Chief Robert

Completely agree. I think the Captain in any team needs to show leadership in every sense. Captain should have been speaking calmly to Bennet on behalf of the team and also telling Masch to calm down.

Why wouldn't we just re-use whatever precedent ManYoo used when signing Tevez? If it's water tight for them then we are in the clear then also?

They are ripping into Parry now again (The Scarlet Pimpernel)... DJ is defending Parry...

"Its an exciting time for fans"...

The 2 lads have obviously been told what to say... Can't believe they are saying what they are saying...

At this stage I would say it's pretty obvious no-one has a clue who Rafa is trying to sign, or wants to sign. Bascombe obviously is not in the loop, has to generate column inches and is spinning tripe. He's been wrong on most things this summer, and as someone said seems to have the same agenda, with the same column but different "target" name each week. As for this weeks "targets" - remember a couple of months ago Graham Hunter said that if he was Rafa, he's try to sign both the Milito's. While the striker Milito (can't remember which is the striker and which is the defender) doesn't have the reputation that Villa, Etoo or Torres has he's apparently a great fit for the Premiership. I haven't seen him, so can't tell, but maybe some of the La Liga watchers on here can comment on him? He seems quite prolific, is he?

I've seen alot of people on this Forum post that Carra and Agger are not in need of competition. I just honestly don't understand that. Our options if one of them gets injured or suspended is Hyppia, or possibly one from Arbeloa, Paletta, or one of the kids. It's almost like people are afraid to spend in that area despite seeing what happened to Chelski this season when Terry got injured. While I agree that it's not a priority position for us to fill - I don't see any harm in getting Milito in to add to the competition for places. I would only have a problem with bringing in competition for the CB position if it prevented us signing someone for a Wing or CF position.

Without in any way wanting to sound disrespectful to Sami - I would be crapping it if he had to partner either Carra or Agger next season in a CB position. While aerially he's still sound, he has no pace left at all now and I think would be a liability if we genuinely want to call ourselves title contenders especially if either one of Carra or Agger ever picked up an injury that ruled them out for 5 or 6 games (or longer God forbid). I'd love to have someone like Milito come in and challenge both Carra and Agger. While both have been good for us this season, we've seen in the CM's positions how the arrival of Mascherano has suddenly moved Momo down the pecking order. None of us really thought that would be possible around Xmas time - and now many on here dont seem too upset at the prospect of Momo moving on. It just goes to show that when we bring in real class alternatives to the present starting 11 - we may have to accept some of the players will be replaced by better players. So if Milito comes in I'd be delighted. If that means Sami moves on, while I'd be sad, I'd think it was in the best interests of the team.

Whatever about people on Forums calling for Mass Clear-outs, the only person whose decision matters in all of this is Rafa. Report prior to last night suggested up to 7 Departures regardless of whether the CL was won or lost. 7 players - including Robbie and Dudek. That leaves 5. If Zenden and Gonzalez also go, along with Carson - the core of the squad isn't going to have changed. None of these 3 have played many games for us all season (Carson hasn't played for us at all) so no major impact here. So if 2 more players go - then I don't see this as major overhaul or clear-out unless they are people like Reina, Finnan, Carra, Alonso, Gerrard etc. If they are the other sort of players who you couldn't for certainty name in LFC's best 11 - then so be it. And with this clearout will come some fresh faces with better quality hopefully - so I don't see this an anything more than an improvement in the Squad.

You got me going but I was thinking of another thread I saw on here not so long back... My post wasn't directed at you!

I cringe when I see post here asking whether Harry "deserves" to play in the final. Why would he not "deserve" to play? Is it his fault he has suffered alot of injuries, or was he just unlucky with them? If he was unlucky - doesn't he "deserve" a change in his luck? For me, when he is fit he is probably the best LM we have at the club, and possibly in the Premiership. We have been very unlucky to have had him out injured for so long. We "deserve" to see our best players playing in our most important matches. To be honest I think some of the criticism Kewell gets on here is way OTT, and undeserved. He's been unlucky with injuries - full stop. Some people have judged him based on some performances he has made when has hasn't been fully fit -IMO. I don't know about that. Don't think Rafa will be confirming anything to Milan or anyone ourside the squad until he sends his teamsheet in 30 minutes before kick-off, despite his quotes over the weekend. I think Harry might be a suprise selection on the night.

