Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

Vikings

And the sooner that happens the better.

tel922001

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1548289,00.html

More News on micheal Owen

galwaydude

Liverpool have confirmed the signings of two young starlet defenders Godwin Antwi and Miquel Roque who are set for debuts for the reserves against Everton at Wrexham on Tuesday night.
Roque is a 17-year-old centre half from Spain and has been signed from Spanish second division side Lleida.

Godwin Antwi, also 17, was born in Ghana and has been signed from Real Zaragoza. He is a strong and powerful centre half who can also play in midfield.

Both players will be based at Melwood, and the pair along with right back Antonio Barragan, and centre half Jack Hobbs are also expected to be in the Reds reserve team for the mini derby

seabee

I've heard alot of good things about Miguel Roque, I think there was a couple of "top teams" were after him.

Drag00n79

The London Times have a big article in today's paper about the proposed move:

LIVERPOOL ARE BRACED for days of haggling with Real Madrid as they seek to bring Michael Owen back to Anfield. The Spanish club want £16 million — twice what they paid — for the England forward, but Rick Parry, Liverpool’s chief executive, hopes to reduce it to £12 million, with the payments spread over a few years. Formal negotiations between the clubs should start this week as soon as Liverpool have recouped some funds from the departure of Milan Baros to Aston Villa. The Czech Republic forward should move to the Midlands for about £6.5 million.


NI_MPU('middle');
Although Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has emphasised that a centre half is his priority, he recognises that Owen’s return to Anfield would improve his team. Although Benítez has international forwards in Fernando Morientes, Peter Crouch and Djibril Cissé, Owen’s pedigree as a proven Premiership goalscorer should ensure that he is first choice.

Benítez did not beg Owen to stay on Merseyside when he took over last summer, but by then it was apparent that the player was looking to move. Despite rumours to the contrary, the pair parted on good terms, so there are no obstacles to a deal apart from the financial restrictions that mean that Liverpool will try to drive a hard bargain — particularly having sold Owen for £8 million 12 months ago.

Liverpool had hoped to persuade Real to accept a loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer but, with Newcastle United able to offer cash for Owen, they will almost certainly have to pay now. Parry is likely to offer £6 million up front, with the rest to follow over the remainder of the player’s contract.

A return to Anfield is not the only option available to Owen, but it is by far the most attractive. England’s leading goalscorer among the present squad, who is scheduled to join up with his national team-mates today before Wednesday’s friendly against Denmark in Copenhagen, is willing to consider Newcastle, but only on loan and only if the Liverpool deal collapses.

Manchester United have registered their interest in informal talks with Owen’s representatives. Sir Alex Ferguson is a long-term admirer and the Glazer family are eager to back the manager with funds but a holding midfield player is top of the shopping list at Old Trafford before the end of the transfer window on August 31.

Owen, who was in Hungary for a friendly with Real last night, may have to be patient as the clubs negotiate. The deal may not be concluded for at least a week but Gary Lineker, the former England forward and now BBC pundit, is convinced that the player will be back in the Premiership by the end of the month. “Trust me,” Lineker wrote in his newspaper column. “Owen is coming home.”

Real’s purchase of Robinho and Júlio Baptista has all but ensured Owen’s departure and Lineker compared the player’s predicament with the end of his time in Barcelona. “Football clubs, unfortunately, have a habit of playing silly devils in such situations,” Lineker said. “No one ever told me — as I am sure they have not told Owen — that I was unwanted but their actions make it perfectly clear that is the case.

“They say you should never go back but Owen would slot straight in at a club he knows so well, and he would be returning to the European champions — hardly a step down from Madrid, whereas a move to Newcastle would seem that way".


Source: The London Times

stevoslice

is roque the guy that came out and said that benitez was after him a few weeks back?

seabee

thebhoy wrote:

is roque the guy that came out and said that benitez was after him a few weeks back?

I'm not sure but here's a pic of the newbies

Jivin Turkey

seabee wrote:

I'm not sure but here's a pic of the newbies

Good god they look young. Or am I just getting old?

