BlueLion.

I think Ron should be banned from being nominated, he's putting the rest of us to shame by being on the poll every time

Fucks me off when I see this. Don't fucking post then. What a fantastic article. Perfectly translated as well. JT is some man, can't believe I hadn't read this before.

Hard to choose... I think just for his goal and assist, Mata tips this, but it by no means a vintage performance by anyone. Plenty of fight though, which was nice to see. I thought Cech made some excellent saves (no chance with either penalty and he had only a fraction of a second to react to the Hernandez header) and put in a decent shift as captain. He bossed his area very well. Luiz barely put a foot wrong, as did Cahill. Bosingwa had an improved game but as I have already stressed, too many attacks broke down because of him wanting to cut inside and play with his stronger foot. Mata and Meireles had good games. Mata was at the heart of everything and took his goal majestically. Meireles was quietly efficient, rarely wasted a pass and played a sensible game. The same can be said of Essien. Ivanovic had a lacklustre game. A couple of good tackles, but after his yellow card he became tentative in the tackle and the way he just stood off Giggs was appalling. Malouda, a couple of decent moments aside, was as poor as ever. When he came on, Oriol was very poor as well. Torres held the ball up well and the cross to Mata was sublime, but we did buy him to play outside the box. He is a striker, supposedly, and his unwillingness to shoot and get in the box is disgraceful. Sturridge had a few decent touches but he is too selfish as a winger. It is obviously now time to play 4-1-2-1-2 with Sturridge partnered by either Torres or Drogba, with Mata in the hole and Meireles or Essien sitting, with Lampard and Ramires in the more advanced berths. Either that or play Sturridge through the middle, with Mata and Kalou/Malouda on the wings. Torres is no longer a viable option in my book.

Well Capello has to say that, doesn't he? He took the captaincy off Terry to make an example of it, and then gave it him back, spiting Rio and Gerrard in the process. Unless he is going to give it to an altogether different player, he has to stick with JT after that snub.

I don't agree with AVB and I am a little disillusioned by everything going on at the club this season, but blaming him for the defeat yesterday is a naive and simplistic analysis of the game.

Why are people blaming Andre? We have five key players missing today (Cole, Terry, Lampard, Ramires and Drogba), plus our bench was heavily weakened by the absence of Kalou and Mikel who are two decent alternatives to throw in if the situation calls for it (I personally think Mikel would have been a good choice in the CDM role yesterday). We were without our three regular captains in JT, Lampard and Drogba, and we had Essien and Sturridge playing despite being 100% fit (apparently Sturridge was nursing a calf injury sustained in training). Without any options on the bench, I think we did alright. AVB's tactics to sit back and soak up pressure whilst playing on the counter, down the wings as much as possible, worked very well. He could never have accounted for two penalty decisions like that in quick succession, by which time the momentum was with United and without any real leadership on the pitch, we crumbled. If you really want to blame someone, blame Ivanovic for his school-boy defending by not closing Giggs down. Horrible to watch from a reliable defender.

Webb didn't have a bad game in all honesty, but he made two mistakes - the first not to give a penalty for the Bosingwa shirt-pull, and the second to make up for that mistake when Welbeck fell over inside the box. Incident 1 - Bosingwa shirt-pull on Young - definite penalty, NOT GIVEN - wrong decision - you can see why Webb doesn't give it, as Young falls forward when Bosingwa is pulling him backwards, but this is a definite spot-kick, no doubt about it. Incident 2 - Cahill on Welbeck - never a penalty, NOT GIVEN - correct decision - never, ever, ever a penalty. Mainly because Cahill got the ball. Also because both the initial contact with the player and the follow-through contact came after the ball was won, and both moments of contact came outside the box. Not even a free-kick. Incident 3 - Sturridge on Evra - definite penalty, GIVEN - correct decision- obvious trip, blatant peno. Incident 4 - Ivanovic on Welbeck - never a penalty, GIVEN - wrong decision - never a penalty in a million years. Ivan withdraws his foot because he knows he is on a yellow card, so Welbeck drags his foot out and falls over Bran's leg, which is moving away from the player. Given because of a wrong decision earlier, but two wrongs don't make a right.

My only concern is we have taken just five points from our last four home matches. That is where we fail.

Very harsh to blame AVB. He didn't exactly have the option to throw on the cavalry.

