Ringo - Chivas USA? Owned by bloody foreigners?

Bobby – The answer was Chivas but for a different reason. The only team in the leagues listed that doesn’t have a part of its name a city, state or nickname of the state.


MasMaz – Please give us your opinion of Fabregas. I have beaten the dead horse in exclaiming that he is a very skilled but limited player. Wenger is making a huge mistake in building his team around him. He was terrible on Saturday. I realize he is young but he shows me nothing of a player who could become a match winner or tempo controller. His crossing, corners and free kicks are the worst in the league. Arsenal is supposed be a top class side yet, corner after corner and free kick after free kick is poor. These are fundamentals. I think Arsenal will miss Eduardo most on corners.

Bobby –If you can’t see what Fabregas brings to the game then it doesn’t matter what I say because it won’t change your mind. He is playing in the most difficult position on the field, he’s not twenty-one yet and he rarely makes a poor decision when he has the ball. However, I see that you are reevaluating!


Henry14 - I think you know l feel Arsenal can win in Milan, historically I do think wins in Europe when you are in an iffy period tend to help in the League and the opposite is not true , as how Arsenal consolidated 4th and got to the final , l think a win in Milan is what the Gunners need right now.

Bobby – Great call.


Zuco2 – The FSR studios are in Winnipeg so you must be living in Winnipeg, right?

Bobby – Correct.


Djnima - My question is, 70 million quid for Lyon? I don't think United would be willing to drop that much dough for the kid. That's Real Madrid and Chelsea money. When Fergie signed Nani and Anderson it was very hush hush. In contrast with Hargreaves he was very vocal. Do you think this is Fergie's way of calling dibs on Benzema? Do you think it will work?

Bobby – I think it was Fergie’s way of hopefully putting Benzema off his game. (I agree with Venti.)


Ringo - Are you interested in the UEFA cup yet? And I can't pick up the Beeb on my telly ,can you help me out?

Bobby – Getting there. Everton – Fiorentina, Spurs – PSV and Rangers – Werder Bremen have me a bit more interested. We get the BBC ……Canada.


Craigy_f - MLS starts in less than a month - what's your take? Do you have any thoughts on the UEFA CUP first leg round of 16? Particularly Fiorentina V EFC, although I'm interested in all the games.
20-30 years ago that many black players on a pitch at Goodison (many of them wearing blue) would have been unheard of/greeted with bananas and #### calls. Happily that sort of malarkey seems to be behind us. What vestiges of racism do you see in the modern day game, fans or pundits (if any)?

Bobby – I think it will take me a month to catch up with who is playing for which MLS team. To be honest I totally switched off at the draft stage. Far too much space and discussion dedicated to a bunch of young players who largely will have little or no impact for a couple of seasons. I can understand it is a fantastic thing for them to be drafted but the coverage is way over the top.

As I said above there are some very good looking ties and if Everton and Fiorentina both take the games seriously – and you would hope at this stage that they would – it will be a great match up and a real contrast.

I was praising Prandelli on Monday and the same goes for Moyes - two managers who have worked at it and learned their trade.

As far as racism is concerned you would have to differentiate between the clear and very obvious types we have seen and heard about in certain European countries and the overt stuff such as why are there not more black managers in the English game? It’s a fight that will never be totally won as far as soccer and society in general are concerned.


Redfan2000 - With all the chat about bad fouls in the press after the Eduardo tackle, do you think there is a marked difference between the English game and the rest? I am wondering if the FA or even UEFA will start to crack down on the players by maybe bringing in the FIFA standards, as used at World Cups, across the board. Would that be good in your opinion?

Bobby – I think that a lot of people mistake physical contact and speed with dirty play. I also go back to a comment I made last week that we don’t often see the really dirty players as they are better at disguising it.

There was also a host of bad fouls from other leagues that illustrated that no one league has a monopoly on awful fouls. The game is much cleaner than it was thirty years ago.

As for FIFA World Cup standards would you be meaning something like this game from the 2006 World Cup?


Craigy_f - You've alluded to the corner kick prowess of Villa and the Blues on the show (and Bolton are still dangerous on set pieces). What makes them so dangerous? The delivery, the organization, the defenders coming up or what? I'll rephrase, can you dissect a good corner kick for us?

