Ringo - Chivas USA? Owned by bloody foreigners?

Bobby – The answer was Chivas but for a different reason. The only team in the leagues listed that doesn’t have a part of its name a city, state or nickname of the state.


MasMaz – Please give us your opinion of Fabregas. I have beaten the dead horse in exclaiming that he is a very skilled but limited player. Wenger is making a huge mistake in building his team around him. He was terrible on Saturday. I realize he is young but he shows me nothing of a player who could become a match winner or tempo controller. His crossing, corners and free kicks are the worst in the league. Arsenal is supposed be a top class side yet, corner after corner and free kick after free kick is poor. These are fundamentals. I think Arsenal will miss Eduardo most on corners.

Bobby –If you can’t see what Fabregas brings to the game then it doesn’t matter what I say because it won’t change your mind. He is playing in the most difficult position on the field, he’s not twenty-one yet and he rarely makes a poor decision when he has the ball. However, I see that you are reevaluating!


Henry14 - I think you know l feel Arsenal can win in Milan, historically I do think wins in Europe when you are in an iffy period tend to help in the League and the opposite is not true , as how Arsenal consolidated 4th and got to the final , l think a win in Milan is what the Gunners need right now.

Bobby – Great call.


Zuco2 – The FSR studios are in Winnipeg so you must be living in Winnipeg, right?

Bobby – Correct.


Djnima - My question is, 70 million quid for Lyon? I don't think United would be willing to drop that much dough for the kid. That's Real Madrid and Chelsea money. When Fergie signed Nani and Anderson it was very hush hush. In contrast with Hargreaves he was very vocal. Do you think this is Fergie's way of calling dibs on Benzema? Do you think it will work?

Bobby – I think it was Fergie’s way of hopefully putting Benzema off his game. (I agree with Venti.)


Ringo - Are you interested in the UEFA cup yet? And I can't pick up the Beeb on my telly ,can you help me out?

Bobby – Getting there. Everton – Fiorentina, Spurs – PSV and Rangers – Werder Bremen have me a bit more interested. We get the BBC ……Canada.


Craigy_f - MLS starts in less than a month - what's your take? Do you have any thoughts on the UEFA CUP first leg round of 16? Particularly Fiorentina V EFC, although I'm interested in all the games.
20-30 years ago that many black players on a pitch at Goodison (many of them wearing blue) would have been unheard of/greeted with bananas and #### calls. Happily that sort of malarkey seems to be behind us. What vestiges of racism do you see in the modern day game, fans or pundits (if any)?

Bobby – I think it will take me a month to catch up with who is playing for which MLS team. To be honest I totally switched off at the draft stage. Far too much space and discussion dedicated to a bunch of young players who largely will have little or no impact for a couple of seasons. I can understand it is a fantastic thing for them to be drafted but the coverage is way over the top.

As I said above there are some very good looking ties and if Everton and Fiorentina both take the games seriously – and you would hope at this stage that they would – it will be a great match up and a real contrast.

I was praising Prandelli on Monday and the same goes for Moyes - two managers who have worked at it and learned their trade.

As far as racism is concerned you would have to differentiate between the clear and very obvious types we have seen and heard about in certain European countries and the overt stuff such as why are there not more black managers in the English game? It’s a fight that will never be totally won as far as soccer and society in general are concerned.


Redfan2000 - With all the chat about bad fouls in the press after the Eduardo tackle, do you think there is a marked difference between the English game and the rest? I am wondering if the FA or even UEFA will start to crack down on the players by maybe bringing in the FIFA standards, as used at World Cups, across the board. Would that be good in your opinion?

Bobby – I think that a lot of people mistake physical contact and speed with dirty play. I also go back to a comment I made last week that we don’t often see the really dirty players as they are better at disguising it.

There was also a host of bad fouls from other leagues that illustrated that no one league has a monopoly on awful fouls. The game is much cleaner than it was thirty years ago.

As for FIFA World Cup standards would you be meaning something like this game from the 2006 World Cup?


Craigy_f - You've alluded to the corner kick prowess of Villa and the Blues on the show (and Bolton are still dangerous on set pieces). What makes them so dangerous? The delivery, the organization, the defenders coming up or what? I'll rephrase, can you dissect a good corner kick for us?

