Ginu

want to hang Riise for his own goal last week, this is all a blessing in disguise. While he gave us a significant result to overturn, it takes attention now away from the on-field activity and onto much bigger and long-term issues with the club: 1) strengthening our squad to challenge next season after another failure to win any trophies, and 2) getting G+H out and DIC in. This season has been one to forget and, for me personally, we were in so much turmoil at the end of 2007 that I had already considered this season a write-off. Here's to making some quality signings this summer and doing our part to give Hicks no other option but to sell to DIC. Let's also hope that JP Morgan squeezes him into selling as well after the article that came out in the last couple of days. YNWA

Well he's right. Skrtel should be preferred to Carra next season at centre half.

Bring in 2 of the 3 and we'll win the league next season.

Those two ARE the dross in our squad.

Amauri's nailed on to go to Juventus isn't he? I have to say though that if we had Silva and Quaresma manning the wings we'd win the league next season. We play enough games that Babel would get his fair share, Benayoun as well. Promote Insua next season to the first 11 and interchange him with Aurelio when fit, give the centre-halves to Agger and Skrtel, and put Carra and a (insert here - Degen?) in competition for right back. If Crouch doesn't go, we'd have so many options in Torres, Crouch, Babel, Benayoun, Gerrard, Pennant, Quaresma and Kuyt to do a lot of damage. Try questioning rotation with those players. If Alonso leaves, Barry would be a great singing as well. 3 in (Degen, Quaresma, Silva) 3 out (Finnan, Voronin, Riise) Crouch can even go if the numbers give us too many players. Kuyt, Babel and Torres would be able to take care of the lone striker in a 4-2-3-1.

Made me think of Ronaldinho, Henry or even Joe Cole to be honest.

We don't like redheads in these parts. He was doomed from day 1. On a serious note, you actually think that, from the time we signed him, we've been harping on about him for the heck of it? There must be something he's been doing since he's gotten here that tick people off. And that's his useless right foot and how any professional footballer can be so uncomfortable using their non-favored leg to kick a ball.

Players like Degen and a replacement left back are fine if they are just that, replacements. At this stage, we need to be signing top class talent that can change a game for us in the final third. I'm worried about Rafa's statement that he doesn't expect to spend big money. We are two attacking players short of a title-challenging squad: a quality winger and a foil for Torres.

You'd think Torres was out there considering how much we're singing about him today we should sell them to increase our net spend. We need to pay off our debt already too.

What's goin on with Pennant today? Where have you been all my life.

The Texas Rangers suck

I'm a huge ice hockey fan and support Gillette's Montreal Canadiens team as much as I do Liverpool Football Club (living in Canada how can I not?). Gillette is a great owner and, what many people heard during his interview on radio a few weeks back, is genuine. While he is a business man, he loves historic teams because of the fans and the passion they bring to the sport. Montreal is the most storied franchise in hockey, just like Liverpool is in England. It's no surprise that he showed interest in LFC. He's ashamed that he brought in someone like Hicks into waters he treasures. When I heard last January that Gillette was involved, I was ecstatic. Gilette is a very honourable owner, and this is from following the Montreal Canadiens for two decades. Since he came in, our franchise has turned around. It's not all because of him but his choice of the general manager of the team, Bob Gainey. I would be very surprised if Gillette stays quiet now and ends up being a Hicks-type later on. He understands the Liverpool Way, because it's the same as the way of the Canadiens.

Tom Hicks is like a condom... one Yank and your whole world falls apart.

I guess you and your father don't get it yet. Liverpool's management does not put itself in the limelight. We do not manage the club through the media. So Parry and Gillette would never have done as you suggested. Read this. Understand this. Read it again. Understand it again.

Hey Hicks Jr. where have u been? We've been expecting you

We all know that Hicks is willing to sell his shares no matter what the t*** says. We also know that he's given an outrageous value for his shares to DIC. This is all being done on purpose, IMO. Hicks is in need of a lot of hard cash knowing that he'll have trouble re-financing a lot of his American deals. He knows he only has 6 weeks left before DIC seal a deal with Gillette so he's doing all he can to gain negative attention so that DIC offer up the cash he wants to get him out faster. He might be a complete idiot but he's no slouch businessman. He wants to get paid and will drag the club through the mud to be offered the cash he wants and then walk.

Agreed. It seems that this is Hick's move of desperation to try to get the board #s working in his favour. He knows he only has 6 weeks remaining so he deliberately tried to bring out the anti-Parry feelings in the fans, hoping it could help him achieve his objective. Now that it's backfired, it's certainly only a matter of time before this frog goes back to his lilly pad.

I absolutely love Rafa. My only issue is his team selection when in the beginning of the season, he put out weaker teams in games we needed to win, and after failing to get the result by the middle of the second half, he'd then bring on the big guns. I think Rafa's rotation policy is great, but secure the result first, then bring on fresh legs and rest your players. Too many wasted opportunities playing Riise, Voronin and Pennant early on in the season, and not enough Crouch. The man is definitely a genius with his record in knock out competitions. I hope he sees though that his team selection in the premier league to start games gets the team in a lot of trouble when we play players that aren't going to win us games. Again, get the result, then rest the players in the 2nd half, or get better quality in the side.

At least he'll increase our net spend.

It was definitely a penalty. Kuyt wrapped his arm around the player and either way he impeded him. When you hook your arm around the player, it is a foul. The ref got it wrong. The only case that can be made really is if Hleb fell too easily.

We certainly lack the players in our back line to make a good first pass to keep possession. I personally pull my hair out every time Carra just launches the ball upfield. We defend for our lives but we also lack composure to an extent. I also believe that, due possibly to youth, we have yet to gain the belief that we truly belong at the top of the league. Only when I see that we can beat the top 3 regularly will I think we ever have a shot. Every year we talk about title challenges, but have we regularly beat the top 3 in the last 3 seasons? Unless we have the pace, strength, c*ntness, killer instinct and belief to beat ManU, Chelsea and Arsenal, we won't. One thing we lack is a sense of arrogance. On the pitch you need that to grab the game by the horns and make something out of nothing. I feel too much of our game relies on systems and tactics. At the end of the day, it's individual greatness that always gets through a tough tie. We don't have enough clutch players in our side, but Kuyt impressed the hell out of me yesterday.

Kuijt Gerrard Aurelio

This loss wasn't about players, it was about our mentality as a club. Why can we go to the most hostile stadiums for an away leg of a Champions League tie, and come out of the gates firing with confidence, but away to one of the top 3 clubs we can never get a result? And for everyone harping about the referee, when you let the other team dictate the match like we did yesterday, you're asking for them to get the majority of the calls. Yes the red card was b*llocks, but again, if we play like that, we're asking for it. We need to change the mentality like the original poster said. I don't think it's Rafa's lack of motivation of the players, it's his approach for preparing us for these big domestic occassions. We need to come out fast paced just like in a CL away tie where one goal seals the deal. Why is the Premier League any different on these big occassions? Why do we sit back and wait to get our a$$es kicked? WE should dictate the pace, WE should take the ball and win the tackles, WE should get the first goal and WE should be intimidating them. Get the first goal and that gives us the advantage. And we do, just only in Europe.

Anyone think Ronaldinho would cut it in England? Is Nasri available? Both would be brilliant behind Torres next season. We need to be in for Villa ASAP.

Surprised nobody's mentioned this. I've heard 20.1m but not 16m.