Everton vs Chelsea @Goodison Park FA Premier League - Saturday 11 February 2012 - 3pm kick-off

Patrick Bamford's Chelsea move a sign of times - Forest By Dan Sinclair and Owen Phillips BBC Nottingham Nottingham Forest chairman Frank Clark fears their failure to fend off Chelsea's interest in £1.5m striker Patrick Bamford is a worrying sign of how the footballing landscape has changed. The Grantham-born teenager had been with Forest's youth set-up from the age of eight and had only played 12 minutes of first-team football. But a series of eye-catching displays in the FA Youth Cup tempted the Premier League giants to splash out for the 18-year-old's services. Although Clark fully understands Bamford's decision, the former Forest boss says it is a shame the much-coveted striker moved on before he had the chance to shine at the City Ground. PATRICK BAMFORD Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire but lives in Newark, Nottinghamshire Joined the City Ground Academy at the age of eight Made his debut for the England Under-18s side in November 2010 and had previously represented the Republic of Ireland at U-18 level Has only played 12 minutes for Nottingham Forest in the Championship Can play on the left wing or in attack And given Forest's current predicament, which sees Steve Cotterill's side second from bottom in the Championship table and four points adrift of safety, the timing of the move could hardly have been worse for supporters. "I'm disappointed I'm not going to see Patrick develop in a Nottingham Forest shirt over the next two years," Clark told BBC Radio Nottingham . "We used to be able to hang on to players for a couple of years into the first team - Michael Dawson, Andy Reid , Marlon Harewood, Jermaine Jenas - people like that - before the big clubs came in. "But now the real big clubs are paying fortunes for kids of 13, 14, 15, 16. They are not prepared to wait. It's getting more and more difficult for clubs like ourselves to hang on to the really talented players." Bamford has only made two brief first-team appearances, his debut coming as a substitute on the last day of 2011 against Cardiff City . But he scored four goals in the 5-1 FA Cup Youth win at Southampton and five in the previous round - a 9-1 hammering of Wigan Athletic - and that prompted Chelsea to lure him to Stamford Bridge on a five-year contract. “My only worry is that I'm an Arsenal fan and he's gone to Chelsea” - Kevin Fear, Nottingham High School for Boys headmaster Bamford's progress is even more remarkable considering he went to the independent Nottingham High School where football has to wait until the sixth form. Head of PE Martin Smith told BBC Sport: "We're very much a rugby school. "He was a talented sportsman when he joined but not exceptional. He certainly wasn't one of the stars. He played full-back mostly, every Saturday until the end of Year 10. "At that stage he was training for Forest Saturdays and midweek. Speaking to his dad, the rugby stood him in good stead for football and toughened him up. As I remember he wasn't the strongest tackler. "We adapted his timetable so that he could train with Forest. We made every effort to accommodate him. "Quite a buzz went around the school when the news broke (of his transfer to Chelsea) and we'll follow his career carefully." Headmaster Kevin Fear added: "It's really quite unusual for someone from an independent school to make it in the world of football. "In the sixth form we allowed him to train with Forest and do his A-levels. He's a very bright lad. "He did French, History, Biology and General Studies and got a good set of A-Level results. "Patrick could have gone to university but decided to concentrate on his football. "He's a lovely lad we are very proud of what he has achieved. He deserves to be successful. "My only worry is that I'm an Arsenal fan and he's gone to Chelsea." Bamford was out of contract in the summer but been offered the most lucrative deal ever tabled by Forest for a player his age. Clark insists the club did all they could to keep the free-scoring forward. "It was a really difficult decision for us," he added. "The club had been negotiating with Patrick's father and his agent since the start of the season. "Steve Cotterill saw him play in the reserves and immediately moved him up to start training with the first team. I had a meeting with his agent and his father and didn't get anywhere. "When Patrick made the first-team appearance we immediately offered him a much-improved contract - the best contract that's ever been offered to an 18-year-old at this club. "Then he gave two outstanding displays in the two Youth Cup games. So we redoubled our efforts to get him to sign this contract to no avail. "And then we get this offer from Chelsea. Patrick and his father wanted the opportunity to go and speak to Chelsea. We took the decision that we'd have do that and ride it out and see what happens, hoping that he wouldn't go. "We hoped that Patrick would get down to Chelsea and think 'I'd rather stay in Newark with all my friends and I'd rather stay at Nottingham Forest with all my friends' but obviously I can understand. "The deal's done and the money is there. Hopefully Steve will be able to use it in the summer and restructure the club. The full lot has been paid up front. There's add-ons, sell-ons."

