Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

Xavi6

mike65 wrote:

Just something to cheer us up!

League Division 1 Champions:
1900-01, 1905-06, 1921-22, 1922-23, 1946-47, 1963-64,
1965-66, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-717, 1978-79, 1979-80,
1981-82, 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1987-88 1989-90 (Record
of 18 League Championships)

League Div 1/Premier League Runners-Up:
1898-99, 1909-10, 1968-69, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1977-78, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1988-89, 1990-91, 2001-02

League Division 2 Champions: 1893-94, 1895-96, 1904-05, 1961-62

FA Cup Winners: 1965, 1974, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2006
FA Cup Runners-Up: 1914, 1950, 1971, 1977, 1988, 1996

League Cup Winners: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2001, 2003
League Cup Runners-Up: 1978, 1987, 2005

European Cup Winners: 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005
European Cup Runners Up: 1985

Uefa Cup Winners: 1973, 1976, 2001

Super Cup Winners: 1977, 2001, 2005

Mike.

Only as good as your last game.

Peyton Manning

Carson should not be recalled as backup to Reina - he should be recalled as first team keeper because he is a far better keeper.

Raskolnikov

mike65 wrote:

Garcia has ligament damage apparently.

There was a huge cheer from the Liverpool support tonight in the pub when it looked like the injury to Garcia was serious

What do people think of Liverpool's youngsters? Will any of them cement a regular place in the first team? Warnock looks like being surplus to requirements with Riise and Aurelio at left-back. Guthrie, Paletta and Peltier could also be singled out as looking poor. From an outsiders point of view, I can only really see a future for Sissoko and Carson at the club. Maybe Gonzo has a chance, this injury he's sustained won't do him any good though.

missingtime

From Sky Sports:

Argentine club Lanus claim Liverpool are in discussions to sign promising midfielder Sebastian Leto.

The 20-year-old has been tracked by Argentinian giants River Plate, while an unnamed Spanish club are also rumoured to be keen.

But Lanus have now broken off negotiations with River Plate and have revealed talks are taking place with Liverpool.

A fee of £1.85million has been mooted for Leto, with Lanus vice-president Ruben Ferreti hopeful of concluding a deal with the Premiership club.

"We have ended the conversations with River because they say that Leto is too expensive for their budget, but we have an expectation because we have received phone calls from Liverpool for the player," Ferreti told www.ole.com.ar.

"It seems to be that they would accept what we want for the player.

"Liverpool is interested, but we have to keep on having conversations. Nothing has been agreed yet.

"I think that the negotiations are going in the right way and, if we arrange something with Liverpool, it will surely be before the end of this week."

If Liverpool do tie up a deal for Leto, he will become the second Argentine youngster to move to Anfield in the past year after Gabriel Paletta.

The centre-half joined The Reds from Banfield last summer, although he has yet to make a significant impact on Merseyside.

Link: http://home.skysports.com/transferarticle.aspx?hlid=440524

missingtime

Liverpool to take Padelli on loan
Sampdoria keeper Daniele Padelli will join Liverpool on a six-month loan deal on Wednesday, according to his agent.
The Italy Under-21 international, 21, is expected to undergo a medical before completing the switch.

Silvano Martina said: "The clubs have agreed on a six-month loan deal and the player is excited at the prospect of playing for Liverpool."

Padelli joined Serie B side Crotone on loan in the summer but has struggled for first-team opportunities.

...from bbc sport

mike65

Fvck you're quick!

Thats Dudek out in the next 20 days then?

Mike.

missingtime

All the benefits of the bbc news ticker

Rafa was probably hoping that dudek might actually play a decent match over the transfer period thus getting a bit of money. Its backfired somewhat though.

Stky10

mike65 wrote:

Thats Dudek out in the next 20 days then?

Looks that way. While things are nowhere near as bad as some make out, there has to be a visible reaction that improvements will be made. So it wouldn't suprise me if a defender or two is brought in pretty quickly, Paletta sent out on loan (preferably within the UK), Mascherano brought in, and maybe a wide player other than Leto brought in as well.

HashSlinging

Maybe putting dudek on against arsnil (not that I blame him wink wink) was the only way of convincing the board that he needs to be sold.

zing

HashSlinging wrote:

Maybe putting dudek on against arsnil (not that I blame him wink wink) was the only way of convincing the board that he needs to be sold.

