There's absolutely no way 65 points would give a 7th place finish. In fact, it would be a minor miracle if 65 points gave anything other than 4th place.

If Pedersen played for Chelsea he would be completely outshone by the other players as well...Duff showed in his last game for Ireland that he's still a fanastic player, he's just struggling to put that form into his Chelsea performances this season. As good as Pedersen is, there'd be no contest for me if we had a choice between him or Duff...it'd be Duffer everytime. It's all completely irrelevant though, they may be worth similar amounts in the transfer market now but Duff will be on significantly higher wages than Pedersen...I'd guess at least three times as much per week. It's a none-starter really, I don't think our finances can stretch that far unless we make an unlikely appearance in the Champion's League next season. I'd prefer it if MGP stayed, he's been one of our best players over the past 18 months and there's still more to come from him. The only thing that would tempt me slightly is that we could have a ready-made replacement in Bentley...it seems he has that knack of scoring goals from the left side, and they're very similar players in some respects. If Bentley could do that we could spend the money on a top quality right-sided player and still have change left over. That's a big 'if' though, probably too big to risk considering how well the team is playing at the moment. One thing is for certain though, Peter could not replace Pedersen yet...he's yet to show he's good enough for the Premiership, let alone good enough to replace a 10-15 goals a season player.

We only have one midweek game left this season, why would we rest our best player at the most crucial point of the season?! We have 9 days before we play again after the Sunderland game...

Calm down...it was your own joke....

ROVERS: Friedel, Neill, Todd ©, Nelsen, Gray, Reid, Bentley, Savage, Pedersen, Bellamy, Sinama-Pongolle. Subs: Enckelman, Emerton, Kuqi, Dickov, Mokoena. Not sure how much we can read into that...but it looks like Reid could be on the right and Bentley in the middle.

What?

Not sure about the Todd criticism...but you're spot on with Upson, I completely forgot about him. He would be an ideal addition to our defence. He can operate as a left back if needs be, so if we can offload Gresko and Matteo in the summer we'd have Gray and Upson competing for that place...two players who offer differents attributes which could be used depending on opposition. The biggest thing he would bring though is PACE. When he was at Arsenal, it was said he was the second fastest short distance sprinter at the club after Henry. There are many games where that kind of player would be incredibly useful to us, especially given that niether Nelsen or Todd are blessed with pace. If we make it into Europe we're going to need a bigger squad than what we have now, and probably a better one. If we keep everyone from the first choice defence now, remove the deadwood and add Zura and Upson to it...we'd have (in effect) two players for every position and the ability to pick players to suit the opposition. RB: Neill, Zura LB: Gray, Upson CB: Nelsen, Todd, Upson, Zura Those six players would defintely get more than enough football between to keep them happy if we make Europe...if an injury crisis came we could call on fringe players like The Axe and McEveley. We'd probably only pay a couple of million to bring both to the club as well...and wages would be covered by Amo/Gresko/Matteo... I did start off just wanting to make a small point about Upson being able to play left back and have pace...then my imagination ran away with me slightly. Oh well.

Had Souness spent much longer in charge of us then it's probably that the majority of our squad would have started this season in the Championship...it's blatantly not as simple as the sentence you've put. Julio Arca is the most obvious one for me, primarily a left back but gets moved upfield for Sunderland because he's so far ahead of the rest of that squad in terms of ability that it's a waste having him back there. He would be a superb long term replacement for Gray, he's only in his mid-20s as well. If Pennant can sort himself out then he would be the perfect player to compliment Pedersen on the wings, if it's one thing we lack it's a genuine winger. Despite Heskey's obvious flaws, it's difficult to argue he wouldn't compliment Bellamy...and he'd certainly be an improvement on Kuqi, although you have to wonder whether the transfer fee and wages would be worth it. Apart from that...only a fully fit Dunn would enhance our starting 11. There are, however, plenty of players that would thicken out the squad should European football arrive next season, we'd certainly need extra cover in almost every position.

