Craigy_f – 1. Many see the CL in the last few years as a tale of PL dominance. It's hardly that in the UEFA Cup. How to you explain the difference in the two comps for PL teams (or other leagues) in the last three odd years.
2. Do you like the playoffs?
3. The last noise the Liverpool Supporters Who Want To Buy Liverpool made was about having the clout to actually have a dialogue with Hillette and Gicks. Apparently they wanted to talk ' intentions'. Will this happen?
4. Will Ince be given a bigger club or stick with much moved Wimbledon?
5. Tevez's stock must have gone up with that late goal at Blackburn?
6. Gimme your top five footballing flops this weekend, please.
7. What; off what goes on on the pitch; gets your goat when watching football.
8. Who will finish fifth? (In the PL, Serie A and La Liga)
9. Scottish Managers seem to do well darn sarf, why do you think that is?

Bobby –1. Many would seem to have a very poor grasp of what constitutes dominance. One win this decade hardly represents dominance.

2. Yes.

3. Until they have money in the bank they are trying to bluff their way in the door. There is a large chasm between fans expressing a willingness to put money up and actually writing the cheque. There again 100,000 of them could borrow the money from the bank which is no more ridiculous than what Hicks and Gillett pulled off. (Couldn't resist the notion that the ESPN commentator missed a golden opportunity at the end of the game today when the cameras panned over to Hicks. The comments was something like "owner Tom Hicks must now take his Liverpool team to Stamford Bridge next week..." Should it not have been "owner Tom Hicks must now take his half of the Liverpool team to Stamford Bridge next week..."

4. There are always teams on the lookout for a savior so I cannot see Ince staying with MK Dons much longer. He could take a shorter route to the Championship I am sure.

5. Three late equalizers doesn’t hurt but I think that after what he showed for WHU late last season there are not too many people surprised.

6. You get 1 and 1 a – Clyde losing to Hamilton and Queen of the South beating Dundee.

7. What?

8. Villa, Milan, Racing Santander.

9. If I knew sarf meant then I might be able to answer.

Gorn – 1. Your opinion on whether Fake Ronaldo's PK technique is caution-worthy/unsporting? Seems to me that it's not much, if at all, different than if he just took a shorter run-up. Is there another line of thinking?
2. What sources do you use to do yer research (ie: top away goal scorer in BPL in 07-08, etc.)? Any links appreciated!
3. By how many goals will LFC beat Chelsea in both legs of the CL semi?
4. There appears to be a few quality strikers available this summer (Berbatov, Huntelaar, Villa, Henry, Crouch & hell even Ronaldinho). Do you think this will create a bit of a market correction in transfer prices? Or will this be the priciest market in years? I know you don't like to speculate on things like specific transfers, just wondering yer general feeling on what you anticipate happening, especially w/so many top teams rumoured to be changing managers....
5. Do you think MLS needs a marquee team or 3 to stimulate rivalries/dynasties like the BPL has? Not advocating a class system exactly, but maybe more along the lines of brand development & recognition. Beckham helps, but if his team is pants, it doesn't help MLS. Further, MLS seems not yet able to simply throw $ at players to solve the problem like NASL did.

Maybe MLS would be served by having more than one team in a big city like NY to create a derby. Thoughts?

6. Dis/agree that there are at most 3 Canadian cities than can support an MLS team?

Bobby – 1. Nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

2. I hunt through stats sites. There is not one that has everything and in some cases the information doesn’t seem to exist. Most of the time it is a case of getting raw information and adding things up. I don’t think I use any sites that I or others haven’t referenced before; BBC, Fox, Telegraph, Soccerbot (probably my favourite), soccerbase.com, premiersoccerstats, RSSSF, channel 4 are the normal haunts. I also buy the European Book of Football each year which contains a statistical recap of every league in Europe plus international games.

3. Leading the witness – can’t have that. And do you now wish to rephrase the question after today?

4. Prices aren’t necessarily dependent on supply but are more influenced by money in the system. In the last few years that has been Premier League money and there is no indication that the money will dry up. I would also suggest that managers are not looking for strikers per se they are looking for specific types of strikers depending on their needs.

Berbatov is going to give you imagination, silky skills, and the ability to lead the line. Crouch is going to provide you with a lethal five yard pass back towards his own goal and ….come to think of it how many goals has your list of quality strikers actually scored this season?

