Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

zing

Bounty Hunter wrote:

Simao (15million) a top quality winger who is being tracked and needed by the reds.
Alves (15millon+) I fear finnan may get the chop as they try to go from v.good to world class.

Talk of Cisse going to Portugal as part of a deal for Simao. Cisse supposedly open to the move but prob just press speculation.

As for Finnan - he's one of the 5 players Rafa has currently targeted for contract extensions - Alonso, Carra, Finnan, Gerrard & Reina. Can't see Rafa doing a u-turn like that and off loading him a couple of weeks after saying they wanted to extend his current contract.

mada999

If you ask me Finnan is already world class and would still win his place against Alves who imo is not the best defensively.

leninbenjamin

zing wrote:

Cutting down the numbers is a huge huge risk as it leaves you well and truely up **** creek in the event of injuries. Take Rafa's first season with us - we had 10 or 11 players out injured at one stage - if he had cut the numbers there's no way we'd have gotten to Cardiff or Istanbul that year. Rafa has been forced to spend carefully and try and pick up players who were ideally somewhat versatile on the cheap .. or for free wherever he could - e.g. Zenden, Aurelio, Pellegrino, Nunez, Kromkamp, etc..

Now hopefully that can change and he can get the players he wants this year rather than trying to get players he can afford that'll do the job. However people keep throwing Villas name about as a potential target - his release clause is said to be in the region of 85m sterling. I know a release clause is very different to an actual transfer fee but I think the chances of him wearing red next season are very very slim.

i'm talking about a high player turnover, (e.g. letting the likes of Gonzalez and Bellamy go after a year) i'm not on about having a small squad. he has a pretty big squad already.

zAbbo

At least he has the balls to cut underperforming players.

dardoz

I had a look at a Leto vid vs Boca on youtube last night. He looks pretty good, has got good close control. He could be our answer to the left wing problem, at the very least a very useful squad member for the rotation depending on who else comes in in the summer.

He's tall and seems quite strong though, so I'm optimistic he won't take too long to adjust. The way he kind of has the ball stuck to his feet and flicks passes made me think of Asprilla back in the day. He has a bit more grace and speed than Asprilla tho thankfully.

dardoz

Todays interview with Rafa is a little worrying. It seems he is getting a bit impatient. I hope not.

dardoz wrote:

"I want to see things happening right now," Benitez told The Sun. "There are two or three issues we need to resolve straight away.

"I've confidence in the Americans because they say they will back me, so I must trust them.

"If we want to progress we need to look at the big picture and the new owners say they will back me.

"Now is the time to take decisions. I'm tired of talking and talking.

"I'm worried about talking to players for one, two or six months and then losing them.

"I want things to be done. It's not about working in August - you lose your targets then.

"I want to fight to be top of the league. I mean first - not finishing third with a record number of points and then saying 'Bad luck'.

"We need to fight to be at the top and be in every cup final.

"The club now have the power and potential to do all these things.

"But I'd like things to be done quickly - I'm just trying to send a message.

"My staff and I cannot work more than 20 hours a day.

"The team's workrate is fantastic but we were in the final because it is a knockout competition.

"We cannot keep the team at this level for nine months. We need to improve the squad."

Tusky

In fairness, thats exactly what I wanted to hear from him.

zing

http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?HLID=468508&CPID=8&title=Javier+hopes+for+Tevez+move&lid=&channel=Premiership&f=rss&clid=14

"It's possible he will come," Mascherano told the Sun about the Tevez rumours.

"I would love to have him by my side as a player and a friend.

"After managing to keep West Ham in the Premiership, he has a lot of possibilities to move to a big club in Europe.

"When we talk we avoid discussing moves, but I know he's talking about a probable move to Liverpool.

"He would be a barbarian."

Yes bloody please. I love the use of the word probable there - I'd have been happy with possible but probable sounds so much better

zing

Tusky wrote:

In fairness, thats exactly what I wanted to hear from him.

Yup. Admittedly there was a degree of frustration there after loosing the final but he's laid his cards out in public and put it to Gillet/Hicks to back him. At the same time he knocked the current setup at Anfield for being slow to move - spending more time talking than doing. And claimed there was a couple of world class players for in the region of 15-20m that we could get now if we acted now.

