when he did not start 2.1. 

Craigy f – 1. What criteria do you use to choose a game of the week?
2. Do you think Ramos can turn Spurs around between now and January?
3. What result(S) surprised you this weekend?
4. Can you give your opinion on Benitez's personnel and tactics against Arsenal on Sunday?
5. What was your goal of the weekend?
6. What was your miss of the weekend?

Bobby – 1. Whatever appeals to me. 

2. It depends what you mean by turnaround. If you mean get Spurs out of the bottom three then the answer is yes. The next four games are very winnable before they hit Manchester City, Portsmouth and Arsenal. If you mean can they make a run at 5th (I think the pre-season proponents of Spurs finishing 4th would concede that such a scenario is unlikely) then they have to start averaging over 2 points a game. That is a tall order.

3. I thought Milan would bounce back against Roma and I was surprised at how Valencia rolled over against Sevilla.

4. I covered that off on the Monday show and also in the response section of the weekend preview blog.

5. Sevilla’s third by Fabiano against Valencia.

6. Solano’s second fluffed header when Cole’s shot rebounded off the Portsmouth crossbar.

JayAlves - Why does the EPL only allow 5 on the subs bench? and is it the only league to allow 5? Sure makes it annoying in FM to have such a short bench especially since one is a keeper.

Bobby – Ah interesting. I wasn’t aware that there were premier-type leagues than allowed more than five substitutes on the bench.  Sorry to be ancient but I remember the days of no substitutes. The first breakthrough was a player had to be injured and you only had one sub available. If the keeper went down injured it was just part of the game.

CIAO - Was Jol really quoted saying that the defensive problems were due to King being injured? If so, I'm glad they fired him because knowing King is injury prone he could have brought in a suitable back up. The new appointment seems very promising, but I think it will be a hard year for Spurs. They will be lucky if they place 5th. I think they will be in 6th or 7th place on the last day of PL.

Bobby – See previous response that I think clearly shows that Jol had a point. You are being hard on a man who it certainly appears did not control who was signed and who was not signed.

Weah11 - How do you pick the articles you put up on the blog?

Bobby – A combination of factors. Articles that I think are good reads; pieces that are maybe counterintuitive; articles that might be a bit unusual; and James Lawton columns to upset Craigy f. I try to avoid player interviews as a general rule.

Sleeper000 - I was curious as to what you think about the current Eduardo situation at Arsenal. The guy is incredibly gifted yet lately, he is not getting any playing time whatsoever. It seems to me like he has been relegated to fifth choice striker.

To be honest I was always nervous about Eduardo moving to Arsenal and this is not due to lack of skill. On the contrary, I think Eduardo is the most gifted forward on the Arsenal squad. However, I could never stop thinking about what happened to Croatian megastar #### when he moved to Arsenal. Whenever #### started, he would score goals, and then one day Wenger decided to start Henry and ####'s career was over.

Do you think something similar is happening to Eduardo? Now that Walcott and Bendtner are doing well, is this pretty much it for Eduardo? What happened to "It is Eduardo's time to shine"? Could he really be struggling that much with getting accustomed to his life in England, that he does not even merit a spot on the bench? I personally highly doubt that. What are your thoughts?

Bobby – As others have pointed out Wenger generally does not rush new players into the side. There are also many examples of his patience paying off.

I don’t think comparing this situation to ####’s is necessarily a fair comparison. I stand to be corrected but my recollection is that ####’s best years were behind him by the time he came to Highbury. Otherwise Real Madrid would not have let him go so easily.

He had a great World Cup in 1998 but it was a bit of an anomaly compared to his club form. There is nothing in his record post-Arsenal to indicate that letting him leave was a mistake. In retrospect replacing a 31-year-old #### with a 22-year-old Thierry Henry paid off don’t you think?

Craigy  f - Correct me if I'm wrong but can't a player still play for one country after playing for another country at u20 or u21 level. Freddy Adu can still play for Ghana at full international even though he's played for USA U20 MNT.

