Wally with a Brolly

We kick things off in the Round Table with Nigel Adkins's dismissal at Southampton. But, most importantly, we're delighted to welcome Cam to the team at Wally. As an avid pre-Abramovich Chelsea fan (also known as 'a true Chelsea fan'), will he counter the constant Chelsea bashing which has been a regular feature of Wally's Round Table? One might suspect he'll add to the unparalleled bad faith demonstrated by Westy, Chaka Demus and Bappo already.

1- We'll start with the obvious one. What did you make of Nigel Adkins's dismissal, and what do you think of Mauricio Pochettino? Will the Saints survive?

Westy: No matter how Pochettino does, this is a disgraceful decision. Adkins ahs improved Southampton's league standing by around 50 places since he took charge, how can they think Pochettino will do better with a squad who don't know him? And he's never managed, or played, in England! Ludicrous.

Cam: This really is a strange one. First of all it is extremely harsh on Nigel Adkins who achieved back to back promotions with Southampton and, despite a shaky start to the season, had begun to turn things around. Plus he clearly had the full support and respect of the fans and players; but as so often happens in modern football, the chairman decided to exercise his prerogative. As of Pochettino, he is still a relatively young manager but he hasn't particularly impressed me. After an impressive start to his managerial career at Espanyol, the team gradually nosedived under his stewardship and he was sacked with the team rock bottom of La Liga with just 9 points from 13 matches. So things don't bode too well for Southampton in that respect. Plus he doesn't speak English yet so I have to admit I'm baffled.

Bappo: A harsh one, undoubtedly. Adkins was doing well, although he had spent a decent amount of money so it's not like he wasn't given any support to start with. And he was liked by fans and players, but since when do modern owners actually give a damn about that? You only have to look at what happened to Di Matteo at Chelsea and you understand Abramovich isn't alone in deciding whatever he wants and not caring about anyone else. Pochettino? Recommended personally by Mourinho who's taken him under his wing. Did well at Espanyol considering they had no money and kept selling their best players. Southampton? They have a good chance of staying up. Only because the six teams at the bottom are just so rubbish.

Divided opinions

2- What did you make of the Tottenham-Man Utd game and of Fergie's new rant?

Westy: If you look at it in an unbiased fashion (granted, I'm finding this difficult), it should have been a penalty. Looking back to the Drogba one, that too was a very poor decision - although it's interesting how many people forget the Macheda goal in that game, where he pretty much threw the ball into the net like a hot potato...That being said, Spurs were much better than United in the second half, and a draw was the least they deserved. David de Gea was simply outstanding throughout as well - the boy doesn't get enough praise.

De Gea: immense, according to Westy.

Cam: Enjoyed the game, thought Spurs more than deserved their point and perhaps should have got the win they were looking for (considering Bale and Dempsey's chances). Fergie simply has to be charged by the FA. If not, it is pure double standards. Recently both Martinez and Big Sam have questioned match officials' integrity and were immediately charged. However Fergie does it, and the FA reluctantly asks him to clarify his comments. There is nothing to clarify. He clearly stated that the linesman was heavily biased against Man Utd during the game and also during a game against Chelsea a few years ago. This is questioning the integrity of match officials and is as clear breach of the rules as you can get.

Bappo: Tactically interesting, boring to the naked eye. I thought Michael Carrick was absolutely outstanding. His performance was Busquets-esque it was that good. Honestly. As for Bale, can you stop shooting all the time and vary your game once in a while? As for Fergie, call me harsh but I can't wait for him to retire. The guy just pisses me off all the time. I know the criticism is part of a ploy to divert attention away from the draw, mindgames, bla bla bla. But when you're 95 you expect more class. Of course he won't get charged. He's f*****g Alex Ferguson. So why should he ever get criticised? That's his attitude anyway.

                            Bappo can picture Fergie saying the same thing. Just swap the names of course.

3- Chelsea won last week-end against Arsenal, but their main target Guardiola went to Bayern Munich. How will the season pan out for the Blues, and who will manage them next season?

Westy: Interestingly, I think it'll still be Rafa. He's got a proven record in the Champions League, has a habit of winning penalty shootouts, and Chelsea fans will swallow whatever rubbish Roman wants to feed them. Realistically, they're only 3 players off winning the league, with the core of that squad arguably as good as Mournho's. A couple of new centre backs and a striker and they're back in business.

Cam: Chelsea will finish 3rd in the league and need to win the FA Cup and/or Europa League to avoid the season becoming a complete disaster. The Special One will return next season.

It all hinges on this man. This is a nice way of signing we don't have a clue as to what's going to happen at Chelsea.

Bappo: They'll finish 4th, right behind Tottenham. Hopefully they'll win nothing this season so Rafa doesn't get the job at Real due to a destroyed reputation. Bitter? Of course not. I don't think they'll win anything, Lampard will leave and cry me a freaking river, and they'll be managed by Michael Emenalo and Roman Abramovich. If only. At least that'd be entertaining. Instead they'll just go for another big-name manager. Boring.

4- Sunderland have climbed up the table, despite Titus Bramble starting. He's obviously played well, but who would be in your top 3 comical players of all time?

