Flasher

It really annoys me when players and managers say things like this. Actually, our season started on 9th August against Maccabi Haifa you numpties!! What next - "Our season ends now" announced in December? The start of the season is just as important as the end. ps. We will win on Sunday

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We need to find a way for Alonso to be making the through balls to him. This happens rarely currently

Can they not just have some fun and write 'Probably' in the now famous Carlsberg font? Also, if we buy our shirt in France does it come without the sponsor. I doubt it, but just asking like..

Perhaps we're better doing something like this...? ............Alonso..... Momo Bellamy.......Gerrard...........Riise ................Kuyt or Crouch

I would agree normally. Just not sure Xabi is playing well enough at the moment to be honest. He should be a lot more influential than he is currently. I honestly think he plays too deep at times. On form, I'd still pick Momo, as he can cover the gaps easier than Xabi; the gaps that Gerrard will inevitably leave open.

I'd do this Bellamy..Gerrard...Momo...Riise ......Kuyt.....Crouch Torn between Momo and Alonso. Momo just shades it for me right now.

I love Luis, but up front. He's close to useless out wide. Up front, he's deadly, particularly when coming on as a sub.

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Just proves what can be achieved on the pitch when you play as a team.

Yes. Although the fundamentals of the game just about remain in tact (pass & move) the overall 'game' is now a business, and the landscape looks far different to how it did 50, even 10 years ago. It's the unfortunate necessity that many clubs face to stay alive and or get bigger. Make us better? That's down to the players on the pitch. The extra revenue will of course aid this.

GK: Clemence, Brucie, Reina RB: Rob Jone, Nicol, Babbel LB: Alan Kennedy, Riise, Staunton CD: Hansen, Hughes, Hyypia CD: Lawrenson, Thompson, Carragher, Agger RM: Craig Johnston, McManaman, Houghton LM: Barnes, Whelan, Kewell CM: Souness, Molby, Sammy Lee CM: Gerrard, Alonso, Hamann, McAllister CF: Rush, Robbie, Owen CF: Dalglish, Beardsley, Smicer Dammit. Forgot Keegan, Toshack, Hunt.....Doh!!!

Agreed Also, Rooney will come good again. He IS an excellent player. Anyone in world football would say the same and I think they know more than most of us.

Couple of things. 1. He's still learning the right midfield position, having played centre mid all his life. 2. He'd make a cracking central defender too. The problem is he can play anywhere, which now seems to be working against him. Personally, I think Alonso needs a rest for a few games, and Gerrard should play in the middle to help get his confidence back. I also think that as good as he can be, Momo does not yet deserve the automatic starting place at CM that's been afforded to him. Alonso and Gerrard were doing just fine before Momo and I feel Rafa should be using the latter more as sub.

I think this story is hilarious, I love it. Really hope he actually comes back. Out of nowhere.

I think Reina is an excellent keeper. Once the free-kick was given it was written in the stars that they would score from it. We all knew they would I'm sure. He maybe went the wrong way, but he would have seen something to make him think that was where it was going. The free-kick was very close to the goal. There was never going to be enough time to adjust yourself once it was struck. He commmited himself one way and bang, it was in the back of the net. For me, we are not defending as well as we can and have in previous seasons, and we're simply not scoring enough. We're still too cautious away from home, and we adjust our style of play too much, depending on the opposition. We need to play our own game and make the opposition worry about us. Unfortunately 'our own game' is still not known just yet, mostly due to the large number of new faces in the team. Perhaps we should have stuck with last year's team for the early part of this season, then added the new faces gradually. Who knows?........

Don't see what he said wrong to be honest. If I played for a club in France, didn't quite make it and was always loaned out I wouldn't want to go back there either. He knows he's not going to play for Liverpool, end of. Shame though. He clearly had and may still have talent.

I would laugh but can't help but feel sorry for the little hobbit child

I think he will pick Reina Finnan Carra Sami Aurelio Gerrard Alonso Momo Gonzalez Garcia Crouch I would pick Reina Finnan Carra Agger Warnock Gerrard Alonso Momo Gonzalez Crouch Kuyt I think.. Was kinda hoping fo Bellamy too. Doh! Real headache for Rafa this one. I don't see him taking too many gambles though. Tried and trusted I reckon.

Are you accusing a Liverpool fan of having a bias towards liverpool players on a Liverpool forum?

I thought he was fine, and was told not to go too wide, leaving gaps through the middle. He did what he was told I reckon. Keep a clean sheet

For me, right now I'm happy. If we draw or win against Chelsea I'll be even happier. If we pick a 'strange' team and lose on the weekend, last nights result will begin to taste sour. Our strongest team would have won last night, that I have no doubt about. However I do understand why Rafa did what he did, and so far so good. Nothing less than a point on the weekend for me though, which I admit is a tall order based on previous league encounters in recent history.

I think any team that plays us goes into it saying "get the ball on the deck and run at Hyypia". It's our weak link. Stick the ball in the air and Hyypia will win it all day. On the floor with pacey forwards, we look very vulnerable. Always have. An interesting thread this. I've been thinking for a while now that there are times when we still play badly, the same as we did under Houllier, and I've been looking for the common link. The regular common link is Carragher, Hyypia, Gerrard and Riise. Of those 4 players, 2 of them in particular have poor distribution, and I think we know which two. Many of the goals we concede are genuine mistakes by our players, rather than being out played by the opposition. I really keen for Agger to make the step up now.

Agreed. A few days after the event my assessment is now as it was then. I was and still am disappointed with the team selection. Nothing more, nothing less. It's interesting that often you'll hear players and managers, including our own, talking about focusing on the game ahead only. Fact is, the team selection on Saturday very much had PSV and Chelsea in mind. I'm sure Rafa thought he had a team that was capable of winning on Saturday, but the chances were certainly reduced that's for sure. I'm not saying it's right or wrong to consider the games ahead, as I have no experience at being a top flight football manager. Having said that, my own policy would be the following. Pick your strongest team for each game. If a player is either too knackered or injured, then you deal with it at the time. There's no point worrying about what might happen to players all the time. If you are to 'tinker' with the team, and realistically there will be times when you really do need to, then I'd do it at home, against teams like Reading, Boro etc. Not against Chelsea, Manure, Arsenal, Everton.

I've often thought something along these lines has got to happen some day in football. I imagine that contracts will become more about notice periods and buy out clauses more than ever. ie. "Craig Bellamy has just agreed a 5 year notice period and £10m buy clause with Liverpool"... It's gonna get interesting me thinks.