Liverpool Rumours And General Discussion 2008/2009

--amadeus--

tonc76 wrote: »

The 6+5 rule will never be implemented. Platini is against it as well as the fact that it flies in the face of EU employment law.

The law might not come in in it's full current format but there is enough (misguided in my opinion) support from it at enough levels of both national associations (in particular the Enlish FA) and the inetrnational boards that some version will come in. The biggest hurdle are the EU laws but I would imagine that the whole idea of quotas is that you have the numbers set in such a way that you can argue it's not a restriction on free trade and the rules would have to be implemented and then an appeal lodged, which could take years. There is also talk of ways in which to make teh FA cup more "English".

With so much drive towards increasing the number of "home" players in the EPL I personally think it's smart to start recruiting now on a "just in case" basis - if we wait till the rules are in place then players like Barry will double in value overnight and we'll fall further behind Chelsea and Utd

IrishMike

--amadeus-- wrote: »

With so much drive towards increasing the number of "home" players in the EPL I personally think it's smart to start recruiting now on a "just in case" basis - if we wait till the rules are in place then players like Barry will double in value overnight and we'll fall further behind Chelsea and Utd

Why ?
Thats a ridiculous idea.
Why pay over the odds now and limit your transfer targets to just English
players on the possibilty that a law will come in which will basically screw
every team in the PL in some shape or form?
Gareth Barry is 27, the law might not come in for 6 or 8 years, there would
be no benefit to buying him just because he is English as at 33-35 his career
will be over more or less at the time he would be most useful.
You buy players who improve your squad, it shouldnt matter where they are from.

IrishMike

Valencia president Agustin Morera says the club will listen to "serious" offers for star players David Villa and David Silva. (AS 1948 BST)

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres rules out a move to Chelsea: "I want to say very clearly that I¿m not on the market and it is my desire to continue at Liverpool. (www.guillembalague.com 1922 BST)

Please let us bid for both

GBX

Not sure if this has been posted here or the last forum ... Nike Spanish add ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p9AWfmoF1c

Thanx 4 The Fish

That is a truly awful ad..

Drag00n79

I thought it was good myself

Thanx 4 The Fish

To each his own I suppose. The words in spanish do not fit well, there is bugger all about the product in it for that matter. As ads go, I would have to say I'd seen better.

mike65

Andrea Dossena is reported by Sky as being a Red and yet....all is quiet. Nothing on the offy site or icliverpool.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3656484,00.html

Mike.

GBX

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

To each his own I suppose. The words in spanish do not fit well, there is bugger all about the product in it for that matter. As ads go, I would have to say I'd seen better.

Indeed there are better ads .. I just figured id post it here for those who aint seen it yet. :rolleyes:

witnessmenow

Hey lads, way off topic but my jerseys arrived from jomzajung and i thought i'd upload some pictures to show what they're like.

They werent uploading right so sorry about the link.

Very happy with them, might just have to go back and order more!

redspider

Shamrok wrote: »

If you're on Firefox, try Flashblock. Very handy.

Thanks.

Dub13

We all need to read this.


Spirit Of Shankly - The Impending Summer, George Gillett and Fancard Farce

Week by week it’s becoming clearer that Hicks and Gillett are holding the club back and hurting its support. We’ve got a manager who (according to yesterday’s Liverpool Echo) is unable to go for a terrific young prospect in Aaron Ramsey because he’s got to concentrate on the first team on what is, relatively speaking, a shoestring. There can be no signing for the future. Liverpool FC is likely to be outspent this summer by more than Manchester Utd and Chelsea (the benchmark in at home and in Europe and the target to catch) but also by Manchester City, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur. There’s no Daniel Alves, there’s Philip Degan. Degan may be a good player or he may not, but he does not have a strong shout to be the world’s leading right back. He is available for free, however.

Let’s remember why David Moores wanted to sell in the first place – to keep the playing side strong while a new stadium could be built for Liverpool FC.

We can only presume he didn’t sell it to watch Liverpool supporters get fleeced in this eternal chase for elusive cash. This week we discovered that fancards are getting replaced. You know fancards, the things described in the club’s own charter as “the only card that you will need with Liverpool Football Club”. A one off payment of £3.50. They are getting replaced by a card which will have to be paid for on an annual basis. Liverpool FC being Liverpool FC, they haven’t released all the information yet but we rang today and got some answers. This isn’t set in stone but we were told it will be an annual charge of £29 for adults and £20 for children. Fan cards will run concurrently with this scheme, that will include a ticket exchange, for one season and then it’s the annual fee or nothing. The scheme will be confirmed before July 1st. Do we expect any greater efficiency or is it simply a matter of wringing every last penny out of supporters? Let’s phrase it this way, for an adult and two children to even be in with a chance to buy a ticket for a league game prior to the new stadium hopefully opening in 2012 (we understand anyone raising their eyebrows), it’s £207. £207. That’s before you’ve seen a ball kicked. Looking at that, and given that Hicks and Gillett need every penny, we suspect it’s the latter.


