bossrocks

I'm in London that weekend already watching Gaslight Anthem (wahoo) but its a 2 hour+ train journey each way so not sure if I can manage it.

UEFA now taking action against United for "non-fulfilment of post-match media obligations": http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21691929

We were 6th two years ago? Where did it all go wrong?!

Ordinarily I'd consider it ridiculous to write to the FA, as a fan, to complain about a referee. But I'm considering it after yesterday.

I said a couple of weeks ago (only half seriously) that Wes and Furman are like Lampard and Gerrard in that they can't play together. I'm starting to think its true. One of them playing with Baxter in CM seems to be our best option at the moment, behind two front men. At his best, Furman's the better footballer than Wes but I think Wes is better at doing the dirty stuff and allowing Baxter to get forward. I'd drop Furman for next Saturday and start with Wes. Baxter was out of sorts playing up front yesterday.

Worst ref I've ever seen. You can handle general incompetence, it comes with being in League 1 and getting League 1 refs. But this guy was biased towards Sheffield United. He's either been bribed or he had them in his accumulator. Whilst both goals were of our own making, the first came after a goal kick awarded to them when Obita actually won a corner. We should have had at least one penalty for a push on Smith (how he awarded a free kick I don't know) and I'm not convinced the foul on Baxter was outside the area (looked in the area to me). For almost every corner we won, he awarded them a free kick in the box almost before the ball was kicked! Every time we started to get some momentum going in the game, he'd break it up by awarding a free kick or stopping play for one of their diving players. From the start of the game, he was determined to stop us playing football. The four minutes of added time was an insult. Between their 22 going down with cramp and Kitson celebrating their 2nd, they wasted 7 minutes. There was also 5 or 6 subs and multiple instances of time-wasting which saw the ref point at his watch. He summed it up when he left the field at half time with his arms around Sheff U players laughing and joking with them.

Agree with all of this except I think there's a possibility he could make it at a higher level. Its a big 'if' but he had Liverpool and Everton defenders terrified. An Everton supporting mate of mine said their fans (and he thought their players) have never been so afraid of an opposition player in recent times. Distin was clearly uncomfortable when Smith came on in both games after having it easy against Iwelump. If he's supremely self-confident, he may want to play regular football and feel he can keep improving before going for an even bigger move next summer. If he's as bright as he seems, I suspect he'll do as you suggest and leave now for the money. And I wouldn't blame him. But I would like to see him playing for us next year if he can keep up the cup form.

I probably would still take a bore draw! Will be disappointed if we don't win though. We've seen what this team is capable of, I just hope they're up for it after the cup exploits.

I'll be getting an ST regardless but might buy an away kit if I get a free home one.

If Baxter goes, Smith's going on the back of my shirt next year. If they both go, I'm not buying a shirt.

If Monty can replicate his earlier season form (such as vs Crewe and PNE) then he's the better player. That's a big if though. Apparently he was carrying an injury for a while so I'd like to see him given a run when fully fit. Obita was impressive against Everton at home and MK Dons but poor against Portsmouth and Everton away.

It is worrying. Got to hope the new manager is the kind who can persuade the likes of Smith, Furman, Baxter and Croft to stick around. Simpson I'm undecided on. If he's a big earner then he's not done enough to earn a renewal. But I do feel there's a decent player in there, with the right manager. Can't see anyone else offering him big money.

I agree. Its a shame but we live from season to season. I think the fantastic cup run (and the £1m+ we've made) presents a great opportunity. Presumably the reason we leave contract negotiation until the last minute (at which point our best players bugger off) is because we don't know how many STs we'll sell and therefore don't know our budget. With the buzz around the club recently and the rumours of cheap STs, I think there's a real opportunity to grow our ST numbers. I noticed last night Everton have just announced their ST plans for next year. Unfortunately I suspect we'll leave ours until the last minute at which point the masses will have mostly forgotten about the Liverpool and Everton games. It'll only take a couple of league defeats for the doom and gloom to come back. I'm not for one minute suggesting we cash in early and blow next season's ST money on extending a couple of contracts, but it could give us some real stability - I think the core of this squad has potential to do well in this league.

Blatant penalty. Absolutely disgusted with Oliver for not giving that. I'll take back my comments re Jelavic being offside for their 3rd, he definitely wasn't. It should have been a throw-in our way though.

Jordan's done ok but I'd rather see a fully fit Montano given a run.

I hope we've already offered him a new deal. He won't be short of options come close-season, regardless of what people say about his quality.

I think Howard was down injured for close to 3 minutes on his own. Added to that there were 5 substitutions, 2 goals and some time wasting from Everton (mainly on throw-ins). If the 30 second per sub and goal rule applies, it should have been at least 6 minutes of added time. Oliver was a joke but Everton controlled the game really well in the first half. I think we played a part in our own downfall - we showed them too much respect in the first half. Apart from the goals (granted there were 3 of them), Everton didn't really create any clear chances. If Smith had started I think it would have been a different game.

I think it would have changed the game. And their third goal was the one which knocked the stuffing out of us. I'm trying not to be all sour grapes about it!

I'll respect the club's decision to keep him if they feel his influence on the dressing room is positive but he was a waste of a shirt tonight. Distin had an easy first half against him. He's better than Jelavic though!

Their penalty was the correct decision but there was a blatant handball at the other end which he refused to give. The throw-in which led to their 3rd goal was given the wrong way. Why was Simpson booked when (it looked to me like) Howard flapped at the ball and missed it? Why were there only 3 minutes extra time when there were 5 substitutions, 2 goals and Howard rolling around like a baby for 3 minutes? I don't think a better ref would have affected the outcome of the game but he totally ruined it.

On the Chron site now: http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/10/oldham-athletic-news/78137/gerrard-focused-on-job Credit to him for getting on with it. I hope we offer him something.

Thoughts like that make me want to quit my job and become a hermit.

Bloody hell, he really is called Mathieu. I thought that was us trying to make our team sound exotic!! Sounds like he's pretty grounded. Hopefully his dad can be a positive influence on him like Jose's dad is with him.

Oh bugger. This was the one reason I didn't want us to sell 4,000+. Maybe we should allow him to make a £10 donation to player share instead?!!

He has to play 2 strikers with Baxter in midfield. As others have pointed out, reverting to 4-4-1-1 is going back to the system under which we've lost so many games. The big questions for me are: Do we play Furman or Wes alongside Baxter in the middle (with Crofty and Obita out wide)? Do we play CI or Smith up top? If he's fully fit, I'm inclined to go with Wes in the middle and bring Furman on when he starts to tire. Smith deserves a start based on his recent performances. Distin had a fairly comfortable game until he came on and will be wary of him. CI would give us a bit of guile and experience which could be useful though. I'd also rather be in a position to bring Smith on in the second half if we're a goal down. CI I'm not sure would make much difference if we're chasing the game.