Davei141

Is there anymore news on mark gonzales? can/have they appealed?

Necronomicon

Davei141 wrote:

Is there anymore news on mark gonzales? can/have they appealed?

I think they have to wait for Chile to play a few more games to try to break into FIFA's top 70.

redspider

London Times wrote:

they seek to bring Michael Owen back to Anfield. The Spanish club want £16 million — twice what Real paid — but Rick Parry hopes to reduce it to £12 million ... negotiations should start as soon as Liverpool have recouped funds from the departure of Milan Baros to Aston Villa for about £6.5 million.

This is bad business. Liverpool sell a player for 8m and the following season, when he is a year older, likely wants a higher salary than if he had stayed in the first place, and there are no signs of him being a better footballer, Liverpool have to pay an extra 8m for him - that does not make sense!

I can understand that Benitez may not want Baros, having tried to work with him and failed, although Baros as we all know is clearly talented, and that 6m or so would defray the costs of Owen, but just looking at the Owen deal on its own, very poor business if Liverpool end up paying 12m for him, and pathetic if its 16m. I would say to leave him there until Jan when:

a) Real may want to offload him and his price will be lower
b) Owen's salary demands may be lower

Liverpool do not need Owen, its not as if Benitez has been saying we need another striker and I would agree with that.. And Baros could be kept until Jan and in some respects is more of a talent than Owen if utilised properly.

redspider

stevoslice

*offtopic
oh it will be a sad day when this thread eventually dies...

*ontopic
what about andrade and upson, any news on these guys?

Drag00n79

I have said this before but I will say it again. I think Owen is a class act and I would gladly welcome him back. While I have a lot of time for all our forwards (especially Cissé) I don't think any of them will guarantee 20 goals — which he will, IMO.

Most people would agree that Owen's experience abroad playing alongside the likes of Zidane, Ronaldo, Carlos etc. could only make him a better footballer — not to mention having to deal with better defences.

I have no idea what Owen's salary demands are but 'leaving him there until January' could backfire bigtime on us if he joins another Prem club. The lad will score goals anywhere. I take on board that we need another CB and RW but who's to say the club cannot wrangle a deal for all three?

As regards saying that Baros is more of a talent than Owen if utilised properly, I completely disagree with that.

redspider

Shamrok wrote:

I think Owen is a class act and I would gladly welcome him back.
While I have a lot of time for all our forwards (especially Cissé).
Most people would agree that Owen's experience abroad could only make him a better footballer.
'leaving him there until January' could backfire bigtime
I take on board that we need another CB and RW
As regards saying that Baros is more of a talent than Owen if utilised properly, I completely disagree with that.

I think Owen is a good player, a very good player, I will never forget the two he got against Arsenal in the "Owen" FA Cup final, but he is not a world beater all the time and in recent seasons he has lost some pace, not much, but a tad that he will never regain. And that was a key factor in his success.

He wasnt good enough to be the best at Real Madrid and keep a place. I agree that his experience there will have helped him, as a footballer and as a person. And Liverpool's CL win will have shown that Liverpool and indeed any team can go on and do wonderful things with the right approach and he will want to be a part of that. Remember, he left Liverpool to join Real to win the CL!

Owen is a good finisher, better than Cisse, better than Morientes, better than Crouch. My remark about Baros included "in some respects". I think these two players, whilst similar, are close talent wise. Baros may be better at losing his marker than Owen. Owen may be able to do more with the ball on the wing, and link better before having to go out to the wing. And both guys playing off another forward will do well. But neither suit a 4-5-1 formation. Baros is better in the target position, but Owen fails miserably if a target. Owen may be sharper around the box. And Baros in recent years would seem to be as good in a one-on-one situation, well for CZ anyway. Owen complains less and dives less than Baros, but still dives. Owen might be better tactially than Baros, and may be more easier to manage. Owen has a boy mindset still. Baros is trying to be a playboy, well a sort of formula1 driver type. The comparisons can go on .....

