G Richards

I think Ferdinand and Terry is the best central defensive partnership. But if Ferdinand is not concentraiting and on top form, there is a great case for Carra to come in alongside Terry. A focused Ferdinand is a great player, and he offers a lot more pace than Carra. Carra's strengths are largely duplicated in Terry, though Terry chips in with the odd goal so he would get the nod (just) ahead of Carra. Carra is the third choice English CB for me. I love him to bits but I don't want to overdo the southern bias thing. Carra as third choice is fair.

We are progressing nicely. If we finish on around 80 points with a probable third place finish, it will represent a good solid season and it will demonstrate our intent for next season. It is imperative that we start well next year. If we find ourselves 6-10 points behind Chelsea early on then it is unlikely we'll win the league, since they are just so consistent. Next season will be a cracking 3-way (possible 4-way) title race.

Fowler did not hit the ball as cleanly as he might, so there might be an element of truth in Allardyce's words, but certainly no grace. Fowler has great skill, and when you hit a ball out of the air the first priority is to keep it down. Fowler did that perfectly, by hitting the ball downwards. This took the pace off the shot, so that might be why Allardyce said it was a miss hit. Fowler's shot was very accurate - and this is where he is peerless IMO. Despite not travelling over the line at the greatest speed, it still gave the goalie no chance because it was right in the corner. A fair assessment would say that Fowler showed great technique in taking that goal. He has made a career of scoring such goals. Alonso's shot was hit as sweet as you like and it nearly snapped the base of the post. But I'd have taken a Fowler-like 'miss hit' coupled with Fowler's accuracy. It would have been inside the post and 2-0 and cruising. But Xabi was unlucky, since he was only a tiny fraction out. Maybe it would be better to highlight the shooting of Gerrard and Riise during yesterday's game. They both found themselves in decent shooting positions at one time or another, and it's fair to say that they both struck the ball a lot more cleanly than Fowler. But only Robbie came away from that game with a goal.

Cisse will be moved on in the summer. We'll take a big loss, but that's what will happen. He would probably have done better at Liverpool if he had played up front, but he clearly does not have the confidence of his manager to get an extended run in that position. Problems with running offside, poor touch, not linking up and the like, have resulted in him being moved out of the central striker's role to the right side of midfield. Occasionally we see burst of effective pace (such as last week, when he cut inside, brought down Alonso's pass, knocked it past the goalie, and scored). These are the glimpses that tease us into thinking we have the genuine article on our hands. But alas, we do not. Rafa knows this and I'm sure it will be rectified in the summer. In the meantime, if Djibs can show anything else like last week's form against West Brom, then we should have a buyer, and the price might even be decent (say £9M or so). But if he keeps on like yesterday, we may have to hawk him around and settle for £6-7M. A shame, but that's what will happen IMO.

Insert Gonzales, Aguero and Kuyt/Torres. I reckon that's what rafa is after this summer (plus Paletta and probably Aurelio, to add more squad strength).

I would guess Newcastle. They desperately need a top centre back and they desperately need to keep hold of Owen. And if the barcodes are to recruit a decent manager, he would obviously want a top defender and a guarantee of Owen staying on. It might be a bit of a conspiracy, but this all smells of Martin O'Neill putting in his requests behind the scenes. If the barcodes can't do anything on Owen and they fail to sign a top centre back, O'Neill will likely sit tight until a less poisoned chalice comes his way.

If Houllier goes there then he might put in a bid for Cisse. I think he wanted to pair him up with Owen from years ago, and with Shearer retiring...

If it does not have an adverse effect on us then I'd be happy for them to win it. If we finish second in the league and they win CL, we have to go into a pre-qualifier becasue they would take our automatic spot (which is what should have happened last year when we won it). In those circumstances I don't want them to win. If we slip to fourth in the league and Arsenal finish fifth, and they win the CL, we would be bumped into next year's UEFA Cup, so I definitely do not want them to win it. In all likelihood we will finish third in the league, so on that basis I would not be upset if Arsenal won the European Cup. If it meant Man Utd had to cut their holiday short and come back for a CL qualifier then that would be quite funny. I think Barca will win it btw.

