That's a matter of opinion, just as my opinion that Riquelme isn't.

I know, I was just having a giggle ... perhaps we get them both in.

I can't help but think he's going to flop. Hope I'm wrong cos I'm quite a fan.

It seems like a short term option for me - one just to bring stability, and a decent manager to the club whilst you're looking to sell. He knows he won't have any money to spend, and he aint gunna be spouting off to the press bringing negativity to the club.

I can't see him staying long once you have new owners TBH.

I must apologise to you.

Riquelme is officially "unattached" at the moment. Him turning up at Bolton would be stranger than Boselli signing for Wigan.

That's why I think he's been signed, he's enough of a name that may keep the likes of Gerrard and Torres happy for 12 months until the club is sold and he's cheap enough to pay off when the new owners

come in.

And he's not Sammy Lee.

Really? Given that Torres will have never heard of him and Gerrard knows his record is very underwhelming, I cant see either of them being made up with the appointment

I wouldn't be so sure of Arsenal being a certainty for the top 3, especially if Fabregas leaves. I personally think Chelsea will walk it next season. As last season, United will depend on Rooney and the World Cup may have taken a hell of a lot out of him. I wouldn't be surprised to see a blanket finish of United, City, Spurs and Arsenal with any of them being capable of finishing 2nd. IF Liverpool keep hold of everyone and keep everyone fit for a large portion of the season, there is no reason we can't be involved in that race. We were without Agger, Skrtel, Aquilani, Gerrard and Torres for huge amounts of last season. It's a big ask that they will all stay and an even bigger ask that we keep them fit, but if we do, our starting XI isn't a million miles behind other teams.

There's a lot of doom mongering going on about Liverpool, some of it rightly so, but by August we may have a raft of cash to spend (if a takeover ever happens)and all our players fighting fit. Always look on the bright side and that......

Looks like Coyle has now ruled out moves for both Riquelme and Ilan.

Wht all the moaning about Hodgson? If he can take Fulham to the Uefa cup final I'm sure he can manage it with Liverpool as well.

Roy Hodgson

United linked with Stephen Ireland and Gary Cahill this morning.

Plus Benzema again and Fabiano. Anderson looks like he is on his way out and Berba could be too.

But they are Fulham type of players, he signed them players because he wasn't going to be attracting star players to Fulham, was he?



Do you know every English manager and their style though? we don't know exactly how Hodgson coaches his team behind closed doors, he had a very average squad at Fulham but he got them playing and they exceeded all expectations. Fulham played a lot of attacking football too, yes they went away from home and put everyone behind the ball but that's because of the squad he has at his disposal, he has better players too work with now, I'd expect him to adopt an attacking style next season. He did get them playing some attacking stuff at Craven Cottage.




But who else can you attract right now? fans unhappy with the board, the club supposed to be up for sale and there's rumours linking Gerrard and Torres with moves away. It's not really an attractive proposition for managers already with a club. A prospective manager doesn't even know who his owners will be and if he will have a job in the next few months. Hodgson potentially can give you a few years of stability while the off field problems sort themselves out.

But what if he's on a Fulham-type budget here? Will he suddenly find better players for £2m and so on? Or will he carry on signing average players because they're easier to coach?



Obviously I don't know every coach, but Hodgson's sides in Scandinavia and so on never played Scandinavian football, they played very English football, they were workman-like, strong and hard to beat, but not anything of particular quality, and those leagues do have some quality in there. He left England and took the English mentality with him, he coached his sides to play English football. His Fulham side played poor football, lumped up to Zamora generally with smaller, quicker players zipping around him like Gera and Johnson. Away from home he used to effectively play 8-1-1, that's how embarrassing they were.





We were offered the chance to have Pellegrini as our manager but chose Roy over him. Take a look around Europe in most of the top leagues (Germany, Spain, Italy) and you'll see a lot of coaches that are better than him. We may not be the most attractive proposition of all time, but we're still an attractive club. Also, why, if there is no good manager available, would you sack one of the better managers around?

I would think if he has a decent budget available to him he will buy decent players, I don't think he would be a manager to buy average players for the sake of it just because they may be easier to coach. If he is on a Fulham-type budget he won't have a choice to buy average players but then whichever manager came in would be in same position mate.



But isn't that because he was playing to Fulham's strengths with the squad that he has available to him? It was embarrassing at times and obviously I didn't see it but when he brough Fulham to Anfield it was supposed to be every single player behind the ball and a poor poor attempt by Fulham but that was again to Fulham's advatage, it worked because they got a result, try to play open, expansive and/or attacking football you would have destroyed them. He has better players available to him, I believe he will try to play some attacking football, unlike at Fulham. I think it's more to do with the squad he had rather than that being the preferred way of playing.



Exactly and that's the point I don't get and non of the Liverpool fans I know can answer me yet, why has Benitez been sacked unless a quality replacement was lined up. I'm amazed by it and surely the way it's looking now you would have been better keeping Benitez in charge? I've heard the Pellegrini rumour and if true I believe the club have made a huge mistake not taking him. I think he would have been an awesome appointment (so I'm glad he didn't get it

)

Oy! Hands off!

Andranik to Liverpool ... now that would make me

Joe Cole backed in from 33/1 to 4/5 to be at Liverpool next season. Hopefully money talks.

Didnt he say that he wanted to go to a club where he would be picked regularly playing in a free role behind the main striker? Must be a direct replacement for Gerrard.

Our lot have signed James Perch, who I know very little about.

£15m? We can't afford him, you're orite.

They don't have to be, they need to be persuaded to stay for 12 months to see what happens.

I'm guessing that £12m would do it.