G Richards

It might be that the World Cup will see a lot of 4-5-1 (or 4-4-1-1) this summer, with packed midfields being the name of the game.

It will be a great occasion. West Ham try and play good football and they will be up for it. Obviously we'll be heavy favourites, so we should win, but this is not an exact science... If we played West Ham 10 times I would guess we would win 8 and they would win 2 (assuming no draws allowed). Saturday will reveal all and I can't wait.

It's a striker short and a midfielder too much. I would only have one of Jenas/Hargreaves (or neither, and one of Parker or Reo-Coker), and I'd have probably had Bent in there, since he is pacy and has been scoring goals. Lennon is a brave pick. It's 50/50 between him and SWP for me, because SWP has fallen backwards this season whereas Lennon has burst onto the scene. And it's all about timing. Walcott is a real wild card. I suppose in a squad of 23 players you are allowed a wild card. It might well be a reckless pick by Sven, but at least it is adventurous. As most have said, it would have been better to have Walcott as a fifth striker, especially given Rooney's problems and Owen's lack of match sharpness. We may well be going for a 4-5-1 system, and in that case, four strikers is not the end of the world, especially considering the excellent attack-minded midfielders in there (the strongest part of the squad). Some people would say 4-5-1 is a bit boring. I'm not sure I'd like to see a 38 game season of it for Liverpool, but it must be remembered that this is international football, and it is tournament time. There will only be a few games to play (though hopefully more than three!) The name of the game is to keep it tight and be patient. Opportunities will come, and I feel someone like an advancing Gerrard might well get a few goals (assuming the team is set up with someone like Carrick holding).

Swiper no swiping! Swiper no Swiping! Apologies to those without very young children who havn't got a clue what I'm on about.

Gonzales Paletta Aurelio Pennant Torres Aguero Alves That's my guess for 7. Plus a few more kids.

Does anyone know what the situation is if a player does not hand in a written transfer request but is sold by the club? Does the full amount of the contract they were on have to be paid up? In Djibs' case I think he has 3 years left, and he must be on a fair whack (£50K+) a week. If it is the case that we have to pay the full contract, then we have to pay him £8M (or thereabouts) in wages. This is likely to be the fee we might get for him (or thereabouts). So unless I don't understand all of this, what is the point of selling him if he does not hand in a transfer request?

If we used less than 15 players over the season as was the case years ago, then I'd be OK to put everything into the league. But since it is very much a squad game, and since Rafa is well on the way to building a very impressive squad, I'm very happy to fight on 4 fronts. Priorities will always be: League Europe FA cup League Cup Follwed by any other trinkets that may come our way (Super Cup, World Club, Charity Shield). It's also might be worth arguing that success breeds success, so I feel that doing well in the cups is more than fine. Sometimes if you have a bad loss in the cup it can knock the momentum and take a couple of league games to get it out of the system. With Chelsea having raised the bar in the last 2 years, you can't really afford that kind of thing if you have tutle aspirations.

I think Torres and Kuyt are more likely, but I'm just guessing.

If we do break our record this summer then it will probably be Torres, since I think Kuyt and Owen will both cost around £12M, and I can't think of anyone else we might be in for who would cost more than Cisse's £14M.

I honestly feel we are at our best when we have Stevie, Xabi and Momo starting together. This means Stevie starting on the right (though obviously he can go where he likes to hurt the opposition, and his stamina enables that, and when they have the ball he tucks back in). We look really good like this to me - the best balance in years. To displace Stevie we need a top class right winger, with perhaps Joaquin, Simao and SWP seen as the best out there who we might, arguably, be able to sign. But then no-one is convinced that we'd be any better off than we already are with playing Stevie on the right and Momo/Xabi in the middle. And signing Joaquin or Simao or SWP would make us £10-15M poorer! So the best solution all round is surely to bring in a decent option for the right side, and Pennant (presumably at around the £4-5M mark) surely represents this. This hopefully leaves us in a great position to buy 2 good strikers in the summer.

Tomkins writes decent enough stuff for the genre. He does internet articles - slightly longer, and slightly better than most of the better posters on the various internet forums. He has extended that kind of thing into a book; again, a decent enough book, but not one that will be studied in 'A' level English in years to come. To be fair I'm sure he does not have that kind of view or expectation of his work anyway! Fair play to him for popping into this thread and interjecting a bit of humour. I daresay he's laughing at all the kerfuffle. My view on the picture is that any photo of self puts a person in a vulnerable position. It leads to various posters reading all sorts of things into the personality of the writer on nothing more than a black and white image. For my money, based on the picture, he is clearly a closet blue - and I bet he mugs grannies and steals cars too

Surprise in - Bellamy Surprise out - Garcia

I think Riise, Aurelio, Kewell and Gonzales will be our main left sided players next season. Zenden will offer cover there, but he will also offer cover in central midfield. I feel one, if not both, Traore and Warnock will be sold, with the former slightly more likely. As for Carra, every player obviously has his price, but I wouldn't have thought this enquiry would get very far.

I could see Cisse at Rangers or Lyon next season. Just a guess, like. At either team he would have a good chance to rediscover his confidence and goals, and start rebuilding his stop-start career. There are conceivably 15 players or so who we might sell/release this summer. We'll end up getting rid of about half that many. And depending on who they are, I'd be surprised if income from sales was higher than £15M. Still, if that gets us closer to what Rafa is after, then bring it on.