He's walked away from clubs in the past over his frustrations with the clubs and he's just sent a not to subtle message here.

StickyMcGinty

mada999 wrote:

If you ask me Finnan is already world class and would still win his place against Alves who imo is not the best defensively.

totally agreee, what surprised me was the amount of champions league assists he had this year, i always had this misconception that Finnan was too defensive

IrishMike

Music to my ears to be honest.
In rafa we trust !

dardoz

if the team on any particular day consisted of:

Reina, Arbeloa, Leiva, Mascherano, Alonso, Leto and Tevez..

Would Stevie and Carra have to learn spanish?

The Muppet

dardoz wrote:

Todays interview with Rafa is a little worrying. It seems he is getting a bit impatient. I hope not.

I think Rafa is being unfair to the board, He has recieved a lot of financial backing. Liverpool are probably only surpassed by Chelsea in spending terms since Rafa arrived. The quality and indeed quantity of his signings is questionable.

PHB

Tevez is going to be a very interesting transfer. It all depends on who comes in for him, but if a bidding war starts, can Liverpool afford to spend 30 million on one striker who plays the withdrawn role rather than the out and out scorer role. I think after the season though, everybody would be happy with Tevez at their club.

Chardee MacDennis

well if tevez come in we will still need a poacher maybe Owen or Eto'o seems to be the talk. I would also see Kuyts role in the squad very much diminshed with Tevez in the team.

StickyMcGinty

just saw this on another forum...

another website wrote:

Player From Fee Date
Josemi Rey Malaga £2,000,000 26.07.2004
Antonio Nunez Real Madrid £1,500,000* 17.08.2004
Xabi Alonso Real Sociedad £10,700,000 20.08.2004
Luis Garcia Barcelona £6,000,000 20.08.2004
Mauricio Pellegrino Valencia Free 05.01.2005
Fernando Morientes Real Madrid £6,300,000 13.01.2005
Scott Carson Leeds United £1,000,000 21.01.2005
Josh Mimms Rotherham United £50,000 16.06.2005
Antonio Barragan Sevilla £240,000 04.07.2005
Boudewijn Zenden Free Transfer Free* 04.07.2005
Jose Reina Villareal £6,000,000 04.07.2005
Mohamed Sissoko Valencia £5,600,000 14.07.2005
Peter Crouch Southampton £7,000,000 20.07.2005
Godwin Antwi Real Zaragoza Unknown 15.08.2005
Miki Roque Lleida Unknown 15.08.2005
Jack Hobbs Lincoln City £150,000* 18.08.2005
Besian Idrizaj LASK Linz £190,000* 22.08.2005
Ramon Calliste Free Transfer Free* 29.08.2005
Mark Gonzalez Albacete £1,500,000* 20.10.2005
Paul Anderson Hull City Player Exchange* 01.01.2006
Jan Kromkamp Villareal Player Exchange* 04.01.2006
Daniel Agger Brøndby £5,800,000 12.01.2006
David Martin MK Dons £250,000* 12.01.2006
Robbie Fowler Man City Free 27.01.2006
Craig Bellamy Blackburn £6,000,000 01.07.2006
Gabriel Paletta Club Atlético Banfield £2,000,000 04.07.2006
Fábio Aurélio Valencia Free 05.07.2006
Jermaine Pennant Birmingham £6,700,000 26.07.2006
Dirk Kuyt Feyenoord £9,000,000 18.08.2006
Nabil El Zhar St Etienne £200,000 21.08.2006
Astrit Ajdarevic Falkenberg £750,000* 11.01.2007
Emiliano Insúa Boca Juniors On Loan* 11.01.2007
Daniele Padelli Sampdoria On Loan* 12.01.2007
Jordy Brouwer Ajax Undisclosed* 24.01.2007
Francisco Durán Malaga £66,000* 30.01.2007
Ronald Huth Tacuary FC Undisclosed 31.01.2007
Álvaro Arbeloa Deportivo £2,500,000 31.01.2007
Javier Mascherano West Ham On Loan 20.02.2007
Lucas Pezzini Leiva Gremio £5,000,000 11.05.2007

