Savage turned down late Everton move. Apologies if this has already been posted.

See...Thompson is a far better player than Ferguson in the middle. Flog the git and let Thompson loose in the Premiership in the centre of midfield. What the hell is Matteo playing for? He should be 4th choice left back, I hope it's just because it's the FA Cup.

Can anyone remember the last time we signed a Premiership teams best player? Might be going back to the glory days of the mid-90's to find the last time it happened.

Can't see anything other than a win tonight, hopefully we'll put on a good display. We could use it to rest one or two but keep the core of the team the same. 2-0 to Rovers. Friedel Neill Todd Johansson McEveley Reid Mokoena Thompson Pedersen Stead Jansen Hopefully.

Why is Ferguson any better than Thompson? Thommo can do pretty much everything better than Ferguson...shooting, aggression, through balls, movement... If Thommo is properly fit now (don't forget, the last operation was done by Steadman who sorted the careers of Shearer/Van Nistelrooy etc) then he is a better player than Ferguson by quite some distance in my opinion.

Don't know anyone has mentioned this, but... What are the chances of Everton coming in for Ferguson? Surely it must be pretty high? They tried to sign him when we did and desperately want a replacement for Gravesen, we also know they have money. Hopefully they'll enter the race and push the price up like they did when we bought him.

Are you taking the ######? Todd's been organising the back 4 lately and is one of the few who dares stand up to Brad's (often wrong) opinions. Should have made myself more clear on that bit...I mean as a person, he always seems very quitely spoken when I've heard him on interviews, not the sort of person who will rally everyone. It's just the impression I get from seeing him, he will lead the back line whether he's captain or not...does he have the personality to do the rest of the jobs a captain has to do though? There's a lot of media interaction involved, Thommo and Savage have always looked very comfortable with this side and both seem to have big personalities. I could be doing Todd an injustice though, I admit that. Edit: Decided to vote Thommo by the way.

I've been extremely impressed with Mokoena in interviews, seems very approachable and dignified and we know he has leadership qualities. Probably a bit too early for him but could very well be our own Radebe in a few years time, for now I'd probably give it Savage or Thompson. Not keen on the idea of Todd, seems like he could be a Beckham-esque captain to me; leads by example but very quiet vocally...not that sort of captain I like.

We don't need to buy a replacement if Thommo is back to 100%, he's better than Ferguson anyway. Come the summer when Tugay probably leaves we'll need someone to add depth, but for now Flitty, Tugay, Mokoena, Douglas and Reid backing up Savage and Thompson will be good enough. Maybe we could make a bid for Michael Tonge or someone, but we'll be far better off if we put the money towards a striker.

If Thommo is definitely over his injury troubles then the answer to me is obvious...we don't. Emerton has shown that he is capable of being the winger we were all told he was going to be, Pedersen is looking like he will come good and Reid provides cover for both wings...leaving Thommo to put his talents to use in the centre of midfield. As a partner for Ferguson there were question marks over him (even though he played excellent in his appearance against Birmingham), however as partner for Savage I think there would be very few...we could let him go forward and use his excellent shooting and ability to pick a pass...he's got great energy too and doesn't mind getting stuck in. In fact, the more I think about it, I would pick a fully a fit Thompson over Ferguson anyway if it weren't for the fact he was our captain. Take the money for Ferguson and buy a quality striker and let Thompson loose in the centre...we'd be stronger for it...but again, only if we can have Thommo at 100% all the time and not for a few games a season. The thought of a £5 million striker and a midfield which wouldn't be much weaker, if any weaker at all, is quite exciting. Maybe we could tempt Palace with an offer for Johnson? Benni McCarthy maybe?

The lad is an Everton fan...he's spent all his life hating Liverpool, it's fairly understandable.

A quick question to the people who went to the game: Did Reid play in the centre of midfield when he replaced Tugay? If so...did he look any good there?

£2.5 million suddenly seems a good price when you consider Southampton have bid £2 million for Nigel Quashie.

