Djnima  - 1. I was wondering if you would ever consider being a guest on World Soccer Daily. I’m interested to hear a discussion between yourself and Steve Cohen. I listen to WSD everyday. Are there any other football podcasts you listen to or would recommend?

Bobby – 1. I have been on WSD a number of times but not in the last year. If I have the time I listen to the Guardian Unlimited podcast but not regularly. I'm a big fan of James Richardson - the right balance of humour and substance.

Ummufan - Considering the Dida incident and other obvious dives do you think FIFA or an FA will take this on and start awarding retroactive fines/cards for the behavior? Expanding the question further what if any role will replay have in the game?

Bobby – UEFA have taken it on and the other bodies can if they want to. The Scottish FA has already gone out on a limb to state that they would be looking at cases of simulation and imposing punishments only to be knocked back by FIFA.

I’m guessing that the new SFA Chief Gordon Smith will not give up so easily and he will wait for a glaring piece of cheating and use it to shame FIFA into acceptance. I will be shocked if the word replay appears anywhere in the UEFA judgment. Celtic will be heavily fined and may have a ground closing suspended sentence imposed but a replay – I can’t see it. 

LosAngelesChelseaFan – Do you think Rafa has joined Sammy Lee and Martin Jol in the list of "Dead Men Walking" with his list of shocking results given the potential of his squad? It's like he dumped a bunch of grit into a well oiled engine. If I was a Liverplod fan I'd screaming for blood. (That’s actually the way that they are most of the time anyway!:))

Bobby – Not yet but it is growing closer. He has become a victim of inflated expectations based on the summer signings. You only had the read the response of Liverpool fans at the start of the season to any poster or blogger who dared suggest that Liverpool might not win the league.

As it is you can sense the movement from “blaming the media” to “blaming Benitez” growing and the manager needs a run of good results against Everton, Arsenal and Blackburn.

But when you sit back and analyze it I think there is a massive over reaction to Liverpool’s early season results. They are a point better off at this stage of the season based on a head2head comparison with last year while Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are all off last season’s pace.

Of last season’s top five only Arsenal have gained more points season to season / head2head (more analysis of that in the October 19 weekend preview). There is a long way to go and any supporter or club which is panicking at this stage, doesn’t have much of a stomach for a title race I would think.

Redfan2000 - I wonder how long it will be before Canadian sports retailers start to stock trainers suitable for soccer on hard or indoor surfaces (any surface other than grass). The game is growing amongst young people and while the stores stock shoes for tennis, basketball skate board, and the plentiful array of generic runners there is a woeful absence of training footwear for soccer in boys’ sizes. I did not even see Adidas Samba in mens' sizes, a soccer shoe that has been around for years. With a new indoor arena coming in Winnipeg what are the kids wearing and are they importing shoes anywhere you know of?

Bobby – Footwear is a very individual choice. I badly bruised the toenails on my big toes over thirty years and every season - prior to this one - I have had trouble. This season I moved to an Umbro boot which is designed for hard ground or synthetic surfaces. It has been fantastic and no toe problems. I’m not sure what name the boots are marketed under but they have “K Leather” on the side and “Kontakt” on the moulded sole. They are sold in Canada.

MeanSucka - Your opinion on Mathieu Flamini from Arsenal. Do you think that, regardless of his form as of late, he freelances too much in the midfield and will be exposed when Arsenal play tougher, more technical competition - more so than, say, Gilberto in the same role. Whenever I watch Gilberto play I never feel as worried as I do when I see Flamini all over the place.

Bobby – I think Flamini has been very good this season. When I’ve seen him play he has been mobile, made tackles, covered for Fabregas and done everything that has been asked of him. I have not noticed him being all over the place. He now gives Wenger the option of resting Gilberto after his transatlantic trips and he will also have an option before and after Champions League games. I think Wenger’s bigger issue is how and when does he rest Fabregas?

