DJS

Whilst that's all fair comment, he's a bloomin striker/attacker for heaven's sake! 'helping out the defence' and 'break up opposition attacks' isnt something we should be assigning to 25% of our attacking threat, is it? The fact that we point to those attributes when praising a forward player, emphasises how little he offers in an attacking sense. We're left to pinpoint his defensive qualities. Bizarre.

I wouldnt disagree with you, but my from my point of view, even the Kuyt of 2006-2007 wasnt actually good enough, for a team with title ambitions. At his best, he's a good player. I cant ever see him being a TOP player however. The way i see it, there are positions where you can have good players or decent players, and still win the title. The problem is though, especially with the formation we play, our (only) four attacking players ALL need to be quality. They basically represent 95% of our threat going forward so there's a huge onus on them to be top class and Kuyt simply isnt.

yeah, cos we *never* get to European Cup finals, do we? I mean, wasnt it 31 years between our 1st and our 2nd, and then another 9 years til our third? Or was that you?

I'm not sure why his superb CL record is considered as a barometer of his ability, but his woeful PL record isnt considered to be one.

I cant think of anything worse than losing a parent and i've got nothing but sympathy for him on that issue. It's not a foregone conclusion that it should contribute to poor performances though, you only have to look at Lampard in recent weeks to see that. Aside from losing his dad, i just dont think Kuyt possesses enough of any one quality to be a top player. Work rate alone isnt enough and he doesnt have pace, power, flair, clinical finishing ability or anything else to really consistently pose a threat. That's the crux of the issue for me.

It's possible of course, but he's already shown that he lacks pace, strength, good touch and clinical finishing ability. So he probably wouldnt. Didnt he get shifted out to the right BECAUSE he wasnt cutting the mustard as a striker?

It clears up why he should be a squad player (at best) and not a 1st teamer. Because 1st team strikers really need to score more than just 3 league goals.

I think he's escaped a media-slaughter simply because he's someone who's known as a t** anyway and in many ways, what he did didnt exactly surprise anyone. "Drogba acts like a div and gets sent off" isnt particularly newsworthy

Agree on Anelka, he looks like he's never cared less. Not usually known for his passion anyway, so this current trend is quite concerning for the french.

Russia arent IN my three You've confused me totally. But in any case, there wont be another Greece, like in 2004. A 'favourite' will win it.

I think the French will be relying too much on an Henry who's had a poor season, and a Ribery who cant do it all on his own. Leaving out Trezeguet was an error for me, especially when Cisse is likely to go. Of course, if Benzema plays and hits the heights he's capable of, it could still be a good tournement for the French. Big if though, for such an inexperienced lad. There's no logical reason for dismissing Spain and i'm not doing that, but i'm sticking with the three i've gone with. However if Spain did it, i doubt many would be shocked.

You'd think that, sooner or later, they just HAVE to finally get it right. Without being biased, a lot will rest on Torres, if he's on fire, their chances will be huge. Germany are always there or thereabouts, as are Italy. I just think Portugal's final missing piece of the jigsaw might have been found, if Ronaldo continues on his season-long run of form. No reason to discount Spain really, but i figured that picking 'one of' Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain as a winner, wasnt really 'sticking my neck out' much

Surely it'll be Quaresma on the right, Nani on the left and Ronaldo up front, i would guess. Or is that just too obvious?

None of those 3 mentioned have any chance of winning the tournement IMO, so no matter what their prices might be, i'd never back them.

The mystery is cleared up when you remember his tally of 3 league goals (2 pens and a deflection he knew little about). Nobody can ever dislike the lad, but in terms of levels of quality required to be a serious challenger, he falls some way short.

The winners will be either Germany, Italy or Portugal. Portugal have always looked good and always failed due to their lack of a reliable and consistent goalscorer. They have one now and he's been on fire all season. As mentioned, they have an easy route to the semi finals, providing they win their group, as they should easily do.

I hope so. Knowing our luck, Hicks will wait for us to generate £20m in sales and then give THAT to rafa as the summer budget!

Again, i would agree with you. My point is based on what we need MOST (which i think, is direct wide players/forwards with goal threat and/or a 'playmaker' type...either way, a third matchwinner, someone to make a difference for us). If we have buckets of cash then of course we can afford to spend relatively big money on fullbacks, but i cant see us playing with loads of funds. I think a goalscoring wide player would have a far bigger impact on our chances than a new fullback. Unless we're talking Dani Alves, who's in a different league.

I totally agree, but i dont think we're going to be working with the same kind of budget as they are. Furthermore, they're already well equipped in attacking areas, so they can focus on defensive positions with higher priority - eg £16m on Boswinga (sp?).

1. Agree, but it wouldnt be radical to think that, under the current regime, it probably wont be fortunes. £20m-£30m is my expectation, and that's being positive. 2. Fair point, assuming we DO get £5m for JAR. 3. Again, fair point, Between aurelio, isua and arbeloa, i think we could be ok at LB.

Sorry, to clarify, my point was that the area that generally makes a difference between winning and losing, is the attacking third. IMO you can be successful with 'decent' fullbacks (who dont need to cost £8m) as opposed to those at the higher end of the price scale.

I still think that what would make the difference for us, is top players (usually more expensive), and even if we could only afford one or two, i'd rather do that and make do with what we've got, when it comes to fullbacks. Obviously Degen on a free isnt a problem but £8m on Dossena concerns me. I'd rather keep using Aurelio and have Insua as backup. Arbeloa can play there too and with Agger hopefully back, along with Skrtel and Hyyia, it opens up the option for Carra to play RB where needed too. I think £8m on a LB will end up leaving our overall kitty looking a bit short.

I dont think you're in a minority there. But i'd prefer a 2-0 than a 3-1

Crucial that we dont concede, especially given our woeful scoring record down there. 1-0 would be satisfactory. 2-0 would be superb.

From the Echo: MP Peter Kilfoyle has written to the sports minister asking him to intervene in the bitter ownership battle for Liverpool FC. Mr Kilfoyle, whose Walton constituency includes Anfield, has spoken of his fears about how the squabbles between co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett is affecting regeneration. Now he has stepped into the fray and asked minister Andy Burnham to help find a political solution. With the future of parts of Anfield reliant on the long awaited building of the new stadium, the Labour MP believes it is time for the "soap opera" to come to an end. He writes in the letter: "Although not a supporter of its team, I am the Member of Parliament for the club, and have had a long and positive relationship with it. "It is, therefore, with sadness and regret that I have watched it develop into a soap opera. "The club's iconic status in football means that the image of football is being damaged and the image of the city of Liverpool. "Most importantly, regeneration in one of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the entire country, is being delayed. "Large sums dedicated to regeneration projects in the neighbourhood of the club, are contingent on the development of their proposed new stadium. That appears to be as distant a prospect as ever. "I write to you to ask you to intervene.”