Matt Scott takes a look at the Premiership’s popularity in some of the developing markets.

Some researched numbers on TV viewership and debunking the myth of the 1B people who “watched” Arsenal vs. Manchester United.  

Rod Liddle on Fabio Capello’s off-field handling of the England squad.

Liddle let’s rip at the Premiership’s latest fleecing scheme.

James Lawton draws a parallel between the Premiership proposal and what the move of the Brooklyn Dodgers led to in the USA. (Insert craigy_f’s dismissive comment of Lawton here.)

Ian Bell jumps in.

I would happily link to a credible article that supports the Premiership’s ludicrous, ill-conceived and badly managed proposal but I have yet to find one. Almost all the stuff that is supportive is based on the concept of “I can see my team in Bombay” or “Money – Good, More Money – even Better”.

Raphael Honigstein on this season’s edition of Bayern Munich.

Simon Kuper spends sometime with Glenn Hoddle who is working on an interesting player development idea.

David Owen says that Manchester United has failed to punch its weight in Europe and it is down to the expectations of how the team should play.

Isn’t this convenient – international play takes a toll but travelling to Saudi Arabia to play a game doesn’t.

There have been so many good articles this week I thought I would throw a few up as part of the weekend preview.

A piece on the politically active Barcelona defender Oleguer Presas.

Paul Gardner on the MLS and his oft repeated plea to look more towards South American players.

David Conn – Premiership shares sold and money made.

A piece from Graeme LeSaux’s autobiography – worth reading just for the last paragraph.

The Times top 50 managers. Sure to generate some debate. I find some of the selections strange but I can’t disagree on the top two.

The always interesting Simon Kuper on Northern Ireland. This was written before Gillespie and McCartney started to scrap about who was getting the window seat.

Sir Alex Ferguson names his heroes for Robert Philip.

And to the weekend action.

The North London derby pits two managers "enjoying" vastly different degrees of job security. While Arsene Wenger has just signed a new contract that should keep him with Arsenal for four more seasons, his opposite number Martin Jol isn’t sure that he will be around for four more games. As far as this game is concerned history is not on Jol’s side. Spurs last win against Arsenal was at White Hart Lane in November 1999 under George Graham and since then David Pleat, Glenn Hoddle, Jacques Santini and the present incumbent have all failed to put one over on Wenger’s Arsenal.

However, draws and late equalizers have been par for the last seven North London derby games at White Hart Lane. Six of the last seven Premiership games between these two teams at White Hart Lane have finished as draws and four of the six have seen equalizing goals coming in the 89th minute or later. Spurs have pulled a rabbit out of the hat three times and Arsenal once.

If you are looking for likely scorers then Robbie Keane might be the man – four goals in 12 appearances against Arsenal. On the other hand Robin van Persie has yet to score against Spurs in five matches. 

With a disappointing start and the prospect of Chelsea visiting Old Trafford next weekend three points is a priority for Manchester United when they play Everton at Goodison. Goals – or the lack of goals – have been the major problem for United but they face an Everton side that traditionally does poorly against them.

Everton has only recorded three wins in thirty Premiership matches against United and last seasons collapse must still be a fresh memory. Leading 2-0 and with Ian Turner starting in goal for Tim Howard, Everton gave up four unanswered goals on a day that all but sealed the title for the Red Devils. Ronaldo was thrown into the match with the Everton leading 2-1 and he contributed two helpers to turn the game around. After serving his suspension for a red card against Portsmouth Ferguson will look to Ronaldo once more.

Tim Howard’s availability will depend upon the finger injury he picked up against Brazil last Sunday. Howard has yet to record a shut out this season as Everton has conceded a goal in each of their five matches. In attack the Toffees have scored eight goals but none have come from the normally reliable Andy Johnson. Johnson has now gone ten Premiership games without a goal – his longest unproductive spell in the top league.

When Johnson signed from Crystal Palace Everton fans were hopeful that he would be their first 20 a season goal scorer since Peter Beardsley in the 1991-92 season. The hope may now be shared with new signing Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Twenty a season may be a bit much to hope for (his scoring per season has been 16, 12, 13, and 12) but as the stats show Yakubu has been a consistent scorer since he arrived at Portsmouth for the 2004 season. Fifty-three goals in 138 appearances gives him an average o####oal every 2.60 games.

