Eddie

Clearly a superior side? Lay off it. They're a decent team, but England have a much better squad of players and will be a much better team if they bring the right man in. They hardly set the world on fire with their results in the Euro 2008 qualifying group.

They're doing ok, but he spent a lot of money this summer, so even for a newly promoted side they should have a better team than they do.

Beckham was quite good the other night, for me only he and Crouch can be somewhat proud of what they did, he is however only 32.

Agree with that, the talent is there, that isn't the excuse. England, on paper, are as good as any side in Europe, but for whatever reason, be it the management, the mental side, the tactics, simply do not perform anywhere near to their potential ability when or to the standard that they play at when they play for their club sides. I'm sure people will respond to that by saying that they simply aren't good enough, but I can't accept that as Manchester United or Barcelona are a tougher task than Russia or Croatia. Had Gerrad been playing for Liverpool last night he would have taken over that game and pulled the win out by himself even if the other 10 players had refused to play, once he puts on an England shirt he seems to lose all of that; he isn't alone in that sense.

I think that was only if he got a job in the next 6 months or something along those lines, which he didn't manage. As for being in the big bad world, you can still sometimes have a bit of honour and fall on your sword, he wouldn't be the first.

Why would Wenger take that job? Arsenal are flying at the moment and look good for the next few years. It's a job he'll never be fired from and whenever he wants it he could probably just ask for the France job. The England job is a fantastic one, the money is great and the support and potential make it second to none on the international scene for me, but if you have a very good and very secure club job I wouldn't touch it.

Not a chance. If you messed a job up as badly as this then you at least have to finish it in the right way.

I don't blame him for accepting the job, anyone would have done that, but I do blame him for refusing to resign. Sometimes things are just about honour, he will know that he hasn't done a good enough job, he will have known that he was almost certainly going to be fired and a man with some self-respect and guts would have done what needed to have been done and simply resigned. It fits perfectly into the gutless creature that he has been for the past 18 months as England manager, but it would have been the right way to end it. I can tell you that I certainly would have resigned and I am sure I am far from being alone in that respect.

I'm very disappointed, although not surprised, that he hasn't resigned.

Of course, but then that feeling that we have a right to be there is the same in basically every major footballing nation. It is a product of the fact that the vast majority of the time the same core group of sides qualify. We were lucky to even be in with a chance of qualifying tonight, not only on the basis of the Israel v Russia match at the weekend, but simply the number of points dropped over the entire course of qualification by other sides, the quality of performance given the significance of the match is simply unacceptable.

We're not overrated in football, the players are good enough. They show that every week in the premiership, they just need the right man in charge to sort them out at international level. I'll just have to support my country of birth this summer. By the way, when I mean sort them out that includes dropping some of them and giving them a kick up the backside. The players are at fault as well, but the quality is there.

Got what he deserved. I'm a firm believer that when you need them you start with your "big-game" players, Beckham should have been on from the start and we should have stuck with 4-4-2. I hope he has the guts to resign, but I can see him trying to stick it out and probably get himself a nice cheque as he leaves.

I agree with you there Bazza. In fact, I seem to recall Fat Sam saying that he had used it for some things. That isn't to say that any player who is good in FM is good in real life, but certainly there are a good number for whom that is the case. Having said that, I would never suggest that we buy a player purely on the basis of FM.

Well I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that South Africa are hosting the next World Cup. Both of them will probably be able to play in that, so why would you choose to miss out on playing in a world cup (considering they didn't make it to 2006) and being the host nation.

He did, as did Mokeona (I think), but they are both back in the squads now.

For us? Just Mokoena.

Agreed. Also have to remember that he's probably on quite high wages. He's a Dutch international signed from a big club, so he's probably in the clubs top 5-10 highest earners despite the fact that he isn't holding down a place in the starting 11. I'm not saying we should put in an effort to sell him, but if someone puts in a reasonable bid, then at his age and given his role I think he can be replaced. I think he's a good player and I like having him as a squad member who's able to step in, but that doesn't mean that we can't look to quite possibly reduce the wage bill and the average age without taking too much of a hit to the quality of the team. It always fits in with the same view I have on Savage and Tugay, replace them when you can afford not to, not when you are in trouble if you don't.

He's a good player and he's done well for us, but I also would take money for him at this point. He is old and we have Zurab who can step up to fill that role, as well as Henchoz as extra cover. It would be nice to sell him and bring in a younger player.

I wish Thompson the best of luck. Fantastically gifted player when he is fit, a shame that injuries have prevented him from ever fulfilling his potential. I still remember that turn he pulled off on the edge of the box during the game at Celtic Park, it was wonderful.

That will be to do with the finances Rovers start with. Don't worry about it, as long as you have a bit of success you'll be fine. We're 3 million in debt (I think) at the start of the game, one good season can get rid of that, but it isn't anything serious enough to really have to worry about. You shouldn't have to sell anyone, but if you can sell someone for a nice profit it will solve your problem in one go.

He's already admitted that his mind was elsewhere for a while.

Lay off it, you sound like some Arsenal or Chelsea fan bringing up the bully boys tag. We can't pick and choose when to use it and only like it when it's against a former player. Neill didn't "f**** off", he actually told us well ahead of time that he had no intention of renewing his contract (which is as much within his rights as it is for you or I) and then he continued to play his heart out every time he stepped onto the pitch. Had he not continued to put in the effort then I would have had a problem with it, but he behaved really like a model professional. Of course I want every player to want to stay here for their entire careers if they are wanted, but realistically players are going to look for more money and bigger clubs, just like you or I would if we were playing for a team who we didn't support. It's not unusual for players to become unhappy or want to leave the club they are at, essentially that is what happened to Neill and we had every opportunity to sell him the summer before. What is unusual is for a player to play with the same commitment even after their desire to leave has been made public, some of the fans have turned on them and it is clear that they are leaving in the near-future. His decision to go to West Ham was an odd one, he sometimes fell foul of a red mist and he wasn't the perfect defender, but he was a very good player and one who did a good job for the team.

Has anyone bought FIFA Manager 08? I used to buy total club manager and liked it. I couldn't have it instead of FM, but it is interesting to switch between the two.

You mean a player who always played for the club even when fans had turned on him and he had been prevented from moving to a bigger team? It was a shame to see him end up at West Ham and really the issue is over, but I think the premier league would be a better place if more played like Neill did. You always knew he was going to fight for the cause.

How the the strokes and the every song sounds the same monkeys can be said to have changed music I really don't know.