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Martin Samuel responds: Is José Mourinho still special?

With Europe's top clubs all having laid out their managerial plans for next season, Martin Samuel asked whether you would give Jose Mourinho a top job. You weren't backward in coming forward and below the seven times Sports Writer of the Year answers the best of your comments.

I think all the big clubs like Barcelona, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and even Arsenal should try to get him. Look at what he made of Chelsea. Jose Mourinho knows how to focus on winning, which is ideal for struggling, big clubs because he binds strong players together. Chelseafan.

MS: Some of the others I can understand, but Arsenal? Nobody could have run that club better than Arsene Wenger, and quite possibly nobody will.

Martin Samuel responds: should Ferguson quit if he wins the Champions League?

Sir Alex Ferguson stands on the threshold of securing his second Champions League title with Manchester United. All they have to do is beat Chelsea in the final. That's all! This led to Martin Samuel posing the question: should Ferguson quit if he wins the Champions League? This got you feverishly banging away at your keyboards and below Martin replies to the best of them.

When Jock Stein collapsed and died on September 10, 1985, after Scotland's draw with Wales, the man sitting next to him on the bench was his young assistant manager, Alex Ferguson. I am sure those events had a lasting effect on Sir Alex, showing him the importance of keeping a perspective on the true importance of football. So, if he achieves a second European Cup, I would not be surprised if he decides to leave on a high, with his health intact. David M.

MS: There is obvious logic in this and that is why I think the rumours about Sir Alex stepping down if victorious in Moscow are gaining momentum. I come at it from another angle, I’m afraid. I think of all those guys that stop working, retire to the country to potter about in the garden and are dead in six months. Bored out of their minds. Come on, you all know a story like that. Bill Nicholson went into White Hart Lane every day for years after he retired. Bill Shankly was a pitiful figure, by all accounts, because he missed the involvement. I think retiring is like that moment when a couple decide to have kids. You’ve really got to know you want this; otherwise it does your head in.

Martin Samuel replies: which other pundits would you like to see separated from cameras and microphones?

After Ian Wright resigned from Match of the Day, Martin Samuel declared that his departure from football coverage on the BBC is no great loss. The seven times winner of Sports Writer of the Year then asked which other pundits would you like to see separated from cameras and microphones, a question you responded to in your droves. Below, Samuel replies to a selection of your comments.

Match of the Day needs a complete overhaul. Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer are so dull. Earlier in the season we were subjected to long chats about whether Shearer was going to Newcastle United. Who cared? Less talk and more football. Neal.

MS: Actually, I thought the opposite was the problem. At the time when Shearer’s link to the Newcastle manager’s job was dominating the news agenda, his television employers gave him a very easy ride on the subject and he finally announced his decision in The Sun. The BBC must have been delighted.

The template should be the 1970 World Cup panel that included Brian Clough, but television is star struck by young ex-footballers. Dream panel: Jose Mourinho, Johann Cruyff, Danny Baker. Nightmare panel: Mark Lawrenson, Shearer, Gary Lineker. Jane.

MS: Yes, but Clough wasn’t always scintillating viewing, either. I remember during the 1981 League Cup Final replay when he said West Ham United would be looking for a goal now which, considering they were trailing Liverpool with ten minutes to play was hardly the most breathtaking insight. Love the make-up of your dream panel, though. Get Jose on, I’m definitely up for that.

Martin Samuel replies: should the Welsh national anthem be played at Wembley?

It's been a busy few weeks for Martin Samuel. Not only has he cluttered his mantlepiece with a couple more journalism awards, but he has also set tempers flaring with his debate on whether the Welsh national anthem should be played at Wembley prior to the FA Cup final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City. You replied in your droves, and Martin has responded to the best of them.

When will the Welsh and Scottish realise that the national anthem is their anthem too? David

MS: Technically, yes, in terms of Great Britain, but in football the countries compete individually so Wales and Scotland do have unique anthems. Scotland’s, of course, is all about stuffing the English, which seems rather sad to be so defined by a relationship with another country. The counter-argument that God Save The Queen/King contains a line about crushing rebellious Scots is incorrect. There was an extra fourth verse inserted to this effect in the mid-18th century marking anti-Jacobite sentiment, but it was not included in the version published in Gentlemen’s Magazine in 1745, which is regarded as definitive. Suddenly, I feel like one of the Old Codgers who used to answer general knowledge queries and settle pub arguments in the Daily Mirror.   

