G Richards

Kewell is doing well. He's had a long road back and it is pleasing to see his contribution to the team. There is probably more to come from him too. And when Gonzalez arrives we will have the pacy wide man who will take players on and beat them. The pieces are coming together.

And Wigan have a decent chance in that too. Be great if Mellor gets the winner! (If he's not cup-tied).

I think West Ham would want too much, say £10M or something stupid like that. So I doubt it will happen. He does look a decent player though, but I'm more than happy with what we have.

If Henry ends up being available for £4M at the end of the season then there will be an almighty stampede for his services. It would be well worth putting him on £100K a week, as well as giving him an almighty signing on bonus (£5M or so). Henry and Fowler up front would be something to behold. Henry has the pace, power, finishing - everything. But Thierry also peels out wide. Robbie can do his work in and around the box. He could easily link up with Henry, and given that both of them are very intelligent footballers it could be superb. I can't see it happening though, but you just never know. Henry must know we are on the up in a big way. He would also be a crucial player for us - just what we need. Barcelona would need to shoe-horn him in alongside Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Messi. It might just upset the balance there. Real Madrid are always after world class strikers, but the last few years have shown their policy to be all glam and little substance when it comes to winning the league or CL. Come on Thierry. Give us 4 years. We'll win the league 3 times out of those 4 years, and we'll get 2 more European Cups. You know it makes sense.

It's far too soon to ask whether Gerrad has become our greatest ever midfielder. He's only mid 20's, with a good few years of achievement ahead of him yet. That said, he's already got to be high on the list at least, but you can't judge somone's contribution until after it has been made.

Definitely a bit of both for me. A bad miss would have been blasting over the bar and high into the stands from that range. The fact that Mori hit the target with a first time touch on the half volley from a cross means that you can't say it was a bad miss IMO. But... He still could/should? have done better by placing the ball either side of the keeper, or even hitting it lower. If he had done that it would have been a goal. The shot was struck cleanly so it was moving at a decent pace. For the keeper to get a hand on it from that distance showed great reflexes, so it does go down as a good save too. So, as I said at the sart, Nando's miss was a bit of both.

It's a matter of perspective as to whether the city has more Liverpool or Everton fans in it. Pongolle has said something that builds the local EFC case, but lots of similar anecdotal 'evidence' would suggest there are at least as many reds in Liverpool itself. I honestly don't think a convincing case could be made either way. The city is split red and blue and that's a fact. What is also a fact is that Liverpool enjoy a much broader support. This is no doubt down to the huge success of the club at the highest level. If only Everton could boast such widespread support (in addition to the local support both clubs enjoy). That might mean EFC were successful and had caught the attention of the wider football world. Still, good win for Everton today. Think you will be safely mid table come season end.

2 a bit lesser known (though still quite well known to some): Bojinov Nihat Then 2 more familiar: Kuyt Defoe

Agree that scoring is the biggest problem. A couple more quality players might help, since being fresher will help keep concentration levels higher. It's also worth pointing out that our concentration levels have tended to drop against the better teams (Ferdinand goal, Gallas goal). Basically, better teams punish you if there's a lapse in concetnration/mistake. These things probably happened all through our good run, but the calibre of team we were facing at that stage was not able to punish us.

Morientes, Cisse, Traore, Dudek, Kirkland, Le Tallec, Mellor, Pongolle (possibly only 2 of the 3 young strikers, with one recalled next season). There is a small chance Garcia might leave, but only in order to land a bigger Spanish based fish, now that Luis' profile is higher with his recent Spanish hat-trick. Anyhow, £15-20M from sales, plus our 'usual' spend should be plenty for 2 top first teamers (striker and right mid) plus a couple of good squad men. Onwards and upwards.