They are different, they are hard to compare, and its up to people to decide which is better value: Baros at 6.5m or Owen at 16m. We need a CB, we need a winger. Whilst it would be nice to have Owen, I dont think we need him at this moment. And I would rather keep Baros and sell Morientes, or indeed Crouch (although I cant judge him yet), or indeed Cisse.

redspider

mike65

I don't understand the "Value for money" argument at all, I'd sooner spend 12 milion buying him back and "loose" four than not have one of the best strikers on my books. Better his our than thiers so to speak. Owen will be able to play with Morientes and Crouch esp, not sure about Cisse though. Baros is going either way and you don't have to break the bank for a winger and a CB.

As for the timing, aparently its all down to tax, one year has to have passsed since he was sold or something.

Mike.

jesus_thats_gre

Liverpool sold him for 8million as he entered the final year of his contract.. They could have kept him for another year and he would have been able to go for nothing.. So they got the 8 million.. Loosing 4 million to take back someone of his quality is not such a big deal when you consider some of the players Liverpool have signed in recent years..

Jivin Turkey

And thats the reason why he is more expensive now, because his value for Real is protected because he still has three+ years on his contract.

zokrez

I have always been a big big MO fan. I understand why RB wanted to buy Crouch as it gives the team other options. I feel Crouch and Owen could prove to be successful like Keegan & Toshack.. The modern game and especially the demands on the players is such that Crouch is already injured. You need to have depth to compete. Look at Chelski, all their purchases are to ensure that they do not slip up in CL this year when with Duff & Robben fully fit...who knows. :cool:

I was always worried for Pool at the back when Hyypia & Henchoz were playing together, hoping that neither would get injured. They do need more at the back too. Woodgate on loan ?

Would I bring MO back ? Yes no doubt and I agree if Morientes & Cisse had to go so be it. He will be very hungry and I would dearly dearly love to see him score against Real in CL.

el rabitos

I think part of the reason benitez was so willing to let owen go in the first place was so that he could break up the scouse trio of Gerrard, Carragher and Owen.

there was too much of a comfort zone for the 3 of them there i think.

besides, Owen's legs have suffered some major injurys in his carreer, i see him ending up like Fowler in the next 3 years tbh

Necronomicon

Remember as well that when Rafa sold Owen, Baros had just come off a terrific Euro 2004 campaign and looked firmly in his plans. I don't think he has the same confidence in him as he did back then.
As well as that, a big problem of Liverpool's last season was not being able to score against mid and lower table teams. I think some of the chances they created against 'Boro would be the type of thing he'd thrive on.

jesus_thats_gre

Real wouldnt let Woodgate out on loan purely so he cannot pick up any new injuries at their expense..

Villain

Baros will be joining villa by the souds of things he said in an interview last night that

"It seems that there is no other possibility than to say goodbye and leave," Baros told CTK. "Apparently the coach wants to bet on other players and I don't want to sit in the grandstand." "When I return from the international team, it will be resolved," he added. "It could be resolved this week."

Commenting on the rumours that he had snubbed a move to Villa, Baros countered: "I have not refused Aston Villa or said that I didn't want to go there.

"It is a high quality club, it would certainly not be a step back for me."

Baros claims the financial package Villa have proposed is to his liking.

"It is nonsense," he said in response to suggestions he had turned down Villa. "We agreed on money straight away and they even raised their offer.

"I would be on better terms than at Liverpool, but nothing has been agreed yet."

Baros insists he wants to secure his future in order to allow him to focus on the new season, in what is a World Cup year.

"I would like things to be clear," he added. "And I would like to concentrate for the autumn World Cup 2006 qualifiers."

Baros claims he has not had a fall out with Reds manager Rafa Benitez.

"The coach has some ideas and I think I am not in them," added the striker. "But there is no personal thing in it, it is just football and I am not bitter."

Now rumours are starting to circle that Houllier is going to throw in a nice big bid for Cisse when he gets the 26 million from Chelski.

RE*AC*TOR

We don't have the money to buy Owen. Plain and simple. Any money received for Baros would be far better spent on a right winger. Even if it on a loan deal - it would be with a view to coughing up the money next summer - and unless we have a particularily successful season - we won't necessarily have a lot of money then either....