I would understand it if a club such as Atletico Bilbao with strong Basque nationalistic policies were to raise a similar point, but the fact is that Cardiff City cannot claim to be a bastion of Welsh nationalism amongst the hoards of English clubs in the FA Cup. Pedro

MS: I wouldn’t even understand it with Atletico Bilbao. It all seems a bit Freedom for Tooting, if you ask me.

Martin Samuel responds to comments on what you think the future holds for Avram Grant at Chelsea

When Chelsea lost the Carling Cup final and were then knocked out of the FA Cup, Martin Samuel wondered whether Avram Grant's reign has made the Jose Mourinho years look quite sane. Your comments were plentiful and varied and here Martin responds to some of the best ... and worst.

It amazes me how quickly people and newspapers flip flop. I quote an article from this website on January 31, 2008. “Avram Grant may dress like an undertaker, but the manner in which he has breathed fresh life into Chelsea’s title challenge suggests that he could easily retrain as a paramedic.” It goes on like that. Sure, it's been over a month since then but it is still funny to see. Mo.

MS: If The Times was the work of a single person, Mo, you would have a point. That piece was written by Matt Hughes. Good lad, Matt, and a fine colleague. That doesn’t mean we always agree, or take the same editorial stance. When you buy The Times you get a variety of opinions, sometimes in the same edition, let alone six weeks apart. There is no a flip flop, just the thoughts of two individuals.

Martin Samuel replies to comments on whether Nani's seal act showed Arsenal the respect they deserved

Martin Samuel really lit the blue touch paper this week. His debate, "Did Nani's seal act show Arsenal the respect they deserved?", elicited a huge response and, for once, you nearly all agreed with him. Of course, there were a few die-hard Arsenal fans who refused to drink the milk of human kindness. Below, the five times Sports Journalist of the Year responds to a few of your comments.

What did Arsene Wenger say about that comedy penalty trick that went so badly wrong between Robert Pires and Thierry Henry a couple of seasons back? Were they showing respect to the opposition? Will Fred.

MS: Exactly. Once you start this respect issue, where does it end? Basically, if you have the ball I reckon you should be able to do whatever the hell you like with it, providing you stay within the laws. If you have found a way if dribbling around the opposition by balancing the ball on your nose, then go for it. I thought Arsenal’s penalty idea showed two players thinking about the boundaries of the game and, even if they ended up over-complicating it, that can only be a good thing. I wish more players would try the unexpected, like Nani. Indeed, I wish more players had the wit and ability to do it: particularly the English ones.

Who is better? Ronaldo or Adebayor?

African power or Portuguese guile? Emmanuel Adebayor scored his 19th Premier League goal of the season for Arsenal against Blackburn Rovers on Monday night, and in the process drew level with Cristiano Ronaldo as leading goalscorer. But who would you rather have in your starting eleven?

Adebayor had a quiet debut season at the Emirates, but since emerging from Thierry Henry’s considerable shadow he has been in blistering form, particularly of late -scoring 13 league and cup goals since Christmas.

Ronaldo’s scoring prowess is enhanced by the number of times he shoots, making a phenomenal 126 attempts this season and hitting the target 70 times – and his all round game and partnership with Wayne Rooney must give him an edge.

Adebayor has shot a comparatively minuscule 66 times, although, with 42 on target, his accuracy is a lot better than Ronaldo’s.

So which of the two top Premier League strikers has impressed you most? Let us know your thoughts.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Martin Samuel replies to comments on whether it is time to forgive Milton Keynes Dons

Martin Samuel's chosen subject for The Debate this week was should Milton Keynes Dons and Pete Winkelman, their chairman, be welcomed into football’s fold? Below, our five-times Sports Writer of the Year replies to your responses.

