fred milne

They are nowhere near as bad as you imply.

Drogba, Essien and Ronaldo have stepped up their game to another level this season. Ferguson must be regretting not competing harder with Chelsea for Essien. For me, he's the closest thing around to the young Roy Keane - aggressive, strong, quick and versatile.

There's no doubt in mind about the answer to that question. A midfield along the lines of Gonzalez - Alonso - Sissoko - Gerrard is one that in time could take on all comers, regardless of whether they came to play or fight. It has shades of Wenger's first (and imo, best) Arsenal midfield of Overmars - Petit - Vieira - Parlour.

There was a thread on this a few days ago: http://www.ynwa.tv/forum/index.php?showtop...&hl=sissoko I think you have to find a place in the side for such a forceful player. Granted some aspects of his play are still quite raw but the attacking side of his game will improve in time. In the meantime, with the likes of Bellamy, Kuyt, Gonzalez and Gerrard we should have enough in attack to compensate for Sissoko's shortcomings.

I don't see too many similarities myself. Kuyt is a busy player with a high workrate. Kennedy was a giant whose class allowed him to play the game at his own pace.

He's not in my top 5 either but that's going too far. He's scored 180 goals for the club and gave us 4 outstanding seasons (93-4 to 96-7 inclusive), which is the same number we got from Barnes (87-8 to 90-1 inclusive).

Milan and ?

I think the comparison with Yeats is probably the closest - both in terms of playing style and in terms of kick-starting revivals of the club.

I think he was at Lazio that season. Koeman and Jugovic are two more I think.

Its an old one: The players who have won the European Cup/Champions League with more than one club. I've got Rijkard, Savicevic, Desailly, Deschamps, Seedorf and Deco. Any others?

He was a good, hard-working foil for Dalglish but no world-beater and certainly not a patch on the man who replaced him in the side.

That's true. He played the first half of his career at left-mid but it was never obvious that he preferred his right foot.

We'll do well to ever beat the 78/9 side in terms of having a team of natural leaders: Clemence, Neal, Hansen, Thompson, A Kennedy, Case, McDermott, Souness, R Kennedy, Dalglish, Johnson.

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I'd go along with that. Top 3 Sami moments? 1. The volleyed goal (and resulting celebration) against Juve in 2005. 2. The challenge on Rivaldo in 2001 that ended any meaningful contribution from him in that game. 3. Running onto the pitch at home to Boro last season after a collision of heads looking like a Finnish Terry Butcher (and immediately clearing a Boro corner with a massive header.)

think Heinze is a little overrated myself.

I have to confess that the prospect of Riise coming up against this guy is a concern..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MESSI: WE WANTED LIVERPOOL Jimmy Rice 20 December 2006 Barcelona winger Lionel Messi reckons Liverpool will be scared stiff going into their Champions League clash with the Spanish champions. The 19-year-old, who is targeting the fixtures for his return from injury, believes his side are firm favourites to progress into the quarter-finals. "Any rivals are dangerous in Europe at this time but Liverpool are a team that can be beaten by Barcelona. Lyon are the most difficult today," said Messi. "I expect an open game because the English play without defensive caution and with a style similar to Barcelona. "Sincerely, I believe Liverpool are worried about playing against us because we are the champions of Europe and that strikes fear in any rivals. "I desire to travel to Liverpool with much work done and holding an advantage to qualify for the next round. "A 2-0 or 3-0 score will be perfect for Barca. "Always, we need to not concede a goal in Camp Nou to avoid problems at Anfield." The Argentinean admits having a Spanish contingent could work in Liverpool's favour. He said: "The Reds are a peculiar team. They play in England but the style of the coach and many of the players is nearly Spanish. This will be an extra problem for Barcelona." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...061220-0943.htm

What a great statement.

I defer to one of our resident Mancs on this but my memory is that when it was Keane and Ince in the middle, Ince as the more experienced player tended to sit more and that Keane assumed that responsibility when Ince left and Butt was drafted into the side.

We've previously needed an "unshackled" Gerrard attacking from RM because we had so few players of real class in attack. Its still early days but the likes of Bellamy and Kuyt are showing encouraging signs that we might not need to rely on Gerrard quite so much to make things happen in the final third, which means he can be given a more restricted brief in centre-mid. Having said that, whilst I admit that recently he has been much more disciplined in his use of the ball and when he hits the box, I'm going to reserve judgement until I've seen him and Alonso up against tougher opposition.

Its something you'd like from the more advanced midfielder but I'm not convinced its a necessity. Utd won back-to-back titles in the mid-90's with Butt as their advanced midfielder and his use of the ball has always been ordinary.

That's not so straightforward a call. Petit was outstanding in his first two seasons. He was a very strong competitor and used the ball extremely shrewdly. Granted he tailed off badly in his third season and never seemed to recapture his form at Barca or Chelsea but there was a time when for me he was vying with Keane as the best midfielder in the country.

I absolutely agree that from day one Vieira's attacking play was at a different level's to Sissoko's. However, I'd still maintain that in time Sissoko effectiveness in the final third can get to a reasonable level. In the meantime, the passing ability of Gerrard, Alonso and Agger should be able to compensate for Sissoko's shortcomings on the ball. Throw in the movement off the ball offered by the likes of Bellamy, Kuyt, Gonzalez and Gerrard and I think we would have enough in attack.

I think that with experience Sissoko can be more of an attacking threat in the final third. In the meantime, we just need to ensure that we have sufficient goal-threat coming from elsewhere in the side to compensate. Its also worth remembering that Vieira regularly played alongside a holding player: first Petit, then Gilberto. He'll never be another Gerrard in the final third but I think he will improve his effectiveness there in time.

It would be a mistake to let him go, even if we do land Neill in January.