Rafael Benítez bought 39 players for £86,596,000

i'd say i could pick about 6 or 7 from that that have been successfull. He's had the money to spend but has been buying average players. he needs a £20 million plus striker and an equally expensive winger

Chardee MacDennis

yeh but how much has he brought in. also buying gonzalez for 1.5 and it seems we're gonna get 5m for him is great business.

also i think we have got our monies worht from Crouch, Garcia, Alonso, Reina, Sissoko and Agger. We will probably make a profit of at least 1m on Bellamy another profit form Carson. and there is a rake load of players there for the future.

PHB

I think he's brought in about 23 million from transfers.

Dub13

All these Quotes from the Sun on a Liverpool thread is not Good.

Tusky

I think alot of people are going to be dissapointed to be honest. I just cannot see Eto'o, Villa or Tevez joining. We shall see though. Certainly not a combination of them anyway. Tevez would be the most likely anyway.

The Muppet

Dub13 wrote:

All these Quotes from the Sun on a Liverpool thread is not Good.

Let's not start that one again.

There are quite a few undisclosed on VinnyL's list and Macherano is still on loan , He will not come cheap. When all those are accounted for Rafa must have actually spent over £100 million on transfers.

dardoz

Theres quite a few duds in that list actually.

Josemi, Nunez, Pellegrino, Gonzales, Kromkamp.

The jury is still out on Paletta, he hasn't broken into the first team much.

The rest are all youngsters bought for potential.

Tusky

Josemi Rey Malaga £2,000,000 26.07.2004
Antonio Nunez Real Madrid £1,500,000* 17.08.2004
Xabi Alonso Real Sociedad £10,700,000 20.08.2004
Luis Garcia Barcelona £6,000,000 20.08.2004
Mauricio Pellegrino Valencia Free 05.01.2005
Fernando Morientes Real Madrid £6,300,000 13.01.2005
Scott Carson Leeds United £1,000,000 21.01.2005
Josh Mimms Rotherham United £50,000 16.06.2005
Antonio Barragan Sevilla £240,000 04.07.2005
Boudewijn Zenden Free Transfer Free* 04.07.2005
Jose Reina Villareal £6,000,000 04.07.2005
Mohamed Sissoko Valencia £5,600,000 14.07.2005
Peter Crouch Southampton £7,000,000 20.07.2005
Godwin Antwi Real Zaragoza Unknown 15.08.2005
Miki Roque Lleida Unknown 15.08.2005
Jack Hobbs Lincoln City £150,000* 18.08.2005
Besian Idrizaj LASK Linz £190,000* 22.08.2005
Ramon Calliste Free Transfer Free* 29.08.2005
Mark Gonzalez Albacete £1,500,000* 20.10.2005
Paul Anderson Hull City Player Exchange* 01.01.2006
Jan Kromkamp Villareal Player Exchange* 04.01.2006
Daniel Agger Brøndby £5,800,000 12.01.2006
David Martin MK Dons £250,000* 12.01.2006
Robbie Fowler Man City Free 27.01.2006
Craig Bellamy Blackburn £6,000,000 01.07.2006
Gabriel Paletta Club Atlético Banfield £2,000,000 04.07.2006
Fábio Aurélio Valencia Free 05.07.2006
Jermaine Pennant Birmingham £6,700,000 26.07.2006
Dirk Kuyt Feyenoord £9,000,000 18.08.2006
Nabil El Zhar St Etienne £200,000 21.08.2006
Astrit Ajdarevic Falkenberg £750,000* 11.01.2007
Emiliano Insúa Boca Juniors On Loan* 11.01.2007
Daniele Padelli Sampdoria On Loan* 12.01.2007
Jordy Brouwer Ajax Undisclosed* 24.01.2007
Francisco Durán Malaga £66,000* 30.01.2007
Ronald Huth Tacuary FC Undisclosed 31.01.2007
Álvaro Arbeloa Deportivo £2,500,000 31.01.2007
Javier Mascherano West Ham On Loan 20.02.2007
Lucas Pezzini Leiva Gremio £5,000,000 11.05.2007

I have put in bold - players that have been a relevant success for the money paid for them. Cheap youth players & players on loan. Players that came on a free and players that we have sold or will sell for more than we bought them for. Unproven players or ones I am unsure of are in italics. When you look at it like this it isnt so shocking. The only true failure in terms of potential and money lost that I can see is Morientes ?

dardoz wrote:

Theres quite a few duds in that list actually.