442 still seems most popular in the PL (with the odd 451 or 433) In Serie A there is still a lot of 442 but also a fair amount of 433 and 352) - the Pl is filled with 'foreigners' so why do you think the 442 remains so popular and nobody is even trying a 352. This question comes of the article in the latest 442 about the 460 formation and how it could be very dangerous if used correctly.

Bobby – First of all here are some stats as of the end of January. The first number is goals scored from dead balls, the second is the total goals scored. I went back to the 2004/05 season and worked forward to this season. Bolton 20/49, 16/49, 17/47, 7/24; Everton 15/45, 13/34, 17/52, 10/40; Aston Villa 16/45, 8/42, 10/43, 16/43.

As for what makes a team dangerous on set pieces? First off a lot of preparation and practice. A good delivery, movement and trying to isolate the defending sides weak spot to match up with your strength. I was going to add height and strength but that probably helps but is not necessarily decisive. Finally execution – someone who is confident and attacks the area that the ball is played into.

Formations – I’m a bit surprised that Martin O’Neill hasn’t given 3-5-2 a shot as he favoured that set-up when at Celtic. Overall it is probably down to a comfort level with the system. After all it has been around since the mid sixties. I don’t think it is necessarily a case that the system has not changed but I think we are seeing more team use 442 in different ways. United has used two defensive anchors at times this season when there is usually a balance with one attacking midfielder and the other shielding the back four.


Cabby - Almost a perfect day on Sat. - the Dee win in the last minute and Hamilton only 1 minute away from defeat. I used to think you were lousy when i watched you on Fox but when i found out you were a Dundee supporter I now think that you are brilliant - keep up the good work.

Bobby – Thanks for the ringing endorsement. If I am ever looking for an agent I will make sure and try Andy Millman’s first.

Neophyte - Did you see Robinho's performance this weekend? There is a lot of talk on the blog about c. Ronaldo. Yet Robinho is never mentioned in the list of top players. Where do you think he is in his development and do you expect to see him take over the world like his country man (Ronaldinho) did a couple of years ago?

Bobby – Only bits and pieces as the broadcaster could not decide which game they wanted to follow so they opted for neither. Comparatively I don’t think all that much of him to be honest and this stage in his career he would not be on my list of the top ten players in the world. There again I doubt he will lose any sleep over my opinion!

Elliot123 - Based solely on this season's performance to date, who would you select for a Merseyside Top XI?

Bobby – Here goes and light the fireworks. Reina; Jagielka, Carragher, Yobo, Lescott; Gerrard, Mascherano, Cahill, Arteta; Torres, Yakubu.

Jagielka at right back because he seems comfortable anyplace – even in goal. Finnan has been poor and Tony Hibbert has looked a bit off at times. I just can’t pick Phil Neville and Carragher is a terrible full back. If he had not been injured so much I would have expected Agger to be in. Leon Osman is unlucky not to have made the eleven.

Henry 14 - Bobby has a great big egg on his face after Arsenal went through.

Bobby – Nice one coming from someone who at various times has wanted to get rid of half the Arsenal side and wanted Wenger sacked. (Henry14 – all this stuff is archived and can be easily traced to you). I’m amazed that you have not done yourself some serious damage leaping on and off the bandwagon.

Foxcube - Enjoyed your sharp wits and bright insight, but please DO remember to raise questions to Bobby, or he'll feel not needed again like on Feb 24, and we don't want to lose this space.

Bobby – Don’t worry about me. There are more than enough questions buried in the banter.

Redfan2000 - What's your take on the midfield for England? You lauded Jenas in the weekend blog, so how about explaining your thinking regards the competition with, Barry, Gerrard, Lampard, Carrick, Hargreaves et al, all vying for a CM slot? Could Jenas run the right wing??

What do you think of Downing as an attacking winger and his defensive qualities going the other way?

Re the Inter debate, do you think they are truly a great side or just very consistent, unlike those around them and elsewhere? Never mind Rafa's position, do you think Grant will start next season as Manager at Chelsea? Who do you think RA would/could replace him with??