Westy: EMILE HESKEY!



and this striker:


Possibly two of the best clips ever!

Cam: Benjani Mwaruwari - at times he really could not hit a barn door for Pompey!
          Andy Reid - overweight!
          Bebe - won the homeless world cup? ! Got a £7.4m transfer to Man Utd. Disappeared?

Bappo: Richard Kingson - he would go from the sublime to the ridiculous at least 5 times in one single game. Superb.
             Jean-Titus Brambsong - the combination of Titus and Boum Boumsong was simply glorious. You were guaranteed shambolic defending every week-end!
             Benjani Mwaruwari - great name, great hair, and an unquestioned ability in missing an open goal. Superb.

Benjani: an old favourite.

           
5- The Stoke bubble has burst a little bit in the last few weeks. What do you make of Tony Pulis's side? Who impresses you for them, and who doesn't?

Westy: Shawcross and Huth were the bedrock of this side last year, but they've not been anywhere near as good. As much fun as it was seeing Jon Walters take the worst penalty since David Beckham, he's been pretty pants too. Also - Kenwyne Jones. Seriously?

Erm, so yeah, people who impress me? Whelan and Adam have been all right, but centre mid is never where Stoke's strengths are, so that probably says more about the other players than it does about them.

Cam: Stoke are what they are. Love them or hate them they play within the rules and they have a great record at the Britannia. They are not the most technically gifted of sides and definitely not the easiest on the eye, but they do score some wonder goals: Walters and Jerome a few weeks ago spring to mind and let's not forget Crouchy's goal against Man City!!!! Under TP there is a real appreciation of the team and strong emphasis on the collective unit as opposed to individuals. Asmir Begovic is a top goalkeeper and you can see why he continues to be linked with top sides.

Cam's eyes when he watches Stoke play. He's not the only one.

Bappo: Yawn. I don't care about Stoke, I really don't. They're one of the few teams I wouldn't mind seeing go down. And, whilst it was impressive getting promoted, staying up and playing like s**t whilst paying over the top money for ridiculously atrocious players is not ovearchieving. It should be entertaining, but it really isn't. And TP is a bit of a c**t. I hated his press conference after the Walters own goals: "This club takes care of its football players, Jonathan knows it's a family here, bla bla bla." We get it Tony, you support your player. No need for this patronising false modesty. It's embarrassing.
I have to say I'm impressed by Begovic. He's the only player I would take from that team. However, I can't stand Ryan Shawcross; over-rated, slow, stupid and a danger to society along with Robert Huth.

6- Arsenal are in turmoil, Liverpool are looking up but usually fail against bigger teams. Where will the game be won, and who holds the keys for each team?

Westy: Still Arsenal for me. They showed against West Ham that they can turn on the style when they want it, it's just their tendency to wave the white flag that's costing them. Still, they have got rid of Chamakh...surely the only way is up? As for Liverpool, they look great at home, but spineless away. The addition of Sturridge is interesting as to whether it frees up Suarez or steals his space. I do really hope Arsène adds some quality though, it's not (that) funny anymore.

Cam: Arsenal have got an awful lot to prove to their fans and need to start winning if Wenger wants to keep his job and his promise of delivering Champions League football year in year out. Although Liverpool continue to improve under Rodgers, Arsenal have enough to hurt them. Rodgers has been somewhat distracted this week as well, attending court in support of his son (Brighton player Anton Rodgers) who is charged with sexual assault and voyeurism: ironically, something which Mourinho accused Wenger of a few years ago!
Think Arsenal will edge it; the midfield battle will be key and Suarez running at Mertesacker is a complete mismatch!

Bappo: I think I've changed my stance on Arsenal about 74 times this season. I believe I've finally made my mind up now: they're going nowhere. Just no direction at this club. The game should be won in midfield, but not one player for each team likes to put in a tackle. So I'll say it's down to Per and Vermaelen, and whether they can stop Suarez and Sturridge.

This could be Mertesacker's reaction this week if he doesn't take care of Suarez.

7- Fulham host West Ham at Craven Cottage next week. Which London club will finish higher up the table, and why?

Westy: West Ham. They're more effective and Sam's a very pragmatic manager. Also, they've signed 4 strikers this window - also known as 'doing a QPR'. How could it possibly backfire?

Cam: Fulham are the stronger team but Big Sam has to be credited for West Ham's solid start to the season, particularly when you consider that they came up through the play-offs last season and have already had more than their fair share of injuries.

Bappo: West Ham will finish higher because they've got more depth. They've brought a lot of players to the club, and people like Alou Diarra and Jack Collison don't get a start. Compare that to Fulham, where the heartbeat of the midfield is Giorgios 'I can't believe I won Euro 2004' Karagounis. He's 35. And Berbatov is no use if you can't get the ball to him. He could play in midfield but he shouldn't really. He's meant to be scoring goals, not tracking back (not that he knows how to do that!). The problem with 'Keep calm and pass me the ball' is the 'pass me the ball' part. It just ain't happening.

