Saithip

I was quite confident we'd get something out of it even after the penalty - but then Gerrard got sent off. Up to that point they hadn't remotely threatened our goal, other than the penalty. Maxi had a good shot saved and we were taking the game to them But like many others have said, before the game once I saw Webb was the ref I really did expect a dodgy pen and/or a red card. He genuinely terrifies me when I see he's reffing our games and if it's at Man U he's as good as a goal start for them

Do you consider Hodgson's taking Fulham down from 7th to 12th last season "successful"? To me that looks very much like an unsuccessful year in the Premier League. Like may Liverpool fans I was utterly convinced he wasn't up to the job and said so from the get-go. The team's current plight is entirely down to his awful tactics and formations and I get no pleasure from being 100% right about him

Is correct. He was far superior to our captain Gerrard in midfield last season. I like him. He's a rare intelligent player in our team and likes to pass to feet

Torres has 6 league goals this season - twice as many as the next highest scorer - all from open play. Taken with his two assists this is easily the most important contribution to our attacking play. I wish a number of others had shown a similar lack of commitment and ineffectiveness

Careful! The Thought Police on here will hunt you down. Don't you realise that it's Torres's attitude that stinks? Roy Hodgson has perfected over 35 years the two ranks of four sitting deep, letting the opposition have the ball and then, if they lose possession, we kick it as hard as possible in a more-or-less forward direction. If Mr Fancy Dan so-called Torres can't play under such incisive tactics then obviously it's his attitude that's the problem. I even heard that Jamie Redknapp bloke question his "body language". I don't know what that means but if such a deep thinker as Jamie thinks he's a slacker and our revered manager has been chosen as LMA manager of the Year then I think we all know who the real culprit is here

It would be hard to play worse than last season. but I personally feel that he's been pretty well anonymous this season. One thing about Hodgson's awful outdated 4-4-2 is that it has finally confirmed - if there was any doubt - that Gerrard is no central midfielder in that kind of formation. His best performances have been in the middle of the attacking 3 midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 or on the right of the same formation. A new manager will, hopefully, revert to that more modern formation and maybe then we'll see Gerrard at his best, but his overall form and attitude over the last 18 months suggests that it's no foregone conclusion

Header against Sunderland was from open play

So, apart from those examples in 2005 and 2006, can you give any examples of his "leading from the front" in the last eighteen months? Nobody's arguing that he wasn't a great player in those days. It's just that he was very poor last season and has been very poor this season too and he doesn't appear to be able to dominate games like he used to. To come on as a sub against an injury-hit Bolton and play well is one thing, but to do it in other league games seems to now be beyond him. This is not to diminish his abilities in the past and his contributions to the team in any way, but is merely and acceptance that his best days seem to be well behind him - 18 months is a long time to be a bit below par (he has said himself that he wasn't at all affected by injuries last season when he was challenged about his performances). He's also not a very good captain by any reasonable measure.

Can't argue with any of that. He played well when coming on against Bolton but I can't honestly remember a single previous league game in about 18 months when Gerrard has done the business

Ha Ha very funny. You are joking, right?

Don't tease Carragher's been a goal for the opposition waiting to happen for about three years so does that count as current form? "Years of brilliant service" also flatters a player whose best - or possibly only - redeeming feature is work-rate. And for my money those years have been comfortable exceeded by the years he's been a liability

No way on God's green earth is Carragher a "legend". No player that finds a 15-yard pass to an unmarked team-mate beyond him and whose default use of the ball is an aimless long put upfield to no-one in particular can be considered a legend. He wouldn't get near my top ten Liverpool centre-backs, much less be given legendary status.

Yes but who would seriously want to buy the ponderous hoofer? We're stuck with the self-important f***** until his shiny new £90K a week contract expires

It's difficult to know where to start with that load of tosh.

Precisely - which makes their rantings and actions even more inexplicable. But then, many people these days are a bit thick, so that's the only excuse I can make for them

You reminded me of an observation made by a Rangers fan friend of mine a while back. I was talking to him about a shop I'd seen in Glasgow selling all kinds of Celtic memorabilia and with music of dubious merit - anti-loyalist, anti-British nonsense - blaring out into the street. I asked him if there was a Rangers equivalent outlet. He said there wasn't because there would be a huge outcry from Celtic fans and the word "bigots" would be bandied about in connection to it. It is apparently OK to label loyalists bigots but it is not OK to criticise Celtic fans of extreme persuasions (like those carrying out their recent disgraceful poppy-burning escapades). It does genuinely intrigue me and I write as someone of 100% Irish heritage and RC to boot, so have no axe to grind. I have no interest at all in Scottish fan rivalries and no interest in their football clubs but do notice how the term "bigot" is freely used to criticise loyalists but not others, which seems strange since extremists of any persuasion are surely as bad as each other?

Like a few weeks ago, possibly after Stoke, when the post-match phone-in was on. They had "technical problems with the phone lines" so asked people not to call. I'm guessing they were inundated with Hodgson Out calls. About 10 minutes from the end the end the lines were OK again. All the callers they had on were people who they have on all the time - Eddie from Woolton and some bloke from Thetford - never once made any criticism of Hodgson Expect more of the same this evening, nice bland callers making non-controversial comments

So you're a fan then?

It was a very composed performance at Juve. We were in total control and were rarely troubled by them. In fact Baros missed a couple of sitters that would have truly reflected our supriority

4-4-2 is a s*** system in the modern game and every single time we've played a team that isn't either basically s*** or plays 5 in the middle our midfield gets over-run. It's the reason why England always look total s*** as they also use the hopeless system against teams with 5 in midfield. It's not a coincidence

I can't see any positives with the old fool in charge We looked better from corners mainly because Gerrard wasn't playing. He's a shocking corner taker and finds the head of the first defender about 19 times out of 20. Plus, with Carragher being out, Kyrgiakos goes up for corners and provides the goal threat that Carragher never does. Rest assured that when Gerrard's fit again Meireles will be shunted around the pitch again

But what gets on my t*** is that only ever us and Everton that the media deem suitable for groundshare. Spurs and West Ham are both trying to get the Olympic Stadium and I've yet to see anyone suggesting groundshare as the logical course of action

The fact that he is in fact a "frustration venting fan" in real life is not in any way at odds with his being an objective journalist. It's very difficult to take issue with any of it. And why is it a good thing that Carragher and Gerrard are "spared" in the article? Fanning writes from the heart and gets to the nub of the matter very incisively and eloquently and articulates the views of at least 90% of Liverpool fans and for that he should be applauded

I disagree completely. Kuyt's one of those players who can be relied on to play well irrespective of how the team's playing. He's one of our most important players

It looked pretty fragile when he just watched as Modric waltzed past him to cross for their first goal. We're well covered at CB with Kyrgiakos, Kelly and Wilson, who are all faster than him and better in the air than him so he's not a great loss