Huntelaar 34 goals – we know from experience that goals in the Dutch league do not necessarily translate into goals in bigger leagues and he his coming up on 25 years old and nobody has made a real move for him yet. Wonder why? Berbatov 15 goals but also offers more. After that there have not been many goals from the others.

 5. Use the words “brand development” and you are not off to a very good start. Rivalries do not come from plunking a team or two down in the same city. They come from years of games, incidents and shared history.

Rivalries cannot be manufactured and it is not just about location. After all if your theory was right we would be watching the Greater London League every week. One more thing – the NASL did not solve any problems by throwing money at them; they just caused more problems.

6. Vancouver I have no doubt. Montreal is a strange market and I don’t know enough about it. The others - not a hope of being considered let alone being given a chance. It is after all an US league.


Ursusarctos - "Should the Moscow [CL] final turn out to be an all-English affair this season, there will be plenty of talk about the Premier League being the best in the world. It isn't. Torres is right [that La Liga is tougher than the Premier League because matches are more competitive all the way down the league, and that English football is really all about the top four.]" Yes. And it is too bad.

Do you agree with Wilson's (and Torres') analysis? How would you rate Serie A? Does it resemble the PL, in terms of the quality being consistently concentrated among the top (6 or so?) teams, or is it more similar to Spain? Leagues appear to tend to develop a quasi-permanent group of "haves", with the quality dropping off rapidly after-- Scotland's Old Firm and Portugal's Big Three are other examples.

Which major leagues would you consider to have the most turnover amongst the top group of teams, and the most competitive depth, over time (recent decades)-- and which the least? What factors might be responsible for differences between leagues? Or does the competitive depth of leagues go in cycles, with England at the lower end of the scale and Spain at the higher at this point in time (and Scotland doing its own thing)?

If so, will increasing financial rewards, such as CL prize money, tend to fix "elite" teams in place, or are there contrary factors that might help to promote intra-league competitiveness?

Bobby – I don’t care one way or another. You may as well argue about the greatest ever heavyweight boxer. At the end of the day it is what excites and engages you – it has nothing to do with a subjective definition of best.

(I notice another MLS is #### discussion has broken out. We have been around this one before but someone has yet to tell me what constitutes great football that they will watch and bad football that they won’t. Fans relate through building allegiances and they have no idea whether or not they will enjoy a game or will want to throw up when they pay their money or sit down in front of a TV. There is no such thing as all games in X league good; all games in Y league bad. When fans dismiss a league as being rubbish what they mean is they don’t relate to it. It has nothing to do with the standard of play even though they make it out to be.)

In terms of parity England use to be the exception in that there were a number of clubs that had a real chance of picking up silverware every season. The advent of the Premiership killed that extended era and the Premiership took on the same character as Europe’s other main leagues.

Take a look at the teams who have won leagues and cups in each country – it will closely follow the 80/20 rule. Eighty per cent of the silverware will have been won by 20% of the teams. The difference between success and failure long tern in soccer is the same as in business – the access to capital.

No guarantee of success but if you don’t have access to money through a large fan base (which normally means a team from a large city) you cannot compete in the long term. It works the same for leagues – that is why countries with large populations generally have better teams and more of them.

There are a couple of exceptions but they are exceptions, not the rule. I haven’t done the research but my guess is that the French league has probably enjoyed the broadest range of winning sides until Lyon started their domination.

The Champions League is installing or in some cases ingraining what could become a perpetual cycle of relative success for a relatively small number of clubs. Win their league and make it to the CL group stage generates money that their domestic rivals do not have access to; spend the money to improve the squad and qualify for Europe again etc etc.

Rosenborg had it down to an art for over a decade. Platini’s initiative to extend places in the group stage to more countries is in theory good and noble but it may also lead to a greater distortion at the domestic level.

MasMaz - I assume that tonight you will give us your opinion about Rooney being given free reign to do whatever he wants. If not I'd like to hear it.

Bobby – I can’t say that I have noticed any difference in the way that Ferguson is playing Rooney. He has been granted a lot of freedom all season from what I can see.

