Gunner 44 - I think what we should learn from this is the EPL is a marathon not a sprint. But even in a marathon you don't want to be last for a long time you have to keep moving up as the race goes on. But anyways on Friday I heard you say that you don't see Arsenal winning the title and I just have to ask why? Because I think they have as much chance of winning it as Man U and Chelsea.

Bobby – My reasoning is that as the weather deteriorates Arsenal will drop points. I am also not convinced that they have got their wide midfield and full back players sorted out and in particular the left hand side where have been playing without a naturally left footed player. With Clichy back it will help but he will need time to get back to full match fitness.

Manchesterboy4life - I am just wondering what you think of Man U having a strong start to both the premiership and Champions league and if you think they have the depth to go deep in Europe and still hold off the Blues on the home front? Also do you hear of maybe some transfer news that we who are not in the know may be oblivious to?

Bobby – I cannot see United succeeding on two fronts. If they get passed the last 8 in the Champions league I will be surprised. They look to me to be a side that looks better equipped to have a run at the league title. They have surprised me by scoring the number of goals they have this season so far.

USAEnglandfan - Bad to worse at West Ham... really breaks my heart because they were one of my favorite teams to watch last season, they have some of my favorite players, and Pardew has that easy-going air that I really like. I have only been able to watch a select few EPL games this season so I'm a bit out of the loop, but how are NRC and Benayoun doing? What can this slide be attributed to? It has to be something more than the Argies signings.

Speaking of which, I don't fully buy the Argentina-England incompatibility theory. Heinze has done fine, Arca was Sunderland's only bright spot and was pretty highly sought after in the EPL this summer, and am I wrong that D'Alessandro had a solid run at Portsmouth? Personally I think the issue is that most of the talented Argentinians are snapped up by Spain before the EPL cares to look.

Last question: West Ham has a decent amount of stars. If West Ham goes down, what big name guys do you guys think would sink with them?

Bobby – I have only seen a limited amount of West Ham games this season so I am probably not in a great position to comment…but. It appears to me that there is just a general malaise about their play. Zamora was on a good run early on but nobody else is picking up goals. I know Dean Ashton only played the second half of the season but I think he was a big reason why WHU finished strongly last season. I expected better this season…a lot better but we might be seeing that a number of the players just played over their heads last season.

Your comments about Argentine players are well stated. Just with any nationality – some will work out and some will struggle. Back in the late 70’s when Villa and Ardiles signed for Spurs was a fantastic success while Villa – despite his fantastic goal to beat Man City in the FA Cup – was a disappointment.

Djnima -  Very interesting article on Rosicky. I agree with the article in that Wenger is playing Rosicky out of his natural position. However, the professor has no alternative. I don't think he can play Rosicky and Cesc in the middle of the pitch without being soft at the back. Gilberto has to come into the equation to help out in defense. I think playing Rosicky on the wing to adapt him to the EPL will smooth out his transition.

I am not an arsenal fan but it has been such a pleasure to watch them play football!

Bobby – I agree that Rosicky is being played in a wide position to allow him to accustom himself to the Premiership. I still believe that Rosicky has been signed to replace Bergkamp and you will see him paired with Henry but just a little deeper.

neophyte -  Since we are on the subject of Keepers (I enjoyed that article about it being the safest spot on the field) who are your top three EPL Keepers? May I taint your opinion a bit--Is there anyone out there with as good of technique as Van Der Sar?

Bobby – The good ones to choose from: Van der Sar, Cech,  Lehmann (didn’t think I would ever say that), Friedel, Reina (last season), Robinson, Given and ….David James.

I will discount age. I would place Cech first, Van der Sar second and then I have trouble splitting Lehmann, Freidel and Given for third place.

bigdavedisaster - All this talk about the EPL lacking teams with skills is simply wrong in my opinion. I’ll put up the skills of Arsenal Man U and Chelsea (all of which I hate) up against the top three teams in any other league. As in most league the teams at the top with the players tend to play a more skilled "pretty" game while the lesser teams have to scrap and hustle for the few chances that they get. Comparing leagues is simply a matter of taste. It’s comparing apples to apples and the champions league helps do that.

