JayFSR - Would you consider The Rep. of Ireland a minnow team? Do you think they will be able to make it through with Italy? I Think Roy Keane should coach them. That would get some results!

Bobby – No. One of my criteria (and it is just how I separate countries in my mind) is to be a top class minnow a country must never have reached the Euro Championships or World Cup Finals.

A country can regain some sort of minnow status by not playing in major finals for the last 20 or 30 years. As it is the Republic fail to meet either criterion. 

I cannot see Italy not finishing first but the runners up spot is definitely up for grabs. You may think Roy Keane should coach the team but I doubt Roy does and I really doubt that the FAI does. You will need the entire group that was around in 2002 to be put out to pasture before Roy Keane is considered. What’s more an international team is no job for a very young coach.

Getz76 - What do you think of Sir Alex Ferguson resting C. Ronaldo for an EPL fixture and then losing?

Bobby – Understandable – Ronaldo played two international games with qualification at stake and these games would come with added pressure. United was also playing a team close to the foot of the league with only a single win.

If you are going to ignore these circumstances then you are never going to come up with a justifiable reason to give the player a break and he will just burn out. Ferguson is looking at a picture that is bigger than one game.

Yrusodull - Fergie looks like he may be in it for his comments to officials at the weekend, but I think the officials should be doing the explaining! Over the last 2 weeks bad or missed calls have ruined and / or decided the outcome of several matches. (Scotland vs. Italy, Canada vs. S. Africa, Tottenham vs. West Ham, etc.) Why are the governing bodies not held accountable for this? With the technology available today, some consistency in the calibre of officiating should be obtainable. What can be done to rectify this blight on the beautiful game!

Bobby – I’m not sure how you jumped from a Fergie rant (about Bolton being overly physical) to the issue of bad or missed calls but no matter. In the debate over the use of technology the proponents fail to explain the logistics of how and when it will be used and the longer term impact it will have.

From my perspective technology supporters focus on one off incidents to buttress their case but fail to acknowledge that once the cat is out of the bag then it will subsequently become open season on calling for replays. There is no doubt in my mind that the reviewing of refereeing decisions by replay would eventually lead to a substantial change in the character and quality of the game.

The logical conclusion of refereeing-by-replays– and supported by human nature – will be for the referee to call everything and wait for a replay to change it. Tackle in the penalty area – the referee’s normal response will become to award a penalty and then call for a replay to prove or disprove.

That option is far more palatable than the other which would be to let play go on and have the possibility o####oal at the other end. Then the potential is call back a goal at one end and award a “retroactive” penalty for the first incident. I can see that one going down well at Old Trafford in a scoreless draw with minutes left and United being on the wrong end of the decision!!

However, the best argument against decision by replay is the number of times that a television replay still fails to bring agreement on whether or not the referee was correct. 

Technology pushers tend to live in a world where if you just replay an incident then everyone will agree on the call. There is little evidence to support that. There are colour commentators (especially in the US) who operate on the basis that their primary job in the absence of analysis is to critique the referee’s decisions courtesy of replay.

Many times the referee is correct and the colour commentator is wrong and even though they’ve had the benefit of slow motion and time to think about the decision.

Finally you referred to the Spurs – West Ham game. I felt that Mike Riley got both penalty calls correct – you don’t (I assume), so how would technology help? We disagree after seeing the same incidents slowed down many times.

Craigy_f – 1) Who would a winter break in the Premier league benefit most? Is it likely to happen?
2) Do you blame the odd dodgy referee for Scotland’s exit or perhaps their failure to get anything in Georgia?
2a) Money aside - would you hazard a guess as to why top English players aren't a sought after export.
3) Care to have a stab at the next England manager? What do you make of the process to pick a new manager so far, Barwick aided by Brooking with input from 'a number of PL managers'?
4) My first and second best moments of the football weekend were 7-1 and Juventus giving Palermo an utter hiding, what are yours?
5) Just let us know how we can put you in a foul mood so we can see some more of that lovely stuff you produced the other day

Bobby 1) The players you would think. I saw some stats a couple of years ago that claimed that Bundesliga players suffered fewer injuries after the winter break than Premiership players. In order for it to work properly the Premiership would have to cut down to 18 teams from 20. Otherwise the same number of games will have to be packed into a smaller window. I don’t think you will see a winter break in the Premiership.

2) I don’t blame the referee for Scotland’s failure. Going into the Georgia game I felt a win was needed – even a draw was not good enough. However, although it was a great effort the reality is that overall Italy and France have much better teams than Scotland.

3) The day before Martin O’Neill “declined” I suggested on the Team1040 radio program from Vancouver that I thought O’Neill would pass on the opportunity. It was a pure gut call. The problem is that after that my gut has taken a break and there are precious few other names that jump out at me.

I don’t think Capello will be offered the job; Louis Van Gaal – horrible media skills. I would be very shocked in Jose Mourinho was really interested let alone take the job. An interesting suggestion I read was Claudio Ranieri.

As for the process – I don’t think there is one. It sounds like another fly by the seat of your pants process. Barwick would give instill a great deal more confidence if he articulated a more formal process – even strike a three man advisory committee or something – and give timelines.

4) Dundee beating Hamilton Accies 1-0 to narrow the gap at the top of the Scottish First Division.