I don't think Xabi will leave. He looks very settled here. He seems to like the city, the team, the fans, the manager. And he's only still a young man. I don't think he's going anywhere for a good while yet. But allow me to play Devil's advocate.... An earlier post in this thread asked at what price would you be tempted. For me I'd be tempted at £30M (I'd probably sell) and at £25M I'd consider it. Why? Well, £30M could well be three very good players (Kuyt, Simao, Parker/Barton). If we get a good right mid then Stevie will play in the middle. Arguably Stevie does his best work when he roams from a central position, so someone like Parker/Barton would do nicely alongside him (with Sissoko getting games too). Don't get me wrong, I want Xabi to stay and I think he will. But I'd sell for £30M and consider it for £25M.

My view is that Mori and Cisse will both be replaced in the summer. Fowler may well be Morie's replacement, but he needs to get fitter and show us he's still got it in order to earn an extended stay. I think he will do this. Fowler is a more accomplished player outside the box these days, but he also offers more of a goals threat than Mori. Mori is a great guy. He has been world class for a number of years but I've not seen that from him in a Liverpool shirt. He is skilful and seems popular in the dressing room etc. but he just doesn't offer the kind of impact I was hoping for. I think it's the wrong league for him, and he will probably go back to a fiar-to-middling Spanish team for £4M in the summer. Just my opinion like! We'll sell Cisse too, and we'll do well to get £12M for the pair. Then we'll bring in another striker - your guess is as good as mine. Owen/Kuyt/Defoe all seem decent bets. Remains to be seen what happens to our loan boys (Pongolle, Mellor, Le Tallec). If none of them make it back then we'll sign antother striker in summer IMO.

I think there's a good chance Robbie might prove to be Mori's replacement. Robbie is skilful and can link the play well these days, but he is also used to the Prem and he offers more of a goalscoring threat than Nando. (Robbie has to prove himself all over again though, but if he has a good 6 months I feel he could replace Morientes). Cisse will be leaving. It just depends who Rafa wants to bring in for him. I feel it will be either Defoe or Kuyt, with Crouch, Fowler and one of Pongolle/Mellor as our 4 main strikers (all ably backed up by Kewell and Garcia).

I think Kewell is better than Garcia. It's a tough one to call, becasue Harry has been in the wilderness for so long. Just lately he's coming back into form. There's more to come and if he keeps it going then I think he will clearly prove himself the better player. At the minute it's debatable, because of Harry's injuries still lingering in the mind. This is not to say Garcia is a bad player. He is excellent, and his skill and turns often provide a bit of inspiration in unlocking a tight game. OK, there is the obvious downside (lost possession) but Garcia is a good little player and we've missed him the past few weeks. I'm glad we have both, but for me Kewell edges it. I believe this will become clearer if harry can stay fit and keep building on the solid performances he's been putting in of late.

Seems to me Mori and Cisse are not going to be what we need for the long term. Mori - great player, past his best now, but not the right league for him. I predict he'll go back to Spain for around £4-5M. Cisse - fast, and er...fast! Doesn't offer enough in Rafa's team. Might go back to France if someone has money (Lyon?) for around £7-8M. So we'll have perhaps £12M and no Cisse or Mori come the summer IMO. We obviously need a very good striker at the top of his game, so perhaps that will be Owen or Kuyt. Then Robbie and Pongolle to make up the four (and possibly Mellor to be a fifth if he shows his worth at Wigan).

I felt yesterday's game was teh opposite of when Houllier was in charge. More often than not we'd go there and nick the game (thanks to Super Danny Murphy), but in my heart of hearts I'd have to concede we were not normally the better side, even if we basked in the warm glow of 3 points against our bitter rivals. I think the tables are now turned. Man Utd were nowhere near the best side yesterday. They nicked a goal and celebrated like they had won a cup final. We were below par yet we still seemed to have a lot more control of that game. So, despite a setback, I'm still positive that we are taking big strides forward. We can still overhaul them and put them in 3rd place for the third year running, but taking a wider view than that, I think they'll be in our shadow soon enough.

