Only Chelsea fans want Chelsea to win the league because a) everyone knows Manchester United deserve it more for their fantastic displays of football all season (as opposed to Chelsea's boring displays and last gasp winners). b) Chelsea are like the Team you create in Championship Manager games where you have cheated by giving yourself loads of cash and buying almost anyone you want. c) They've already won it two years running and people never want the same team winning it over and over again.

Sertan, London,

I'm a Plymouth fan in exile so I can claim a certain degree of independence I think. I thought the Stephen Carr handball would have been very harsh, but the two not given against United were, as Alex Ferguson would have said if they'd happened at the other end, "stone wall" penalties. The referees were unsighted in both instances, but neither of them looked for help and you can't help but feel that, had a Sheffield United or Middlesbrough defender felled Ole Solskjaer (amongst others) in those situations, unsightedness would not have been so relevant. There is no conspiracy, but the standard of refereeing in the Premiership certainly does not match the standard of play.

Mike, Moscow, Russian Federation,

What a selective memory Jose has. Were it not for a very dubious decision by a Russian linesman at Old Trafford, denying Paul Scholes and United a perfectly good goal, not the possibility of one please note. Who would have heard of Mourinho? Porto would have been eliminated and he would have returned to the obscurity from whence he came.

PdeOlland, Gloucester,

Frankly speaking, a lot of English Medias are totaly unfair to Jose Mourinho!!! They criticize him even if he speaks the truth. BRAVO MOURINHO for you never stoped from revealing the realities. Manchester United are openly favoured, everyone can see it, that is so very UNFAIR.. It seems that there is a new football law that.. NO PENALTY TO MAN U. THIS IS TOTALY UNFAIR for both medias and referees as well!!!!!!
YOU HAVE TO CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Truthhurts, dar es salaam, Tanzania

Chelsea fans always tell me how clever José Mourinho is; deflecting attention away from the players when they don’t win, and its understandable because he is their saviour, but I believe that he is showing signs of stress, it will be very interesting to see how he will deal with the next few years if he stays, he has had it lucky the last couple of years with teams like Arsenal and Man U rebuilding their teams, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man U can only get better, I personally find him tedious and iterating and refrain from watching him or his team, but the press love him because he makes good copy, and lets face it there’s nothing else going on in the world is there.

Ossie , London, England

I agree with Alan's comments, people get whipped up into a paranoid frenzy when people like Mouinho make comments like he did and start go ignore all the facts. There have probably been a hundred penalties that should have been this season that weren't - is there a conspiracy around every other club that have got away with it this year? Or just Manchester United because they are top of the league?

Basic fact is people don't like United and will jump on any chance to criticise them.

Ross, London,

Is it purely coincidence that after every Middlesbrough v Manchester United game there is a debate about a dubious penalty decision which goes in favour of Manchester United?

Keith, Middlesbrough, Cleveland

d whittaker, Eastbourne, East sussex

Middleborough should have had a penalty. The comentator said so and the referee was near by. The result should have been 2-1 to middlesborough. It also needs saying that Man U looked very ordinary throughout the match. Poeple need a reality check after the 7-1 drubbing of Roma. Man u players clearly lack the first touch technical ability of Arsenal players- the much heralded Rooney and Smith in particular- who happen to be english internationals..

--------------

Im sorry were you talking about the outstanding first touches of kolo toure or eboue. Both of whom lag behind the silky adebeyor or the feather-for-feet Julio Baptista. And i do have to say Man Utd have done well this season considering none of their players can trap a ball, top of the league and fa cup final, semis of Champs Lge, i wonder what they would be like if they got rid of the technically inferior players like scholes and giggs. I bet they wish they had alexander hleb.

Abdul Malik, portsmouth,

I think Man Utd & Chlesea fans should stop having a dig at each other and concentrate instead on the facts.

This season, Man Utd have been awarded a mere 5 penalties in the Premiership and have had 4 given against them. Chelsea have been awarded 4 penalties in their favour with just two against.

Aston Villa have had more penalties (10) than Chelsea and Man Utd out together. So have Arsenal (9 penalties). In addition to this there are also four other clubs that been awarded 6 penalties or more – including Sheffield United.

Before the supporters of the lower clubs start criticising Man Utd or Chelsea, they should really have a good look at their own track record in winning penalties. The exception to this is perhaps Blackburn, who I think have had just won just one penalty this season.