Bobby – You are right about the first point but not on the second I think. Adu has been capped at the full international level for the USA has he not - back a few years ago against Canada I believe.

Sleeper000 - You mentioned yesterday that you would start Taylor for Portsmouth. Who would you drop then? Certainly not Kranjcar who is doing so well for the team. Anybody who would drop Kranjcar is obviously not too familiar with his talent. I'd hesitate to drop Hreidarsson either since he compliments Niko so well. Your thoughts?

Bobby – I don’t recall saying that I would start Taylor. I noted he was being kept on the bench and had only started three Premiership games this season. He was Portsmouth’s second top scorer last season with 8 goals as he was the season before with 6.  Given his talent and in particular his left foot I said he could be an in-demand player come the winter transfer window. Maybe a Portsmouth fan can fill any other details.

Gunner44 - Luis Aragonés the Spanish coach should be fired. With the disposal of players he has Spain should be killing teams like Iceland. What do you think of Aragonés as the Spanish Coach?

Bobby – On one hand I am astounded that he is still holding the job - on the other hand Spain has only lost only lost 4 games out of 39 with 25 wins and 10 draws.

SynCrew - What do you think of Bernd and his Madrid team? Do you think he has the right mix of players and the managerial knowledge to guide Madrid to winning La Liga?
Secondly how do you see Martin Jol (if he stays) keeping all 4 of his strikers happy? I think he should keep 3-rotate them and use a 5 man midfield in case of injury - your thoughts?

Bobby – It is well known that Real Madrid fans want to not only win but to win with style. Hence, the demise of the almost perpetually successful Fabio Capello. However, there is nothing in Bernd Schuster’s managerial background to indicate that he is anything different than Capello. (Schuster is rumoured to have applied to have managed Dundee at the turn of the century but didn’t get an interview!) His record as a coach is spotted at best – Levante was relegated with him in charge – and his appointment seems to be down to his Madrid roots and two seasons of over achievement at Getafe.

His teams have not be known for playing attractive football but the counter argument would be that he has not had the players or the resources at his disposal up until now. After picking Real to win La Liga last season my thought is that they will not repeat.

The premise of keeping four strikers happy is based on four strikers always being fit and available – something that often not the case. If you are suggesting using 2 up front with a 5 man midfield and three at the back then I don’t think that is a very good idea. If your suggestion is playing one up front and rotating the three, does not that mean that on average each of the strikers will appear 1 game in three? That would be less playing time than having four strikers competing for two spots – an average on 1 appearance every two games.  

CIAO - 1. Turkey... What do you make of their chances to directly qualify after the mess they made in Malta? They currently have a game in hand, so they are not in that bad of a spot. However, they still need to play Greece, Norway and Bosnia-Herzegovina. So I think they lost their safety points now and they created a situation where they have to win every game. I think they have a very difficult time ahead, would you agree?

2. Italy. Currently in third place, but by the end of the week could be moving on up... Italy will play Ukraine which is always a tough game. But I have a feeling Inzaghi will come up big. Then they have to play Scotland. How do you see Italy's chances of making it to EURO 2008?

Bobby – Turkey’s performance has been beyond belief. They won their first four games (including a 4-1 away thumping of Greece) while scoring 12 and conceding 1. Then they have to come from behind to draw with Norway; blow a 2-1 lead and lose to a last second goal from Bosnia; then have to fight back twice to tie Malta. I’m not close enough to their situation to know what might have gone wrong but it might be a case that a surge of over confidence (thrashing Greece) has given way to rampant nerves and second guessing. The game on Wednesday (home against Hungary) is a chance to get things moving forward again and then it is Moldova away in a month’s time. Two wins in these two games would put them back in a strong position considering that Greece has Norway away on Wednesday and then Bosnia. Out of Turkey’s last three games Greece and Bosnia are both at home so all is not lost – yet!

