Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

galwaydude

jeez lads sorry. Meant to say in rafa we trust.:D

Good too marseille want to take cisse on loan and then buy him. Ribery was lined up to sign for us in a swap with cisse before he got injured.

Lemlin

eirebhoy wrote:

Before he joined Celtic I thought he had a poor goals/games ratio but he seems a different player now.

That's because at Blackburn he is seen as a striker who is there to score goals. He was seen the same way at Celtic.

Newcastle he was there to create space and chances for Shearer.

Dr. Nick

galwaydude thinks of football when, ermmm, thrusting.

he wouldn't be the first

missingtime

Thought i'd drop this in for the laugh:

"F.torres will sign to Liverpool because his best friend Luis Gracia.......100% true"

Spelling and grammer included with the quote!
From the always reliable football rumours.com. Oh does anyone know when the new liverpool strip is coming out?

EDIT: That football rumours place is brilliant.Aparently there is some hungarian striker David Suarez that we are linked with now. Contradicting reports on all the other players Kyut, Torres et al.

el rabitos

missingtime wrote:

Thought i'd drop this in for the laugh:

"F.torres will sign to Liverpool because his best friend Luis Gracia.......100% true"

From the always reliable football rumours.com. Oh does anyone know when the new liverpool strip is coming out?

OMG11ONE!ELEVEN!! really??!one!!11

unless luis has 30 mill in his back pocket, ur talking through ur ass

missingtime

el rabitos wrote:

OMG11ONE!ELEVEN!! really??!one!!11

unless luis has 30 mill in his back pocket, ur talking through ur ass

Oh i know but its brilliant reading all these stories.

el rabitos

missingtime wrote:

Oh i know but its brilliant reading all these stories.

....what storys?

missingtime

el rabitos wrote:

....what storys?

From - http://www.football-rumours.com/dodgy.htm
The link says it all really.

Lex Luthor

missingtime wrote:

From - http://www.football-rumours.com/dodgy.htm
The link says it all really.

Gerrard said something similar before they won the CL. Maybe he is hoping they will follow the same fate?

mike65

Bellamy story gets firmer, is being reported in Guardian as a done deal.

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,,1799647,00.html

Craig Bellamy will join Liverpool next week for £6m after Rafael Benítez chose to activate a get-out clause for that amount, due to expire at the end of the month, in the striker's contract with Blackburn Rovers.

The Wales international, a Liverpool supporter as a child, has proved a controversial figure in recent years, not least after his very public falling-out with the then Newcastle United manager Graeme Souness when he was at St James' Park. He will replace the outgoing Djibril Cissé at Anfield, as talks continue with Marseille to loan the injured France striker to the French club with a view to a permanent move.

Bellamy's desire to leave Ewood Park since his £5m purchase from Newcastle after a season of relative resurgence under his former Wales mentor Mark Hughes will disappoint Rovers, who had hoped to persuade the 26-year-old to remain in east Lancashire. But the clause in the striker's contract was due to expire at the end of June, after which Blackburn could have demanded a higher fee for their leading scorer from last season, with Liverpool finally choosing to make a move after months of deliberation.

The striker had made it clear he would favour joining Liverpool, who will offer him an immediate return to the Champions League, and Hughes was unable to persuade him otherwise. Even so, Benítez needed convincing that Bellamy, who scored 17 goals last season, was the right man to partner Peter Crouch on Merseyside.

Indeed, Benítez's initial plan was to pursue the Charlton Athletic striker Darren Bent. But once it became clear that Liverpool could not sell Cissé for about £8m - as had been hoped until he suffered a double fracture to his right leg in a friendly for France - those plans quickly shifted. Although Bent has enjoyed only one season in the Premiership, Bellamy actually represents a cheaper option in terms of his transfer fee and undoubtedly offers more proven pedigree.

Also talk in the Mirror of Dirk Kuyt deal nearly done.

Mike.

Tusky

Neither Belamy, Crouch or Fowler are good enough to be first choice striker for Liverpool imo.

el rabitos

Tusky wrote:

Neither Belamy, Crouch or Fowler are good enough to be first choice striker for Liverpool imo.

who would be?