Milton Keynes Dons should never be forgiven. The anger may fade with time, but the feeling Wimbledon fans had something stolen will not go away. Hardest to take is the justification that we didn't have many supporters in the first place. So what? We were a small club who, against all odds, became the first team to rise from non-league to the top division (an achievement only recently repeated by Wigan Athletic). Does the fact we did this and failed to pick up tens of thousands of fans in the meantime make us any less worthy of a league position? I do not doubt Pete Winkelman's dedication and enthusiasm. It is because of this that MK Dons are now doing well in League Two. However, why did he not put that passion and enthusiasm into Milton Keynes City? How much prouder would the children of Milton Keynes be if they knew their town had produced a club rather than bought one? Will Brewster.

MS: The subject of the children is an interesting one, because it is hard to blame a teenager in Milton Keynes for supporting a team that was formed several years ago as a result of a bitter argument that he could not possibly have been expected to understand at the time. When the Football Supporters Federation had a debate about whether to accept supporters groups from MK Dons, I thought there should be an invitation extended to younger supporters, who cannot be blamed for going to watch their local club, however it came into being. We would surely rather that than another provincial town full of big club replica shirts. This then raises the issue of local fathers taking their sons – as happens with a guy in my office – which is also hard to discourage and then the FSF policy requires a committee meeting to look at each individual MK Dons fan, and the whole thing becomes ridiculous. There is an age at which one is old enough to have known better, and I think that is where the pride issue that you raised, Will, kicks in. Interestingly, though, I was expecting heavy correspondence on this subject from MK Dons supporters, defending their club with the passion of a city in which football frenzy is underway. The only noise from Buckinghamshire has been rolling tumbleweeds. Wimbledon, meanwhile, has turned out in force. That tells you something.

The Debate: Is it time to forgive Milton Keynes Dons?

There is a South Park episode that involves an extended gag in which the word aides, as in helpers, is mistakenly understood to be the word Aids, as in the medical condition. When the misunderstanding is revealed, everybody throws a big party at the news that Aids is finally an appropriate subject for humour. A precise time is placed on the period it takes for a subject to pass from tragedy to comedy, in this case 22.3 years.

Something similar is afoot with Milton Keynes Dons. It is three years and seven months since the club were allowed to perform identity theft on Wimbledon, and some think the club and Pete Winkelman, their chairman, can now be welcomed into football’s fold. Still top of Coca-Cola League Two under the fine stewardship of Paul Ince, a glowing testimonial was devoted to them in a national newspaper last week. “Those with a tenuous grasp of history accused Winkelman of stealing another community’s football club,” the reporter sniffed.

Actually, those with a tenuous grasp of history think that a glib, throwaway line such as that will serve in place of some inconvenient truths about the formation of MK Dons. On the subject of fragile understandings, for instance, how about the numbers provided to the Football League Commission to prove that Wimbledon could not exist in London? Wimbledon officials arrived at the meeting without audited figures and amazingly the commission allowed projections. Losses for 2001 were estimated at £10.8 million and permission to relocate was granted. Later, the figure was adjusted to £6.6 million (although supporters groups claimed that even that was exaggerated).

Milton Keynes was also where, according to Winkelman, there was a “football frenzy waiting to happen” — yet the club drew 5,639 for their first match, with Burnley on September 27, 2003, substantially down on the 7,675 that saw the corresponding fixture at Selhurst Park in the 2001-02 season, before a supporter boycott in protest at the move began. Even now, there is negligible difference between gates at MK Dons and the club they smothered.

Those with a tenuous grasp of history may swallow the MK fairy story — which also killed the real football club in the area, Milton Keynes City, wound up in July 2003 — but no true football fan should. Even in 22.3 years, the demise of Wimbledon will not be funny. Titter ye not.

What do you think?

Have your say, e-mail thegame@thetimes.co.uk

Oliver Kay hits back in the Beckham for England debate

Love him or hate him, everyone has an opinion on David Beckham. At least, that would appear to be the case after the bumper postbag we received when Oliver Kay asked the question: Does David Beckham deserve to win his 100th cap for England? in Monday's edition of TheGame. You replied in your droves and today Oliver, slipping seamlessly into the role normally taken by Martin Samuel, our five times Sports Writer of the Year, answers the best and the worst of them. Remember, the fun does not have to stop here. If you care to take issue with any points raised by Mr Kay, please feel free to fill in the comment box at the bottom of this page.      