Villain

You would have reactor if you sold cisse to Lyon for 14 million!!

p.pete

I'd rather have Cisse and Owen as opposed to Baros and Owen.
My thinking is that we already have the budget for a centreback and rightwinger - we're just finding it hard to find the right player at the right price. Our forward line needs to be fixed with four players, which at the moment is Baros, Crouch, Cisse and Morrientes.

If we can switch Baros for Owen all well and good but it would be bad to get rid of Baros without replacing him up front. Four strikers is important not just for rotation but also for injuries and suspensions - with Crouch currently out we'd be down to just Cisse and Morrientes both playing 90mins twice a week. Not too clever.

RE*AC*TOR

Well given that Rafa likes 4-5-1 - are 4 strikers necessary? especially when 2 of our current strikers would be regarded as experts in the air and we don't have a right winger to supply crosses!!

Villain

Well Gonzales (sp?) was only a loan deal for this year so I'm not so sure they have enough money to sign a CB, MR and Owen even after getting 6.5 for Baros, and thats all Villa are offering.

StickyMcGinty

so surely common sense is gonna tell rafa to not get owen and to fill the other too spots first then??

p.pete

Don't get me wrong, I think a right winger is of more primary importance then fine tuning our forward line.

Gonzales is currently injured as far as I know so he's of no immediate benefit to us, work permit or not.

Villain

Gonzales is out till october, Finnan could do ok till then if he could get a permit

LFCFan

Rumour has it, Owen has agreed terms and will have a medical this week.

p.pete

irish1 wrote:

Gonzales is out till october, Finnan could do ok till then if he could get a permit

Yeah, the permit application might go a bit smoother if we're not trying to import an injured worker into the country. One problem I have is that Benitez wasn't able to convince the Liverpool board that we should buy him - that's why we're taking him on loan to prove himself and then follow up with the purchase at the end of the season. If the board aren't convinced why should the people handing out visas be?

RE*AC*TOR

is it a matter of proving himself or waiting until we have the cash to pay for him?

yom 1

p.pete wrote:

One problem I have is that Benitez wasn't able to convince the Liverpool board that we should buy him - that's why we're taking him on loan to prove himself and then follow up with the purchase at the end of the season. If the board aren't convinced why should the people handing out visas be?

He was signed on loan with a view to a permenant move because he was injured. The only thing he had to do was prove his fitness and that he was goin to recover fully from his injury, it had nothing to do with how good he is because Benitez knows how good he is.

seabee

I just got this link *....very interesting....especially if its true!

*All credit to The OC for supplying this link

Big Nelly

Wondering what will happen now Houlierr has 26mil to spend after the sale of Essien, looks like baros is off to Villa, would be make a bid for Cisse? Liverpool sell Cisse and then buy Owen? would be some serious transfers in the few days left till deadline!

Haha I love to speculate!

StickyMcGinty

seabee wrote:

I just got this link....very interesting....especially if its true!

ha ha read the rafa stories too they're a great read.

StickyMcGinty

cisse or owen.................? who'd fit better in to the team at the moment??

stevoslice

i think it'd be a bit harsh on cisse to offload him now, never got a chance really...

Drag00n79

thebhoy wrote:

i think it'd be a bit harsh on cisse to offload him now, never got a chance really...

I would agree with that. I think he has a lot to offer.

el rabitos

i think it'd be a bit harsh on cisse to offload him now, never got a chance really...

not really, people rag on baros for keeping his head down and running to the corner flags.

but cisse keeps his head up and still always veers off to the right everytime.

he seems to just blast the ball towards the goal and rarely seems to pick his spot and shoot.

if a bid in excess of 12 million came in for him i'd let him go and hold onto baros

Davei141

Fairclough wrote:

Like all Liverpool supporters, I viewed the transfer activity around Anfield over the summer with great interest. However, it was the deal that never came off that really made me sit up and take notice. Mark Gonzalez, the young winger from Chile, looked a very exciting prospect with so many reports coming out about just how good a player he was. He was even listed in the Fantasy Football League! The more fans heard about him, the more they wanted him to recover from his injury so they could see what all the excitement was about.