PHB

I think Bellamy is good enough for Liverpool, blistering pace and a great finisher is, be the best of the current liverpool strikers, and for 6 million he'd be a steal.

He's a bit of a gamble, but I'd say he'll be worth it. Would also make Liverpool a bit of a different side as it has to be played into his feet which I'd welcome

el rabitos

PHB wrote:

I think Bellamy is good enough for Liverpool, blistering pace and a great finisher is, be the best of the current liverpool strikers, and for 6 million he'd be a steal

would he be good enough for utd phb?

PHB

Would I take him for United?

Not at the moment, but we are looking for a replacement for Ruud, he wouldn't be anywhere near close to that quality.

United however are very very well stocked in the striker area with RVN(...), Rooney, Saha, Smith, Rossi, Solskjar

United don't need so strengthen in the striker area, Liverpool desperatly need 3 new strikers imo, and Bellamy at 6 million is a step in that direction.

Benetiz has built up a very very good defense and midfield, but the most expensive part to get right is the attack. If, as I think they do, Liverpool want to challenge, I think they need a new right and left winger and 3 new strikers, and Bellamy at 6 million would be a good addition to that group.

Worst case scenario, you buy him for 6 million, he fails, and you sell him off for a profit probably. Sure Cisse is going for 8 million
Teams will take risks on strikers, cause they know if it pays off, it is huge. Liverpool need to take those risks, just like the other teams do.

It's just like whether or not Carrick would be good enough for Liverpool? Unlikely considering what they have, but he's good enough for United.
It's all about whether or not they'd improve the squad more than if the money was spent elsewhere.
Where would you get a player of Bellamy's quality, a definate improvment on the current crop, for 6 million?

el rabitos

PHB wrote:

Would I take him for United?

Not at the moment, but we are looking for a replacement for Ruud, he wouldn't be anywhere near close to that quality.

United however are very very well stocked in the striker area with RVN(...), Rooney, Saha, Smith, Rossi, Solskjar

United don't need so strengthen in the striker area, Liverpool desperatly need 3 new strikers imo, and Bellamy at 6 million is a step in that direction.

Benetiz has built up a very very good defense and midfield, but the most expensive part to get right is the attack. If, as I think they do, Liverpool want to challenge, I think they need a new right and left winger and 3 new strikers, and Bellamy at 6 million would be a good addition to that group.

liverpool are still looking for a replacement for owen, and bellamy wouldnt be anywhere near close to his quality.

personally, i dont want him anywhere near liverpool, never liked him, but the english market is so inflated and with chelsea buying the best on the continent, that market is fairly inflated too, so liverpool and utd are in the same boat, they'll just have to grit their teeth and get what they can and make the most of it.

i dont know if fergie is shrewd enough in the transfer market to be able to find cheap, quality players, rafa got lucky a couple of times so far, but to compete with chelsea long term, i reckon arsenal are going about things the best way.

any liverpool or united fans expecting players like torres or adriano or anything like that are going to be dissapointed

*edit*

re: carrick, if sissoko cost liverpool 6 million, do u really think it makes ANY sence paying 15-20 million for carrick?

thats not the way to beat chelsea and it'll blow up in utd's face if they try

PHB

liverpool are still looking for a replacement for owen, and bellamy wouldnt be anywhere near close to his quality.

Yes they are, but Bellamy wouldn't be replacing Owen, he'd be replacing the striker they've never had for 10 years. Another top top quality striker is required, Bellamy probably isn't that, but he's needed for Liverpool.

re: carrick, if sissoko cost liverpool 6 million, do u really think it makes ANY sence paying 15-20 million for carrick?

Well it's more of a United question, but if Sissoko was bought by United it woulda cost 8-9 million, Alonso probably woulda cost 13-15 million.
It costs more for United to buy players and it's cause they have more money than Liverpool as people know.

I agree you have to buy youth, and i'm a huge believer in that, but you also need quality, and Arsenal imo still have no chance of challenging Chelsea, it's gona be 3-4 years until those players reach their peak, which by that point Henry will be gone, and it'll start all over again.
Arsenal appear to have incredible youth prospects, but that's only because they played so much.

