Liverpool Signings and General Rumours Thread

Cyrus

jesus its the first of june, no one of any note has moved yet, i dont understand the panic,

and thats also the reason the papers have started this crap again, as there is so little transfer news theyve made a whole load up

its already come out that this story is a load of cobblers

Cyrus

no wonder they want rid of samuel, he was terrible last year

cb look great in italy different kettle of fish in the EPL and the Primera liga

Villain

Cyrus wrote:

jesus its the first of june, no one of any note has moved yet, i dont understand the panic,

and thats also the reason the papers have started this crap again, as there is so little transfer news theyve made a whole load up

its already come out that this story is a load of cobblers

Forgive me if I'm wrong here but didn't Liverpool start their pre-season this week and they don't they have to register their first squad for the CL qualifiers very soon, if they meet Everton in the final stage, they will need to have a strong team.

Cyrus

CL qualifiers ?

If we won the CL with the squad we had im sure we can negotiate the qualifiers with the same players

the signings will come, its early days yet 2 months left

Villain

Cyrus wrote:

CL qualifiers ?

If we won the CL with the squad we had im sure we can negotiate the qualifiers with the same players

the signings will come, its early days yet 2 months left

I wouldn't go thinking the pool will sail through the qualifiers with such ease, as I said if they meet Everton they will have a tough game, remember thats the team they finished behind in the league last year!

Also IMO the sooner you can get players into your pre-season training the better, gives the players more time to adapt to the club and the Premier League style of player, I'm not saying they should panic buy but if they have targets they should get them sooner rather than later. Leaving signings for another 2 months could leave them signing the left-overs from other clubs.

Cianan2

Liverpool get Zenden on the free. Deal will (prob) be done monday, in time for CL...

Chucky the tree

irish1 wrote:

I wouldn't go thinking the pool will sail through the qualifiers with such ease, as I said if they meet Everton they will have a tough game, remember thats the team they finished behind in the league last year!

Also IMO the sooner you can get players into your pre-season training the better, gives the players more time to adapt to the club and the Premier League style of player, I'm not saying they should panic buy but if they have targets they should get them sooner rather than later. Leaving signings for another 2 months could leave them signing the left-overs from other clubs.

no, you can resgister new players after each round.

Also, how will pre-season help players adapt to PL? Training wont even do that! All you do in pre-season is mainly cardio work.

jesus_thats_gre

.





Where is Bannor when you need him

Villain

Chucky the pace of training for the PL is very different to any other league, if Villa were going to sign a foreign player I'd much rather they did asap so the player could have a full pre-season with the club rather than half with one club then half with another.

mike65

The press hacks are having stupid fun, the media links are full of stuff about relations between Rafa and Gerrard having turned bad and how Real and Chelsea are both back in the frame.

Looks like Figo might be back on though.

Mike.

mike65

so farewell http://www.newsnow.co.uk/cgi/NGoto/100873107?-11194

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

Steven Gerrard has broken off all contract talks at Liverpool after a row with manager Rafael Benitez. (The Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail, The Times, The Daily Telegraph)

yikes.

Shred

I'll take that with a pinch of salt until something is confirmed - we had all of this crap last year too :rolleyes:

StickyMcGinty

if it is true its an absolute disgrace, after all stevie g did for us, he should be on 100 grand a week. shame on moores & parry for letting it get this far, he should have a new contract signed and be lookin forward to this season, not worryin bout his contract!

TheMonster

If only 1 team wants him will that lower his price a lot? Say Madrid offered 15M and there are no other bids and Gerrard wants to go - are Liverpool not forced to accept 15M or kepp an unhappy player.

As with last year - the player himself is saying nothing, that in itself is worrying.

~Rebel~

Still absolutely no mention of it on official website aside from the media watch section, also not a good sign..

RE*AC*TOR

VinnyL wrote:

if it is true its an absolute disgrace, after all stevie g did for us, he should be on 100 grand a week. shame on moores & parry for letting it get this far, he should have a new contract signed and be lookin forward to this season, not worryin bout his contract!

what exactly do you mean "after all he's done for us".

he did shag all this season anyway.

kaimera

yom 1

Dont really know what to make of the gerrard thing
It seems to be coming from an awful lot of newspapers and news for it to be all made up by the press
Dont think I would like him to go, especially not to chelsea, but then I wouldn't mind the 35m for him which rafa could use to buy 3/4 quality players with

---

in other news from SSN

"Villarreal boss Manuel Pellegrini wants players who can cope with a long season, including European involvement.