Josemi, Nunez, Pellegrino, Gonzales, Kromkamp.

The jury is still out on Paletta, he hasn't broken into the first team much.

The rest are all youngsters bought for potential.

We didnt lose any money on them though and they were shipped out quick fast when they werent working well.

zing

PHB wrote:

I think he's brought in about 23 million from transfers.

More like 40+ I think
Owen 8m
Heskey 6.5m
Murphy 2.5m
Diouf 3.5m (unknown but said to be about 3.5)
Diara 2m
Baros 6.5m
Nando 3m
Barragán 474,000
Traore 2m
Kromkamp unknown but said to be in the 1.7-2m region
Kirkland 3.5m
Warnock 1.5m

There's a few others (reserve players, etc..) too but they'd be for very little - prob no more than 1 or 2m between the lot. And add Pongolle to that list shortly.

The unknowns on VinyL's list:
Godwin Antwi Real Zaragoza
Jordy Brouwer Ajax
Ronald Huth Tacuary FC

Not sure how much they cost but they're all youths/reserve players so it wouldn't have been very much. Will see if I can dig out figures though.

And a correction to the list - Nunez was free

Edit: IIRC Heskey was sold during 2004 summer window but think it was a done deal before Rafa arrived.

emc2

VinnyL wrote:

just saw this on another forum...

That makes an average spend on a player at around 2.2 million. Which isn't bad compare to other teams (I would guess).

emc2

VinnyL wrote:

just saw this on another forum...

That makes an average spend on a player at around 2.2 million. Which isn't bad compare to other team (I would guess).

Kimbot

Taken from www.breakingnews.ie

George Gillett has vowed to back Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez to the hilt in the transfer market this summer.

Benitez has urged Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks to fund a major spending spree if the beaten Champions League finalists are to mount a challenge on all fronts next season.

Gillett seems ready to do just that, saying in the Daily Telegraph: “If Rafa said he wanted to buy ’Snoogy Doogy’, we would back him.”

The American tycoon would also back any attempt to bring Michael Owen back to Anfield but insisted Benitez would have the final say on what strikers the club recruits.


Gillett said: “He [Owen] is a great player but it is down to Rafa’s recommendation, not us.

“Rafa’s feeling is we need more depth because of the rigours of the schedule to be competitive.

“In every sport I participate in, there is a difference between a league season and the play-offs.

“That’s where the genius of the manager is so essential and that’s where Tom and I have to defer to his background and genius.”

zing

If Rafa said he wanted to buy ’Snoogy Doogy’, we would back him.

Anyone know what position he plays ? And where's the youtube clips for him

IrishMike

VinnyL wrote:

Player From Fee Date
Xabi Alonso Real Sociedad £10,700,000 20.08.2004 Now worth £20m?
Luis Garcia Barcelona £6,000,000 20.08.2004 Now worth £8m
Fernando Morientes Real Madrid £6,300,000 13.01.2005 Sold £3m
Scott Carson Leeds United £1,000,000 21.01.2005 Now worth £5m
Antonio Barragan Sevilla £240,000 04.07.2005 Sold for .5m
Jose Reina Villareal £6,000,000 04.07.2005 Now worth £8-10m
Mohamed Sissoko Valencia £5,600,000 14.07.2005 Now worth £12m+
Peter Crouch Southampton £7,000,000 20.07.2005 Now worth £10-£12m
Mark Gonzalez Albacete £1,500,000* 20.10.2005 Sold for £5m
Daniel Agger Brøndby £5,800,000 12.01.2006 Now worth £10m
Craig Bellamy Blackburn £6,000,000 01.07.2006 Now worth £7-£8m
Fábio Aurélio Valencia Free 05.07.2006 Now worth £1-£2m
Jermaine Pennant Birmingham £6,700,000 26.07.2006 Now worth £6-£7m
Dirk Kuyt Feyenoord £9,000,000 18.08.2006 Now worth £10m
Álvaro Arbeloa Deportivo £2,500,000 31.01.2007 Now worth £2-£3m
Javier Mascherano West Ham On Loan 20.02.2007 Now worth £12-£15m
Lucas Pezzini Leiva Gremio £5,000,000 11.05.2007 ?