Bobby – I think you can see a significant improvement in Jenas since Ramos took over. He is more composed, chooses his moments to go forward and is much more disciplined. He has a very good turn of pace – something that Ramos likes – and I am betting that Capello does as well.

There is a feeling that Capello will opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and so in the long run Jenas probably has two bites at the cherry. If he continues to improve under Ramos then Capello may be willing to slot him into one of two defensive midfield positions.

The conventional wisdom has Hargreaves as having a lock on one of the positions but I am not so sure. Hargreaves is an aggressive defender playing in front of the United back four and offers virtually nothing in terms of building an attack or controlling the tempo o####ame.

That is where Barry has a big edge and I think Jenas will eventually be slotted into the second position beside him. In front of them maybe Bentley-Gerrard-Cole. Downing is a natural left footer but overall Joe Cole is a far better player and a better option.

Bentley is a more natural wide player than Jenas and I think Jenas’ more valuable in the middle of the park. For Inter to be regarded as a great side they are going to have to win the Champions League rather than just winning their domestic championship a few times in a row.

Re: Avram Grant, I’m still surprised he was hired to begin with. As for a replacement who knows. It is more a product of who is available at the time rather than who is the best candidate. Naming replacements is a hypothetical exercise means nothing.

CIAO - I'm curious, do you have any comparative data on injury statistics of the leagues (i.e. Serie A, PL, Bundesliga and La Liga). To me, it seems obvious that such career ending injuries seem to occur more in the PL vs. the other top leagues.

Henry14 - What should Eduardo have done yesterday? Should he have not gone for the ball because he thinks (as many others may do) there's a real danger my leg will be broken here. The ridiculous assertion that Eduardo was too fast and therefore that means that’s ok is beyond belief.

To avoid serious injury yesterday someone had to decide differently. Taylor could have decided to not go flying in or Eduardo could have pulled out going for the ball. You have a choice. Which one do you want to influence to make a different decision? For me it is clear. A greater ban in the event of causing a serious injury would make the tackler and the club thinks twice and we would not have had the injury we had.

What’s your take on the way tackling and aggressiveness on less technically play is taken in England?

Gregz - What did U make of the Eduardo injury. (I missed the show).

Bobby – I will try to deal with all the Eduardo/Taylor questions in one response so there may not be a direct match to each specific question. First off on a historical basis the game is far cleaner than it was in the 60s, 70s and early 80s.

That comment is made in the context of all leagues, not just in England. You name me a decent soccer playing nation from that era and I guarantee that we can find thugs from each and every one of them. The same goes for today. Just because one style is more physical than another does not make it more or less illegal.

I would suggest that the real dirty players are the ones that you don’t see rather than the ones you do.

The suggestion that somehow thugs and evil doers are limited to the Premiership does not stand up. Anyone remember the Juan Arango and Javi Navarro incident from three years ago. Or Maradona and the Butcher of Bilbao? Dutch league? A bit of the Matrix perhaps? A Norwegian thug more your style?

Anyone trying to make this a nationality argument is disingenuous at best.

I am not aware of comparative stats on career ending injuries in the PL vs. Other leagues but I doubt that it would statistically significant if it was. It may seem that way because we hear more about the PL than others.

I don’t have anything to back up this assertion but I would be willing to bet that the vast majority of career ending injuries are not caused by fouls but from normal play and physical contact.

So is someone going to suggest that anyone causing an injury with a fair tackle should be suspended as well – according to some comments that would apparently stop bad injuries.

The most intelligent comments about the incident have come from Eduardo – the victim.

I wonder how many of you saw the incident and immediately thought it was brutal tackle?

Taylor flying into the tackle – pure hyperbole. Taylor was slow, he was late and he caught Eduardo. A fraction of a second either way and Eduardo rolls off the tackle or Taylor brings him down, a free kick is given and Eduardo plays on as players do countless times each game.

With a game played at the pace of the modern game it is impossible not to have some mistimed tackles and unfortunately bad injuries are going to happen now and again. Bad injuries have happened for years and they will happen for years to come and you are not going to find that they are restricted to one league, one nationality or even bad tackles.