Henry14 - What’s your take on Dida, how many times have we seen a player get on the pitch and touch a player and nothing happens, a Villarreal supporter came to Henry with a Barca shirt and was just taken off the field, and it happens a lot in Spain and other countries and we do not hear of fines or punishment?
q2 Do you feel Liverpool are over reliant on Gerrard maybe the way Arsenal were and l once read that Liverpool had a better record under Benitez without Gerrard and can selling him at
the end of the season be an option so that other players step up?
q3 Who is the better payer over the last year to now Clichy or Mr. tweedy
q4 What do you know of Henk Ten Cate and he gets credit for beautiful football but as far as l know beautiful football has been played at Barca since time immemorial
q5 Should Avram Grant stick two fingers at the media?

Bobby – A1, topic of the week response will be on the Friday show.

A2 – No and Gerrard is not going to be sold by Liverpool at the end of this season. I’m not aware of stats that show Liverpool with a better record without Gerrard and even if that was the case the statistics would be highly suspect given that the argument would be made that the reason Gerrard was left out was due to Liverpool facing poorer opposition.

A3 – Pretty much the same. I suspect more people would opt for Clichy but I would suggest that is more likely down to higher expectations of Ashley Cole. Clichy looks very good going forward but as we saw on Sunday against Sunderland he is suspect against a big powerful forward. 

A4 – He got a lot of credit from the media for his work at Barcelona but he hasn’t impressed Ajax fans during his stint in Amsterdam and they are glad to see him go. Beautiful football or not it isn’t going to happen instantaneously or anything close.

A5 – The only reason that entitles Avram Grant to stick two fingers up to the media is because he has won two games.

Craigy f - Which national team do you support? I don't actually know your nationality. Where will Steve Bruce work after he leaves Brum - apparently he won't be there when Yeung takes over in November?

Bobby – Based on this being a serious questio Canada and Scotland – fortunately the chances of split loyalty at a WC is remote to nil. Steve Bruce will return to the cadre of managers that rotate around Championships sides that bob into the Premiership now again.

Henry14 - What do you make of Mr. Evra and Carlitos' statements, although l agree with both of them to some degree , do you see another Arsenal Man Utd rivalry going on this season.

Bobby – I rarely, if ever, read interviews by players as they are generally a waste of good space and time. I read the headline – I move on.

Neophyte - You mentioned that you have your coaching badges (license in the US). How far did you go with that process? Have you ever played Futsal? Many here in my club have advocated it as the best way to teach footskill and attacking mentality in a game situation. What is your idea of this?

Bobby – I did what was then a “C” license in Canada in the early 80s. I have no idea what the equivalent is now. Back then in order to get a “B” license you had to attend a residential course. I never took it any further.

If playing football in a gymnasium is Futsal then the answer is yes. I am very wary of simple solutions such as “play futsal and the skill level of the players will improve.” I did look at the Simon Clifford Futebol de Salão concept a few years ago but then I started traveling more on account of work and so I never followed up.

I understand the Clifford Brazilian based model is now different than the FIFA sanctioned Futsal on account of the size of the ball. The thing that did make some sense to me when I looked at the Clifford concept was the smaller ball.

FIFA’s support has more to do with protecting their commercial position (they don’t want boards because most of the world does not have access to boards) than any desire to improve the skill level of players. Any documentation churned out by FIFA to market Futsal should be treated with a huge dose of salt. Certainly from an entertainment point of view Futsal is a bust – it is like watching paint dry without the extra excitement.

I would be asking the Futsal advocates for empirical non-FIFA/national association evidence to support their claims.

Yohann - Do you think Owen will remain at Newcastle? and... do you think that benitez is currently paying the price of his ''excessive'' squad rotations? ..... I feel like Liverpool is shopping every year for a top striker. Although they raised the quality of the squad in the past 3 years, it seems the players they got on the market like Kuyt or Crouch are not really world class players. That being said, I felt like the rotations were just a way to get the maximum out of everybody... but now that Torres is there, I really wonder why the hell he would start on the bench. I really do like the Depth Liverpool has, I enjoy the way Voronin plays, but honestly, I think they are missing impact players up front despite having remarquable depth.

