Craigy_f – 1. Ian Bell - did he see the Spitting Image Mourinho interview on Setanta this weekend? Brilliant! As only Spitting Image can be. Has that show ever made it across the Atlantic?

2. What are your opinions on Mourinho for England? Whom would you hire or England? How's the search going in Scotland?

3. Best and worst refereeing decisions for you this weekend.

4. Any games or results stand out for you?

5. How important is a club's history, particularly with the explosion of global fan support?

6. Arsenal - a wobble or something more?

7. My Carling Cup game will be hotly contested but what about the other three? 8. Has Goughie got his badges? 9. The ACoN - little more than a storm in a teacup for everybody but Pompey? Will you be covering the competition in any depth?

Bobby – 1. Spitting Image was broadcast in Canada for a while – I don’t know about the USA. 

2. The question now has an answer …..but from Mourinho not me. I said on the show that I felt Mourinho was not serious about the position and was only using it to stir up interest and a media frenzy. It now looks to be down to Capello.

And although I said last night that I was still not sure who I would pick, the more I think about it, the more I cannot come up with a reason why not Capello. If he isn’t the most successful manager in the world he is dam close (I think his record carries more weight than Fergie’s). But I still have a nagging feeling that it won’t happen.

The campaign to hire Mark McGhee as Scotland’s new boss seems to have generated a lot of momentum. Meanwhile “my choice” Jim Jeffries is no place. McGhee is experienced although I would suggest that he is as likely to bolt to a better club opportunity should an offer come as was McLeish. John Collins of Hibs has also been mentioned but I think he is short on experience.

3. Worst referring decision – allowing Pascal Chimbonda’s goal. Best decision – either of Sonko’s two tackles on Torres.

4. Tayport beat Carnoustie Panmure 5-2 in a Scottish Junior Cup 3rd round replay. Dundee are now tied with Hamilton at the top of the Scottish First Division.

5. A club’s history has always been massively important and it is probably even more important as the game goes global. The marketing people would probably talk about it in terms of branding but that makes it sound far too corporate.

Personally I don’t think you can be considered a fan unless you are intimately aware of your club’s history. History and former heroes help you through the bad times; it gives perspective and reminds you that good times will return. History and past triumphs (even though others may not see some results as triumphs!) keep pulling us back for more.

A Liverpool fan who doesn’t know about Shanks, Yeats, St. John, Keegan or Albert Stubbins isn’t, in my opinion, a fan - they are someone with a passing interest. Dixie Dean and the midfield of the late 60s/early 70s for Everton. Arsenal and Herbert Chapman, Charlie George even Sir Henry Norris. Sir Matt, the Babes, the holy trinity of United. Bell, Lee and Summerbee for City.  Chelsea’s first FA Cup win, Hudson, Osgood and Cooke, the 1955 League winning team.

Every team has their own version – just some are more famous than others, but they all have the same hold on fans, no matter the team.

6. Arsenal is 11 points up on their position after 16 games last year so in the larger context a few drop points still puts them way ahead of last season and they still finished in the top four with relative ease. It is tough stretch of games but I expect them to still be up in the top three come the first week of the New Year.

7. All four games are potential crackers. Everton has a pretty solid record playing West Ham 12 wins and 6 draws in the last 23 matches – Everton could win this one.

Blackburn knocked Arsenal out of the Cup last season and normally plays well against them at Ewood. Wenger will play the youngsters and although Blackburn has only one win in their last six Premiership games I think Blackburn will go through.

Manchester City at home to Spurs? City with an unbelievable home record playing against a side that has only lost once at City in their last 13 visits – 9 wins and 3 draws.

I fancy Spurs to pull off what might be considered an upset. Then we are left with Chelsea vs. Liverpool. In the past I have regularly called for a Liverpool win in cup games between these two but I am going to flip and pick Chelsea.

8. Richard Gough was in charge of Livingstone a while back so I am confident that he has passed his exams.

9. I think the African Cup of Nations impact extends beyond Portsmouth. Chelsea (Essien. Drogba, Kalou), Newcastle (Martins, Abdoulaye Faye, Habib Beye and Geremi), and Arsenal (Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue) for starters.

I read somewhere that United, Manchester City and Aston Villa are the only teams that do not have players who might be picked to play.