The board would not stand in the way of Rafa trying to sell a player who's contract they know is running down anyway. In fact they would probably welcome the sale now (in this window - not after the last 2 games) while they can still get a few quid for him.

I don't think any potential value for him would be overly affected by the last two games either. Anyone could see that he hadn't played a regular game for some time - he's still a decent enough keeper. All he needs is to start getting some regular games which will help him get his confidence back.

HashSlinging

Agreed but do you not think that he should confident enough going into these games knowing that he is taking XX,XXXX sterling from the liverpool coffers every week.

The Rooster

Almunia is in a similar situation to Dudek, and didnt look too rusty.

Or maybe its just that he's a decent keeper and Jerzy is pants

Savman

Stky10 wrote:

Mascherano brought in

Click

"The rules are very clear. Article 5.3 states that, although a player can be registered for a maximum of three clubs during the period from 1st July to 30th June, he is only eligible to play in official matches for two clubs in this period," a Fifa spokesman told The Times.

"In the case of Mascherano or [Carlos] Tevez, they have already played for Corinthians and West Ham United.

"The rule is binding. It cannot be deactivated just because it suits the clubs and the player in a certain instance.

zing

HashSlinging wrote:

Agreed but do you not think that he should confident enough going into these games knowing that he is taking XX,XXXX sterling from the liverpool coffers every week.

Unfortunately confidence doesn't come with your salary...

Sure Almunia has featured just as much this season but perhaps he's happy enough to wait for his chances. Dudek's situation is a quite different - he was the #1 keeper who was dropped right after the game of his life - just when his self confidence would have been at it's highest and has barely featured since. That's bound to have had a huge impact on his self believe. IMO he needs to get out of the club and try and establish himself once more - at a club where he feels the manager, staff & team have full confidence in him.

DaBreno

Sky sports news reports Luis Garcia will miss the rest of the season.
This is a season to forget.

Stky10

DaBreno wrote:

Sky sports news reports Luis Garcia will miss the rest of the season.
This is a season to forget.

Its on the BBC website as well now.. Anterior cruciate ligament.

I wouldn't have minded so much, except Speedy is out for three weeks as well, and Kewell is out till God only knows when, so it leaves us a bit bare on the left. The new argentinian guy might have to come over before the end of the season after all (anyone know if he plays on the left or right?).

I'd imagine it will end up being Riise that gets moved there.

Guy:Incognito

Stky10 wrote:

I'd imagine it will end up being Riise that gets moved there.

It should have been done anyway, he's been the best left winger we have this season.

Chucky the tree

Bit short at LB though. Zenden will probaly go left mid.

therecklessone

From The Guardian

Fans get the team they deserve

Liverpool supporters would not admit it, but their attitude may be helping to keep the club down.
Paul DoyleJanuary 10, 2007 12:35 PM
Here's the unpalatable truth for anyone who admires what Liverpool Football Club once was: the club's fans deserve to dine on the steaming dung they were served up last night. Because as a crowd (not as individuals), they're dumb. Maybe lovably simple like Jason McAteer. Possibly so ostentatiously, in-your-face stupid that they inspire not laughter, not solidarity, not even sympathy, but a desire to avoid them at all costs ... or exploit them for all their worth. Here's why:

Midway through the second half of last night's shambles, Liverpool fans began booming out 'You'll Never Walk Alone' with such gusto that anyone tuning in at that precise moment would have assumed the home side were comfortably ahead. But, of course, they weren't. They were being rogered 5-1. Once again, then, the Liverpool faithful, like the loyal sheep of certain other clubs, were wallowing in failure. And this morning many of them smugly expect everyone to congratulate them for that by agreeing that they're "the greatest fans in the world", or some such swill.