The Chicago Fire has been blazing a trail to MLS play-offs lately with four wins and a draw in their last seven matches. A haul of 13 points contrasts with only six points picked up in the previous 12 games and it is difficult not to trace the improvement to the arrival of Blanco. However, one of the recent losses did come against the inconsistent New York Red Bulls at the beginning of September in New York. The Red Bulls have not won away from home since July 8 when they beat Colorado and overall their away record is almost a perfect inverse of their home record. At home 12 games, 8 wins, 3 losses and a draw, for 24 against 11; Away record 12 games, 3 wins, 7 losses and 2 draws, for 13 against 24.
 
In Serie A the visit of Roma to Reggina catches the eye. After only two matches only Roma and Juventus can boast of perfect records.  Roma has won only once on their last four trips to Reggina and lost twice. What's more they have been held scoreless in three of those games. However, it will be a different looking Reggina squad that did well to overcome an 11-point penalty last season and survive courtesy of a last day win over Milan. Rolando Bianchi, a source of 18 goals last season, left to sign for Manchester City. Also gone are Coach Walter Mazzarri (Sampdoria), Giacomo Tedesco (Catania), Alessandro Lucarelli (Siena), and Mesto (Udinese).

To compensate Francesco Cozza has returned to the club for his third stint after a short spell with Siena and Icelandic midfielder Emil Hallfredsson took a circuitous route to Reggina. Hallfredsson was sold by Spurs to Lyn of Norway only to be moved to Reggina only two weeks later. It was Hallfredsson who scored against Spain for Iceland last Saturday in a 1-1 draw. Roma’s Alberto Aquilani so far has scored two stunning goals from distance and will be looking to make it three in three games. Roma faces a tough schedule in the next few weeks with games against Juventus, Fiorentina, Inter, Parma, Napoli, Milan and Lazio in succession. Plus they have the Champions League as well. 

The shock result of round two in Serie A was Napoli’s 5-0 away hammering of Udinese. Napoli hadn't scored five away from home in Serie A since 1929 and they did it against a team that had played well while drawing with champions Inter Milan the week before. The star for Napoli was Ezequiel Lavezzi with a goal and two assists. He was signed from San Lorenzo for around $4M this past summer and he has of course been annointed the new “Maradona”. Also prominent against Udinese was former Juventus striker Marcelo Zalayeta who scored twice.   Sampdoria is still with Antonio Cassano and he is expected to be out for a month with a left thigh injury. Cassano was hurt during a friendly with Swiss team that was arranged in order to help get Cassano fit!

In Spain newly promoted side Almeria started with a 3-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna before losing at home to Valencia 2-1. This weekend they travel to the capital to play last season’s champions Real Madrid. Almeria, who finished as runners-up in the second division last year, are in the top flight for only the third time and most pundits have them marked down for one of the three relegation spots. They will not be helped by the fact that striker Alvaro Negredo (a goal in each of the first two games) cannot play as Real Madrid retained an option on his future services before allowing him to join the newly promoted club.

The Bundesliga has the two remaining undefeated teams facing each other this weekend. However, Bayern Munich has won three and drawn the other of their four games; Schalke has drawn three and only won one. What’s more Bayern has yet to concede a goal at home and are the only side to notch double figures in goals scored. After finishing fourth last season - their worst position for 12 years – Bayern has left no doubt that they plan to retake the Bundesliga title by uncharacteristically spending a lot of money.

Ze Roberto is back for a second spell with Bayern Munich and although he used to play on the left side of midfield his is now playing in front of the defense.  Other signings Franck Ribery, Luca Toni, Hamit Altintop and Miroslav Klose have also started well as has Hamit Altintop. Altintop will line-up playing against his former club after making a Bosman move this summer. Bayern’s home record against Schalke in Bundesliga play at home is an impressive 27-5-5.

Last but not least the Old Timers play-offs get underway Saturday. It is going to be a painful Sunday and Monday.

atleti_female - I've been thinking about going to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada this summer. The thought of seeing some of the sport's upcoming stars would definitely make it worth the trek up from NYC. I imagine that U-20 version will be less crowded than the regular World Cup-- is this a correct assumption? (Mind you, I don't see this as a negative, but as a possibility of getting good seats in the games.)

Also, at this stage of the competition, are there any youngsters that have caught your eye-- or, that have been talked about by other analysts?