I don't think too many fans realised that Gonzalez's Liverpool future was still in the hands of the Department of Employment as the club had to put in an appeal for a work permit for the player.



The law states that the player who requires a work permit needs to have played 75% of all his country's competitive internationals during the proceeding two years prior to that appeal. While Gonzalez had that box ticked off - indeed, he was an ever-present for his country over the last couple of years and had a 100% performance to offer - Chile being outside the FIFA Top 70 necessitated the club to apply for the permit through an appeal.

So what has all this got to do with me? Well, for the last five years I have sat on the work permit appeal board as an Independent. The appeal board is made up of six people - one member each representing the Football League, Premier League and PFA and three Independents (split between former players and former managers), chaired by a civil servant. The club will then appear in front of that group with their appeal.

In recent weeks I have sat on the board with former Chesterfield boss John Duncan, John Aldridge and Frank Clark. A little bit of thought goes into which Independents are asked to sit on a panel - for example, I would never be asked to make a judgement on a Liverpool player. I have made judgements on different clubs that I have played for but I do not have anything to do with Liverpool. It is not unusual for Sir Alex Ferguson, [Jose] Mourinho and other top managers to put in an appearance at these boards and I think it's important that they do, as it shows the commitment, certainly by the club, that they want the player and they are taking the application very seriously. One or two clubs however do make the mistake of being a little bit complacent in the way they build their case.

That's a charge that certainly can't be levelled at Liverpool over the Gonzalez appeal though. Although I am not party to the full details of the case, I know it was a very good presentation by the club. Liverpool will have been very disappointed that the application wasn't granted but clubs, in general, do not make too much of a fuss and respect the fact that the panel sits their with their eyes fully open and are ready to listen to the case put before them.

Personally speaking, I was surprised to see Gonzalez fail the application given what Rafael Benitez had said about him and from the snippets of footage we'd seen of the player. He looked a very talented player and I know that all the Liverpool fans that I speak to were very much looking forward to seeing one of the brightest South American players (outside of Brazil and Argentina) at Anfield.

So where does it go now? Well, Liverpool will eagerly watch how Chile progress up the FIFA standings. If they move into the Top 70, he should qualify automatically. While everyone around the club will obviously be devastated that the permit was refused, there are plenty of examples of other players who have been turned down initially and then been granted a permit. In fact, one such player faced us on Saturday - Ayegbeni Yakubu. The Mark Gonzalez story is not over - it's only just begun.

I really hope we can see this guy in a liverpool shirt, could be the solution to our right wing problems. Hope the appeal succeeds.

StickyMcGinty

the first application usually always fails, the second decision isnt based on international games, but they look closer at the player

PiE

Be crazy to let Cisse go, he's probably the most motivated player at the club right now (well, behind Gerrard/Carra) since he's so determined to put the injury behind him and show what he can do.

So Houllier then said could he enquire about anyone else, and Rafa said plainly 'Yeah you can have anyone YOU signed!'

Classic if true.

Drag00n79

I have my doubts about that. That would include Riise, Finnan and Pongolle. Also doubt it because why would Sami have been offered a three contract if that was Rafa's intention.

~Rebel~

Ya, to be honest dont think Rafa would be that disrespectful to a man he invited to join their celebrations after winning the CL. maybe he offered a few of those players back such as cheyrou or diao or something but i doubt it happened that way.