Birmingham's Dutch defender Melchiot and Liverpool's Josemi are the two names at the head of Pellegrini's list."

I really woudn't be too upset to see him go cos he isn't goin to get his place back off Finnan so it would good to free up some wage money.

LizardKing

The Irish Times wrote:

Gerrard training bust-up fuels departure

04/07/2005: Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is reported to be on the brink of leaving the club following a reported training ground bust up with manager Rafael Benitez.

The 25-year-old England midfielder is said to have had a row which will now open up the possibility of a big-money move to Chelsea or Real Madrid.

It follows widespread reports claiming Gerrard feels he is being forced out of the club because Reds chief executive Rick Parry has failed to open contract negotiations as quickly as he hoped.

Gerrard indicated his desire to stay at Anfield in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool's stunning Champions League triumph over AC Milan in May and thought the issue would be dealt with almost instantly.

Instead, just nine days away from Benitez's men beginning the defence of their trophy against Welsh minnows Total Network Solutions, Gerrard looks further away than ever from agreeing a new deal.

The influential midfielder has two years remaining on his contract and Parry knows unless his future is resolved one way or another this summer, his vast market value will begin to plummet.

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton insisted the Merseyside giants do not want to lose their talisman.

"Our position is very clear," he said. "We want Gerrard to stay at the club."

Gerrard has received no improved pay offer from Liverpool and no more talks are planned, according to The Sun, who report Gerrard had a stand-up row with Benitez over the weekend.

The Daily Mirror reports Gerrard has broken off all contract talks and also claims an "angry exchange" between the player and his manager at Melwood training ground.

Chelsea will now launch a British transfer record bid in excess of £30million for Gerrard, according to the Daily Star, while the Daily Express report Gerrard's patience snapped as the Anfield club dragged their feet over a new deal.

The Daily Mail also say Gerrard's long association with Liverpool is drawing to a close and that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been alerted.

Hopefully it's ALL bullsh1t , if not then POOL will lose there influential captain but gain a decent amount for the Transfer Kitty

StickyMcGinty

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

what exactly do you mean "after all he's done for us".

he did shag all this season anyway.

what?! are you serious?

eh... in the olympiakos game he scored the goal that put us through the group stage.. and thats just mentioning one thing he did.

if it wasnt for him, we DEFINATLEY wouldnt have won the championsl eague this year.

RE*AC*TOR

Over the season as a whole he was very very poor, rarely playing near potential.

Vladimir Smicer scored some important goals as well, but I'd hardly say "after all he's done for us". Like Gerrard, he hasn't done near enough.

As it stands we keep Gerrard and HOPE he regains some form, or sell him for €30million and buy 2/3 fresh faces.

cerbeus

One way to end the speculation quickly is for LFC to offer him £100K a week and if he says no then sell him and use the money to bring in players who want to play for us.

Big Nelly

cerbeus wrote:

One way to end the speculation quickly is for LFC to offer him £100K a week and if he says no then sell him and use the money to bring in players who want to play for us.

I wouldnt pay Gerard 100K a year let alone a week!! ok scored a few important goals but on most of the important games was absent!!! during the Utd game was useless.....Keane showed him wat a midfielder is all about!!

The Insider

Apparently, Gerrard, Moores, Parry and Rafa are sitting down today without SFX being there to see if they can resolve this issue

andyman

Zenden to join today

p.pete

Gerrard is capable of brilliance but so far in his career has failed to be consistantly good - over the last few years his status in England has been inflated more then is justified. I'd like to see him stay at Liverpool but he's not worth 100k a week. I'd rather take 20/30 mil for him then fork out 15mil in wages for him over the next 3 years.

~Rebel~

Theres a press conference for zenden being joined today so some clarity should come out at that. I do actually really want him to stay, as he said himself he had a very unsettled confused year but plans to knuckle down and provide his best form this year. At the end of the day he is just a man, you have to understand all of this getting to him and taking the edge off his game, which should return when his future is resolved. Just hope its resolved at Liverpool..

The Muppet

cerbeus wrote:

One way to end the speculation quickly is for LFC to offer him £100K a week and if he says no then sell him and use the money to bring in players who want to play for us.

Even if they could afford it Benitze will not offer more than he values Gerrards worth. He is right to not let the club be held to ransom {Owen}. Gerrard is a good player but he isInot worth 100k a week. I think Benityze would rather the cash he may get for him to rebuild his team.

cerbeus

Reina is also to be unveiled at the press conference today after all the paper work for his transfer was finalised.

jank

Well its clear that he isnt wanted by benitz et al. IMO he is overrated, very good player but overrated expecially given last years performances in the league.