However at the start of the window the FA didn't allow player registrations until 4th January (bank holidays etc) so I wouldn't be surprised if there is a slight extension into early February. The transfer window is controlled by FIFA/UEFA, not our FA...it's because they were still on Christmas holiday that they registrations didn't go through so it won't be extended.

I never said talented...I said effective, it's a very different thing. The defensive players on the small list I put aren't as talented but they are more effective defensively...whilst someone like Cahill is probably more exposed defensive wise but is a bigger goal threat than Ferguson. That's what I mean when I said it's difficult to know what to do with him and he's also quite difficult to find a partner for, someone who is 'all action' like Savage is probably best suited but players of his kind are rare.

The problem is that Ferguson is not and never has been worth anything like £7 million. £3.5 million is something like his proper value and it's what we should have been paying, if we got £5 million for him then we'd be getting more than what he's worth...the only reason that may look like a bad price is because of the ridiculous sum we paid for him. There are plenty of midfielders around who are as effective as Ferguson and they cost a fraction of the price...Matt Holland, Michael Brown, Papa Bouba Diop, Amdy Faye, Tim Cahill...the list is pretty much endless. He's a decent Premiership midfielder but nothing more...he's not really attacking enough be the forward running midfielder and he's not physical enough to be the defensive one..it's difficult to know what to do with him. I've been impressed with Hughes in the transfer market so far and I'd trust him to make better use of £5 million+ than Souness did so if Rangers came in with that kind of fee then I wouldn't be at all bothered if he left.

Don't they play Lua Lua on the right? He's pretty pacey and very tricky. I think we'll draw this, I'll go for 1-1...although my predictions so far are terrible. As for the team, I'd go with this: Friedel Reid Todd Johansson McEveley Emerton Thompson Flitcroft Pedersen Stead Dickov Thommo is the most natural replacement for Ferguson we have in that he will give us a goal threat from the centre of midfield whilst still being able to battle if necessary...have a feeling Hughes will play Mokoena (remember this spelling! ) with Flitty and Emerton on the left with Thommo out wide as we are away from home. Whoever we play at right back is going to be out of position so we may as well play Reid there as he's the only one we know is capable of doing a decent job. McEveley didn't do a whole lot wrong a left back when he was in so he deserves another chance.

I think we'll scrape through, either 1-0 or 2-1. I think Hughes should use this game to test one or two players but keep the core of the team the same. Personally I'd go like this: Friedel Neill Todd Mokoena McEveley Thompson Ferguson Flitcroft Pedersen Stead Gallagher

We will stay up whether Savage comes or not so I don't know why we're appearing so desperate to sign him, anything over £2 million for a 30 year old would be a bad move by the club. Michael Carrick moved for around £3.5 million...

From where?

Can't see us winning this one if we keep the same strikeforce, even the Newcastle defence shouldn't have too much problem coping with our toothless attack. Newcastle aren't on form but they do have quite a lot of pace in the side and that's not something we deal well with, the only chance we have is if we can dominate the centre of the midfield, something that's not impossible especially as Bowyer will be suspended, he's been their most impressive player in there so far. Personally, I'd line-up like this... Friedel Neill Todd Nissa McEveley Emerton Ferguson Flitty MGP Stead Gallagher

I haven't seen that goal so I don't know, but if you're implying that a wrong decision there means our goal should have stood then you're wrong.

If Dickov keeps starting games we WILL go down, unless we can bring in another striker or get someone at the club to find some form to score the goals that he won't. I've asked this a number of times and never had an answer...why, at 32, is Dickov suddenly good enough to be the main striker in a team that survives in the Premiership when he has never been good enough before? His work-rate could be useful in the final stages of games but to keep starting with him is madness, using 'annoying the defence' as our primary attacking tactic will send us down. I only hope that Hughes is using this as a temporary thing until he can bring in some quality in January. Does anyone know how many goals his kamikaze style of pressing defenders has gained us? I'd guess none, that's how you get goals in Sunday league, not the Premiership.

How is there so much confusion over the Gallagher incident? That rule hasn't changed, it is offside and has always been read as offside, nothing has changed. End of.