Bobby – I have never understood the argument of which league is “the best” and fans dismissing leagues because the quality is poor. The beauty of the game is that it can be played in many different ways that emphasize different qualities and attributes. It is also a game that can be played at any skill level. To me the issue is not which is the best league, it is whether or not what you are watching entertains and engages you.

gooner17 - Maybe Hunt did or didn’t mean to hit Cech but how come no one is saying anything about Ferreira? iI was taught as a defender to shield off attackers to protect your keeper in those situations and to make sure the keeper wins the ball first. Instead he just points to where the ball is (like Cech couldn't see it) and lets his keeper get nailed. Ferreira should feel just as bad as Hunt.

Bobby – Excellent point on Ferreira. I saw another example today in the Chelsea game of something that shocked me. It was the second half and Shevchenko was in a central position and passed the ball to Lampard(?) in the inside left position. Shevchenko then made to go beyond Lampard and to move into a position around about the edge of the penalty box on the left.  I was taught never to run in front of a teammate who has the ball…..which is exactly what Shevchenko did. Shevchenko should have side stepped Lampard and made a run behind him which would have allowed Lampard to thread a ball through to Shevchenko who would have then been moving at full throttle. As it was Lampard had to hesitate because he could not pass the ball till Shevchenko was out of his way and by the time he could pass the ball Shevchenko had run into an offside position.

buffytvs - 1) Today Charlton reaffirmed their faith in Ian Dowie. Isn't such an announcement usually the immediate prelude to a firing?

2) Seems to me a disproportionate number of 'Goals of the Week' emanate from the MSL. Who picks these things?

Bobby – Aaah – the dreaded vote of confidence. Time for Ian Dowie to update his CV.
As for who picks the “Goals of the Week” – I have to say I don’t know. 

henry14 -  l have to say first congratulation to Liverpool and Chelsea, but when l look at their game it was one of the worst attitudes to football by Jose Mourinho, what was a back four quickly became a back seven, it was boring , similarily to the game arsenal played against CSKA Moscow, it was a miserable game , they had 8 men in the box which is a very poor approach, the performance does not give me much to think they can go all the way, what did you think watching the game

Bobby – I didn’t see the Arsenal game but I did watch Chelsea and Barcelona. It was a disappointing affair. Chelsea forced Barcelona to play into congested areas of the park and their tactics worked almost to perfection. Without Eto’o Barcelona is missing speed through the centre and that allowed the Chelsea defense to play tight on the forwards. If anyone was likely to score for Barcelona it looked to be Messi.

And finally there was a lot of discussion on the Cech injury and the role played by Stephen Hunt. My take is that there was no intention on the part of Hunt to injure Cech. Quite simply if you are going to go after someone you would put the boot in; you would not use your knee. You have to be an absolute #### to try to inflict injury by the use of a knee given that the odds are that you will come out the worst of it. Hunt was going full speed, Cech slid into his path and Hunt when to go to ground. Gravity takes over at that point and there is no way to avoid the collision.

Mourinho’s comments about the ambulance taking 30 minutes to get to the ground were another example of the Chelsea manager’s unfortunate tendency towards exaggeration in times of stress. Two seasons ago he said he saw Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard enter the dressing room of referee Anders Frisk at half-time only to have to back down and admit that he had never seen anything of the sort. Now he claims 30 minutes when the records apparently show the actual time taken was only 7 minutes. It is not an endearing trait of Jose’s.  

Only one of the teams that finished 11th through 15th last season showed an improvement on the previous season. Even then, Fulham could only look to an improvement of one place from 13th to 12th and that was not a true reflection of a season where the relegation zone was a constant threat.

