An early posting this week as I am off to Baltimore to participate in the FSC show live on Thursday evening from the NSCAA annual convention. Steve McClaren and Gerard Houllier will in attendance although I am not sure when they are scheduled to arrive. I will be back on a plane early Friday in order to get back to do the Friday show.

Because of this the weekend preview normally posted on Thursday evening will be sketchy at best this week.

Djnima - What are your thoughts on the Brazilian trio of Ronaldo, Pato and Kaka? It was a joy to see Pato's tears when his contribution brought Milan their first home win. Can you see Milan going on a run and making fourth in Serie A? Do you see Rafa getting the axe in the summer or before? I think he should be given the remainder of the season.  Terminating him sooner would be a mistake. Could you see Mourinho popping up in the Prem next season? Maybe United or Liverpool?

Bobby – I would not be getting too carried away with the Brazilian trio at this time. Kaka is the only one at this point that can be relied upon as a consistent threat. The chances of Ronaldo playing from now until season’s end has to be considered remote while Pato has not played thirty professional games.

Every team in Italy on the top teams in Europe are going through the game against Napoli looking for Pato’s strengths and weaknesses and his habits good and bad. One thing is guaranteed and that is that Pato good sides will not grant him the freedom that Napoli did. He obviously has a ton of natural talent but I think the expectations being placed on plus the reaction to Napoli win have been ridiculous.

Fourth place is a realistic aim for Milan even though they are currently 12th. After 15 games they have the same number of points as last year and they finished with 61 points. However, it might take a couple more points this time. The 4th place finishers in Serie A since 2002 have finished with 61 points, 67, 66, 62, 54 and 61 (2002-2004 were 34 game seasons so I have pro-rated the points). Udinese are currently tracking at a rate that would give them 68 points.

Milan plays Udinese this weekend so that is an important match for both clubs. A concern for Milan might be the number of games they might be facing because of the three games in hand in Serie A.

In terms of your Rafa and Mourinho questions the answers can be yes, no or a mix. There are far too many twists, turns and downright weirdness in the game to pontificate on the future based on what is in place today. It’s fine saying that terminating would be a mistake but would you say the same thing if they get knocked out of the FA Cup, loss their next three league games and get stuffed by Inter Milan? Mourinho will resurface in the Premiership but who knows when. Circumstances will dictate that.  

MasMaz - Wenger should sign Beckham on loan. He sure could have used him on Saturday. The game was calling for some good balls into the box with Ade, Bendtner, Gallas and Eduardo. Some of those corners were atrocious by Fabregas. Becks doesn't play any less defense than Walcott anyway.

Bobby – Even if Wenger was interested it’s more than a case of the Galaxy not allowing it. As I understand it FIFA regulations don’t allow players to flit between federations on loan deals. There are proscribed periods which would mean if he did go out on loan he would miss part of Galaxy season.  Over the years Beckham has always shown great positional sense and has defended well – he’s never been a great tackler but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t defend.

CIAO - I'm interested to know what you think of Klinsmann's move to Bayern. It appears he as already attracted Borowski to make the move in the summer on a free transfer. I'm curious to see how the Kahn and Sepp Maier, the goal keeping Coach who Jurgen fired while coaching the NT because he publicly backed Kahn over Lehmann. Do you think Kahn will retire this summer or move to another club? Also are there are players you would like to see move to Bayern? And are there any other players you see that need to move on?

With all in mind, is Kevin Keegan the best choice for Newcastle right now? As some of the media reports they could appoint Alan as his assistant so he gains experience. Whoever gets the job will need a lot of patience from the owner and fans.

Bobby – Bayern would not have signed Klinsmann without discussing these kinds of issues so no matter what course of action he takes it should come as no surprise to the club executive. I would be surprised if Kahn moves to another club in order to delay his retirement.

The question of picking players  I would like to see moving to Bayern seems to be predicated on me caring who Bayern Munich signs – which I don’t. Bayern started their housecleaning last summer – two seasons to late – so I am sure that there are some who still have to be shipped out. I have only seen Bayern play sporadically this season so I’m probably not a reliable source for who should be punted. 

Keegan might be the romantics choice but times have changed and I don't think he would be able to replaicate the great performances of the 90s. Whta's more with Kevin Keegan it always seems to end in tears. If Alan Shearer wants to be a manager then he should go out and work at it and learn the trade.

