Kite

You can't say for sure though as Fowler coming here was dependent on City getting another striker in. The guy they're after has now "gone on strike" so it's probable they'll get their man in the next few days. By allowing Fowler leave, they can offer more for the player too. So it probably was all wrapped up in that negotiation etc and the timing of the move dependent on it.

If you can hang on a few days, I'll tell you for certain. I ordered one last week, which just got posted on Thursday I think, so I should soon know.

I haven't really commented yet so I'll add re the home-coming: last Sunday I was pissed off beyond all hope with our forward line, and more specifically with the 14million pound part of our forward line. I remained pissed off and annoyed for days afterwards. Now I feel a bit better. I don't know whether Fowler really is going to be an answer and I don't know whether he has matured any more compared to his previous time with us but it does give me a sense of greater hope than I had last Sunday. I don't care about the baggage from the past (and I personally always thought calling him "God" was bollix) but there is the possibility now that wasn't there last week of getting some goals in from a player playing off Morientes/Crouch. PS Applause to Phil Thompson for his total open-mindedness and willingness to forget the past etc etc. A great Liverpool fan and legend "What I have seen is players this season at Liverpool who do not look as if they are going to score goals, certainly a fair amount of goals. "If people can get the ball into the box, he can score. Robbie has now got the hunger and desire to do well again for Liverpool. "If he can get that sharpness back and score a few goals everybody will benefit." http://www.teamtalk.com/teamtalk/News/Stor..._981024,00.html

I can't believe Leeds are still paying him a wage. That's feckin hilarious. What a shower of f***-ups Leeds were

I was amazed Rooney didn't walk for what was very clearly a cynical and dangerous tackle. To run that far with just one intention in mind, take down the player, deserves a straight sending off. A proper ref would have agreed. What's that got to do with anything? That was with a different manager, different squad. Whereas to have two of the best attackers in the league and yet play defensive, counter-attacking play at home is a fair sign of how far Man Utd have slipped in confidence and ambition.

I'd be totally embarrassed if we had played like Utd - they played like a poor Everton team, only they have two of the best attackers to make them punch heavier than their weight. Nothing to learn there thanks. Actually, there's f*** all to learn from anybody at the moment - we are one of the best organised teams in the business. If we had a truly potent strike force, and played more intelligent dead balls, we'd be peerless.

So much sense posted all at once! Bit dizzying that. The first question is one that really should be answered by those who doubt our abilities in the transfer market and are sure we won't sign Agger, ... I mean a Right Winger. Who really is available to us, this month, who can step into that role of a first team choice player and compete for a place in the Kewell-Sissoko-Alonso-Gerrard formation? Of any candidates found, how many are still involved in Champ League football, or Title challenges, and thus unlikely to be let go at this stage of the year?

Bit redundant that, I think we all assumed the player would cost some money and therefore finance would be involved! I think common sense could also be applied to say most Premiership managers would consider spending several millions on just a 16 year as a complete waste of the available financial resources for that club. No club has an unlimited bank balance.

If Walcott wants to come to us, all he has to do is ask to leave. He's still only sixteen so Southampton can't keep him. Its a big decision but it is in his own hands at the end of the day. So to go and spend 12 or 15 million seems mis-guided in that context.

I also thought Kewell could have kept his feet but irrespective of the contact, your points are valid too - straight red was very harsh given the position at the time.

Thought Sissoko was a real star today too, without meaning to take anything away from Gerrard. Sissoko battled and kept after everything in midfield, his engine is phenomenal

So...? Exactly how many CBs did Rafa actually want to sign that we didn't get? Who were they? Or do you mean that the fault lies with Rafa?

That's a bit of a tall tale right there

Yes, but the flip side is the risk - as we saw with Diouf and, some may say, Cisse. Spending 10 and 14 million is not a guarantee of performance. It has to be the right player at the right price and I'm willing to trust Rafa's opinion on that, moreso than just considering the market value of a player.

I am confused by what you are trying to say - you say we need a top RM who'll likely cost us 10M. You've said this a lot. You discount one guy, an international, plays in the final of the World Cup etc etc as unquestionably no good (even if Rafa had decided to sign him) but consider a 16yr old prospect as "doing the job". I don't get where you come up with that at all. In your opinion, if we get Walcott, we no longer need a "top" right mid-fielder then?

Bit ironic that, coming you!

Well I was referring to us needing players to fill squad type roles in the team - we need rotation possibiliites at the back where Man Utd desparately need anybody at all - that was the context of the original remark. There was a story pre-Christmas (though I can't find a link to that now searching here in Google) where we are quoted (Rafa i mean) that we would not guarantee Vidic first team football, he didn't like that, plus Rafa didn't like his attitude much. So all in all the signing fell through/negotiations stoppped. If Man U paid him a sweetener, that probably did make his decision easier but you don't know that to be a fact and it anyway still holds that our own behaviour was correct - not getting Vidic was ultimately in our own interest.

That strikes me as a fairly confused post altogether and not illustrative of anything other than that: "confusion" - ie, you appear to be saying, if Rafa had signed Bolannos, it would have not been good enough. This is because the he would only cost 500k and not 10M. Obviously, his performances on trial and the judgment of Rafa himself, had he decided he was worth signing, count for nothing as far as you are concerned? However if Rafa now signs Walcot that is fine? Though Walcot will not cost 10M and thus be a "top quality" player but only be 2.5M roughly? (So surely if we do sign Walcott, by your own estimation of worth, he will not be good enough at all - only a quarter good enough in fact! )

Huh? No. The player said he wanted desparately to play in Italy and had contact with Florentina. Italy was his big thing, not United. Initially. The Man U stuff was very obviously bollix to anyone who had followed the transfer saga. Plus the transfer fee was undisclosed so how do you know they paid "50%" more than his release clause? However, that's all totally irrevelant anyhow to the trust of the argument here which is that we spent time negotiating with the player to come here and in the end the non-signing had nothing to do with effectiveness or otherwise of our abilities as transfer negotiators and all down to the fact that the player wasn't suitable on a number of levels.

I just can't imagine singing that of a Saturday? What's the tune?

We can rely on Stevie Finnan He can do no wrong but he has no song! (to some simplistic tune or other )

good point!

you're saying we offered 4.3 for simao? (that's the post I was referring to)

What's your point? You seem to be agreeing that we are looking at defenders to fill a squad role now and, maybe (like all players in the squad would hope) some time in the future progress to being nearly always first on the team sheet etc. It's going to be hard for Rafa to find a high quality player in mid-season that fills that role, though hopefully he'll eventually succeed with Agger.

Cost the mancs 7 million, which isn't that far off? Anyhow, the mancs got in two defenders, which is what was being referred to - they still haven't found a midfielder, so it isn't all easy going for the mancs versus crap for us