However, if you are trying to make some ridiculous comparison with Mascherano’s sending off against United then you will have to make a better case. If you can show me an example of Rooney running 40 yards to get in the referee’s face when he has already been given a yellow card and had no involvement in the incident then you might have a case – oh and your teammate has just been carded for yapping at the referee. Otherwise you might want to wait until you have a more credible comparison.

Neophyte - Did you see the Toronto FC/ Real Salt Lake match? It looked like the match ended with only one minute of injury time instead of the three minutes posted by the 4th official. Home cooking or poor clock management and communication from the center to the 4th official?

Bobby – You hit a sore spot. I opted to watch the Blackburn game, tape TFC, go out for the first kick about of the new season and then come home and watch three MLS games. Tape malfunction on the TFC game so the only part I saw was when I switched over at half time in the Blackburn match. I did catch the other two MLS games though.

Maybe the 4th official did as good a job programming his board as I did programming my tape machine!

Aldoray - Football clubs have a Manager and Assistant Manager and coaches. What are the roles each of them play? Does the manager give the overall plan and then the assistant and the coaches carry it out or is the manager always hands on with the squad and everybody else is just peripheral. Or is it different for every club.

Bobby – Unfortunately the answer is the old standby – it depends. Some mangers are out there with the squad every day, some occasionally and others hardly at all. I remember reading a feature on Martin O’Neill during his Celtic days and his view was that a manager can maximize his impact if he limits his contact with the players.

His theory was that with a lot of daily contact the messages that the manager wants to communicate are blunted and the motivational effect is dampened. I can only assume he still feels the same way.

There is a certain irony because that is a view from many years ago. Prior to Busby, Shankly, Stein etc. popularizing the idea of the “Tracksuit Manager” the preparation was left to a coach (rarely coaches!) and the manager would come in on game days to give the team talk. Otherwise he dealt with other things during the week.

JayAlves - Arsenal fans can sleep easy knowing Usmanov /=/ Abramovich from a money standpoint. Last time I checked Usmanov was worth 1/3 or 1/4 of Abramovich and considering how Arsenals profits are going might become an unrealistic team for him to buy assuming the board keep entering no sale agreements.

They floated this theory on WSD not long ago but they were off the mark on one point. They said maybe the board is being cheap on purpose to keep growing the club financially so they can’t be taken over. Thing is though the board on several occasions have dropped the huge money figures that Wenger has if he wants so you could hardly accuse them of being cheap.

Bobby – I don’t think that theory stands up. First off being debt free and enjoying the relative luxury of a fully paid for stadium did not save Manchester United from a highly leverage buy out from the Glazers. The same would hold true for an Arsenal club that is in a poorer position than United were because it still carries a huge stadium debt.

A case could be made that by improving the net financial position (not spending money) Arsenal are actually making the club a more desirable takeover target rather than turning the opportunists off. Companies that enjoy great balance sheets and hoard gobs of cash are often bigger and better targets for raiders than companies with huge debts.

Think about it from a lenders point of view and what would give you greater security –  your money to pay off someone else’s debt or go towards buying cash generating assets with a pile of cash already sitting there?

The Brazilian boys of 1970.

Officials and bribes.

The return of the Home Internationals…..sort of.

Chelsea’s youth team set-up.

More bloodletting in the Liverpool boardroom.

Who in their right mind would have picked Cardiff City and Queen of the South to make it to their respective Cup Finals?

Berlusconi tries to sort out Milan and Italy at the same time.

Gabriele Marcotti looks at the current crop of managers in Liga.

Another Fergie on the rise.

The police investigation of Birmingham might not be the last.

Heads up – I was only able to catch two games this weekend (United vs. Arsenal and LAG vs. Toronto) and will not be on FSR on Monday night.

Ursusarctos - Since the '80s, I believe only First Division/ PL teams have won the FA Cup, even though several finals in that time featured one lower division team. In the '70s (most recently), several teams from the old Second Division won it by beating First Division opposition.

But I have no idea whether two lower division sides have ever met in the final. When were the last FA Cup finals featuring two lower division teams (if ever)? And (to pull a craigy!) what FA Cup finals do you remember as the most exciting, and why? What was the worst (by any measure)? What two teams would you like to see meet in a "dream" Cup final (from any division)?