Craigy_f – 1. Do you own any replica shirts - if so which ones?
2. Who, if anyone, did you swap your shirt with?
3. Your take on Pato's debut, Ronaldo's (and Ronaldo's Hair) return and Arsenal's task in the CL.
4. Seems like the SFA is whittling things down, has your former view changed?
5. Scudamore refutes Blatter - who do you tend to side with.
6. Boys and their toys - some that stand out are Gibson and Walker, Briatore, Ashley, Abramovic. There is a new breed of owner who seems to have 'done it all on Championship Manager' and now wants to do it for real. Do you have any opinions thoughts concerning that?
7. No Couch at The Riverside (apart from the possibility of him acting as a security guard) why do you think he didn't even travel with the team?

Bobby –1. There might be some more tucked away in storage in the basement but the only one that I see regularly is one I was sent from Scotland when Tayport played Linlithgow Rose in the Scottish Junior Cup Final a few years ago.
2. I once offered to exchange shirts with a member of the Canadian national senior team but was turned down. I should probably add it was the women’s team and we were an over 35 (I think) men’s team that was asked to play them as part of a training camp that they held locally.
3. Good but excessive exuberance.
4. Sentiment seems to be moving towards Mark McGhee. In all honesty I don’t think I would have a problem with McGhee, Davies or Burley. Burns leaves me cold and Souness worries me.
5. It reminds me of the remark attributed to Fergie – You have Posh ####e and Wenger in a room, you have a gun and one bullet. What do you do? Fergie – ask for another bullet.

Both are spinning frantically with the truth of it somewhere in the middle. Blatter wants to turn the clock back not because it will improve the game but because he fears the power of the clubs and the possibility that it might affect the cash cow that it is the World Cup.

Meanwhile Scudamore conveniently  forgets that one of the major reasons put forward in support of the formation of the Premiership was how it would help the national team by – amongst other things – cutting the top flight to sixteen teams.

The truth is that a pittance of what the Premiership genertes is making is making its way to the grassroots. What is more there appears to be a wealth of evidence that the Premiership has alienated an entire generation of fans who can no longer afford to attend Premiership games. The Premiership is a boomers league or pretty dam close.

6. If you’re goals is the pursuit of wealth and status (as a league) then you should not be surprised when big (and often ruthless money) is attracted as well. Without a proper process to vet owners then you get what you deserve.

As fans we can enjoy the spectacle each week but Premiership teams have in many cases become playthings as you correctly point out . Or worse, vehicles for financial speculation. If the Arabs (I was surprised Dundee United have that kind of money!) do buy Liverpool and Hicks and Gillett make off with a substantial profit then it will only lead to more speculative investment. We also see it trickling down to Championship team who are available for relatively little money.

7. I think Crouch’s situation – whatever the reason – has been overshadowed by the draw followed by the Klinsmann revelation. 

Bonmot -- Any recent news on Americans moving to the Premiership this month?

Bobby – I doubt anything that you have no read elsewhere. Johnson still talking to Fulham and a move for Benny Feilhaber from Derby to Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Redfan2000 - If you were gaffer against Villa which Liverpool 11 would you play?

Bobby – Call me a traditionalist but I would go for the best eleven. One thing about playing against Villa you know what to expect.

You need to shut down the supply to Young and match Carew physically. Agbonlahor’s pace is a concern and giveaway as few set pieces as possible. I looks to me that Villa’s primary weakness is at full back especially if they can be coaxed forward and leaving space behind them. But I think the same is true for Liverpool.

Finnan and Riise especially give the ball away far too cheaply and their crossing as been generally poor this season. Either way the game might be won or lost (or drawn) in the wide positions.

Henry14 – Q 1 Last week you dogged my question on the somewhat rascist statements that they pour at foreigners as if they are illegal immigrants. In any line of work other than football you are reprimanded or fired for such comments.
Q 2 What your view on Walcott, and do you think Wenger is satisfied with his progress?
Q 3 Who do you think will win the African Cup of Nations?
Q 4 - If you had a club with a managerial vacancy, who would you have, Klinsmann or Benitez?

Bobby – Q 1 - First of all I think – I hope – you meant dodged rather than dogged. Dogged is what Stan Collymore got up to wasn't it? And I am not going to answer your question because it wasn’t a question it was a statement with a question mark on the end of it.

Q2 – Walcott is 18 - give the kid a break.  At times he plays as if his body is out of sync with his brain but that will sort itself out with experience. He has fantastic pace and is able to turn defenders. Give him time and he will be a very good player. You really need to ask Wenger but the fact that he plays him or has him coming into games regularly of the bench is probably an indication that he has confidence in him.