Bobby - I think that the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada this summer is going to be a terrific tournament.  The last announced ticket sales for the six host cities was around 300,000, but many of the sales so far have been cut-price deals to youth players and the soccer fraternity. The 24 team tournament will be held in Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, (east) and Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria (west) in July. The final will be in Toronto.

The draw for the tournament will be made in Toronto, on March 3 and is being televised live in Canada, on CBC television (the rights holder in Canada). The teams to watch - no great insight here - will be Brazil, Argentina, and Spain. As for other teams to look out for I would pick Mexico (they won the under 17 World Cup two years ago), and the Czech Republic (they have produced some very good age-group teams in the last decade). Nigeria has done well at age-group level as well and they are joined by three other African countries Congo, Gambia and Zambia who would be regarded as more unknowns, but potentially very entertaining and exciting.

I don't see the European teams being particularly strong given that they have a “competing” format for the under 21’s. Germany, France, Italy, none of these countries have qualified which I think will be a shock to some people who might be interested in buying tickets but do not necessarily follow the game closely.

The USA should be competitive as it normally is at this level and Canada should definitely make it into the last 16 with a top eight spot a realistic expectation.  It is difficult to say who the players are to watch out for because there is no guarantee that they will be “available”.

He can only hope that the likes of Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Carlos Vela (Mexico and Arsenal) Giovanni Dos Santos (Mexico and Barcelona) make appearances. There is also a kid Bojan Krkic (still only 16) who may make the Spanish squad - another Barcelona player.

Just as an aside, North Korea and South Korea have both qualified and will be separated at the group stage.  But what are the odds that North Korea will be drawn together with the USA?

Henry14 – I have to say l do not see Mascherano taking Sissoko's place he will be used as a squad player and the size of his contract appears to me to be more of Benitez accepting that he has taken a gamble. l have to make a brief comment on Tottenham. Martin Jol spend $82m in the transfer window on Zokora, Berbatov, Ghaly, Mido, Ekkoto, and Malbranque and it teams like this that make me appreciate Mourinho, because clearly they are underperforming. Martin Jol seems not to know his first choice midfield paring.

Managers are usually fined when they bad mouth referees do you know what happens to referees when they make bad calls like the Ronaldo and Yakubu tumbles, because l just feel the referees are inconsistent, the next minute they follow the book the other they are trying to use their head, like the Viduka case. And lastly what did you make of the La Liga round this week; in my opinion l just feel La Liga is not cutting it this year.

Bobby - A fully fit and fully functioning Javier Mascherano is a far better player than Mohamed Sisokko, in my opinion. Did Martin Jol spend the money or was it Damien Comolli (Arsenal’s former European scout) the Spurs Sporting Director?

I can't question Berbatov's performances this year, as I think he's been outstanding. I would agree that Spurs have not got their midfield figured out and they still lack balance and need somebody who is naturally left footed.  Lennon and Malbranque played far too wide against Manchester United and left Huddleston and Zokora exposed. It didn't help either that the Spurs defense played very deep.
The defense really misses Ledley King.

As for referees making bad calls - we can expect the perfect referee about the same time that the perfect player is created. Referees are held accountable for their performances probably to a greater extent than players are. It is interesting that you are criticizing the referee for the Ronaldo incident, but make no mention of Ronaldo's contribution. How can you criticize referees when some players go out with the full intention of cheating?

As for the comment about La Liga - I do not understand what you mean by “not cutting it”.  There are 5 or 6 teams in contention for the league title, apart from the bottom two it looks like its going be a real fight for the last relegation spot and they have three teams in the last 16 of the champions league. What in your opinion would constitute cutting it?

Djnima - My first question for you is about Real Madrid. What do you think is their problem this year? They have the talent, they have a good coach. Do they just need time to gel together and hit form?

Also, would you see Wenger cashing in on Henry? I'm sure he could command a huge chunk of change. Isn't that was Wenger likes to do . . . (buy low sell high)

And my final question is about Scolari this week coming out and recommending that Ronaldo leave united for Barca. Do you consider that an irresponsible comment for a national coach to make about the player's current club? It is sure to sour relations between the national team and the club team.

Bobby – I think that Real Madrid is still suffering from the chaos of previous years and the culture shock of being managed by Fabio Capello. Capello is not an adventurous coach, and that's clearly seen by the lack of goals from Real Madrid. Not only is a team losing, but they are losing ugly! The problem is if they get rid of Capello who do they replace him with and if they do the chaos just continues.

