Alias75

Think thats likely in the short term, but Hicks being here today does not mean DIC are out of the picture.

Its not a fact he may have been over here to see Parry about something, maybe short term he will replace Foster Gillett, but lets wait and see what happens.

I think its obvious that some of these kids will get their chance, why else would Rafa be so hands on with recruitment etc.. but we must also remember that the vast majority of players in the reserves have only been here for a very short time. Some of the first batch like Anderson, Hobbs, Antwi have been out on loan to Championship sides and i think its more likely that one or two of those will be in the first team squad next season. Theres also Insua whose still very young and has played in the first team. So i expect quite a few to go out on loan next season to get used to playing week in week out in England and then those that impress will get their chance. But theres more talent in the reserves and 18s than i can ever remember, and it only needs 2 or 3 of them to become first team players and the club has saved millions.

Think we have to be realistic unless we get new owners and they want to make a statement we're not going to be able to afford 3 or 4 top quality Torres level players. Maybe if we sell Alonso we can afford 2 players in this price range, personally id go for Alves (id play Arbeloa on the left) and a top quality partner for Torres like David Villa. Looking at slightly cheaper alternatives that are realistic how about Stuart Downing, certainly an improvement on Kewell and Riise on the left, he scores and creates and has shown signs that he could be a good player. He wants out too so he could be someone we could get fairly cheaply. Similarly someone like James Milner is someone that im always impressed with, and in a poor team his attitude is always spot on and hes still very young and will improve. Im sure people will say that type of player isnt good enough for us but at the moment we can't go out and buy 4 20 million players, but both those english players i mentioned would improve the team.

Think the main difference between them is while Momo might have 1 great game every 10 Mascherano plays to a consistently high level week after week. I think hes been our most consistent player this season.

think theres a 3rd/4th place playoff

Hes a similar build to Mascherano and i think he could model his game on Masch. Personally i think he'll make it here, his attitude is very reminiscent of Carragher and i think through sheer hard work and desire he'll become a top player. His attitude is first class and he has good quality on the ball. Id like to see him out on loan maybe next season but personally id have no worries with him being 4th /5th choice central midfield. With 7 subs in the PL next season hes someone that could get his chance.

It would have been strange if we knew Alonso was suspended this week for him not to figure at all against Sunderland, knowing how Benitez works that doesnt make much sense.

Think it'll be something like this... ......................Reina............................ Finnan.......Carragher..Hyppia..............Riise ..............Mascherano...Lucas.................. Pennant.............Gerrard.....................Babel ........................Crouch............................ Swap Torres for Crouch if hes ok and it could be Carra at fullback again and Skrtel at center back, and it could be Benayoun for Pennant, but i think this is the formation we'll see.

Hes clearly the long term replacement for Dalla Valle

When Rafa's spent big money hes got it right far more often than hes got it wrong, lets just say we get 35-40 million for Gerrard we already have a strong midfield 3 in Alonso, Mascherano, Lucas that money could buy 2 attacking midfielders which we desperately need, and thats before we even talk about the 5 or 6 other players we could sell to raise money. I don't think any fan would even contemplate selling stevie if he was fully motivated and giving everything but at the moment theres been too many examples of him standing hands on hips or moaning at other players, hes that good that even when hes like this hes still one of our best players but i do wonder how much of a negative effect he has on the younger players around him. At the moment Mascherano is playing like the captain and hes the one playing like hes been at the club since he was a kid.

What your forgetting is that if Gerrard was sold the money could be used to bring in 2 world class players so it doesnt necessarily follow that selling him makes us a worse team it depends who we bring in with that money. Who knows it may also galvanise the squad if he is a negative influence.

Think this is important we know from his time at Valencia and here he doesnt get close to the players thats why a #2 is an important link from the manager to the players, without it all we have is the manager whose player skills aren't the best, its probably not surprising a few players have started to sulk a bit and question him, we know during his time at Valencia many of the players didnt like him but that didnt stop them playing for him. I think its quite telling that at least 3 of the players that may be questioning Rafa are English (add Crouch to Stevie and Carra) and i think theres certainly a cultural difference between the UK based players and overseas players and i do think in general the non British players behave in a much more professional manner on and off the pitch and when they speak to the media.

Exactly it sets a dangerous precedent where one player becomes more important than the manager, look at how that effected a team like Newcastle whereby a manager dropping Shearer got the sack not long after is that what we want here? It'd be interesting to know when this unhappiness started i doubt it was after the CL win or the FA Cup win or even last season when we got to another CL final, even at the start of the season the team was playing well and winning well, whats changed things? We know that Stevie's got a pretty big ego and its no secret that he wouldn't care less if Rafa gets fired or not but id be very surprised if Carragher is anyway involved in briefing the press. Personally i dont care which players are involved id always side with the manager over the players in this type of situation. Its the managers job to manage the players, in our case we have a manager with a proven track record at the very highest level, who are players to think they know better? The manager wants to win and no one at the club works more hours trying to achieve that than Rafa, the players in question need to have a good hard look at themselves. Does that mean the manager is free of any criticism? of course not but its not the players jobs to decide when its time for a new manager.

You think Rafa doesnt want to win either? Do Carragher and Stevie think they can manage the team better than Rafa?