Bobby – If a team was wanting to sign Michael Owen then they would have done so by now. Rafa Benitez has been proven right in not bringing him back from Real Madrid. The Liverpool situation I have addressed earlier in this post. 

Apad03 - I need to ask what you think of Donavan winning the Player of the Year award? Do you think is was political, do you think he deserved to win? He did after all play horribly in the World Cup. I think Dempsey and Tim Howard would have been better choices as they are playing better and on a bigger stage than Donovan.

Bobby – You will have to explain to me how the votes cast by the USA national media could be influenced by “politics”. You may believe he played badly in the World Cup but that was in 2006 – this award is for 2007 as I understand it.

Dempsey had a good year in MLS but only became a starter for Fulham at the beginning of the season – to late to influence the votes or to even have that considered. As for Tim Howard he hasn’t solidified his position as the USAs #1 goalkeeper so it is hard to justify a Player of the Year Award.

As for playing on a bigger stage – I’m not sure that comes into it. As far as I am aware – and I stand to be corrected – the award recognizes the best player based on his performances for the United States Men's National Soccer Team during the last season.

If my understanding is correct then it difficult to argue that Landon Donovan doesn’t deserve the award.

Ringo - Any opinion on the world`s second greatest sport? ,and I don`t mean Curling.

Bobby – You must mean cricket. If you actually are talking of rugby then I cannot let it pass without mentioning one of the greatest sport commentators of all time. Bill McLaren on rugby was probabaly one of the best there has ever been.

henry14 - l am so shocked by how Tottenham are doing and the way they brought in players in the summer l thought they were going to somewhere close to challenging the top five but they seem to be a shadow of their former self. The way l see it is that the summer of last season, they bought good players in Lee and Stalteri who were quite effective and efficient to their season, this time around l think they bought for the fun of things. They lost a creative deep lying midfielder and l am shocked that they went on to add an extra striker, to have four strikers which l thought was unnecessary , at least they should have sold one, l am still shocked to why Jol bought Asseu Okkoto and Chimbonda when he had Lee and Stalteri, Full backs who do not help in winning a lot, when they could have gone looking for a central midfielder with some vision, l think the team from last year has been altered in a number of positions and l find it difficult to see them anywhere close to fifth, because l can not see them beating ordinary teams as they used to do. I have a feeling that like as you said time and time again on the big show that a lot of teams that reach that 5th place tend to get ahead of themselves and somehow fall. What so you think. I knew that Michelle was a Chelsea fan, Jeremy is a Manchester United fan. l wanted to know which teams do Mitch, Carlos and you support respectively.

bigdavedisaster - It’s not so early anymore and Spurs seem to be absolutely lost when it comes to finishing scoring chances and I believe the culmination of this was seen after the Jenas miss against Liverpool. You could feel the air come out of the entire side. What I first thought was simply pressing to hard to be in contention for that "top five" spot is not so slowly turning into a crisis of confidence. Do you think Jol needs to simply find a starting side and stick with it and hope that the goals come? And where has Keane been? He was a terror last year and a shadow this?

Bobby – Clearly Tottenham is not enjoying a great start to this season.  The problem is that Jol does not have one problem but a number of them. The fact that Ledley King missed the first few games has not helped either. I do not think that signing two new full backs has been the cause – that should only have added some depth to the squad.

I think you have to look at the midfield as the source of the main problem. Carrick has not been replaced although someone such as Danny Murphy should have been able to pick up the slack. Didier Zokora will come good if he is given a bit of time to settle in. The wide positions in midfield are where Spurs have been caught short. Despite having a herd of midfield players most of them are most comfortable in central positions. Aaron Lennon’s injury has been a major blow and has meant that Spurs have lost that one player who offered them something different. On the other side of the field Spurs have the same problem as last year – no left sided midfield player. That is why Jol wanted to sign Boro’s Stewart Downing. The opposition knows that Spurs pose no consistent threat from wide positions.

