zimmie4444

Two points, Firstly, this is the Champions League, and as such the seedings deal with teams' performances in this competition only (seems pretty obvious to me). Secondly, he says Inter finished third, when technically, they are the Italian champions in fact, following the match-fixing scandal. I know the second point is a bit pedantic, but anything to prove Maureen wrong

Poor Kid Middle-Aged Man. Don't know what he did to deserve that. Does beg the question of how serious Owen's injury problems actually are though?

Didn't Mido just go back to Tottenham again?

1. Liverpool 2. Chelsea 3. Manchester United 4. Arsenal 5. Tottenham Hotspur 6. West Ham United 7. Bolton Wanderers 8. Everton 9. Aston Villa 10. Blackburn Rovers 11. Portsmouth 12. Manchester City 13. Wigan Athletic 14. Newcastle United 15. Fulham 16. Middlesbrough 17. Charlton Athletic 18. Reading 19. Watford 20. Sheffield United Yep, they're in for a good season I think. They've developed a decent squad there now, and if Johnson and Beattie hit it off up front, they will have a really strong strike partnership.

Can't wait for next May

Tbh, I thought the easy chanting was our fans taking the piss out of Terry & co.

REINA 7 FINNAN 6 CARRAGHER 7 AGGER 7.5 RIISE 7.5 PENNANT 6 SISSOKO 9* ZENDEN 7 GONZALEZ 7 GARCIA 5.5 CROUCH 6.5 GERRARD 6 ALONSO 6 AURELIO 6 BELLAMY 7

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I think it's a good proposal, yes. Asides from the obvious strain early kick-offs put on traveling supporters, there's also the entertainment factor. Personally, whenever a game kicks-off anytime before say, 2pm, I always feel it is slightly ruined as a spectacle, and the atmosphere at the ground is certainly not the same either, and whenever this is one of the big derby games or top-of table clashes, it almost ruins the fixture completely. I don't believe it would effect any attendances in the lower league's to be honest, as someone said earlier, there is almost a complete media overkill in the Premiership these days, and attendances in the lower leagues have improved year upon year. If they absolutely can't allow televised games at 3pm on a Saturday, then they should do something about limiting the number of early kick-off's a team has in each season, perhaps a maximum of 3 a season in the league, and two Cup ties, and NO 'stellar' fixtures should kick-off early (except in extreme circumstances).

Mohammed

Enjoyed that actually. The debutants all made a good impression, and Sissoko was superb. People might look at the scoreline and think we laboured a bit, but it's the first game of the season following a less than ideal pre-season after the World Cup. Lot of encouraging signs as far as I'm concerned.

So long and good luck Djimi. Should do well for them down there.

Definitely depends on who the opposition is, but I think Reina in goal certainly, and the back four of Finnan, Carra, Hyypia and Riise definitely, with Aurelio and Agger, possibly Paletta too all pushing for places, although I expect the latter is far too young and inexperienced. In midfield, I think our best option is having Sissoko as the holding player, alongside Alonso, with Gerrard playing more advanced, which leaves the front three. Some sort of combination between Garcia, Kewell or Gonzalez, and the striker/s, depending on what formation we play, and who we are playing against. In most regular matches, I'd go for this: Reina Finnan-Carra-Hyypia-Riise Garcia-Gerrard-Alonso-Gonzalez Bellamy-Fowler I can still see Rafa using Crouch to hold the ball up effectively in the bigger games as a lone striker, as he did in the games against Chelski and the Mancs in the cup's, which would leave us with this formation: Reina Finnan-Carra-Hyypia-Riise Garcia-Sissoko-Alonso-Gonzalez Gerrard Crouch We have good options still, but we still need to bring in one or too more in certain positions, as everybody knows of course, a right winger definitely, and probably a striker too.

I think maybe, there is more talent around than this, and it's clear there is a failure somewhere, but I think it's a failure of the academy system, rather than of heighway or Liverpool's system. It is true I think, that the system is set-up so one the big clubs doesnt miss out on the next gem, and it's a case of the big clubs widening their nets, and to hell with the rest. I think the critical time for developing talent is probably their late teens, and it's clear the lack of opportunities at bigger clubs does thwart alot of burgeoning talent out there, but like I said, it's not our problem alone, and Heighway should not be held to account for this. The best advice for young players today would probably to start out a good club, but not a big club. I think it probably damages alot of players' careers to start at a bigger club, and there is possibly alot of 'lost' talent going to waste. The good doesn't necessarily will out, unless it's given the right guidance, then talent, or rather the opprtunity to develop talent, will go to waste

And United have always made a habit of cherry-picking 15/16yo from other clubs. Most of the 'Fergie fledgings' were poached from elsewhere

I think we should be more realistic in what we expect from academies. You have to compare what our our academy has done in recent times (say 5 years or so) to what the academies of Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea, and a couple of other big clubs too (lets say Newcastle and Spurs), have done. Which youngsters have made the grade in the first teams at those clubs? I can really only think of Darren Fletcher, and Steven Taylor as a genuine academy products to be making the grade at those clubs, so it's perhaps a problem that there is a widespread lack of talent in this country at the moment, maybe it's a generational thing, or it could just be a cyclical thing and it will get better in a few years, but I don't see the talent coming through at any clubs, not just Liverpool, like it did a decade or so ago, when you had the likes of Fowler, Carragher, Gerrard and Owen all coming through here, and the Nevilles, Scholes, Butt and Beckham at the Mancs.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see, it's bound to come out in the next few days. Having said that though, it's entirely possible Zidane just went off on one, wouldn't be the first time. It'll all come out soon enough

I just cant get my head around what he did. No matter what Materazzi said, it's just a terrible shame that the image of him headbutting an opponent will impose itself over the other great moments of his career. Italy were the best team throughout the tournament overall and deserved to win, although it doesn't seem right that Materazzi will now be called a World Cup Winner!

He's just signed a new contract, City'll want the best part of £10m. Is it really worth spending that much on a player just as a squad player? He's not better than anyone we already have, and we don't have that kind of cash to spend on squad players. It would be an irrational signing. He's a good player, but in essence he's a poor man's Gerrard, and why would we need one of those when we have the real thing?

Asides from anything else, where exactly would he fit in, with us already having Sissoko, Alonso, and Gerrard of course. Money would be better spent in other areas.

Wonderful game of football!

Horrific News. RIP YNWA

Got no problems with him as a man, showed great character in the way he came back from horrendous injuries. However, he should never have been signed in the first place, he was a Houllier signing and was never going to fit in with Rafa's system, and he was hugely overpriced in the first place.