Belting out your devotion to a club when it is, yet again, blatantly underachieving is not being a "true fan" any more than cheering on an alcoholic every time he downs a jug of vodka is being a true friend. Like a man suffering from an addiction, a once-great club hooked on mediocrity and half-success needs a mighty metaphorical boot in the hole. It needs to be shaken out of its self-defeating stupor. Sure, when you see signs of a willingness to get better, then rousing outpourings of affection may be appropriate, but until that point is reached, you've got to be cruel to be kind (like I'm being here, see). Gérard Houllier inched towards recovery and was embraced. Then he lost the plot and was indulged. Fan desertion should have: a) forced him to change his ways; or b) forced the directors to bin him sooner than 18 months after he'd passed his expiry date.

Similarly, Rafael Benítez initially suggested he was the man to restore Liverpool to greatness, most obviously when he somehow led them to Champions League triumph in 2005 despite initiallly botching his selection and tactics in the final. Greatness doesn't mean sporadic success in cups, it means sustained domination of leagues. And in that sense, Benítez has been going backwards since his inspired half-time changes in Istanbul.

So let's be clear: rather than pledge their allegiance to the unacceptable, Liverpool fans should have walked out en masse shortly after half-time in yesterday's debacle. And made it plain that until they're convinced that Liverpool could win the Premiership (nothing less should do) they will not be paying into Anfield, nor buying replica jerseys, official merchandise or Benítez's guff about not having enough money to rival the big three (when you've spunked £6.7m on Arsenal reject Jermaine Pennant, £7m on one season wonder(ish) Peter Crouch and oh-my-god-how-bloody-much?! on busy-but-aimless strikers such as Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt, do you really deserve to be entrusted with even more funds, even if they were available? Certain Dubai fat cats may well be asking themselves that question right now).

If there is anybody other than away fans at Anfield's next game, then Liverpool deserve another tonking.

All of the above is, of course, equally applicable to many fans of Newcastle, Manchester City and every other band of fools who regularly boast about filling their ground to watch overpaid underperformers. At best, you're the drunk following the blind. At worst, you're fodder for the likes of Freddy Shepherd.

Personally, I think the guy is talking sh*t. Is he suggesting fans should sing when they're winning? Support isn't dependant on success.

Hats off to the Pool fans who stayed in their thousands despite the thumping.

Chucky the tree

Saw that ealier, pretty funny.


Paul must have to support a different team every week.

griffdaddy

That guys right, there simply arent enough fair weather fans in football these days, and if your team doesnt win the league every year you should just stop going to matches, everyone knows winning is way more fun than losing :rolleyes:
Is it just me or does that article seem to go completely against the thrill of the agony and ecstacy of following a team? i don't like how easily he dismisses kuyt and bellamy either, when they got their act together before bellamy's minor injury they looked like one of the sharpest strike partnerships in the premiership

mike65

I read that too, imagine 40,000 leaving Attaturk at half-time!

Mike.

therecklessone

mike65 wrote:

I read that too, imagine 40,000 leaving Attaturk at half-time!

Mike.

Speaking of Turkey, the 700 or so brave Spurs souls who made the trip to Besiktas in the Wafer Cup back in September all returned with praise for the Besiktas fans who stayed to a man to the final whistle and made one hell of a noise throughout, despite losing 2-0.

Maybe Mr Doyle should have a word with them.

Stky10

I doubt he's a fan of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch then..

It just struck me as a pretty stupid article, deliberately provocative. Someone should hand him the lyrics for YNWA and he might actually get a clue.

Stky10

Amid all the media putting the boot in as much as possible, this is one of the better articles I've read on a way to improve the situation.

http://www.thisisanfield.com/article_3.php?p=702

joker77

Stky10 wrote:

Amid all the media putting the boot in as much as possible, this is one of the better articles I've read on a way to improve the situation.

http://www.thisisanfield.com/article_3.php?p=702

That link isn't working for me

Stky10

joker77 wrote:

That link isn't working for me

Just checked it again, and their server seems to be a bit flaky... its the right address though

The Rooster

zing wrote:

Unfortunately confidence doesn't come with your salary...

Sure Almunia has featured just as much this season but perhaps he's happy enough to wait for his chances. Dudek's situation is a quite different - he was the #1 keeper who was dropped right after the game of his life - just when his self confidence would have been at it's highest and has barely featured since. That's bound to have had a huge impact on his self believe. IMO he needs to get out of the club and try and establish himself once more - at a club where he feels the manager, staff & team have full confidence in him.

Oh, please. Have you re-watched the Champions League final?