Of course Beckham deserves his 100th cap. He has been England’s best player for years. To the so-called England fans who are always on his case - "he’s played average" - what are you on about? Who is the only English player to have scored in three World Cups? Who got us to the World Cup both times? And who is the only English player who wears the shirt with pride and gives 100 per cent since Gascoigne? Beckham.
Nortz

OK: Right. Taking your points in turn, Nortz, Beckham hasn’t been England’s best player for years. I agree he was England’s most influential player between 1999 and 2001, which were without question the best years of his career, and he also went on an impressive goalscoring run in the 2002-03 season, but has he really been England’s “best player” since 2003? The competition hasn’t been great, but I would without hesitation name Ferdinand, Terry, Lampard and Rooney as better players for England over that time. Gerrard and Owen (when fit) likewise, even if Gerrard remains an underachiever in an England shirt. Yes Beckham is the only English player to have scored in three World Cups, but do you really look back on those three tournaments and reflect that he illuminated the England team? He’s also the only player to have been sent off twice playing for England. Sure that is a lazy argument, but so is the “three World Cups” statistic.

The Debate: does David Beckham deserve 100th England cap?

Some time in the next couple of weeks, David Beckham will roll up at Arsenal’s training ground and begin what will be a fitness drive designed to secure his place in the England squad for Fabio Capello’s first match in charge, against Switzerland at Wembley on February 6.

By all accounts, Capello is amenable to the idea of naming Beckham in his squad and is inclined to ask him to be captain. The question is: why? If it is because he feels that the 32-year-old has plenty to offer in the bid to reach the 2010 World Cup finals, fair enough. If it is to give him the opportunity to win his 100th cap, is this the right note on which to launch a new regime, let alone what is supposed to be an exciting new era for the England team?

The argument for playing Beckham is based on two things: sentiment and his ability to strike the ball like no other English player. The first should not be an issue, not at a time when English football should be desperate to divorce itself from its inglorious recent past. Nor should the second; Beckham will still be striking a ball beautifully in his 40s, as Glenn Hoddle could. The question is, what can he offer as a footballer, as an athlete, at a time when England already have a Beckham-in-waiting in David Bentley?

The Debate: Is it time for the FA to start exploiting the situation?

Desperate times call for desperate measures, so, if the prospects of would-be England footballers are being threatened by the overseas imports who are flooding the youth academies at Arsenal and Liverpool in particular, is it time for the FA to start trying to exploit the situation by turning some of those young Italians, Spaniards, Czechs and Hungarians into honorary Englishmen?

Under Fifa’s regulations, a player who is uncapped at senior level has only to have “lived continuously for at least two years on the territory” to represent that country. In theory, Manuel Almunia, the Arsenal goalkeeper, will be eligible to play for England, but if this loophole is worth exploiting, surely it would be preferable to look beyond a 30-year-old journeyman and make overtures towards some of his younger team-mates at the Emirates Stadium.

It is far too late for Cesc Fàbregas or Nicklas Bendtner, already established as full internationals with Spain and Denmark respectively, but what about Fran Merida, the highly regarded 17-year-old who was enticed from Barcelona’s youth academy last summer, just like Fàbregas four years earlier?

People will say it cannot happen, that no player would turn his back on his homeland to play for an adopted country, but Merida is Catalan first and Spanish second. Why would he not swear allegiance to England, given that he has already turned his back on Barcelona to join Arsenal? Liverpool’s youth team contain Astrit Ajdarevic, a Kosovo-born midfield player who has represented Sweden at under-17 level, and Geraldo Bruna, an Argentinian who moved to Madrid aged 9.

Both would be forgiven for being confused about issues of nationality, so why not subtly encourage them to keep their options open until they qualify for British citizenship and become eligible to play for England — or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland for that matter?

If the FA is open-minded enough — read desperate enough — to recruit an Italian manager, can it afford to turn its nose up at talented teenagers who will soon be eligible for a British passport?

