Stevie G - Will He Leave?

mike65

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/soccer/06/19/groupb.rdp/

New Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has flown out to Portugal to meet some of the club's players in action at Euro 2004.

It is thought that Bentiez, who was unveiled as Liverpool's new manager earlier this week, made the journey to have emergency talks with Reds skipper Steven Gerrard.

Reports are hinting that Gerrard may leave Anfield in the summer with Chelsea weighing up a big money move for the tough tackling midfielder.

Gerrard has revealed his unhappiness at Anfield and Bentiez is keen to meet him and try and persuade him to stay at the club.

The powerhouse midfielder is believed to be interested in a possible move to Chelsea and money would be no object for Blues owner Roman Abramovich to take Gerrard to Stamford Bridge.

Benitez is determined to keep Gerrard at the club and is looking to build the team around him next season as he aims to get the side back challenging for honours.

I know this was raised on the Benitez thread but I felt it deserved a poll and discussion. Will Gerrard leave now rather than give the new management team a chance to build the Liverpool that he wants, or should want?

I have trouble beliving that he's cut and run to Chelsea even at 100k a week. Frank Lampard has put his oar in saying how he'd like to see him join.

"Steven Gerrard is a fantastic player," Lampard said. "I think our partnership works really well.

"He is another one Chelsea are in for and any player who strengthens our squad and team will be welcome."

Mike.

irishgeo

:ninja: Lets say the odds are thats he is staying :ninja:

smuckers

I was listening to an interview on Radio 5 live and Ian Mcgarry from The Mail says he's off to Chelsea. Mourinho met The 4 Chelsea Eng players before The Japan game and they were impressed by him and Gerrard knows this.
Also said Pool don't have any money cause of The Cisse deal.

Guy:Incognito

I hope to god no.

jesus_thats_gre

Bollox to this, well hope so anyway

please god no

Dont be at yourself

As much as I'd love him to stay, I think he'll be on his way to Chelsea this summer.

Caesar_Bojangle

Unfortunately, I think he's going to leave for either Chelsea or Arsenal. Only a few months ago he was publicly telling Owen to sign a new contract, so if he leaves he's contradicting himself. Now I know how Fulham fans felt when there was talk of Saha leaving. On the bright side, Baros is having a phenomenal tournament; hopefully Benitez will give him a decent run next season.

PHB

Does anyone else think that there is absolutely no way he would go to Chelsea?
He just seems like the type of player who wants to be part of a team, and that ain't chelsea.

I think the two places he could go, if availible, are the only other two clubs who would be able to pay, being Arsenal and Man Utd.

I rememebr him sIaying about 3 months ago that if he moved it would hopefully be to one of these two clubs, and I can see Man Utd wanting him a lot more.

It'll be interesting

Space Coyote

I've got a terrible feeling that he's off to Stamford Bridge. If he is going for the (allegedly) reported £31m who could we possibly replace him with ??? :dunno:

Caesar_Bojangle

I've heard that Parker or Duff might be offered along with the £31million to tempt the Liverpool board into a quick sale. Every paper seems to think he's as good as a Chelsea player. If he does leave I'd prefer if he went abroad, unlikely as it is. Whatever about joining Arsenal, he'd become a hate figure for all Liverpool fans if he left for Man Utd or Chelsea. But with Rooney supposedly off to Utd for 30 odd million could Utd afford Gerrard? I believe Arsenal to be the dark horse. Look at the whole Reyes transfer, extraordinarily discreet. They were meant to be broke and satisfied with their squad but they still managed to snatch him from under the nose of Chelsea.


Please don't go Stevie.

PHB

Man Utd have taken the same approach this year and have said absolutely nothing about the transfers.

Man Utd would have absolutely no reason to buy Rooney, Van Nist, Saha and Smith now, they don't really need Rooney, especially with Scholes there

mayordenis

Originally posted by Caesar_Bojangle
I've heard that Parker or Duff might be offered along with the £31million to tempt the Liverpool board into a quick sale.

as much as i want stevie to to stay that kind of offer would be hard to say "no" to especially since Benitez can bring in some of the valencia squad.

uberwolf

would we get gattuso for that kind of money?

mayordenis

yeah we probably could but hes not in stevie G's league.

Guy:Incognito

There are a lot of players who could theoretically replace him, but (without checking) im sure that if you take away the players who wont join liverpoll, the ones who we cant afford and the ones whos clubs wont sell them then your not left with a huge amount that are better than him. I think chelsea will be the place to go for cheap(ish) replacement players for everyone this season.