Alan, London, UK

I saw Manchester United play Middlesbrough and Gook did deserve the penalty. I don't think Murinho needs glasses but Fergie sure does. You have to be blind, naive, or just a liar to say that John O'Shea touched the ball first. But then again the FA is just as crooked as UEFA and any other league that is run like a business. Mr. Galzers', AIG will sure have their investment return something which will prompt more American investors to buy up FA teams.

Cris, London, United Kingdom

I'm a united supporter but let's be honest, Oshea's tackle didn't get the ball first. It was a clear penalty. Lucky for us the ref didn't see it clearly from the view he stand. To be honest, United were lucky to even get a draw from their inconsistent performance.
Back to the topic, Mourinho just blowing out his steam of frustration. Managers do that when things didn't go their way. Never like his guts anyway but trust me, Premier League will be a whole lot boring without him. If he wasn't to continue with Chelsea, I'd like to see him manage middle-table clubs with limited budget. I actually think he can do it.

EBS, KK,

As a Man Utd fan I'll try and remain impartial, however, I think JMs comments about Utd being 'forbidden to lose' is a little churlish. If I'm honest, I think that some referees in games at Old Trafford do feel initimidated. Is this right? Absolutely not. If this is the case then the Referees Association need to take steps to arm their referees with the necessary skills and resolve to banish intimidation, beit from the crowd or the players themselves and call the game as they see it, impartially. In the modern game it's easy for us armchair experts to sit there after viewing an incedent 6 or 7 times to come to a conclusion that the refeee really does only have a second or two to make...c'mon, few of us can make any sort of meaningful decision in such a short space of time to lets be realistic. Referees should always remain impartial and for the most part they do. As for managers making these rediculous comments, maybe they should take a closer look at the action before commenting.

Paul, Sydney, Australia

My point of view FA must investigate all these cases. It's MUST be stop or referies will lost their jobs!!!!!!!!!

chelsea fan, USA

Chelsea fan, Fair Lawn, NJ, USA

Mr M'rinho is the first and best foreign coach manager Chelsea and the English Premiereship ever had and the position Chelsea holds now and since his takeover as a manager is beyond imagination. Yes it is agreeable that jealous eyes does not like Abraomavich and M'rinho go side by side sharing the ups and downs of the club because they both are foreigners however the jealous must also understand that Chelsea Football Club is not in Russia or in Portugal and with the exception of very few most of the Chelsea fans are UK citizens who knows the value of football better than anybody in the world. The comment Mr M'rinho has made against Man United is right but he is a coach and manager not the referee of the pitch so if the referee says NO it is NO who shuts down millions voice blowing a single whistle. Never mind Mr M'rinho and carry on doing your best job......

Mr N Rai, Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom

I cant believe no-one has touched on the hilarious frustrated antics of the England captain.Passionately determined or unhinged?

Paul, London, England

it looks to me that all of the big four get the breaks, especially at home. sheffield united would be a lot more comfortable in the relegation battle had there not been a phantom penalty call against them in their opening game against liverpool. anyone who has watched the middlesbrough-man united games can't come away believing the officating is impartial.

in the game saturday, there were not just one but three horrific calls late in the game. the missed penalty was one. but how about six minutes of extra time? where did that come from? or the corner kick given to united right at the end?

barry, kansas city, usa

Jose Mourinho expertly stands in the glare of the media and distracts them to take the pressure off the players. He's a laugh-a-minute man: "It's the end of democracy", "It's life, Jim, but not as we know it" etc.

Therefore all you journalists are writing about Mourinho and not about Chelsea's ordinary performance, nor about Newcastle's excellent showing yesterday. They demonstrated how to stop Chelsea: Stop Drogba with a good old-fashioned centre half - how I'd love to have seen Terry Butcher, Gordon McQueen or Tony Adams play him, so well done Titus Bramble - a great performance from a much maligned player.

ALL teams get their share of dodgy decisions, both for and against. That's life. It's how you handle adversity and how you show the character to deal with it that counts, and that's not just in football.

Davie, Aberdeen, Scotland

I KNOW YOU WILL BUT DON'T TAKE THIS FOR A JOKE!
We always appreciate joga bonita but could we also look at the loos of true comedians. Mourinho could earn more £ as ronnies rather than manager. what a great manager with newborn personality! They always have to cry, normal; isn't it? How many penalty would chelsea conceede if footbal was verbal? Never mind Reading manager would be relegated!

rosie, wigan, Uk

Clearly O'Shea got the ball first! Stop moaning Mourinhio!
If you are not happy go back to being an interpreter in Spain or Portugal.
What about Makalali - he shoud be booked every game! Watch him every time there is a free kick in shooting range. He goes in front of the ball and moans to the ref meanwhile the wall is being sorted. He only moves when the ref warns him about three times.
And Joe Cole is a joke with his dying swans! He must be getting lessons from the flying dutchman!

