Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

Drag00n79

I see Malouda said this evening he would reject Chelsea if Real Madrid were in for him. He sure knows how to win clubs over!
Source

ZENER

Stky10 wrote:

So what you've actually said is that the Americans went for a big name over the head of the manager. Fine thats your opinion.

My opinion ? That's not even what I said !

As I said though, with no facts or articles or anything to back it up. You might as well have said that Hicks/Gillette/Benitez spend their mornings clubbing seals for pure sport. It has the same basis in fact as what you've come out with.

Thats the funny thing about rumors and speculation, neither require proof to become believed but I'll play along with your game for now. So you want "proof" that what I said had grounds, fair enough so let's see how I arrived at my opinion.

Ever since last June there have been rumors about Torres (link 1 below), he was reported to be on his way to several clubs including ManU, AC Milan and Barcalona. Even Chelsea and the Gunners were mentioned. Liverpool weren't even in the running despite them making their interest known.

Come forward a bit and we see after all he didn't move but the rumors persisted that he was ManUs No 1 target but the 'pool were still not in the running - not even mentioned as a likely target.

Then came the buy out of Liverpool by the yanks in February and their news of spending up to 200 million on the club for players and a new ground. Shortly after it was widely reported that Rafa was restless because he believed the yanks were not going to spend any huge money on players.

After three years working really hard, we've not progressed enough. I have confidence in the Americans because they say they will back me, but I want to see things happening right now. I'm tired of talking, talking. We talk and talk but we never finish.

There were rumors of Rafa going to Madrid if he didn't get some assurance from the yanks that they would cough up cash for some players. Only rumors though and Rafa said he turned the offer down. Madrid denied any contact of course. These rumors were fueled by news that Gillet and Hicks were simply in it to take profits with minimum investment. Redspider summed it up on Feb 1st (link 3 below).

Several free and loan players arrived - Voronin, Huth, Arbeloa (2.6m), Insua to mention but a few, but no big names save for perhaps Mascherano. But that seemed to be it. Not much to show for the promised 200 million.

Forward again and there is more disquiet in the camp as fans believe there is no major transfers coming or at least no announcement of large amounts of money being made available. Several players are touted to depart too.

Then out of the blue . . Torres ?

Now sorry but this is too convenient for my liking and is why I stick by my original OPINION that he was bought to appease the fans. I've no doubt Rafa is delighted to get him and that there may be a couple more signings before the window closes but I don't believe Liverpool was his first choice club.

Liverpool fans even ask why they need a striker like that and ask why goals don't come from all over the pitch in the way they do at United whose top scorer was a midfielder this season. (link 2 below)

Link 1: Torres transfer rumors.

Link 2: Fans ask why 'pool need big name striker.

Link 3: Redspider comments.

I might have just come up with the "opinion" that Ferguson doesn't pick the team at ManU, that the Glazers do instead. But as a Liverpool fan I don't go in to the ManU thread to express this "opinion" without something to back it up.

I'm not on this thread as a ManU fan, I'm merely saying what I see as a non Liverpool fan.

So why don't you head back to the ManU thread, and take your hissy fit with you. There's a good lad.

Maybe you need to take a little time to see the world as others see it. Now run along now and don't be rude !

ZEN

mike65

Pighead wrote:

9000th post made by a Liverpool hater from Dundalk.

Thumbs up for Pighead! It could have been Yank/PHB/The Muppet etc

Mike.

Kanney

Shamrok wrote:

I expect he will. The Werder Bremen match is Tuesday 17th July (k.o. 7.15pm), Auxerre is Friday 20th July (k.o. 2pm) and the Asian Cup begins Wednesday 24th July (k.o. 2.15pm).


Yes it is and the Auxerre and Bremen matches are live on Setanta.

Nice one, thanks Shamrok for letting me know.
Anyone got any pics of Torres in number 9?

