yellow jumper

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that one always sticks in my head. could have been the point at which he seemed most unstoppable.

as you say any signing's a gamble, and it can take as much as two years to see the best of a foreign import. having said that drogba and ronaldo were hardly unknown quantities, and both of them were suited to the premiership in terms of their age, style and physicality. their prices reflected that too. i'm not just advocating signing big names for big fees for the sake of it, and certainly not thirty-year old ones, although i do think there are other more subtle reasons related as much to when he came and how we played for morientes' failure to adapt, as well as the obvious political ones for shevchenko's travails. i'm worried by any links to raul, for reasons of age, style and lack of any superior physical qualities. and have doubts over villa's value versus his price, as well as his ability to acclimatize to england and english football. think there is a danger that there's a kind of scatter-gun approach in the speculation and wish lists, and to some extent it does become a name game, when it should probably be more about the type of player we need, as you say. but this time around i think there's a universal recognition (as well as a bit of giddiness over the extra funds) that we probably need something a bit special to take us onto another level. what can be safely said is that a 'complete' striker would immediately make us a better outfit; offer a running threat, be strong enough to lead the line, clever enough to come short and link, and conscientious enough to work the channels and generally put a good shift in, as well as score goals. unfortunately for us that type of proven talent, at the right age comes at a massive premium, and usually with a 'name'.

that's probably right, but as much as possible shouldn't we be trying to go for sure things? we need two, or perhaps three top players who can make an instant impact in the attacking third. the difference between a kewell (before the injuries) and a gonzalez, say.

he's played ahead of hinkel a few times in europe certainly. the rest of your post is fair comment. think he probably gets into more clear goal scoring positions than pennant, strangely. can't say he's a reliable finisher though. think he's more physical than pennant, might be a touch quicker, better defender, more of an engine, and more quality at set-pieces. i like alves, but without one of our other right-sided players going, it would seem like one player too many for that flank.

think kuyt, would have to be the one sacrificed in that scenario, personally. at least in the role he's been playing for us up to now. or as you say voronin. both seem unlikely, unless he got voronin before he realised major funds would be available. there's also the fact that benitez seems keen on a big, strong penalty box strikers who are dangerous in the air. always anticipated that that player might be kuyt, and he may still be, but we continue to be linked with players in that mould; milito, amauri, riki, trezeugeut, torres even.

not only that, even if you do assume he's still quick enough to trouble defences behind, i don't think he links play as well as, or is as adroit at working the touchlines as the likes of eto'o, henry, torres, villa, or even bellamy. which as you point out here is an area we need to look at improving. beyond that, all the signs are that benitez wants a physical penalty area presence rather than a fox in the box. understandably since we look to feed so many crosses into that area.

think voronin's exact role's unclear at this point too. any possibility he could offer cover for wide positions?

spurs were battering chelsea in the cup (the 3-3 game) before he was subbed. similarly in the league cup against arsenal before he was injured. he took the piss for 20 minutes at the sanchez pizjaun too. he's the best one touch footballer in the premiership (along with paul scholes). he's no more of a flat track bully than any other quality player that struggles in the big games. henry? ronaldo? flat track bullies win you leagues. do think he's lazy though, but you'd imagine a top manager would go some way to sorting that out. luke warm on the owen thing. would like to see a striker who brings more to the table than just a nose for goal, and i'm not sure he does anymore.

not sure what you base that on. can only think of the one occasion against chelsea when he's actually started there for us, and he did pretty well. his natural inclination when put wide is to come inside, so why not onto his stronger foot? particularly if you can put natural width on the otherside and give him an overlapping fullback. barcelona do it with great effect on both wings, messi a left footer on the right side, ronaldinho a right footer on the left side.

he's just come up with some names based on who he knows might be available, the money we might have to spend, the areas we need to strengthen and rafa's previous targets. educated guesses, but nothing more than that. there'll be months more of this s**** before we're done.

agger arrived in january of that season, and played his fair share of games. benitez has been resting hyppia intermittently ever since he arrived at the club. think the evidence is that his level drops if he's subjected to a heavy schedule. i recognise his quality, and think he should stay if he's happy to be back-up, but i do have concerns if we get an injury to agger or carragher, or both even. one or two bad performances over the busy new year or easter periods can make all the difference between a title challenge or third and fourth place. chelsea have certainly suffered in that regard. manu, who have a big pool of experienced centre backs in brown, heinze, vidic, silvestre and ferdinand, also had to count the cost of injuries in europe, at least. arsenal have toure, senderos, djourou and gallas, and have had to play gilberto there at times this season. you can argue about the various merits of these players, but not sure a pairing of hyppia and paletta would fill me with that much confidence going into a crucial run of league games.

he'll manage to play. we might not manage to get closer to winning the league.

inferiority complex.

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berbatov's the best one touch footballer in the premier league.

benitez told 'em to shove their job. suspect mourinho might have done too.

agree that the standard of sami's recent performances has been exceptional. and he's valuable back-up in terms of giving carra and agger a rest. my only reservation is if either of those two get injured for any length of time. is sami up to playing high intensity football twice a week for three or four months?

rebel23 on TLW reckons our strikers collectively have one more goal in the league than either the mancs' or chelsea's. and for 20 million quid less. if accurate, it's food for thought.

berbatov's not hype.

don't think it's as outlandish as you suggest. it's been clear for a while that one of crouch or bellamy would probably go. less clear until the training camp in portugal and arsenal at home who that should be. there was definitely a point this season where i entertained the thought that crouch should go. admittedly, i was wrong, but there was talk of spurs and toon offering upwards of 12 million around the time of some lousy personal performances (his showing at ewood park still sticks in the craw). and just when it seemed we might squeeze back into the title race too . bellamy definitely looked the better bet for a few months, there.

fowler had the right place, right time thing in his pomp. think there's less demand for it in the modern game. coaches take a more holistic approach now, and are less inclined to accept goals as a pay-off for a lack of contribution in other areas. did you watch the sevilla game? credit to capello, thought guti changed it when he came on. RvN had neen hyypia-ed out of the game up until that point.

from a liverpool perspective carragher deserves to be on that list for the two barca games alone. reina's also been very good throughout.

manu are a better team without RvN, great finisher though he is.

that makes sense in terms of what they offer, i think. not sure benitez will be in any hurry to get rid of luis, though, since he offers a considerable portion of the goals we've been missing this season in the league. even if vornonin matches those numbers, there can still be a place for both of them in the squad assuming we're not going to go for yet another second striker, and/or we refine our wide midfield options. barring a massive overhaul (which i'm not sure can be completely discounted) i'd find it hard to understand a move for tevez. i'm up for torres. his stocks about as low as it's been, he can play back to goal, on the shoulder and on his own. he's young and unfulfilled, but experienced and hard working. also looks physically built for the rigours of our league, even if he does like a dive. villa's very good, but i have concerns about him in the premiership and his realiability in front of goal, especially for that price. eto'o and henry seem like pipe dreams.