Joe 90, Lymm, UK

d whittaker, eastbourne ~ of course united players could of course adopt the free-flowing brilliance of arsenal, only to be out of contention for all the cups by early february...

as for moanhinho, he's just bitter that chelski didn't take their chance to move within 1 point. all it takes now is for united to see of everton and man city and they'll lift the premiership at stamford bridge regardless of the result! if chelski lose to arsenal (i doubt they will), it'll make the job even easier for united.

come on the 'pool to see them off in the CL!!

Chris Laythorpe, bedford, beds

whatever happened to the carefree jose who was happy to tell reporters that pretty much any kind of deliberate cheating was ok as long as the ref didn't spot it? his porto and chelsea teams have been remarkable for their propensity for climbing all over the opposition and throwing themselves to the floor as soon as someone comes near them. jose managed to seem so cool about it when his team was winning.

jem, london, uk

He has got a point and if others want to make a point of JT's handball then its down to the opposition manager to say something. ManU shoud never 've got 4 points out of the last two games. thats a fact and thats all he is saying.

For Liverpool to start backing ManUre is only because of Wed's game. the better team will go through. Unless there is a repeat of the final of 05.

Arby, London, UK

This is getting ridiculous, usually I can't stand Mourinho and now that he is spouting even more rubbish, but it is getting to a point that he is becoming unbearable. Can't Abramovich do us all a favour and get rid of him already?

Jessica Leslie Nyokas, Reading , U.K

Penalties aside, can someone (preferably a senior referee) please tell me on what grounds was Ole Gunnar Solskaer denied a goal and booked against Middlesborough?

Tom Read, Colchester, UK

Jose may have a lot of attributes BUT one thing he hasn't is class. His utterances are usually what you will expect from a school boy fanatic and not a premiership manager. Where was he when JT played the role of a goal keeper and central defender simultaneously on more than 2 occasions? OR is it sour grapes? I think he senses that the title has slipped through HIS fingers.

Kwame Boadu, London,

Reading today Chelsea appear to have had more penalties awarded to them than Man U. I support neither team but I wonder where Mourinho's sense of sportsmanship is. He just cannot accept that Chelsea cannot win everytime (& how often is there extra time until Chelsea score!!!!!) Oh & when will he stop his players diving for penalties?

Mib, London, UK

The only true domestic big clubs i England are Man U and Arsenal, Liverpool can be argued as one but Chelsea? No, they cannot compare to those threes heritage and achievements. Wenger, brilliant. Ferguson, brilliant. Benitez, brilliant. But Moron-oiho, nah. Why doesn't chelsea dominate the world with their bench which is far more expensive than any other teams bench, because they're rubbish.

KIT, carlisle, England

Mourinho is boring. He managed to con everyone in the Premiership.
He is more like an assistant coach to a second division team.
Or maybe a rugby coach, due to his physical (and negative)
approach to the game.

luis, london,

Mr Mourinho you have a squad worth more than $200 million. You should be winning games on the field and stop whinning. Some decision go your way and some will not so u must live with that. Even if Man Utd lost against Mboro, your team did nothing yesterday to show that they deserved to win the game.

T. M., Mbabane,

Middleborough should have had a penalty. The comentator said so and the referee was near by. The result should have been 2-1 to middlesborough. It also needs saying that Man U looked very ordinary throughout the match. Poeple need a reality check after the 7-1 drubbing of Roma. Man u players clearly lack the first touch technical ability of Arsenal players- the much heralded Rooney and Smith in particular- who happen to be english internationals..

d whittaker, Eastbourne, East sussex

Everyone knows the home team in any match gets more decisions than they should, and likewise for whichever team is considered 'bigger'. That is a fact and has probably been true in every league ever played anywhere in the world for the past 100 years. So what?

Chelsea have had their fair share of ridiculous let-offs this season. Has Jose forgotten the start of the season where he brilliantly deployed John Terry as a second goalkeeper. He did at least three full-length double-handed handballs/saves that went completely unpunished for some inexplicable reason...