When I think about Mellor I think about someone who is not all that athletic and not all that fast. But he does know where the net is, and, if given a chance, will score you goals. Dunno if that will mean he's finished with us or not, but I'll offer this final thought. When Rushie left for Juventus and we brought Aldo in, I thought 'Oh crap, here we go'. I mean, compared to Rushie, Aldo was a snail. And besides, who the hell were Oxford (if memory serves me correctly!) Then Aldo scored. And scored again. And scored again and again. By the time we brought Rushie back home Also had done well enough that there was sensible debate as to which striker we should retain. If Neil Mellor turns out to be some sort of modern day Aldo then I'll be gutted if we let him go. But will we find out how good he is if we keep him?

Should we break the bank for Walcott? The simple answer is that it's up to Rafa. He knows his budget. He knows how much he rates Walcott and what he might be able to do in a Liverpool shirt. My opinion is that I'd make a deal in 3 stages. £5M up front. £5M based on first team appearances. £5M based on trophies won/full England caps, that sort of thing. If we then end up going on to pay the full £15M it should all have been worth it because the player had developed as we hoped and had been a big success with us. Even if our budget is fairly small I'd have thought his talent would merit a punt, with the initial outlay 'only' £5M.

Not sure we should sign an expensive right midfielder tbh, since Stevie is doing more than fine there and the team looks well balanced. At a guess I'd say Srna would cost no more than £6M, and that's about the max we should pay IMO, given that we are doing well without a Simao or Joaquin type. I would argue that perhaps our main needs are Striker (Kuyt), LB (Bridge) and another centre midfielder in summer to replace Hamann (Nolan or Parker).

I was interested to see that Xabi has put in 27 more tackles than Stevie. The common conception is that Xabi passes, but the down and dirty side to the game is not his cup of tea. Apparently he gets stuck in just fine (and a few connoseurs have noticed this to be fair).

Think about the recent Manure v Arsenal game. It was a complete non-event. Not so long ago that would have been a table top clash with big implications for the title. Not any more. The future rivalry (and we've already seen it in Europe, though with our league form improving it's becoming domestic too) is Liverpool v Chelsea all the way. Mourinho talks about us more than anyone else too. That tells it's own tale as to who he sees as a long term threat.

Walcott - I'd love us to have a great young English prospect on our books such as this. Striker able to play wide right. Could well be the answer to our right side problems (though I like Stevie there too). Kuyt - scores goals, works hard. Would do very well for us IMO. Bridge - if he gets back to Southampton or early Chelsea form, then he will be an improvement on any of our current contenders. As for money, well it all depends. Kuyt might come for £10M plus Dudek. Bridge could come for anything up to £4M (though Chavs obviously don't need the money). Walcott is a weird one. Perhaps £4M might do it if he wants to come, since a tribunal would be the alternate route for Southampton once he turns 17 in March. (Obviously silly money has been bandied about too, so it's hard to say what he might go for). So that would be an £18M outlay and three very good players to improve us.

I often dreaded going to Old trafford with our team under Houllier, but we'd often get a result (thank you Danny Murphy!) I'm nw more optimistic than ever about going there and getting a result, but it will be a hard fought and close game, easily able to go either way. Rooney will be the key for them, so if Sissoko (or Hamann) can keep him quiet, we should be well on our way. We have a fairly big team too, so if Evra plays we should get a lot of joy at the back stick since he's a midget. Deffo a game for 4-4-2. They have nothing to neutralise in midfield, and I'd say we have more weapons than they do, so let them worry about us. Stevie on the right, Alonso plus Momo/Didi, Kewell on the left. I'd play Crouch and Cisse, with Pongolle ready to come on if Cisse has one of his off days. Back four picks itself. Will be a great occasion and I'm going for a win for us.

Doesn't look too bad of a side to me! Perhaps Robben hasn't done enough this season to get in, but hard to say. Reina/Cech 50-50 for me The midfield is probably too attacking, but with that defense behind them it won't matter! Cisse might be lucky to be in there too

"...later in the evening Alonso was spotted walking home eating chips and gravy" "I find it rounds things off quite nicely" said a bloated Alonso. Neil Mellor also accompanied his teamate for the gastronomic adventure, and on the way home he was overheard saying "I could murder a kebab".