Arsene Wenger is not going to be selling Thierry Henry in the near future.

Sometimes in newspapers we see the answer, but we never see the question. I am guessing that that's the case with Scolari.

Gunner44 - I'm also going to ask about Ronaldo on whether you think he should leave Man U? I don't see why he should move because he is been amazing this season and the Man U team has kind of revolved around him this season and he is having a fantastic season. The only reason that he might want to leave is because of social and environmental reasons like the weather just like Reyes did. It's really going to be a big loss for the EPL because as much as I hate Ronaldo, I do think he has been the most entertaining player this season.

Bobby – The Premiership cannot afford to lose players like Ronaldo even though gravity often gets the better of him. To substantiate the television rights fees, not just in England, but around the world the premiership has to be seen as the league that stars come to, rather than the league that they leave.

Foxcube – Man Utd this season have suffered very few injuries whereas other teams such as Arsenal, Newcastle had a team in the medic room at certain points. Could you shed some light on this issue? Another question regards Lippi's interview a short while ago about his possible move the Chelsea. Do you still think Mourinho is on the way despite their recent "revival"? Thanks!

Bobby – There have been seasons when Manchester United has had injuries piling up as well.  Teams do need a bit of luck; it isn't just down to having the best players.
Injuries tend to come and go in cycles but Newcastle seem to be in a perpetual state of injury crisis.  There was some discussion about the quality of their training field a while back but I have no idea whether that was rectified or not. When you consider the amount of money that the top teams spend on players and pay them, you would think that they would be making sure that they train only on the best surfaces. Making sure that players cool down properly and prepare themselves properly is also key.

ulsterson - Do you see any validity to the idea that different skills or talents can be learned in different leagues? The EPL certainly has a different style of play than those on the continent and in South America. Some players have a very difficult time adjusting to the pace and physical nature and some English born players have difficulty outside of the EPL (Just recently read about forwards from the EPL having to be told not to track back as much in Spain or Italy) How do the different leagues around the world affect players development and do you feel the EPL style has in some way hindered the success of the English national team? Thank you and thanks from all of us for all the time you put in on this blog.

Bobby – I think you have to except that different skills and talents can be taught and learned by players in different leagues. The different leagues around the world still have their own characteristics and still represent each country's culture. Glenn Hoddle and John Collins are two players who've often commented on the difference it made to their game when they went to France to play. Sometimes it's not just the on field performance either, but things like lifestyle.  Much has been made of the influence of Arsene Wenger and foreign players on home-grown player’s diets.

The EPL style does “hurt” English national team because at the international level ball possession becomes even more critical.  In the premiership the ball is given away with more abandon and the emphasis is placed on winning it back.

Only1cab - I know that signing a player can be an arduous process but when there is so much money involved it seems a bit unprofessional signing players five minutes before the window closes. I mean they've had a whole month.
Also Tottenham are in trouble with the FA for showing the replay of Ronaldo's (alleged) dive over and over again on their big screens at half time on Sunday. I believe it was a bit irresponsible of them after the events in Italy.

Bobby – Panic buying is never a positive thing although I think you have to separate the last moment decision to try and sign a player, versus pursuing a player over a long period of time but running into roadblocks and tough negotiators.
I really don't know what Tottenham did in respect to the video replays, but if they did continually replay the Ronaldo “incident” at half-time then it shows a lack of common sense in my opinion.  Replaying the incident on a video board isn't going to fix anything.

On the subject of video replay - sort of - Matt Dickinson had an article in The Times about how it was a bad weekend in England for video replay enthusiasts.

Verbal97 - I'm a little confused about what's going on in Italy in terms of repercussions. This should be the straw that breaks the camel's back and if it happened in England, the UEFA and FIFA powers that be would be going nuts. A small set of English fans (ok, Liverpool fans) inadvertently caused the deaths of 39* (mostly) Juventus supporters by rushing them and causing a wall to fall down in response to the Italians throwing stuff at them. The resulting punishment was that ALL English teams were banned from Europe for 5 years and Liverpool banned an extra year. In 04/05, Roma fans threw things at the referee during a Champions' League game. Resulting punishment was 3 games in front of an empty stadium. That same season, Inter fans threw flares onto the field during the CL quarterfinal against Milan, even striking a player (Dida). The resulting punishment was 3 games in front of an empty stadium. It seems that the punishment now that a policeman has died should be extreme and severe, but from the conflicting reports I've been reading, it doesn't seem that it will be likely. So, I really have two questions. First, what, in reality, is going on? And second, why is there a double standard depending on what country these things happen in (or am I mis-perceiving this)?