So you think Carragher or Gerrard knows more about management than Rafa? They are players and should concentrate on playing, i understand senior players having some input and maybe airing grievances with the manager but as far as i can see it we have a couple of players that question the way hes doing things and theres certainly 3 or 4 players that aren't giving maximum effort for Rafa thats unacceptable whatever you think about the manager as fans the minimum we should expect from our players especially local players is total commitment every time they put that shirt on.

Its not the players job to manage the team, its their job to play to the best of their ability, give their all on the pitch, and if their senior players like Stevie and Carragher, encourage and motivate the players around them. This season we've seen Stevie sulking more than ever, and a few games ago we had Carra and Stevie looking at themselves in shock when Lucas came on, whats that going to do to a young players confidence if they see that? These are the 2 players we as fans should be able to rely on to get the team motivated every week instead it looks like they're the 2 at the forefront of the discontent and its showing on the pitch. Its not the players job to question tactics or substitutions and before they question Rafa maybe they ought to look at their own performances this season because certainly in Carra's case theres definitely an argument that hes not playing to the required level of this club.

Not sure if Guthries good enough to be a regular here, hes neat and tidy and works very hard but is that enough? Id have no problems with him being 4th or 5th choice here but you have to ask yourself would he be happy with that now hes a regular in a PL side? Think Spearing should be promoted to the first team squad, think he could be good backup for Mascherano and i think he should try and model his game on Masch as someone thats a similar build to Spearing with similar attributes.

Im pretty sure Stevie, Carragher, probably Crouch and maybe 1 or 2 others are in the minority but they are obviously very influential players. Most of the squad thats here was signed by Rafa and i think the vast majority of the players he signed are still behind him, some of them like Kuyt might not be playing too well at the moment but he strikes me as a top pro that will always give everything he has, thats the type of character we need in the team at the moment. If its a choice between Stevie and Carragher or Rafa id side with Rafa to be honest, Carragher has been a great servant for this club but hes not irreplaceable in fact i think Sami Hyppia has been much better than him this season, Stevie is obviously a great player but i do worry about his influence at the club, he is only one player after all i get the impression there are a couple of players with too much influence here that either need to be reminded that they are just players or need to be moved on for the good of everyone.

What do women know about "soccer"

Read the title and thought you were going to "Blame It On the Boogie" :)

In regards to not selling Crouch and Riise in the window, if we couldnt get replacements for them, its a tough decision because Rafa may think he needs them to get 4th place, and the money we'd lose out on for not getting CL football would be greater than any loss in value for these players.

Not sure about that you have to remember that Stevie and Carragher are in the minority in the squad in that they weren't signed by Rafa, i still think the majority of the players want to play for Rafa but obviously Stevie and Carra being local lads have a lot of influence. I also think its quite telling that it seems to be the English players (Stevie, Carra, Crouch) that seem to have the biggest problem with Rafa. As for choosing these 2 players over a manager im not so sure, i think its easier to replace those 2 players than get a top manager in. Carragher is showing signs that he may be on the way down anyway, certainly his form this season has been poor, and while Stevie is obviously a great player lets say we get 30-35 million for him, that can buy you 2 world class players and it also gets rid of someone that looks like they have an unhealthy influence on the squad at the moment. the way Rafa does things relies on having 16-17 players that are pretty much all equal, they all have their role in the team, if 2 or 3 are not putting in the effort it has a knock on effect, if you looked at the Valenica team he managed there were no real superstars and it was full of good pros.

Yes thats what worries me the most the level of team performance in the last few months has been so poor, its only because we have a few top individuals that we can get away with it. The question is whose to blame for that? Rafa picks the players and formation but once they play its their responsibility, its not Rafa's fault that we pass it so poorly, or the movement off the ball is so poor, this is stuff you learn when you first play football you don't need to be told to pass it to a team mate and move into good positions. Its clear some of the players aren't busting a gut for the manager which is disappointing especially as it seems like a couple of local lads are leading the way. Ask yourself one question if Mourinho took over tomorrow do you have any doubts that certain players would all of a sudden find an extra 10-15%? That tells you that some players aren't giving everything they have which is sad to accept. I still think we have a core of players here that will play for the manager, Reina, Hyppia, Arbeloa, Skrtel, Mascherano, Alonso, Lucas, Torres, Kuyt, Babel, Pennant. Maybe Rafa needs to identify those that aren't 100% committed and make some tough decisions.

You answered your own post here, the argument was is Gerrard a world class central midfield player and you said name me a better "all round midfielder" thats not the same thing. Central midfield is a specialist position, someone like Fabregas plays that position better than Gerrard ever has, you have to get the balance right between being able to dictate the pace of the play, bring others into the game, choose the right times to support the forwards etc.. I think Gerrard plays his best football when he has license to drift, his strengths are all about making those bursting runs, his delivery from wide right is excellent, and hes always a goal threat, in my opinion thats best utilised in a freer role starting on the right. I think its a very British thing that players label themselves as central midfielders or centre backs and thats it, someone like Gerrard could play 3 or 4 positions equally well but he has it in his mind that hes a central midfielder and tends to sulk if he isnt played there. We should be concerned about whats best for the TEAM not whats best for Steven Gerrards ego, the truth is if Stevie is playing well fully motivated hes going to be a huge influence on this team wherever he plays.