Bobby – Some assorted FA Cup trivia and facts. Since the advent of the League in1888/89 there has never been a final with two teams from the lower flights. The last time there were three lower flight teams in the semis was back in 1908 - Newcastle out of Fulham, Southampton and Wolves. Wolves beat Newcastle 3-1 in the Final.

This season's semi finalists have all won the Cup but with exception of WBA their successes all came before WW11. 1912 Barnsley beat WBA 1-0 in a replay: 1927 Cardiff beat Arsenal 1-0; 1939 Portsmouth beat Wolves 4-1. And in 1931 WBA beat Birmingham 2-1 and became the last team to win promotion and the FA Cup in the same season.

It has been thirty-three years since the last time we had a Final without Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham or Everton. (West Ham vs. Fulham 1975)

Best final in my memory was Chelsea vs. Leeds in 1970 that went to replay. In 1990 Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United 3-3 was memorable as were the two Liverpool – Everton finals of the 80s.

Three stinkers – last season’s Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United, 2005 Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United; 1996 Manchester United 1-0 Liverpool. As for dream finals I don’t think you can preordain a great final. You just have to take what happens and hope for a great game.


Ringo - Dundee are no Queen of the South.

Bobby – Apparently there was a mix up and Dundee thought they were supposed to play like Queens rather than playing Queens.


Neophyte - Barcelona loses to Villarreal. Barca has looked weak and less than the invincible side lately. How much of a hangover do clubs suffer from Champions league play (deep play like winning it all), Domestic cups, League cup, International friendlies, FIFA club cups that seem to follow when a club has success in interclub play? Barca seems to have the skilled players they could possibly want but lack the destroying presence in midfield or on the backline. Your thoughts?

Bobby – There should not be any hangover for great teams – nothing out of the normal anyway. Barcelona was in a fantastic position after beating Arsenal a couple of seasons ago but since then it looks to me as if they lost the hunger for more silverware. I don’t agree that a ball winner in the midfield is their problem – from the games I have seen not having the ball is hardly their problem.

Atleti - I think I'll go mad if Atleti don't secure a Champions spot.

Bobby – Have you ever thought that you might also go mad if they do?

Atleti - Racing Santander are this season's Cinderella story. They're #5 with 44 points...equal to my beloved, underachieving hijos de p-uta. Oh, and tell the boys on the FSR, it's not pronounced Racing...it's 'RAH-Sing'.

Bobby – You are spot on, Santander has flown under everyone’s radar this season. Only a handful of teams have scored less goals but only the top two have conceded more. In terms of pronunciation I seem to remember that they were advised some time ago that in Argentina 'RAH-Sing' but for Spain “Racing” but I could be wrong. The solution, I guess, is to refer to Santander.

Gunner4 - I've been watching and listening to you over the years and you seems not to have any faith in Arsenal. Two years ago when they were up against the might of Real Madrid your comment on the show was "Real is gonna blew them away" and what happen, it was Real that got blown away.

Last week against the might Milan you were kinds 50/50 but based on your comments you were leaning on the side of a Milan victory and we all know what happened. I think Arsenal's bad patch is behind them now, yesterday they played a very good game but Wigan's strategy was to at least get a point. I think if the pitch was better the results would have been different.

Oh, I should tell you that all of North America's media houses prefer Man U, but I think Arsenal is surprising somebody this year. I'll look forward to your comments from the might cold Winnipeg.

Bobby – Gunner, are you taking lessons from Henry14? I picked Arsenal to knock Real Madrid out that season just like I picked Juventus the season before, Bayern Munich the season after and Roma this season. Four for four with picks going against Real Madrid. (I keep all my notes).

What’s more there is a name for what you did in placing quotes around "Real is gonna blew them away" – it is called making things up.

The phrase is one that I rarely if ever use and I would certainly not use it while commenting on the Champions League knock out stage – I have too much respect for the game and the teams to deal with it in such an off-handed way.

I picked Milan to beat Arsenal before the first leg was played but acknowledged that 0-0 was a good result and if Arsenal scored it could make it very interesting. What Arsenal vs. Real Madrid, Milan and Wigan has to do with Manchester United is beyond me.

Maoze_Reading - The article on the ACL injuries is quite interesting but I am still not very clear on what is being referred to as a "portable grass system". What I am assuming is that the fields were basically re-sodded?