Post-script I stand corrected on the numbers (I've edited my comment to reflect this)...However, it seems to me that Italy is descending down a slippery slope and it needs to be stopped, using things like Heysel as a history lesson as to what can happen down the line. That said, I stand by my double standard comment, in that if something like this happened in England today, a swift, severe punishment from UEFA would likely follow, even though the English game has been cleaned up considerably whereas Italy now is a complete disaster and not likely going to get severe penalties.

Bobby – I don't think the Italian situation at the moment comes close to what was happening in England, and in Europe in the 70s and 80s. During that time, it was week after week, year after year, it was never ending. I don't agree that if there was a similar incident in England, that UEFA would issue a severe punishment.  Domestically, it doesn't fall within their jurisdiction. UEFA get involved when European club or international competition is involved.

As a postscript - my memory might be failing me on this one - but my recollection was that the FA together with the British government of the time withdrew English teams from European competition immediately after the Heysel disaster. The suspensions from the UEFA only came after. I think that is an indication of how bad the situation actually was. 

You also have to consider that it was not until after the Hillsborough disaster - not caused by fans but by incompetent policing – and to some extent the Bradford fire that there was a real commitment to fixing things.  The issuing of the Taylor Report was critical, and only after the report were English football grounds brought up to a modern standard.

A whole series of questions relating to Makelele foul on Angel as he broke free and Zokora’s blatant dive.

bliss_street - Makelele's tackle on Angel would have earned him an unnecessary roughness penalty in the NFL. I wondered whether referee Graham Poll was going to give him a straight red card or let him off with a yellow. Imagine how flabbergasted I was when he made no call at all!

henry14 - I have to say they is a tendency for Chelsea to go away with the most decisions, on all their games l have seen they have been given fair decisions on penalties, but the officials were not consistent when they are guilty, l felt Makelele deserved a straight red card. The most outrageous decision to me was the way Zokora sunk so low to fall to the ground, it is one thing to make the most of a tackle but to fall to the ground is tacking cheating to unprecedented levels. I think the FA should ban players who do so for games if they go unpunished in the game, because it is so unprofessional

AlexMorph - I'll probably be immensely unpopular for suggesting this, but I think that Angel played Makelele for the foul because he knew that he couldn't outrun him. The Frenchman was right on his tail, running off to the side a bit, and Angel showed him his back without bringing the ball. He went across the direction of the ball and Make ran into him (ok, he didn't have to use his arms), so the ref probably saw it as obstruction from the Villa striker.

travel_coach - Since the ref. made no call on Zokora's dive in the Pompey game, cannot the FA review the incident and penalize Zokora with some time off and a fine for unsportsmanlike conduct?

Ducky_Jones -  I've read comments from Glenn Hoddle & Tony Adams about the Zokora phantom penalty; they're calling him a cheater and that if he wants to stay in the EPL he can't do that sort of thing. Is there a double standard in how they treat foreign players compared to English ones? I've seen Rooney dive in the area and get the penalty call. I'm sure that I've seen other English players do the same thing. What gives?

bigdavedisaster - As a Spurs supporter in the EPL I can not defend Didier Zokora’s dive. There is no place for it in football except for apparently the EPL, La Liga, Serie A Champions league (Giggs) the world cup and just about all the other leagues and competitions until something is done it will only get worse! As long as diving continues to produce results it is here to stay in today’s big dollar global football world were wins mean so much....oh and with all those dollars come all those cameras so we can see the dive from all angles as to be sure not to miss one

Bobby – I have watched the challenge by Makelele on Angel and in my opinion Makelele was very lucky to stay on the park let alone get away without even a foul being given against him. Angel is not the quickest forward in the Premiership but he was in front of the Chelsea player, heading for the goal with the ball under his control. I can agree that Angel played for the foul but the ball was always within his playing distance so an obstruction call couldn’t be given by Graham Poll. Makelele was all over Angel – Chelsea was very fortunate in that situation.