Zapp Brannigan

Here ya go.
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/7887/picture4zo6.jpg

Was posted by Reactor a few pages back.

Stky10

In the midst of long post

ZENER wrote:

Then out of the blue . . Torres ?

Now sorry but this is too convenient for my liking and is why I stick by my original OPINION that he was bought to appease the fans. I've no doubt Rafa is delighted to get him and that there may be a couple more signings before the window closes but I don't believe Liverpool was his first choice club.

Liverpool fans even ask why they need a striker like that and ask why goals don't come from all over the pitch in the way they do at United whose top scorer was a midfielder this season. (link 2 below)

So thats the best you can come up with after all that?.

(a) Liverpool may or may not have been linked with Torres last summer (I've neither the time or the inclination to check archives), but that would be due to the club being so badly off financially that Chairman Moores had to loan the club the 9 million to get Kuyt. There was no way they could have afforded Torres back then. They weren't linked with loads of other players that moved last summer as well for large amounts of money for the same reason.

(b) As for things being quiet over the past few weeks transfer wise, I'd invite you to read the interview given by torres thats posted above by Shamrok, especially the following

"When did you first hear of Liverpool's interest in you?
It was just a couple of weeks ago, it's all happened very quickly. I was aware of offers from other clubs but as soon as I knew Liverpool were interested I said to Atletico: "Look, please listen to this offer." There were many clubs being banded around. Offers go directly to Atletico, so I wouldn't necessarily know about them, but as soon as I heard about Liverpool, I told them that Anfield was the only place I was interested in."

Large transfers don't happen overnight. Most take weeks of work behind the scenes. You may not know this, but its the reality. So while to you they may have appeared to be doing nothing, they were actually working on Torres, and other players that have yet to sign.

(c) Gillette and Hicks are serious businessmen with fingers in many different pies, sports teams being a pretty small part of it. I'm sure it was keeping them awake at night that fans in England were getting restless that they hadn't spent a fortune on players they'd never heard of or seen.

(d) Lucas Leiva arrived in May for between 6-10 million. Blows that no large spending theory out of the water now doesn't it.

(e) As for Liverpool not being Torres first choice club, again read the interview above, specifically the part

"How much do you know about Liverpool Football Club?
Obviously growing up in Spain you are aware of all the big clubs there, but you also keep an eye on Europe, and Liverpool always catches the eye. It always did for me. I had older brothers who'd tell me about the likes of Keegan and Rush, but the first players I remember seeing as a fan are players like Robbie Fowler. My main memory is seeing Liverpool's incredible record in Europe, and I certainly followed that closely."

but specifically

"but as soon as I heard about Liverpool, I told them that Anfield was the only place I was interested in"

(f) As for "Liverpool fans even ask why they need a striker like that" I must have been mistaken in reading page after page of posts from fans hoping he'd join, wanting the latest updates, posting updates & youtube videos etc.

At least this time though you've given some justification for your opinion, even though its as misguided as it is. Next time you post with your opinion, if you back it up like so again you mightn't find people so hostile to you

Aquos76

The Muppet wrote:

Another plan bites the dust Mike.:p


The deal is £20 million possibly rising to £26.5 million according to the BBC.

So £20 million it is then.;)

Isn't it amazing how the tides change, This time last year, the pool fans were saying how mad Man U were for paying supposedly 18m for Carrick when in actual fact, they paid 13.5m possibly rising to 18m.

Same situation here i think. So as it stands, I'm thinking the pool got a great deal at 20m and if they end up paying 26.5m they wont be complaining as they will have won the premiership a couple of times and the CL again, just like us Man U fans were not bothered handing over an extra mill to Spurs this season, as were Madrid giving us 1m to us for Beckham when they won the La Liga.

Zapp Brannigan

Must get a new jersey tomorrow now. didn't want to jump the gun and get one earlier because I didn't know whether he'd be F. Torres or Torres.

Now Rafa, let's see some wingers...Mancini!