I know there are some other options such as giant trays with grass growing in them that can be placed over an existing surface, over field turf for example, but this doesn't seem to be what they are referring to. I know in the NFL it is not uncommon for a field to be resurfaced during the course of a season, even multiple times. Is resurfacing a pitch during the season a common practice in Europe?

Bobby – I am almost certain that the article refers to the natural grass systems that are rolled in and out. They are used on top of artificial surfaces when the original surface is considered unacceptable or in situations when a field has not taken. Years ago re-sodding during a season would have been a non-starter but the technology and science is at the point where it is not uncommon. However, from time to time things don’t work out and you get a situation like the one at Stamford Bridge two or three seasons ago when the players played a game on what amounted to sand and soil.


Thierry_Henry – 1. Do you see the MLS dropping the salary cap in a few years to come? I think the talent is eroding now, especially some players going to Scandinavia and Fulham.

2. What do you think about EPL teams loaning players to other EPL teams. When Liverpool played Bolton, one player was prevented from facing Liverpool, because of a clause in his contract. Unfortunately I don't recall his name. Now, this is unfair to Everton, who will have to face a full strength Bolton. Could this practice result in abuse by big teams lending so many players out?

3. Scottish commentator, Roddy Forsyth, from BBC said that may be the reason Scotland have a hard time qualifying for major tournaments recently is because of the weather that is too cold, and many Scottish kids do not feel like going out to practice. What's your opinion on this?

Bobby –1. The salary cap will not be dropped although the cap will be increased. They have to be.

2. It is Premiership rule now that you cannot play a loaned player against the team that owns the registration. In this case it was Danny Guthrie. The loan system has operated in many continental leagues for years without an issue so I don’t think it should become one in England.

3. Mr. Forsyth’s comments may make sense if Scotland’s climate had suddenly changed and the issue of kids leisure activities was unique to Scotland. All developed countries are facing the same situation of kids spending more time with video games and computers than actually playing sport and getting exercise. My understanding is that more indoor facilities are being planned and built in Scotland but that will not necessarily motivate kids to get out and play.

4Everton - When will more Americans start playing in Spain, Italy, or France?? Hopefully, Michael Bradley does not sign on for Fulham (joking...sort of). I think England has been hurt by the majority of its squad playing in one league. The Americans seem to be falling into the same pattern.

Bobby – A simplistic but true answer - when Spanish, French and Italian clubs believe that the players being produced can help their teams. If England has been hurt by the majority of its squad playing in one league why is Italy the world champions?


Ursusarctos - To summarize verbal's question: Should all three of Carra, Skrtel and Agger be healthy and available, how do you see the LFC CB situation taking shape next year (and if re-signed, how would Hyypiä fit in)?

Bobby – I think you have to give Skrtel a little bit more time to see if he maintains his form. Hyypia is a back up next season at best – as he is this season. Carragher is a fine defender and is solid at full back and in central defense. However, he is brutal coming forward from full back and gives Liverpool nothing when they attack. Good teams need width from their full backs and Carragher does not offer that. If everyone’s fit I go for Carragher and Agger and sign a new right back ……and a left back while they are at it.

MasMaz - What do you think Arsenal's weakness is? I believe it is their lack of width and crossing ability. On Sunday they played with two towering strikers and I can't recall more than 2 or 3 crosses into the box. On a torn up rugby pitch and with 2 strikers over 6'3" Arsenal should have peppered the box with crosses. Truly ridiculous strategy, I love Wenger but come on it was so obvious.

Bobby – Under Wenger Arsenal have never had width from midfield and have always relied on their full backs coming forward. So on that basis every side since 1996 has had the same problem. There is no such thing as a perfect team – every team has some weakness. I think you are taking one game and drawing very broad conclusions from it.

Aldoray - Quick question If a team qualifies for Europe through a domestic cup competition and get relegated do they still get to play in Europe the following season although they are no longer in the top flight?

Bobby – Yes.

Redfan2000 - What's your take on the likely top 4 and the final bottom three in the BPL at this stage in proceedings?

Bobby – My pre-season picks were 1. Chelsea, 2. Manchester United and 3. Arsenal. Relegated Derby County, Fulham and Wigan. I’m not changing my picks but I will say that Wigan and United are giving me cause for concern.

Jahmikes - I’m an Arsenal fan but I’ve noticed the partnership between midfield Gerrard and striker Torres, is this the Premiereship Ronaldhino and Eto’o before the CL Cup?