Rafael Benítez bought 39 players for £86,596,000
Value of those 17 players at least £150 million

Almost every player in that list has gone up in value.
Players like Sissoko, Crouch, Alonso, Reina, Agger, Gonzales, Carson, Luis
Garcia are worth at least twice what was paid for them.
Hell Gonzales is worth 3-4 times what was paid for him after 1 season.
Rafa was well backed in the transfer market but there are no disasters there
like in Houlliers time. Theres no £12m for a Diouf for example.
Plus he has the reserves full of young players which surely will prove a
profitable investment in the future.
Going on his track record i think it would be maddness not to back him 110%
Cant see him going for a Villa or a Torres either TBH.

The Muppet

emc2 wrote:

That makes an average spend on a player at around 2.2 million. Which isn't bad compare to other teams (I would guess).

Well thats the issue really . Should Liverpool be spending one hundred million of 50 players or 100 million on 10 players? I think it's the latter.

redspider

So, now that the dust is settling on the CL final, there is still a case of what could have been and if only's.

I think Benitez realised to some degree yesterday with his rant about needing the 100m investment etc, that his plans have not come off. He was unhappy with Liverpool's performance in the CL final and the result and he was yesterday angry about it and venting it and against the current players.

He is off-loading Gonzalez, well, I'm sorry Rafa, but you brought him in. And Gonzalez didnt even get a chance in the CL final so cant be blamed at all. I think he would have been a good inclusion, if not in the starting 11 but as an impact sub. Benitez by implication with his unhappiness with quality in the team was unhappy with Kuyt and Zenden - again, he brought them in. Unhappy with Kewell?, but Benitez put him on.

I think Rafa himself needs to take some of the blame for this loss and not just say that we now need to invest 100m in our team because the players we have are not good enough. He has been here 3 years and has shaped this team, so it is his team. And its not as if there has been no investment, there has been a lot, in terms of both purchases and salaries.

So, I'd like to see him at some point over the coming days, weeks or months at least put his hand up and say something along the lines of admitting some culpability in the CL final defeat and with his selections.

So, all in all, I think I need to see more of a mea culpa set of soundings coming out from Rafa.

In terms of the amount spent on individual purchases, perhaps the previous owners (Morgan et al) did have a spending cap per player, preferring to spread the risk more and not end up with players that didnt quite make it, such as a Diouf. The previous owners perhaps were still feeling the effects of Houllier's reign. Cisse is Liverpool's record signing, and that fee was agreed under Houllier, although he was gone by the time he arrived. So Liverpool have not spent big on an individual since Rafa arrivd and he is right in that. I had thought that it was his style, but with this recent rant, he is implying that it was not his choice.

With the new Owners, there is a possibility of a new regime and a new spending system. However, they are not made of money, they are borrowing to build the stadium, etc, so I could only see a couple of big signings at best. Time will tell.

Mascherano
The situation around him is unclear. I had thought that a deal was done, ie, more than an 18 month loan:
"It is widely reported to be an 18 month permanent deal, though a fee and/or other arrangements are as yet unclear. The fee has been rumoured to be £1.5 million, but the Daily Mail have reported that Liverpool bought the player outright from MSI for £10 million"
"There'll be none of this third-party nonsense with Javier Mascherano at Liverpool, at least if the Daily Mail are right. The paper claims Liverpool have forked out £10million to buy out Mascherano's contract from MSI chief Kia Joorabchian. At this time, and with the Gossip Column unwilling to go to the effort of having a look, we're not sure if West Ham get any of that money."

Mascherano is currently in the 'Tevez' category - ie: unclear. He is a good player to have though, and I think we could certainly use him for the next 12 months as part of that 18 month loan.