I woud be so pissed off if they let Cisse go, would just be a step backward for the club. We had Owen and needed more as the team was far too reliant on him so once he was taken out of the game we were toothless. We'd be back in that same position if we sold baros and cisse for owen. i still would love to see baros stay to be honest, but i've gone on about him enough in the past so ill not have another rant. I do think in 2 years we'll regret it big time though. Cisse looks an absolutely class act and im sure he'll be great. Yes he veers off a little bit, but he's also very aware and has a thunderous shot on him. Look at the stats, he hits the goal with most of his shots, often they're too easy to save, but a difference of a few feet in any direction means goals abound. This is very much not a problem to worry about, its not like the goalkeepers in france were infinately worse or anything and he had no problems being league top scorer there so just needs to get a bit of a run going and will be fine.I know people say maybe he cant adapt to the PL, but in fairness - its football. Its the same game. Hes a strong fast talented guy, he's not going to be pushed off the ball easily which is the one thing most people fail to "adapt" to, in fact i think he'll be making fools of quite a lot of these slower physical defenders this season. Against boro he got either a free or a decent cross in playing in the wrong position, after having a few dodgy minutes to get into the game. Anyone who plays knows it can be hard to get into the rhythm when joining from the bench for a few small while. He soon got going anyway.

One more baros comment. I have a feeling he may actually have shaken off his head down play. In the preseason games he was very aware of what was around him and set up a few, while still scoring loads himself. On saturday he set up the gerrard run (and boro sending off) with a fantastic pinpoint pass. Guarantee Villa will be getting a bargain if he goes there.

Drag00n79

Interesting quotes from Baros this evening:

The profit from the imminent departure of Milan Baros from Liverpool will not be used to finance a deal for Real Madrid striker Michael Owen, according to Baros himself.

The Czech star has claimed that Liverpool are looking to recoup the £7m spent on Peter Crouch rather than raise more cash for a further striking option.

Baros has today confirmed that he has turned down moves to Monaco and Lyon in France, as well as Schalke 04 in Germany, in order to stay in the Premiership, with Aston Villa almost certainly his destination.

"I have nothing against the French league, it is certainly of a very high quality, but I consider the leagues in England and Spain to be the best ones," Baros told MF Dnes.

Baros has given the clearest indication of the potential fee involved in the transfer deal.

"It is certainly a lot of money," said Baros. "Schalke could not afford it. "Liverpool paid £7 million for Crouch, so they want the money back. But this has nothing to do with me."
Source: Footie Fans

Shred

I'm really not convinced by Cisse TBH. Yeah he does show good awareness and brings other players into the play but he seems to go for power 9/10 times once he has clear sight of goal and he's within 25 yards. I would just like to see him show a bit more compsure when through on goal and try picking his spot instead of blasting it every time. Even the goal he scored against sofia was straight at the keeper and probably would have been saved by a better keeper, he probably should have got one or two more also but for poor finishing. As good as his scoring record is in France, a lot of the goals I've seen him score there have been more to do with brutal defending than quality finishing. Another thing that's been annoying me about him in pre season is when Zenden puts a quality ball into the box (and he has put a few in) Cisse never even tries to attack the ball and seems to have no faith in his own heading abilty (I know he's not renowned for it) and he'll never improve if he doesn't even try. Don't get me wrong, I do think he will become a decent striker but he's still very raw IMO. It also doesn't help (and it annoys the shít outta me) that he's been played on the right wing, but I see that continuing until Rafa buys a proper winger.
TBH, even though it's early days I'm a bit worried about the forward line in general and I really think we need someone of Owen's calibre so hopefully a deal will be done.

Shred

Flo made came back with a goal in the reserves game last night and played quite well on the right wing Personally I think he could do quite well there and Rafa obviously thinks the same:

FLO BACK WITH A GOAL IN RESERVES DEFEAT

Steve Hunter at Wrexham 16 August 2005

Florent Sinama-Pongolle made a scoring return for Liverpool Reserves after seven months out in the Reds 3-2 defeat to Everton, in the first second string match of the season at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.
Sinama-Pongolle entered the field as a 50th minute substitute to make his first appearance for the Reds since injuring his knee in the Carling Cup semi-final win at Watford on January 25th.

The France Under-21 star played on the right wing and was absolutely superb. He was so sharp and almost single handedly rescued a point for a Liverpool team which had at one stage been 3-0 down and Everton had missed a penalty. Right wing is a position that seems comfortable for Sinama-Pongolle and he can take players on and cause havoc. The watching Rafael Benitez will have been pleased to see him back in action.

Reds midfielder Danny Guthrie scored a superb individual goal to make it 3-2 but it was too little too late for Liverpool. Everton also ended the game with 10 men after James Harris was sent-off.