In terms of Zokora the FA’s position would be that the referee made his decision and so calling Zokora to account for the dive would be undermining the ref’s decision. If Zokora had punched Mendes off the ball without an official seeing it then video evidence could be used as the referee did not make a decision.

However in the case of the elbow Thatcher threw at Mendes – and connected with – the referee gave a yellow card but the FS still used video evidence. Although I can see the difference – the Thatcher decision involved further punishment of a foul correctly called by the referee versus what would essentially be the retroactive overturning of a referee decision – it does not seem to me to be that great a leap to make sure that dives such as the one by Zokora are punished using video evidence. Bringing the game into disrepute is a pretty good catch-all for something like this I would think.   

And yes – there is a double standard in terms of diving. Foreign players are singled out. Diving may not have been so prominent before foreign players became more prevalent but it was definitely there.

davard - Could you please explain the Makelele/France situation to me? Can a player not retire internationally but still play in a domestic league? Does this mean McClaren could, within his rights, declare Paul Scholes onto the nat’l team, with or without his consent? In fact, he should, just to see Fergie's reaction.

Bobby – We went over this one a couple of weeks back if I remember correctly. I don’t believe FIFA anticipated their rule that a player can be suspended if he doesn’t report for international duty would used to force a player into reporting when he had already announced his international tournament. The rule was imposed to try and deal with situations where players were being pressured into calling off “injured” after being named to a national team. Your point is well taken. McClaren could name Scoles to the squad and force a suspension if he didn’t turn up. The obvious solution is for FIFA to create a register of retired international players. Then the likes of Makelele would register his retirement and would not have to bother with the antics of Domenech. 

neophyte - Great pieces on the Yanks at Reading. We have been following them in our household. They are everyone’s favorite 2nd team. Question: Why doesn't USSOCCER promote the Americans abroad? I would think they would be the poster kids for the up and coming generation.

Did you see Villarreal against Zaragoza? Riquelme put on a show! Note to the rest of La Liga, do not make him mad. You won't like him when he's angry. I think the press in Argentina pushed too far and now they (the Argentines) will be looking even more troubled against their South American competition.

Bobby – I guess the question is better put to the USSF. However, what would they promote – that Reading has two US players? I think US soccer fans know that so they would really be preaching to the choir.
I didn’t see the Zaragoza – Villarreal match but I have noticed that Villarreal’s performances have improved over the last couple of weeks and they are moving up La Liga – to my relief seeing that I picked them to finish third!

spike24 - What do you think about Reading's Ibrahima Sonko? It seems he must be considered one of the surprising standouts of the new season. The only games Reading has failed to get a result were the ones he missed from his red card. And in the games he has played, he's been a dominating force - neutralizing Rooney against Man Utd, and coming up with tackles and deflections to preserve 1-0 wins against West Ham and Man City.

Will we see him playing as a French International any time soon? I understand that since he's never played for the top squad, his time at Senegal does not invalidate him from playing for France.

Bobby – I am holding judgment just a little bit longer on individual performances from Reading. As a team I think they are an entertaining team to watch and their goalscorers will get enough goals to keep them out of relegation trouble. However, after so few games we will have to wait and see who is playing above their normal level. I understand he was ready to join Senegal for an African Cup of Nations qualifier this weekend but called off through injury.

gregz – What’s the deal with Shevchenko? He is a much more lethal striker than Drogba and yet Drogba has been totally outshining him. I wonder though is it a case of Sheva making Drogba look good because he attracts so much attention from defenders which leaves Drogba open to score goals. And what of Tevez is it too early to expect anything good from him.

Bobby – I think generally fans have unrealistic expectations when big signings move to another club and sometimes another country. I am convinced that Shevchenko will come good. At the moment Drogba is carrying the load in fine style. As for Tevez and Mascherano – it far too early to tell.

wickedzoot - Regarding the West Ham meltdown. I saw a not on the rumors page that at least one of the Argentines is already bucking for a transfer. I kinda lost track after that. Was that smoke? I haven't seen much reporting on WH lately so I wonder if I've missed something. Will they get a chance to turn things around or are we just waiting for the next window to see where they go?

Bobby – It is a normal type of rumour when a player has moved in a high profile transfer and success hasn’t been immediate. There was the ridiculous story earlier this week that Shevchenko was heading back to Milan in January. At the moment the Argentine pair have not made an impression and so what other European teams would be looking to step in anyway? I find it interesting the Chelsea conspiracy theorists have gone strangely quiet since the pair arrived and WH has not won a game since. 