I don’t know at this time what sort of level of coverage I will be able to provide.

Neophyte - How would you rate Steve Coppell's performance as manager? Do you see him getting offers to a bigger club maybe a national team staff spot?(I thought playing Hunt more in the middle with Convey back on the left really opened up the pitch for Reading...your thoughts on the Royal's performance).

Bobby - He certainly is not a man that gets overly excited which can be refreshing some weeks. I can’t see him being offered the top job with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea or even for that matter whether he would even want a job like that.

Once you eliminate these four there is not much left that could be considered to be a significant step up from Reading. I have thought for a while that Coppell would make a good international manager but in the present climate he doesn’t stand a chance with England.

In terms of Reading’s performance against Liverpool it was well overdue and much more like the stuff we saw last season. Doyle and Kitson have to get goals and they have to get them earlier. I would be surprised if Reading gets sucked into the relegation zone come New Year. Twelve or thirteenth seems like a reasonable position for them.

CIAO - It appears the two front runners O'Neill and the "Special One" have both opted out of running to be the next England Manager. From what I know, Klinsmann, Lippi and Capello are all still available. However, as the article you provided for one reason or another indicated that they are not the ideal candidates.

I agree with you on that Ranieri would be an interesting choice but he still is at Juve probably at least until next summer. Martin Jol is also available, but I have not heard his name mentioned for the position. What do you think of him as the next England manager?

Does the FA have to rush to assign a manager? Considering the current limited selection would probably drastically expand in options after the EURO 08, would it not be better for both Scotland and England to wait to select their next managers until after the tournament? Who knows by then Hiddink might be looking for a job. If the England manager were going to be assigned to either Lippi or Capello, who would you prefer to take the position?

Bobby - I’m beginning to think that Martin Jol the martyr is getting a lot more credit for his time at Spurs than his record indicates that he deserves. Yes, the signing of players appears to have been more than a bit dysfunctional but the bottom line is that the Spurs team he left was pretty much in the same position as the Spurs he inherited from Santini.

Spurs were exceptionally entertaining last season and at their best they played some outstanding football. However, they finished in the same position (5th) as the previous season and with fewer points. They had good FA Cup and UEFA Cup runs but there was nothing to show that Jol was up to the England position.

The FA is rushing because of media pressure – no other reason. Without a manger the speculation will grow exponentially until the organization grinds to a standstill.

As for Scotland there is nothing to indicate that waiting for Euro 2008 would make any impact on their choice. Scotland is not short of suitable homegrown candidates. 

Given a choice I would go for Capello because he seems to me to be tougher and would not put up with the tabloids’ shenanigans.

Henry14 - q1 Do you think it devalues Scottish football when every time they play a game of any significance they postpone league matches you look at Rangers postpone their match in the weekend when Arsenal has played 4 games in a space of 12days and still need to win their group and their euro qualifying matches.
q2 Your prediction Chelsea vs. Arsenal, Man Utd. Vs. Reds
q3 One word next England coach
q4 Best goalie Casillas, Cech, Buffon, on league stats and form
q5 Top midfielder Pirlo, Gerrard, Xavi

Bobby - 1. Henry14, “every time they play a game of any significance they postpone league matches”. I’ve told you a million times – don’t exaggerate! No it doesn’t devalue the league, absolute nonsense. League games are rescheduled continually in other countries to fit in with European games. A postponement is only another form of rescheduling. Why do Arsenal need to win their group – is qualification not good enough?

2. Why would I predict  games five days before they take place? Lots can happen in five days. Even then you know I don’t spend a lot of time on predictions. I pick and choose normally based on what I think might be a surprise or a bit counter-intuitive.

3. Poor####.

4. Cech but it has nothing to do with form (he’s injured) or league stats (not a valid form of comparison).

5. Three very different players – are you looking for a continuity type player, a bustling and rampaging midfielder or a deep lying playmaker? 

DuncanEdwards -  1) Assuming he loses some of his pace on the wing later in his career, I was wondering what you thought of Cristiano Ronaldo moving to center forward...he's big, strong, has quick feet, passes and lays the ball off well, has an eye for goal and is a good header of the ball...seems like it would work

and 2)Keeping with the Portuguese theme, why is Carlos Queiroz's name not mentioned in connection with the England National team job?...He knows the league, the culture, the language, the players and would surely have the support and assistance of his present boss, Sir Alex...he has also coached at the National level before...don't you think he should at least be considered?

