G Richards

That's quite a rant there! Not sure what your point is though. If it's humour then it's too clever for me. If it's meant as proper criticism then it's all over the place.

Agree with that. For me Flo is not the solution, but he should be kept because he is a very good impact sub. Cisse will realise more in the transfer market if we sell him (around £8M at a guess) and all of that should be reinvested into another striker. Perhaps Kuyt is the man we need, though if we get him I think we might also sell Mori.

If Agger is now going for £7M, perhaps we are getting close to Kompany money (my guess around £10M). Maybe we should put in a bid for the Kompany. He has a lot of experience for his age too.

I think the emergence of Bolanos (if he signs) plus the way we've been playing without a dedicated right winger so far this season, puts us in a strong position regards Simao. He comes on our terms or not at all. Nice position to be in. With Kewell on form, Gonazales on the way (not sure if that may have to wait until summer), Garcia able to play wide, Stevie playing great at right mid when he has to, plus the possible signing of Bolanos, things are looking good to me. If we do sign Agger, Kromkamp and Bolanos in January, that's only an outlay of around £6-7M (assuming the Bolanos fee will be quite small). Something tells me that we saving up cash for a top striker to come in over the summer.

What about a bit of Elton John for young Agger? "Daniel you're a star..." Oh, and as for Rafa going, one day he will. Bound to happen. Sooner or later Real Madrid will nab him. Probably later though. Say in about 6-7 years, that would be my guess. Then Rafa will sort them out, have a stint as Spain boss after that, win them their first World Cup, then retire. But hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's enjoy the man while he's here!

Nice tackle on Essien at the weekend though

The saddest thing for me about Chelsea is that despite their unprecedented financial advantage, they are merely functional and efficient. And that's a crying shame. All they can do is play the percentages. They have not pushed the boundaries of football any further and they have not brought anything new to the game at large. For example, they are not a patch on the Arsenal team that went the season unbeaten recently. Chelsea are so unadventurous given their great financial position. Shame on them! Billionaires, but all they can do is keep it safe and steady. This is to say nothing of character, moaning, lack of class etc. I'm limiting my comments to their style of play. They do not set anyone's pulse racing because it is functional. OK, they are well organised. But give me a break! With all that money they have a great opportunity to really go after a new dimension (e.g. current Barcelona). But Chelsea are nowhere near that level of excitement and class, and it's largely why they have few friends.

Finnan is a very good full back and he is an integral part of our success. The problem with the term 'world class' is that it does not have a specific definition, so, apart from the very best of players (e.g. Gerrard, Henry, Ronaldinho) there will always be debate as to who is world class and who isn't. How many world class players are there? 10? 50? 100? Do you have to have performed well on teh international stage to be world class? How long do you have to have been playing before you could be said to be world class? Is there a weighting system in place, so players that shine in the stronger leagues are more readily granted world class status? Do you have to be in the best 3 players in your league in the position you play to be considered world class? (Giving roughly 10-12 world class players for every position in Europe?) Would it be more players than that? Less? Until we have specific definitions the debate will continue. Finnan is a very good player. He is an integral part of our success. As to whether Kromkamp will displace him, I haven't got a clue. But if Krompamp is better than Josemi then Rafa has done us proud in this deal.

3 points at Bolton will be a great achievement. Deffo a game for Sissoko to start. I think after the whole frozen pitch debacle the Prem will have to tighten up. There should be penalties for teams who cannot get games played due to a frozen pitch. Everyone is supposed to have undersoil heating so what's the problem? If there's a big fine for teams who's heating fails, they might just be more motivated to ensure it stays in good working order. If a team then has a system that fails again, the other team should be awarded the points. Oh, and if it is a genuine problem (and I have my doubts about Bolton) then a plan B should be in place, such as huge plastic covers and large hot air blowers underneath to get the match on. With all the money at the top end of the game these days, frozen pitched should not be happening.

There's something that has gone badly wrong with this fixture. I remember in the 80's when it was best foot forward and showing the country that you can be divided red/blue, but you can still go to the game and have a good time without fear of getting your head kicked in or some of the other untoward stuff that has crept in. I don't care about who did what and who is worse. I honestly just wish we could get back to the rivalry of a more friendly kind. (BTW I'm a staunch red, have been since I was born in Birkenhead. Dalglish/Rush first player I remember well. Have loved us through thick and thin. The rivalry with everton is getting out of hand though. I don't have the answer, but I really wish it could go back to more friendly times).

Given is a good goalie but I'm not sure how good. I think he's made to look better than he is because he's always got a chance to shine. Defo wouldn't swap him for Pepe. If Shay gets a move to somewhere like Arsenal then we'll perhaps see what he's made of. Right now he looks good, but that's because it's virtually shooting practice. I would agree with the Hoult analogy.

Crouch gave a little push on Bowyer (who overreacted) then Alan 'dirty baldy gets away with murder' Shearer pushes Crouchy. Stevie was having none of that and ran over and gave the biggest shove of the lot to Shearer, and it was nice to see Stevie 'clothes-line' Bowyer and also great to see Carra weigh in with a bit of verbal for Shearer. Mostly handbags, but great unity showed IMO. And poor Mikey! His new best mate (old man Shearer) getting put right in his place by a couple of his old best mates!

When fans had a go against Bramble it was similar to when Crouch was widely jeered earlier in the season. Pack mentality kicks in and you think it's funny at the time, but not the classiest behaviour upon reflection. As for Owen, I though Stevie said it well after the game when he said he was disappointed to hear some of the boos. We can go around in circles all day about the circumstances of his departure and (near?) return in the summer, but that aside he scored many a goal for us and should have been given the reception his achievements in a red shirt deserved. Possible nail in the coffin for any summer return?

I thought Harry did well. Gonzales will be a great option when he arrives, but it's nice to see Harry getting better and better. If he keeps his progress going he will have a great second half to his season.

I really hope Jack Hobbs makes the grade. Great name. Wonder if he smokes 20 Woodbines a day?

Reina Finnan Carra Sami Warnock Alonso Hamann Cisse Gerrard Zenden Crouch Possibly Momo for Hamann, but I'm guessing Rafa will like Hamann's greater experience for this tricky away tie. Garcia not doing too well. He'll be dropped. Cisse to play right. Not his preferred position, but his pace will give them something to think about. Crouch up top on his own, trying to hold the ball up to be supported by those advancing, principally Cisse/Gerrard.

Reina Finnan Carra Hyypia Warnock Alonso Sissoko Pongolle Crouch Zenden Cisse

I'd much rather sell him, even for a nominal fee of around £1M, than loan him out. I agree with loans for up and coming players to gain experience, but I don't really agree with loans for established internationals such as Diao. We could end up with all our 'undesirable' loans coming back to Anfield if things don't work out for them, and that will present a big problem. Sell. Even for a low fee. I'd much rather Salif's place went to an academy graduate (Welsh/Potter).