The Skipper

So, if you've played as a striker for your whole life, and suddenly got played out wide, wouldn't you be a little bit annoyed? Also, Wilkins might have said whatever, but did he ever say Sturridge was arrogant about it? Prove that to me. It's imaginary in your head, the media have passively put it in your head.

I don't exactly get why some people are so satisfied that Sturridge is leaving? Yes, perhaps he wasn't a world class player but the certain notion that he was an "arrogant, cocky player who demanded to play up front" is ridiculous. He is a decent young player with bags of ability as he showed last season where he was our top goal scorer in the league despite 1) playing out wide and 2) sporadically playing in the second half of the season. This false imaginary thought that he isn't good enough to play up front (even though he's never in a CFC first team shirt had a prolonged time as a CF) is ridiculous. Everyone seems to forget that for his whole life he's played up front, through his youth playing days all the way up to when he first broke through at City. Of course he's going to have a preference of playing up front. Fact is, over his career, whenever he's played up front he's produced. It's not that people want him as our main striker (don't even know why anyone would think that) it's just about the fact that people want to see him been given a chance up front for a prolonged period! (That doesn't mean 2 starts and 10 minutes here and there at the end of a game). Fact remains that Sturridge never had a chance at CFC, and that's why certain people are sad, because he was a good player with a lot of potential. I'm happy for Danny, as I think he'll finally have a platform to produce at at Liverpool. £12m is a decent deal for both sides. Hopefully he won't come back to haunt us.

I know I know, but you shouldn't read much into what the bookies say. The bookies know as much as we do.

If the Italian league had as much exposure as the La Liga, people would be crying for Cavani. He is currently on 22 goals after 20 games after all. Monster. As prolific as Falcao over the last 2 and a half seasons but offers more to the team in my humble opinion.

Thank God.

Exactly. Shame Mikel isn't playing.

What I'm trying to say in my first point is that it won't matter whether Falcao stays on his last man when a team plays deep against us - simply because he will rarely have space to run into. Of course there's more to Falcao than that so he will definitely score goals, but I think that the overall impact another striker in the mould of a Cavani, Ibra or RVP (basically strikers who are excellent outside the box) would be more justifiable than just having a striker who's main attribute is being a predator in the box. Again, from what I have seen from Falcao, he isn't really the sort of striker that runs into channels IMO. The Messi analogy is interesting but I don't think it's relevant to Falcao's case either - Falcao isn't the sort of player who can take the ball from deep and breeze past players like Messi does. Barcelona style of play also includes loads of intricate passes and through balls so its natural Messi will score from those positions - Falcao's case is different though as he (usually) clearly thrives on being fed the ball in or near the box, not like Messi who can take the ball from anywhere, drive to the 18 yard box and score. You can't compare Messi + Barcelona to anyone. What CHOULO and I are trying to say is that even though Falcao would score goals for us as he is a great player, but someone like Cavani could have a greater impact on the team. I certainly wouldn't be disappointed if we signed Falcao but I'd be happier if we got Cavani.

Majority of teams won't be playing a high line in order for Falcao to be on the last man all the time. We're transforming into a possession based side - teams will sit deep against us. It'll be harder to find Falcao in the box where he is most lethal. We don't want him to run the channels and stretch play - that's not what he's best at at all. Everyone knows Falcao is the most lethal in the box and the way our team is being set up at the moment (unless we're going to transition into hitting the ball early to our striker, which I doubt - personally I think that it's just a temporary thing to accommodate Torres) I think we could do with a striker who is great at bringing others into play whilst also being a threat in the box himself.

I don't think that that's satisfactory to be honest. I want more from our striker than just 25 goals a season - after all, our current number 9 is well on track for that. Yes Didier wasn't as prolific as let's say a Falcao but his presence alone made him a nuisance in opposition's eyes. Him being there up front gave the team a lot more space; it allowed the likes of Lampard and Malouda and others to chip in with goals as well. What I want from our new striker is exactly just that - I don't want a team that's over reliant on one striker's goals. I'd rather have a striker up front who complements the team and allows the likes of Hazard, Mata, Oscar and Moses to chip in with goals. I'd rather us have a multidimensional threat up front rather than the other way around.

This is what I said, the only reason we should buy Fellaini in my opinion is because he could give us different and varied options across the pitch.

I think what he is trying to say is that Falcao is more on the side of a pure goal scorer and that there are strikers out there who bring more to the table than just goals - strikers that aren't absent for majority of the game unless they score i.e. a Drogba, a Cavani or an Ibrahimovic. These guys I've just mentioned are/were very useful to the team outside the box compared to Falcao, that is Falcao's only weakness IMO. One thing Falcao does have on these guys though is that he is at the moment the deadliest striker in the box and the purest number 9 compared to all of them. I don't agree with the notion that Falcao isn't worth £48m, because he really is (in today's frantic market anyway), as he is that lethal in the box, but what I do agree with is that for that price you'd ideally want your striker to be immense outside of the box as well - again not saying that Falcao is bad outside the box, but he certainly isn't the best.

Maybe because he was injured during some of those seasons?

Most Liverpool fans say £12m is too much for Sturridge and one even said he's worse than N'Gog. Most say that he's a mid table striker at best (ironically Liverpool are 12th in the table right now if I'm not incorrect). My my, these bunch are quite deluded.

Nah, Lewy doesn't have Ibra's class just yet IMO.

It won't purely go on wages - all teams in the mix will offer him high wages. What's stopping Real, City or whoever bidding from Falcao in January if we do as well? For all we know, Falcao could reject us in January because he'll be holding out for a move to Real Madrid. It mostly comes down to which club sells their vision the best.

We've been linked with Cavani before he went to Napoli. He's made huge strides at Napoli. How can there be a bidding war on Falcao when he has a buy out clause...

Mata to be our new 20 goals a season midfielder?

Listen, I never criticised Torres for not scoring last season so don't paint me with that same brush. Man City was community shield - doesn't count. Shakhtar and Arsenal were 2 out of his 13 goals that were against decent opposition - maybe add in Newcastle with that as well. My point is that you're trying to make it seem as if Torres has been great this season when that's far from the truth - he's scored 6 goals in the last 5 games yes, but they were against poor opposition. It doesn't prove anything. He hides in the majority of our big games and that's fact. You're acting as if you'd be happy for Torres to remain our main striker. I certainly wouldn't. People are generally disillusioned with Torres because he hasn't produce regularly for over 2 years - when people say they've had enough of him it's not just based on this season - he's been just about okay this season - but it's all the cumulative efforts he has given us since he's arrived. Torres isn't good enough to be the number 1 striker at a top club like CFC, and if you don't agree with that then you're quite deluded about Torres in my opinion.

How many of those goals were against top quality opposition again? Oh.

I still think his finishing can improve a lot, yes.

He's 26.

When talking about his form and the way he has been playing in recent weeks, Sturridge is quoted to have said: "That's the position I will always pick myself, centre-forward. But whatever position the manager picks me in I'm happy and right now, for the team, I'm in the wide position. "I will always give 100 per cent and work as hard as I can to get the success we all want."

This is hardly frequent is it? It's not moaning either - he simply believes that he can score goals, which he has done since his youth, by playing up front, which he has also done since his youth days. Nothing wrong with a little bit of self belief. It's like people saying Hazard is moaning because he has a preference to play at number 10, when in all trueness it isn't that way at all.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, even though you were being a bit harsh - someone like Villa for example would be a great signing short term. But yeah, you're right. We're CFC. We deserve elite players.

You're right in saying that we're caught in between the two styles but I'd say that only our 3 amigos are really suited to possession football whilst the rest of the team are more inclined to counter attacking football - that includes Torres. It's why the attacking has been a bit dysfunctional.