Mr Alan

Aquos76 wrote:

Isn't it amazing how the tides change, This time last year, the pool fans were saying how mad Man U were for paying supposedly 18m for Carrick when in actual fact, they paid 13.5m possibly rising to 18m.

Same situation here i think. So as it stands, I'm thinking the pool got a great deal at 20m and if they end up paying 26.5m they wont be complaining as they will have won the premiership a couple of times and the CL again, just like us Man U fans were not bothered handing over an extra mill to Spurs this season, as were Madrid giving us 1m to us for Beckham when they won the La Liga.

plus i wasn't here when carrick signed but i'd imagine the point people were making was that at £18 million Carrick was WAY too expensive?!


the fee is £20 million. thats it. £26 million does not come into the equation. Then people wonder why they're accused of only saying stuff to get a reaction!?

Kanney

Stky10, proves the point, good job . Torres wanted to come here, I think we have been first choice for him since Rafa took over, we have been his first choice if he wanted to leave, wanting to leave was the other part, he loved A.Madrid, let hope he loves us the same.

Thanks Zapp for the torres pic, anyone have a higher quality one? I want to make a sig out fo it.

Mr Alan

The Rooster wrote:

£90k per week = £4.68m per year

Thats obviously a paycut from his €150k a week at Madrid, but isnt he getting some lump sum for leaving/signing that will make up the difference.

In any event, very exciting news for Liverpool fans.

not sure if this is true, but it was reported that he waived his right to that fee because the 2 clubs couldn't agree who should pay it.

Kanney

Got one, got a few actually.

applehunter

My initial reaction is crazy money.

Liverpool always seem to be buying potential.

Hobart

ZENER wrote:

Sorry for having an opinion there Fishy. It's sometimes difficult to swallow an-others opinion but there are better ways of replying than simply calling someone a troll.



As I said I hope he works out but to say it's just silly to by a player to appease the fans is naive just look at Chelsea for the last 2 years. Also there is no jealousy on my part, if Sir Alex didn't rate him enough to buy him then I'll take his more respected view on the matter.

Also it's plain to see why 'Pool fans were voted the worst in Europe. It's incredible the hate and venom that my opinion generated. For those who mentioned the CL with respect to ManU fans, have a look at my post after Liverpool won after the penalty shootout, where is the hate in that post ? The exact opposite in fact.

ZEN

I think you have a couple of problems with your rational there tbh. Firstly, if you are naive to think that some fairly serious business men would invest M£20stg+ to appease fans, well you know SFA abour Gillick and his partner(s).

Secondly you appear to think that this guy was not rated by "Sir Alex", when the simple fact is (as any Manu fan will tell you) is that either:

a) Sir Alex wanted him but thought he was over valued or

b) The stress test that Glazer puts on his business assets did not match.

either way to say that AF did not rate him, just flys in the face of all sense and is completely against what AF said and what actually happened. I'm not saying that you are a troll, just that your behaviour is one that you would expect from a troll, allbeit a naive one.

Thirdly, and this is not your fault really, but your "rationale" seems to be based on some false comparison. What have Chelsea ever done, in terms of buying players, that has ever been reflected in the way Liverpool buy players? Give me one example of a transaction that took place by Chelsea, wherby Liverpool were interested and subsequently re-bid? there isn't one. Full stop.

This is not the mess that Obi Mikel was,

This Is Anfield.

Remember that.

As an aside, your whole ethos falls flat when you have Manu "fans" backing up your claims with cries of whooo, when those same "fans" were saying Torres was the next big thing as manu tried in vain to sign him. Here's a hint, take you medicine.

copacetic

ZENER wrote:

Stky10 wrote:

So what you've actually said is that the Americans went for a big name over the head of the manager. Fine thats your opinion.