Not too disheartened. I'd have taken a draw earlier considering we were essentially playing our reserves. Look at the players we missed.... Terry - our captain and leader. Granted Luiz and Cahill were both very good today, but this would have been Terry's game. We've seen him reply to the media and public criticism before, and we are just more organised at the back with him in the team. Drogba - a real fighter, even though he's never had the best of careers up against United it would have been important for him to have played up top. He's more physical and would have caused United more problems aerially as well. That being said, Torres held the ball up exceptionally well, especially in the second half, but Drogba is such a passionate player, his sense of urgency and ability just to produce a glimer of quality could have unlocked United for that crucial fourth goal. Lampard - moreorless as above. He is one of the old guard and fights until the end. We missed a composed figure in midfield today. Let's not overstate his qualities though - he is past his best however his late runs into the box and the general simplicity of the play would have been vital. Look how often we gave the ball away today - the same doesn't happen when Frank plays. He brings a sense of authority and calm to the team, and his experience in big-game situations was missed. Cole - I though Bosingwa had a good game, though I was disappointed in his inability to pass with the left foot. With Cole you have that extra inch of attacking quality and so many moves broke down today because Bos checked inside to play on his stronger foot. That being said he shackled Valencia well for most of the game. Ramires - just that drive, that enthusiasm that Ramires possesses could have been the difference between two well-matched sides. We've seen how he has adapted his game into a more all-round role, and in the absence of Lampard he'd most likely have played in an advanced role. He may not be the best passer of the ball but he is positionally intelligent and very sharp in the tackle, which is something we missed. Essien, Oriol and Raul were quite laboured later on, but if you'd have had Rambo's pace and energy it could have been a different story. At the end of the day you can dissect the game in as many ways as you want - I am personally satisfied with the result, the performance (which was a massive improvement on what we've seen recently), and that catastrophic capitulation aside, you have to consider the fact we were playing without confidence against an in-form side without many of our best players, and against a referee that might as well have just worn a red jersey today for the ease of the watching audience. Webb had a very poor game but I think it would be wrong to criticise him (or AVB for that matter, I think he got his tactics spot-on, and could never have predicted a turn-around such as that) when simple mistakes cost us. Again we failed to close down Ryan Giggs, giving him the time to put a ball in right on Cuntarito's pea-sized head. That was inexcusable. Throw in the fact we were sloppy in possession and seemed to stop playing as soon as the supposedly 'majestic' Wayne Rooney scored from the penalty spot for the first time. Then you have an under-fire, under-performing goalkeeper produce two fantastic saves from Mata and Cahill, and all the tension surrounding the fixture in regards to Terry losing the England captaincy and it's not really that much of a surprise we conceded three. I think a fair few of us were expecting the worse as soon as United scored. You could see the belief soar through them, and you have to accept that they should tremendous bottle to come back from the dead. You can also sit back and admire it for being a phenomenal game of football. After all the predictions of us getting absolutely trounced, I think we can be relatively happy that we can take a credible result from the game, albeit one two points worse-off in terms of its rewards than it should have been. But, as Roberto Mancini so often says, 'this is football'. Don't you just fucking hate it? And that's that. I'm going for a fag and then to bed because I'm exhausted and feel like shit. Night.

Hope Ferdinand gets destroyed by Essien today.

Best start by cutting the Ladyboy's hair off then

Ben Haim you cunt.

We all do. We criticise because we are disappointed. And quite rightly so.

Francozola!

If we lose, at least we can blame it on the missing players. I wish Terry was fit, because if he was, he would put in the game of his career. That is the type of player he is. We will miss the leadership of Lampard, JT and Drogba today, but not half as much as we will miss Ramires' drive and burst from midfield. Let's remember we were being written off before we went to Old Trafford, and although we lost, we played (IMO) excellently and but for two wasted chances we could have gone there and got a draw, or even a victory. The emphasis and the pressure is solely on them, but they have a very bad record at Stamford Bridge and if Mata and Sturridge are on song we will cause their shaky defence some problems. Keep the faith!!

I'd be Kalou then because with my predatory skills I score on the rebound

1 - francozola 2 - ulsterchelsea 3 - Peace 4 - Rambo

I have no problem with that, no press is better than bad press.

Really hope this game is snowed off so we can play them later on in the season instead.

Yeah for some reason, IP boards doesn't particularly work well with Explorer. To counter the problem I downloaded Firefox, and I haven't looked back since.

I just hope it isn't Bosingwa or Kalou, because they'd probably commit suicide.

Sh0n do you want to have another practice run some time next week?