Zac, Sheffield, UK

To moan about penalties at OT given or not is surely the remit of a supporter not a manager.

As a fairly crazed Liverpool fan it pains me to say that if ManUre win it it will be down to them having played the best football this season and nothing else apart from maybe having a little bit more class and experience all the way up to the manager. I detest Fergie with a passion but to his credit he's never bothered pointing out how special he really is. For a manager to come out with rubbish like that is just laughable.

Why dont you Journos down there write about Lil Luis's "ghost goal" again ..... always makes me chuckle....even thinking about it ....

Wednesday.... Bring it on!!

adam, Valencia, spain

"Mourinho plays mind games again" that is how it is reported in the press anyway and how I would normally judge his outbursts-till I saw the videos......

I have never seen two more clear cut penalty decisions NOT GIVEN as the two against Man Utd in the last two games...

Mourinho is playing mind games I dont think so!

John Callan, Dublin, Ireland

Time for the hacks and the so called expert ex-players to have their say.

What is the point of asking managers this question or fans? We are all biased, Why don't the Alan Hansens, Andy Gray's and the Times hacks say what they really believe. And lets start with a question we all know the answer to:

Have the top clubs been favoured by refs for the last 20 years?

Oly those willing to claim independence may answer.

bob, zoliborz,

Perhaps they're not taught how to be gracious in defeat in Portugal..? Chelsea are being out-played this season by a team that is playing consistently better football. Mourinho would have said the same about Arsenal if they had been in Manchester United's position. These are just the ravings of a manager under pressure, who is not getting the results he wants.

Stewart, Wolverhampton,

After looking at the replays I am sure the referee got the penalty incident in the Middlesborough/ United game right, the United player got a toe to the ball and then made contact with the player after the ball was deflected away,
The Sheffield United appeal was a definite penalty and the referee was wrong. I doubt if the result would have been different, but the penalty should have been given.
The Chelsea appeal is more difficult because it seems to be OK for players to obstruct, hold, and push especially in the box for corners. I do not understand why as they are all fouls and should be punished. Holding and pushing in the box should result in a penalty, obstruction is an indirect free kick and with all the milling about in penalty areas it would be a brave referee to award a free kick. As to Mourinho's remarks about a visit to the optician, perhaps he will go the same one as Mr.Wenger. Carvalho is an expert as blocking, holding, grabbing and off the ball kicks.

Alan Holloway, Benalmadena, spain

Connie, "O'Shea got the ball just before getting the man on Saturday,so that wasn't a penalty ". I take it that that was a joke.

All the replays show that O'Shea took the man out before any possible touch on the ball. Do you think if you say it enough that we'll believe that our eyes deceived us?

ManYoo fans are now not content about penalties not being given against them; they're now starting lying about them.

Cotumely, London,

Chris Coombes, did you watch the chelsea match or derive your opinion from a chelski blog? Granted Terry was being held in the penalty area but no more than he was holding Sibierski. The problem lies with the fact that chelsea and especially Terry whinge so much that the decisions go their way. Maybe refs are becoming wise to the tactic.
and max, mumbai the league is decided over a season and not the few contentious issues for and against both clubs. Sounds like you've conceded the title already and your grapes are souring.

steve howes, london, UK

Maybe there's a little worry in refs minds at Old trafford....

I recall Paul Durkin not giving Newcastle a clear pen at Old T. - Shearer was brought down by Tim Howard - because "you don't give penalties in from of the Stretford end unless you're 100% certain".

From which we can imply a couple of things - they do make decisions on balance of probabilities and they're frightened of getting hairdry-erd by Ferguson.....

Gaz, Newcastle,

Any one who thinks that match fixing is purely the territory of Serie A in Italy frankly needs their heads examined.

This kind of nonsense which is spouted by managers of the big 4 with increasing regularity keeps pressure on referees, while spoiling the game as a spectacle for the rest of us.

What is the point of a west ham fan turning up to utd if the only chance of getting a penalty kick is when the game is dead?

Why should an everton fan bother making the journey to chelski if he's just waiting for the ball to hit one of his player's arms in the box & suffering a potential miscarriage?

If we the fans don't see this as more overt match fixing than a number of bureaucrats picking referees from afar then we are complicit in that process.

