Cronky

I'm not sure on that. The rumours about Ba and PSG sound a bit convincing. Neither player is irreplaceable though.

Nah, Malcolm MacDonald.

There's a lot of emotion involved when it comes to valuing players, and it sounds like the system they have is designed to minimise that. Players can become crowd favourites or people panic at the thought of making a change, and then decent players become elevated to the rank of irreplaceable. There can't be anything wrong with the principle of selling an over-priced player and replacing him with someone cheaper and better (or at least equal) Naturally there's an element of risk but you have to see these decisions as opportunities to progress.

Is there a more difficult job in football management, than turning around a once successful club whose form has dipped? The pressure to succeed and succeed quickly is immense, and it comes from the media as well as the fans. The result is often a series of big money signings who it is hoped will bridge the immediate gap between the club and whoever has taken over their mantle. Usually that gap still remains or widens. Man U suffered that way for many years while Liverpool were on top, and in recent years the tables are turned. Before Man U's current domination, Fergie took them to their lowest league position since the early 70's. The club went through a process of clearing out the dead wood and starting from scratch. It doesn't feel like Liverpool have yet reached that point, although it might be thrust upon them.

An object lesson in how to close out a league title. 80 minutes, still 0-0, but they kept their belief in their shape and their system, and got their reward. It would have been very easy to throw too many men forward or try silly passes or shots, and end up conceding.

Some good players likely to become available. Hoilett I think will go to a CL club, and may be getting a bit big for his boots. Moses would bring something we haven't got and would come with the right, hungry attitude

don't think the lads a million miles off there mind, we did look shaky at the back first 15-20 minutes, the goal settled us down and i was never really concerned about them once it went in He makes a decent point when he says that his team didn't close us down very well. Generally, we seemed to want it more. And if a team of that quality loses 6 games out of 7, something's going wrong in the wider picture. KD actually looked ill and visibly stressed in the post-match interview. If that's his usual demeanour, I don't know how he's going to inspire his side. He's had a very 'in-out' record in management. We were more dangerous in possession than that poster is giving us credit for though.

Willo looked the part again, which was great to see. Perch seems to have shed that nervous attitude, and also did well. I was a bit frustrated with Tiote. He was good defensively as usual, but he seemed too conservative in possession, missing the chance to play the ball forward quickly a few times. For the second game in a row, Krul came charging off his line to clear the ball when he had no chance of getting it. He just needs to steady himself down. But overall a good performance with clear possibilities for continued improvement.

You bastard.

Brilliant! The lack of flamboyance in his character is part of what makes him exceptional. Unlike a lot of talented players, his concentration is total, he doesn't argue with refs, get angry with opponents, criticise team-mates, get disheartened, sulk or show off. He is totally absorbed in the game. Apparently he is very shy. In his early time at Barca, he asked if he could get changed away from the dressing room. It wasn't anything to do with his manhood - he genuinely found it difficult to face a roomful of noisy strangers. I doubt whether he'd move from Barca, where he feels protected, and this aspect of his character may explain his form when he's playing for Argentina. This element of self-containment is apparent in his play. He doesn't get distracted.

I'm sure he'll get booed, but the bloke hasn't done anything wrong. We were willing to sell at that price and he was offered a lot more money. It wasn't like he threatened to go on strike or anything. It's a very unhappy situation for him at Liverpool, because even if he hits his best form, it's probably dawned on the club that he isn't even the type of player that they should have been looking for. His best use with them is as an impact sub, but I don't know if they've admitted that to themselves yet.

At his best, and most confident, he shows the winger the sideline. It's a gamble, but he has the tools to smother his man or recover. I think Ben Arfa will have to work his way inside alot, off-the-ball. For sure, when he gets himself in the right position, he's strong and difficult to get round. His problem is that he can lose concentration, get out of position, and then he struggles to recover. His defending has improved, but to me, he's always looked more comfortable going forward.

Best post in this thread. We've had some right humpings off this lot and some on here are totally over confident of a result. They've got a lot of players who'll cause us problems. Given the football that Liverpool are capable of, I'm baffled that they've lost so many games of late. Their chance conversion rate is very low, but that often seems as much a matter of bad luck as anything. And of course, they've won the Carling Cup and they're in the semis of the FA Cup. They can beat anyone on their day, and on paper they ought to beat us. I can remember many years ago, not along after Dalglish took over at Blackburn, they bought a load of good players and swept to the top of what was then Division Two. Then they went on a strange run where they couldn't buy a win. Maybe there's a Dalglish factor - he doesn't deal well with pressure and can let things get on top of him maybe.

