also being linked with silva today. would kind of soften the blow of losing xabi but do fear he could be a little light-weight over here.

Alonso is a class act. His passing is right up there with the best in the world. I'd love him at Everton alongside Arteta. Tell you what, forget Silva, you can have Phil Neville in a part-ex deal! ;)

haha i best not air my views on mr. phillip neville.

only compliment i can pay the man is i marginally prefer him to his brother!

Xabi Alonso should not be sold. Great player in my opinion.

lol i hear you ;)

Been a great player this season. Without a doubt the best passer in the world.

Benitez said a few weeks ago that he has been to Valencia to scout, but it's not Silva he's talking to.

well wigan had us dreaming, for a while at least ...

It's all over.

Arsenal won't do anything.

There's no shame in 2nd place mate. A fit Torres and Gerrard playing more games together would have been enough to pip the Mancs i think. ;)

Don't worry, we'll bring a trophy back to Merseyside this season!!! :p

That's the whole point though. Liverpool rely almost entirely on one/both of those players being fit and in a full season with domestic and European cups at stake, you can't expect them to remain injury free and in-form. It's all about the squad and United just have a better team - you only need to compare the respective benches and look at the difference in quality to realise why United are on course for their 3rd successive title and 2nd successive European trophy.

Don't forget that United have had their fair share of injuries too (as does any team in a season) but their problems have always seemed to be at the back and thankfully, from a United fan's perspective, if there's one thing they can be relied upon to do, it's score goals.

I will concede that Liverpool did seem to just click a few months ago and have kept the pressure on well but I doubt United would have been left behind if they'd played like that all season as I still maintain that the reason we threw away the 11pt lead we had all those weeks ago was through complacency.

Next season should be interesting as I can see both Ronaldo and Tevez heading out of Old Trafford so Ferguson will have to spend well in the summer to replace them. Kaka would be a great buy as Scholes and Giggs aren't gonna be around for many more seasons and Hargreaves is always out injured so a play-making central midfielder would be ideal as would a winger (Valencia) and a replacement striker for Tevez.

No they wont, makes me think is it time for change at the top???

Yes he should! Send him first class to the Emirates please.


Russ, I don't know about a change at the top - but definately a change in thinking! We need a new EXPERIENCED centre back and a new EXPERIENCED Centre mid (see above!) - I think even Wenger knows that now, he said the other day we wouldn't be going after any young players (though I bet we will)

I agree with all you said. I remember when Everton played against Zenit in the Uefa Cup how good Arshavin was against us, and i said at the time to my mate he would be ideal for Liverpool and would probably be available for £10m tops.......that was before he had a stormer and his price and notoriety went sky high.

I think the Tevez affair is a strange one and i also can see him leaving Utd. Everton seem a good dumping ground for Utd rejects, i wonder if we can get him on a pound-a-week deal lol?? :rolleyes:

RS8MBOR8, This season has proved that we can play without Torres & Gerrard. We've beat teams without one if not both of them. They have both been injured a lot this season so to get second is still good. Yeah, they are our key players, but so what! 2 seasons ago we were called a one man team, now we're called a two man team because we have Torres. Bit silly really.

Congratulations, RS8MBOR8.

Arsenal played a lot better than I thought they would, just a shame they didn't have many chances.

1 step forward, a million steps back. Newcastle are a joke.

Congratulations Man United, however, if Ferguson does put out a weak(well, nothing's weak when it's Man U I suppose) team, you's had better beat Hull.

I genuinely hope United still manage to turn Hull over as well even though they will undoubtedly field a weakened team. With a bit of luck, Newcastle will manage to get the point they need to stay up and fingers crossed United do them a favour against the Tigers.

See, that's the worrying factor in my opinion. Even if Man U field a young side, they still have a good chance of beating Hull, however, Newcastle need a result off a good Villa side at villa Park. Looks a bit too much for me.

Well, Villa haven't exactly been firing on all cylinders lately and Middlesbrough almost managed to pull of a shock win over them yesterday so who knows...

