Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man

The EFL teams generally get eliminated in the first couple of rounds anyway and I can't see fans being allowed in as soon as the earlier rounds. Also, considering they have 46 league games plus Playoffs to get through, those spare midweeks for the League Cup could be used for league games to ease the congestion later in the season.

Considering that the English football calendar is already pretty busy anyway, reducing the season by five weeks could mean that the League Cup falls by the wayside. Something has to give.

I think he's good enough to be part of the squad but I'm not sure if a winger is really a priority right now.

Marshall is a little bit different because of where he went to, yes. But many years after Dean Ashton left there were still some people on this board calling him 'Cashton', and players such as the Murphy twins, Redmond and several others who left a Championship side for a Premier League move still get criticised. What are they supposed to do? Turn down a huge pay rise and what could be their only opportunity to play in the Premier League (or the last chance they get to play in it, for those who have already played there)?

Those as the only three options would worry me. Pukki won't have much pressure for his position and if he gets injured, needs a rest (let's remember it's a 46-game season in eight months instead of the usual nine) or drops out of form I don't think Idah and Sinani between them can lead the attack.

We were in the Championship at the time and they moved to Premier League clubs. I really don't know why we hold a grudge against young men who are only trying to further their careers.

Liverpool generally play 60 games a season between league, cups and Europe so even if Lewis isn't a regular starter, he'll still get some game time. Even if said game time is limited, he'll be training with world class players and coaches which will only develop him. And if after a couple of years he decides to move on to play more regularly, a Premier League side would pick him up anyway from a club the size of Liverpool, which they may not had he gone to somewhere like Palace and not made the grade.

It's a fine balancing act. It looks like we'll have Pukki, Idah and a new signing, but what do we want from the third striker? Do we want a Rhodes-esque backup, so Pukki will be undisputed starter and Idah gets more game time? It's very risky because if Pukki gets injured or struggles for form we haven't got another quality player to come in. Or do we spend a few million on someone to compete with Pukki, which costs more money and limits Idah to the 'Srbeny role' where he might not start a game all season?

I was actually speaking to a Belgian friend last night who brought Roofe up; I'd completely missed that he had signed for Rangers. Apparently he had s very disappointing season there and Anderlecht have sold him for about £4m, which represents a loss. At that price, he would've been worth a punt, providing his wages were within our budget and he wouldn't have minded a fight for the shirt with Pukki.

Yeah, apologies for that, but when I clicked 'start new topic' there had been no mention of it... For what it's worth, I don't think Lewis is quite as valuable as Aarons, Godfrey, Buendia or Cantwell. Those four would have a price of £25m, but Lewis isn't quite at that level for me and £15m wouldn't be far out. I wouldn't entertain an offer of £10m though.

Firstly, yes Bill, I know there's a transfer rumour thread but this one is pretty big and seems to be gathering momentum. A lot of the national papers are reporting tonight that Lewis is in talks with Liverpool and has cut short his holiday in order to do so. The Pinkun has also picked up on the story. Also, a few sources are claiming that Norwich are interested in yoing Liverpool left-back Yasser Larouci and he could come in part-exchange. I've heard of him but I've never seen him play and don't know if he's ready for Championship football yet. The reported fee is around £10m, but that seems a little light to me unless there are plenty of add-ons or Larouci is coming. As an aside, whilst Lewis would no doubt be an excellent player for us in the Championship, I don't think he's of the quality Liverpool would require for him to play regular games if Robertson gets injured. £10m seems a bit cheap, but £15m wouldn't be a bad deal considering we've got McCallum who is very highly-rated in his own right.

Man City have completed the signing of Ferran Torres from Valencia. Is that the catalyst for Valencia to move for Buendia?

I'm late to the party, but I've just given you a donation and a follow. Keep up the good work!

I agree with this. Whilst the focus is clearly on developing yoing players, it's unrealistic to have a squad entirely of players under the age of 25. They need some older heads to help guide them, as we've seen with Krul and the young members of our back four. One thing to point out though is that despite his young age, Dowell has actually picked up quite a lot of Championship experience already.

I'd like to see Brentford win. From what I've seen this season, they looked arguably the best side in the division and it was just their consistency that let them down. It's also nice to see new sides and 'underdogs' reach the Premier League every now and again. Saying that though, I'd expect Brentford to lose some key players if they don't go up and as a result, I think they'd be weaker opposition for us next season.