I firmly believe if Bardsely, Pique, Jones and Rossi had been given the amount of games that Eboue, Senderos, Fabregas, and Abedyare(no idea how to spell that), they would be as impressive. I'm sure Liverpool have prospects similar to that, but they don't get given the chance cause Liverpool and United are challenging for the title. Arsenal aren't.
It's easy to do that, it's a lot harder to do what United are doing, building up the youth while maintaining the challenge. It's the only way to succedd in the long term

futuredeath

PHB wrote:

I agree you have to buy youth, and i'm a huge believer in that, but you also need quality, and Arsenal imo still have no chance of challenging Chelsea, it's gona be 3-4 years until those players reach their peak, which by that point Henry will be gone, and it'll start all over again.
Arsenal appear to have incredible youth prospects, but that's only because they played so much.

you can't win anything with kids . . . . .

I for one would welcome bellamy i think he's shown a huge improvment this year, as regards to attitude,
His skill as a footballer cannot be questioned,
he's better than owen at the moment, no doubt about it,
and again re: carrick no liverpool obviously wouldnt buy him i'd rather have zenden as cover tbh even if carrick was free.
Nolan or Parker are the 2 utd should be ****ting themselves over.

jesus_thats_gre

I really think Bellamy would be a great signing.

kinaldo

From a Newcastle perspective most of us myself included are still green with envy seeing him play for other teams. If he had it his way he'd still be in Toon. Soccernet named him as the signing of the season which was no suprise to me. He's not prolific but he contributes so much to the team and never stops running or giving anything less than 100% on the pitch. For all the bad press he's received, he's never been sent off in the Premiership and the only manager to ever fall out with him was Souness, something many people had predicted before it happened as Souness has a track record while Bellamy has a big ego. Anyway, good luck to him and Liverpool, if he stays injury free he'll be a revelation there at Anfield.

Edit to say he's also Wales' best player (not Giggs).

Lex Luthor

PHB wrote:

United however are very very well stocked in the striker area with RVN(...), Rooney, Saha, Smith, Rossi, Solskjar

RVN = to be sold
Smith = Injured
Solskjaer = never be the same again

so that leaves them with Rooney, Saha & Rossi....need at least 1 more

Lemlin

PHB wrote:

Would I take him for United?

Not at the moment, but we are looking for a replacement for Ruud, he wouldn't be anywhere near close to that quality.

United however are very very well stocked in the striker area with RVN(...), Rooney, Saha, Smith, Rossi, Solskjar

United don't need so strengthen in the striker area, Liverpool desperatly need 3 new strikers imo, and Bellamy at 6 million is a step in that direction.

Benetiz has built up a very very good defense and midfield, but the most expensive part to get right is the attack. If, as I think they do, Liverpool want to challenge, I think they need a new right and left winger and 3 new strikers, and Bellamy at 6 million would be a good addition to that group.

Worst case scenario, you buy him for 6 million, he fails, and you sell him off for a profit probably. Sure Cisse is going for 8 million
Teams will take risks on strikers, cause they know if it pays off, it is huge. Liverpool need to take those risks, just like the other teams do.

It's just like whether or not Carrick would be good enough for Liverpool? Unlikely considering what they have, but he's good enough for United.
It's all about whether or not they'd improve the squad more than if the money was spent elsewhere.
Where would you get a player of Bellamy's quality, a definate improvment on the current crop, for 6 million?

Maybe I'm biased, I'll fully admit to it, but I'd place Bellamy at least on par with Saha, and better than Smith. Solksjaer, sadly, will never be the same again and Rossi hasn't impressed me much in the games he has started.

I'm not sure what to make of this move if Bellamy does go. I'd like to see him do well but then I'd love to see him doing terrible or throwing a strop and Liverpool having to send him back for a cut price fee.

There's no doubting that 6 million for him is a bargain.

PHB

Maybe I'm biased, I'll fully admit to it, but I'd place Bellamy at least on par with Saha, and better than Smith. Solksjaer, sadly, will never be the same again and Rossi hasn't impressed me much in the games he has started.