Q 3 – I don’t know about picking a winner but I will be watching South Africa with interest.

Q 4 – Depends on the club, the country, the financial situation, the expectations, the history, the culture. Otherwise you are running the risk of fitting a square peg in a round hole. Appointing a manager in football is the same as in any other business. If you don’t understand your needs and the environment then you are more likely to make an expensive mistake.

Ringo - I never did understand that whole Clydebank/Airdrie situation a few years ago.
Could you explain what happened, how could one team go bust buy another team and replace them? And any idea what happened to the Clydebank supporters?

Bobby – You’re testing my memory on this one. I think you have to go to the mid 60s. There was some sort of agreement between East Stirlingshire (a team in the Scottish League at that time) and Clydebank who were a Junior club with ambition.

It did not work out but shortly after Clydebank were elected to the Scottish League (2nd division at that time). It may have been to replace Third Lanark. Airdrieonians (great name) were also part of the Scottish League and had been for a very longtime.

I think the Steadman brothers were the movers and shakers behind Clydebank and by the mid 70s they had a Clydebank team (Davie Cooper prominent) good enough to gain promotion to the first incarnation of the Scottish Premier League which was formed in 1974 (?).

Fast forward to the early part of this decade and Airdrie went bankrupt only to be reformed under the name Airdrie United. But they had no place to play as they lost their place in the league when they declared bankruptcy.

They applied for a place under their new name but were refused. At the same time Clydebank were experiencing financial and attendance problems. The owners of Airdrie United stepped forward offered to buy Clydebank and had it approved by the SFL.

They then applied to rename the team Airdrie United and move the team to Airdrie. From what I understand a reconstituted Clydebank is now back in the Junior ranks.

As for the Clydebank supporter – I think he is still around.

(Ok I admit it I went for the cheap laugh!).

Jonathan Wilson on Victor Piturca the Romania national team coach.

The Canadian Soccer Association faces a massive law suit from the man that was to be their CEO ….or was it COO…or Executive Director. What the piece does not allude to it whether or not the CSA may have a case against the individual or individuals who may have exceeded the limits of their authority in offering Mr. Nykamp the position. A mess that will get worse before it gets better.

Mark your day-timer – November 25 is the draw for the rest of the World Cup qualifying groups.

After international action it is back to domestic competition and there are some cracking games in prospect. Scotland has the first Old Firm derby of the year with what has become normal – an early kick off time. Celtic is struggling with a number of their players – in particular full backs – on the hobble.

Gordon Strachan will likely have to play someone out of position at right back and at the moment former Hibs defender – and normally a centre back – Gary Caldwell appears to be favourite to fill the hole. Caldwell is just returning from injury and so Walter Smith might be looking to pick on Caldwell in the early going.

Celtic’s defense has not travelled well for some time and you have to go back to October 1 of last season (at Falkirk) to find the last time that Celtic maintained a clean sheet away from Parkhead in a SPL match. As far as goals are concerned the responsibility is likely to fall to Aussie Scott McDonald who has five SPL goals already as well as the winner against Milan. McDonald was signed from Motherwell in the summer after scoring 41 SPL goals in the previous three seasons.

Rangers US international DaMarcus Beasley picked up an ankle knock against Switzerland in midweek and is a doubtful starter. Rangers won the final two confrontations of last season 2-0 and 1-0 and with home advantage they are likely to be the bookies favourites.

Villarreal has beaten Barcelona four of the last five times that the Catalan side has visited El Madrigal on league business. They get a chance to extend that fine record this weekend but they can also expect to face a rampant Barcelona side. Barcelona are looking for a fifth consecutive win in La Liga and a seventh straight in all competitions. Lionel Messi has been on target in all the wins and he currently leads all scorers with six goals. Giuseppe Rossi with five goals in seven games has settled in beautifully at Villarreal but after picking up an injury while on duty with Italy’s under-21 side he will miss this one. 

Even though Roma (one win in three) and Napoli (two losses) have suffered some setbacks in the last few weeks their match in Serie A is still one that stands out. Francesco Totti notched goals 156 and 157 in a 3-0 win at Parma two weeks ago. That puts him 14th in the Serie A all-time scorers list and just one behind the legendary Luigi Riva and Roberto Mancini.

