micmij

Where'd you see the highlights, Lee?

Good points, Lee. In particular, he actually needs to do less to really get up there with the greats (if that makes any sense). At the moment he tries to do everything and be everywhere himself - sometimes at the expense of the team's shape. He needs to mature a little further and choose the time to get involved in the play. I think that would benefit everybody.

Hear, hear! Sounded fantastic over the net!

Thanks for the reply - hopefully the 'several posters' are right.

Any reason why this post has been over-looked? I have no idea who the poster is (in fact, I know nobody full-stop), but he's been around for a while and is a sponsor, so should be reasonably trustworthy. Just wondering....

You can still go in and edit your original post to make it easier on the eye.... Anyway.... I don't agree with you 100%. I certainly think that Rafa has his eye on the long term picture - that's what a good manager does (not just in football, but any business). If he had fleeting success and then struggled it would hardly serve his ambitions/career well, would it? However, I certainly don't think that he would risk dropping any points at any time until we are assured of Champions League football (at least). Sure, there's some decisions that he's made that we may feel have cost us points and it's easy to point at a particular substitution as being the catalyst to conceeding late goals, but it may have happened anyway. He has plenty of other ways to mould his squad and test players rather than play Russian roulette in the last few minutes of matches.

I didn't know Sly Stallone was English - you learn something everyday!

1. Kewell 2. Reina 3. Crouch

1. Hamann 2. Fowler 3. Carragher

That's awesome! My dad probably would have killed me if I'd done that, but then again I wasn't even smart enough to try.... I'll be very surprised if the club don't try and extend Kewell's contract considering the form he's in at the moment. Sorting it out before the World Cup should surely be a priority, too. If the club leaves it until after they can only be losers. Just say he has a great World Cup, he'd have greater bargaining power for higher wages and greater transfer options. With his contract running low(ish) he could conceivably hold out for the move he wants, at the price he wants. On the other hand, if he has a poor World Cup, nothing much changes as far as Kewell and the club are concerned. And even if he does sign an extension that still wouldn't stop us from cashing in if there were some big offers after the World Cup.

And the Aussies come out of the woodwork.... Exactly, ozziecazzie, exactly. Harry's been criticised for everything from not tracking back to having a stupid haircut, to not being worthy of the 7 shirt. He starts putting together a good run of performances and the praise is uncomfortably positive for some. For crying out loud, he's playing well, the team's playing well and we're winning games. He's chipping in with goals and assists, and generally helping the shape of the team. I'm just thankful for that for now. Oh, and Garcia RULES!!!! So there....