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Listed below are comments made by The G Men between Monday, 8th September 2008 and Monday, 26th October 2009.

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Benitez's brinkmanship strikes again 3:07pm on 26 Oct 2009 How fickle we all are.
Last week it was the last rites for Benitez, and Liverpool's season, and now we witness Man Utd's very own having a pop at players like Ferdinand and Berbatov.
Mind you Berbatov has only 3 PL goals this term doesn't represent great value compared to a certain Darren Bent who at just over £10m looks like a bargain.
Neither Utd nor Liverpool are the forces they were last season and whilst they will both be top 4 Chelsea look like the real deal.
However don't write Liverpool off just yet.
Man Utd can not maintain thier PL form of last year having lost Ronaldo and Tevez without introducing quality replacements (Valencia looks promising) combine this with some of the old guard (Giggs apart) in their twilight years and it's not a recipe for success.
I tip my hat to SAF for what he has achieved this season with what he's got but I can't see Utd sustaining this until the end of the season.
Although City have gone off the boil the top of the PL league is still very tight and a great run by anyone could see them make a fist of it with Chelsea (Villa and Tottenham included).
The January transfer window will be particularly interesting.
If Chelsea can't buy and with Liverpool being strapped for cash (Wenger rarely buys anyaway) it will be Man Utd opening up the cheque book which maybe will give them and edge to contend for yet another PL championship title.
Benitez needs a mini miracle to save them from an early Champions League exit but if he does his Houdini act then this could kickstart his PL aspirations and who knows Benitez might end up having the last laugh.
One thing's for sure that this is so far one of the most interesting races for the League title we've seen in a while.
Let's hope it stays that way.
Benitez faces biggest test 11:17am on 21 Oct 2009 Liverpool remain a two man team and although some stats suggest results have be well earned in their absence the facts remain that these two players turn a moderate side into a very good side.
Losing Alonso was a tragedy and although Aqualini might be an astute buy he's yet to get a start though injury.
The match against Manure will be important but it's not a life or death result for either team, bragging rights aside.
The next 4 matches are however critical; Manure, Arsenal (CC), Fulham and then Lyon again so these will be the true test of how Liverpool's season will turn out.
The dominance of the "Top/Big 4" teams is coming under an ever more increasing threat and Liverpool might have to face the prospect of the Europa League next term (unless they make some bold signings in January).
I also agree with the great number of posters who had stated that Benitez has had considerable funds at his disposal but has bought some second rate players and/or hasn't been able to mould them into his team i.e. Robbie Keane.
He tactics are also sometimes hard to fathom!
Defoe makes case for England start 6:09pm on 06 Sep 2009 I always believed that Capello picked players who were on form and not because of their reputation e.g. Owen and to some extent Beckham.
Heskey is not a form player and interestingly Villa's demise last term dirtectly correlates to when O'Neil signed Heskey.
Therefore I can not understand Capello's logic in persisting with Heskey.
Defoe is firing on all cylinders and deserves to be in the starting 11.
Cole is also a player who has shown enormous imptovement and Crouch has yet to disappoint however if we're playing 4-4-2 then it has to be Defoe and Rooney.
Croatia apart we've yet to be truly tested and when we encountered Spain we were put to the sword. And who was up front at the start of this match; Heskey and Agbonlahor.
England under Capello have been a relevation and it's hard to diss him. However when we face class opposition we need players who are both on the form of their life and have the bottle at the top level.
It's hard to srgue the case for Heskey on either criteria.
Ponting left laughing as England get the script wrong 8:58pm on 09 Aug 2009 We have got we deserve.
Andy Flower isn't the real deal, Strauss is a good player but not a great captain and the selectors are stuck in a rut perpetuating the view that it's not a good idea to chop and change the side.
Change is good especially if you pick players who are in form and full of confidence.
It's been pretty clear that Bopara can't buy a run, Bell is a shadow of his former self, Colly had one courageous innings but we can't keep on relying on his true grit to salvage some mid order batting pride.
In essence our middle order is a soft as butter (especially with no KP).
So England should make some serious changes.
There's been alot of negativity aboput Broad and I confess his bowling hasn't been good enough but if we promote him up the order he has proven that his got more bottle than some of our so called established batsmen.
As a bowler he becomes the third or fourth option.
Why the selectors didn't go with Trott is a complete mystery.
As an aisde I also feel that the Sky commentary teams are over protective of England to a point where it's somewhat nauseating.
Owen worth Man Utd gamble 7:27pm on 03 Jul 2009 Man Utd should be competing with the Top Clubs in the World for the best around which means acquiring young, gifted and hungry players itching for success.
Given Ronaldo's departure combined with Tevez leaving and failing to secure Benzema, getting Michael Owen at 29 with a history of injuries does not seem like the smartest move Ferguson has made.
