Here's the way I see it. We weren't spoilt for choice. Falcao and Cavani would have cost a bomb if their clubs agreed to sell. In some ways, we were desperate what with Rodgers categorically denying that we were looking to sign Balotelli just 3 months ago.

Having said that, at $16 million, Balotelli is an absolute bargain given he's just 24 and it is proven he scores goals wherever he goes. He's in supreme shape and is an absolute nightmare for defenders to deal with. The lad is quick, strong and good with both feet. Sunderland is prepared to offer the same amount for Borini. We spent more on Allen, Henderson, Downing and certainly Carroll.

Question marks over his temperament what with him using his teammate as a dartboard amongst other things but unlike Suarez, he doesn't get banned for misdemeanors on the pitch and is likely to feature more. Consider also that he is taking a 50% paycut as he is on a performance based contract (which Rodgers favours - see Raheem Sterling) and it is thus in his best interest to feature as often as possible so he's less likely to want to get himself suspended. Shrewd maneuver by our boss here.

If there's a place for a player like him to turn over a new leaf and develop it's hear. Rodgers consulted the senior players before going ahead with making an offer to Balotelli and got the green light from lads like Steven Gerrard. Daniel Sturridge has the ego the size of China but he's been behaving and he's gotten even better. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Jon Flanagan, Jordan Henderson and Coutinho have all flourished under the Ulsterman.

If there is any place for Balotelli to reaffirm the belief that he is one of the top strikers in Europe, it's here and it's now.

Craig Bellamy was a bit of a headcase as well but aside from trying to use Riise's head as a golf ball, he was well behaved and got along with the rest of the lads. Anelka anyone? There is a reason he was called, "Le Sulk".

Important to note also that we have been working with renowned sports psychiatrist, Steve Peters. Anfield also has the advantage of making players feel a sense of belonging and troubled souls are all looking for acceptance. Almost every former player will have a warm memory of his time at Anfield so this isn't just something we say for the sake of it. Players like Alonso and Luis Garcia still follow us in the news. Didi Hamann was a journeyman until he came to Anfield and felt so at home, he developed a slight Scouse accent. If Balotelli is willing to work hard, the fans will take to him and he will take to us.

In the same fixture last year we were actually the better team and Pellegrini himself admitted that our encounter was their toughest at the time. We took the game to City and we were unfortunately not to come away with a result. Rodgers was quoted a couple of days ago as saying that we will not stop playing attacking football which will bode us well in this fixture.

Having said that our defence was in absolute disarray in the final 15-20 minutes of last weekend's fixture against the Saints, a team pundits tipped to struggle this season what with the firesale they went through. Mignolet made a brilliant save by tipping the ball onto the post late on but he was also guilty of flapping early in the game and was lucky not to be punished. We still don't have a proper reliable defensive midfielder to shield the back four and we'll do well not to concede. Upfront, we were lacking bite (no pun intended) and Rickie Lambert was virtually a spectator when he was on and we struggled to trouble a defence missing their best defenders from last season, Lovren and Shaw.

We'd do well to get a draw but based on what I've seen, I reckon it will be a slim defeat. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

I have to agree. It's embarrassing to have fans celebrating when our own players get injured, or even when other players are writhing on the floor in pain for that matter. As bad as a player is playing, we cannot forget our slogan, "You'll Never Walk Alone". In this context it's to tell players that we will support them if they are going through a troubled time just as long as they continue to try.

What are you basing your opinion of him on? He looked decent during pre-season.

Don't know about Can playing in the DM position. The lad has openly suggested that he wants to play behind the forwards in a central position he favours. We seem to be constantly turning attacking players into DMs as in the case of Lucas, Allen, Gerrard and Igor Biscan before them.

I actually rate Hamann higher than Masch. There is a saying that good readers of the game intercept threats before they happen. When you have to lunge into a tackle, it's because you didn't anticipate the threat. Lovren hardly made any tackles in his first game against the Saints but made a significant number of interceptions. This led to Rodgers lavishing praise on his new signing.

On that score, the DM role requires that a player have the discipline to stay back as a midfielder's natural instinct it usually to get forward to support the attack. I suppose players who have at some point played in defence but have since moved on to be midfielders are more suited for the role.

