RedNik

Think theres actually some truth to this. Its pretty interesting for me, but we seem to be responding well to going down, and having the challenge placed upon us.

Not buying the pressure idea. Are you suggesting we've a team of bottlers? Champions League would suggest otherwise.

Thats right, bouncebackability. Great stuff!

Don't think there's been much rotation. The squads have been a little different, because we didn't have Riera yet, injuries. Beyond this, its pretty clear Rafa has a preferred 11 that he wants to play. For me the fact that Babel hasn't got starts is surprising, but also Agger. I'm not saying its a good or bad thing, the results speak for themselves.

Rafa looks to have abandoned his past customary rotation policy. Its clear that having a settled squad is paying off, not just with our points total (which was comparable to last years) but with the nature of the football we're playing. In the past seasons however, its been right after the busy Christmas and New Years spell that we start to push on and put together a serious string of results. I've always thought, and Rafa has suggested this was the reason he adhered to rotation, that our fitness levels have been better in the second half of the season, allowing us to outperform other teams. IMO this is one of the main reasons we've been able to perform so well in the Champions League too. Is there a possible downside to the lack of rotation we're seeing in games?

Completely agree but there's some seriously promising stuff that we're showing now, that we were lacking in the past. 1) Comebackability - to quote well whichever idiot it was who decided this was a word. For a long long time we've had difficulty coming from behind in the premiership. No longer the case 2) We're moving through the gears and have, despite not playing the best football in some games, come out with the 3 pts. 3) Serious bench strength. The number of game-changers on our bench today was amazing. To be able to draw on Robbie Keane, Ryan Babel and Yossi to change a game is just unreal. Not to mention guys like Dossena, Pennant, Agger, Hyypia. The squad holds its own with Chelsea's.

Thought he was brilliant today. Seems to've made a commitment to improving the mobility aspect of his game - he's always covered a lot of ground, but for me it looks like there's greater urgency and he's in the attacking third an awful lot more.

We are better than Villa. Better options to pass to, players who can likely hold the ball better such that a pass can be considered complete. Also Xabi plays deeper and exchanges a lot of passes with players in our own half, which can serve to explain both the higher volume and completion rate he has over Barry. Mind you, I'm a big Xabi fan, and definitely think he's a better passer than Barry.

Even 10 M plus the players mentioned is far too much money for Barry. Anything that exceeds 15 M in value for Barry is simply too much. 12 is about right, including English player inflation and the nature of the hostile bid.

Milner is certainly not better than Pennant or Yossi. Maybe has the potential to be, simply because he's much younger - but doubt he will be.

Yossi is exactly the type of player we'd hold onto if we were strapped for cash. He's versatile and can come off the bench. We're unlikely to get anything more for him than what we bought him for - in all likelihood we'd get less. He's worth far more than that for me, as a bench option who can unlock a tie, and can start games against lesser opposition.

Barry is mobile in the sense that he's a midfield engine with a lot of forward driving force. Xabi is called not mobile because he seems to have a lot of inertia when going into tackles and if a player beats him, he often gives away free kicks. I think the point that he covers the most territory in our games is an interesting one. For me its largely when he's not in possession, moving positionally to give his teammate an option or to be best suited to thwart opposition attacks. Interestingly, I think our other players, especially on the wings, need to do this a lot more (Kuyt apart I don't think anyone did). I understand why people are saying Xabi is limited, but I still think he can be wonderful, if Rafa tells him to play a little higher up the pitch.

Why would you move Gerrard? He and Torres have excelled in their partnership.

At first, it was largely about sentimentality, but now I'm genuinely confused as to the seeming direction Rafa is going here. Since we've all but spent 7M on a new left wingback, I think its pretty safe to say that Barry, should we sign him, wont be starting any games at this position. Even if Aurelio is moved on, we have Arbeloa and Insua in reserves, so the only scenario I see him playing a left back is in the middle of a game, due to injury or the accommodation of other attacking talent. With that Barry is likely to fulfill 2 positions, center mid and left mid. He's certainly not a winger and would probably be a little wasted on the wing. I think he's a pretty good crosser of the ball, but largely from deep. I can see him starting games here against tougher opposition, but only if we're able to find a more attacking player for the opposite wing (imagine Kuyt and Barry as our starting wingers!). So if Barry comes in largely as a straight swap for Xabi, I'm not convinced its what we need to take us to the next level. It may be an improvement (I'm uncertain), but we really do need to strengthen in other areas. For anyone arguing that we're trying to raise funds by selling Xabi and bringing in Barry - this is absolute b******s. It seems that Barry is going to end up costing more than we'll get for Xabi which for me is ridiculous - but that's I suppose the price for a hostile bid on an English player. Even if the fees were approximately the same, we'd have to reach a settlement with Xabi, which would cost a fair amount (I think he's on 60+ for the next 3 years). The more I think about it, this is a direct change in personnel, with Barry giving us the added benefit of versatility. If however 7 subs can be on the bench next season - is versatility all that necessary, especially considering our squad size?

You're unlikely to find a replacement who has Kuyt's work ethic or versatility, willingness to play his role in the squad and reliability when called upon.