Should the FA attempt to recruit talented foreigners to the England cause?

Derby part company with Davies

Derby County have today parted company with Billy Davies, their manager, by mutual consent after a miserable three months in the Premier League.

Davies led the Midlands side to the top flight courtesy of a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion in last May's Championship play-offs, but they have struggled to come to terms with the step up in class, winning just one of their opening 14 games and propping up the table.

Do you think it was a sensible decision by Adam Pearson, the chairman, to remove Davies and who do you think should be the new manager at Pride Park?

And what about the former Preston North End boss himself, do you think he will be out of a job for long, or will he emerge with his reputation intact from his time at Derby?

As always, we would welcome your views.

The Debate: How deep-seated is the crisis in English football?

My colleague Tony Cascarino argues that youth development in English football has little to do with the growing crisis in the national game, now crystallised by the failure of Steve McClaren’s team to qualify for the 2008 European Championship finals.

In a column in Saturday’s Times, Tony marvelled that his six-year-old son is attending a skills academy, warming down after matches and dribbling around cones, saying that it was a vast improvement on his own football education. That may be true, but give it time. In a further four years, Junior will be dumped on an adult pitch and the game will be about power and little else. I hope he is big like Tony because he will need to be.

McClaren may have been responsible for a hundred mistakes, but that does not explain why an Englishman can barely get into the Arsenal first team. It may be McClaren’s fault that Jamie Carragher did not feel loved, but he is not to blame for the fact that Slaven Bilic, the Croatia coach, was happy to let England’s central defenders have the ball at Wembley because he thought that they could not pass. That is a direct result of playing on pitches that are too big at an early age, which promotes little technical ability beyond the big punt upfield.

A better manager might have steered England through, but the time-bomb would still be ticking. This debate would be necessary whether or not England had qualified. England could have defeated Croatia 4-0 and it would have made no difference. English failure would still be an accident waiting to happen and, until we effect change at entry level, it always will be.

What do you think? How deep-seated is the crisis in English football? Have your say, e-mail thegame@thetimes.co.uk

Should England bid for the 2018 World Cup?

Today, the FA has confirmed that it will be make a bid to host the 2018 World Cup. Brian Barwick, the FA chief executive says: "It is very clear that the English football public want to see the World Cup back in this country."

And he clearly believes the organisation is in a strong position to make a bid, with ever increasing revenue streams from TV and backing from Sepp Blatter, the Fifa president.

With England's involvement in Euro 2008 far from certain, should the FA give the national team a cast iron guarantee of qualification in 2018?

Or should we err on the side of caution, with the ever spiralling costs of hosting the London 2012 Olympics and memories of a shambolic effort to host the 2006 World Cup still fresh in the memory?

Let us know your thoughts below.

The debate: Redknapp is a victim of whispering campaigns

Harry Redknapp for England head coach? No chance. He is more likely to be on an FA blacklist than shortlist. It can only be because of question marks on his character, not his managerial ability. And it is not right.

Redknapp is one of those managers who is the victim of whispering campaigns — and, of course, the Panorama witch-hunt — as well as betting allegations that were unfounded.

It is all gossip, none of it ever proved and nothing to do with how good at his job he is, but he will not be near the FA’s thoughts when its members come to replace Steve McClaren. Yet here is a man who has vast experience, who has been successful over decades and who has shown the willingness and ability to adapt to the modern game. He is astute in the transfer market and rejuvenates players who had been outcasts — Kanu, Paolo Di Canio and many more.

Redknapp has done a remarkable job with Portsmouth and his teams play brave, attractive football. His players get better and play to the utmost of their abilities. We have not been able to say that about England for a while.

He is not liked by everybody within the game, but who is? He is friendly, approachable, amusing. Few managers are better at handling the media and it is crucial for the England head coach to have the press on his side.

Yet Redknapp has only managed top players at the start of their careers (the likes of Joe Cole and Frank Lampard at West Ham United) or at the end (Paul Merson, Teddy Sheringham). He is so shrewd that his lack of elite and European experience would not harm him at international level. He deserves to be in the discussion and it is England’s loss that he is not.

Tony Cascarino