Cooger

When I saw him for the French under 21s, he was mostly used on the left and extremely effective. Quick, hard working, winger who takes on defenders. Think he'll be a great player whichever club he ends up at.

Ribery?

Think that says more of the competition for his place, rather than his outstanding performances. The fact is we can't rely on him fitness-wise and we could get a reliable, quicker and more effective player.

He must consider selling Kewell. Next season will be the last year on his contract. He's on massive wages, rarely fit and we could get a better player now. I always like to see teams sell players at the right time and I think the summer wouldbe the right time in Kewells case. Kewell is our best option and would walk into the first team at the moment. But last season I wouldn't say he was no better than decent really. Three league goals also wasn't enough given his talent.

The left hand side is a much bigger problem than the right. We have Gerrard who can play on the right and do a top job in that role, with him given more licence to get forward. With Mascherano, Alonso and Sissoko battling for the centre I see Gerrard mainly used in this more attacking role. On the left we have loads of options but they are all not good enough really:- Kewell - injured more often than not. Gonzalez - raw, disappointing so far Aurelio - decent but we need a Giggs, Robben etc

I think it is nice that even though Gillett and Hicks have had a busy day, they have still started a thread getting rid of the d*cks on the forum.

Thought he did well with Aurelio against Chelsea, but nothing outstanding. He does need to improve having said that, he can't be that bad as we have the best defensive record in the league.

Do you really think he completed his due diligence in three days? Doesn't seem likely to me. Even if he did, I don't think it is necessarily a good thing. Both deals seem very similar to me and Parry, Moores etc were right to listen to the second proposal. Maybe it is a blessing that we haven't gone with DIC if they react like this when they don't get something they want.

It seems to me whatever Pennant does it is not good enough. I think people want him to fail, rather than willing him to do well. He had a great game against Bolton, plays well at Chelsea scoring a cracker and has been doing well for awhile now. We don't get the result we wanted yesterday and Pennant apparantly doesn't have a good enough game. He was the only player who offered anay width and always wanted to have the ball. Finnan was not helping him too much and at times he was getting double marked. I agree we played too many long balls and played into Evertons hands. Kuyt on the left didn't work. Crouch's pressence on the pitch does see Riise and Carragher in particular launch the ball long. Garcia was missed as in tight games like this he is usually the one who will try something different.

For sure on top form he would certianly be an asset. I always thought he worked best in a 'free role' under Evans, usually the 3-5-2 behind Fowler and Collymore. On the right he'd roam and although effective going forward I wouldn't have liked to be the right back behind him.

I think they probably are the best. Especially considering the average age of all four of them, the potential is huge. They can influence games now and in the future. I think the squad have lacked a 'true' holding midfielder since Hamann left. Hopefully Mascherano will thrive in a team that dominates most games possession-wise, unlike at West Ham. He'll be playing with better players and we all know he has the talent. What I like about him is the fact he is disciplined, similar to Hamann, but unlike the 'Kaiser' he can make more forward passes and not just sideways ones. With these four Rafa has all the options he wants and it is an area where rotation should work, replacing quality with quality.

Critics have constantly questioned Owen throughout his career. Saying he was one-footed, not a natural scorer, injury-prone with hamstrings, now he is injury prone again. He constantly silences them all by scoring goals. I think he will again.

He was in the side when we were playing great football last season, I don't see why it will change this season.

Sissoko was our best player at the start of the season and it was a shame Carragher, Gerrard, Alonso etc all started the season poorly, then we might be up with the top two. Yes we got better results when Momo has been injured, but I think this is due to more players finding their form and the new players settling in more, rather than us being a better team when Gerrard is in the middle. The fact is we won are home game this season with or without Momo. We have lost our tough away games with or without Momo. Therefore I haven't seen too much change in results. The only difference is when Momo was fit, the rest of the team were short of confidence and form. He is a beast of a player and I agree he does boss games. Can't wait for him to be back.