My opinion ? That's not even what I said !

you do seem to be trolling now, that's exactly what you said:

ZENER wrote:

To me this looks like Chelsea over again, has the manager requested this player or has he been told to take him ?

if you are going to come on and troll at least don't try to pretend that you aren't just acting the muppet and trying to get a reaction. it's just sad.

~Rebel~

In case anyone missed it, Torres and Rafa's press conference is here;
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid595963054?cpid=&channel=football_home&clid=

zing

ZENER wrote:

Several free and loan players arrived - Voronin, Huth, Arbeloa (2.6m), Insua to mention but a few, but no big names save for perhaps Mascherano. But that seemed to be it. Not much to show for the promised 200 million.

I really couldn't be bothered wading into this "debate" but I do need to point out that your timeframes are somewhat mixed up.

First you refer to the takeover in Feb, then throw in a comment from Rafa from May 24th and go on to use a bunch of players who were signed in Jan (Arbeloa, Huth, Insua & Mascherano) as an example of of Gillet/Hicks not spashing the cash.

You then refer to Real's interest in Rafa - which IIRC was sometime around March/April and use a post from redspider on Feb 1st to back that up ? Also it would probably have been more accurate to say "These rumors were fueled by rumors" rather than "These rumors were fueled by news" because said news was of course nothing more than rumors.

So this is really their first opportunity in a transfer window to show some of that 200 million you referred to and imo not a bad way to start. You think this was to keep the fans happy - fine that's your opinion and you're entitled to it. From what I've seen of Gillet/Hicks over the last few months I honestly think that it's way off the mark. Early indications are that they mean business and are very much of aware of the need to invest in the club to achieve success both short term & long term - effectively ripping up the stadium plans is a good example of this.

We're already said to have a circa 12m bid turned down for Mancini and had been sniffing around Malouda so I honestly think we can expect to see another couple of 10m + players arriving over the summer.

Did I just wade in ?

estebancambias

Screw Torres, Forlan is better. Torres is destined to become the what Ronaldo is to scumbag girls on bebo.

Zapp Brannigan

The only thing I'm worried about now is Mancini. If it was us who bid for him and were rejected I dunno if Rafa will go back in for him? I'm hoping he does because I'd rate Mancini better than Simao and Malouda. Apart from them three however I can't think of any other winger that we've shown an interest in?

Vokes

There's Quaresma as well. Can play both wings like Simao. I liked the look of him when id seen Portugal vs Brazil, he was constantly swapping wings with Ronaldo causing mayhem.

mike65

Quaresma is prolly too expensive now, and rumour has a U in it

Mike.

zing

SofaKing wrote:

There's Quaresma as well. Can play both wings like Simao. I liked the look of him when id seen Portugal vs Brazil, he was constantly swapping wings with Ronaldo causing mayhem.

Not really been linked to him though and last reports about him suggested he was yet another player bound for Atletico. They're gonna have a fairly decent team next season.

The Muppet

mike65 wrote:

Thumbs up for Pighead! It could have been Yank/PHB/The Muppet etc

Mike.

Congratulations to Mr Pighead on his marvelous achievement, Love your work.

BTW Mike as the spelling police are on duty tonight thers a j in that Yank,

Vokes

zing wrote:

SofaKing wrote:

There's Quaresma as well. Can play both wings like Simao. I liked the look of him when id seen Portugal vs Brazil, he was constantly swapping wings with Ronaldo causing mayhem.

Not really been linked to him though and last reports about him suggested he was yet another player bound for Atletico. They're gonna have a fairly decent team next season.

Ahhh, shame. Very good player

Him or Simao would be my pick.

Hobart

The Muppet wrote:

Congratulations to Mr Pighead on his marvelous achievement, Love your work.

BTW Mike as the spelling police are on duty tonight thers a j in that Yank,

thers

It would be ironic, if it wasn't so typical!!;)

zing

SofaKing wrote:

Ahhh, shame. Very good player

Him or Simao would be my pick.

Spoke too soon....