442 still seems most popular in the PL (with the odd 451 or 433) In Serie A there is still a lot of 442 but also a fair amount of 433 and 352) - the Pl is filled with 'foreigners' so why do you think the 442 remains so popular and nobody is even trying a 352. This question comes of the article in the latest 442 about the 460 formation and how it could be very dangerous if used correctly.

Bobby – First of all here are some stats as of the end of January. The first number is goals scored from dead balls, the second is the total goals scored. I went back to the 2004/05 season and worked forward to this season. Bolton 20/49, 16/49, 17/47, 7/24; Everton 15/45, 13/34, 17/52, 10/40; Aston Villa 16/45, 8/42, 10/43, 16/43.

As for what makes a team dangerous on set pieces? First off a lot of preparation and practice. A good delivery, movement and trying to isolate the defending sides weak spot to match up with your strength. I was going to add height and strength but that probably helps but is not necessarily decisive. Finally execution – someone who is confident and attacks the area that the ball is played into.

Formations – I’m a bit surprised that Martin O’Neill hasn’t given 3-5-2 a shot as he favoured that set-up when at Celtic. Overall it is probably down to a comfort level with the system. After all it has been around since the mid sixties. I don’t think it is necessarily a case that the system has not changed but I think we are seeing more team use 442 in different ways. United has used two defensive anchors at times this season when there is usually a balance with one attacking midfielder and the other shielding the back four.


Cabby - Almost a perfect day on Sat. - the Dee win in the last minute and Hamilton only 1 minute away from defeat. I used to think you were lousy when i watched you on Fox but when i found out you were a Dundee supporter I now think that you are brilliant - keep up the good work.

Bobby – Thanks for the ringing endorsement. If I am ever looking for an agent I will make sure and try Andy Millman’s first.

Neophyte - Did you see Robinho's performance this weekend? There is a lot of talk on the blog about c. Ronaldo. Yet Robinho is never mentioned in the list of top players. Where do you think he is in his development and do you expect to see him take over the world like his country man (Ronaldinho) did a couple of years ago?

Bobby – Only bits and pieces as the broadcaster could not decide which game they wanted to follow so they opted for neither. Comparatively I don’t think all that much of him to be honest and this stage in his career he would not be on my list of the top ten players in the world. There again I doubt he will lose any sleep over my opinion!

Elliot123 - Based solely on this season's performance to date, who would you select for a Merseyside Top XI?

Bobby – Here goes and light the fireworks. Reina; Jagielka, Carragher, Yobo, Lescott; Gerrard, Mascherano, Cahill, Arteta; Torres, Yakubu.

Jagielka at right back because he seems comfortable anyplace – even in goal. Finnan has been poor and Tony Hibbert has looked a bit off at times. I just can’t pick Phil Neville and Carragher is a terrible full back. If he had not been injured so much I would have expected Agger to be in. Leon Osman is unlucky not to have made the eleven.

Henry 14 - Bobby has a great big egg on his face after Arsenal went through.

Bobby – Nice one coming from someone who at various times has wanted to get rid of half the Arsenal side and wanted Wenger sacked. (Henry14 – all this stuff is archived and can be easily traced to you). I’m amazed that you have not done yourself some serious damage leaping on and off the bandwagon.

Foxcube - Enjoyed your sharp wits and bright insight, but please DO remember to raise questions to Bobby, or he'll feel not needed again like on Feb 24, and we don't want to lose this space.

Bobby – Don’t worry about me. There are more than enough questions buried in the banter.

Footie fan - Do you think Tevez and Rooney combo will work upfront?

Bobby – We discussed this topic on Monday’s show and I don’t see how these two can’t play together. Both attract multiple defenders when they get the ball so I can see lots of opportunities being created. More importantly I can’t see how any coach worth his salt would turn down having two players like that on your team.

Ulsterson - Heinze (or his agent) seems to badly want the move to Liverpool and first team football, but I'm not sure Heinze would start in that back four. Would he move to the middle? Riise?

Bobby – I think Heinze’s versatility as well as his aggressiveness is what Benitez likes about him. Riise has often pushed forward into the midfield as well so overall it gives Benitez a lot more options to pick from.

