Morgul

Domestically: Gerrard, Alonso, Finnan, Carra, potentially Kewell Globally: Gerrard for sure. Maybe Finnan and Carra. Kewell and Alonso have the potential

In a way I agree with Bascombe.. Morientes has been a big disappointment for me. I've never been that impressed with him tbh, but at least I saw him hit the net once in a while when he played for Real. When he's playing for us you never expect him to score, he shows some good touches now and then, but is never a real threat. His 'killer instinct' seems to have vanished. It's true that his overall play has been better during the last two months, but he still doesn't look like scoring, and Crouch is better at bringing the midfield into play. I'll give him the rest of the season to prove his worth, but if he doesn't I fully expect Rafa to replace him in the summer.

Cheers for that, hadn't seen him play before. Looks like he is a more tricky player than Aguero, but Aguero seems to be the better finisher. Has somebody seen much of Kerlón? I have only seen those seal dribbles, and although they're funny to watch, I don't think they would work that well on the highest level

I had heard lots of great things about this kid, but i had never seen him play.. and then I came across this. It's a video of two goals that he scored against River Plate a week or two ago. The second one is out of this world. And he's only 17. I would be over the moon if we could sign this kid, but he'll probably stay at Independiente for a few years and then go to Real or Barca for silly money. EDIT: Oh, and you need the newest version of VLC or this codec to watch it.

Kewell was fantastic. He is really starting to look like his old self again. Always on the run, making small but effective tricks and now also scoring again. I am so happy that we have him, and Speedy is going to have to be some player to take his place!

ROBBIE He was absolute quality when he came on. Best player on the pitch from the second he put his foot on it!

You may be right. I haven't seen more than a few clips of some of his goals from his time at Auxerre. I'm only basing my opinion on what I have seen, and I see much more potential in Pongolle than in Cissé. But maybe if we're lucky, both of them can succeed here. I do think that there's still time for both of them to prove that they deserve to stay.

Actually I can't see that potential in Cissé. Pongolle has something that Cissé lacks; natural ability. To me, Cissé looks more like an athlete than a footballer.

Pongolle may not be a better player at the moment, but he has ten times the potential that Cissé has. Pongolle is superior both technically and mentally, but lacks in the physical department. He needs to get his old pace back, as well as build some muscles. He also needs to be more consistent and improve his decision making, but those two things often comes when you get more experience. I can't see Cissé learn to handle a ball correctly, and he will never be a real team player, although he has improved in that aspect.

Carson 6 Finnan 7 Carra 5 Sami 5 Riise 5 Gerrard 8 MoM Alonso 7 (5 first half, 9 second half) Sissoko 5 Kewell 6 Crouch 4 Cissé 5 Pongolle 8

At least Harry tried.. and that's more than you can say about a few others that were playing in red tonight. Alonso and Flo were both superb in the second half, but the MoM for me is Gerrard. I think he made more runs than the other players put together today. He was everywhere. We wouldn't be anywhere near where we are today if he had left in the summer.. thank god that he changed his mind.

Very good performance from him today, his best for us I think. Made a lot more runs than usual, and didn't sulk as much as usual. Well taken goal too, even if he almost lost the ball to Weir. If he continues like this we may have to keep him

I know the debate isn't about whether the ball crossed the line or not, but if someone needs proof:

Yeah, he is And he has actually been very good in the qualifiers

Not a chance that he'd lose his place in the Swedish team. He could go injured until May but would still be certain of a place in the national team. Him and Lucic are the only decent centrebacks we have. Agree that he's gone downwards though, two years ago he was one of the best in Europe, but now he's not more than OK.

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Didn't think much of him in the euros, and when he came to Barca he looked like crap. Gave balls away and didn't get into their style of play at all. But in the end of last season, he started to impress me. His workrate is very very good, and his passing has improved. Quality player.

Predicted qualifiers. Group A Germany Costa Rica Group B Sweden Paraguay () Group C Argentina Netherlands Group D Mexico Portugal Group E Czech Republic Ghana Group F Brazil Japan Group G France South Korea Group H Spain Ukraine

Saturday, 10 December 2005 Birmingham v Fulham 1-0 Blackburn v West Ham 2-1 Bolton v Aston Villa 2-0 Charlton v Sunderland 1-1 Chelsea v Wigan 2-0 Liverpool v Middlesbrough 2-0 Newcastle v Arsenal 1-2 West Brom v Man City 1-1 Sunday, 11 December 2005 Man Utd v Everton 2-1 Monday, 12 December 2005 Tottenham v Portsmouth 2-0

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