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premiership/liverpool/article2028699.ece

the deal is only likely to be the first of several eye-catching signings by Rafael Benítez as the manager seeks to end the club’s 17-year wait for the championship.

Benítez is also in the hunt for a new winger, possibly two, and the indications from Portugal last night were that Ricardo Quaresma, of FC Porto, could fit the bill. Liverpool are said to have had a £13.5 million bid for the 23-year-old Portugal winger turned playmaker rejected, although a slightly improved offer could be enough to persuade the Portuguese club to sell.

Drag00n79

Atletico Madrid are meant to be very close to signing Quaresma. Apparently theyve bid €22m (£14.6m) for him this week but have to up the offer.
Source

Tusky

Times & Daily Mail reporting that Tevez is set to sign for utd on a 1 year loan deal worth 4m + 3m in wages with the option to buy. I would be sick if this came true.

jesus_thats_gre

Would be a great signing for United alright.

RE*AC*TOR

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Would be a great signing for United alright.

He's a bit similar to Rooney I would have thought. Still... great player.

Stky10

meh.. sounds like paper/agent talk to me. Its been said before that nothing is going to be decided about his future until after the Copa America. And how would Tevez and Rooney play together, when they both prefer the same position?. It would be purely a defensive move by ManU to stop any of Liverpool, Arsenal, or Chelsea signing him. As well, there is the whole West Ham situation to sort out in that it was only yesterday the Biscuit Magnate was again going on about the five year deal they have for Tevez. Until the legal situation is sorted out there, I don't think he'll be moving anywhere.

For an obscure conspiracy theory, think of this... Tevez is in a training camp with both Mascherano and Heinze. Presumably both are telling him that he'd be best off joining their respective clubs. However with all the talk of Heinze joining Liverpool, Heinze couldn't be sure where he'll be playing next season, and so his influence would be reduced. So, the whole trying to sign Heinze deal is a cover to sign Tevez.

I'm encouraged by the talk of Quaresma though... great move if we could land him.

The Muppet

Hobart wrote:

thers

It would be ironic, if it wasn't so typical!!;)

Thanks Derrick, I must get my spell check updated.;)

Kanney

estebancambias wrote:

Screw Torres, Forlan is better. Torres is destined to become the what Ronaldo is to scumbag girls on bebo.

So he's a great player, let them idolise them, maybe you should just not perv on scumbag girls bebo, and he is better than Forlan.

rahim

Zapp Brannigan wrote:

The only thing I'm worried about now is Mancini. If it was us who bid for him and were rejected I dunno if Rafa will go back in for him? I'm hoping he does because I'd rate Mancini better than Simao and Malouda. Apart from them three however I can't think of any other winger that we've shown an interest in?

I agree with you there, I really hope Rafa goes for him (again?), I really rate him.
It doesn't look like Liverpool will get Malouda either whether they were ever likely to or not, but I think I'd take Mancini over him from what I've seen.

Stky10

Stky10 wrote:

For an obscure conspiracy theory, think of this... Tevez is in a training camp with both Mascherano and Heinze. Presumably both are telling him that he'd be best off joining their respective clubs. However with all the talk of Heinze joining Liverpool, Heinze couldn't be sure where he'll be playing next season, and so his influence would be reduced. So, the whole trying to sign Heinze deal is a cover to sign Tevez.

Yea, thats how deals are done alright!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:



Lot of coverage on bbc, rte and skysports etc, sounds like there could be some truth to it.



Kinda funny, im a united fan n my best mate a pool fan and we were talkin back in may bout who we wanna c join and basically we said if we could pick only 1 player to join who'd it be. i saidf someone like hargreaves or an available midfielder with bite which was wat united were missin and he said teve, just got a text off him there, he's pissed.


Wont believe it till i see him at a conference though.




