G Richards

Carra is definitely faster than Terry. I can't believe anyone would say he wasn't. He is not faster than Gallas, Toure, Ferdinand and a few others, but Carra is a quick-ish defender. I was surprised by his pace against Barca as he looks like he's getting even faster to me.

No bad, but the Catalan/Matalan one says all that in a much better way for me.

PS - I must admit that I was going mad at Agger's booking, Momo's booking and the misplaced free-kick in the box (which, if placed accurately would have given us a 50-50 chance to score instead of a 20-80). But still, we won on the night and our attitude was exemplary. The game was also markedly different in the build up when compared to when Chelsea played them. One word that sums up why: CLASS.

On the whole I'm glad with the way our players behave on the pitch. I think we could get onto the ref a bit more and challenge some things, but for the most part I'm glad that we don't get too involved in all that. This will serve us much better in the long run IMO.

I like the look of Bojinov. Not sure how much he'd cost, but he seems a good player to me. Trezeguet is a good finisher but I think Rafa wants more than that from his players. Plus isn't he getting on a bit now?

Agree 100%.

When the takeover first happened there was lots of speculation in the press about £120M being made available for players, then the emphasis shifted to 'we don't have a budget, but if the manager has a special player in mind then we will go after him'. I think it is fair to assume that the new owners will give us at least two years of extra transfer cash, with the hope that this will secure a leap forward in the team's fortunes to compete strongly for the title. By the time the new stadium is online I would expect our increased budget to be sustained by the additional 'naturally generated' income, thus giving us a much better basis to compete at the very top for years to come. I would not be at all surprised to see £50M spent this summer, with perhaps as much again next year. Villa/Torres/Huntelaar and Alves/Ribery, plus Woodgate/Luisao should see the money spent and us in a much better position to compete for the title next season.

Playing more games is simply the result of being more successful. It's a silver lining - of sorts, that we get more of a rest than Arsenal, but we need to make sure that we use that to our advantage. If neither us nor Arsenal win the CL, and we finish third and they come fourth, then we will have done better. But that is reversed if they win the FA Cup and/or the League Cup. We exist to win trophies, and Arsenal knocked us out of two of them recently.

Given the recent problems with Bellamy (and it is likely exaggerated in the press, but still something would have happened), then I wouldn't be surprised if he will be off and a top notch player brought in (Villa/Torres/Eto'o/Huntelaar - maybe). We will have three main strikers with Voronin coming on the cheap to replace Robbie. Seems easier to fit them all in and keep them happy rather than having Kuyt/Bellamy/Crouch PLUS a top stiker to come in.

I don't have a problem with Gillette previously bidding for Aston Villa. Only when he teamed up with his friend Hicks did he have the financial muscle to bid much higher up the food chain. I'm sure he appreciates the opportunity here, and I'm sure he's been well briefed as to our history and standing in the game, but I'm under no illusions that he's a fan of any sort. Hopefully what's good for us/LFC will also be what's good for him (from an investment point of view) so our interests will dovetail nicely. that's the theory anyway. We all wait to see how it will work out in practice.

I'd be happy if we can get Woodgate at the end of the season. I think he will be available for £6M. Sami has been a great servant to the club. If he does move on at the end of the season then he will go with the utmost respect from all reds. Part of me is hoping he will stay for one more season (albeit in a bit part role next season) and help us to land no.19.

Baines seems a decent player but I'm not sure he has quite the quality we are looking for. I'd rather persevere with Riise (who is a decent player despite his poor form) and Aurelio (who has looked OK of late when he has played, if a little injury prone). Judging by the start Insua made for the reserves the other night, he may well go on to be our top left back.

No.2 goalkeepers pose a tricky conundrum. If they are too young and inexperienced then you don't want them anywhere near the first team. If they are promising. but just not seeing enough action, then you send them out on loan to aid them in their development. This is the case with Carson. But what do you do when they return from loan? The danger is they come back, sit on the bench and regress. In Carson's case he is too close in age to Pepe Reina, but becaseu Reina is the better keeper Carson will stagnate at our club. I think it is better for all parties if we sell him to Arsenal on 2 conditions. 1. We get a nice big fee 2. Pepe Reina signs a very long term contract Since we have a young no.1 then I think our ideal no.2 should be an experienced man who has most of his career behind him (someone of the ilk of Paul Jones when he came). Such a goalie will not make headlines due to their great exploits, but they will be steady and do a job if and when called on. They will be happy to be at a club like Liverpool, but they will not grow frustrated or stagnant on the bench behind Reina because they will have already enjoyed the bulk of their career.

United have improved - agree. Chelsea haven't - agree. Arsenal haven't - disagree. Last year Arsenal finished a distant fourth, some 15 points behind us. They won't be that bad again and it looks touch and go as to who will finish higher out of us and them. Last year they weren't at the races, so they've improved for me. United have a few aging players that they will struggle to replace. Chelsea have an egocentric manager that will cause mayhem if/when he leaves in the summer. One solid summer's business by Rafa, backed by the new owners, will put us right in the hunt for next season.

