Cronky

I think we can all see how good he could be, with that pace and power. It's so frustrating.

Agreed, he really wasn't in it at all. Did his neat and tidy stuff, but to a minimum, and that was about his only contribution. Yeah, if he gets put under any pressure in open play, he tends to lose it. He does complicate the decision by scoring all these goals though. Sod him.

I agree about Ranger, but I thought Pardew was right to take Best off rather than Shola. I was just disappointed that it was for Lovenkrands rather than Ranger.

Tbh, I was surprised we didn't concede before. We had no answer to Lennon's pace and they were carving out a lot of chances down our right side in the second half. To look on the bright side, we've more than held our own against a Champions League side, despite being hit by absences of key players. The spirit and organisation of the side looks good. We just need a bit more talent in there.

A draw was a fair result overall, although obviously it's disappointing that we conceded in stoppage time and had chances to kill the game on the break.

I thought we were doing well until the last 10 minutes, when they seemed to get control of it. We need to make a change before we go behind.

They've been playing the football, but we've been getting the chances. Looks promising.

Possibly over-optimistic, but I still reckon we'll land one of our big targets. With SWP and Ireland, I think of all the clubs that are likely to be interested, their preference is for us. As with Ben Arfa, that puts us in a good negotiating position, if the player is turning away from other offers.

No need to panic yet. It looks like wages are the problem with SWP and Ireland, but it also looks like a problem for the other clubs that are interested in them. My guess is that something will get cobbled together at the last minute.

My guess is that he knows that his replacement isn't coming in until he agrees to go - keeping wages down etc. He's bound to be generally pissed off with the situation and in the mood to play hardball with any financial settlement.

He's a skilful player and he might recover his old form, but I'd prefer to seeing us signing someone with a bit of pace.

What do they mean by a setback? Is it a problem with the same knee?

Word is that Houllier has fallen out with Dunne and a few other senior players at Villa. I suspect that's the real reason for their decline, in which case a new striker to go with Heskey, Agbonlahor, Carew, Young and Delfuenso isn't going to have much impact.

SWP for his pace, and his ability to go past an opponent. I could see him fitting in right away, while Ireland may need more time before he found his niche.

I'm not sure where Ireland would fit in. Someone once said that he'd be ideally suited to Arsenal, with their short passing style, and I think that's right. In an English style 442, he doesnt seem to suit either a wide position or a central one.

Google it.

SWP's career took a wrong turning when he chose to join Chelsea rather than Arsenal. Wenger would have brought him on as a player in the same way as he's doing with Walcott. (Not sure how far he'll get with Theo but that's another story) SWP marked time at Chelsea and then ended up in a similar position back at Man City. He does have talent, and it could flourish with the right club at the right time. I'd agree with T Ron, that he's difficult to define either as a striker or a winger. He could do well in a 4-3-3 though.

Clubs are prepared to pay big money for so-called 'goalscorers', and to be fair Bent's stats are good. But it's not as though scoring is all that a striker at that level should be contributing, or that his goals are all the result of his own efforts. It's the overall contribution to a team that counts. With Keane, Owen and now Bent we've seen goalscorers move for big fees only to somehow disappoint their clubs in the end. I'm not saying that Bent is a bad player, but I think this is the pattern. It could be that it's easier for a manager to persuade the board to part with a lot of money if they can point to a good goal tally, but it can end up with a player being over-valued.

Have to agree, I think he'd be awesome here. Sod SWP, get this lad in if we can. Not seen much of him, but very impressed with what I've seen. He'd be my number 1 choice, particularly given his age.

So do you think he's worth £18m?

SWP seems likely to move later rather than sooner, because no-one seems keen on matching his wages. At the same time, City look keen to offload him. In the end, I don't think it'll be us. We seem to be stricter on our salary policy than many other clubs, and we're not in the kind of desperate position where we'd be forced to make an exception. PS - I can understand people not rating SWP, but I don't understand the hostility.

£18m is a ridiculous fee for a player of his standard. He wasn't worth it when Spurs bought him, and he isn't worth it now. I don't see how you can say this isn't a good deal for Sunderland.

It's definitely West Ham territory, so I'd say they had the better case. There's no tradition of ground-sharing in this country, and the idea seems to get everyone in a flap. But it would probably be the best solution for both clubs.

Well he's played everywhere else.

It looks like we've got someone else coming in. It's not as though Routledge hasn't featured this season. I'd love it to be SWP, if only to see the reaction on here.