As for Torres, good signing, he's a very good link player, should have a high assist rate, not sure if he'll be a 15-20 goal a season guy though. Then again, if the others score enough, just like Benitez said, he wont need to be.

rahim

rahim wrote:

It doesn't look like Liverpool will get Malouda either whether they were ever likely to or not, but I think I'd take Mancini over him from what I've seen.

Id agree with ya there, Mancini and Simao would be good buys for you's to complement the players you have.

rahim

Deleted User wrote:

Id agree with ya there, Mancini and Simao would be good buys for you's to complement the players you have.

Yeah, thats what I was thinking, wonder how likely it is to get both though?

Stky10

Deleted User wrote:

Yea, thats how deals are done alright!! :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Eh, yeah, that would be why I prefaced it with the comment "For an obscure conspiracy theory"

PHB

a load of nonsense! Liverpool have had one of the best defensive records in the league every season in recent memory, that wont change.

What happens if either Agger or Carragher gets injured? There is little depth there.

The rest is more of your opinion, malouda better than simao, i suppose you are a studious follower of both french and portugese football?

Malouda was voted player of the league last year in the French league. He is wanted by both Real and Chelsea. Liverpool initially seems interested in him, but appear to have been priced out of a move. Malouda is a better player than Sımao, who I think (based mostly on his performances for Portugal who I watch whenever they are on) isn't top class, just pretty good.

why would we need another striker, we have crouch, kuyt, torres and voronin if bellamy is sold, apart from spurs no other team has as many first team centre forwards.

Quality not quantity Bellamy is going. Crouch is a good option, but not top class. Kuyt is a work-horse, but he's yet to show that he can really play at the levels of say Drogba or Henry, and I don't think he can.

im sure rafa will make at least 2 more 'first team' signings so stop making baseless predictions.

What prediction? I said you needed to sign 3 players to have a chance of challenging.

In terms of wınger's, Quaresma whenever I've seen him looks good, very like Ronaldo, although not quite as good. If he joined Liverpool, I'd say his first season would be similar to Ronaldo's, quite frustrating but hopeful. I think he'd ınstantly improve the team, but you wouldn't really see his ability until the following year. He'd be a good signing though, as I think that Rafa is hoping to put in a good show this season, and then after another summer of signings, really go for it the following season. Because of this, I thınk Quaresma could be a likely and good signing.

The real question is how much money Benetiz has left.

Mr Alan

think its pretty likely we'll pick up 2 wingers.

if you look at all the reports that we were in all the papers in relation to how much money we'd have to spend, it ranged from 30-100 million.

Say its at the low end of that, and its 40 million. 20 million is gone on Torres and 5 million of Lucas. leaving 15 million.

Then say the sale of Bellamy, Gonzalez, Cisse and Pongolle raises a further 20 million. That leaves around 35 million for a couple of wingers and some defensive cover. More than do-able.

I know it never works out that simple but it might at least give us an idea of what to expect. Especially with Rafa saying yesterday that they were especially on the look out for wingers.

jank

humbs up for Pighead! It could have been Yank/PHB/The Muppet etc

You could have at least got my name right, tut tut.

Cyrus

PHB wrote:

What happens if either Agger or Carragher gets injured? There is little depth there.



Malouda was voted player of the league last year in the French league. He is wanted by both Real and Chelsea. Liverpool initially seems interested in him, but appear to have been priced out of a move. Malouda is a better player than Sımao, who I think (based mostly on his performances for Portugal who I watch whenever they are on) isn't top class, just pretty good.



Quality not quantity Bellamy is going. Crouch is a good option, but not top class. Kuyt is a work-horse, but he's yet to show that he can really play at the levels of say Drogba or Henry, and I don't think he can.



What prediction? I said you needed to sign 3 players to have a chance of challenging.

