Jose Mourinho?

And lost us our next one. No surprise that Tony Gale said that West Ham shouldn't be kicked from the competition.

How so?

I didn't watch the show, but I'll take your word for that. It would appear Big Ron is now synonymous with the 'N' word, which is pathetic really. Yes, he made a mistake and lost his job for it, but that was five years ago? People should move on.

You missed the point, didn't you? To call footballers dumb and selfish is no different than calling lorry drivers the same because some are careless - or any other profession for that matter.

I.e. Don't tar everyone with the same brush.

True that. It's no different than calling lorry drivers stupid and selfish because some are careless drivers.

I wish we could return to a minute's silence, instead of this inane minute's applause. Quiet introspection of someone's life is far more dignified than a circus of trained seals.

True gentleman and one of football's greats. RIP.

We haven't even replaced Roque and Derbyshire, and people want to let McCarthy leave too? I'm sure he'll be sharper this season, and you can't question his class. Let's keep him for now.

Maybe Tony was having, what we call in the business, a 'Ray Mathias moment'?

If United had taken one of their early chances, it might have been a different game. However, once they went behind they were chasing shadows all night and given a footballing lesson. Still, there was an apologist for SSN today, saying that Man. Utd "as ever" were gracious in defeat, and perhaps the extra nine games of the season finally took its toll on their performance in Rome. Yes, because I'm sure this pinnacle game - the biggest game in some of their careers - was conveniently one too many. Oh, and the humidity played its part, as well...apparently.

You're missing the point. 'X' player would still galvanise the troops whether or not he is the "official" captain. I think the captain's armband is a little more superficial than people like to think.

Isn't the captaincy often a token baton used to keep hold of your best players? I don't think it matters that much who wears it. The most influential and vocal players will continue to lead by example whether or not they have a black strap around their arm.

I don't think Sam is pinning all his right-back hopes on Emerton. He'll be looking for another player.

I think he should be working for the Daily Mail.

I don't imagine Barton taking that big of a plunge in his 65k a week at Newcastle to come here. Davis is not on the same scale financially as Barton is, therefore he's less to haggle with.

I still reckon we should go for Sean Davis. Another free transfer, less wages, tireless player, and not a liability.

Aren't Rovers supposed to be a family club? Diouf - for all his controversy - sounds like a gent out of hours. Barton, on the other hand, is a different beast altogether.

He didn't even think it was a foul!

About £1m less than that, I hear. Talented player, but a complete liability. Sam should know better.

If they really want to revitalize European football, they should return to the original set-up. The top two teams from each domestic league qualify for the Champions League, and then 3rd - 6th join the Uefa Cup. They should also remove the round-robin structure of the Uefa Cup and make it a two-legged affair all the way to the final. That's how I remember it, anyway.

That poor corner flag. I hear he's stuck in rehab now.

If McCarthy can stay fit and push on from yesterday, I think him and Roberts could be the pair to get us out of the relegation fight. McCarthy has the class, and Roberts has the work-rate. They might not have been the ideal pairing during pre-season, but things have changed over the last six months.

Hang on... waggy's thrown in his season ticket, despite telling everyone to shut up and get down to Ewood when Ince was mismanaging us? Apparently we were all bigots for criticising the regime, but now it looks like the shoe's on the other foot hmm?