The man on the left knows what he's doing. Not sure that's the case for Ricardo Vaz Te.

8- Newcastle are 'doing an Arsenal' and buying young, hungry French players. If you have to look back at French players in the Premier League, who was the best, and who was the worst?

Westy: Best can only be Thierry Henry. Epitomised a club and is arguably the best player to ever grace the Premier League.
            Worst? Stéphane Guivarc'h. Aside from having a name containing the world's most stupid apostrophe, he was an abysmal footballer. Newcastle thought they were buying a World Cup winner who had just scored 40+ goals in his last two season in Ligue 1. What they got was a waste of £3.5m. A close runner-up has to be Fulham's Steve Marlet

Thierry Henry: the best ever.

Cam: Best: Henry, Cantona, Ginola, Pires Makelele, Vieira, Petit, Leboeuf, Desailly. Best of the best: Henry (and Cantona).
Worst: Bruno Cheyrou - always doomed to fail when Gerard Houllier labelled him the 'new Zidane'! Also at £12m Steve Marlet was so disappointing and over priced that Al Fayed believed he had been defrauded by then manager Jean Tigana and consequently sued him!

Bappo: The very best was Thierry Henry, closely followed by Patrick Vieira. They changed a club, its culture and were the world's best. Cantona was great but he wasn't as good as advertised. He was a winner though.
Worst? Oh boy, where to start? I have a soft spot for Jean-Alain Boumsong and Steve Marlet. Both cost a lot of money, were internationals and, more importantly, were utter sh*te. Bernard Diomède also did a wonderful disappearing act. More recently, I'd like to congratulate Gabriel Obertan and David N'Gog for the outstanding job they've been doing at their respective clubs.

Steve Marlet: he's made it into everyone's list. That's not necessarily a compliment.

9- Everton and West Brom have both slowed down lately. Who, in your mind, has done a better job this season: David Moyes or Steve Clarke?

Westy: David Moyes gets this simply because he always does an amazing job. The signing of Leroy Fer looks another astute piece of business, and he deserves credit for his condemnation of Marounae Fellaini's antics against Stoke. Not that he could have really denied it... Then again, a certain silver-haired Frenchie has been known to forget to watch his matches on the odd occasion something bad happens. Probably mulling voer the Arshavin question...



Cam: Moyesy.

Bappo: Steve Clarke, if only because we've known for a while how special Moyesy is. And it's not easy to move from number 2 to number 1, especially at a club like West Brom which has just recently consolidated its place in the Premier League. So kudos to Steve. But they've both done outstanding work really.

10- Now that Tottenham are safely in the top 4, has your view of AVB changed from his time at Chelsea?

Westy: Not really. He was never given a fair chance at the Bridge, and a lot of the problems Rafa is facing are still because of the old guard, repeatedly told they were special by José, haven't been broken up and still believe in their own hype. He was told he was the man to reinvent the club, give them a new image, and then was sacked because that was what he was trying to do. Spurs, on the other hand, are looking better and better and making some sensible signings (Lewis Holtby for one). Good on them.

Cam: He definitely hasn't done his reputation any harm and appears to be doing a good job at Tottenham. He is undoubtedly a talented young manager and appears to have learnt a lot from his (albeit short) time at Chelsea. Still think he's deluded though in his comments that Chelsea would have won the Champions League last year with him as manager. Unbelievable Jeff!

Bappo: It hasn't changed, simply because I never thought AVB was bad. Sure, he likes a clipboard, can think for himself and loves business talk, but he was back-stabbed by Terry, Drogba, Lampard & co at Chelsea when he was simply speeding up the process currently undertaken at 'the Champions of Europe' (I just threw up). He's bought well, he's innovative and he's brave. Sounds like Mourinho really. Okay, he's not that good, and he's certainly not as crazy. But he's on the way.

AVB: happier times at Spurs.

LAS PREDICTIONES DE LA SEMANA

QPR vs Manchester City
Cam (1-3), Bappo (0-3), Chaka Demus (1-2), Westy (0-2)


Sunderland vs Swansea
Cam (2-2), Bappo (2-1), Chaka Demus (0-2), Westy (2-1)


Stoke vs Wigan
Cam (2-0), Bappo (1-1), Chaka Demus (2-1), Westy (1-1)


Aston Villa vs Newcastle
Cam (2-1), Bappo (0-2), Chaka Demus (0-0), Westy (0-1)


Norwich vs Tottenham
Cam (1-2), Bappo (0-2), Chaka Demus (1-3), Westy (1-2)


Everton vs West Brom
Cam (2-1), Bappo (1-1), Chaka Demus (1-1), Westy (2-1)


Arsenal vs Liverpool
Cam (2-1), Bappo (2-2), Chaka Demus (3-3) Westy (3-1)


Manchester Utd vs Southampton
Cam (3-1), Bappo (3-1), Chaka Demus (3-1), Westy (4-0)


Reading vs Chelsea
Cam (1-2), Bappo (0-2), Chaka Demus (1-3), Westy (6-3)


Fulham vs West Ham
Cam (2-1), Bappo (1-2), Chaka Demus (0-2), Westy (7-4)