Mourinho ain't no Keegan, he's won something. Like Ferguson & Wenger, that makes him dangerous to listen to because he has an agenda to intimidate referees & a gleeful media platform waiting to devour his every comment & 'opinion'

Jeremy, Farnham,

HO HO HO !! panto time already ? keegan and mourinho double billing, just cant wait for the curtain to come down !! if chelsea dont want him, i am sure the bbc would be only to pleased to build a stage around him, pure genius !! chaplin, hancock, hope, cooper none of em in same league as jose !! hahahahaha still laughing,

billy mac, Lymm, England

On Sat.night it looked like the pressure had finally got to ManU and Chelsea were ready to move into the box seat after a relentless pursuit.Advantage Chelsea.

Then they go off like a damp squib at Newcastle and hand the initiative back to the Reds.

They blew it ,so Jose starts talking about conspiracies and penalties etc. which he knows will grab the headlines and lo and behold none of the chat today is about how the pressure finally got to Chelsea.

Damage limitation job done.

sandy, north ayrshire,

Let us not whine about the fact that Man Utd consistently appear to have the favour of our professional referees. It is an issue that has been around for over a decade and one that is not ever going to leave us. Let us just accept it.

In the early 90's do we remember the (slight exaggeration) 15 minutes of "injury time" added during the must win game over Sheffield Wednesday when Steve Bruce scored twice in that injury time?

No doubt they are the greatest team and club in the world, but even as a neutral it is obvious that Utd are favoured in important decisions. There is no conspiracy, merely human weakness in referees.

Imagine Utd losing to Boro from that penalty? Not one man and certainly not a ref, can stand up to the mega-saurus that is Utd.

Nobody likes Chelsea, so Jose can forget getting the rub of the green. Now I question why I even bother supporting a team, there is no joy in losing to unfair decisions.

I'm changing to Celtic - a chance to enjoy some glory.

Jimmy, London, UK

It is so amusing to watch. Chelsea could still the whole lot. Just watching Mourinho shows that he is a little man under a lot of pressure. Poor chap, can you imagine what Roman has on him. I mean what he spent 70 million this season? He spent another 100million the season before? He's got to win something this year. As soon as you start blaming the referee for your errors, you've lost half the battle. Why doesnt he blame the fact that his £300 million pound team didnt even score a goal yesterday, against a Newcastle team worth a 3rd of that? ( and thats being generous ). What comedy !

James ( Sur ), Malta,

anyone who watches united regularly will laugh at mourinho's comment. united have to play against 12 men every week. if the o'shea challenge was a penalty, we should have at least one against portsmouth. no one would argue with the sheffield united claim (for which the ref was unsighted), but it would hardly have changed the result.

as for complaining about holding on set pieces.... irony just isn't a big enough word. chelsea are masters of the sly shirt pull, nudge and dive. not to mention that drogba should have been sent off at old traffford for elbowing vidic deliberately and united should have had a penalty when drogba later pulled rooney's shirt in the area. still, you see what you want to see.

no doubt after cursing united on the injury front so we're now missing half a team, including the entire back four, we can expect everton to be given a cheap penalty next week-end. meanwhile, mourinho sounds more like keegan every day.

jem, london, uk

It is probable that if Chelsea spent less time chasing and harrassing the referee (as they have been penalised for several times under Mourinho) then referees may look upon them more favourably. Managers' like to believe they are masters of psychological ploys so why not encourage the captain, and only the captain, to speak to the referee with respect? Hostility towards the referee will generally only encourage hostility (according to the norm of reciprocity), but a reasonable, rather than hysterical, reaction may plant a seed with the referee to be exploited later

I would be willing to make a wager that the Mourinho and Wenger's would find more decisions going their way if they encouraged this approach. It certainly beats ranting like a paranoid crack head as a form of persuassion!!

craig, Manchester,

Jose. What gives you the right to have a pop at referees giving Utd big decisions, you have only been in the premiership for five minutes. We have witnessed this for years, it’s nothing new. All other clubs play by one set of rules and Utd play by a different set. That’s how it has always been, get used to it!

Darren Gilmore, Manchester, England

Of course he is right, but Chelsea have had their fair share of dodgy decisions, these two clubs seem to be favoured often. Marinho is a great manager with a very good team l support Arsenal (who incidently never get any favouritism) but anyone can see Marinho's worth, that his club should ever consider replacing him is unbeleivable, they should be careful that they don't lose him with all this negativity. l don't think Warnock is a complainer at all, the worse one is Jewell!