£100k? That's not worth it at all. In the grand scheme of things, what does that buy us? A few months a fringe players contract? You throw Gresko and Amoruso into and suddently that offer looks measly. I'd rather we keep our image as a club that other fans like to visit (at least from what I've heard from people I talk to) than a club who will screw people over for a meaningless amount of money. £100k won't make the slightest bit of difference to how we perform in the league.

Hmmmm... But you're also paying for assembly when you buy complete systems. I've always done the comparison of factory built cars to kit cars...saving on labour costs. Whether that's true or not, I don't know...but I've never heard of a factory built system to have cost less than the equivalent home built system.

Does this article not strike someone as complete and utter amatuer rubbish? I've read better things on this site, which were done for free and for fun. Someone actually got paid to write that? Pish.

Maybe not. But you're the only person I've ever known who can attempt to justify a 4-5-1 involving 'the axe' without taking the p......

Ah, fair enough. I'm sure he started up-front with Milner on the left though...I did leave before the second half, so...it probably changed.

Those Bentley and England threads are just too vague, aren't they?

Up-front with Nugent.

Agreed. It certainly doesn't beat a night in corrupting the facts on Wikipedia.

Not sure how anyone sees Dunn as a replacement for Tugay. Yes, they may be creative players...but they play entirely different positions in midfield. Dunn breaks forward and plays in the final third, Tugay sits back and orchestrates from deep, allowing Savage to go about his 'headless chicken' routine. A Dunn and Savage combination would not work at all unless Savage sat back for 90 minutes, but that then defeats the point of having him in the team. However, I think he could do a great job for us in the wide positions (if fit, of course). He's never going to be a natural winger, but if we gave him the kind of freedom Liverpool offer Gerrard when he's played right/left then he could be extremely effective. Certainly more so than Emerton. I'd guess there wouldn't be much of a difference in salaries either...

I could be wrong here so apologies if I am...but weren't you one of the people who said petty sendings off were ruining the game?

I don't believe he has to be locked in the treatment room 24 hours a day...

You're on about Dean Shiels from Hibs. I think there's a huge difference between growing up with lack of sight in one eye and suddenly losing it and being expected to cope immeadiately. If Scholes or Sissoko lose vision in one of their eyes there's no way they'll for their clubs again. Lets hope they both survive the scares and return sooner rather than later.

Interesting to see how worked up people are getting in here about play acting. Savage has been arguably the worst offender in the Premiership this year, some of his antics have been embarrassing. Hardly anyone has condemed him though, instead we excuse it with the other things he brings to the team. It's that very attitude (identical at every club I might add) which is keeping things like that in the game. Fans are happy enough to take the moral high ground when other clubs' players cheat, but when it's one of their own it's excusable. If we genuinely want it erradicated from our game then we can't have it both ways. It would take a brave set of supporters to set the balling rolling and fiercely criticise one of their own for cheating, but unless it happens players will continue to play act in order to help their team win.

It was said quite frequently that Hakan Sukur was fit enough to be a top level middle distance runner...he can't have slacked off that much.

Urgh... Tugay is the single most important player we have for playing a 4-4-2 formation. The tactics are simple in central midfield nowadays...one holding player who can intercept, spread play and play a disciplined position...alongside a box-to-box midfielder who is all action, will put their foot in and give 100% every game. With Tugay and Savage we have that...Liverpool have it with Alonso/Sissoko, Chelsea with Makelele/Lampard (ok, plus a more attacking midfielder to boot), Tottenham with Carrick/Jenas etc etc...when Reid and Savage play together, neither have the discipline to just sit and pick up the pieces, both want to run everywhere. Tugay is THE biggest job for Sparky on the horizon, and he will know it. Mokoena is not the answer, he's far too sloppy in possesion. I just hope Tugay will give us another season and therefore Sparky moer time to make the correct decision. As for tonight...job done. Two defeats on the spin...followed by a workmanlike win. The more I see of what Hughes is doing with our side, the more I like it. If Bellamy can stay fit between now and the end of the season, there's no reason why we can't be outside challengers for a top 4 position.

Enckelman on £20,000 a week? What makes you think that?