Everton fans will be hoping that the pattern of David Moyes’ four full seasons in charge continue. It has been a yo-yo existence 2003 – 7th, 2004 - 17th, 2005 – 4th and last season 11th. Moreover, given a much-improved second half to last season the indications are that it could mean that Everton is again challenging for a top 10 spot. Last season the goal-scoring department at Goodison was simply woeful with only 34 goals – a record club low – in the 38 Premiership games. It would have been substantially less if James Beattie had not started hitting the target in December. He finished with ten goals and finally showed why David Moyes had splashed out a club record fee to sign him in January 2005.

Now Beattie will be partnered with the club’s new record signing Andy Johnson. For $17m, Everton has a lightning quick main striker who should be good for 15 goals this season. Over the last decade, the best has been Kevin Campbell’s even dozen in the 1999/2000 season.

After arriving on loan from Manchester United Tim Howard will be looking to take Nigel Martyn’s starting position between the sticks although the sometimes-bumbling Richard Wright will be hoping for the same thing. The signing of Joleon Lescott from Wolves will bolster the back four with the biggest doubt being Lescott’s dodgy knees. If he avoids injury, Lescott could turn out to be a snip at $9m.

Fulham’s manager Chris Coleman will again be one of the favourites to be the first manager sacked once the season is underway. He came under severe pressure last season as the Cottagers spend much of the season flirting with relegation. For the second straight season, it was Fulham’s inability to keep the ball out of their net that caused a problem.

Over their first three seasons in the Premiership Fulham conceded 44, 50, and 46 goals. Over the last two seasons, the total has grown to 60 and last season 58. To date is difficult to see how Coleman intends to plug his leaky back four. Twenty-year-old central defender Gabriel Zakuani has been signed from Leyton Orient while last week Frank Queudre arrived from Boro to compete for the left back position. Jimmy Bullard will add something to the Fulham midfield but without a solid defense, it might be another season spent eyeing the Premiership trap door.

Alan Curbishley has moved on from the Valley leaving Ian Dowie the challenge of getting more out a Charlton squad that seems stuck in mid-table purgatory. The last six seasons have seen league placings of 9, 14, 12, 7, 11, and 13. Relegation rarely a concern; Europe a win or two too far.

Dowie might be able to coax some exceptional performances out of the squad early on but at the end of the day, it is likely to be the same old mid-table finish. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink continues his multi-season run to retirement after being released by Boro while American Cory Gibbs will get a chance to improve a defense that tended at times to fall apart last season. Eleven times Charlton conceded three or more goals in a game.

Middlesbrough is another club under new management as Gareth Southgate moves from the centre of the defense to the manager’s office. On the face of it Southgate would appear to have the makings o####ood manager – articulate, knowledgeable, and with solid international experience. The problem with throwing him into the deep end is if he falters early on, it may prove to be terminal. Boro continue to be linked with central defenders and it seems certain that at least one will arrive before the kick off to the season.

Chairman Steve Gibson has invested millions in the youth academy and there are signs that the investment is ready to pay off with a steady stream of youngsters ready to make the next big step. It is interesting to note that in the last game of the 2005/06 season Boro fielded the first all-English Premiership starting line-up since Bradford in December 1999 and the first all-English squad since Villa the season previous.

It will not have escaped the notice of City fans that the form exhibited by the blue team of Manchester from Christmas onwards was horrible. In fact, if the season had started at Christmas Manchester City would have been relegated. Over the close season, the City of Manchester Stadium has seen 16 players either arrive or leave. As well, manager Stuart Pearce has been able to sign youngsters Joey Barton and Micah Richards to long-term deals.

The arrival of Didi Hamann on a multi-year deal will help solidify the midfield and probably allow Pearce to rotate the German with Claudio Reyna. The much-traveled French midfielder Ousmane Dabo is another addition although City fans have a right to be skeptical of foreign signings given their relatively poor track record of the years. Bernardo Corradi also fits that bill although the former Lazio and Valencia man is a big powerful forward who has in the past, worked his butt off.