Jerzy did make one phenomenal save at the end of the game and he was great for the penos. But he was poor for most of the match. He made three bad blunders during the game (two of them absolute rickets and he was blessed that Djimi and Carra bailed him out) - which was not untypical of his perfomances during the season. Reina is far from perfect, but at the same stage he's far superior than Dudek. One of Benitez's best decisons to drop Dudek.

missingtime

Benitez adds Boca stopper
By Phil Jackson - Created on 11 Jan 2007

Liverpool have completed the signing of young Argentinian defender Emiliano Insua on loan, with a view to a permanent deal.

The talented young left-back was brought to Rafa Benitez's attention by Reds chief scouts Frank McParland and Eduardo Macia and an 18-month loan deal was agreed.

Benitez had to fend off competition from several top European clubs to sign the 18-year-old from Boca Juniors and he has finally arrived at Anfield in an official capacity.

Insua has been part of the Argentinian Under 20 side who are currently world champions at their age group.

His current contract will expire in June 2008, at which point Liverpool could sign him permanently.

Benitez will be anxious to get the youngster settled into Premiership life early, to ensure he is not the latest in a line of South Americans to have struggled in England.

from sky sports

Stky10

Ajdarevic as well

http://www.eurosport.com/football/premiership/2006-2007/sport_sto1052104.shtml

griffdaddy

i really like the way benitez is signing so many young players fairly constantly, it shows he's forward looking at least and it's not costing much either. if the squad we have now settles down and becomes a good core of say 6 or 7 players, i'm sure we'll see some exciting new youngsters coming through in the next season or 2

mike65

I'd sooner he was signing proven talent at the moment esp for the defence.

Mike.

zing

The Rooster wrote:

Oh, please. Have you re-watched the Champions League final?

Jerzy did make one phenomenal save at the end of the game and he was great for the penos. But he was poor for most of the match. He made three bad blunders during the game (two of them absolute rickets and he was blessed that Djimi and Carra bailed him out) - which was not untypical of his perfomances during the season. Reina is far from perfect, but at the same stage he's far superior than Dudek. One of Benitez's best decisons to drop Dudek.

Yes I've watched it and yes he had a far from perfect game that night - I didn't claim otherwise. I do reckon though that if you asked him odds are he'd say it was the game of his life/highlight of his career. Sure he had some blunders during the game (what's new there ?) but he was the one who pulled off that great save towards the end of the game and he was the hero of the hour for the penalty shoot out. The guy would have been on cloud 9 after that game and all the attention he was getting - my point was that his confidence would have been boosted no end by it (possibly higher than it ever had been) and to then get dropped would have completely undermined that confidence. And effectively letting him rot since - sorry, using him as backup keeper - wouldn't have helped much

I do completely agree with dropping him though. I'd also prefer Reina over him anyday but Jerzey probably will serve some other club well for a few more seasons - I'd just be very surprised if that were a PL club.

I need sleep...

The Rooster

griffdaddy wrote:

i really like the way benitez is signing so many young players fairly constantly, it shows he's forward looking at least and it's not costing much either

Will any of these ever make the first team though?

Our reserve team is a bit like a black hole. If you don't make it through the reserves and into the regular squad within a year of making your debut for the reserves, then you standstill and then go backwards fast (or so it seems to me).

There've been a number of players in the last 5 years under Houllier and Benitez who've looked really promising the first time we've seen them in the Liverpool first team jersey and looked ready to be given a proper chance. But after a couple of games in the league cup they're left to rot in the reserves for another year - and they're never the same player again.

The latest is Paul Anderson. Looked like a real talent, but players bought in are the ones who get the chances first. If he had received the chances Pennant and Gonzalez got, how would he have done I wonder? I think he probably would have done quite well, but we'll probably never know. He's left rotting away and he may already be on the downward slope, with others in the reserves now passing him out - but the same will probably happen to them.

redspider

zing wrote:

my point was that his confidence would have been boosted no end by it (possibly higher than it ever had been) and to then get dropped would have completely undermined that confidence. And effectively letting him rot since - sorry, using him as backup keeper - wouldn't have helped much

I agree totally. Dudek is worse now that he would have been if he would have been given some faith. Goalkeepers are even more prone to this than other positions.

redspider

The Rooster wrote:

Will any of these ever make the first team though?