Redspider

event

so what if he has made money on them?

it is not rafa's job to balance the books, it is his job to produce a title winning team. taking in that amount of players in 3 years doesnt exactly produce stability. now he is talking about overhauling the squad again?

what has he been doing for the last three years, biding his time?

im not knocking him as a manager, but i dont know if i would be that confident about his signings in the summer TBH

dardoz

I think what some people fail to realise is that he HAS had limited funds previously. With the rotation policy he uses, buying in a couple of expensive players hasn't been an option as he then has no cover and expansion to the squad. There's no point having a great first 11 and a load of crappy reserves if we hope to challenge on all fronts.

Realistically, we are 200m behind having a squad like Chelsea's or ManUtd's. That is of course if you go out and buy world class players. That is not going to happen.

Chelsea are there cos they have the money. Man U are there cos they always have a few players coming through the youth system to add to the 1/2 big signings they make each year.

Our problem seems to be that we have absolutely nobody coming in from the youth teams. So instead of buying 1/2 quality expensive signings each year we are forking out the same amount of money on buying 4/5 average players.

When I look at the list of acquisitions above I am glad to see so many youngsters on it. I believe Rafa knows this is the way to build a sustainable top class squad.

The only other option, is as some people seem to be unrealistically expecting here is that we do an Abramovic and buy an entire world class squad. Not gonna happen

zing

The Muppet wrote:

Well thats the issue really . Should Liverpool be spending one hundred million of 50 players or 100 million on 10 players? I think it's the latter.

It's not that simple really though is it. I'm sure Rafa would have preferred the later but he had inherited a first team squad + youth/reserve team which he was not happy with and apparently saw the need to go with the first option. He's been overhauling the 1st team but his budget had been stretched to it's limits so he's not been able to get the players he wanted. Maybe he would have been better off keeping the likes of Smicer, Biscan, Henchoz, Murphy, Diouf, Cheyrou, etc.. and adding to it I'm not convinced of that though but it's too late to change.

Also of the list of players posted there's maybe 20 or thereabouts that have featured in the 1st team with any sort of regularity over the last 3 years. These are the ones the bulk of the money has been spent on. Of those 4 were free (Nunez Pellegrino Zenden Fowler) - 5 if you include the loan of Mascherano (if it is a loan). And 5 (Josemi Nunez Pellegrino Morientes Kromkamp) have all been moved on again at a total cost of about 3m (Josemi was bought for 2m and then swapped for Kromkamp who was in turn sold for 1.7-2m. Nunez was free and was sold for an undisclosed fee - pocket change most likely, Pellegrino was released and Nando was sold at a loss of 3m or thereabouts.) Now Nunez & Pellegrino featured in both of those groups so that leaves the bulk of that money going on 13 or so players (Alonso Garcia Carson Reina Sissoko Crouch Gonzalez Agger Bellamy Paletta Pennant Feyenoord Arbeloa) - maybe round it up and call it 15 in case I missed anyone. Spending all that money on 13 or 15 players is a lot closer to the 100m on 10 players than 100m on 50 players.. Of those being talked about to be moved on this year I don't expect to see too much of a drop in value for them as they were either free to begin with (e.g. Fowler, Zenden) or we're likely to get at least what we paid for them (e.g. Bellamy & Gonzalez).

The reality is Rafa has struggled to find quality players suitable for the premiership within his budget - plain and simple. Sure he's made some good signings but like many managers he's made some poor ones too.

At the same time he's spent a few million on young up and coming players as I'm sure all of the big 4 clubs have. Sure some of those will not make the level but some do look promising from what I've seen of them. Actually maybe he's spend slightly more here than the others here but it's still not a huge amount relatively speaking.