Mon the Hibees!!!!

Well, that's 2nd secured and our most ever points in the prem :D

Shame we didn't beat that other record were we needed to score 3 goals today which will of broken our record of scoring 3 or more goals in 7 games or something like that.

Looks like the only trophy coming to Liverpool then is the FA Cup....














....if Chelsea put out their C team of course ;) :p :mrgreen:

Everton are going to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup Final in my opinion.

Only if Liverpool had signed him instead of Robbie Keane, they would have won the league this season.

Did you watch the game? It was insane when Carragher and Arbeloa almost came to blows lol.

I completely agree. Don't ask me why, but I just think their name is on the cup this year.

Unfortunately, I only see the FA Cup going one way and it isn't to Merseyside. Chelsea only have one piece of silverware left to fight for and they'll do everything they can to ensure they don't end the season empty-handed.

Comfortable Chelsea win IMO despite me hoping Everton manage to overcome the odds.

I think Everton will win cup, but I'm not bothered really.

Dutch, I did see Carra & Arbeloa, was funny hahaha.

I never saw the incident but I'm concerned about Rafa's take on it to the media. To outwardly express an understanding and borderline condone that sort of 'attitude' from Carragher against a fellow team-mate is bizarre. Yes, he wanted to keep a clean sheet and felt that Arbeloa was abandoning his defensive duties a little too often but to say it's 'good to see' that level of intensity shown by a player on your own team is insane - in my eyes, he's practically saying it's good teamsmanship and he would like it if all of his players played with that sort of mentality. :shock:

Any other manager would surely be intolerant of behaviour like that?!? As I said though, I didn't see it and have only read the reports and seen photos but from what I have seen, Rafa appears to have well and truly lost the plot if he thinks that's a good example of how he wants a team to play. :roll:

After seeing the incident again on SSN before I don't think it was anything more than handbags between the pair. They wasn't even booked for it, but with this being Liverpool we are talking about then something like this is always gonna be blown out of proportion by some people. As for Rafa's comments well I've not read what's been said in the media or what he's been quoted on. However, I know when questioned about what happened after the game he said he wasn't unhappy with it as it showed character, but he was disappointed they didn't show it in a different way. Now maybe it's just me but that's hardly the sign of a man losing the plot is it lol? :roll:

Well, wasn't his excuse for it that they were desperate to keep a clean sheet in order to equal Manchester United's clean sheet record this season? The thing is, he said that it would have been their 21st clean sheet if they'd managed it (which they obviously did) but United have 23 so...?

IMO, it was an example of the frustration and disappointment that no matter what the outcome of their remaining games, they can't win the league this year and had nothing to do with a non-existent clean sheet record. He's hardly likely to suggest that as a reason though is he?

To be honest, as a United supporter, I have nothing against Liverpool and openly support them in Europe (unless they're playing United of course) but I cannot stand Rafa Benitez. In fact, it wasn't so long ago that quite a lot of Liverpool fans felt the same way.

Trying to infer any positive stance on the incident between Arbeloa and Carragher yesterday only adds weight to that. If Ferguson had been in that position over two United players, I would feel ashamed to see him try to defend them. Maybe that's why I like Newcastle with Alan Shearer at the helm so much. He speaks his mind and it's common sense that prevails - I'm obviously thinking of the Joey Barton situation. No trying to defend a thug, he just tells it like it is and docks him two weeks pay.

I hope Villa send the Geordies home crying in their beer next week :p (I think im still bitter at Leeds not going up, wanna see another big team out the Premiership)

Everton will win the cup, theyve had all the luck its meant to be.

