Oli

Indeed. More than the 3 points it's the manner of the win which is the real kicker. I'd imagine it will have a similarly positive effect on them as Yossi's goal did for us yesterday.

Well that was a real sickener. A better team than Villa would have won that comfortably today. I thought that Villa were the better team and so didn't deserve to lose but they really bottled it after taking the lead. It's incredibly annoying but there's plenty of time yet.

This content is not viewable to guests.

Thanks Kahnee. I've been looking for this.

This is brilliant news.

That's brilliant.

Nice comments from a top professional.

As would I, sadly. For me, the Man United Game is one of the biggest disappointments of our current down turn. Just a couple of weeks ago I was looking forward to us going there with something huge riding on the game, a win taking us to within a couple of points of them. Instead we're facing the same situation we've been in for the last few years, going there with nothing to play for but pride and as a result I think our chances of winning are lessened.

I noticed that too. Not trying to stir it but he didn't sound happy at all. Threw in a few expletives for good measure too.

I think they'd decided on the line they were going to take as soon as they saw the line up. I've been aware for some time of this dislike of Rafa that seems to run throughout the media but often dismissed it as me simply being sensitive to it, being a Liverpool supporter. Recently though it has started to get ridiculous.

All the talk after the match was about how the big guns had got Rafa out of jail and I might be wrong here but isn't it conceivable that Rafa's intentions were to do more or less precisely what he did - bring on the likes of Kuyt, Torres and Alonso (feeling that the latter two in particular could only play 20-30 minutes at most) towards the end when Portsmouth would be tiring and with the full expectation that we may not be winning the game at that point?

So it is. Not sure about the other player. If that team is accurate though, I wouldn't be surprised to see Benayoun behind Ngog. Otherwise we would be woefully short of any creative influence.

Some rumours on RAWK of this being the team: Reina Arbeloa Skrtel Hyypia Aurelio Carragher Mascherano Kuyt Babel Ngog Yes, Carragher in midfield.

If Torres isn't injured Clive Tyldesley will be most disappointed, he took every opportunity to tell us how he wasn't moving freely (looked fine), he was limping (jogging), he didn't look right (jogging), he pulled up (checked his run to give Riera an option when we broke). It was most bizarre.

We looked suprisingly comfortable in that second half of extra time. Anyone else overcome with a sense of dread when it went to adverts? We really could have done without the huge physical exertion we ended up having to give.

From the BBC 1704: Breaking news: The Football Association has confirmed that no disciplinary action will be taken against Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa for his challenge on Liverpool's Yossi Benayoun on Sunday.

I think that's referring to the Saviola rumours.

Exactly. Assuming that we're getting £15m+ for him then I understand the deal from a business point of view. If Rafa clearly isn't going to play him then I'd imagine we'll get more for him now with Spurs desperate for a striker than we may have done in the summer. That said, I'm very concerned that we won't have a replacement lined up. It doesn't make sense to me. 1 hour to go.

I don't recall if it was ever on the 4th but it's certainly now on the 3rd. I believe it's televised.

I believe this is lifted directly off RAWK. Somebody made it in response to another poster who supposedly has inside information about next year's away kit.

Does Ferguson always say "well done Geoff" after his interviews? He did it before and after the match today. Bizarre.

Well that was a very disappointing result and performance. We seemed to be very laboured in everything we did. I initially thought we were keeping the ball well and once tiring them out we would really up the tempo in the second half but the game became scrappy, we lost control and nothing materialised. I think Xabi's absence was an obvious reason for our lack of control and the number of times we squnadered posession was shocking. Sadly I think we'll see a few more games like that this season and to win the league we'll need the others to drop points in similar situations and for us to continue getting good results against our rivals. It's going to be tough but then I think it was always going to be that way.

I've changed my mind somewhat since I first heard about it yesterday. Maybe that's down to reading a lot of chest-thumping posts on here but I think there's truth to it. My initial reaction was one of concern but I'm happy to admit that I think that's a result of my own insecurities and fears of us ending up with 'egg on our face' if it all goes wrong. Basically, not the attitude of winners. I like what aka Dus said about us not being able to sneak away with the title in the background. If we're going to win it we will have to go toe to toe with our rivals. It's a statement from Rafa that we're ready to do battle and to give as good as we get.

They're pretty much my own thoughts on this. Part of me feels a little uncomfortable about it and that's probably partly because of my own non-confrontational nature and also perhaps the concern that since we've been quite happily going about our business with some success so far, that anything to change the dynamic may potentially upset the apple cart. That said, I too take a measure of comfort from the fact that Rafa is a very methodical, meticulate man and he must fully believe that this will benefit the team over the course of the remainder of the season.

This content is not viewable to guests.