CIAO - I'm not sure if you read Atleti's blog, but we from her blog, were wondering if you would participate in a fantasy footie league with some of us? That I know of Atleti, gabemar, Verbal, LGB, VVV, ulsterson and last but not least, the crowd favorite, Ringo were also interested in the idea.

Bobby – You can forward details to fsr@mts.net and the e mail should reach me. No promises.

LetsGoBuffalo - Why doesn't Liverpool build the new stadium to full capacity? After seeing United draws in 3 million pounds per match, what are Hicks and Gillette thinking?

In the same article it talked a little about Man U's transfer activity. First, are most deals between clubs now performance based with escalators? Secondly, seeing as two of United's signings have a hard time with injuries(Anderson and Hargreaves) Who do you see as doing the best with their money out of England's top five?

Bobby – Sorry can’t help you on the stadium issue. In terms of transfer deals there are certainly a lot more incentive based deals than you would have found even five years ago. Re best with their money – it would be Chelsea. They needed more depth in certain positions and they have achieved it.

CIAO - will you also have a review of the upcoming Serie A season?

Bobby – A Serie A preview will be up the week of August 20.

CIAO - Since you will not review the Bundesliga can you please give us your opinion on how Bayern, Stuttgart and Werder Bremen prepared for the new season? I know that Stuttgart added Basturk (a big +), but lost Hildebrand and replaced him with a goalkeeper named Schafer. Do you know anything about him? Bremen lost a defender to Real and Klose to their main rivals. Speaking of, Bayern hit the jack pot with all the talent coming to Munich. What do you make of these three teams in their domestic vs UEFA/CL cups?

Bobby – I haven’t had time to look at the Bundesliga yet so I don’t think I can be of much help. Here’s what I know. Stuttgart was the youngest side to win the Bundesliga for 30 odd years so I’m not surprised that they have not made many moves. Schafer was with Nurnberg and played in the side that beat Stuttgart in the German Cup Final in May. Werder Bremen is one of these teams not somehow find a way to replace players when they move on – almost seamlessly. They have signed Carlos Alberto who played and scored when Jose Mourinho’s Porto side won the Champions League in 2003.
Bayern has splashed some serious dollars this summer and none to early. They should have done this a couple of summers ago instead of allowing the team to grow stale.

Neophyte - What do you think of DeMarcus Beasley at Glasgow Rangers? This seems to be in complete contradiction to his slight frame and easily bumped off the ball style. Do you see this working out? Ally McCoist has been complimentary of him so far. Your thoughts....

Bobby – It was DaMarcus Beasley’s performance for the US against Scotland in November 2005 that set the move to Ibrox off. Walter Smith was managing Scotland that day and in the press conference he was very complimentary about Beasley’s performance and remarked that he was the type of player Scotland use to produce but no longer. Beasley needs a shot of confidence and if he gets it you won’t find him being bumped off the ball so much. I don’t think it has anything to do with his “slight frame.”

Henry14 - 1 What happened to Nakamura, he looked like a guy who had a big club waiting to take him?
2 Who do you think are favourite to win the champions league?
3 Do you understand the ac milan transfer policy because they have money and are linked with everyone but are not buying

Bobby–1. He plays in front of 60,000 every second week, how much bigger can it get? I doubt that there are another ten clubs in the word that attract crowds like that.  2. The bookies say Barcelona. 3. They are linked with everyone because that is how it is with big clubs. There is still over three weeks left before the transfer window closes so it is a bit early to draw the conclusion that because they haven’t spent money they won’t spend money. 

Craigyf - So Bobby, love to see if you have any opinions you can publish or share on the coverage of the MLS, how it's packaged, what it could learn from the more established football broadcasters (if anything) and do you have broadcasters/commentators you like.

Also we have had the Beckham stuff play out a little - what is your take on the whole pulava so far?

Bobby – Because there are multiple MLS broadcasters there is no standard presentation. I have seen good and I have seen awful this year. However, the MLS site is excellent and MLSTV is great. To be able to sit down and watch a game on the laptop or to grab the highlights is fantastic. In terms of broadcasters/commentators in general there are a lot more bad ones than good ones unfortunately - particularly in the area of colour commentators. There are far too many that seem to think that their job is to (a) second guess the officials courtesy of replays or (b) act as back-up play-by-play announcers. The colour guy’s job is to tell us why something happened not to repeat what we can see for ourselves.