James Marr, Wirral, UK

I think that in general, both Man Utd and Chelsea are fortunate with the refs this year. I have seen some Chelsea players escape from bad tackles with nothing (Lampard and Makelele particularly) and it's quite rare as well to see a penalty given against them.
In the contrary, Arsenal are the one that receive the highest amount of booking but the statistics shows that they are committing the fewest amount of foul in the league !
Ref quality is going down in England and I think that they should, like other leagues, consider inviting foreign refs to give some help !

Van de Poël, Brussel, Belgium

he's beginning to sound a bit like keegan

jr, London,

I agree with RobertZ r.e. the style of refereeing in this country. While we can proudly say we have an exciting league, it counts for very little when playing in international competitions when we are always bemoaning 'soft' refereeing decisions. If we want to do better (as well as having a better team but that's another story) then maybe we need to start thinking "if you can't beat them, join them." A relatively honest player like Gerrard is worth less than a Portugese team (not just Ronaldo) full of gamesmanship, and that is a polite term for it. The first leg of the Liverpool v Barcelona match up this season was a great example-Liverpool were crucified by the ref for what would be deemed as nothing of note in England (I'm not a Liverpool fan btw). So what to do? And yes English teams have done well in the Champions League this year, but maybe that is because the teams are full of foreign players who are more capable of adapting to the different rules?

ted, London, UK

The main problem is poor referee's and their failure to be constitant when applying the rules of the game. Every week we see the same thing in one match the officals give one ruling for an incident in another match a similar incident recieves a different ruling and everyone then blames the officals. Both the incidents at the MU matches were penalties but you just have to look at where the referee's were positioned to see why they made the wrong calls.

PS: It is true that referee's are afraid to give penalties against MU everyone in the game from player's to managers know it,

James , Mold, Flintshires

it is true that it was penalty against MU saturday, but as a chelsea fan i want to say that it is only the mourinho's responsability if chelsea dropped 2 points yesterday.
the team played very bad, without any kind of inspiration and the choices of mourinho were very criticizable: putting Obi mikel and Makelele toghether is an absolute non sense for me and Joe Cole entred too late.
for me Mourinho should have replaced injured Ballak bye Joe cole to put more pressure on the defense of newcastle and to create more opportunities.
finally and frankly i fear the worst against liverpool and for the remainder of the season.

bassem, tunis, tunisia

Well...this is hilarious..Jose is playing psychological games, trying to create a media situation where subconsiously the punters believe that if Utd win, there is something not quite right behind it..."one rule for Utd and one rule for the rest of us"...hehehe....problem is that Chelsea will never be in the "rest of us Category" and the other problem is that after a few bleak years, United's players are raising the game, look at the PFA team of the year..chosen by fellow professionals..nearly all United. Most importantly of all, Chelsea are far from the "Pollyanas of the Premiership"....nah, come on Jose, stop whingeing..play the game ON the pitch and take it like a man!!

Fee, Poole, UK

week in week out i have to put up with whinging premiership managers, most notably mourinho and wenger though warnock and alladyce are not far behind. when will they start blaming their players for failing to win, giving away penalties etc instead of laying it all at the door of referees. i am not saying refs are perfect but from what i've seen of the premiership this season they are a darn sight better than the players in performing well.

eric jolliffe, cheltenham, england

what robertZ?? if this league doesn't nurture talent such as the afore mentioned then how has Cristiano Ronaldo won all his awards? how have Henry, Cantona, Giggs, Zola and so many more thrived here? i think you're slightly misguided!
And Mr. Mourinho has lost it, one more bad result and he'll be doing a Keegan on us. People have always accused Man Utd of receiving beneficial treatment, nothing new, no scandal, and no surprise he should choose to blame the referees for the result! once more we'll spend the week bemoaning Mourinho instead of his players.

Simon, Macclesfield,

I think Jose has a point and I must admit that even though I am a Man Utd supporter, I was aghast at the penalty decision in the Sheffield United game. But to argue that a couple of penalty decisions will decide the title race is ridiculous. Jose is just making excuses and its not going to wash with us. The refs are terrible at their joba nd that is defiitely not news to me. If United are getting decisions in their favour its because of luck. The FA and the referees definitely have no love for us and in fact Jose may be the one who is getting a lot of decisions in his favour, his players hardly get booked for blatant diving and despite his many rants, he has not been banned or fined. Chelsea have even got away with tapping up players for which they were supposed to get points deductions!! What do you say to that?

