I've had literally hundreds of e-mails asking for my opinion on Liverpool's signing of Albert Riera. Thank you for every one of them.

I have done my best to respond to your questions in the blog, where I have written an Albert Riera profile.

Please keep the questions and comments coming in!

Cheers

 Guillem

Question:  What's your opnion of Carlos Cuellar?

Hi Guillem, Aston Villa fan here. Just wondering what your opnion of Cuellar is. I know he did well up in Scotland, but do you think he's going to be a good premiership player.

Colin. H.  Solihull. UK

Guillem says:

Aston Villa's new signing, Carlos Cuellar, is an excellent acquisition for your side, Colin. He possesses two absolutely key qualities in a centre back: reliability and intelligence. He's reliable because he is absolutely consistent and he'll get a six out of ten in every single game - which at the end of the season is worth an eight when we are talking about a centre half. He's intelligent because he never, ever does more than he can or more than he should: he gets the job done and does not get himself in to complicated situations with the ball.

He wins the ball, keeps it simple and moves it along it on to the next best person who maybe can do something with it. He's powerful in the air and - much like Cannavaro  - his excellent anticipation and reading of the game means that he rarely gets in to trouble and therefore hardly ever gets booked.
 
Those qualities also mean that he always appears to be in control and that, in turn, is passed on to his defensive colleagues, meaning that he often makes his partner in central defence appear a better player for it. I believe that he could fit in to any defensive line in the world and  I'm looking forward to see him tested in the Premiership, I'm sure he is ready for it as well.

Aston Villa have done very well in signing him I think.

Question: Do Real Madrid really need Ronaldo? They seem to have developed a strong, united squad over the last 2 seasons and I am worried bringing in Ronaldo, with all the hype that his siging will entail, will upset squad dynamic. It harks back to the Galactico era and we all saw how that ended up. Nick H. Surrey.

Guillem says: That’s a very good question and it is one that many people, both inside and outside of Real Madrid are asking themselves. Personally, I’m not sure that the Spanish champions need him and I also have doubts as to whether he would be an immediate success in Spain. There are a lot of players in Spain with similar technical skills and tricks and Ronaldo would have to be a lot cleverer against more tactical opponents and better defenders.

I can tell you that the board of Real Madrid are divided: between thos who feel he would be a vital acquisition who would take the club to the next level in terms of marketing and merchandising at a global level, and then there are those who argue – quite rightly - -that he will destroy the balance of the squad. That balance has been the key to Real’s success over the last two seasons in Spain and the lessons of the collapse of the whole Galactico experiment are still fresh in the memory.

For that reason, in spite of the fact that Calderon, the Madrid president, would personally love to have him, it would not be the end of the world for the club and many people associated with the club. If Real Madrid don’t sign Cristiano Ronaldo, there is a good plan B in place and the names of Huntelaar and David Villa are constantly being mentioned, along with a couple of first class creative midfielders.

Question: Hi Guillem: I'm a die hard liverpool fan, and have ALWAYS had a soft spot for the spanish league and national side, I have always wondered, who is YOUR favourite player of all time, and who would you like to see playing in La Liga? Peter.J.R Bideford

Guillem replies: Who would I love to see playing in La Liga? Well, I’d love to see Steven Gerrard playing in Spain. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not wanting him to leave Liverpool, but I would very much like to see him tested. I’d love to see him push himself, outside of his comfort zone, in a foreign league, where we could all see just how good he really is. The same goes for Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney as well. Most of the players in the modern era have proven themselves playing in a top league away from their home country at some time or another, and I’d like t see these English players do it more often.However, we won’t be seeing any of those three playing in Spain any time soon.

Who is my favourite player of all time? For me, that’s an easy question: Alfredo Di Stefano.

I just love to Di Stefano watch him play and I’m always on the look out for DVDs, videos or books: anything that I can get my hands on to get a chance to see a bit more of such an amazing player. It is such a shame that he never really made a bigger impact upon the world stage, in a World cup, for example, and that has always been the reason why he is often overlooked.He was such an extraordinary talent. He could do anything and play almost anywhere; he was the complete footballer and just about the only thing he wasn’t brilliant at was playing as a goalkeeper! Di Stefano was Cruyff, he was Beckenbauer, Puskas: all rolled in to one.

To be honest I love watching films of all of these old greats, and if I ever had my own television show I’d dedicate a part of the show to reviving the memories of these legendary talents. I’d also love to look at all those players who deserved greater recognition, but never got it because they played in a different media age and didn’t get the exposure that players do today.