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Not usre how true this is but Guillem Ballague was on Sky Sports this morning and said that Benitez has done a deal for Xavi Olonso from Real Sociedad. He was suppossed to be joinging Real Madrid. I myself don't know much about, does anyone else? Ballague siad he was a box midfielder who plays in a deeper role than SG, he is only 21yrs old and he reckons that he will be playing for Spain for the next 10yrs. What do you lot think of this? Ballague has really good sources and doesn't seem to make things up. Remember he was also one of the first to say Benitez was coming.

Just noticed I've got a few. How do I trade them in for a car? How many do I need for a playstation? Are they the same as Air miles? So many questions, so little time!

Just over a week ago we played really well against them, yet somehow ended up on the wrong end of a 3-0 beating. I hope we go with our strongest possible team for this one, I think City are there for the taking with the likes of Kompany and Yaya Toure missing. Reina Johnson Agger Skrtel Enrique Spearing Henderson Bellamy Gerrard Maxi Carroll

When Alonso inevitably leaves I think Benitez might have to consider changing our approach to the way we play slightly. The fact is at present the majority of our play goes through Alonso – He is the player who takes the ball off our centre backs, he is the central midfielder who is always free and willing to have the ball. Not to mention the fact he feeds Gerrard and our wide midfielders. Sure he doesn’t get many assists, however he does make us tick, gives our side control and is often the player who makes the telling pass before the assist… similar to Xavi at Barcelona. Now Benitez can go for a like for like replacement, however just looking at the thread on possible replacements for Alonso, it is clear – that there aren’t many (if any) who are good enough, within our budget or would be willing to come to Anfield. But it is clear Mascherano needs a ‘footballer’ alongside him who can pass well, make our side play and pull the strings in midfield. Personally I think given there are very few options, then we’d be better off putting Gerrard back into midfield, rather than relying on Lucas or an inferior replacement for Alonso. The reason for this is if we are not controlling games, then Gerrard is pretty much wasted playing so high up the field as he is not involved fully in the game. He’s our best player and we need him on the ball as much as possible, giving him as much chance to stamp his authority on games and ultimately influence them. It also might give our side a new dimension in attack, as Alonso wasn’t really contributing in terms of goals and assists, as Gerrard can provide. I do think Benitez will be reluctant to break up the Torres / Gerrard combination and who can blame him, as it is arguably the best in the world. However that is not to say other players could link up well with Torres, as Yossi showed last season. I also think there are far more attacking players who are more likely to link up well with Torres, than there are top central midfielders who can offer what Alonso was. This is why I’d look to put Gerrard back into the centre. Gerrard is not the indisciplined youngster that Rafa inherited when he came to the club. He’s matured and shown he can play the more disciplined role in centre midfield. The last few season’s he wasn’t needed in the middle as we had the luxury of having a brilliant combination in Alonso and Mascherano. However now it is different and I think we need to use the departure of Alonso as an opportunity to improve our team as a whole and I believe that is achievable by putting Gerrard into centre midfield, where he can dominate, get goals, assists and we aren’t just relying on the front four players for this. We might lack less control, however we’ll have more dynamism, energy, threat, urgency and intent… this is what we need in the Premiership a league where you have to win games, rather than not lose them. I suspect |I am in the minority, but I think it is time for a change and I would be looking to put Gerrard back into the heart of our team.

had a few problems recently with the PC crashing and then noticed my cpu temperature was 89C!!!! my fan was completely blocked with dust, anyway cleaned the bugger out and temp has dropped back to 29c! very lucky i havent blown any parts up. jsut noticed that my asus pc probe has a cpu threshold of 65c and a mb threshold of 45c hence the pc turning itself off at these temps. Now after a good clean i have a cpu temp of 40c (running apps) and a mb temp of 22c. happy days again!