To be specific I meant players who in their youth were playing in that role before being moved up into midfield when they sign professional contracts. Carragher's passing is average at best for a defender let alone a midfielder. Suffice to say, old school, route 1 defenders are a dying breed as they are now encouraged to build from the back. Defenders like Carra are becoming obsolete, just like sweepers as goalkeepers are getting more comfortable with distributing the ball with both their hands and feet.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Aug 26 2014, 05:49 PM

Super performance against Spurs who were on a high after obliterating QPR and topping the table. They weren't really tested until they faced us and we got our tactics spot on. Good performance from both young fullbacks and Raheem Sterling. I had heard that Moreno was fast but he absolutely blitzed Andros Townsend (who is pretty quick himself) and left him for dead. What a good finish as well from the young Spaniard.

On a side note, the Mancs now has a forward line of Falcao, Rooney, Mata and Di Maria who earn a combined weekly salary of over $1 million per week! I distinctively remember a former red nosed manager lamenting how Chelsea and City had bought the league, well well. At least they won't have to worry about Financial Fairplay this season They are offering Falcao super high wages and I think it's testament to how shrewd Rodgers is that we managed to get one of Europe's most promising strikers, who is much younger, to take a 50% paycut to join us on a performance based contract. I think the big clubs are spoiling the market for the likes of us by offering such high wages despite the number of appearances and goals a player makes and scores. There's nothing to motivate him to give his best then.

When Agger left, we lost the only centre back we have who can pass the ball. Lovrend and Sakho are solid defenders but both were guilty of some wayward passing against Spurs. Rodgers reportedly lamented Agger's lack of positional sense but let us now forget that he and Skrtel were a formidable duo under King Kenny.

I would have thought that Agger of all our defenders would thrive under Rodger's who prefers to play his defenders almost at the fullback positions when we press forward with the defensive midfielder slotting in between them. Agger is quicker, more composed on the ball and moves with a sense of elegance as compared to bruisers like Sakho and Srktel. We've been guilty of some really poor defending especially right after losing possession but I don't think Agger is any more guilty than his colleagues in defence.

I can't quite figure it out.

In any case, I think it's testament to his character that he kept rejective the overtures of bigger clubs like Barcelona to stay with us, a club he's quoted as saying he loves and he will always remain a fan of. It was very admirable that he chose to return to his home club Brondby despite having the option to sign for bigger clubs. Respect to the club also for accepting the small fee of $3 million because that's all Brondby could afford. I'm sure they did this out of consideration for Dagger.

#YNWADaniel

He had a go at Stevie didn't he? Captain Fantastic didn't even bother dignifying it. He just looked to keep the game moving.

A fan was willing to face a life time ban by invading the pitch to take a free-kick on behalf of Christian Eriksen. Shows you how much faith some fans have in his ability from deadball situations.

They team definitely did better than almost every fan would have expected but it wasn't by luck. We weren't exactly just getting by. For much of the season the team played better than our opposition and a lot of credit needs to be given to Rodgers who has done well to win the fans over. Suarez got the goals but take nothing away from players like Henderson (zero to hero, now undroppable), Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge, Skrtel and Flanagan had an impressive season. You simply don't get lucky over 38 games.

On the topic of who will win the league it's a tossup between Chelsea and City for me. I see the mancs improving on last season under Van Gaal but despite the massive spending spree on quality players like Di Maria, Blind, Shaw and Falcao, I think they are vulnerable in defence and central midfield. I'm actually really surprised Van Gaal did not find replacements for Ferdinand and Vidic. Evans, Smalling and Jones are not players I'd consider top class. Cleverly has been awful so far and I can't see a midfield comprising of him, Carrick and Fletcher winning too many battles around the centre circle. I really think they should have sold Rooney when they had the chance and made Van Persie their captain. Shrek was/is not a popular figure amongst some of the senior players especially after he was given effective is a retirement package after wanting to walk out as the club was struggling under Moyes. Another factor I see is Van Gaal having Giggs on the bench when I reckon he'd prefer to see Kluivert next to him. Giggs is there for morale. The fans like him as does the players but he doesn't have the same level of experience as Kluivert does nor does he have the same chemistry with Van Gaal.

We'll see.