Napoli’s record away to Roma is poor with only 8 wins in 60 visits but the rivalry is intense. So intense that the game will be restricted to season ticket holders only.  Roberto Sosa of Napoli got himself involved in a bit of training field punch-up this week but it is unlikely to affect his starting spot on the bench. It is role that he has proved very effective in to date with three goals from four substitute appearances.

MLS regular season concludes this weekend with some things settled (Chivas, Houston, Dallas, DC United, NER and NYRB in the play offs; Toronto, RSL, the Crew out of the play offs) and much still to be decided (final positions at the top of the western conference with Chivas hosting Houston; the final two play-off positions).

At the time of writing David Beckham has been ruled fit to for the match against the Red Bulls but he has started the match on the bench – in other words he has been ruled fit to sit on the bench but not fit enough to start a game! It sounds as if the Galaxy has not learned a lesson from the first go round of his he fit to play or not. (At the time of posting it is 1-1 at half time).

Avoiding defeat against the Red Bulls will mean that the final game between the Galaxy and the Chicago Fire will help decide who will grab the last two play-off spots. Kansas City (away to Dallas) and Colorado (at home to rivals Rea Salt Lake) are also very much in contention and there are a good number of possible permutations. The best idea is to go the MLS website and I am sure that the possibilities will be laid out for all to see.

And finally to the Premiership. We started with a look at the Old Firm derby in Scotland and the first Merseyside derby of the season also goes this weekend. Liverpool lost this fixture last season 3-0 in a game that consisted of a catalogue of errors for them.

Andy Johnson grabbed a pair last season and Australian Tim Cahill chipped in with a single. The midfielder has yet to make an appearance this season for Everton and his 22 goals in 83 appearances have been missed. Cahill is back training after reinjuring his foot in the pre-season and could make the squad. However, if he is to appear it will almost certainly be off the bench.

Despite last season’s set back and the fact that Liverpool failed to score against Everton last season the red side of Merseyside has a very good record at Goodison having lost only three times on their last 12 Premiership visits. One “record” might last the day. Both clubs enter the game having collected the lowest number of yellow cards in the Premiership to date – Everton (8) and Liverpool (10). The last two Merseyside derbies have been relatively tame with only seven yellow cards handed out. In the four prior derbies there were 23 yellows and five cards.

Bolton arrives at Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal. Archie Knox has been handed temporary control after Sammy Lee left by mutual agreement (“mutual agreement?” you are fired –OK). Conventional wisdom has it that Bolton are a bogey side for Arsenal. However, Bolton have never been beaten Arsenal in a home Premier League fixture. Old boy Nicolas Anelka certainly enjoys scoring against Arsenal in the Premiership but his goals have not produced much in the way of wins.

Anelka – who is doubtful for the match – has scored six times in 8 appearances against Arsenal but only finished on the winning side once. Another game was drawn and the other six lost.

Manchester United and Aston Villa are both looking to extend impressive league streaks. Villa have won their last four home games in the Premiership while United have won six straight all without conceding a goal. But Manchester United is the last team Villa wants to face considering their record against them.

For starters Villa have lost 21 times to Manchester United in the Premier League and that is more than to any other club. United have won their last nine Premiership matches against Villa and they have kept the Midlands club off the score sheet on the last five occasions. It gets worse. In their last 11 Premiership visits to Villa Park United have won 8, drawn three, scored 15 and conceded only two.

Stop Press - The European Union has agreed on a treaty that includes an exemption for sport in relation to the general economic principles under which the EU operates. It does not go as far as Sepp Blatter wanted - "autonomy" - but it accepts the "specific nature of sport."

This is going to become very important in years to come and is a major blow to the G14 clubs. It leaves to door open for FIFA/UEFA to sit down with European bureaucrats and politicians and to suggest solutions to problems facing soccer in Europe without being limited to conformance with the economic rules of the EU.

In theory, it could even lead to salary caps - I stress in theory. The EU has not given up their power to ultimately regulate sport but there is an acknowledgement that sport is different than business and that solutions, rules and regulations that run counter to their general economic rules, might be applicable and helpful to sport.  

FIFA/UEFA, after finally wakening up to the EU reality, has managed to catch G14 offside and the G14 has now been largely isolated. Up to now the EU rulings have generally been favourable to the big clubs; that is now going to change.

Except some G14 bluster but this might be their swansong. In will take a few years for this to fully play out but in years to come we will be refering to the treaty in the same may that we refer to the Bosman ruling.