Apart from Zenden - I think thats possibly our strongest line-up. I know Pennant is a shock inclusion - but if we are playing Crouch we need crosses. I think Alonso is very unlucky, but he hasn't been on best of form. This game is made for Gerrard to play like he did against Olympiacos, but for me to choose between Alonso and Mascherano, at the moment I'd go for Mascherano. Wish Kewell had played his first game 2 weeks ago so we could get him out there instead of Zenden...

Okay I'm in the dark but who does own Tevez now then? Is it WHU or MSI? I thought the whole 5.5 million had cleared that up (didn't pay attention to which way either). And if it is MSI - then how much do you think he'd go for after the season he's had. I wouldn't think anywhere close to the 10M??? How much did they pay for him in the first place? And would we get a discount from them if we bought both Mascherano and Tevez at the same time? Who will we end up buying Mascherano from if we do buy him??? Buy 1, get 1 free?

I used to think Saviola would have been a great buy for us a few years back - but now I'd much rather Tevez. As some have said on here - he's built like Rooney for a start where Saviola is very light. Much more suited to the Premiership. Also, Tevez has now played for a season in the Premiership and after a slow start is now settling in nicely. I think both players are not exactly prolific in terms of percentages of scores/opportunities. But I think Tevez is slightly ahead. And Tevez does seem to be fairly handy at set pieces as well... I'd love it if we could get Tevez. If West Ham go down as well I'm sure he couldn't cost that much. And with all the other Argies at the club here I'm sure we'd be one of his preferred destinations if West Ham do go down...

I thought Agger was going to flip too but I was worried about it. Drogba had obviously gotten under Aggers skin, and Agger was loosing his concentration. Everyone knew he was doing to dive around and play up with his usual antics - Agger shouldn't have let it get to him. Unfortunately, as someone else said, Drogba had the last laugh.

Very funny you mention Milito. Maybe a few other Irish based reds heard the same interview, but Graham Hunter was talking on Newstalk a week or two back on the rumour connecting Eto'o and Liverpool. Hunter was adamant that there was no way Eto'o would be leaving Barca despite Ballague bringing it up a few times. Hunter half suggested that Ballague was doing Rafa a favour in raising the bar a little in terms of expectations with the new owners. Nothing suprising in any of this - but they then asked Hunter if he had heard of anyone from La Liga being connected with Liverpool. The answer was really weird by Hunters standards. He said he hadn't heard of anyone being connected with Liverpool, but if he was Rafa, he'd buy the 2 Milito's. He went on about how both would really fit in with both Liverpools style of play and with the Premiership in general. I don't know what the rest of you make of Graham Hunter, but I tend to find him normally pretty honest and straight talking. I was just really suprised at the time that he answered the question so unusually. Was waiting to hear if anyone else had heard of any link to the Milito's and lo and behold what do I see on here today except....

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Thats what I was thinking. Or give Kewell a run if he's even only 1/2 fit. That was hard to watch...

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I think the 3 CM's does give us balance in central midfield - with a comination of Alonso and Momo playing slightly behind Stevie who is further forward. The problem with this is we then loose penetration further up the field, especially on the wings. We don't have the players on the wings to provide enough ammo to someone like Kuyt if he was to play upfront on his own. And playing with only 1 up front hasn't worked for us in the past because of this. Based on the squad we have today I'd assume someone like Harry Kewell (when fully fit) would be the ideal solution on the left wing. And an equivalent to Harry (which I don't think Pennant is) on the Right. For example: -----Momo----------Alonso---------- -------------Stevie------------------- RW---------------------------------LW -------Dirk/Crouch/Bellamy--------- But making this work means we have to fill a number of positions with new players. So is it easier for Rafa for now just to play the 4-4-2 and play Gerrard on the right? In my opinion yes.

Any update on Mascherano? I haven't seen anything more of it anywhere, since Bascombe hinted at it in this piece. Anyone heard anything?

Would rather see Sami on the bench for the game against Chelski - Drogba has had the upper hand on him for the last few games. I'd rather see Agger and Carra at CB and get Riise into LB if he's fit.