As for having four forwards, I do not think you can criticize Jol for that given that all the top teams now carry four strikers. Jol will have anticipated more games than last season – remember Spurs only played 40 games last season – and needed to sign someone like Berbatov. The fact that the Bulgarian is out injured just reinforces why Spurs need four strikers. As for Robbie Keane, there is not the same spark as last season and he does not seem to getting on the ball like he did last season. Spurs will improve but it will not be a dramatic improvement - by the end of the season I expect them to be in an upper-mid-table position.

Carlos supports Braga in Portugal, for me it is Dundee and I do not know about Mitch.

djnima - My question for you has to do with Arsenal's back four. With Gallas an obvious starter and Toure in such great form, who do you think will be arsenal's starting center backs once Senderos is fit? Do you think Gallas will again resign himself to playing LB so that both Senderos and Toure can be accommodated? Also, I am thinking about picking up Rosicky for my fantasy team. Now that arsenal has an easier schedule and need points to catch up to the front pack, do you think he is a good investment? Oh and I know I asked you this earlier in the season, but who do you have in your fantasy line up right now? Thanks for all the time you put into the blog!

Bobby – In order for Arsenal to challenge for the Champions League Gallas has to be in the centre of the defense. Clichy will come back into the team at left back. Djouro and Senderos - when he returns - will get their chance but if you want a first choice back four then it will be Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy. Rosicky is improving every game and I think he is a good investment – if you have the fantasy money. My team has chopped and changed a lot and I liberally move players in and out. Going into this weekend the team is; James; Mellberg, Terry, Campbell, Djourou; Gerrard, Cahill, Arteta, Barry: Johnson, Rooney.

My boys are taking it one game at a time; they are playing against great players; we are not thinking of Europe etc etc.

AlexMorph - About Ronaldo: I certainly think that he should figure back into the Real Madrid side. Cassano has been less than inspiring so far, and I suspect it's only because of his previous relationship with Capello that he gets in the side over Robinho. That aside, do you think that Capello might finally make a stand against Raul and the Madrid faithful? It seemed that against Lyon he was playing as an attacking midfielder to scarcely any effect. Would Guti, who is inconsistent but shows the occasional moment of brilliance, not be better with Ronaldo/RVN playing in front of him?

the beautiful game – Well finally Capello has decided to drop Raul and Beckham, and you could see the huge improvement in the teams performance while they were not on the pitch, but in the 2nd half has soon has the came on the team looked like the Madrid that was their in the 3 previous league games and the CL game against Lyon. do you think Capello will stick to his guns and keep them both on the bench are will he bow to the breaighu pressure and keep playing them both more so Raul.

I as a Barca fan could love him to keep playing them as that would equal Madrid not being much of a threat to us this season because with them both in the team I must say the team looks ordinary.

Usaenglandfan - This Real talk has me thinking. Bobby, you must be asked this now and again, but what on earth has happened to Raul?? I started getting into football around the '02 WC, and from what I understood, Raul was considered one of the deadliest strikers on earth at 26. I've only really seen him in highlight videos, but WOW. What a composed, elegant finisher. And now this? Was it the dawn of the Galacticos era that killed his form? Will it ever come back? The guy's only 29 for gods sake. I'm missing something here...

Bobby – It looks as if Capello is going to stick with Raul despite the fact that he has played poorly for the last two seasons. Capello is a man with very definite views and he will stick by the players he believes in – it looks as if Raul is one that he believes in. Two goals on Tuesday will not have hurt his cause. On the broader question of what has gone wrong it might be ####imple as losing a step due to injury.

neophyte - I would love to see Ruud and Ronaldo together. That is one of those combinations that you only dream about but never see in real life. Crespo is amazing. He scores goals no matter the league, venue or tournament. I would have liked to have seen him back at Milan teamed up with Kaka again. Did you see him in their last match attacking form the keepers right and just leave the defender looking for his shoes after he had just been "Crespo'd"? Amazing!