MeanSucka - Becks' work rate seems to have greatly increased since being brought off the bench, most notably against Dinamo Kiev. Think he was gunning for inclusion on the England squad? Or trying to get back in Capello's starting 11? Or both?

The shot of he and Ronaldo sitting on the bench at the beginning of the game was interesting. I guess they're discussing the best places to live in the states! Now if we could only get an MLS franchise here in Miami - especially since we recently lost our only draw - Romario.

Bobby – I think the chances of a Beckham recall to the England national team is very low. But one thing is for sure – he will not be called up by Steve McClaren if he is not a first choice for Fabio Capello.

Venti-vidi-vici – Many people (Jose Mourinho included) seem to think that Inter Milan is, ON PAPER, one of, if not, the best club teams in the world. Crespo-Ibrahimovic-Adriano is arguably the best trio of strikers anywhere, along with Figo, Vieira, Cambiasso, Solari and Stankovic in midfield and a very experienced back-four, Inter should amount to a formidable force. I guess, like Real Madrid teams of recent years, it’s not always about the sum of the parts. Unfortunately, most of the Inter team is (or at least acts) semi-retired !!!!

On the other hand, Milan is simply trying to get used to life without Sheva. Gilardino had an excellent first season at the club, and if Oliveira can find the form which saw him claim the La Liga scoring title, the two can form a lethal partnership for many years. In the mean time Sheva is very sorely missed. The midfield of Gattuso, Pirlo Kaka’, Seedorf, now in their fourth or fifth year together, can play from memory, and Gourcuff (incredible potential) will fit in nicely. The back four with Nesta, Simic, Jankulovski and Kaladze, along with the elder statesmen of the game, is one of the stingiest in Europe. Do you think it will all come together for the rossoneri?

Speaking of Milan’s defense what do you think of the careers of Milan’s aging defenders, Cafu, Costacurta and, in particular, Maldini? Paolo represented Italy 126 times, including 23 consecutive World Cup finals games (all starts), losing a final, a semi and a quarter all on penalties, and losing the final of Euro 2000. He has played in seven Champions League/Champions Cup finals (winning four), and holds the record for the fastest goal ever scored in a UCL final. He is in his 23rd season with Milan’s senior squad and has now played over 800 games in all competitions for Milan. He is the first and only defender (excluding goalies) ever to win the World Player of the Year Award (1994). When he retires at the end of this season, where will he rank among the all time greats of the game?

Note: When Maldini made his debut for Milan, he played alongside Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley, and a couple of his current teammates were not yet born!

And who are your top 5 midfields?

 
Bobby – I was surprised that Milan did not make more moves in the summer. The Milan midfield looks to be a solid unit once again but they have relied on the full backs to give them width. When the full backs fail to get forward Milan tends to become a bit predictable. Maldini has been the greatest defender of his generation and history will consider him one of the greatest ever – right up there with Franco Baresi. The World Player of the Year title he won was from the publication “World Soccer” rather than thee FIFA award. If FIFA has any sense at all they should present Maldini with a special award for services to the game and to recognize his outstanding play over 20 years at the end of this year.

Top 5 midfields? I am assuming current midfields. In no particular order I would have Milan in the top group and Chelsea – more on potential than current form though. Barcelona has to be included. If Alonso could find his form again then Liverpool would be another. Valencia would have to come into the reckoning especially if Vicente can stay fit and once Joaquin settles in. Given that Lyon have lost two excellent midfield players over the last two seasons and they are still producing great football then they would also be up for consideration.

buffytvs - You missed listing another atrocious call -- the blatant handball on Paul Scholes' shot by a Newcastle defender (whose name I've blotted out I think) was ignored. The Richard Dunne block I've never seen a good enough angle on, but it looked really su####ious too.

Bobby – I am surprised that there is not more debate over handballs. The appropriate section of law 12 states “A direct free kick is … awarded to the opposing team if a player commits any of the following ….offences: handles the ball deliberately (except for the goalkeeper within his own penalty area)”.

Liverpool fans will find the bracketed section ironic I am sure. It is what constitutes deliberately that is the problem. It seems to me that for many referees the rule is flexible and has much to do with where the “offence” occurs on the field.

Richard Dunne did very well to save the ball and not with his hand either.