Cronky

I've only seen him once, and that was a year ago. But he looked good. Very comfortable on the ball.

I can see why we bought this lad. For a centre back, he's comfortable on the ball and has a decent turn of pace. His concentration and decision-making are weak points, but that can change with experience. Trouble is, that's not what we need at the moment.

He's always been clumsy, but he could have had a better career if he hadn't also been prone to indecision and nervousness. We shouldn't expect too much of him, but there are signs that he's prepared to show a bit of leadership and initiative. He's entering his footballing dotage, so maybe he's of a mind that it's his last chance to throw off the shackles and give it all.

As with our club, the Liverpool job is a difficult one. There's a gap between hopes / expectations and the means to achieve them, and that creates pressure. They seem to be stuck in a syndrome where they are desperate to improve, but end up buying players who usually aren't any better than the ones they've got. They need a bit of luck with a youngster coming through of exceptional talent, or a transfer that exceeds expectations. They had that luck with Suarez, but couldn't quite capitalise on it.

One to two dodgy moments, but it looked like he was up for the challenge and took some responsibility. I've not always had that feeling with Tayls, so it was good to see.

So far, his lack of sharpness has been found out in this league. His physical condition looks a lot better than it was at the start of the season, when he seemed to be bursting out of his shirt. But he needs to work at it even more. He doesn't have natural pace, and so he can't afford to be in anything but peak fitness.

If all our midfield were available, would you pick him for the next game? Is this a trick question? Yes. Of course. Flaws and all he's still comfortably our best wide player. He's stil comfortably our most productive wide player. Until one of these changes I would start him. A perfectly reasonable question, given that you described him as crap, apart from one moment. He's a battering ram of a player who can produce now and then, but in general we're a side that's lacking the technical ability to work in skilful combinations. Whether we escape the drop now or not, I think we've got left behind other sides, and Sissoko may be holding our development back. The only way to find out is to try a different combination and see what happens. Given the trouble we're in, now is perhaps not the time to experiment, but at some stage, we should give it a go.

If all our midfield were available, would you pick him for the next game?

... is the problem. And as our major weakness is working the ball through the midfield, he can be quite a liability. If we score first and the other team have to throw players forward, he's good on the break. But we don't look likely to score first with our current set up. I'd give things a go without him and see what happens. What's there to lose.

Wonder how long it'll take before any enthusiasm he might have is sucked out of him by the rest of the squad of hopeless turds and the collective depression that sits like a suffocating pillow on top of SJP... Sounds like you're looking forward to it.

It would have been good to have another option in central defence. Perhaps though it's difficult to bring in someone whose quality will compensate for the teething problems that you get when you make changes in that part of the team. The midfield and attack has a lot more pace and a bit more skill so I'm happy with that. I think we've definitely improved but whether we'll now be able to overtake the clubs around us who have also made improvements is another matter. I reckon we'll be okay. Just.

Yet another 'we tried' gesture that has gone wrong.

That's not true though. Think of any great escape in the PL, it didn't happen from loads of signings. We aren't even far away. I'm really excited by Berahino if we could land him regardless. Sign Saido - if we stay up, we should hit the next season running. We stayed up in 2013 mainly because we added half a new team in January. Sissoko and even Gouffran's initial spurt saved us. I disagree. I think signing so many ensured we would struggle for that entire season. Look at teams that actually avoid relegation by performing well. We limped over. Had we only signed Debuchy and Sissoko I think we would've been better. Gouff and Mbiwa was too much imo at that point in the season. And overall they all (apart from Gouff funnily enough) struggled in those 5 months. Sissoko had a couple great performances then was absolutely awful in the league. Debuchy snd Mbiwa struggled. If McClaren was to try and integrate too many new players into the first team all at once, there'd be a problem, but I think we're some distance from that point. The main problem with the January window is that the pressure can lead to a club paying over the odds for the wrong players, or players that aren't any better than the ones they have.

He looks a decent loan signing to me. He seems to have pace and strength so the Premiership should suit him. Berahino has talent of course, but if he came here right now as a big money signing, there would be a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, given the fee and our situation. For me, there's a risk that he might not be able to deal with it. If we're still up, maybe look again in the summer.

I like the idea of Perez and Townsend working around our main striker. Not convinced about Sissoko in a Number 10 role. I don't think he's good enough from the technical point of view. Saivet is an unknown quantity and will probably need half a season to adjust to the Premiership before we can really assess. I'd go for Colback - Wiljandum - Shelvey in the midfield. I'd like to include Sissoko but the balance of the team has to be right, and I'd see Perez, Townsend and Sissoko competing for 2 places.

Not that long ago, we'd have had to pay twice that amount for him. His career has gone in fits and starts, and I think we've scooped him up at a good time. I'd be very disappointed in our squad though if he doesn't get mega-stick for being a fan of Pokemon.

I'm pleased with this. He may well turn out to be McClaren's best signing.

There was an element of the big star who was just passing through. I felt at times he was a bit greedy, trying things himself when releasing the ball was the better option. But he has the basic strength and athletic qualities you need in a main striker, even though I think his technical limitations have prevented him from making it at a really top club. He'll definitely do for us.

Remy has the mobility and sharpness that Mitrovic lacks, so he'd make a difference. £12m sounds a bit over-priced, but if he's the best option available, we have to bite the bullet and pay up.

He has skill and pace, but I dare say his physique will limit how far he can develop as a defender. He may yet have a future further up the field.

Wasn't it proved in the KK lawsuit that the club had been deliberately bidding low? I remember an interview he gave (think it's on YT) that he'd (KK) get the price the club wanted and the wages the player wanted then would sit back to find out the club had offered lower and then just pulled the plug. Ok they may bid but they have been proved to of done this deliberately knowing it won't get accepted in the past. It was demonstrated that a loan signing had been made against Keegan's judgement and that this went against the role usually assigned to a club manager.

On the 'fake bids' idea, I don't know why people go for these conspiracy theories. This regime made it very clear years ago that the transfer strategy was to a) go for younger players whose value might increase and b) to spend strictly within their budget and not to go into debt. Our pattern of spending has mirrored that stated strategy. You can say it's wrong, but you can't say that there's a plot to fool everybody.

We could sign Remy and Lacazette and we would probably still be shit. I just love to soak up the positive vibes around this place.

Some of the missed headers looked to be down to anxiety. The players tightened up and mistimed the opportunities. We needed to get the first goal, and at that respect we were unlucky. Their first was a difficult call for the linesman, but Ighalo was definitely offside. Saivet didn't particularly impress and Colback will be back when fit. Not a problem for me, but a problem for most on here it seems.

Yeah, I didn't notice it was such an old thread. I'd have loved a career in professional sport. Like all choices, there's a price to be paid ultimately, and who knows if my life would have turned out happier. But no way could you turn down the chance.