With Gosling, I'm a bit worried that the injury and the rather messy recovery may have led to him bulking up and losing a bit of pace, or at least a change of pace. As with Owen, that can make all the difference.

I agree. Like Shola, only not to the same degree, there's an issue with his stamina. We shouldn't be expecting to get 90 minutes out of him. We should be like. If he has a problem with stamina he needs to work hard on it. As with Shola, I think the problem is related to that tall, heavily-muscled physique of his. He can improve, but he's just not built for endurance.

Sad but true. Club management was his game.

I agree. Like Shola, only not to the same degree, there's an issue with his stamina. We shouldn't be expecting to get 90 minutes out of him.

I've got my doubts as to whether Redknapp will want the job when he finally has to make his decision. If Spurs qualify for the Champions League, he's going to be weighing up whether to keep a good thing going (and in many ways the day to day involvement with players might suit him better) or whether to go for a job with maximum pressure and many question marks as to whether he or anyone can deliver on expectations. He doesn't react to criticism particularly well. The idea of going for a foreign manager seems to be out of favour but I do think it can be easier for someone from abroad to handle that pressure. The other unknown factor is how much influence Trevor Brooking has over the appointment. He's known Redknapp for a long while as an insider at West Ham and the relationship is said to be a distant one.

Been away, so only just seen a recording. Cabaye seemed to be playing further forward, which gave us a better shape and helped us to hit the opposition on the break. It's a long while since we've had that weapon in our armoury and it was great to see. Ben Arfa looks more at home in English football with each game. When he gets the ball in the right situation, it's a question of damage limitation for his opponents. His judgement is still at fault but the benefits of the risks that he takes in possession are now far outweighing the costs. Overall though, I didn't think our performance quite matched up to the post-match media hype, and we shouldn't get carried away. We had the class in the final third to make the difference, but we still don't look as comfortable in possession as I'd like. All very promising though.

Norwich and Swansea look like teams that have been put together to play in a certain way. We look like a bunch of individual parts not yet linking up into a whole. The quality of our individual parts led to our goal and the win, but we're still a work in progress. Pardew is experimenting with different players and different systems, trying to get it right, but in the meantime we're looking incoherent. I'm still optimistic that it'll come together in time, particularly if we can strengthen in a few positions.

And he looked quite ponderous. Since Cisse came his goals have dried up and he seems to be searching for a role that he's comfortable in.

Yeah, that's a good summary. Absurdly, for a team in sixth place, we lack confidence. Norwich's pressing game was miles better than ours, and they were more assured in possession too. I liked the 4-3-3 formation, but there wasn't enough movement there and the midfield lost touch with the attack. I'm still not convinced about Ba in deeper positions.

Jonas at full back? I've been wanting him to try that for a while. I suspect we may have a 4-3-3 there, or 4-3-1-2. Could be interesting. PS - Perch for Santon more likely. Boring.

I don't think you can blame the CBs for hoofing it long. Often they dont' have an option. The midfield is so poor at working the ball through to the attack that possession often goes back to the defenders under pressure from the opposition. If you look at what was our first choice midfield four of Taylor-Tiote-Cabaye-Jonas, only one of those players is truly comfortable on the ball. Of the full backs, Simpson is very nervous in possession. Santon is far better in attack, but seems to leave us light in defence at the moment. Ben Arfa looks better in a 4-5-1 / 4-3-3. Finally, we don't really have a striker that looks good in the more withdrawn role that I think you need in a 4-4-2. (Call it 4-4-1-1 if you like) There's not much movement up front. So altogether, it's no wonder that we look a bit crude and static in our 4-4-2. I'd shed one of our 4 strikers and get in a Moses / Hoillett type. Also get in a RB (unless Fergie is ready and we can switch Santon across).

Yeah, I agree with this. A particularly good point about leadership at the back. The defence failed us in the pressure games - in particular losing 4-3 to Liverpool when 3-2 up, and Blackburn 2-1 when 1-0 up with 10 minutes to go. It was partly a matter of the nerve and mind-set of the whole team, as well as the individual quality of the defenders. Although it's great and usually right to keep attacking, you have to also have the ability and temperament to keep good opposition out when they are putting you under pressure. We never had a Plan B for those moments.