PHB

Gerrard is the best player in the entire Liverpool team.
However, he alone is not worth 3 great players that Benetiz could bring in for the money.
So its a tough call, but I'd imagine that Benetiz wants to sell.

I don't know what Gerrard is planning though.
Say the price tag was 30 million, who could get that sorta money.

Chelsea
Man United
Real Madrid
Inter Milan
AC Milan?(no cash apparently)
Barca?(no cash apaprently, but maybe in swap deals)
Juve?(I doubt they are in the market for a midfielder)

You'd have about 4 clubs who could get the cash together.
I can't imagine he'd go to Inter cause he'd have the same shot at silverware there.
I doubt he'd go to United either, considering he is a scouser.
I'd imagine he might go to Chelsea, although he would be just as villified if he went to Chelsea as if he went to Liverpool after their clashes last season.
So he'd probably prefer a move to Real Madrid. But wait, they just signed somebody exactly in that mould and for a third of the price, Garcia. Are they erally gona buy Gerrard?

So he'd probably end up going to one of the English clubs, and who he'd choose is beyond me. He probably hates Man United but at the same time greatly respects Fergie. He probably likes Chelsea more.

Either way he's ****ed.

p.s.
Does anyone else think that a
Makelele-Lampard-Tiago midfield is better than a
Makelele-Lampard-Gerrard midfield?

I'm not saying that Gerrard isn't a better player, but Gerrard and Lampard have never worked well as a team in midfield for England.

TheMonster

No doubting the qaulity but lacks consistency.

Am I the only one thinking there may not actually be many clubs interested in him. If Chelsea aren't interested(where would they play him) the value drops big time. Prob only Real Madrid and maybe an Italian club - they won't pay more than 15M.

Wonder would Fergie risk a cheeky bid

The Muppet

PHB wrote:

I don't know what Gerrard is planning though.
Say the price tag was 30 million, who could get that sorta money.

I Would seriously question that price tag particulally as interested clubs will be aware of the breakdown in the relationship between player and club. I think half that would be a more accurate valuation unless CHelsea bite.

seabee

PHB wrote:

AC Milan?(no cash apparently)

I thought there was still a bid on the table from AC Meelan.

andyman

Gerrard agent tells Sky Sports News that talks over a new contract have stalled and are unlikely to re-open

redspider

irish1 wrote:

as I said if they meet Everton they will have a tough game

I am sick and tired of people rolling out this mantra: "Liverpool won the CL but they were 5th, and will need to improve substantially to get into the top-3", etc, etc, not looking at you in particular irish1

Lets look at the facts:
- Liverpool won the CL, yes won it.
- The CL is a higher standard than the English league.
- The CL is a different type of competition than the English league.
- Teams that can do well in the English league, may play with a style that is more suited to the English league than the CL. A well-known example of this is Arsenal.
- Looking at Everton, they got results (points) that were above their capability and standard of play on the pitch, they played above themselves
- Looking at Liverpool, they played below themselves in the league and underachieved for their capability
- yet, there were only 3 pts difference

- Chelsea and Mourinho would swap places with Liverpool, ie: take the CL win and forfeit the English league
- In monetary terms, a CL semi-final is worth *more* than winning the English League


I of course realise there are problems in the Liverpool team. Big problems. Indeed, they over-achieved for their ability last season by winning the CL, but not by beating the likes of C Palace or Southampton, indeed two teams they lost to in the league, but by winning and deservedly winning against the likes of Juventus, Chelsea, etc.

Would Man U have swapped places with Liverpool last year? damn right they would. Would Arsenal swap their places, yes, damn right they would.

People who trot out this mantra continually still dont comprehend what happened last season. Mourinho does, Ferguson does, Wenger does (but has a hard time admitting it in public due to his lack of CL success), and Benitez certainly does. Moyes certainly does.

Redspider

cerbeus

Maybe Rafa has had enough and is willing to use the cash generated by buying in Kuyt instead of Crouch.

redspider

Yeah, I think Benitez is seeing a player that perhaps is at his prime and now is a good time for him to cash-in, build a team in a Benitez format. Gerrard is not deadwood of course but he is a remaining star from the Houllier (and Evans) era and if Benitez got 40m eur (and didnt have to pay 100k a week), he could do a lot with that. It would be a passing of a mini-era to see Gerrard go, but such are the effects of money on football things like this happen.