We really should have this discussion in the United thread

Ultimately, Liverpool need strikers, desperatly, and 6 million is a steal

Lemlin

PHB wrote:

We really should have this discussion in the United thread

Ultimately, Liverpool need strikers, desperatly, and 6 million is a steal

Couldn't agree more. Bellamy is worth at least 10 million IMO.

PHB

Yep, poor contract planning by Blackburn leaving that sorta min release clause

Lemlin

PHB wrote:

Yep, poor contract planning by Blackburn leaving that sorta min release clause

The only reason Hughes even got Bellamy to come to Blackburn for the season was by allowing the clause to be put in. Hughes told Bellamy he could effectively use the season as a shop window for himself.

Good planning if you ask me. Blackburn got a top striker, even if just for the season, and were assured of making a 1 million profit at least.

Chucky the tree

Lemlin wrote:

Maybe I'm biased, I'll fully admit to it, but I'd place Bellamy at least on par with Saha, and better than Smith. Solksjaer, sadly, will never be the same again and Rossi hasn't impressed me much in the games he has started.

I'm not sure what to make of this move if Bellamy does go. I'd like to see him do well but then I'd love to see him doing terrible or throwing a strop and Liverpool having to send him back for a cut price fee.

There's no doubting that 6 million for him is a bargain.

He wont go for a cut-price fee though, thats probaly the only reason i wouldnt be too pissed off with this. 6 million really is a steal. When he had the row with souness there were at least 3 clubs willing to buy him for 5million or so. It will be the same if he has a falling out with rafa. Clubs will still be willing to pay 5 or 6 million so we wouldnt make a loss on him if we do sell him off.

Lemlin

Chucky the tree wrote:

He wont go for a cut-price fee though, thats probaly the only reason i wouldnt be too pissed off with this. 6 million really is a steal. When he had the row with souness there were at least 3 clubs willing to buy him for 5million or so. It will be the same if he has a falling out with rafa. Clubs will still be willing to pay 5 or 6 million so we wouldnt make a loss on him if we do sell him off.

Not sure about that. If he has yet another falling out with a manager he could be in trouble, he's already had quite a few after all. Hughes has gotten the best out of him though. Will Rafa be able to do the same? He's a great manager but Hughes already knew Bellamy from being the Wales manager. Rafa doesn't have that advantage.

Am I wrong in remembering that you were a Liverpool supporter on here who once said you wouldn't want him near the jersey? Maybe I am wrong, can't remember exactly what it was you said but I don't think it was positive towards Bellamy anyway.

Chucky the tree

Lemlin wrote:

Not sure about that. If he has yet another falling out with a manager he could be in trouble, he's already had quite a few after all. Hughes has gotten the best out of him though. Will Rafa be able to do the same? He's a great manager but Hughes already knew Bellamy from being the Wales manager. Rafa doesn't have that advantage.

Am I wrong in remembering that you were a Liverpool supporter on here who once said you wouldn't want him near the jersey? Maybe I am wrong, can't remember exactly what it was you said but I don't think it was positive towards Bellamy anyway.

I am hoping playing for a club where he will win trophies and have a good chance of winning the premier league will help improve his attitude. He should realise this is pretty much is only chance to play for a top team in england and will make the most of it.

I dont like the chap at all, cant stand him. I dont want him to sign for liverpool. Much prefer someone else. However if its a choice between signing no striker or signing him 6 million i will take belamy.

If he acted the way he did at blackburn i wouldnt have a problem with him. Its his previous that is worrying. Hearing bobby robson say he would have an arguement if he was in a room on his own isnt a good sign. What also worries me is that he will have to realise he wouldnt be the top striker at the club. We will be siging more big name strikers either this summer or hopefully in january. Hes probaly going to be spending some time on the bench and fight for his place. Seeing how he re-acts to this will be very worring.

If he was costing anything more then 6 million i would really be worried. At this price if he does Baros and has to be sold i can see us getting at least 4 million for him.

el rabitos

baros should never have been sold, someone else should have been sacrificed to fund crouch's transfer

zing

el rabitos wrote:

baros should never have been sold, someone else should have been sacrificed to fund crouch's transfer

Like who ? Who else could we have sold to raise 6.5m ? Only players that come to mind are those we want/need to keep - Xabi, Stevie, etc.. Cisse was never likely to be sold on after just 1 year - esp as he was injured for most of it. Or maybe the likes of HK or JAR would have gone for that kind of money - personally I thought we needed both of them this season.

