DISQUS

I'll see your Gerrard 68 and raise you a Cahill 87 - when's the last time United gave up an 87th-minute, 2-point goal?

Now, for an intellectually consistent response, just the facts:

United are in better form right now (16 points from the last 6 games as opposed to 12), and are currently tied with Liverpool at 47 points with a game in hand. They are also on a run of NINE consecutive clean sheets, despite the loss of Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra. Barring a dozen additional injuries, they have the depth and experience to keep their pace up to the end of the season - Chelsea and Liverpool do not.

And that, my friend, is why United are the strong favorites to repeat as Champions.

Hey it could always be worse - you could be an Arsenal fan. But, on the bright side, UEFA Cup tickets are much cheaper!

Kaka is one of the best players in the world - and one of the most humble. If anyone's worth it, he is.

I really don't understand the uproar - City is doing nothing different from what Chelsea did several years ago. In my mind, they can buy whoever they want and spend as much as they want - an influx of talent like Kaka and Robinho into the PL is only going to make the league more exciting.

As for those who are worried about their teams' "rightful place" being usurped by City, remember that they are still near the bottom of the table after spending a ton of money in the summer. An unbalanced gang of offensive stars that can't play together isn't going to do you much good - in short, money doesn't guarantee success.

If they had any sense, they'd invest in a few world-class defenders before they went splurging on Kaka and De Jong...

FYI, might want to double-check the time for the WCC final - I saw 5:30 AM ET on FSC's website....

Kalou. Gotta be Kalou.

Tal Ben Haim has to be in the conversation too - guy gets beat consistently, then breaks out his Krav Maga training to recover. I still don't understand why Chelsea signed him last year, even on a free!

Eboue takes the cake though, due to bonus points earned by starting for a "Big 4" team.

They ought to stip him of that stupid haircut too...

Seriously though, at this point, does anyone still have any respect for Gallas? He's not the player that he was, and though his comments may be 100% true (and I think they are), a good captain adresses these issues with the individuals involved, not with a journalist.

Oh, well - can't say that I'm sad to see the Arse struggling!

Yo Gaff... strictly on a personal front, tell him I said hey and ask him if he still drives that old Porsche... Ray helped to coach a traveling team that I played on in Hollywood, MANY years ago!

Good people, and a pretty funny guy to boot. He shoud be a great interview...

My knee-jerk reaction was to disagree, Gaff - but I do see where you're coming from. I'd rather watch a closely contested match than a blowout featuring a team from the PL. To be completely honest, it doesn't affect me too much because I work during those hours. Fairly easy to find whatever I want to watch online when i get home.

I think that the earlier poster had it right when they mentioned ESPN bidding for PL coverage rights next year... yes, they get to look friendly to the league - but more importantly they are building brand equity for a future (planned) offering.

When will all of these fringe teams learn that there is no magic bullet?

There is something to be said for stability. Hire carefully, and give your manager 5 years to make something happen - it takes that long to build a squad, get them to work together as a team, and to understand the nuances of your tactics.

When you change managers every 2-3 years, what you get is a mess of incoming and outgoing players, new and old tactics, and a boatload of compromises on all sides.

Jol would've made Tottenham into a CL squad if given another 2--3 years. Allardyce would've done the same for Newcastle (assuming they could've avoided the mess with Ashley and his crew).

O'Neil and Keane will do the same for their teams if they can avoid the sack for a few years...

What a load of crap... looks like he copied down phrases from every middle manager's motivational poster he could get his hands on. Fourteen generic bullet points on teamwork, hooray!

This is why we have the Thanksgiving holiday in the US - so we can limit this BS to one day a year...

Oh Arsene, you froggie genius, you had me at "This attitude can be used by our team to focus on the gratitude and the vitally impor tant benefits "

PFFT.

The referee was absolute crap. If you're going to call it tight and hand out yellows for rough tackles, I'm OK with that. But you have to call it both ways. I also wonder why nobody mentions that Chelsea dives brought on at least two of the United cards. Ballack and Cole ought to play on the women's side. Give me a break.

A lot of the dissent comes from the one-sided calls, and SHIT refereeing in general. I'm all for keeping your cool, but how would you react?

That said, there is no excuse for the way that United played. I don't care how many players are injured, or how bad the refereeing was. United have one of the deepest and most expensive rosters in the world, and they should be able to adapt.

Take Scholes and Neville off the field already, please. Scholes can't defend to save his life, and is in danger of getting a yellow card every time an opposing player comes close to him. Neville doesn't belong on the pitch anymore, nor does he deserve the captaincy. Wes Brown is an average player at best, and he's proven himself to be better than Neville. It's a farce - Ferguson's fatal flaw is his inability to get rid of aging players.

Rooney needs to wake up, and I don't know why he got the start over Tevez. Although he's probably the more talented of the two, Rooney is another guy that's one bad play away from a card. Tevez gives you the same unselfish play and high work rate, without the temper.

Anyway, I'm frustrated as hell and I don't see it getting better anytime soon. After dominating the first half, they were lucky to get out of there with a draw.

Quite a coup, Gaff - congrats!