Nah f*ck that.....NIL SATIS NISI OPTIMUM, we'll do them regardless! ;)

If that was the case then what's Ronaldo's and Rooney's excuse for constantly spitting their dummy out, kicking out at players and mouthing off to the referees? :roll:

No disrespect but i'm not sure how you can compare the Barton leg breaking tackle on Alonso to what happened between Carragher and Arbeloa. I would suggest you watch the incident for yourself before continuing to make something out of absolutely nothing. Btw if I had a choice of supporting Rangers or Celtic then i'd opt for United as well lol. ;)

I'm not Scottish so I don't understand the jab at my not supporting Scottish teams over United. Oh and by the way, just for geography's sake, living in the capital, I'd either be a Hibee or a Hearts follower - there are more than just those two Glasgow teams in Scotland you know. ;)

How an incident involving two players from the same team losing their rag at each other compares with two players losing theirs at opposing players or refs, I also cannot understand. Not a great demonstration of team spirit is it?

I used the Newcastle situation to merely demonstrate how a manager should view his team's performances on the pitch - to spell it out, it should be with a critical eye and not through biased and false opinion. Quite a common affliction amongst fans as well as managers and one that I try to steer clear of as much as possible - mainly to stay on the right side of my Liverpool-supporting wife. :)

Nah you have it wrong mate. Carra was just frustrated with not winning the prem, infact, not winning a cup this year. Fair enough, if they were beating the crap out of each other then I would be angry, but they just argued and pushed and now they have shook hands and made up.

The fact it says Edinburgh next to your location meant there was a decent possibility you could have been Scottish. I'm I the only one who sees that logic? Also I know a few Scottish lads who support United as their second team. Saying that, almost every United fan I know seems to live anywhere other than Manchester. I couldn't possibly think why that is lol. ;)

In that case how about we compare the Lee Bower and Kieron Dyer bust up when playing for Newcastle? Actually lets not because no doubt you haven't seen that incident either. (Bet you'd still have an opinion on it though). :roll:

I could have sworn I explained to you in my second to last post that Rafa said after the game he was disappointed that the players didn't show character in another/different way. Is that not considered to be criticism? Honestly, I still think you're making something out of nothing unless you just enjoy the banter or gettin kicks out of winding rival fans up lol. :p

I Honestly hope she winds you up as much as i'm going to when Barcelona kick your arses in the champions league final. C'ME ON BARCELONA! :D

Man United are going to beat Barcelona and we all know that, so let's just accept it.

^^ The post above already says exactly what I think of the CL final.

As for the other points, I wasn't trying to wind anyone up. I was making an opinion based on reading and listening to accounts and interviews (as I actually quite openly stated). If the actual events didn't mirror what was reported then fair enough but I passed opinion based on the fact that it was obviously a big enough bust-up to warrant an entire topic on the BBC sport website and for Rafa to be directly quizzed in-depth about it after the game. I would have seen it on MOTD if I hadn't been playing a gig on Saturday night and in a band rehearsal for 4hrs yesterday evening.

Oh and just for future reference, most of the people you bump into in Edinburgh aren't actually Scottish. That's one of the bizarre things you first discover when visiting for the first time, which is probably why Glasgow is seen as the nation's unofficial capital - a lot less foreigners! :D

Manchester was, however, one of the closest cities to me when I was growing up, hence the reason for supporting them and, if you believe the statistics, I am also one of the 1% of fans who have actually been inside Old Trafford to see them play as well.

Lee Bowyer/Kieron Dyer, no didn't see it? When was that btw <goes to google> - oh right, about 3 years ago. That's relevant, although I'd hazard a guess that the manager never came out to defend their players for it after the game. :roll:

If Barca want to win the final, they need to start shooting. Simple as.

The thing Barca have to be concerned about is finding several otherwise second-choice or reserve team defenders who actually have half a chance of stopping Ronaldo/Rooney/Berbatov/Tevez.

Barca will always be a threat to any team going forwards but if Ferguson gets the strike partnership right in a week or so's time, I don't think the Catalans will be able to cope.

I say 3-0 to United with Rooney and Tevez sharing the goals amongst themselves. I hope that's the case anyway. :)

Yeah, Barca have lost some quality defenders.

Ah well.