Did Reading "win" the game against Man U. or did they just survive. I don't recall any real scoring chances they produced while Man U. was all over them. What are your views on this one? (I hope Reading stays up for a while. They are exciting and counter better than most tenured Prem. clubs).

Bobby – Crespo is criticized by many for the number of times he is caught offside but it is the fact that he pushes right up on the last defender that makes him so dangerous. He may not be the quickest striker but he is brilliant at pinching a half a yard on a defender and his movement across the line is outstanding. He has averaged about a goal every two games, which puts him in the top echelon of world strikers.

While United may have dominated most of the game Reading pushed players forward when they got the chance. I remember a great chance that Kevin Doyle had in the first half but van der Sar stoned him so it was not all one-way traffic. I am taking Reading to stay up because they will score a lot of goals.

SL Red - Wouldn't you agree that Wenger's greatest dominance has been in the contemporary big money transfer game? He has made money on the inconsistent (Anelka), bought stars at a cut rate (Henry), and even taken stars away from local rivals on a free (Campbell). To win championships while keeping the transfer kiddy in plus territory is amazing.

I think someone has been telling me that Crouch will end up a squad player. Looks like its happening with the arrival of Kuyt. Not that I'm complaining.

Question - Now a month in who looks like the best signing of the season?

Bobby – Wenger’s wheeling and dealing in the transfer market is one of his strengths and a major bonus for Arsenal. He picked up Anelka as an unknown from PSG – before he became inconsistent! – and sucked Real Madrid in for a mega-transfer fee. I think it is fair to say that no manager since has got the same production out of the Incredible Sulk. I do not think Wenger has ever received due credit for the emergence of Thierry Henry. At the ’98 World Cup, for Monaco (post Wenger) and at Juventus, Henry was a speedy but limited midfield player. Wenger was willing to pay a lot of money (around $18m?) for a player that no other team was showing an interest in. Henry was no instant hit at Highbury either, as Wenger went about converting Henry back to the central striker he had been as a youngster at Monaco when Wenger was in charge. Wenger has also been aggressive in going after younger players –much to the displeasure of continental teams in Holland, France and Spain.

On the downside, he has also had a couple of failures – Francis Jeffers and Richard Wright come instantly to mind.   However, I am not sure that Wenger has operated on the plus side over his ten years in charge at Arsenal. Certainly he has spent less than Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool but I not sure he has recouped it all. 

Best new signing – I would have to say Andy Johnson,  David James or Sol Campbell so far.

MeanSucka - I wonder if Becks relationship with Capello will accelerate his "big fish in a small pond" move to the MLS. I mean, it probably won't be the same as the Pele/Beckenbauer Cosmos, but I'm sure the Becks/Donovan Galaxy will draw some fans, no? Ronaldo would be the king of NY too, but I can see him going back to Italy.

Bobby – I said on the FSWR over two years ago – as Michelle and Jeremy sniggered – that Beckham would finish his career in MLS. Two years on it now seems almost inevitable.

gregz- How do you think Riquelme's retirement will affect Argentina's chances of winning next year's Copa America and even at WC 2010. I know they have good players but they need a man in the middle of the park to hold the team together. The only player that can fill Riquelme's shoes is Aimar and he strikes me as a person that can handle pressure from the demanding Argentine public. I fear he will retire as to evade the pressure of being the main playmaker, but I hope he will use the opportunity to stamp his class on the world stage finally after a somewhat disappointing WC 2002. Finally, who do you think is the better player Aimar or Riquelme?

Bobby –Over the years Argentina has opted for a playmaker around whom everything is built. Maradona, Veron, Ortega, Ardiles, and Sivori have occupied that role or one similar. Riquelme has been the undisputed central figure since his resurrection at Villarreal but that has not stopped him being a controversial selection with some Argentine fans.