Zidane cost around £46-47M (if memory serves me correct) - just falling below the £50M mark suggested earlier in the thread. I'd have been worried about this sort of link a couple of years ago, but not now. Real Madrid are in urgent need of a re-build from top to bottom, and it's far from certain whether the re-build will be done well and bring success. Gerrard is far better to steer clear of that. We've had a lot more success than them of late, and under Rafa we've every chance of more success.

Klinsman/Hamann might be similar to when Souness was our manager and he tried to be the boss of some of the senior players who used to be former teamates. It is difficult for both sides (plaer and manager) when the role changes like this. Perhaps that is what has gone on with Didi/Jurgen. Just a guess, like.

Reina Finnan Carra Sami Riise Momo Xabi Stevie Garcia Kewell Crouch I don't think Crouch will get much out of Terry/Carvalho, but if Luis is having one of his good days there might just be a few scraps coming down that he can profit from. If he is tricky and can get a couple of passes going, then he might link well with an on-rushing Gerrard or Kewell and we could cause them problems that way. Other than the strikers, I feel we hold our own against Chelsea and it is evenly matched. It may come down to a bit of skill or inspiration, and we certainly have a few players who have that within them. Gutted I'm flying to Spain during the match.

It would be great for Carson if he did get the call. It looks like it all depends on whether Sven takes 2 or 3 goalies. As for his Liverpool future, he's in a tight spot. Reina is very young and is the clear no.1 goalie, so Carson may well have to move on to have a career with first team action. When we signed Carson I thought the goalkeeping position would be sorted out with us perhaps signing someone like Van der Sar (who was not yet at Man Utd) for a couple of years while Carson was groomed to take over. With the signing of Pepe Reina, Carson's prospects look very limited. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy that Reina is our goalie and he looks to be superb. But Carson will probably have to move on to build his career, or else he will stunt his progress with the lack of competitive matches.

The team looks strongest to me with Mom/Xabi in the middle and Stevie on the right. This will be enhanced with pace on the left, and Gonzales should complete things for next season. I'm not sure I'd pay top whack for a right midfielder given the above. If we can get Joaquin for a low-ish fee, or use players as part ex, then maybe that's the way to go. Otherwise I feel we need a decent player for the right to give us an option, somone like Pennant or Prieto, while the bulk of our cash should go on 2 new strikers.

My cousin's wedding and my two brothers were not there with the rest of the family as they went to Hillsborough. One was in the stands and the other in was caught up in the Leppings Lane. I didn't know until hours later that they were both OK. A terrible day. RIP 96.

Fowler should stay as he offers a low cost goal threat. We need 4 strikers, and there is a very strong case for keeping Robbie as one of the four. Crouch should probably stay too, and 2 new strikers brought in to replace Cisse/Mori. We'll take a big loss on the last two, but that's what we'll have to do to progress as we need. I hope we can sign Aguero and one of Torres/Kuyt. I don't know how feasible that would be, but I'd be very happy if we could.

Aguero - now there's a talented lad with his best years ahead of him. I'd be well happy if we signed him. I also feel we need another striker in the Torres/Kuyt mold, rather than Raul, who's best years are behind him.

At the start of the season I was hoping to split Man Utd/Arsenal and finish top three, and we should comfortably do that. I agree with the points made so far. And though he still awaits news of a contract, bringing Robbie back home in January has also been a great story and given fans a boost. The hard work he's been doing on his fitness seems to be coming together, and I expect to see him here next season. Winning the FA Cup would be the icing on the cake for me. Finishing third with no trophy (OK, the Super Cup!) would be a season of solid progress but little glory.

Current selection of OOT's seen every week on Anfield's hallowed turf: Benitez Reina Finnan Hyypia Riise Alonso Sissoko Kewell Crouch Obviously lots more besides, but the point stands. Why are we obsessed with an OOT'er debate when the club is progressing very nicely under the guidance of a man from Spain, and with players from all over? Can we not be happy that supporting Liverpool and passion for the team is a lot more complicated than mere place of residence. And if living in Liverpool proves your passion, why are many of our more poorly attended games the midweek games (granted, often aginst the 'lesser' teams) when they are (presumably) more accessible to locals to buy a ticket later in the day. Why are they not all packed out with passionate local support? This OOT'er debate is divisive and unneccesary IMO. It turns us against one another and brings out the kind of bitterness associated with our friends over the park. Can we not be happy to have a love of Liverpool and a passion for this great club and all it stands for IRRESPECTIVE of where you live? Was Shanks from Liverpool? Was Paisley? Dalglish? Liddell? The magic goes far beyond mere birthplace/residence.

Definitely option two - use the cash to buy a top striker. Either Torres/Kuyt would do me just fine, and bearing in mind we already have Gonzales and Paletta coming in it would still be a decent summer. Throw in a couple of possible Bosman's (Aurelio to strengthen left back, Victor to give us an option on the right) and we can significantly improve the squad this summer, even with only one big expensive signing. Reina Finnan Carra Agger Riise Gerrard Alonso Sissoko Gonzales Fowler Torres Looks good to me