As for David Beckham – I have a self imposed Beckham embargo in place until he kicks a ball in anger. Until then I don’t care.

 

 

Neophyte -  Question for all the Arsenal supporters and for Bobby, why did Arsenal not keep Baptista? Do they think Adebayor is better than the "Beast"?

Bobby – Arsenal didn’t keep Baptista because apart from a couple of Carling Cup performances he didn’t play very well. Adebayor is quicker than Baptista, better in the air and is younger. Baptista is more versatile than Adebayor though.

Milanfan - Just wondering what you thought about Milan’s lack of acquisitions this summer. It’s strange that they are so complacent when they were pretty mediocre in Serie A last season, that is compared to the two seasons ago, last season they went down hill and I think that they will continue to decline a bit with their aging team. They have a great starting 11 but whole bench of players that don't really add anything.

Galliani came out and stated he will acquire one of 6 superstar players. Its seems that the names pretty much won't leave their clubs. Which one do you see coming or which one do you think would be the best addition to the Milan squad? Will they go down hill with the squad they have versus other teams in Serie A and Europe getting stronger?

Bobby – Is this the same Milan that won the Champions League last season as they went downhill? I’ll wait to see who they sign before dropping in my two cents worth. There is still a long way to go before the transfer window closes.

henry14 - q1. Martin O’Neill is highly rated and has an open cheque book from Lerner, what do you think will happen if Villa do not improve, because last year they were boos when they were awful and what do you make of a coach with that money signing Harewood?
Q2 One pundit said that people are over hyping Man United signings, and he said so far the only signing that could improve them immediately is Hargreaves, Nana and Anderson will take two more years to be anywhere near very good Prem players. What is your take to such a quote?
Q3 Drogba has had two or so years saying, he wants to quit Chelsea and he wants them to match his ambition, and it pops up here and then do you see Drogba at Chelsea in the next two years given his desire to play in another league?
Q4 What do you make of Wigan signing of Sibierski and Bramble etc, should Wigan fans fear?
Q5 Who is the best Prem player ever or rather since its inception?
q6 Alan Curbishley came out to take a swipe at Fergie that he claimed Tevez had won West Ham relegation battle was that tongue in cheek and what do you make of the comments?
q7 In one word will Tevez be a United player come August 31

Bobby – A1 – A loaded question and one that is largely unanswerable. What is the definition of not improve? Does that mean the same league position as last season? Does it anticipate a full squad all season or injury ravaged? I have a question back to you – what do you make of a coach who would sign Chris Sutton when he was virtually a laughing stock at Chelsea? O'Neill's strength is getting the best out of players and he likes big strong forwards. Harewood fits the mold.
A2 – It sounds like a fairly good assessment to me.
A3 – If he has been saying for two years then why is he still at Chelsea? Actions speak louder than words and I really think you have to be careful reading things into “interviews”. As for Chelsea matching his ambition I can only think he must have his eye on the position of All-Gallatic Emperor. Who in their right mind would claim that Chelsea is a team without ambition- give me a break.
A4 – Relegation.
A5 – Best in terms of what? Influence, scoring, defending, entertainment, success. Best is not an objective term.
A6 – Managers say a lot of things when microphones are stuffed in front of them. In the bigger picture what they say almost always means very little.
A7 – Maybe.

Henry14 - What is your opinion on Sven’s signing, l do not like the man very much but he has brought cheap and quality players.

Bobby – I wouldn’t underestimate Sven at the club level given his record in other leagues but I am not expecting Manchester City to be an entertaining side this season. Bianchi is a high risk signing.

Icemonkey - What's your take on Senderos and Walcott? I would be more than willing to give Walcott a chance, but I think that Senderos must Goooooooooooooo. Maybe we could loan him to an Italian side where he would get regular playing time, maybe that would help him. If not, he should have no future with a top-four club in any league.

Bobby – Two young players that we have yet to see the best of. I would be surprised if Wenger loaned Senderos out. If he thinks he has a future at Arsenal then he will keep him and work with him daily. If not, he will let him go.