Liverpool's chief scout Paco Herrera is in charge of the Reserves this season with Hughie McAuley as reserve coach.

Both teams fielded young players with Liverpool giving debuts to centre half Jack Hobbs, Spanish right back Antonio Barragan and Ghana defender Godwin Antwi. Spanish centre half Miquel Roque couldn't play as he is waiting for international clearance.

With Paul Harrison and Patrice Luzi leaving the club in the summer the goalkeeping responsibilities for the new reserve season will fall to Northern Ireland youth international Paul Willis.

In order to fit all the players into the team on the night a few were in different positions. Godwin Antwi is a centre half but because of a striker shortage had to play up front while Hobbs was asked to play a new role just in front of the back four, in the Didi Hamann role if you like. Lee Peltier, one of the new Melwood recruits from the Academy this summer is normally a central midfielder, but had to play left back. Peltier hasn't played for over nine months due to a back problem so he will have been grateful to get a game under his belt.

Zak Whitbread captained the team and partnered Danny O'Donnell at centre half.

Until the introduction of Sinama-Pongolle Everton were causing all sorts of problems in the air and were 3-0 up inside the opening 50 minutes with all three goals coming from set pieces.

Everton winger Bjarni Vidarsson scored the first two goals both from headers. The first one came after seven minutes when Vidarsson headed home Christian Seargeant's left wing free-kick.

It was 2-0 after 37 minutes when Vidarsson headed home right back Stephen Wynne's cross.

A minute into the second half Everton missed a penalty. A mistake from Danny O'Donnell let in Victor Anichebe who was brought down by Zak Whitbread. Liverpool keeper Paul Willis made a superb save to keep out Mark Hughes spot kick.

However a minute later it was 3-0 and another set piece goal. Hughes was allowed a free header at the back post and nodded it across goal for the unmarked Anichebe to head home.

That was the cue for Paco Herrera to bring on Florent Sinama-Pongolle after 50 minutes and the French star transformed the team almost single handedly. He inspired all around him and Liverpool began to play and looked a real threat every time they attacked.

Within five minutes of coming on Sinama-Pongolle made it 3-1 with a fine header from David Mannix's free-kick. Sinama-Pongolle had won the free-kick himself with some great work down the right wing.

Josemi was then introduced on the hour mark for Peltierand played at centre half and was very competitive making several crunching tackles.

With Sinama-Pongolle causing all sorts of problems Liverpool were a different side. He set up a great chance for Godwin Antwi who shot wide then Liverpool went so close after 66 minutes. Antonio Barragan, who looks a very promising player down the right hand side, whipped in a great cross which Richard Wright couldn't hold under a challenge from Antwi and Hughes headed clear from the line.

Zak Whitbread then headed just over the bar from a corner and Sinama-Pongolle had a shot deflected just wide after a great run when he beat three defenders.

With five minutes remaining Danny Guthrie made it 3-2 with a great shot fired into the corner of the net giving Wright no chance.

Everton were then reduced to 10 men when James Harris was shown a red card for dissent after a brawl.

Sinama-Pongolle went close for the Reds in stoppage time but there was to be no comeback in the mini derby as Everton beat Liverpool at Wrexham for the second successive season.

As far as the new boys are concerned Godwin Antwi worked hard but it is unfair to make any judgement yet because he is a centre half in a new country playing as a lone striker. That is a difficult role but he kept working hard which was a good sign. He also showed some neat touches with some good lay-offs for team-mates.

Antonio Barragan did well at right back. He has skill, can beat opponents and looks a very decent prospect.

Jack Hobbs played in a new role too and worked hard. He certainly likes a tackle and was constantly shouting encouragement to his team-mates.

The biggest positive on the night for the watching Benitez was seeing Sinama-Pongolle back in action after seven months out. Flo gives the Reds boss a number ofdifferent possibilities as is comfortable playing up front or on the right hand side.

Davei141

Yeah i cant wait till this guy is back in action for us, very encouraging to see him do so well on the wing.