There is also the enigma that is Berbatov who hardly won many fans or paludits last term which is relevant as to where Owen (and Berbatov) now fit alongside Rooney.
Utd are also handicapped by some senior players reaching the end of their careers and SAF admits they can not play as many matches as he would like.
So (ignoring Hargreaves) Man Utd have several players who can not sustain a full season's fixture list, have lost the best player in the World plus another world class striker and people seem to think that getting Owen is a shrewd move.
Hello the light's on but nobody seems to be at home!
Additionally Capello in his wisdom tends to support the view that Owen doesn't cut it any more by excluding him in England's future plans.
Please note how well England have done of late.
Owen has been a terrifc player in his time but we all know when a player has reached his/her high water mark and Owen's best days are behind him.
Owen must feel like he's just seen £1m in his deposit account and doesn't know whether to own up to it or play along!
Ince forced out by fear factor 08:53am on 17 Dec 2008 The main issue is about results.
Ince's record was dreadful and it was impossible for the club to retain his sevices without the potential loss of Premier League status which would be a huge blow to the city of Blackburn and their supporters, so the Board had no choice.
The secondary issue is should Ince have been appointed in the first place?
With hindsight the answer is clearly no however you have to give Blackburn some credit in wanting to appoint an English Manager.
However given the intensity of the job and the skills that are required, Ince was clearly well short of experience at PL level so the Blackburn board gambled and lost.
Losing Friedel and Bentley didn't help with no top level replecements to fill these boots (Robinson had been proven to be hugely suspect at Sours and International level i.e. damaged goods).
You also can't blame the media.
They are what they are and aren't responsible for results.
Love them or hate them they are what they are and are there to comment and provide opinion.
Ince should have be given more support in how to mange the media which could have helped his cause.
Ramos facing Titanic struggle 12:21pm on 06 Oct 2008 It's hard to know where to start.
The move for Ramos was allegdly "inspired" by Comolli and Kemsley (who quit a year ago).
Jol had achieved 2 consecutive 5th places and most feel his treatment was undeserved and disgraceful.
True Jol didn't address the defensive deficiencies but maybe Commoli was the problem here.
The fire sale that ensued in the summer was a mix of wheeler dealing and some common sense.
However it was as clear as night follows day that Berbatov was going to move and having foolishly let Defoe go in January it would leave the team with Keane and Bent.
Keane going was a bombshell but they should have been in the market for a striker (to replace Berbs) months earlier.
Levy's brinkmanship didn't pay off and his hollow threats to Liverpool and Man Utd were seen as just words coming from empty vessels.
However Ramos doesn't cut a happy figure and their seems little leadership on or off the pitch.
Whilst I don't subscribe to the hire and fire policy something has to change and FAST.
Ashley's short-term gamble 10:23am on 27 Sep 2008 Of NUFC's challenges and looking back money and judgement are two important factors.
Ashley stated that he paid £134M for the club and then invested a further £110M not just to pay off the debt but to reduce it.
He also stated that advertising and sponship deals had been front loaded i.e. mortgaging the future.
In today's Premier League you have to have huge pockets and Ashley was never in the super hevyweight league like Roman Abramovich or Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG) to spend his way through the problem.
It seems that Ashley was unaware of the high stakes poker game he was joining.
In terms of judgement, when Abramovich took over Chelsea he brought in Mourinho. Admittedly he took over a talented team but Mourinho was a proven manager (Porto) plus allowed to get on with his job.
Ashley almost immediately got rid of Allardyce with Redknapp as his No 1 target and when he didn't take the job (nor Houillier) he was in a creek without a paddle.
The Keegan move was a gamble but could have worked but the Wise factor was always going to screw this.
Europe set up Ryder decider 11:33am on 21 Sep 2008 All decisions are vindicated by winning and whilst I would like to see some guaranteed points on the board early on, some of our banker players haven't performed as well as many expected so the order of play is still a lottery.
Some of the so called makeweights have stood up to the plate.
However whilst Harrington hasn't been on top of his game we have short memories.
His Major wins in the Open and USPGA were of the highest order and demonstrated at he has what it takes to close out matches.
So being out last is a smart move.
The Faldo debate will continue whether Europe wins or not. He polarises opinion (always will) which is no bad thing.
Today will be fascinating and the momentum is definitley with the Europeans but it's still too close to call!
Time for England to trust Joe Cole 9:17pm on 08 Sep 2008 I'm no Blues fan but England lack players who can run and beat the opposition.
Cole can do this is spades and this unnerves the opposition in both midfield and defence.
We might have others who can, or could do this, but stick Joe Cole on the field and he gives you options.
I don't like lambasting England but I wish I could see some real signs of improvement under Capello.
The only green shoots are players like Cole so it's puzzling why a player who can unlock defences is not an automatic choice.
With Cole in the first XII against Croatia we have a chance.

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