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Would add to squad depth- in terms of genuine improvement I'm not so sure. Guess that'd depend on Roy's coaching. Warnock will bolster full back slots, I'd play him ahead of Aurelio myself. I'd be happy with 7m ish for Warnock. Don't think I'd pay above 4m for Petrov though.

At risk of alienating myself from the rest of the forum, I just cannot buy into this wave of optimism that has hit Anfield like a Tsunami. Our last 3 signings have been on a free. Rodriguez is well passed his sell buy date, Jovanovic potentially up there with the Voronin’s and Sean Dundee’s of the footballing world and now 28 year old enigma, Joe Cole. If your paying a footballer a colossal 90k a week, to be deemed a success you would expect him to play 30+ games a season. Given Cole’s appalling injury record, I just cannot see this happening. Injuries get worse as you get older, that’s a fact and I think Joe playing in 20 games is a more realistic target and at 90k a week that is not good enough. I am no soothsayer and haven’t got the benefit of hindsight, it’s just my humble opinion based on his past injury record. The spin doctors have been at work all week and Joe Cole has obviously been well versed on what makes the fans tick, hence his pro ‘Liverpool history’ press release. He appears to be a decent lad who is making all the right noises. Personally, I think Joe Cole has been over hyped for years, in fact right from the very start. I distinctly remember hearing that West Ham had a breaking out of the youth team player who was going to rate with Best and Gazza as the UKs greatest ever talent. He has never been up there with them nor dozens of the overseas superstars. He is symptomatic of our talent drought since 1991 when Gazza wrecked himself. That we produce one player who relies on something other than ' a great engine' and hes the new Best. What toss. He’s a better than average premiership player and not without talent, that’s for sure, but in my opinion he has never realised his full potential and at 28, I doubt he is about to. He can’t take a game by scruff of its neck and change a result a la Gazza. He’s not got Stevie G's dynamism and lung busting capacity ( when arsed), he doesn’t score like Scholes or Lampard and he is way off Hoddle or Le Tissier in terms of craft. Hes not a patch talent wise on 70s piss artists like Hudson, Worthington, Marsh, Currie, Bowles in fact Id say hes a very poor mans version of those guys, a bit of flair and guile but thats it .. a bit not an abundance. More alarmingly, Chelsea, the current league champions didn’t want him. Don’t give me that nonsense about contracts. If they wanted him, they would have signed him, that’s for sure. The truth is, the manager didn’t fancy him, even when fit. Arsenal and Spurs wouldn’t pay him, Man City couldn’t guarantee him first team footie and West Ham was a backward step at this point in his career. Capello wouldn’t even pick him for the worst performing England team for many years. What is everybody else seeing that we are not, that is the million dollar question? We will find out this forthcoming season that is for sure. Given our current status and the events of the past 12 months, optimism is long overdue at our club. But let’s not get carried away and make the same mistake of raising expectation levels as we have in the past. We have to get behind the manager and the players but don’t think Joe Cole is going to be the saviour or the missing piece of the jig-saw. Liverpool can be top 4 but need the whole squad to operate for a full season completely unscathed, especially the elite player’s. We need a damn site more than Joe to challenge for the holy grail, though thus far MU haven’t improved last seasons side ( poor by their recent vintage) , CFC i don’t think are great either and Arsenal are the poor mans Spain all tasty touches but lacking the ruthless streak. All in all I predict a pretty mediocre up coming season. Man City are maybe the side that could shake up the tedium and hopefully Liverpool can better 7th place and maybe, just maybe, challenge for top four. Fingers crossed and Yanks out!