And your opinion on Robinho being nothing special. I don’t agree because wouldn’t you say he played an integral role in the Copa America title, Madrid's title last yr, he terrorized defenders going down the left and slipping balls to players in and around the box.

Also this year Madrid started dropping points when he wasn’t on the field, I think because he doesn’t play up to starship celebrity status he becomes overlooked.

Bobby – Interesting that you would pick Ronaldinho and Eto’o when Henry and Pires was more effective over a longer period of time. I think it is a bit early to start celebrating Gerrard and Torres as a great partnership – a hot streak yes, a long term partnership - we will have to wait and see.

Real Madrid won last season’s title on the back of Casillas and Van Nistelrooy. My recollection is that we hardly saw Robinho until the second half of the season so I don’t know how much terrorizing he actually did. Fun to watch but he’s soft defensively and if I understood what “doesn’t play up to starship celebrity status” actually means I would probably disagree with that as well.

Frenchking2012 - Do you rate Senderos? I’ve always been a fan and thought that he always was unfairly criticized. He sadly is a player that needs confidence, but if he plays well in one or two games he seems then raise up his game.

I’m thinking of the run of games that led to the FA Cup Final where he was chosen ahead of Campbell or same thing in the Champions league run of 2006. If he only he didn’t have to face Drogba twice a year, he would be a great defender. Plus he is a young kid, a central defender can go up to play until his mid thirties, so I think that in a few years he will be a great player. Plus do you see a player like Fabregas, not 21 yet, beating O’Leary’s record of games?

Bobby – I think he will come good eventually but I don’t know if Arsenal can live through his maturation process. There are just some players that when they make mistakes they make really costly ones and I think Senderos falls into that category. Will Fabregas beat O’Leary’s record of games played ? – perhaps? probably, maybe? but does it matter. The point is to win games and trophies not to play the most games.

Zuco2 - Will you have some predictions for the upcoming international friendlies on March 26th?
France vs. England ; Spain vs. Italy; Scotland vs. Croatia.

Bobby – I guess if I told you that I knew there were international friendlies but had no idea who is scheduled to play each other that would tell you how important I think these games are. When they start awarding trophies and medals based on friendly results is the day that I will pay real attention to the scores. The individual performances and how a team plays together is important – the score means nothing.

Foxcube - This would be a huge task to ask of you if you wouldn't mind. Could you please summarize and contrast the tactics/playing styles of the remaining 8 CL teams? Three or four lines for each team perhaps, if that is possible in your opinion. I'll have my notebook ready. Thanks.

Bobby – You are correct – it would be a huge task.

Venti_vidi-vici - Enjoyed reading the article in the Telegraph about the Teves contract and his link to Kia Joorabchian. Man Utd showed their creativity in the transfer market last season, asking Everton to bench Tim Howard as part of the agreement transferring him permanently to Goodison Park.

Moyes admitted it, then realized it was illegal, retracted his admission, Man Utd won the match partly due to the reserve keepers errors after being down 0-2, but the FA found nothing wrong because a team is allowed to bench their in-form starting keeper in favor of a kid who has never played an EPL match in his life for no apparent reason. Is it conceivable that Man Utd agreed to hand the Hammers three priceless points at Old Trafford and possibly keep them in the EPL and the associated financial windfall, as part of the Teves transfer deal?

A slick way to pay for Teves, without having to include Joorabchian. Coincidentally the winning goal was obviously scored by Teves. (I admit I see conspiracies everywhere).

Bobby – Conceivable yes but likely – no. Back to your grassy knoll.

Henry14 - On the report you made a really ridiculous statement that the pitch at Wigan is okay be real man. Clubs play 60+ game on pitches that are nice and you expect them to adjust to a pub of a pitch.

l watched the game thrice and on the Adebayor , Van Persie and Bedter strikes the ball took bubbles. That the problem with pundits as soon as a big club looses to a small club you jump to lick the small club's BLEEP thereby negating that things like a pitch where you cannot play one touch football, and that the referee did not call fouls in the Man Utd game, be rationale for God's sake.

Bobby – Oh Henry14 you give me so much to work with and I thank you for that. The referee is responsible for deciding whether a pitch is playable and so who would you like to give the decision to?

