Cornish Steve

Yes, I think you are right. In that case, I apologize to Patto for misinterpeting his comment.

Everton 1-1 Southampton Barkley

I didn't think so at the start of the season, but now I'm sure that Jagielka should remain as captain for as long as he's a regular starter on the team. He's led by example on several occasions. Acting like a bully to the ref is not part of the job description. Leading the team, encouraging the team, both on the field and behind the scenes, is what matters. Who can forget how Jagielka rushed up when Oviedo suffered that terrible leg break?

Jagielka and Barkley (together with Carrick) received the highest player ratings for the England game against Italy.

...or good pilots or good doctors or good professors or good accountants or... After all, these blacks just aren't as smart or gifted or hard-working as we white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. As for female referees, they just can't understand that pesky offside rule; maybe they need to stay put in the kitchen. And the stereotypes and the discrimination continue.

Timmy's twin brother?

And you prefer him as a defender? I'm confused.

If he gets to play for most of the remaining games this season and does well, would that change your mind?

Wonderful sentiment, but history reveals it don't work. To remedy past discrimination, affirmative action is generally needed - no matter what the sphere of life.

So what exactly is your problem with Joel? Hasn't he proved, in a month-long series of games, that he has the potential to be a great replacement? The grass always looks greener, as they say, an attitude that's been behind many expensive mistakes.

When the number of black managers reflects the number of black players, then yes. To overcome years of looking over black managers, though, some kind of affirmative action is warranted. It's easy for those of us in the majority to think nothing is wrong. Looking at it from the point of view of a minority, though, can be quite revealing.

I do think that some changes are needed in this area. What's the percentage of black players? I'm guessing it's 15-20%. If so, why are just 5% of the managers black? And what about other minorities?

Is it true that no Manchester United goalkeeper has made 25 saves this season?

I wonder where Joel would fit in that chart...

And I would say that McCarthy and Lukaku were brought in BECAUSE they fit in with the long-term strategy envisioned by the manager.

I was thinking about this more. It makes no sense to build a team around any one player or even a spine of players. More important is the long-term strategy. Maybe I can explain in terms of music. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, etc. all wrote music in one of several standard forms: sonata form, rondo form, etc. Before writing a single note, they chose a form. If it was sonata form, then it was Exposition (theme1-tonic; theme2-dominant), Development, and Recapitulation (theme1-tonic; theme2-tonic). This form was well-established and had produced many of the world's greatest works. Now they could choose notes with confidence - coming up with themes, figuring out how notes and themes interact, and so on. The parallel is there with a football team. There are various strategies (passing/possession game, solid defence with fast counter, hoofball, whatever). Before anything else, the manager must select his strategy. Only then can he choose players with confidence - coming up with partnerships, drills, figuring out how players and drills interact, and so on. So, I would suggest that most important is the manager's strategy. Once that is in place, everything else comes together. It drives your youth program, your recruitment, your practice sessions, everything. It also means that we waste an awful lot of time coming up with the names of players who are currently all the rage or we happen to like personally when they would be totally inappropriate for our chosen style of play. It would be like telling a composer to use lots of Cs and Es, or quavers and crotchets, because you happen to like them. To compose a beautiful work, however, you need to look at things, and make decisions, in an entirely different way.

"Fletcher with first Scotland hat-trick since 1969." Didn't realize he was that old.

We should be doing this: Paying players based on their performance. http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-seeing-benefits-of-8754322 . Plus, we should agree agent fees that are paid annually over the duration of a player's contract. For example, if a player signs a 4-year contract, the agent should receive 25% of his fee per year.

For North Ferriby, "Jason St Juste, who opted to miss St Kitts and Nevis's 2018 World Cup qualifier against the Turks and Caicos Islands so he could feature at Wembley." That's fantastic. Really pleased for him.

So pleased that Gibraltar scored their first competitive goal - with a policeman scoring against the Scots. Here's a comment from Radio 5 after 20 minute: "Gibraltar have been very, very good so far, and they've probably shaded it - even though Scotland have had more of the ball." All that's forgotten now, of course, with everyone calling for the small teams to be banned. Such hypocrisy.

Would you not include Robles in that spine? He's only 24.

I wonder what he did 45 seconds later to earn a yellow.

I read one comment last night at the BBC site where they were mocking the Lithuanian substitute. Apparently, he plays for Nuneaton in one of the conference leagues. Well, quite frankly, good for him. And good for a team as small as Lithuania holding England to just 4 goals. Hardly the "thrashing" described by their headline. I have a lot of admiration for these small teams. They play for national pride. Long may they continue to compete in these competitions.

Some scary things happened in Russia's game with Montenegro. The Russian goalkeeper was carried off after being hit by a flare, and players and coaches were involved in a brawl that ended the game. No matter what the reasons behind it, their behavior is disgraceful. I really hope UEFA act decisively. Maybe it's time for some teams to be thrown out of the tournament.

Why's that? Did he just make another movie? He must be getting on a bit by now.