Peckerman was obviously a Riquelme fan but I wonder if Basille is of the same persuasion. It might be a case that Riquelme has called time on his international career before it has been called on him. As for Aimar, he seems to be a player whose career has stuttered as recurring injury problems have been an ongoing blight. In comparing the two, I think Riquelme is the superior player with a greater passing range and he is much more robust. 

Quest5227 - What is with Manchester United? They may be winning, but they are playing UGLY football. It is boring and predictable, and only occasionally, do they play intricate, intuitive passing plays. The midfieled don't run forward with the ball, the Center backs stay back, and there is way too much back passing. Take the example of the match against Benfica. They won, but they were not in control of the game. They were timid, boring and tentative. (except for Ronaldo)
Is it time for new leadership at United? New tactics? Or is it the lack of creativity in midfield? O'Shea and Fletcher should be "last 10 minute" players IMHO, not starting for United. The lackluster transfer window activity has much to do with this. What do United do now? Any thoughts?

Bobby – I thought that Manchester United played the consummate away game in Europe – happy with a point and nicked three. It wasn’t pretty but it was effective and Benfica created few chances although they had much of the play until Saha scored.

bmax14 -  Anybody see Sepp Blatter's (FIFA president)comments regarding removal of the shoot-out for WC final? He suggested a replay or gradual reduction of players with a Golden Goal, all interesting suggestions. I don't really like the replay idea as you have to wait another day to see a champion and the reduction of players seems kind of silly. I'm certainly not against PK's but I must admit it's a terrible way to lose a game, especially if you've played well enough to win. However, it's tough to match the excitement of the Pk so seeing it gone from a final would be a bit disappointing. If it was my vote, I'd either keep the current format or provide more overtime with the Golden goal coming into effect immediately (like hockey playoff OT). Allow 3 more substitutions once OT starts if need be but avoid any replay idea or reduction of players.

LosAngelesChelseaFan - Yes. I'm deeply shocked to find myself in total agreement with Septic Bladder, who said: "When it comes to the World Cup final it is passion, and when it goes to extra time it is a drama. But when it comes to penalty kicks it is a tragedy. Football is a team sport and penalties is not a team, it is the individual. He said a replay or gradually deducting players in extra time would be a better solution. "

Now is it possible that this would have the side effect of generating an additional $50m of TV and attendance receipts or am I just being cynical? Nevertheless, I strongly agree with the suggestion. I hate shootouts that only seem inject fear of failure and negative play. For me this overshadowed the last few rounds of play and the final.

Bobby – Please, no one should hold their breathe waiting for another of Sepp’s “ideas” to be implemented. It is just another one of his “50 ideas before breakfast and 51 of them are bad” as a German journalist once described Sepp’s pronouncements. Twenty years from now we will still be debating an alternative to penalty kicks. Personally, I would love to see a return to the days of replays but it just will not happen unless we are magically transported back to the 1950’s when World Cup Finals were largely supported by domestic fans attending, sport TV was in its infancy, and the threat of hooliganism and more importantly terrorism were non-existent. In other words replays were possible in a simpler age but no more.
Games going on indefinitely is also an non-starter given the logistical challenges of transport, security and the inequity of a team potentially playing for three hours or more, winning and playing a team that had only played 90 minutes three or four days before. Lastly but certainly not least – TV would never go for it.

NYCDA - I know predictions made in September in the EPL amount to nothing, but based on what we've seen from Reading FC and their consistent ability to ward off the big-name clubs and come out with points, where do you see them ending when the dust settles in May? While Coca-Cola Championship medalists have suffered relegation in subsequent promotion seasons of past (i.e. last year's Sunderland and Norwich of two years past), could Europe be a realistic goal for this underrated Reading side?

Bobby – I picked them to finish 14th and I think I will stick with that placing. A place in Europe is too much to ask. Just look how long it took Bolton to get there. The only “instant” success in the last decade or so has been Ipswich and we know what happened to them the following year.