Or how do you intend to define “nice” pitches from “not nice pitches,” “pub” pitches and ultimately "pitches that are deemed unacceptable to Henry14" .

I know it is ridiculous to expect players who are considered professionals at the top of their game to play on anything but the most pristine and perfect surfaces – my expectations are excessive.

During your three viewings of the game did the ball really bubble – it looked muddy but I didn’t see any standing water. And did any other players have a problem or did it just happen to Adebayor, Van Persie and Bedter?

Perhaps we should have groundskeepers who run alongside each player and become responsible for replacing the divots and that way we will always have a perfect surface.

Your last sentence is contradictory unless Manchester United is considered a small team. What’s more the last time I checked the rules you are actually allowed to take more than one touch each time you receive a ball – it’s not cheating to touch the ball a number of times – or should teams taking less touches receive additional points?

JayAlves - What do you think of Ameobi like? Also what’s the chance the title and relegation isn't locked up before the last day and we are watching a situation where Man Utd plays Wigan, Chelsea plays Bolton and Arsenal plays Sunderland. So three teams playing for the title and three teams playing not to get relegated? Too much to ask?

Bobby – When he is fit his lack of consistency is a problem although his various managers at Newcastle have not shown a lot of confidence in him. Three vs. three, title and relegation would a dream finish but I think there is still too far to go to really judge whether there is anything more than a smidgen of a chance of happening.

Craigy_f – 1. Have you ever been interested in football management?

2. Has your corrective surgery helped you when you try for a header?

3. Any thoughts on Bardsley “tackling” Pienaar? And it’s failure to make any noise in the media, particularly given Taylor-Eduardo.

4. Claudio Lopez – a bit more than an Angel? – is this signing a statement of where the MLS is right now?

5. In such a small League (MLS) does the early season suffer (in terms of generating interest) because the Supporters’ Shield isn’t seen as big and a poor first half of the season can still see a team make the play-offs?

6. Do you have any thoughts as to what PL referee you’d want to see more or less of as the PL enters the final stretch?

7. No matter how many replays or different angles of view one employs some decisions come down to opinion – thus any video evidence panel will be subject to harsh criticism and even (perhaps) legal challenges – no matter how it rules on a particular ‘incident’. Thoughts about this?

8. Of course Wembley PLC wants the money and so the FA Cup Semi's are at Wembley - being a tad traditional I'd like to see the SFs elsewhere and keep WEM-BER-LEE! for finals and the NFL - your thoughts (how does this work in the Scottish FA Cup?)

9. Is Bradley performing well enough in Holland to warrant a move to a more high profile league?

Bobby – 1. No.

2. I have not played since the eye surgery but I will let you know once the snow clears. I’m also hoping that my left foot has improved.

3. Didn’t see the tackle.

4. Lopez is older than Angel and much of his effectiveness came from his pace and playing right up on the last defender and timing his run. When he played with Crespo for Argentina they could be terrifying for any defense not concentrating for ninety minutes. If he still has some of his explosive pace he is going to give MLS defenses (and assistant referees) fits.

5. I think that is good point – it seems to take a while for real interest to take hold. Or I might be due to the European leagues overshadowing MLS during the early going.

6. Never pay any attention to who the referee is going to be unless there is some history with the appointment.

7. Absolutely spot on and the point I have been making throughout the video replay debate in respect to fouls. The proponents come at the issue on the basis that video replays will provide clear evidence on which to rule. In reality all it will do is to allow us to disagree in slow motion.

8. I don’t have a particular problem with Wembley for the semis although I do see your point. As corrected by Ringo the vast majority of the Scottish semi finals over the last number of years have taken place at Hampden.

9. I was impressed with him last summer at the under 20s (his play and leadership) and his scoring record is sure to attract interest. I have not seen him play for Heerenveen this season.

LGB - Kind of like the tree falling in the forest and if no one is around, does the tree make a sound?) If Cardiff plays West Brom in the FA Cup final, will there be anyone who cares? Also if Liverpool does secure passage through, is it still subjective to say the PL is the best league in the world?

Bobby – Maybe you won’t care but millions of other fans will. Define “best”. As I have said before – arguing about what constitutes the “best” league in the world is a waste of time and effort. It is all down to marketing and individual taste.