Tusky

event wrote:

so what if he has made money on them?

it is not rafa's job to balance the books, it is his job to produce a title winning team. taking in that amount of players in 3 years doesnt exactly produce stability. now he is talking about overhauling the squad again?

what has he been doing for the last three years, biding his time?

im not knocking him as a manager, but i dont know if i would be that confident about his signings in the summer TBH

I would agree with you to a point BUT I dont think he has had the money to get the players he wants so he has had to take gambles on cheaper players. What can be said in his favour is that if the cheaper players didnt work out he shipped them out and didnt make a loss on them. He has brought alot of talent into the squad as well. Alonso, Agger, Reina & Mascherano were all good business

PHB

I can't see how MSI would sell Mascherano for 10 million, it just doesn't make sense. An 18 month loan deal in order for him to develop, and then sell the player for the same price they are trying to get for Tevez.

zing

PHB wrote:

I can't see how MSI would sell Mascherano for 10 million, it just doesn't make sense. An 18 month loan deal in order for him to develop, and then sell the player for the same price they are trying to get for Tevez.

yeah - 10m for him is on the low side but he wasn't valued the same as Tevez when he went to West Ham so no reason he should leave for the same value as him. I did find an article a month or two back which tried to explain the whole Mascherano situation and exactly who had a stake in him, etc.. but can't find it now (despite much googling). It did seem quite informed and iirc it did say that it was a loan.

jesus_thats_gre

Tusky wrote:

Josemi Rey Malaga £2,000,000 26.07.2004
Antonio Nunez Real Madrid £1,500,000* 17.08.2004
Xabi Alonso Real Sociedad £10,700,000 20.08.2004
Luis Garcia Barcelona £6,000,000 20.08.2004
Mauricio Pellegrino Valencia Free 05.01.2005
Fernando Morientes Real Madrid £6,300,000 13.01.2005
Scott Carson Leeds United £1,000,000 21.01.2005
Josh Mimms Rotherham United £50,000 16.06.2005
Antonio Barragan Sevilla £240,000 04.07.2005
Boudewijn Zenden Free Transfer Free* 04.07.2005
Jose Reina Villareal £6,000,000 04.07.2005
Mohamed Sissoko Valencia £5,600,000 14.07.2005
Peter Crouch Southampton £7,000,000 20.07.2005
Godwin Antwi Real Zaragoza Unknown 15.08.2005
Miki Roque Lleida Unknown 15.08.2005
Jack Hobbs Lincoln City £150,000* 18.08.2005
Besian Idrizaj LASK Linz £190,000* 22.08.2005
Ramon Calliste Free Transfer Free* 29.08.2005
Mark Gonzalez Albacete £1,500,000* 20.10.2005
Paul Anderson Hull City Player Exchange* 01.01.2006
Jan Kromkamp Villareal Player Exchange* 04.01.2006
Daniel Agger Brøndby £5,800,000 12.01.2006
David Martin MK Dons £250,000* 12.01.2006
Robbie Fowler Man City Free 27.01.2006
Craig Bellamy Blackburn £6,000,000 01.07.2006
Gabriel Paletta Club Atlético Banfield £2,000,000 04.07.2006
Fábio Aurélio Valencia Free 05.07.2006
Jermaine Pennant Birmingham £6,700,000 26.07.2006
Dirk Kuyt Feyenoord £9,000,000 18.08.2006
Nabil El Zhar St Etienne £200,000 21.08.2006
Astrit Ajdarevic Falkenberg £750,000* 11.01.2007
Emiliano Insúa Boca Juniors On Loan* 11.01.2007
Daniele Padelli Sampdoria On Loan* 12.01.2007
Jordy Brouwer Ajax Undisclosed* 24.01.2007
Francisco Durán Malaga £66,000* 30.01.2007
Ronald Huth Tacuary FC Undisclosed 31.01.2007
Álvaro Arbeloa Deportivo £2,500,000 31.01.2007
Javier Mascherano West Ham On Loan 20.02.2007
Lucas Pezzini Leiva Gremio £5,000,000 11.05.2007

Bah these ****ing lists piss me off no end.. Rafa has said that he is trying to achieve what Arsenal have done over the past few years. The majority of those players are being bought on the cheap in the hope that they ahcieve their potential. The majority of them will not see first team action or anything like that for a long time yet. To put that list in context, I think we should have a complete list of all Chelsea, United and Arsenal dealings.

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote:

I can't see how MSI would sell Mascherano for 10 million, it just doesn't make sense. An 18 month loan deal in order for him to develop, and then sell the player for the same price they are trying to get for Tevez.

