Today's Banter: Rafa may sit Torres, Martin to Yeovil?, CNN needs a better fact checker, & more

- Rafa has made sure that everyone knows this is his club when he stated that Torres' performance last night doesn't guarantee him a place at Wigan on Saturday. It might be best to start him on the bench anyhow as we should have a fresh Kuyt and Voronin, both of whom should be looking to redeem themselves after Saturday's subpar performance versus Birmingham.

- It's looking less likely that a rumored loan move for keeper David Martin to Yeovil Town will come to fruition. With last night's shaky performance from Frenchman Charles Itandje, it's understandable that Rafa wants to keep the 21-year-old Reserves keeper around. If Itandje stumbles on his second outing, I fully expect Martin to get his shot. Both Martin and out-on-loan Nikolay Mihaylov gave solid performances in the preseason.

- CNN made a slight and understandable error in this report from yesterday's Sevilla-Espanyol match, unless Luis Garcia was recently loaned out from Atletico to Espanyol. I think I would have heard about it though.

- Coppell claims it's Torres' pace that sets him apart from other players. I would have to agree that El Nino has some speed and quickness, but he's also strong and how can you not deny his uncanny ability to score any which way by foot after the Chelsea goal and the phenomenal second strike yesterday? He's just so unpredictable on the ball.

- Finally, Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt have both been named to Marco Van Bastien's provisional Holland squad for their upcoming Euro qualifier matches in mid-October. The fixtures are just three weeks away. Cheers.

Today's Banter: McClaren coming around?, Barnes relates to Bentley, Mihaylov starts for Bulgaria U21, & more

- Let me first say that it would not bother me even for a second if Gerrard 'retired' from international play. Yes, I know that would never happen, since Stevie-G loves his country nearly as much as he loves his club, but one can dream, can't they? At least I hope so. Anyhow, it looks as if England boss Steve McClown has finally seen the light and decided to give Gerrard the kind of freedom alloted him at LFC. Wow, McClown, you're quite the manager. He even went as far as to call his number four the inspiration of the squad. Recalling the Andorra match at Camp Nou, the England boss stated when Stevie-G took control of the match in the second half and pushed the Three Lions through to three points, he knew how valuable Gerrard was. The fact that it took McClown this long to figure out how special Gerrard is should prove how incompetent he is.

- John Barnes has come out in support of David Bentley, questioning the so-called English 'fans' on what their motives were for booing the 23-year-old. I have to agree with the Liverpool Legend here. It does no good to react like that to one of our young hopefuls for any reason, if he had done something truly horrible, he would have never been offered a spot on the squad. It makes you look like donkeys and him insecure when we need to be instilling him with confidence. I was honestly ashamed by the display, no fan has any right to be any player's judge and jury, and I hope the lad doesn't take it to heart.

- Niklolay Mihaylov, one of thirty-odd keepers on our books, was on the losing end of a U21 match with England, 2-0, though apparently he did quite well in keeping it respectable for his out-manned Bulgarian side. The goals for England were scored by Tom Huddlestone and Mark Noble. I saw Mihaylov play in the preseason and though at times a bit melodramatic, I have to say he is quite good despite hearing otherwise. He is currently out on loan to Eredivisie side, FC Twente.

- Former manager Gerard Houllier has finally decided to end his holiday and become the new technical director of football for France. His first task is to help find a permanent home for Anthony Le Tallec. I personally think he should have to buy the 22-year-old midfielder from us with his own money to make up for the many mistakes he made as when he was in charge here.

- Finally, the transfer rumor of the day is Man City expressing interest in Yossi Benayoun. By the time January rolls around, Yossi will either be injured or be playing more often, so I doubt he'll be unhappy with his situation then. A lot of international matches today so unless something major happens I probably won't be posting until this evening. Cheers.