OranjeSpur - I've been out of the loop for the past few weeks so sorry if you addressed this already.

I think the IFAB is on the right track with the video review and retrospective punishments for diving and such. For a few years I've been debating with friends that FIFA, UEFA, and FA's need to set up review panels of 8-12 people comprised of former players, refs and manager types.

Each week 3 are randomly selected and they can review claims from the previous week. Aussie Rules Football holds Tribunal's for players to contest punishments and the like. What I'm looking for is something that has real consequence for players who cheat the game we love.

I would propose that all card challenges go through the review panel as well as 2 submitals, per team - per game, and any submitals made by the 4th official that may have been missed during the run of play.

Players can be punished for diving, improper conduct, or a missed harsh fouls. Teams make their case to the panel and the panel decides within 48 hours. I believe such a panel would cause a quick drop in simulations when players start missing games due to a retrospective review along with the increasingly high level of poor sportmanship and conduct. I don't want to see a 5th "video" official as I feel leave it to the teams to start policing themselves.

I believe the fans will make enough noise on the teams that don't take the opportunity to submit diving or improper conduct actions for review. Your, or anyone else's, thoughts on this would be appreciated.

Bobby – You don’t want a 5th official but you want to create a monstrosity of a review system? You are having a laugh aren’t you?

Neophyte - What a difference a game makes, especially in the case of Reading. They go from, "2nd year jinx." To..."Steve Coppell is a great manager." I am a Coppell fan. I don't know how he does it. They don't score goals...Hanhemann faces more shots on goal and has more saves (and I think allowed more goals) than any other keeper. If Reading finish in the top ten should he get the Manager of the Year award? How does a club like Reading start with roster changes?

Bobby – Top ten next year but not this one. As for roster changes Reading probably starts where all other teams start – trying to fix problem areas.

Tiberius0070 - Who do you think will be the new manager for Chelsea in the summer?

Bobby – As I said a number of times before it depends who is available. As every week goes by and the number of clubs who can legitimately hope to win something becomes smaller and smaller and you begin to see who might be fired or cut loose.

Mancini after the Liverpool loss creates an opening at Inter, Barcelona and Real Madrid spots might become available and Milan might decide it is time for a change. Ranieri might not get another year at Juventus. I feel that this summer is going to see a big managerial turnover.

MasMaz - Wenger should have signed Beckham. Arsenal NEED him badly. I am sure there is some clause in his contract that says if a major Prem team want him he can sign on loan.

Bobby – And how did you come to decide what is and what is not in Beckham’s contract? Why would you sign someone then loan him out and not be able to use until four months into your season? If Wenger wanted to sign him he would have got there before the Galaxy.

Ringo - Don't you think Gretna where done for even before a ball was kicked? The league forcing them to travel almost a hundred miles to Motherwell for home games meant they were playing with one foot tied behind their backs right from the start. I'm sure they could have handled the non Old Firm games at their 2,500 capacity stadium with no problems , instead of having to play a whole season of away games, and in front of nonexistent crowds lately at Fir Park ,when the pitch is even playable that is. The owner's illness hasn't helped, but at least they might have stood a chance.

Bobby – It was always going to be tough on Gretna – home field or not. But they knew the rules. Inverness CT suffered through longer trips to Aberdeen for part of a season when they were promoted.

Henry14 - Do you think BLEEP is using the media to put pressure on Hicks although l feel a billionaire will need more than a demonstration and a news paper article to leave a $200m investment and do you think he is being treated fairly by the media and the reds fans?

Bobby –How is the media putting pressure on Hicks to any greater extent than the fans have for the last few months? Fairness has nothing to do with it – it is, what it is. He’s a big boy who took over Liverpool hoping to make a bundle of money. If you are talking about fairness how about the fans who are footing the bill for his greed?


ReggaeGunner - Who would you consider on their day the best free kick taker out of the lot? Zidane, Henry, Beckham, Pirlo, Juninho, C.Ronaldo, Lampard, Gerrard, Mihajlovic, Ronaldinho, Riquelme, Nakamura, Totti.

Bobby – Good question. Lampard and Gerrard should not be on that list – not in the same class. You are going to have to place the free kick for me before I make a choice…..and the positioning of the wall….and the height of the players…..and did the referee march off a full ten yards?