Shred

I don't think he'll go, he has to give the new manager one year at least to prove himself, if he goes after that then fair enough. I know he wants to win titles and medals but he's only 24 and he does ideally want to win those titles/medals at Liverpool. Let's hope Benitez is a good talker:dunno:

uberwolf

Originally posted by Shred
Let's hope Benitez is a good talker:dunno:

todays indo

____________
NEW Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez claims he will do all he can to try to keep Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen at Anfield.

Gerrard has recently been linked with a move to Premiership rivals Chelsea but Benitez has said he is not worried by the constant speculation about the future of captain Gerrard.

"I am not worried. Normally when people say to me 'if something happens what is your opinion?' I always say wait, wait, wait. We are waiting and we know they are still here with us."

But the former Valencia boss added that if the pair did leave it would not end the club's title hopes.

"You can have the best players but not the best team. A good player can win one match but a good team can win four, five matches. I will try to talk with them, to tell them how important they are to us and then afterwards I will change my mind about our future if I have to change. Again I say I'm not worried."

___________________
so what does that mean?

Shred

It means his plans for Liverpool include Owen & Gerard and he will do his best to keep them. But if they still decide to go and he has to alter his plans as a result then so be it. I think he's basically re-iterating what's been said many times before - no player is bigger/more important than the club.

AngelofFire

If was Gerrard id give it another season to see if the manager can really take liverpool forward. Benitez is far better than houllier but it will take him a while to get used to the english game but otherwise i expect him to do well

mike65

From bbc

Chelsea want Gerrard


Chelsea have admitted they would try to sign Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard if he became available.

The Anfield captain is rated at £35m and Chelsea have been strongly tipped to make a record-breaking move for him.

"Gerrard is one of the best and were it possible we'd be extremely interested," said chief executive Peter Kenyon.

And new Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho told BBC Five Live: "If he comes, I'll welcome him with open arms. If he doesn't, I'll admire him anyway."

But the former Porto coach added: "I don't know the distance between the dream and reality."

Kenyon also drew on the partnership emerging between England team-mate Frank Lampard and Gerrard at Euro 2004as a potential deal-breaker.

"It's great to see how Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard and Steven have played together and Steven certainly comes into the Lampard class," said Kenyon

Mike.

mike65

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/3839441.stm

http://www.lfconline.com/news/loadnews.asp?cid=TMNW&id=163829

Mike.

uberwolf

Thats at the lower end of the figures mentioned previously. Whats more the player swap issue isn't mentioned, I'm choosing to believe this one until I see him a Chelsea shirt. And if he goes I sincerely hope he regrets it, his partnership with Lampard looked forced for Engalns over the last few weeks, they don't suit each other IMO.

Bannor

Benitez had a meeting with Gary McAllister (now chief consultant with SFX) on Wednesday morning. On Wednesday afternoon Liverpool approached Bayern about the availability of Ballack - the club are looking for a replacement for Gerrard just in case.

PiE

"It's great to see how Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard and Steven have played together and Steven certainly comes into the Lampard class" said Kenyon

Roofles.

Lampard's an overated poser. Scores more goals fair enough, but he's not half the player Gerrard is, nor will he ever be.

mike65

If I were Lamps I'd be worried at Gerrard joining esp bearing in mind what Mourihro (sp) said about small squads...

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

Some of the figures being mentioned for Gerrard are plain ridiculous, if he wasn't English his pricetag wouldn't be anywhere near as inflated, nor would he be so highly rated. With the amount of money they would be rumoured to recieve from Chelsea they could easily pickup the surplus Scott Parker (who prior to his silly January Chelsea move was almost singlehandedly driving Charlton to 4th place ahead of Gerrard's Liverpool), a good centre-back and a right winger. I think Euro2004 has shown that Lampard and Gerrard are not a very good centre midfield combination, and if Mourinho sold Lampard... well, I think that would be just a little detrimental to player and fan morale at Chelsea.

smuckers

The hype about Gerrard is a bit silly to be honest, yes he's a good player but not world class yet. I am a Chelsea fan and he would be a good signing but he still has a lot to learn on the evidence of Euro 2004.
Touch was awful at times, also was tactically inept still has plenty to learn, sorry Pool fans.

PHB

I'm sorry but I know he is english and I understand what the tabloids are like but Gerrard got 4th place for liverpool on his own
He was absolutely unreal for his team and I'd love to see him at either Arsenal or Man Utd(obviously a prefererence for the latter ) where he could make either team much much better.
I really wouldn't like to see him at Chelsea as I think his full potential would not be reached and he would be forceed to play with Lampard in the stupid role he plays for with England.


If he does decide to leave Liverpool, I really can't see it being to another English club.
He literally grew up 2 blocks from Anfield and has supported and playeed for Liverpool all his life.