I think that Gerrard does want to stay at Liverpool to some extent, although its difficult to judge that without actually knowing the lad personally, but if there is a big offer on the table out there, and there must be if Benitez is playing hard-ball, then Liverpool can cash-in on that.

The good news from the LFC perspective is that Benitez/Parry are not pushovers. Houllier tended to mollycuddle the players and this cost the club millions such as with Owen, and also with Houlliers large pay out on termination. Houllier did a small bit of damage financially to the club, hoping that it would all go well on the pitch. Benitez/Parry now seem to be more prudent financially which has to be good news for LFC, but perhaps bad news for Gerrard who is now a sellable asset.

Also, good to hear there is no talk this year about Thai investments and the Moores/Morgan and other ownership battles. That must have been a big distraction last year. Parry seems more motivated and involved this year and his capability is growing, which again must be good news for LFC.

Redspider

cerbeus

Is Gerrard just annoyed that the club are touting him behind his back and so is more open to his agents' transfer whispers. SFX may have a large part to play if he does move on as they get their nice fat commission.

Villain

redspider wrote:

I am sick and tired of people rolling out this mantra: "Liverpool won the CL but they were 5th, and will need to improve substantially to get into the top-3", etc, etc, not looking at you in particular irish1

Lets look at the facts:
- Liverpool won the CL, yes won it.
- The CL is a higher standard than the English league.
- The CL is a different type of competition than the English league.
- Teams that can do well in the English league, may play with a style that is more suited to the English league than the CL. A well-known example of this is Arsenal.
- Looking at Everton, they got results (points) that were above their capability and standard of play on the pitch, they played above themselves
- Looking at Liverpool, they played below themselves in the league and underachieved for their capability
- yet, there were only 3 pts difference

- Chelsea and Mourinho would swap places with Liverpool, ie: take the CL win and forfeit the English league
- In monetary terms, a CL semi-final is worth *more* than winning the English League

I of course realise there are problems in the Liverpool team. Big problems. Indeed, they over-achieved for their ability last season by winning the CL, but not by beating the likes of C Palace or Southampton, indeed two teams they lost to in the league, but by winning and deservedly winning against the likes of Juventus, Chelsea, etc.

Would Man U have swapped places with Liverpool last year? damn right they would. Would Arsenal swap their places, yes, damn right they would.

People who trot out this mantra continually still dont comprehend what happened last season. Mourinho does, Ferguson does, Wenger does (but has a hard time admitting it in public due to his lack of CL success), and Benitez certainly does. Moyes certainly does.

Redspider

My point redspider is that they over-achieved to win the CL and without a very big improvment they won't finish in the top 3 next season, as for Mourinho would swap places thats crazy talk, Mourinho said from day one that the PL was his priority and he won that.

Remember Liverpool finished 37 points behind Chelsea and 25 points behind Arsenal, they need to improve a hell of a lot to challenge them next season.

BTW Gerrard's agent is been quoted to have said that contract discussions with Liverpool have "stalled and are unlikely to be reopened". Taken from teamtalk.!

PHB

I am sick and tired of people rolling out this mantra: "Liverpool won the CL but they were 5th, and will need to improve substantially to get into the top-3", etc, etc, not looking at you in particular irish1

Lets look at the facts:
- Liverpool won the CL, yes won it.
- The CL is a higher standard than the English league.
- The CL is a different type of competition than the English league.
- Teams that can do well in the English league, may play with a style that is more suited to the English league than the CL. A well-known example of this is Arsenal.
- Looking at Everton, they got results (points) that were above their capability and standard of play on the pitch, they played above themselves
- Looking at Liverpool, they played below themselves in the league and underachieved for their capability
- yet, there were only 3 pts difference

- Chelsea and Mourinho would swap places with Liverpool, ie: take the CL win and forfeit the English league
- In monetary terms, a CL semi-final is worth *more* than winning the English League

I of course realise there are problems in the Liverpool team. Big problems. Indeed, they over-achieved for their ability last season by winning the CL, but not by beating the likes of C Palace or Southampton, indeed two teams they lost to in the league, but by winning and deservedly winning against the likes of Juventus, Chelsea, etc.

Would Man U have swapped places with Liverpool last year? damn right they would. Would Arsenal swap their places, yes, damn right they would.