Kuyt has been a good striker. He can (and will) improve. As for him dropping deeper, presumably he wouldn't do it if Rafa didn't want him to. It's obvious we need a top class striker. Kuyt, Crouch and Bellamy all have thier merits but we need someone who is absolute class. Kuyt could arguably kick on from this season and be top top drawer, and on their day both Bellamy and Crouch can be all but unplayable. But all this does not gloss over the fact that we need a no.1 striker to come in. I'm sure Rafa knows this and he's on the case. The knock on effect may be that one of Bellamy/Crouch will move on as they will go down the pecking order, but for me, no matter what striker we bring in over the summer, Kuyt will be here next season. I'm not sure I could say the same for Bellamy or Crouch.

Alves Bale Villa Woodgate Mascherano (already here)

I think the Spurs deal is particularly favourable to them becasue Mansion appear to be paying a premium, giving that they are a gaming company and they want more mainstream exposure. As for our deal, I'm sure it's all cash and likely bonuses on top for various degrees of success. The deal will expire at about the time the stadium opens, and by then I expect our new American owners to be on top of things, and we will likely have a bumper deal for shirt and stadium. Just a guess like.

I can see us buying Woodgate to replace Sami. I could also see us buying either Villa or Huntelaar. I think we will keep Crouch and I believe there is a chance Bellamy might be off if he is knocked down the pecking order with a superior player coming in. I read that Villa were interested in him at £12M recently. Woodgate Villa/Huntelaar Mascherano (already signed) Alves Bale (unless Rafa genuinely thinks Insua is better).

Woodgate would be an excellent signing for us. He obviously has had more than his fair share of fitness problems, but this past season has been important for him. If he can get through the rest of the campaign relatively unscathed, then he will have proben his fitness. His ability has never been in question to the discerning. On a related note, they did a bit on Woodgate late the other night (I think on the John Barnes football show). They had the Middlesborough Chairman on there and he was under no doubts that they would have their work cut out to retain Woodgate over the summer. He was hoping the home town thing would carry a lot of weight, but he seemed to be preparing their fans for a Woodgate exit IMO. Rafa is known to have been in for the player before, but we couldn't compete with Real in terms of price. As it turns out, we dodged the bullet there since he has had a horrendous couple of years. But if he can prove his fitness this season (and he's well on the way to that) then he would be a great signing, especially at £6M.

Is the £120M a 'one-off' amount, with subsequent spending having to come out of what we can generate? In many ways I wouldn't mind that. It could impact our spending in a big way over the next two years, and then after that, with the new stadium and all, we'll be on a different financial plane and self-sustaining.

Andy Gray is biased. He's been worse since he got caught up in the magic of Anfield and forgot himself with his "You beauty" comment. SInce then his bias has gone up several notches and it smacks of PR to try to get back in the good books of Everton fans. As for the Kepa goal, some decisions are blatantly wrong but this was not one of them. Sometimes it's marginal and you win some and you lose some. This was a marginal decision that went against us. Fortunately it did not affect the destination of the three points, so there's no huge stink over it. Onwards and upwards.

Got me! I clicked the link.

I just hope the lad's not here for the money. I hope he really wants to make his mark. I hope he's HUNGRY LIKE A WOLF. Perhaps if he plays against Man Utd he will sort RIO out. Hopefully the move won't go to his head though, and he will keep his feet planted firmly on PLANET EARTH. If not, he will go the way of Josemi, and we'll have to SAVE A PRAYER for him then. Still, it could be worse. If he gets mixed up with Ashley Cole and Jermaine Pennant (allegedly) it could be a case of GIRLS ON FILM for the tabloids.

I'm glad Neill isn't playing. This will be a tricky game. West Ham are a bigger and better team than their league position suggests. If they are up for it (and history shows they are usually up for it against the better sides) then we will do very well to get out of there with all three points. After the euphoria of beating Chelsea, this is a real test. If that victory gave us any glimmer of hope for the title (it probably didn't, but for the more optimistic people it did!) then it's imperative that it is built on. 14 games to go. I don't think we can afford to drop any points if we want to win the league, and there will be tougher tests than this one to come. Man Utd have an easy game against Watford as well. It's vital we win to have any hope of exerting any pressure on them by the time we play them. Anything less than 9 points against West Ham, Everton and Newcastle and the title is gone IMHO. We'll see what we're made of. I'm predicting a steely away win. 2-1 with Gerrard and Kuyt to score.

I think Bellamy and Kuyt is the best partnership. They were building a good understanding, showing lots of clever movement and interplay. Normally that's what you need to open up gaps to create chances (set pieces and long range shots notwithstanding). Crouch is a unique player though, and when he was out of the team people were adamant that he should be kept as he offers 'another option' (or words to that effect). This was not damning Crouch with faint praise. He really does offer an option that will be useful to further the team's causes. Against Chelsea's inexperienced defence at the weekend they just couldn't cope with him. Lord Percy and Mongo would have probably fared much better, but since they were ill or injured it made sense for Rafa to send in two metre Peter to fill his boots. It's likely that he'll have 70 mins in Barca in my view, and if he's up for it then he will cause them problems. Bellamy's pace later on in the Nou Camp will give them something to think about and will stop Barca coming forward in waves.