I don't think Morientes is the right player for us or for this league. That's not to say he's a bad player or anything, but he just doesn't have enough about him for the English game. He is skilful and a good man and all that, but I think it will be best if he moves on. I think Robbie Fowler has as much skill and vision as Mori, but he also offers more of a goal threat. Keep Crouch. Keep Robbie. Buy a new first choice strike pairing. That's the way forward if funds allow.

Is correct. They should never have got rid of Super Mario. I think Sven will get the job. He is high profile and will be unattached after the summer. Should be perfect for them in terms of profile, but I don't think he has the acumen to bring success.

I thought he was starting to play well before he was injured. I hope he's here next season. Can't see him in the first team mind, but he will be good cover and he should get some games.

I think we need a first choice strike partnership to come in and Cisse/Mori to depart. Crouch to be used as an alternate option (not necessarily first choice) and Robbie to come in now and again and offer a goal threat.

Cancer is not funny. It's a bit like Russian roulette, and something like 1 in 3 adults will be affected at some point or other. Given the frailty of the human condition we cope by having a laugh. I don't see the jokes about Stubbsy as anything more than that. Given he's a blue as well, there is extra incentive to have a pop.

Manure will lose to Chelsea (the Chavs will want revenge for the league loss earlier in the season). I don't think they will lost another game, but it is easy to see them drawing with Arseanl, Spurs and Blackburn. That would be 9 points dropped. Not unheard of, given the fixtures. We'd need to win our remaining games to pip them to second spot by one point. Blackburn will be tough, but if we keep our focus we can win all 6 games and get 82 points.

A part ex option might easily inflate the fee, but in terms of straight cash, I'd be surprised if it is more than half what we paid.

I don't think Owen would be able to negotiate any clauses if he comes to us, since Rafa has the upper hand. I think Owen would be good for us and I'd welcome him back, but we are not desperate and we should have other quality options depending on what Rafa thinks best.

Well if Mittal can nip in there and beat Roman to the prize then it's a good sign for me. Come on down Lakshmi lad

All this is hypothetical becasue we don't know if Mittal is the investor. But I still want to say I have not heard anything particuarly untoward about him. Rushiesbushymoutache (fantastic name!) seemed in the know about the steel industry. I still have the impression that all Mittal has done is be ruthless (in a business sense) to acquire or maintain a competitive edge and protect his own interests. We could do with some of that acumen behind the scenes at Anfield IMO, though of course, it doesn't necessarily follow that we will have to behave like Chelsea/Kenyon. Someone else has grave concerns (can't remember who, but they posted about knowing someone who may have been close to Mittal's inner circle) and I'm intrigued by that because I haven't heard them say why. Still, it's all just speculation at the minute, because we have not got a clue who is investing.

I think Mittal is a good businessman. He seems fairly honourable, and he's aggressive in expanding his empire. I think we need a bit of that mentality in the boardroom at Anfield. I haven't been aware of any scandal with him, and I (at least loosely) follow the business pages. I'd be interested to hear more from others who think otherwise.

Great volley today. Lots of Dutch players seem to have excellent technique. Definite upgrade on Josemi.

It was a bit of a nothing incident, though it was careless. On another day it might have got him sent off. There's no point falling out with fans. We all hate Gary Neville, but at least at Anfield recently (when we knocked them out of the FA Cup - ha!) he played his game and at least acted like the crowd wasn't getting to him. The main concern for Cisse is his awareness. We cold have won that game 5-1 easily, but he was so careless in possession in the last third late on. Luis Garcia was similarly flawed today. Robbie Fowler is looking better by the minute in comparison.

I wonder if the links with Aurelio have made Warnock think he might be playing for his future?

I'd be very happy if he sorted the new stadium, bought Rafa three top players of his choosing (on top of normal budget) and then helped the club to sort itself out better in terms of the budiness side of things and making more money (to secure long term income generated by the club itself). I'm not sure that I want unlimited millions coming into the club.

There's a small chance for second. Man United could easily drop 9 points (draw at Bolton, draw with Arsenal, draw at Spurs, defeat at Chelsea). If that happened then they finish with 81 points. We need to win our 8 remaining games, then we finish with 82 points. As I say, it's unlikely, but there's still a glimmer of hope for second spot.

What about De Jong? Could he be a good back up midfielder? (Obviously the likes of Barton, Parker and Nolan would be great - but pricey, given we have other priorities).