People who trot out this mantra continually still dont comprehend what happened last season. Mourinho does, Ferguson does, Wenger does (but has a hard time admitting it in public due to his lack of CL success), and Benitez certainly does. Moyes certainly does.

Redspider

You've got a bit muddled.

Would Fergie/Wenger swap Liverpools success last year for their success?
Absolutely.
Chelsea, perhaps, thats tougher.

However, would Fergie/Wenger/Mourinho swap their squads for Liverpool? Not a chance in gods hell.
Why? Cause they think that their squads are hugely better, and they are right.
Premiership is about consistancy.
CL is about big big games.

Mitch Connor

PHB wrote:

You've got a bit muddled.

Would Fergie/Wenger swap Liverpools success last year for their success?
Absolutely.
Chelsea, perhaps, thats tougher.

However, would Fergie/Wenger/Mourinho swap their squads for Liverpool? Not a chance in gods hell.
Why? Cause they think that their squads are hugely better, and they are right.
Premiership is about consistancy.
CL is about big big games.

and liverpool were very lucky, even a 3-3 milan looked more likely to win it but wasted their chances. Fair play to them though, i wish it had been united lifting the trophy in the same circumstances. (And i reckon 'pool supporters would be saying it was undeserved ect)

yom 1

From Liverpoolfc.tv

"The Dutch star signed his contract this morning and was paraded in front of the media at Melwood at lunchtime.

Before the press conference he spoke exclusively to Liverpoolfc.tv and revealed the scenes he witnessed from the club's supporters during and after the Champions League final in May helped convince him to make the move to Anfield.

Zenden said: "I am absolutely delighted to be signing for Liverpool. When a club like this comes in for you then you don't need asking twice.

"Rafa Benitez was a big influence in me coming here but the biggest influence was Liverpool FC as a name and its magnificent fans.

"I watched the Champions League final in a hotel and the thing that stuck in my mind was at half time when we were 3-0 down and all you could hear were our fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone.

"I saw the scenes from the parade of the city and they were absolutely fantastic. I can't wait to play my first game in a Liverpool shirt.""

have to say I am quite happy with our first signing. I have always liked Zenden

RE*AC*TOR

shpadoinkle!

Shred

Also from LFC.TV

RAFA: I WANT STEVIE TO STAY

Rafael Benitez today insisted he wants Steven Gerrard to remain a Liverpool player.
Speaking at a news conference at Melwood, the Reds manager quashed speculation that he wants his captain to leave the club by insisting Gerrard has a major role to play in his Anfield future.

He said: "I can assure our fans that we want Steven Gerrard to stay with us.

"I renew my deal with Liverpool in four or five years and when I do I would like Stevie to be my next coach, assistant manager and maybe even the next manager after me. He can even have the chief scout position if he wants it.

"I want him to stay with the club. We are trying to build a better team and a better squad and I want Stevie to be a major part of that.

"Last season I tried to get Stevie to sign a new deal three times. On each occasion he said wait, so we waited.

"This year we want to win more trophies and that is why we are improving our squad with new signings."

RE*AC*TOR

perhaps gerrard wants to push the whole bust-up story to cover his own ass with regards to public animosity while ultimately facilitating his transfer to somewhere where he can get £100k+ a week.

RE*AC*TOR

Rafael Benitez has today confirmed he has signed four new players ahead of the start of next season - with the promise of two or three more to come before the end of the week.
Dutch star Bolo Zenden was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player this afternoon after completing his free transfer from Middlesbrough and he could make his debut in Saturday's friendly at Wrexham.

Benitez also revealed the club have now completed the signing of goalkeeper Jose Reina from Villareal while Mark Gonzales has signed from Albacete and young right back Antonio Barragan has arrived from Sevilla.

The Liverpool boss said: "We have today introduced Bolo Zenden as a Liverpool player but we have also signed Jose Reina, the best goalkeeper in Spain, Mark Gonzales, the best player in Chile and Antonio Barragan.

"We will be signing two or three more players this week."

Shred

yom 1 wrote:

From Liverpoolfc.tv
"the thing that stuck in my mind was at half time when we were 3-0 down and all you could hear were our fans singing You'll Never Walk Alone.

Does he get a winners medal as part of the deal:p

TheMonster

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

The Liverpool boss said: "We have today introduced Bolo Zenden as a Liverpool player but we have also signed Jose Reina, the best goalkeeper in Spain, Mark Gonzales, the best player in Chile and Antonio Barragan.

Isn't Casillas spanish :rolleyes: