The only place to be

We made the mistake signing Torres. We committed close to £100 million on him and that had other ramifications. We're seeing other results of it now. Continually moaning about selling Sturridge as an 'I told you so' really is fucking pathetic. Move on. Look to the future, and if you can't do that then support the red bunch. They never make bad decisions when it comes to transfers.

It's all in our control still but it's going to be tough. Personally, I think people need to get some perspective. Yes it would be fantastic to finish top four and win the CL but regardless of what happens we're still going to have a team capable of pushing for the title next year.

Just looking forward to this season being over. If we get Champions League then great, and if we don't we've still got enough in the squad to push for the league title next season. Can't be bothered to talk about the match. Same old shit, same old problems, same old players not pulling their weight and just some bizarre refereeing decisions to mix it up a bit.

I think Leif does have a point, and I actually thought differently to him when the prospect of Mourinho returning first cropped up. First things first, we all know that our club is looking to use the academy better and that will have been brought up in the discussions with Mourinho. Furthermore we've looked to sign younger players and despite us apparently negotiating with Jose, we're still completing transfers for players like Schurrle so clearly the club isn't going to change their new-found love of youth. But even in his time here he did try and use players like Sahar, Hutch, Grant and Sinclair. The problem was that our academy was still being rebuilt and the players simply weren't of a high enough calibre. That's not the case anymore and there are players that we've either brought in or developed for a few years that are of a high enough quality to be considered, and I think Mourinho will use them. I think he'll have to because this club seems to be trying to forge a new identity.

This might save you from making a faux pass in the future - most golf clubs will require shirts with collars. Plus I think it's a really nice kit. Reminds me a touch of an old Bayern Munich shirt I had which had a vertical blue and red stripe. I like the fact that Adidas have just kept things fairly simple this year. No weird panels, no piping, just a blue shirt with a distinctive collar. Bravo Adidas.

I agree he should be kept around unless someone comes in with a bid of £12 million or more - which they won't. He could be a great option off the bench or simply used as a rotation option, but I'd be interested to see how he'd do alongside a proper DM like Khedira where he had more freedom to express his attacking instincts. He was a beast as a youngster when he was more like a Toure-esque player and I've always felt his conversion to a Makelele-type player was misguided by Mourinho. The only problem is whether he'd be able to muster the enthusiasm to play more of a bit-part role. If he can't then we ship him on and replace him in the squad with Chalobah or even Loftus-Cheek a little further down the line.

Just set up West Brom's equaliser. Shielded the ball and laid it off for Jones to finish off.

Luck won us the Champions League as much as anything. What we need in that midfield is men who do the job we need. Rami has stepped up in recent weeks but I still think there's a good chance we'll get two midfielders in the summer. Oscar might be given a shot at the playmaking role in midfield but I think a defensive stopper like Khedira is essential. We can have the Mikel discussion for a thousandth time where his critics point to his lack of mobility, his lack of heart, his lack of leadership and his lack of positional sense whilst his supporters talk about his pass completion statistic, but we need to re-establish that spine we once had. We need leaders as well. We need men who step-up and make the player next to them better.

Fantastic result for the lads who were superior in almost every position last night. Ake looked absolutely fantastic on the ball and I think that's got a lot to do with confidence gained from his run in the first-team. So comfortable in possession and took his goal fantastically. Aina looks a real prospect at right-back. Davey looked solid but I don't rate him quite as highly as others seem to. Loftus-Cheek just looked a level above their midfielders whilst Baker put in another solid display. Boga was Boga, cutting in from the left and nonchalantly gliding past players before being moved into a more central role when Swifty went off. Kiwomya should've had two goals and set up Swift's goal well will a nicely-timed run on the right wing before pulling it back into the perfect position. Feruz was wasteful but his workrate was absolutely phenomenal. Got to give a special mention to Swifty though. I've always been a fan of his but he's never quite got the attention other players did. People were calling him Lampard-esque but his game is probably closer to Jack Cork's in terms of the positions he occupies and the amount of space he covers in a game. Could probably handle a loan to the Championship next season and with his workrate and technique he could surprise some people in games where he comes off the bench. In the second-half we dominated them but were rather wasteful in front of goal. The academy deserves so much credit after this victory because their good work is so evident in everything the players do. Physically, they simply outlasted the opposition in the first-leg and that was the same tonight. They were first to the ball on so many occassions, their speed on the break was breathtaking at times and their strength on the ball was impressive. Each player also looks so composed on the ball, so whilst some Liverpool fans might point to our players' physical attributes I think they also have to acknowledge that our passing and movement were on another level too. The finishing was lacking, but what's impressive is that the players all seem to have been taught about the importance of hitting the corners of the goal. Feruz and Kiwomya were both unlucky to miss by a couple of inches, but some of the finishing seems so instinctual that it's encouraging for the future and on another day we'd have scored 3-4 more goals. So all in all, a nice reminder of just how good the talent coming through is. One notable thing was that people were talking about the next set of youngsters coming through, specifically Musonda. It's amazing to think that we're now at a stage where we're not just excited about players breaking into the first team, but also players breaking into our Youth Cup team. Now we've just got to do the work in the final and from what I have heard this Liverpool team would've probably given the Norwich team a good run for their money. Another great night for the academy and in particular Adi Viveash who deserves credit for his work with these kids.

How do you know we haven't started looking at players in other positions? There could be moves in place that are dependent on other teams finishing their seasons, but also on where we finish the season. This deal might be nearer completion simply because it's one of the few deals that can be completed early, a bit like the Marin deal. As for the price, Man United signed a winger who has one England cap, no Premier League experience and no Champions League experience for a fee reported to be around £15 million. It's still a lot of money, but after the transfer deals our club has done in the last two years I'm kinda inclined to trust them on this one.

Not too bothered who wins, although I think Bale might lose out on some votes in the Young Player category if people vote for him in the main category just to spread the prizes around, but it's mightily encouraging to see Chelsea players getting 4 of the 12 nominations. Hazard and Lukaku have a good shot at the young player's award, but I think Mata is behind 2-3 players on that list.

Why? He gets more minutes in the lead up to a World Cup, in a team that will be in the Champions League. We get a winger/striker that we need and in a year's time we recall De Bruyne. In the meantime we use Mata and Oscar in the number 10 spot. Ideally we'd have all of these players around but this serves our immediate needs better and is a good use of resources over the long-term isn't it?

I agree. If it's not Jose, it's going to be a massive disappointment. Pellegrini, Moyes, Martinez even Poyet and maybe Simeone are all going to be second-choice. At least whoever we have will be more popular than the current incumbent.

All that makes sense, but JT will still be club captain in my opinion. Funnily enough I'd pick the same three players you did. Cech is a senior player, he's smart and he communicates effectively with his teammates. I don't have a massive objection to keepers being captain but it does make communication with the refs tricky and that's one of the most important jobs of a captain. They need to manage refs and that's one of the reasons I like Mata as skipper. He's intelligent, he's respectful, he's respected but he can seem a little shy at times. He might be a little too cerebral for the role and not have the oomph that we're used to with JT. Luiz is still a little suspect for me. Yes he's grown in stature this year and I can imagine him having the armband when just last year such a thing seemed nonsensical, but he's still got that little bit of maturing to do. That shoulder charge against Brentford and even the elbow on Connor Wickham against Sunderland suggest he's got that recklessness still. I love the enthusiasm but it has to be controlled enthusiasm but he's shown an ability to learn from his weaker points though so I reckon he's got a good shout in a year's time.

I still think he's a great player and very underrated as a DM, but if we could get someone like Khedira then we should move on from Fellaini. Khedira and a playmaker (maybe Oscar or someone like Modric would be ideal) would be a fantastic pivot and we'd still have Ramires and Romeu to come in, as well as Chalobah and possibly De Bruyne. That is enough for a decent push at the title and Champions League in my opinion.

