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£35k a week on a year-long contract, maybe. Anything longer and we're in Cheyrou territory, shelling out several million a year for f*** all. If we have to change our strikers, I really hope we're interested in better players than Raul is now.

Some proper screamers in there. I'm glad he's ours.

Yeah, of course, but the West Ham fiasco helped alot.

He's been a slight disappointment overall for me, but expectations were high, and it's his first season in a league that is much tougher than the Dutch. No-one's going overboard about him either way, which tells you something. I'd have Crouch and Bellamy ahead of him, but he's done more than enough to be kept for another season. I'd still rather we spent money elsewhere than replace any of them.

That's what's got me excited about his last few games. We've seen some solid proof of the sheer *quality* he is reputed to have. Whereas, with Momo, we've only really seen solid proof of the *potential* he has. That could all be due to their different reputations rather than their respective abilities. Momo could go on to become a better player. But it just feels nice. I got the same warm glow watching him yesterday as I did when Gerrard broke through. Mascherano just seems like a very safe bet. We've got lucky.

Never heard Dunphy, and he sounds like a prize c**k, but he's right on this one. MOTD has been coasting for as long as I remember and became unwatchable several years ago. But then it's the BBC for you - utterly complacent. Same problem afflicts the FA. Both run by out-of-touch, middle-class tosspots.

I can see where you're coming from, and it's long overdue. But...give Man U a bye into the semis? In all seriousness, if the Greater Manchester Police got a little too tasty with away fans at the return leg then there would be hell to pay, but f*** all will be really done about this because it's an Italian club. In the same way that f*** all gets done when Italian and Spanish supporters (and managers) decide to add a dash of racism to the entertainment.

Well, your wish came true.

I fancy Roma to go through. Man U are not playing well and their streakiness is beginning to defy gravity somewhat. Watch the Manc f*****s win the CL now...

Without naming players: LB LM RM There are certain RM candidates who could, erm, salve our need for RB cover. I actually think that Kuyt/Crouch/Bellamy cover us perfectly up front if the rest of the team is functioning well, and I'm presuming that Rafa hasn't picked Voronin because he wants to brush up on his Ukrainian. But I wouldn't say no to the little 'Welsh' striker/in-patient you mention.

I see trouble ahead there in the form of Steven Gerrard. Rafa probably didn't think he'd snag someone of Mascherano's calibre for centre mid when he wanted Alves last year. However, Finnan + Alves + Gerrard + Alonso + Masch = formation thread fodder, so I won't bother.

Opinions vary I guess. I think you're being *very* harsh calling him a "stand out coward". I've seen him make plenty of mistakes (esp. in defence), and he is definitely a girl in the tackle, but he's never struck me as one who goes missing in action. No player could last nearly six years and pick up the medals he has if he was a "stand out coward". Cowards are passengers, and winning teams don't carry passengers - especially with managers like Houllier and Benitez who evidently prize hard work.

Dunno about that. Scoring a good goal when the pressure is on takes nerve as well as skill. Especially when you're just as likely to punt it into row Z as actually get it on target. I'm not saying I'd want him on my side in a fight on that basis, but confidence is a form of courage, and Riise has (as many have pointed out) made the most out of somewhat limited skills. I reckon he's got guts even if he's not a leader in the Carra/Gerrard/Alonso mould. It's not lack of fight that holding him back, it's lack of ability. He's a trier rather than a genius. No shame in that if the end product is acceptable. And, to be fair, the three you name have an outrageous surfeit of balls between them. There aren't many out there with the bravery of Carra, the honour of Alonso, and the fight of Gerrard. We're all mere boys compared to those three.

Neither would I. A fantastic player, very much underrated. Right up there with Markus Babbel and Rob Jones in recent memory, for me. But...does Rafa want Alves there, or is he meant to complement Finnan?

Riise is a flawed player, no doubt, but I would take issue with anyone who says that he's been anything other than a damn good acquisition for us. One of Houllier's best. Still don't trust him defensively, and I have no idea how someone so one-footed plays at this level, but the fact that he's been virtually ever-present for two good managers throughout a period of decent success tells you something. And there's more than one way of showing 'heart'. I hate to see players duck challenges, but I love to see them pop up with good goals at crucial moments.

Let's not get carried away by a few good games, but, bloody hell, Mascherano really does look the part, doesn't he? It's like he was born to play alongside Alonso, in front of Carra and Agger, in front of Pepe. Very nice balance in central midfield and defence at the moment. Hope Gerrard can see that this is actually a good opportunity for him as well as the team, because from what I can see it frees him up considerably from the more disciplined work he's not always brilliant at to be the driving, menacing force of nature that he is.

Don't be daft. West Ham spent £2m buying Calum Davenport from Spurs in January. We paid £2.5m or so for Arbeloa. "Extravagant, preposterous"...describes your post well.

Good stat, that.

While that's probably an over-simplification of many different factors (inc. Eriksson's waning powers) it would be very interesting to see if it actually has basis in fact. Any stattos out there? Certainly has a ring of truth about it...

Well said. We hear alot about Gerrard 'grabbing games by the scruff of the neck', and when he does so there's no player on Earth more exhilerating. But averaged out over this season it's a different story, and he's gone missing too often for my liking. He's got some way to go before we can claim him to be the best player in the world...

"No matter how good they are"? Pure, empty hyperbole! Were Napoli wrong to take a risk on Maradona in 1984, almost a year after Goicoechea nearly put him out of football? All due respect, but I'd prefer to leave judgement about injuries to medical experts. And there's no better cruciate expert than Steadman, as Alan Shearer likes to tell everyone.

While I'm not sure either of those things are strictly true, I take your point. And I should've said, "what Gerrard *nearly* did". Because in the end, of course, he didn't do anything. Well, except put the total s***s up us all for two seasons in a row. Statement retracted!

And did I mention that he can score goals?

I dunno, he's still the most accomplished English striker out there. And I include Rooney in that, who has not achieved anything near as much as Owen had by the same age. (Indeed, how s*** have England been since Owen's injury?) Injury would obviously be the huge risk, but look at the strikers we've bought in the past f*** knows how many years and have we benefitted from them being injury-free? What I mean is, there are many kinds of risks with different levels of severity: Collymore, Heskey, Cisse, Morientes - they all prove this. Owen's injury problems are up there as a major concern, but the lad can score goals, knows the league, knows the club, is best mates with our two most central players (Gerrard and Carra), is genetically incapable of dicking about, and will be burning up with desire to prove a point and re-secure his rather awesome reputation. For the money we should be able to get him for (probably half what we would pay for the likes of Villa and Eto'o) I say the risk is worth it. The fact that he's a money-grabbing dick who jumped ship at precisely the wrong time...well, sod that. We forgave Gerrard for worse.

He'd be rubbish at tracking back, guarantee it.