Our reserve team is a bit like a black hole. If you don't make it through the reserves and into the regular squad within a year of making your debut for the reserves, then you standstill and then go backwards fast (or so it seems to me).

The latest is Paul Anderson. Looked like a real talent, but players bought in are the ones who get the chances first. If he had received the chances Pennant and Gonzalez got, how would he have done I wonder? I think he probably would have done quite well, but we'll probably never know. He's left rotting away and he may already be on the downward slope, with others in the reserves now passing him out - but the same will probably happen to them.

A lot of players are signed on potential and speculation. The reserve team isnt the ideal place to develop a player but there is no doubt that if players do shine there they will get a shot in the 1st team.

Basically, is Anderson really that good? I do take your point that some players get more of an opportunity than others. Its fickle to some extent and no doubt some talents that dont get the right break or a start are wasted opportunities. But its like that all the way through footballing development. There is a lot of luck involved really. There are only 11 players allowed on a team at any one time, and 1000's and indeed millions are vying for those spots. There will be more failures than successes.

Redspider

missingtime

The Rooster wrote:

The latest is Paul Anderson. Looked like a real talent, but players bought in are the ones who get the chances first. If he had received the chances Pennant and Gonzalez got, how would he have done I wonder? I think he probably would have done quite well, but we'll probably never know. He's left rotting away and he may already be on the downward slope, with others in the reserves now passing him out - but the same will probably happen to them.

I saw some footage of Anderson and I really thought he would be given a run out ahead of Gutherie or even Warnock especially in the Carling cup.

If what you say is happening and it doesn't sound that far fetched it doesn't bode well.

seabee

I read on another forum (redandwhitekop) that it may be andersons off pitch activities that are preventing him from getting a run in the team...

Stky10

If you look at our first pre-season game against Wrexham, Anderson played and scored, they then went off to a Swiss Training Camp and played some more games and Anderson played again. Guthrie was nowhere to be seen as far as I remember.

Unfortunately since then he seems to have gone backwards a bit. Undoubtedly he could do with a loan move to get him playing competitive matches. I remember a quote from Wenger from a year or two ago where he said that the window of introducing a player in to the first team is fairly short. If they're introduced too early they can fail and become demoralised. Similarly if they're not introduced and given a chance when they should be they can also become demoralised.

griffdaddy

remember that most of these young players are from the academy that Benitez has been publicly criticising for the last few months, whereas all the new players are ones which he himself chose and actually wants. If these guys don't come through to the first team the buck stops with him. Although i'd love to have FSP back at the moment, he could easily slot into a luis garcia type role and i could see him doing ok there

missingtime

I've been wanting Danny Murphy back for years!

HashSlinging

eh danny murphy!? dont even go there, your wish might come true.

Stky10

Whatever he had about him... he always managed a winner against Man U...

Blessed the lad was.

redspider

I thought I would post this here:

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/?jp=CWSNMHKFQLKF

Benitez spells out Red priorities
12/01/2007 - 15:24:21

Rafael Benitez has come out fighting after the worst week of his Liverpool career by insisting domestic cups are not his priority.

The Liverpool chief will have all his big guns back tomorrow for the Barclays Premiership game at bottom club Watford, and makes it clear his team selection against Arsenal in the Carling Cup was deliberate to underline his true priorities.

Benitez said: “You always need to know what is more important for your club. If you want to sign top players you need the money from Europe and the Premier League, not from the Carling Cup.

“You only get this money by finishing in the top four, we can only be focused on the really important competitions. I must take the responsibility and make the decisions. How many players can we risk being injured like Momo Sissoko and Luis Garcia have been? I have to decide. My priority is not to win the Carling Cup, I will not put the Premier League and Champions League second to that competition.”

Defeat to Arsenal twice in four days in the FA Cup and Carling Cup has even seen bookies slash the odds on Benitez leaving from 50-1 to 16-1, but Liverpool dismiss any such suggestion as nonsense. Benitez is defiant over the criticism and maintains his achievements in 31 months at Anfield stand up to close scrutiny.

