dl2009

His bracketed comments alone are articles within themselves. Why has he completely misrepresented Carra? Jamie said nowt about leaving if he wasn't 'played regularly'. He said that he'd have to look for another club if his contract wasn't renewed.

TB and Reade both offered to have his letter published in their respective newspapers, but Xabi refused. His reasoning was that he'd either like the club (Rafa) to approve it via official channels like they have for other players or not publish it at all.

- - - - - - - - Reina [ Back line 15 yards higher up the pitch than usual] Johnson - Skrtel* - Carra - Agger** - - - - - - - - Masch - Babel - - - Gerrard - - - Riera - - - - - - Pacheco - - - - - - - - - - Torres *I'd be tempted to put Kelly in there **Anything to get Insua out of the team

That makes you sound completely deluded. Proper Tomkins proportions.

I actually think that our central midfielders are making him look bad. At the match, you can see the amount of great runs he makes, yet the likes of Lucas (mostly), Masch and even Gerrard fail to find him. Subsequently, it looks like he goes missing for large spells of the game. He still needs a couple of matches to settle in and find his place in the team. It would most certainly help if we had better and quicker distribution from the middle and someone like Riera hugging the opposite flank. Maxi is a very good player and I'm sure he'll prove it in time. Unfortunately, this team being in the position it finds itself cannot afford the time.

The goateed one

The only things that have changed defensively are: - Johnson getting injured (he was playing far more conservatively anyway prior to his injury) - Some of our other defenders regaining fitness and form - The Greek instilling some much needed leadership and battling qualities As for the defensive line, it's exactly the same as towards the start of the season. In fact, I remember speaking to someone about us being able to push up 15 yards higher once Agger regained fitness - this was when we were in okay-ish form near the start of the season. The midfield duo of Lucas & Masch have never been expressive with the runs, so I don't see how they have become 'more conservative'. Quite the opposite in Lucas' case; he's made more runs beyond the strikers recently than he has done during any other stage of his career here. No, we've been playing pretty much the same way all season, it's just that our defenders are playing with more confidence and they've had a run of consecutive games relatively injury free. Our team ethos this season has been a cautious, defensive one and the injury situation has, imo, affected the manager who has made quite a few mistakes in team selection and set up. Aurelio's lack of fitness has affected us far more than I'd originally anticipated as Insua's concentration and positional sense are flaws that almost every team this season has tried to exploit.

That's an extremely fatalistic viewpoint. Our style of play, or indeed lack of it, has contributed towards us struggling to finish above lesser rivals. Shoring up the defence by keeping most of our outfield players on a tight leash and only creating 2 or 3 chances a game (if that) is not the sort of tactical or strategic implementation I'd like to see. There are ways to tighten up defensively without sacrificing attacking intent.

He was definitely on the radar of some top continental clubs, but he wasn't a World renowned talent (like Rooney was, for example).

I'm unsure whether you're trying to equate Anelka pre-Arsenal to the Atletico Madrid Torres?

Edited for accuracy.

Not all of his game time was as a centre forward; he played lots of times on the left too. Torres was already an outstanding prospect (playing for a relatively poor team) before he came to Anfield. It wasn't a stroke of genius to identify his talent and bring him here, neither was it a risk free move. Rafa did well - especially with the price, but it wasn't a Wenger-Anelka type thing.

He worked hard today and closed down space. I don't think we got the ball early enough or accurately enough to either of our wide men to have a chance at isolating their fullbacks. He deserves another go, but as above, I agree that Stevie needs to be dropped back next to Masch in order to start off our attacks and inject some pace from the middle of the pitch.

He's always been a better player on the right then on the left. He works incredibly hard and has a terrific shot. His movement is also top class. He hasn't fully settled in yet (difficult enough as a new signing, but a January signing usually takes a bit more time). As pointed out above, he thrives in teams with good movement, so he's obviously going to struggle to make an impact at the minute.

I'm struggling to believe how the overly cautious, defensively minded and negative game plan we've seen for the last [insert time frame here] is being defended. Being solid defensively and attacking with purpose, intent and frequency are not mutually exclusive concepts. Our greatest defensive failing was our failure to deal with set pieces and remedying that situation should not necessitate down sizing our attacking options or reigning in our commitment to press forward.

If you play for a draw, it's all too easy to make a single mistake and concede.

I think your retort demonstrates that you're so preoccupied with being defensive, that your comprehension skills suffer. Take your first sentence, it bears no relation to the point I expressed. I said that what he did for Roma does not matter when it comes to what he does for Liverpool. This is a very simple truism, no? If he has a stinker for us (as I believe he did), we won't talk about the goal he scored against Palermo is 07/08, will we? I did not say that you cannot use his performances at his previous club to assess what kind of player he is. So why create a straw man argument? It does your stance no benefit.

What he did for Roma has no bearing on what he does for Liverpool. I'm not dismissing his good performances for his previous club, but his exploits for Roma matter not one jot when it comes to his displays at Liverpool. Also, not wanting to sound argumentative, but judgements on a player's ability are best weighted according to the quality of analysis, not necessarily on a quantitative assessment. After all, you can see a player a hundred times, but if you don't know your footy, the subsequent judgement on the player's ability will be pretty s***. Not saying that the last sentence applies to you.

I watched Morientes in La Liga and in France, but I could tell after 3 or 4 games that he wouldn't make it here. Now I'm not saying that Aquilani will go the same way, or that anyone's initial assessment of him is correct/incorrect. What I'm trying to demonstrate is that just because you've seen him in Italy, it doesn't lend your opinion of his performances here any more weight, nor does it render your prediction of his potential success/failure here any more substantial. BTW - Up until last season, I used to follow Seria A quite closely and I certainly didn't think that Aquilani was that special.

Tonight wasn't a premier league paced game though and he still looked well below standard.

I thought he had an excellent cameo performance. He took players on, unsettled their back line, gave us a more dynamic and direct approach and set up a goal. He also tracked back effectively and closed down space when they had the ball. Well done Rio.

Give him time. Though he doesn't look like he 'fits'. Based upon this performance, his team mates seem reluctant to pass to him, for some reason. He doesn't run, he can't tackle and his passing isn't all that great - a 20 yard sideways pass is still a sideways pass. Worrying, but give him time. Would it be worth investing the game time in Pacheco instead?

Which player's tunnel were you stewarding?

"Hiddink raped my cat" ?

"Blow me, f**kace" ?