Liverpool -> Inter(for a very short time) -> Man Utd

Hey I can hope right

galwaydude

i would hate to see gerrard leaving but if he has decided he doesnt want to be at liverpool anymore then sell him and we at LFC only want players who are liverpool thru and thru.Its sad really but money has become the issue here, now we can give a chance to young john welsh and see what hes made of.Wouldnt mind seeing duff included in the deal as well as duff is world class and way better than that dutch muppet robben.

Caesar_Bojangle

I really hope he doesn't go but it now seems as if he will. I still think the Irish media overrate Duff but do Chelsea want Gerrard enough to sacrifice Duff? £20 odd million plus Duff would be a great deal, if you ask me.

elbow316

I've heard from a Liverpool fan "In the Know" that Gerrard has just handed in a transfer request to the club through his agent and it will probably come out in the press tomorrow. Not fact but just thought people would be interested.
He also says that its pretty much guaranteed to be Chelsea next for him as Chelski have offered his agency SFX the same amount as Gerrard's signing-on fee to help push the deal through

eyerer

i also read about the transfer request
i've come to think that he will be leaving, which i think is a poor decision on his part, and i question his commitment to liverpool
he's either got to be stupid or greedy to move to chelsea

Big Ears

Originally posted by PHB
Man Utd have taken the same approach this year and have said absolutely nothing about the transfers.

Thats why no one new anything about the Saha deal till it was done then ya ?

Big Ears

Off Topic here , but I was just thinking with Benitez as manager he will get Kewell to play as a proper winger , that is if Duff dosent join .

So I suppose thats some good news for Liverpool fans .

eyerer

apparently kewell likes to play on the right and come in, so duff could fit in on the left
but i don't like that so much as theres still a lack of width on the right

anyway, i doubt duff is going to 'pool

Caesar_Bojangle

I heard about the transfer request too. Liverpool seem pretty determined to get Duff as part of the deal from what I've read. Gerrard still has four or five years to run on his contract so the board are in no hurry to sell. I haven't read much regarding Duff moving to Liverpool but I'd say he'd at least consider it. After all he might not get his game at Chelsea with Robben coming in and I also heard he hasn't settled too well in London.

mike65

On Duff lets not forget we would have bitten off Souness' hand to get him two years ago. I'd welcome him on the left and Kewell as "man in the hole"/or in centre and Gerrard on the right of centre with Diouf gone plus Hamman at the back.

Mike.

PHB

I'm sorry mr. pedantic man, I meant this summer, they have taken a different approach this summer.

That is why we heard nothign from Man Utd about this summers transfers so far except from the other clubs.

mike65

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/3843809.stm

Michael Owen admits his future at Liverpool could hinge on whether Steven Gerrard stays at Anfield.

Owen said any decision to sell Gerrard would be a "catastrophe" and wants assurances from Liverpool before opening contract talks with the club.

The England striker said: "I'm not issuing ultimatums or threats, that's not my style.

"But I do need to be sure we have a team that can close the gap on the top two clubs."

Mike.

eyerer

I'm not issuing ultimatums or threats, that's not my style.

he's full of ****, why didn't he sign when gerrard signed 5 months ago?
i want owen to sign an extension and be sold for a stupid amount of money

eirebhoy

They'd probably be better of without Owen considering recent form of both him and Baros.

Space Coyote

What he's basically saying is that he doesn't want a new contract because his mate is unhappy. He's talking shíte, if holding off signing til the very last possible second isn't an ultimatum then what is ?!! Sell him to the highest bidder I says.

Harry2001

How much is Owen worth after Euro 2004??

Big Ears

Originally posted by PHB
I'm sorry mr. pedantic man, I meant this summer, they have taken a different approach this summer.

That is why we heard nothign from Man Utd about this summers transfers so far except from the other clubs.

But that could be because they aint signing no one .

Space Coyote

originally posted by Harry2001
How much is Owen worth after Euro 2004??

Somewhere between £20m and £30m. If he went for any less than £20m I'd be sick.

eyerer

Originally posted by Space Coyote
Somewhere between £20m and £30m. If he went for any less than £20m I'd be sick.

i don't think he's worth anywhere near that, but i hope someone pays for his reputation or theres a bidding war

Big Ears

If united fein interest Kenyon will buy him for 30 million

Caesar_Bojangle

I'd say Owen would fetch between £13million and £15million considering he only has a year left on his contract.

p.pete

Could be worse, we currently (until RVN next plays at least) have the top scorer in 2004 and also the next great hope of an ageing French squad in our striking lineup.

If Baros has an injury-free season Owen could find it hard to get his place...

Shred

we currently (until RVN next plays at least) have the top scorer in 2004

Speaking of which

uberwolf

One of RTE's commentators last night said that RVN was being credited with a goal from the shoot out against Sweden!! Has anyone an update on this?