He added: “It has been a bad week, with everything changing as far as the cups are concerned, but we are positive. It is clear we are third in the Premier League and in the last 16 of the Champions League. It is a good situation and I accept it could be better had we won one or two of the last games, but are really focused on the Premiership and Champions League.

“I feel some of the criticism has been over the top, but you expect critics to say these things. I want to clarify that I have no problems with the board, they want the best for the club and so do I. We are trying to improve and how to do it, we are talking every week and I believe going in the right direction.

“The board, chairman, chief executive Rick Parry and me all feel the same way. That’s why we are talking to new investors, that is why they brought me here. Liverpool have gone 17 years without the title, so tell me what is my priority?”

Benitez will be without Luis Garcia (knee ligaments) now for the rest of the season after sustaining his injury on Tuesday.

He said: “It is important to have a good memory. This club has not won the league for 17 years, we need to improve. The last manager couldn’t do it and we are all trying to improve and move in the right direction. But I cannot see many clubs who have won four trophies in two seasons, including the Champions League. As a manager you must have the big picture and know what is the most important thing
.
“And that’s the Premier League and Champions League. If you finish in the top four and progress in t he Champions League you will have more money to sign top-class players. We will play Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona in one month and these are the more important games. We need all our players available for these games.”

He added: “The cups are also important, but with the squad we have maybe we cannot compete for all four competitions. I must have priorities. The Premier League is the future of the club. Two seasons ago we lost at Burnley in the FA Cup and everyone was saying how bad the team was, then we won the Champions League four months later.

“That meant we had the money to sign Sissoko, (Bolo) Zenden, (Peter) Crouch. That was the most important thing for the future of the club. As a manager I have the responsibility to look at the bigger picture. All I know is that we have a better chance of that with all our senior players fit.

“Sometimes people forget we are third in the Premier League, ahead of Arsenal. We have a clear idea what is more important for the future of the club, and it is not the Carling Cup. It is the Premier League and the Champions League.”

my thoughts are below ...

mike65

Rafael Benitez has come out fighting after the worst week of his Liverpool career by insisting domestic cups are not his priority.

Hold the front page! Yes Rafa some of us had twigged this since the 60th min in the FA Cup game.

Mike.

redspider

It's an interesting piece. Benitez is still trying to get his point across on this one and he seems to be angry about it. I'll go through what he says:

> "You always need to know what is more important for your club. If you want to sign top players you need the money from Europe and the Premier League, not from the Carling Cup.

That is true, the money for 4th in the Premiership is worth more than the
money for the Carling Cup (CC). However, a run in both cups, and if home
legs, is also income that shouldnt be sniffed at due to the matchday
revenues it brings in. If a club is out, no income, and the players are
paid anyway.

> "You only get this money by finishing in the top four, we can only be focused on the really important competitions. I must take the responsibility and make the decisions. How many players can we risk being injured like Momo Sissoko and Luis Garcia have been? I have to decide. My priority is not to win the Carling Cup, I will not put the Premier League and Champions League second to that competition."

Its true, none of the big clubs should prioritise on the CC. However, the match needs to be taken in context. With no real hope of winning the league title, only an outside chance of the CL, AND out of the FA Cup, with those facts, and with a game coming up against lowly Watford, it wouldnt be a case of league OR CC, and surely both would be possible PLUS given the fact that Arsenal had flagged that they were playing their B selection. I dont agree with his logic. Also, Garcia got injured because Liverpool were chasing the game and trying to avoid a humiliation. It was Peltier's first game ever at right back seemingly. Is that not asking for trouble ?!?!

> "It has been a bad week

huh, if everything went according to Rafa's plan then this was something that
should have expected.

> with everything changing as far as the cups are concerned, but we are positive. It is clear we are third in the Premier League

just .... and way off the leaders.

> and in the last 16 of the Champions League. It is a good situation and I accept it could be better had we won one or two of the last games

Yes, it would have been a LOT better and we HAD the oportunity to do so,
that is what is galling.

> but are really focused on the Premiership and Champions League.

no option now ....

> "I feel some of the criticism has been over the top, but you expect critics to say these things. I want to clarify that I have no problems with the board, they want the best for the club and so do I. We are trying to improve and how to do it, we are talking every week and I believe going in the right direction.
> "The board, chairman, chief executive Rick Parry and me all feel the same way. That's why we are talking to new investors, that is why they brought me here. Liverpool have gone 17 years without the title, so tell me what is my priority?"

