kammy

Not a terrible result. We had a lot of the ball today but should have tested Foster more than we did. Maybe we needed someone like Ireland to play the killer ball around the box. Holman MotM but we didn't see as much of him in the second half. Benteke needs to be back on the bench. I like what he can add to the team but his hold up play and finishing were poor today.

Nice to see him getting among the goals. I don't know if he has a future with us or not but it'll benefit the club one way or another if he has a good season.

I don't know why either. :shock: He's showing a bit of promise though and it would be great if he keeps developing in the right way.

Well for a start off it'll free Bent from trying to win those balls in the air that he seldom does. He did a better job of it against Newcastle, but against Everton I'm pretty sure he only won one ball in the air - managing to flick it on to...well, nobody. Hopefully Benteke will be employed to win some of those balls, allowing Bent to lurk on the shoulder of the last defender/edge of the box/etc. Also hope to see at least a handful of goals from corners and free kicks this season with Benteke in the team. Agree. No reason he can't partner Bent, plus his physical presence should help us get goals at set pieces. Even if he isn't the one putting the ball in the net.

I think he'll get plenty of game time. I think there will be plenty of games when Lambert will want someone big and strong up front. Also a great option from the bench if we need to unsettle a defence. As for scoring, we'll have to wait and see but his record so far is very good.

I don't think he'll ever be a great premier league player, but he can definitely be a useful one. Maybe not someone who I want to see starting every game, but he is capable of getting a few assists. It's all about league points and we might have come back from Newcastle with none if Barry wasn't on the pitch. Not sure how people can say he's not PL standard.

Don't forget Bowery. Lambert said he was one for the future, but wouldn't be scared to play him. This suggests to me he's backup rather than competing for starts.

Even if we have I don't think he'll come here. He wants European football I'm sure I read somewhere. Would love it to happen though! Does this mean the Benteke deal is off I wonder?

Would love this to happen. He'd be able to play that number 10 role we've been missing since Keane left. Won't hold my breath though.

Err, I seem to remember we signed Vlaar. So can't see how that would be a problem?

Glad about Jones and not surprised about Defoe. He won't leave Spurs. Would have liked him here though. He's still a bloody good striker.

I enjoy getting swept away by the speculation as much as the next guy, but nothing about the Carroll rumours even begin to add up. Maybe I'll be proved wrong but the deal seems to make no sense and conflicts with everything else that has happened in the window so far.

I really don't see Carroll coming. We don't have that kind of money. If we did have, we'd be spending it on other players. Not sure why people seem to think it's even a possibility.

If true and he's replaced with someone better it's obviously a good move. Think we should be worrying about other positions though, instead of spending our time chasing a CB.

Interesting viewpoint Worrying if true - surely isn't though Poor sod He was good player when we bought him. Started out pretty well with us too. It's fair to say he's lost his way with us but if he returns to form he'd be a real asset for a championship club.

been asleep for the last 20 hours? Not been on here for a while, sorry if people have done it already! The tweet was new.

Tim Abraham on twitter is claiming Lambert was at the Wolves Barnsley game last night. Who was he looking at? Jarvis? Or maybe Harewood?

Probably a fair point about the defence. The same players seemed to go downhill fast. But I'm convinced things would have got better if he'd stuck around. He'd lined up Cabaye for a start.

Most people gave him a chance but it didn't take long to find other reasons to hate him did it?

Houllier hardly inherited the perfect team from MON did he? Some very good players, some very bad. I think most managers would have struggled trying to replicate what O'Neill had achieved. He had to tear it apart to rebuild it. We only saw the first half of this. At least he had a plan!

Really excited by what's to come. I'm trying not to be overly optimistic, but think the top half of the table is a possibility if we don't lose key players for any length of time. Let's not forget we can still bring more players in before the window closes and supplement the squad further in Jan if needs be. I will be happy with anything as long as the football improves and we are clear of danger at the bottom. Bring it on!

Easily McLeish. We don't even need this thread do we? O'Leary - things turned very sour for him, but we did OK under him for a while. Houllier was trying to change things and if he had had more time I think we would have seen improvements. McLeish was terrible the whole time. No contest.

Happy if we bring in another CB but it's not a priority like LB, ST or Winger.

We shouldn't let Ireland go right now. He could be an excellent player for us this season. At the end of it, If he hasn't performed, ship him out. Not even bothered what kind of fee, but we really should give him a chance.

Even if we have the same number as we started with last season, the better the quality of the players, the greater the experience of the youngsters and the fact that we have now a decent manager means we have a far stronger squad.