5) Good mood today – sorry.

amenina - 1. What has struck me about this is how huge this story is in the US and international football media. Do you think it'll be as huge if it were France/Germany/Italy/Spain who did not qualify? Somehow I think there wouldn't even be half as much coverage.

2. Do you agree with the following statements?
a. The EPL is the most watched league in the US; so naturally, many people support the England NT, 'cos they're familiar with all their players.
b. The British media is the most accessible (common language), so the US media report more on the England NT than other national teams.
c. Many US commentators are from Britain (you, Webster, Cohen at FSC, and a few folks at ESPN), so they talk more about the England NT 'cos that's what they're familiar with.
d. England is such a polarizing team (many love them, others can't stand them), and a "sexy" topic (Beckham, WAGs, all the business at the FA), that them failing is bigger news than many other teams succeeding. (kind of like the Yankees or Mets)

Bobby – 1. No there would not be as much coverage if France/Germany/Italy/Spain did not qualify.

2. a. Disagree – I would suggest that the Mexican league is the most watched league in the USA. I also disagree that you would support a country because you watch a domestic league. The might have a little bit more interest but “support” is too strong a term.

b. Part of the reason but there is much more to it than that. Political and economic ties for a start. Throw in US players playing in the league as well as well as players from a wide array of countries and it is difficult to find a part of the Premiership that someone can’t identify with.

c. I would suggest you have it the wrong way round. If there was more interest in the other domestic leagues then in all likelihood you would have commentators who are more representative of these leagues. In my case I’ve spent well over half my life and almost all my adult life in North America (and none of it in England) so I think your cause and effect is a bit suspect.

d. Who are the Yankees or Mets? Are they in the Conference?

Gregz - Q1. What’s up with Henry, he is really struggling in my opinion.
Q2. Tim Vickery seems to believe that Tevez may lose his place as first choice striker to Aguero for Argentina, any thoughts?

Bobby – 1. The season is only three months old. How is he struggling?

2. It’s strange that you should say that because I have never considered Tevez to be Argentina’s first choice striker. He wasn’t going into WC 2006 and certainly not during the tournament. Since then I have seen nothing to indicate that he was Argentina’s default choice to start up front. Aguero is going to become a fantastic player and from what I have seen he appears to be more adaptable to the style of the players – more so than Tevez.  

Redfan2000 - Looks like Alex McLeish just quit as Scotland manager Bobby, to take on Birmingham? Seems to me like a step down or is there more to this? What’s your take on this and who do you think will replace him?

Bobby – That is a big disappointment but understandable. International team management is not a career for younger managers more like a stepping stone to rebuild a career or to make a mark.

Either way a return to club management is normally the end result. As a Premiership team Birmingham can pay a lot more (a lot lot more) than Scotland can plus the position offers day-to-day involvement. (There again after picking up compensation payments for Walter Smith and Alex McLeish maybe the SFA will be in a position to pay more?) Plus it means Martin O’Neill and McLeish can again fight it out for city supremacy!

Who to replace him? Billy Davies will get a mention and probably has a shot at it – the name Graeme Souness will get press. I’ll throw in a couple of names and profiles that might fit – Jim Jeffries, George Burley and Bruce Rioch. Craig Levein at Dundee United will get a mention (although too young in my opinion) and Jimmy Calderwood at Aberdeen might be a good fit.

Sleeper000 – Do you think Modric is going anywhere in the winter or if Dinamo might keep him until the summer? Knowing how the Dinamo board functions, he's probably gone in the winter. Also, what club do you think he might end up at?

Bobby – I try as a rule to avoid comment on transfer speculation. Too many unknowns. One more caution, Daily Mail=Anything for a Headline. Also Daily Mail gets around 0.0005% of their transfer stories right.

RINGO - Have you been surprised by the results of the junior clubs on their first entry into the Scottish FA Cup? And when do you expect to see Tayport taking part?

Bobby - It has taken a long time for the juniors to be allowed into the Scottish Cup but I am not surprised at how well they did in the early stages of the Cup.

Only Linlithgow Rose is left and we have to wait until later this week to see who they draw next. However, from what I have been told there will be more than a few teams hoping to avoid Linlithgow in the next round.

The best run junior clubs have always been a step ahead of some of the teams in the lower reaches of the Scottish Football League – as have some non-league clubs. The decision to allow junior clubs entry into the full SFA Cup came a little too late for Tayport as last season they had a relatively poor season – the first in a long time. I’m confident that they will make it to the SFA Cup sometime soon and it might even encourage me to take a trip back for the game.

Tintagel - So, Bobby, just what was Benitez thinking of with his comments on the owners? How about another tack? It was a cry for help. Benitez's heavy workload increased when he restructured the Academy, and he took oversight responsibilities, and he still has not replaced Ayesteran. When you are overworked, you try to force the issues to shorten the time necessary to carry it out properly to make it fit your overly heavy schedule. Hicks and Gillett would be much farther ahead to get him help, i.e. a replacement for Ayesteran. I should be Rick Parry's job to sell this to the owners, so I hope that he is up to it, for Liverpool's sake.

Bobby - Interesting observation. Another possibility is that the real problem is between Benitez and Parry. I believe Benitez had a feud going with the Director of Football while at Valencia and perhaps something similar has erupted.