Magix

Better passing and movement from us now.

Someone needs to graft Garcia's brain and left peg onto Downing. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make Liverpool's first functioning left winger in decades.

thisisreallynotianayre@ianayre.net

Had high hopes for Downing. Thought he would be an upgrade on Riera, with a bit more pace and directness, having excelled in the middle. We needed someone like Downing, a steady Eddy, on one flank, and someone like Hazard, a potential blue blood matchwinner, on the other. Hazard's more hype than established. The potential for greatness is certainly there. Just too much transfer speculation to his name.

The reality is half and half - for me at least. Net spend was indeed modest but you can't say Kenny wasn't backed to the hilt. And we'd a real shot at 4th, seeing how terrible Chelsea and Arsenal were early on, only to prove more terrible than * gasp * than Newcastle. I'm disappointed at our league form, obviously, but continuity is key, and Kenny deserves another season to turn it around. I believe the whole Suarez fiasco really threw a king-size spanner into the works - we can't overestimate how dressing room morale was shaken by the entire affair.

... which is a damning indictment of our summer spending really. The best XI picture has hardly changed.

Getting Suarez proves we're still a top draw for the next-to-best players. Identifying the Llorentes and Martinezes before they become household names, or getting the Van der Vaarts, those who have played at the highest rung but lost their way a little - isn't this what Moneyball is supposed to be? How did transfer policy go from Suarez to Downing? Considering their price tags are in a similar range.

It's been worrying, hasn't it? Where is the Kenny of last season's late run? That Kenny was fantastic in all he did and said.

Utter dross. Shambolic display. Same cut and paste comments from how many post-match threads this season.

Considering the level of competition these days and where we were just a year back, two cups and fifth place would be a massive achievement. Still, the manner of football and the lack of fight is frightfully shocking at times. Kenny can be excused from the former charge, to an extent: a newish squad gelling, his tactical nous adjusting to the modern game. The latter, however, is less excusable. Isn't Kenny one of the best man managers there is? (Or he was.)

If there's any responsibility to be held for the current squad strength (or the lack of it), it has to be shared equally by the manager, the DOF and the owners. The manager for failing to improve the players, the DOF for sanctioning the purchases, especially the big ticket ones, the owners for not opening the purse strings in January, when an injection of talent could have freshened our league form. Predicating this on the fact I know zip about the real behind-the-scenes.

Think the issue people take with Henderson is not so much his ability -- there's a player in there, just time is needed to coax him out -- but why he was bought with big money ahead of players who could slot into the first team in the here and now. One could argue the reported 14-16mil should be chump change for the likes of us. But in our current situation, out of the CL with stadium plans to come, we can't afford small change.

May he continue his score-one-match-deciding-goal streak.

Predicting a narrow 5-1 win to us. Narrow cos it'll be 1-1 down to the wire before Carroll/Maxi/Downing puts 4 past them in the game's dying embers.

I don't. It's all armchair fan supposition. Dirk is a proven, big-game player. A lionheart -- you don't go "team spirit" without mentioning Dirk's name. But Dirk is a player dependent on his Duracell battery endurance, his physical attributes, who needs to be played continuously in order to reach his peak form. Now, he's a bit-role player, in an important bit-role, mind you. Fading legs, first-team wages, yet probably still brimming with the fire for first-team action. Can we afford to keep him around? Heart says hell yeah, head says depends on on how deep our pockets are. Maxi is more equipped to play the squad role. Sure, he doesn't score big game goals and often disappears. But he's a goal threat, and brings tidy pass and move to the side. Even if he doesn't or can't provide the matchwinning moment, he can facilitate it. His one-two with Suarez for the opener against the Potters is a case in point. For this point of view to have any kind of legs, I'm presuming his wages to be sizeably lower than Dirk's though. If I could, I would keep both. Aquilani and Meireles informs me otherwise.

Couldn't agree more. Which means the fans need to take a Gandhi-like patience in assessing Flanagan and other young players.

I'd love for both to stay another season and fatten the trophy trough together, but if it comes down to either or, I'd be hard pressed. Head says Maxi, heart says Dirk. Love Dirk to bits, but Maxi is the more effective -- and cost-effective -- over-30 player.

I think it would be some time before Flanagan recaptures his standout form from his breakthrough; the dreaded second season syndrome is rearing all kinds of ugly with his patchy showing so far this season. Compounding things is his lack of physical attributes: He's not as built as Kelly nor as speedy as Robinson. He's a latter-day Carragher. And like the main man before, Flanagan could turn out to be some player for us -- down the road, if management and us give him the chance to.

Ah, sorry, clean forgotten it's nearly April now! Having survived till now, Hughes is practically a born and bred super hoops. Spearing should keep in his place in the middle of the park; solid to superb performances and fresh legs he brings to the side. Adam should continue to keep his place on the bench, and observe how to keep things simple and ticking on the pitch. Whether Flanagan makes the first eleven is an interesting one. Last season Kenny's hand was forced. Now he has a choice.

Scoring a winner and securing a crucial cup tie is a good start in the right direction. Keep the goals coming, lad.

All right, a stern test for our run of decent form. Team with a new manager always makes for a feisty challenge.