In terms of wınger's, Quaresma whenever I've seen him looks good, very like Ronaldo, although not quite as good. If he joined Liverpool, I'd say his first season would be similar to Ronaldo's, quite frustrating but hopeful. I think he'd ınstantly improve the team, but you wouldn't really see his ability until the following year. He'd be a good signing though, as I think that Rafa is hoping to put in a good show this season, and then after another summer of signings, really go for it the following season. Because of this, I thınk Quaresma could be a likely and good signing.

The real question is how much money Benetiz has left.

if agger or carra gets injured the same thing happens to liverpool as happened chelsea when terry was out or united when ferdinand is out.

Just because madrid and chelsea want malouda, that makes him a better player???? seriously flawed logic.

Quality? Crouch per minutes played was one of the most effective strikers in england last year, kuyt has goal scoring pedigree aswell, he played too deep last year, should be a different story with torres beside him and voronin is an unknown quantity.

Im sure you are comparing our four to united or chelseas strikers? they have one top class forward each in rooney and drogba thats it.

how much money has benitez left? he could have another 50m, no one knows, we will find out pretty soon tho

Chardee MacDennis

we dont need a right winger - we have pennant and gerrard who i think can both do the business.

we need a lw for cover for harry. but i think first friendly we will line up with kewell on left and gerrard on the right and would be surpirsed if it changed. we also have anderson who should get a good run of friendlies to measure him up.

zing

Call_me_al wrote:

we dont need a right winger - we have pennant and gerrard who i think can both do the business.

Pennant improved a lot over the season but the end product was still lacking somewhat. I do hope he continues that improvement.

we need a lw for cover for harry. but i think first friendly we will line up with kewell on left and gerrard on the right and would be surpirsed if it changed. we also have anderson who should get a good run of friendlies to measure him up.

Looks like Anderson is off to Swansea for a season loan so that rules him out. I honestly think we need cover for both wings - or the current players become cover .. whichever.

As for the first friendly - that's in two days and Kewell isn't back from international duty yet. Expect the non international types (Pennant, La Tallec, etc..) & younger players to feature on Sat - Rafa's been working with them for a week or two now so he'll use it as a chance to assess them and see who'll go out on loan for the season. The senior internationals just came back to training today so they're unlikely to feature.

The Rooster

Didnt know Le Tallec was back at Melwood??

Talented guy who turned crap through lack of first team opportunity and poorish attitude.

zing

The Rooster wrote:

Didnt know Le Tallec was back at Melwood??

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/match_pix/non-match/290607/web-03.jpg

(from http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/archivedirs/news/2007/jun/29/N156248070629-1642.htm)

Talented guy who turned crap through lack of first team opportunity and poorish attitude.

From the last couple of interviews I've seen with him he seems to have come back down from planet ALT so maybe there's hope for him..

Thanx 4 The Fish

I would like to see him get a chance, I saw him play a few games in the reserves and he was the best player on the pitch by a long way.

He has a great touch on him and is a very good passer of the ball.

rahim

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

I would like to see him get a chance, I saw him play a few games in the reserves and he was the best player on the pitch by a long way.

He has a great touch on him and is a very good passer of the ball.

What age is he now?
I saw some footage of him for the reserves too, looked very good, great touch like you said. I really thought he would become a great player for Liverpool when he arrived but never really looked like he was going to become a regular at the time. Hopefully he'll get his chance and grab it.

Stky10

zing wrote:

From the last couple of interviews I've seen with him he seems to have come back down from planet ALT so maybe there's hope for him..

Spending a season at Sunderland getting thumped every week, and the following season mostly on the bench at Sochaux will do that to you. If he can't make the first team there, its going to be uphill for him trying at Liverpool. Great talent though, but I'd say his chance is gone (although I hope I'm wrong).

It will be an important pre-season for Hobbs as well. This time last year he looked very green and was mostly at fault for three goals in a single game, a good display this year and he might save Rafa splashing out. I can't see Anderson being given much of a hope, El Zhar seems to have overtaken him.

Mitch Connor

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/Northerner1987/peterbenitez.jpg

i think thats a good one!