Rezwan, manchester,

I didn't notice Jose Mourinho complaining last season when John Terry handled the ball in the penalty area in 5 different games and Chelsea weren't penalised once. He didn't say then that there was a new law in the game which meant no one was given a penalty against Chelsea. He should grow up and admit his team were awful yesterday and Harper didn't have a shot to save all game.

Lorraine, Oxford,

Mourinho's rant at Newcastle yesterday reminded me of Keegan's rant at Man Utd severeal years ago. We all know what happen then and I suspect it will end the same way with Man Utd winning the title and Chelsea in due course reverting to type: mid table team with glimpses of what might have been.

As for Terry being grabbed during the match - when Chelsea can hold their hands up and say they do not do it themselves then nobody has the right to bleat about this poor and somewhat lame excuse as to why Chelsea failed to perform and take their chance yesterday!

In the end its a game of football - chill out and enjoy what will no doubt be a nervous final month for both teams.

Faisal, Cardiff, Wales

Mourinho is always whining. The real truth is that his team had a chance to get within 1 of United against an inferior team and couldn't do it. The game is on the pitch, Jose, and the refs don't decide it, the players do.

Dante, Portland, USA/Oregon

Connie i think your favouratism towards man u is evident enough. if u guys want 2 win the premier league title this way, i guess this is the only way man u can win the title this year. guess the refs will be celebrating with u guys by the end of this season.

max, Mumbai, India

Newcastle O Chelsea 3 yellow cards. Is this making sense to anyone waching the game? There is no place in England for players like Robben, Henry, Ballack, Shevchenko, Owen... they will be spending more time on treatment table than playing. Chelsea needs UFC fighters and wrestlers with this kind of referees ...forget about nice football. And that is a reason why England will never and I say NEVER win in EC or WC. Because your real football talent is not protected and nurtured, rough approach is encouraged by poor refereeing. With that style you can only produce players like Carr and similar but you can not play internationals with that style.

robertZ, mel, austral

The one on Sat at Old Trafford was a penalty...he was late and took the player out...the fact that the ball bobbled about an inch off its original course AFTER the player was taken out does not let O'Shea off the hook. But show me the referee who would give it.
The penalty on Sunday was clearly a penalty. Carr tried to use his body to block the shot...but ended up using his arm. This is not an accidental handball but a deliberate block by the player when a goal scoring opportunity is happenning in the penalty area.
Also it should be noted that John Terry was held and obstructed constantly in the penalty area during set-plays. It is not a case of 'six of one...half a dozen of the other' Terry is trying to get to the ball and he can not be grabbed and impeded from movement. Why would he grab the defender when he is attacking? This should have been stopped at the first instance and any further examples of this should have been penalised.

Chris Coombes, Chiang Mai, Thailand

He is telling the true

Neville Riley, Runcorn, England

The one against Sheffield United was a pen but it would've looked like Heinze got the ball from where the referee was.

O'Shea got the ball just before getting the man on Saturday,so that wasn't a penalty and Carr didn't deliberately handle the ball,so that wasn't a penalty either.

Reading,Wigan and Arsenal have all been given penalties at OT this season,how many teams have been given a penalty against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge?

Jose has offiicially lost the plot!

Connie Lynn Guss, Manchester, England

Too many matches in such a short period for both United and Chelsea. Tiredness creates injuries both in the mind and body.
No matter how much footballers are paid the body cannot perform at the highest level. A smaller league will mean fewer matches but money rules the game and so the price is paid with injuries. The premier league is like a past it's sell by date of a long running TV soap serial. Tired actors and scriptwriters.

ARTHUR BROCKLEBANK, Liverpool, England

It's one thing getting a penalty at Old Trafford, it's another thing scoring one. Just ask Gilberto, but hey, at least we won...

Martin, London,

When he goes, Senhor Mourinho must stand in line behind Monsieur Wenger at the opticians. They should also find out the address of someone to guide them as to how to lose gracefully.
It goes beyond tribal allegiences. Messrs Warnock, Jewell and Allardyce can have their rants about dubious decisions without leaving a bad taste in the mouth.

Ambrose Smith, Launceston, Cornwall

Mourinho is far too good a manager to whinge. He and the players earn fabulous salaries. Why not just get on with playing the game.

The now legendary Sir Matt Busby took the tough with the smooth. He never even signed a contract saying he was too busy!

Geoffrey C Hazzan, Culpeper, VA, USA