Arq

Good to have you back! Yes, us without Mata knocks us down a few places but without the Interim? We're right back at third or maybe better.

Yes. Yes he is. I wouldn't quite give him the title of Manager though. I'm not sure he can manage much of anything unless it has to deal with food.

Gem! Hey there. Unfortunately you're right though. I wonder where Spuds would be without Bale.

Of course Spuds would score. Of course.

I turn on the match and less than one minute later, Spuds score. f**k this just isn't going well. I need to watch the Munich match to make me feel better...

It's no better when it comes to Internet surfing mate, as I'm sure you probably know. I normally enjoy a steaming hot cup of coffee while I read up on football news around the World. This morning, I could even bring myself to look. I'm just very meh on everything right now. My mornings will only get better once the FSW is gone.

I'd take Capello in a heartbeat. Like him or not, he's infinitely better than the FSW.

Incredibly f**king pissed off after that disaster we just witnessed. I would go into a rant but I'd be just saying everything over again. This fraud that is currently our Interim needs to be fired... Today.

Don't feel sorry for him at all. Think about this for a minute. I'm currently living here in Abu Dhabi for my two year expat assignment. Benitez was also here in Abu Dhabi supposedly working as a football analyst. Now I have all of the prolific sports channels that you can get on the major TV carrier, Etisalat. Not once have I heard or seen his name. Not once. I've not heard his name once on the radio as well. To be honest, I've not heard his name once since arriving here and I was even doing temporary trips out here before moving. The only time I heard his name was when he was leaving to go interview for our manager position. Like Benitez or not, he's a well recognized name. What does it say about Benitez if he's a football analyst in a country and very few know that he's working as one? There's a reason he didn't get a sniff of a job after Inter and it's not the bullsh*t about him "waiting for the right job". He was waiting for any job and we're the ones who gave it to him. Completely agree with your post.

^ This right here. He didn't have the best of matches, granted but since he's healthy he needs some time. Unfortunately, with the "manager" that we have I'm not sure if he'll see more time, less time, any time, only injury time, etc.

I feel almost sick that I'm satisfied (not happy) that Leeds won. Or maybe I'm feeling sick that FSW is still our "manager". Or both? I'm going with both.

Yes, but at least the Spuds didn't.

This is truly the nightmare that doesn't seem to have an end. Robbie took over a squad that we can safely say was divided because of AVB's poor man-management skills and on the brink of exit in the Champions League. He had no pre-season. He had loads of drama to deal with. He was able to persevere and we became Champions of Europe. Guus took over a squad that was going through a lull and there seemed to be very little hope of turning it around. He delivered us a FA Cup and only was eliminated from the Champions League due to poor refereeing to say it nicely. He had drama to deal with, and probably morale issues as well. He also had no pre-season. So why were they able to succeed and Benitez cannot? <Insert your answer here, mine has too many "colourful adjectives"> Ok, Benitez is correct about one thing. He did have to go to Japan to win the Super Cup that neither Guus nor Robbie had to do. Of course, what he doesn't realise is that our PREVIOUS manager, who was an INTERIM at the time, delivered us the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, after being on the brink of elimination, to enable the club to go to Japan in the first place. All Benitez had to do was win it. We all know how that turned out... FFS please Roman get this clown out of our club. Please!!

Signed. Please get this fool away from our club.

^ This right here. Talent wise, we have enough to win of course. Don't let heart fool you, it'll take a team a long way as we know. I don't care if it's Bayern or Bradford, they are in a cup final. Our lads need to focus on the job at hand. They need to come from behind and beat Swansea. If they do that, I feel they need to focus just as much as if this were the CL final. It's a trophy, one of the last we could win this season, and we've pissed away enough chances of winning trophies this season with a few clearly being due to a lack of focus. First thing first... We need to beat Swansea. They will be up for it, and it's no easy task. We could do it. We should do it. We just need to do it. The thing we don't need is another famous FSW talk at HT or whatever he's been doing to cause us to have second half meltdowns...

With the FSW in "charge", we could f**k that up too if we get through Swansea. We could, but the FSW factor makes it much tougher. I'm not going to assume anything until it happens.

You still need to have a top manager for top players. And let's be honest, Bayern's management isn't stupid by any means. Hiring Pep helps them globally which translates to more revenue, more money to spend on players, , etc. rinse and repeat. Still, when compared to England I think he took the easier route. I'm not even comparing the Bayern job to the Chelsea job. Let's be honest, our managerial position is toxic and it pains me to say it. You're absolutely correct that he probably knew that if he had a "blip" or "bad moment" he could very well be fired after six months. The Chelsea managerial position is possibly not the only one up for grabs though. I realise I said "possibly", but there's time to see how it plays out. I believe Man City will fire Mancini at the end of the season, and I'm not convinced Fergie is going to stick around after this season especially (oh please no...) if he wins both the PL and CL. Both clubs have shown loyalty to their manager so why not wait it out a bit longer and see how things shake out? If I'm Pep, why wouldn't I want the Manu job to walk in the "shadow of a legend" (I just got sick typing that) and try to replicate or even improve on what he has accomplished? Both clubs would have courted Pep were he available closer to the summer and you might have seen both take measures in order to get him (especially Man City). I respect Bayern and the Bundesliga, but something just doesn't sit right here with me. I feel there's more competition in the PL than any other league, and my gut says he was afraid to take one of the England jobs. Besides, if Bayern wanted him so badly and he wanted to wait until closer to the summer to decide, they would have waited for him. All a moot point though, what's done is done.

Spuds and Manu dropped points, Chelsea win, it was certainly not a horrible day.

Has to be a United win unfortunately. Having help to solidify third is where we need to be looking for now.

As much as I don't like Manu, and as much as I hate to see them win the title... I'd rather have third then a dogfight for fourth. Spuds need to lose today. A draw I could live with if we win.

I really hope that Roman isn't happy with the job Benitez is doing: "Roman Abramovich is believed to be very happy with Benítez, and would like to retain him after the end of this campaign, but he accepts that the appointment cannot happen given the hostility of the club’s supporters to the Spaniard." If he's happy with the FSW at all, I can see him hiring him full time because he can. He's proven that he'll do what he wants, and it's his right being the owner, so why would angry fans stop him?

Let's hope it's a good surprise, not a bad one.

The term "must win" gets thrown around way too much. However today I think it's absolutely fitting. I see this as a match that will dictate the rest of the season. Lose or draw, and I really believe the wheels fall apart especially if the unthinkable happens and the Spuds get a win.

Le Fondre just scored a nice goal for Reading. He was in the right place at the right time after one of his teammates missed a kick and the ball rolled right to him.

RIP