Lets just 'hammer' West Ham first then we can just hope we have closed the gap more. We should target catching Chelsea first, not worry about Arsenal or anyone behind us. Big difference between finishing second or third. Not too much difference between third and fourth.

Makes sense to wait until the summer to make any big signings. By this time the investment should be complete and Rafa will know his budget and can prepare accordingly. Mascharano would be a good buy as the squad has lacked a 'true' holding midfielder since Hamann left in the summer. Whether this happens remains to be seen, but it will be a good piece of business given his talent and age. Cover for right back in the short-term would have been useful, which Neill would have provided but it is not essential with Carragher around who can easily play the odd game in that position. Lets hope Finnan doesn't get a serious injury or then we could have problems. In the summer two or three quality signings should be brought in to add some class in certain posiitions. I personally belive one upfront and two wide players. This way Pennant (who everyone seems to have a love / hate relationship with) and Gonzalez can be the squad players, rather than us relying on them a first choices. I take it Rafa keeps buying young players from other clubs because he doesn't have much faith that the academy will produce many good player in the near future?

True. But doesn't like to waste money either, so I don't expect too much change in approach.

Think this has been with Neill. I can't see Rafa's transfer style changing with or without investment. I personally think it will just allow him to buy all the players he wants rather than having to choose between three or four players, such as this summer where it seemed to be Alves or Kuyt and Pennant, rather than all three. Some may argue if a player is going to make such a big difference to the team, then it is worth spending that extra bit more, but I can?t see Rafa doing this and I don?t think we?ll see too much change in his approach with or without investment.

He's one of the worst in the league. Don't think he understands the advantage rule. If he can, he'll blow his whistle.

I think Drogba might have done the best job for them at centre back, but I guess they needed him upfornt. HAving said all that they needed Essian in midfield.

Ashton *playing devils advocate. But I am a fan of Crouch and if he did go Ashton would be a good buy, espcially if West Ham go down.

He wasn't offered a deal, so he thought Rafa wanted rid and it was a misunderstanding. He is just as loyal as Carragher, the only difference is every club in the World want Gerrard.

I would imagine Mascherano would do a similar role to what Hamann did last season. He would enable us to play with a three man midfield at times, even if one of Momo, Gerrard or Alonso got injured. He can play in the centre and allow Gerrard to play off a lone striker or on the right at times. He would simply increase our options. Think we have lacked a true holding midfielder option since Hamann left.

Why would you accept 12 million when he is a vital part of the squad. The amount of panic he causes at times is great to watch. Yesterdsy for the first goal, Chelsea did not know how to deal with him. I remember whenh he came on for England vs Argentina and Owen scored to goals, but it was Crouch who changed the game sending panic throughout their defense giving Owen space. He is a cracking option and one that is almost unique. A top club does not sell their valuable assets and Crouch is one of ours. I don't think he should be first choice and we possibly need to find a top partner for Kuyt with Bellamy and Crouch as the options. But he is an excellent option.

Not too many teams around who defend better as a team than ours. Obviously our defensive record backs this up, with the least amount of goals conceded in the league and only three conceded at home. At Valencia, Rafa?s team was known for their work rate and defending, with them having the best record in Europe. Now I think we are getting a team which has an incredible work rate, defending from the front. Bellamy and Kuyt do this particularly well, chasing down defenders, even lost causes. The amount of running they do is impressive and Kuyt even acts as an extra midfielder at times, making our team even harder to break down. In midfield when Momo returns and Gerrard goes to the right (which I expect will be the case more often than not), we will have a midfield that really swamp the opposition. Momo, Gerrard and Alonso as a combination will give the opposition players little time and space on the ball, making it easier for our defense. Rafa constantly talks about balance between attack and defense ? ?Defending as a team and attacking as a team?. We have seen glimpses of this recently and when Momo returns I think it will be even more effective. The difference between this team and his Valencia team is he has bought players that can cope in the Premiership, rather than more technical players for La Liga. Hence Kuyt, rather than Aimar is more suitable for this team and league.