Italy almost always seems to find a way to get through in qualifying tournaments – although they did fail in 84 after their 82 WC win. A point in Kiev tomorrow would not be that bad a result considering that they have slam dunk games against Georgia and Faroe Islands to come 9both home) and Ukraine and Scotland have to still play each other. I can see a scenario where a draw at Hampden in November would almost certainly put Italy through.

Gregz - I didn't get to hear what your predictions on La Liga. With the expectations so high, what do you think the top 10 will look like at the end of the season?

Bobby – I didn’t get a chance so here is my belated prediction for La Liga – last season's finish in brackets. 1. Barcelona (2); 2. Sevilla (3); 3. Real Madrid (Champions);4. Valencia  (4); 5. Atletico Madrid (7);6. Villarreal (5);7. Real Zaragoza (6); 8. Real Mallorca (12);9. Espanyol (11);10. Deportivo La Coruna (13); 11. Valladolid (Promoted); 12. Real Santander (10); 13. Real Betis (16);14. Osasuna (14); 15. Athletic Bilbao (17); 16. Getafe (9); 17. Recreativo Huelva (8); 18.Murcia (Promoted);19. Levante (15); 20. Almeria (Promoted)

SDGooner - I didn’t catch the France and Italy game, although I wanted to. I was wondering if you had watched it and if so how did Lassana Diarra and Thierry Henry do? I heard from other forums that Diarra played a great game and that Thierry was the worst player on the pitch.

Bobby – I thought Diarra stuck to his job well – competent rather than spectacular. Italy seemed to focus on making sure Ribery was contained and so they did not go after Diarra. Henry was almost non-existent and it was a surprise that he stayed on the field for the full game.

WorkingtonRED - What do you think of the thought of owning your own Football Club. Now you can. www.myfootballclub.co.uk Can you imagine the Manager consulted by 50,000 Share Holders.

Bobby – There have been a couple of articles posted on the blog about this over the summer. An off-the-wall idea but ultimately not the way to properly run a football club. 

Henry14 - What do you think about the additional game of suspension if you lose an appeal for unsportmanship? l think it’s crazy you should be able to appeal because it is a right but, it is not an expense and there are no detectives sent out of the FA, why should they add an additional game, isn't this what they are paid for?

Bobby – The extra suspension is invoked in the case of a frivolous appeal and it a bloody good idea. If that threat of an additional suspension was not there then the incentive – actually would be more than an incentive you be daft not to – is to appeal every suspension. In that case the system grinds to a standstill. Nobody is suggesting that there should not be a right of appeal – all that is happening is that players and clubs need to make sure that the appeal has some merit. You also have to consider the additional suspension sanction is rarely invoked.

Ohphuque  - Get fsc to get you a proper chair on the set! There is no way that gumba St Louis should tower over you as he did on the report Monday night. If they don’t have another switch with St Louis so you are sitting better ;)

Bobby – I forgot to negotiate a chair clause into my multi-cent contract. I’ll make a note of it for next year.

Craigy f - Do you know why the Italians are wearing St George crosses on their football kit, Sampdoria have a badge on their home kit and Inter have an away kit that England would be happy to wear?

Bobby – St. George is the patron saint of a number of countries and cities. I’m guessing that it has something to do with the fact that the game was played in Milan. 

Call my Agent - From an AP article today: "Hargreaves sat out Saturday's match and, although the injury is not serious, failed a fitness test Monday." What, exactly, makes up these fitness tests? Do they measure things and compare to objective standards (e.g. recovery time, strength, flex range, etc)? Or is it just a "how does the ol' knee feel today" sort of thing?

Bobby – Years ago it used to mean “can you run without the opposition knowing which part they should kick". It is a lot more sophisticated now and measurements would be made against benchmarks that would have been established when a player is considered fully fit. Having said that I’m sure that on a lot of occasions it is still left up to the player to let the coach know whether or not he feels up to it.