So who would you have rather sacrificed to keep Baros ? Odds are we'd prob have needed to sacrifice two players rather than one.

IMO Rafa was right to sell Baros - he's not a bad player - esp for a one on one with a keeper. On the other hand his awareness of other players was only made look half decent by Cisses even worse awareness. And bear in mind that MO was supposedly all but begging the club to take him back last summer.

Not that it matters really - Baros was sold so not a huge amount we can do about it..

zing

6m bid for Bellamy tabled apparently.

Alves bid up at 10m but Seville still holding out for 12m - most likely meet somewhere around the 11m mark I guess.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_objectid=17254832%26method=full%26siteid=50061%26headline=reds%2dbid%2dto%2dland%2dbellamy-name_page.html

RE*AC*TOR

Well there are a number of pluses with the Bellamy deal:

We could probably sell him at a profit if Rafa decides he doesn't like him.

He is a Liverpool fan, so he should be playing for pride/passion etc.

Everyone is a little concerned with his attitude, but at £6M the pluses outweigh the negatives. Time will tell I guess.

On the Alves thing, I hope Rafa (and Parry) see this through, he's the kind of player you want to see playing for Liverpool. Top quality. Spend the money.

Stky10

el rabitos wrote:

baros should never have been sold, someone else should have been sacrificed to fund crouch's transfer

Well rumours at the time was that he was sold as much for his attitude and demeanour to Benitez and the other players, as it was for his lack of performance on the pitch.

Can't remember the exact stats, but his goals per games ratio after christmas the champions league winning year was ridiculous.

Tusky

So its looking like we are getting

Bellamy - 6 m
Aleves - 10 to 12 m
Paletta - 2 m
Gonzalez - paid for
+ one more striker ?

so a total of 18-20 m. Surely with Morientes, Cisse, Hamann, Krompkamp & possibly Kewell on their way out they should have some money left over no ?

thewing

Kuyt?

PHB

Bannor said the Kuyt deal was off, unless Rafa was willing to deal with it post WC.

Considering he's not getting his game in the WC, perhaps the price might not go up too much.

DaBreno

Tusky wrote:

So its looking like we are getting

Bellamy
Aleves
Gonzalez
Paletta
+ one more striker ?

Add Kuyt to that One more bit and we have ourselves a pretty decent squad for next season. (Not forgetting Aurellio). One point to ponder is the two target strikers - would Bellamy and Kuyt form a Toshak/Keegan style partership? It would be vital, Id imagine those signings(provided they settle quick) would put us on a par with Chelsea in the Premiership but they would need to gel if we were to surpass them.

RE*AC*TOR

Tusky wrote:

So its looking like we are getting

Bellamy - 6 m
Aleves - 10 to 12 m
Paletta - 2 m
Gonzalez - paid for
+ one more striker ?

so a total of 18-20 m. Surely with Morientes, Cisse, Hamann, Krompkamp & possibly Kewell on their way out they should have some money left over no ?

I wouldn't be 100% sure of the bellamy deal yet - we are led to believe that the like of murphy and baros were shipped out because of attiude problems, then rafa would need to be 100% certain he can control bellamy's behaviour.

Alves and Gonzalez will both walk into the side - both top class players.

Saviola is starting to get mentioned alongside Liverpool in some of the usual "rumor" sites. It could be nothing, but if Rafa isn't happy with Bellamy's attitude, then who knows?

Kuyt, who knows? He's been linked with so many team that anything is possible.

The Muppet

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

I wouldn't be 100% sure of the bellamy deal yet - we are led to believe that the like of murphy and baros were shipped out because of attiude problems, then rafa would need to be 100% certain he can control bellamy's behaviour.

Word is that Liverpool have tabled a £6 million bid this lunchime which invokes his release clause.

I have always rated Bellamys footballing ability but I agree his tmprement could cause problems in the dressing room.