I actually agree that we don't need an influx of physicality and made a similar point in the match thread. I actually think it's unfair to say Moyes simply relies on physical players - the one thing he's shown in his time at Everton is an ability to use the players he have to get results, hence Fellaini's move into an advanced position. He's a DM but they're used his unique tools to great effect further forward. Again, the one thing I like about Moyes is his pragmatic approach to football which is similar to Mourinho's. I'm not for a moment saying appointing Moyes means guaranteed success, but if we're not going to get Jose back then I think he's the best of what's left. Pellegrini is just such an uninspiring choice for a manager, and it just reminds me so much of Scolari's appointment. He's been a manager for 25 years and has ONE SEASON at a top club, where he spent £200 million and finished second in the league. Yes he got lots of points but you don't get a trophy for that. Then there's the Champions League exit to a French team. He's got no experience of the Premier League and up until 12 months ago I don't know if any English club had expressed an interest in him. Is anyone actually excited by the prospect of seeing him take charge of our first game of next season?

You do realise we played with Drogba under Mourinho, and that plenty of fans were saying we needed a bit more physicality against City because we looked so lightweight. Everton play the way they do because it gets results. That pragmatism is something we had under Mourinho and to discount Moyes based on that is rather absurd.

I wouldn't expect one good game to change anyone's mind. The thing is from my perspective this was another good game at DM and a performance that showed heart and passion. Obviously I don't have a chart or stat for heart and passion so it's not really important to some fans.

His cheap buys have taken Everton into the top four twice and finish one spot behind us last season, although don't confuse philosophy with the restrictions of his job. He didn't choose not to spend £30 million on a striker based on philosophical objections. Pellegrini does have experience with spending hundreds of millions of pounds in a single summer though. The fact that he lost to a French team in the Champions League and was sacked 12 months later is perhaps an indicator of how successful he was though. Tactically I think they both have things to offer this club - the difference is that Moyes knows what tactics work in this league. Pellegrini has no experience of the Premier League. He has no experience of the FA Cup. He has no experience of Stamford Bridge. But he can speak English, he's cheap and no-one will give a fuck when we sack him in 2014. Sign him up!! Getting Pellegrini is an unambitious acceptance of the status quo - but we'll probably finish top four and probably have a nice cup run. Yay!

He's the best in your opinion. Personally I'd rather go with someone who knows this league and has shown an ability to surpass expectations. Moyes has done that. He's shown a pragmatism that we need, but also a genuine desire to build a team that plays nice football and integrates young players. Any option who isn't Jose or Klopp is a step down and a big risk, but I've seen nothing to suggest that Pellegrini is any better of an option than Moyes. Neither has a fantastic resume, but at least one has experience of English football which is something that some people simply don't acknowledge as a factor possibly because of their own experiences.

If we're going to compare Shaw and Bertrand, let's acknowledge that Ryan is 6 years older than him and has played about 200 more games. I'd also still contend that Shaw has a level of composure and tactical sense that Ryan certainly didn't have before his 20th birthday, and might still not have. I'll take your word for it that people said he was a Championship-level player, but he clearly isn't. He's a good player and he's shown that in his recent run of games. What people have questioned is whether he can be a great player, and isn't that what we should be aspiring to have in our team? I've watched him for years and I honestly can't say for certain that he'll be a great player? Can you? With players like Shaw, there's something special there that hints at the potential to be great.

Maybe his agent felt it was demeaning. Nice to see Oriol involved though. Wanted to see him kick a ball but just nice to see him back in the kit. It really has got a retro feel to it but it's a very stylish piece of kit.

I probably was, but the guy has really upped his performances and that's a fantastic sign going forward. I also said I didn't think he'd be suitable as a future captain, but in the last couple of months he's emerged as a real leader in the team and been someone we rely on. I've been massively impressed with the way he's carried himself in the second-half of the season and I'll hold my hands up and admit that he's shown stuff I didn't know he had, but there were reasons why people were expressing concerns about him.