No-one is saying the title is not a priority, but it wont be done this year and 4th is as good as 3rd.

> "It is important to have a good memory. This club has not won the league for 17 years, we need to improve. The last manager couldn't do it and we are all trying to improve and move in the right direction. But I cannot see many clubs who have won four trophies in two seasons, including the Champions League.

so, now he is counting the FA Cup and the CC as cups !!

> As a manager you must have the big picture and know what is the most important thing. "And that's the Premier League and Champions League. If you finish in the top four and progress in the Champions League you will have more money to sign top-class players. We will play Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona in one month and these are the more important games. We need all our players available for these games."

in one month, both could be done. If the CC is of no use to us, why play in it at all.

> "The cups are also important, but with the squad we have maybe we cannot compete for all four competitions. I must have priorities. The Premier League is the future of the club. Two seasons ago we lost at Burnley in the FA Cup and everyone was saying how bad the team was, then we won the Champions League four months later.

> "That meant we had the money to sign Sissoko, (Bolo) Zenden, (Peter) Crouch. That was the most important thing for the future of the club. As a manager I have the responsibility to look at the bigger picture. All I know is that we have a better chance of that with all our senior players fit.

> "Sometimes people forget we are third in the Premier League, ahead of Arsenal. We have a clear idea what is more important for the future of the club, and it is not the Carling Cup. It is the Premier League and the Champions League."

So is he saying that because Liverpool are now out of the CC that they have more of a chance of winning the CL. The difference is bordering on the negligible and still does not explain such zany selections as Aurelio in centre midfield and Peltier at right back.

I think Benitez would be better just to keep quiet about the whol issue now, he apologized and that should have been the end of the matter. His re-explanations of why what he did will only rub Liverpool fans up the wrong way. His words are sort of implying that those fans that werent happy
dont know the full picture, etc!

Wrong, many of his critics do know the full picture.

I'm not happy with his latest press chat .....

Redspider

mike65

so, now he is counting the FA Cup and the CC as cups !!

Worse! He's including the Super Cup (2005) and Charity Shield (2006)

Mike.

Stky10

Hmmm, I don't know I think he'd be damned if he didn't come out and explain himself more fully, and now that he has done so, he'll be damned some more. It will be the same after the game against Watford tomorrow. If they lose or draw, the media reaction will be that its another sign that his approach isn't working, he's lost the players and fans blah blah, and if they win it will be that it was only against Watford, and that they're grand at bullying smaller teams but can't beat the decent ones.

For the FA Cup game, my only query would be why Bellamy and Gonzalez were on the bench if they weren't fit enough to play, and if they were fit enough to play why they weren't brought on to try change the game. Yeah there is a chance they could get injured, but they're either fit or they're not.

For the CC I'd actually play more youngsters instead of less of them, but the result doesn't bother me. The same media that spent the week beatifying Wenger would have been giving him similar treatment to Benitez a couple of years ago when they conceded 6 at Old Trafford a couple of years ago in a league match. Similarly the way Ferguson was written off and criticized when they went out of the CL at the group stage last year, yet now he's the man that can do no wrong.

Next week some other club will be the club in crisis, and the media bandwagon will roll on...

P.S. It wasn't Peltier's first game at right back. He played there in the Galatasaray away match as well. He also played there in some pre-season games. At reserve team level he plays more in central midfield, but does play right back as well.

zing

Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Gerrard, Aurelio, Alonso, Bellamy, Crouch, Kuyt.
Subs: Dudek, Riise, Fowler, Guthrie, Pennant.

Odd seeing both 3 strikers & 3 central defenders named. Hard to guess the formation but possibly going with Finnan / Aurelio as wing backs with Gerrard / Alonso in front of that with Crouch up front and Kuyt / Bellamy playing off him
which would be a kinda 3-4-2-1 / 3-2-2-2-1 setup.

Surely 3 strikers on the pitch at the same time should manage to find the back of the net more than once ?

mike65

BBC have just linked Raul to Pool! Could be crapola but it could be another Morientes too.

Mike.