Táck

murphy wasnt happy with the foreign contingent in the club. then rafa came. it was never going to be pretty after that.

murphy doesnt like foreigners full stop.

damienom

From the Press Association

LIVERPOOL `BID #6M FOR BELLAMY` - REPORT
Liverpool have made a formal #6million bid for Blackburn striker Craig Bellamy, according to reports.
The Liverpool Echo claim manager Rafael Benitez has made his move to test the validity of a supposed exit clause which can be activated by an offer of that amount.
Benitez is keen to find more firepower for his side as he tries to make them to genuine Premiership title challengers and Bellamy certainly fits the bill after an impressive season with Rovers in which he scored 17 times.
The 25-year-old Wales striker would certainly add a cutting edge to a misfiring forward line which has already lost Fernando Morientes, sold to Valencia, from last season and Djibril Cisse who, despite a broken leg, remains a target for Marseille.
end 191320 JUN 06
AAA HHH NFL NNN NOL PAS

p.pete

BBC finished their program a few minutes ago saying there's rumours of Torres coming to the Premiership - they didn't mention a club but certainly Liverpool are one of the clubs he's linked with. It was only a passing comment in reference to the fact that they'll be showing the Spain game later - but I don't mind letting my imagination run away with me

redspider

I also rate Bellamy as a good player and one that would fit into Liverpool's team. However, he has had attitude problems so it will remain to be seen that whoever he signs for if this can be controlled. As he gets older, the likelihood is that he will have better self-control, although some players never grow up.

6 million may be the opening bid, but I can imagine that other managers would rate him highly as well. Should we (Liverpool) go for him if he was for example 9m and depending on his salary rate for a 4 year contract an expensive buy? Its always important to look at the total cost of the contract, purchase and salary plus subtract what his likely resale value would be. At 25 years of age now, 29 at the next transfer stage, the latter should be reasonable.

Chelsea probably dont need him but they could bid for him all the same. Duff back to Blackburn in a swap deal ....... ? I have no basis for such an idea but it could be a win-win-win situation for all 3 parties, but it requires Mourinho to rate Bellamy's talents and temperment more than Duff !

redspider

Thanx 4 The Fish

If there is a buy-out clause in his contract then it does not matter what chelsea bid, Blackburn have to accept the liverpool offer. At that stage it comes down to the player himself. If I were him and looked at the top class talent at Chelsea and the huge gaping hole up front at liverpool, I know which way I would jump. At least a guaranteed chance at Liverpool or a spot on the bench beside SWP at Chelsea, all depends on his goals though, if he is about the money and Chelsea wanted him, liverpool could nopt compete.

TheMonster

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

If there is a buy-out clause in his contract then it does not matter what chelsea bid, Blackburn have to accept the liverpool offer. At that stage it comes down to the player himself. If I were him and looked at the top class talent at Chelsea and the huge gaping hole up front at liverpool, I know which way I would jump. At least a guaranteed chance at Liverpool or a spot on the bench beside SWP at Chelsea, all depends on his goals though, if he is about the money and Chelsea wanted him, liverpool could nopt compete.

Are you sure about that - I thought they can accept any offer over 6M.

Thanx 4 The Fish

I believe, and this is open to correction, that if Liverpool trigger the 6m buy-out clause they are immediately entitled to speak to the player, Bury would also be entitled to assuming that they tabled such a bid, but Blackburn would be unable to stop either team from talking to him once they accepted the bid, which they would have to as per his contract.

TheMonster

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

I believe, and this is open to correction, that if Liverpool trigger the 6m buy-out clause they are immediately entitled to speak to the player, Bury would also be entitled to assuming that they tabled such a bid, but Blackburn would be unable to stop either team from talking to him once they accepted the bid, which they would have to as per his contract.

Interesting - would prob depend on the exact wording of the clause

Strange thing about this one is that it is totally the antithesis od Benitez thus far - he has always distinced himself from troublesome players - both in purchasing and selling.

PHB

Why in the hell would Chelsea be after Bellamy? Anyone? Any ideas?

Hmm, we're dropping Crespo cause he's not good enough, mmm, let's replace him, with, mmm, Bellamy!

p.pete

PHB wrote:

Why in the hell would Chelsea be after Bellamy? Anyone? Any ideas?

lol, thought that myself.