As for a player going into a game worrying about a broken leg - he should not playing the game.

Gregz - Do U see Wenger parting ways with Van Persie because of his constant injury problems. What do you make of Carlos Vela? Better as a winger or striker?

Bobby – I guess your definition of constant injury problems are a bit different than mine. He’s been at Arsenal four seasons and the first year he was almost exclusively on the bench.

He injured himself scoring against Manchester United last season and then he’s been injured this season – is that constant?

Maybe someone can explain to me the upside of releasing a player who has yet to hit his prime and has the potential to be one Europe’s best goal scorers? My latest view of Vela was at the Under-20s last summer and he was not very impressive. On last summer’s showing he is nowhere close to being ready to step up.

Frenchking2012 - What do you think of Walcott? Could he do a Ljungberg after Pires (Arsenal best player in the 2001-2002 season) was injured by Dabizas. I remember Freddie scoring 6 or 7 goals in 8 or 9 games and he was the one whose run and later shot gifted Wiltord with an open goal at Old Trafford.

Walcott score 2 great goals Saturday and for once was dribbling rather well. I think he needs to step up because the Bendtner -  Ade duo doesn’t work, and we won’t have RVP back for the Milan game (maybe as a late sub if we are down 1-0 in the 75th minute).

Bobby – Not a hope. Ljungberg was an experienced club and international in 2001/02, Walcott is still a young boy. The expectations of how quickly Walcott will mature are way over the top.

Flashman - When it comes to assessing ar5ena1 games, you dig in like you were Cronkite covering a moonshot. Very thorough. So why no coverage of William Gallas snapping a head valve and kicking the advertising boards and stomping off and throwing hisself down at midfield and having a right old sulk? The UK media have ripped him soundly and clamoured for the club to get rid of him. Why no coverage?

That said, you could have drawn attention to Spurs' Pascal Chimbonda chewing up clock time with his selfishly slow walk-off after being subbed at Wembley.

Bobby – If you can persuade our producers to give us a three hour show then I am hopeful that we could fit everything in. As it is I get told to wrap it up when I am going over and so I have to do what I am told. Sometimes bits get in and sometimes they don’t.

As for the media clamouring for Arsenal to get rid of Gallas - clamouring? Really?

Alberta_Man_United_Fan - What is it with the officiating in the Prem lately? Missed offside calls, ref's missing incidents were one player puts his hands on the face of an opponent who responds, only to get turfed?

I am amazed at the appearance of bias from some game officials in the calls that are and are not made! Kicking at a players heal when I played resulted in a card, not a lecture! (Arsenal-ManU).Then this past weekend Man City had a player sent off for doing that same thing.

As a youth coach and official I tell all the kids, if it is in the rule book it will be enforced! The best way to stay out of the book is to play a clean game. Professional referees do none of us minor coaches any favors by selectively enforcing the rule book.

Immediately after the Arsenal-Man United game I witnessed three such kicking incidences in the games that I officiated in. When did the standards drop for officials?

Bobby – I can’t disagree with you on the incidents that you bring up. However, I would not limit the comments to the Premiership.

Zuco2 - What do you think about Reading football club? Last season, they had a perfect year finishing in the top 10 and narrowly missing a UEFA cup spot. This season, they are winless in 11 games. They are in the relegation zone and they have one of the worst goal difference records in the Prem. What is wrong with them??????? Have any idea???

Bobby – At the risk of stating the obvious they can’t score goals and have let in far too many – a recipe for relegation trouble normally. Second seasons in a higher division are traditionally difficult.

It is interesting that last season a number of fans pointed out that Wigan had made too many changes to the team that had done very well during its first season in the Premiership and hence their problems.

Steve Coppell made few changes and that has not worked out either. Lita, Doyle, Long and Kitson have to start scoring goals and scoring early in games as well. The two goals in the last seven games have both been last minute consolation goals and they have yet score a goal in the first fifteen minutes of a Premiership game this season.

On the bright side they do not have a particularly difficult run in over the final eleven matches and frankly if they can’t get enough points from a softish schedule then they deserve to go down.