What you think make sense and what is the case is often very different. Mashcherano looked to have majorly flopped it in the PL based on his first 6 months. Maybe MSI thought 10 mil was a good offer based on the fact that he has about 20 mins of football the whole season.

zing

Malouda the first of the signings Rafa hinted at ?
http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?HLID=468570&CPID=8&title=Barca+eyeing+Sissoko&lid=&channel=Premiership&f=rss&clid=14

and something in there about Barca being interested in Momo. I do see him moving on over the summer.

PiE

Sissoko could do a great job for Barca, would improve them a lot I reckon.

About Masch, I don't think MSI/Kia/West Ham/whoever were in much of a bargaining position when Liverpool came in for him. I'd say they accepted the deal on Liverpool's terms; whatever they may be.

Said it before and I'll say it again, talk of signing Eto'o is nonsense, Villa & Torres would struggle and glad that Rafa has finally admitted the squad as a whole is below par for what we need.

shatners basoon

I don't think the squad as a whole is below par, we've a good squad. We just need the final bit of class that'll allow us to break teams down better (better winger(s) and a striker who can finish!
2-3 players tops provided they're all excellent!

I'd let Sissoko go (provided we get roughly £15mil for him) if we can keep Mascherano (when will his situation be clear anyway?!) as he's simply a much better footballer.

leninbenjamin

shatners basoon wrote:

I'd let Sissoko go (provided we get roughly £15mil for him)

15m? that better be a joke... not a hope in in hell...

if we can keep Mascherano (when will his situation be clear anyway?!) as he's simply a much better footballer.

no one will know what the story is until his current deal, be it with 'pool or MSI runs out, i.e. next season's end i believe. the one thing about Mascherano is that i think i remember hearing that he hadn't a huge amount of time left with his deal with MSI. the west ham deal smacked of a bit of desparation in trying to offload them fast... so i'd say it's a good enough bet that Liverpool either own him, or have first option or something on him.

Zapp Brannigan

Malouda would be a fantastic solution to our left wing. Quality player.

PHB

What you think make sense and what is the case is often very different. Mashcherano looked to have majorly flopped it in the PL based on his first 6 months. Maybe MSI thought 10 mil was a good offer based on the fact that he has about 20 mins of football the whole season.

Maybe, but why wouldn't they just loan again? The kid always had potential, even if West Ham couldn't see it. They bought him for about 10 million, so why would they be willing to sell without making a profit?

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote:

Maybe, but why wouldn't they just loan again? The kid always had potential, even if West Ham couldn't see it. They bought him for about 10 million, so why would they be willing to sell without making a profit?

I am not saying that your reasoning is wrong tbh. That is the wonder of knowing very few facts on a matter. From what we know, it is just as plausible to argue that their eyes lit up at the thought of being able to recoup their 10 million on cut their losses for a player who wasn't even getting a game for the bottom club in the PL.

shatners basoon

Worried about making a loss?

leninbenjamin wrote:

15m? that better be a joke... not a hope in in hell...

Well i said roughly but i'd be adamant in thinking that anything near £12 would be reasonable. The amount of work he puts in a game is equal to two midfielders (if only he could pass!) Besides if carrick is worth...

so why would they be willing to sell without making a profit?

Afraid of making a loss? Maybe they got something from West Ham for him? Noone knows the situation so its just purely speculation. What lenin said about the length of his contract also makes sense, as all players' value depreciates a great deal on the final season potential or not.

I'd definately welcome Malouda with a big grin too!

jesus_thats_gre

I don't see what the big deal is about Malouda. Anytime I have seen him he has been average. Looked for a few compilations on youtube and not much impressed there either. Depends on the fee I guess.

Chardee MacDennis

leninbenjamin wrote:

15m? that better be a joke... not a hope in in hell...

like 18m for carrick and 17m for hargreaves? yeh sure 15m for sissoko is a joke!?!

Bounty Hunter

Call_me_al wrote:

like 18m for carrick and 17m for hargreaves? yeh sure 15m for sissoko is a joke!?!

your not selling to a desperate man utd and Sissoko isnt considerd a starter for Liverpool at the moment. you would be lucky to get near 10mil