TheDrowningMan

The thing that would confuse me is if the old contract didn't have a legally enforceable release clause, why the fuck would we insert one mid-way through his best ever season? For such a paltry price, too? It doesn't ring true because the level of incompetence - nay, gross negligence - would be positively spellbinding.

As much as I fear we'll lose him, keeping Suarez can be a catalyst for other top signings - we have a much better chance of snaring someone like Sanchez if he's coming to play with Suarez. On the other hand, if he goes, it probably looks a safer bet for such players to go to Arsenal or even the Mancs now that they have a competent manager again.

I notice that some Spanish rags are back to their favourite pastime of suggesting that Suarez is on his way, with Barca and Real only having to bid £52m to trigger a release clause. £68m for any other side.

Realistic. Unfortunately.

Or he's going to continue banging them in making it impossible - rather than 'very unlikely' as it is at the moment - for us to keep hold of him.

It's going to be tough holding on to Suarez. I'm fully expecting him to be lining up alongside Gareth Bale next season. That way, it'll be a lovely surprise if he's still at Anfield.

How many World Cup goals is that for Rooney now?

Indeed. It must have been terrifying. As for Wright himself - overbearing as he can sometimes be - I've always found him to be a pretty honest & decent character, unlike a lot of the agenda riddled twats. He definitely didn't jump on the media bandwagon when Suarez was persona non grata.

Ian Wright's World Cup is over. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-27920007

Just in time for his big move to Chelsea.

Spain are by far the worst side to ever try and defend a World Cup. France & Italy can feel a bit better about their recent attempts now.

I was getting worried about losing him a few minutes ago. I actually forgot for a bit that we're back in the CL after almost winning the league.

This is his first one.

This is a woefully unbalanced team. Rooney's selection is puzzling; you're effectively leaving a huge chunk of the pitch wide open for the opposition to exploit.

He's been appointed now.

Signed.

Why would you want Zidane when you've got Tim Sherwood?

Top 4 is definitely an expectation now, I think. It's tough to win the title, so getting within a few points is always good, as far as I'm concerned. Domestic cups aren't to be prioritised until we're out of the CL, at least. It's a question of balance, and unfortunately they've been relegated to the sort of status they enjoy in many other European countries. Lose an FA Cup final and you're over it quickly nowadays, narrowly miss out on the league or CL and it's in the pit of your stomach for a lot longer. Fall out of the top four - particularly due to a porous defence - and it would be time for tough decisions regarding the management. I don't think it will come to that unless we really cock up and lose key players this summer.

Reading some fans' thoughts on Lallana's potential departure over at saintsweb.co.uk, I particularly enjoyed this one: "I understand Adam to Liverpool more than Shaw to Manyoo, who have no manager and no European football to tempt him with."

I hope his career follows a similar trajectory to Bale's, minus the season in the Champions League prior to his departure.

Fuck off; 24.5m. Anyone who suggests going higher scarcely deserves to draw breath.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/chelsea/mourinho-was-right-chelsea-are-champions-30265201.html :)

Yes, of course. Admittedly, there are questions to be asked - Rodgers still not showing any evidence that he's capable of organising a defence being the main one - but unless we slip straight out of the top four next season, I'll remain confident that he's the man to lead us to greater things.

We weren't quite good enough from August to January. That's all. Perhaps it bodes well that we finished the season spectacularly - regardless of the way it was lost - rather than 'doing an Arsenal' and flushing a good start away. The defence needs to improve radically, and that's going to require Rodgers to tweak his style and, perhaps, bring in a coach who can deal effectively with that side of the game.

Find a slightly better balance between attack and defence, and we'll be back next season.