By Chris Wright

It seems that, with the recession still biting and Robbie Earle no longer around to 'sort everybody out', the money men over at the ITV Football department have been reduced to extreme bouts of penny-pinching when it comes to providing match tickets for their pundits.

Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has expressed his disappointment with the result at Fulham last night, and he also revealed his surprise at one of Kenny Dalglish's key personnel decisions.
Speaking on ESPN, Nicol - who won a bucketload of trophies as Liverpool player, including 4 league championship titles - noted:
"Disappointing is not the word; it's frustrating.

Since his summer transfer from Newcastle, Jose Enrique has put in some exceptional performances for Liverpool, but his former Manager Alan Pardew has suggested that the Spaniard may be partly to blame for Andy Carroll's struggled at Anfield.
Pardew, whose Newcastle team is three points head of Liverpool in the table, observed:
"I had an issue with Enrique putting the ball into the box for him [Carroll].

When Liverpool signed Andy Carroll for £35m, I'm sure the expectation amongst many fans was that he would be starting most games for the club. It hasn't worked out that way, and the former Newcastle man is spending more and more time on the bench.
Most managers would receive major flack for keeping the most expensive British player of all time on the bench, and many would (probably) be fearful of invoking the ire of the board, which would obviously want to see some return on investment.

Wimbledon legend and former 'Crazy Gang' member Robbie Earle believes that Liverpool should've beaten Manchester City on Sunday, but he has questioned whether Kenny Dalglish's team have the right mentality and focus to finish in the Premier League's top 4 this season.
Earle, who was appointed an MBE in 1999 for services to football, observed:
"I think Liverpool will look back at the game and think maybe they should've taken all three [points].

Wimbledon legend and former 'Crazy Gang' member Robbie Earle Liverpool are forced to abandon their natural game when Andy Carroll is in the team, and he has urged the striker to start believing in himself more.
Earle, Earle was appointed an MBE in 1999 for his services to football, argued:
"The jury in many ways is still out on Andy Carroll.

Facing a 7-game winless streak and the absence of their veteran leader and goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, the Philadelphia Union (8-7-11) will play host tonight to one of MLS's two new expansion teams and a side trying to contend for the playoffs, Portland Timbers (9-12-5). Kickoff at PPL Park is scheduled for 7:36:30 PM ET.

Setting: Saturday, September 10 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 7:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Bob Rigby), coverage beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / ROOT Sports Northwest (Glenn Davis, Robbie Earle), NewsRadio 101.

STARTERS
At least we will know they are French. Hey there Sailor! Wanna by me a drink?

STORY OF THE DAY
More English voices invading MLS this season - Adrian Healy on ESPN, Callum Williams for Sporting KC, and Robbie Earle for Portland (I know he is Jamaican but he has been in England for a long time and sounds completely English.

ESPN cheerleaders aboard Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas for ESPN Caribbean's Super Bowl At Sea cruise. Photo by The Gaffer.

There's something surreal about cruising through the Gulf Of Mexico with the mountains of western Cuba visible on the horizon to the east while deep inside the bowels of the ship there are a few thousand passengers watching the 2011 Super Bowl beamed live via satellite to a giant-sized screen inside the main theatre.

Later this week I'll be interviewing Robbie Earle, the former Wimbledon and Jamaica international footballer, who has been a pundit and TV co-commentator for the past decade after retiring from playing in 2000. Recently he was let go by ITV by allegedly breaking ticket regulations, but now he's back on television which is just one of the topics I'll be asking him about.