Bobby - If he loses his pace he will likely lose his sharpness at the same time which would certainly affect his effectiveness as a centre forward. Behind the striker – a position he has played – is a position he could excel in .

Queiroz’s record as a number one is poor and is the reason that I think that the only way he will get a sniff at Old Trafford once Fergie goes is as a sacrificial lamb.  Some people are just better 2ICs – yes Mr. McClaren. 

Flashman - As for greatest soccer books of all time, Bobby you particularly will know that one book will never be matched in this day and age when media access to players and managers is heavily restricted. That's Hunter Davies' The Glory Game. Re-read it this past summer. Remarkable. No team nowadays would ever grant an independent journalist the sort of access Davies was given by Spurs.  And the players today are just too media savvy, or even cynical, to honestly provide the sort of information he gathered back then.

And Bobby, do you think that the ref overlooked the fact that Pascal Chimbonda was offside and handled the ball as he scored the first goal against Manchester City was a way of making up for some of the brutal calls that have gone against Spurs this season?

Bobby -  I read the book again a couple of years ago and you are right there is no way that book could be written today. Another book that focused on the same era was Eamon Dunphy’s “Only a Game?” – also excellent.

If your Chimbonda explanation helps you sleep better then we will go with it!

Tuoc - Should Arsenal start Jens in goal again? I thought Manuel is an average goalie.

Bobby - On the upside I have to admit that Almunia has surprised me this season. However, I am still not convinced that he is up to the job. Arsenal’s defensive stats are not just down to the goalkeeper but the defense is giving up too many goals compared to Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool. If Lehmann can dump the prima donna (not as I saw written in another blog pre-madonna) then he can still help Arsenal.

Vidic15 - I would put Yugoslavia/Serbia just under Spain as chronic underachievers on the national level (I leave out Croatia because they have been better recently). Yugoslavia has always produced great players but they could never come together when it counted.

They had the talent but seemed to lack the mental quality and mental toughness to win, and I think that same reason is why Serbia didn't qualify for Euro 2008. They got too many draws from teams they should've beaten.

Bobby - I think if you look at the numbers Serbia and England are neck and neck for the biggest fall from grace from pre-World Cup 2006 to Euro 2008.

Gers4Lyfe - Rangers will miss the pace of Beasley and Darcheville for tomorrow's clash with Lyon. It appears your considerations of Celtic and Rangers might be spot on. Who do you see most likely to replace Beasley's spot in the European matches? I'm certain WS will go with the 4-1-4-1 although for this game at Ibrox I would love to see a departure to a 4-4-2 with Boyd and Cousin up front. What are your thoughts?

Bobby - I hate to say it but I am not sure that Rangers have any players left who can provide the pace that Beasley and Darcheville give the team. Beasley, especially, is a player who excels on the counter attack and is very valuable in Europe.

Novo would have been an important player as well but I understand that he is injured. Naismith got good reports from the Stuttgart game so he will probably come into the reckoning. I cannot see Walter Smith starting two up front. Cousin to start most likely with Boyd held in reserve in case a goal is needed perhaps?

Truebluecfc – I have enjoyed the blog for quite awhile and the fantastic articles you put up each week. What are your favorite football books?

Bobby - If you click on this link it will take you to a blog from this time last year that includes some books that I enjoyed in 2006.

To that list I would the following that have either been read or will be in the next few weeks.

“If you’re second you are nothing” by Oliver Holt. A contrast of Bill Shankly and Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Legends of United” by David Meek. A look at United players from the Busby era.

“Arsene Wenger – The Biography” by Xavier Rivoire.

“Jose Mourinho” by Luis Lourenco.

“England Managers – The Toughest Job in Football” by Brian Glanville.

“Love and Blood at the World Cup” by Jamie Trecker.

My favourite book in the past year is an updated reissue. “A Strange Kind of Glory – Sir Matt Busby and Manchester United” by Eamon Dunphy. I read the book about a dozen years ago when it was lent to me. I noticed the reissue and I thought it was even better than I remembered.

I have so far been unable to get my hands on "The Damned United" but I hope to soon.

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.