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Your last two paragraphs..how very true!

He should have been off at half time..it was obvious that the Porto players would work at getting him sent off..although,as it happens,he managed it all on his own. Rafa totally baffles me sometimes!

Much as I dont like either Townsend or Pleat,I have to say they were pretty much spot on imho. We were absolutely s**** tonight. Our lads could'nt even manage to pass the ball to a red shirt and resorted to hoofing the ball for most of the match. Is it any wonder we get accused of playing 'ugly' in some quarters? But we got a point so let's be thankful at least for that.

Absolutely..especially a fit Owen! Crouch's lack of pace up front is a real handicap imho and playing him with Voronin (a good player but not the quickest either) simply left their centre halves with a relatively carefree afternoon.The number of saves James had to make was testimony to that.

Rafa got off light today..we were very fortunate to get a point out of that game imho..thanks be to Pepe Reina.FFS Rafa play your strongest eleven in the League and the 'shadows' in the CL this time around!

Very true..it's a massive game and a huge test for us. I think we will pass this test though with flying colours because this team now has true talent in it and a confidence which we have'nt seen for a long,long time. Also,Pompey were no great shakes at the Emirates and we did well outplay them in Hong Kong in pre season..so they're not all that great imho.Their main asset is in their support at Fratton Park but I'm really confident we'll still be tott after this weekens.

The problem is that so many other teams have also spent money this summer to improve their squads/teams. Notable amongst these are Spurs,Man U and even teams 'beneath us' like Man C,Pompey and West Ham so it wont be easy to squeeze at the top. Much depends now on how Rafa's influence comes into play.We all (or nearly all) fully believe in the manager's capabilities and this season he will need to prove them because spending is'nt the only thing that brings a league title challenge..it will take a change of approach from Rafa and the team as well!

It's a huge test for Rafa this season. He's had the money available,he's picked the players he sees that we need ( although still dont think he's addressed the problems out wide for some reason) and now he has to deliver at least a serious challenge in the league. I dont see us winning it but Rafa certainly needs to be up there in a close second or third otherwise he stands in danger of people losing faith in him. But let's be positive,we all ( or nearly all) believe that Rafa is a top coach so he will have learned from last seasons mistakes about how to approach games away from home and we WILL improve our league position from last time ( wont we?).

I've no doubt you are right with that assessment..watching us play especially away from home can be a frustrating experience. But surely Rafa must see this problem? we have brought in one or two top players this season but I'm by no means convinced that our 'style' of play will allow them to flourish. It's a big test for Rafa's ingenuity this season.The money has been available for new players so it's very much up to him now.

I signed up for the £9.99 Setanta package a few days ago before knowing about the lfctv deal so delighted with the 'bonus'. Considering the cost of the old sky ppv deal,Setanta seems good enough value with it's nine channels and lfctv added as well!

I can see where you are coming from and,on the whole,I think most of your comments are fair. The thing is though that Liverpool are somewhat different to many other clubs in that,if we we sign a player that looks like he wont make it,we are in a position get him moved out quickly..cut our losses..and get him replaced; rather than just putting up with him and soldiering on. Sometimes in any business you make bad buys but often..and IF you can afford it.. the key is to get things right again as quickly as possible even if it does mean you take a loss on the nose in the process! That's what LFC seem to do.If we have players who are not doing it for us,other clubs are not likely to be attracted to them anyway so their value wont be great..Cisse and Diouf are prime examples of this.Few of us thought these two would be failures when GH signed them mind you! It will be interesting to see what happens in the case of Bellamy.We paid £6m and we are asking £12m..but we'll be lucky to get £6m back for him because clubs realize that we dont want him anymore. Garcia also is a special case..at 29 he has only a year left on his contract. As he seems homesick,it's best we offload him now for £3m than get feck all in a few month's time is it not?

Quite agree..we should quote them our figure then give them 7 days to make their mind up.If nothing's happened by then we might as well offer him elsewhere.At worst we'd have to bring him back as an option for us next season.

Spot on that! In the few games where teams have really attacked us Momo has been outstanding because defending and breaking up is his forte.When we need to play expansive football and open up tight defences,Momo is most definitely not the man! It's the latter situation which has been our achilles heel.

I think Xabi is very well suited to La Liga but in the Premiership he suffers from not having enough time on the ball. For me,he's not the player he was.He lacks robustness and pace to be a real attacking threat and even his passing ..once superb..no longer seems what it was. This summer would be the right time to let him go if we are to realize his full value.The Lucas guy from Brazil sounds like he could be a good replacement and of course Mascharano is here now too. No doubt in my mind,if the right offer is there,we could afford to let him go.

He looked the fittest player on the pitch this afternoon bar Gerrard..but of couse,his was a fairly short appearance and had two superb shots ..one of the wood and one brilliantly save..or so it looked from the UCent!.He MUST be in line for at least the bench though against Milan.

Well..whatever Cisse has done wrong when with us and however poor a player he is said to be,I was more often than not relieved when he came on the pitch to at least give us some badly needed speed to trouble opposing defenders with.Even now,apart from Bellamy and Gerrard,we sorely lack pace from the midfield to the forwards! I mean Crouchy is all well and good but he's slower than Robbie and Dirk is'nt the fastest either..although I am aware that speed is'nt everything.

Paul,we had the CL qualifiers on our mind even in the first league game at Bramall Lane where we were lucky to scrape a draw! I still think that both Man U and Chelsea ran out of steam in the CL even with the qualityof their squads. At the very least though,we would need four or five top class inputs this summer to even have a chance on both fronts.

We should'nt need all the big names to beat a side like Fulham whose fans can hardly remember their last victory! I thought we were supposed to have a decent squad anyway!

In fairness,no team in the EPL is capable of winning both the league and the CL at present.Chelsea and Man U have both shown that it takes too much of a toll on their squads.We have obviously gone for the CL this season at the expense of a serious title challenge. I dont think we will EVER look like serious title contenders until we find ourselves either not qualifying for the CL or getting knocked out of it early. The number of points we have absolutely thrown away in the league this season would have almost got us top spot in the EPL but as I say,we can only manage one competiton or t'other!

That point about Chelsea yesterday looks a valid one..I though they looked very lacklustre especially in a game against moderate opposition and with so much at stake.It might well be that they are feeling the strain and,good a side as they can be,they certainly dont look it at the moment. I dont think we should have any fear at all in these two games..we have it in our locker to go through to Athens and win the cup a sixth time! Let them do the worrying.

..not to mention the penalty kick which would have been awarded! 1-0 up and against ten men? I'd take that this time around!

We should definitely keep him! You only have to take the game yesterday as a for instance..the movement and options his speed gives us when he's on the pitch.Centre halves can deal with donkeys and long balls all day long but put a speed merchant with a decent control against them and they dislike it intensely.

You have to 'care'about what your competitors can do if you want to be better than them! Anyway..the players should be up for winning every game not strolling through the games against the dross sides.It's 3pts for a win whoever the opposition. Had we gone into some of our away games this season with a bit more determination to win them we might have actually challenged for the league!

You may well be right about the team 'going through the motions' but I've seen teams do that before and then be unable to pick things up when that big game comes.I doubt very much that Man U would do similar so why should we?

Precisely..I know we have been profligate in front of goal at times but today at Villa we only created a couple of chances all the game despite abundant possession.Our midfield frustrates me no end!