Is George Gillett still looking for every last penny? Well, why is he still here? Gillett is happy enough to give the impression he wants to sell. Well, SOS has been told he can sell whenever he wants. The opportunity is there to get out of our club. Why hasn’t he? Remember, George Gillett also said it was “about the fans and the winning tradition”; he said he “wasn’t someone who goes and hides” and he said “our job is to be custodians of this franchise, not owners of this franchise.” Well the fans want him out and he can’t supply the funds required to carry on that winning tradition. He has actively looked to hide away from the glare of the fans – that stops today. The pressure on George Gillett starts now. George: Either start explaining why you aren’t selling or sell.

This, these vagaries over the “custodianship” with one indicating he wants out but malingering, the other constantly looking to place the club into further debt, the shortage of a transfer budget, the desire to bleed fans dry to make up for the financial shortcomings, this is Liverpool FC today. This is your club in the summer of 2008. What are we all going to do about it?

We’re repossessing the club. Sunday. You’ve seen the other statement. If you haven’t, it’s easy - Anfield, Sunday. It’s time we said enough is enough. It’s time we repossess before someone else gets the chance. It’s our club after all. We feel every part of it. The manager’s limited budget is our limited budget. The plans for the new ground are the plans for our new ground. And the massive debts are definitely debts we’ll be repaying if Hicks and Gillett have their way.

Sunday. Anfield. Email or PM for a time and place. Spread the word and see you there.

Spirit Of Shankly.

Dub13

The other statement

Following the recent dig in Stanley Park, in which Spirit Of Shankly
decided it best to help out the self-proclaimed 'Custodians' of our club
in putting a spade in the ground - 440 days after they initially
promised - we have decided that we should now call time on their
Custodianship at Anfield.



We have asked them to leave. They have failed to do so. They have taken
out massive debts, secured against our club. Before these debts become
an even bigger financial burden, and before the repayment of loans
affects the manager's transfer budget any longer - it already has this
summer - we must take back what is rightfully ours. We must stop them
before they go down the path of a shared stadium. It isn't what fans
want, so it's time again that we make them listen to what we want
-Liverpool Football Club back in the right hands, with our own stadium.



So let's repossess Anfield. Let's evict the American's. Let's be proper
custodians of our club.


Spirit Of Shankly

Tusky

witnessmenow wrote: »

Hey lads, way off topic but my jerseys arrived from jomzajung and i thought i'd upload some pictures to show what they're like.

They werent uploading right so sorry about the link.

Very happy with them, might just have to go back and order more!

Glad to help...and all three for 60 odd euro delivered ? Excellent stuff.

anonymous_joe

United fan here - and I'll be honest - you're ****ed. I don't take much pleasure out of saying that, because United will be too. Pool aren't doing well enough to make the money to sustain themselves. For the immediate future United are, but that can't last indefinitely. Dangers of selling out.

witnessmenow

Yeah forgot to mention thanks Tusky!

£50 streling for the 3 of them, it was just slightly over €60 for the 3.

I see they have the new away jersey now.... i guess i gotta go back to them!

zing

Is this what you've all been waiting for then ?

LIVERPOOL have been put on alert after Valencia revealed the club will listen to “serious” offers for David Villa and David Silva.

Spain striker Villa has been linked to a host of top clubs across Europe, including the Reds, while midfielder Silva is also being monitored by a host to English sides.

An exodus of Valencia’s top players has been predicted as the club look to solve some of the financial trouble caused by the sizeable pay-off to sacked coach Ronald Koeman and problems with the construction of a new stadium.

“For us they (Villa and Silva) are fundamental players but it’s not down to me to say who plays and how,” said president Agustin Morera.

“If very serious offers come in they will be looked at if (technical secretary Juan Gines) Sanchez and (head coach Unai) Emery think it’s convenient.

“If not they’ll say that these players can’t leave because they are important. We’ll do what’s best for the club.”

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-news/liverpool-fc/2008/06/07/liverpool-linked-to-valencia-s-david-villa-and-david-silva-55578-21037416/

Oh wait - it's just more press speculation

Thanx 4 The Fish

Looks promising alright, at least they may be in a position to accept an offer.

Am watching the Newcastle - Liverpool game from 98/99 season on LFC TV. Often forget how good Berger was, and Owen when he was fit too.

Dub13

Rafa Benitez’s Euro ‘08 Column

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is writing a column in Spanish newspaper El Mundo following the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, which kick off on Saturday. Here we translate his first column….

Welcome to Euro 2008 and welcome to this column. As you may already know, fortunately, my professional obligations don’t allow me contributions of this type during the football season. Therefore, I will take advantage of this opportunity that EL MUNDO is offering me to share across some of my ideas about football in general and this Euro Cup in particular.

In the first place, I will let you know that my idea of good football and my concept of a good team relies on team order, balance on defense and cutting-edge on attack. To accomplish this you need players who are able to read the game well, who know when it’s time to play short or long passes, when you need to attack through the middle or down the flank, when it’s time to keep posession of the ball or when you need to start a quick counter-attack. I’m talking about real footballers, who will take advantage of their abilities to help the team win by playing as well as possible, who will be able to adapt when needed, who will try to impose their style of play, but who can also vary that style for the benefit of the team and to help it win games.

In today’s football, cutting-edge in attack is becoming more and more of a collective or tactical effort, depends more on a group of players or positioning on the pitch than on a single player. This is why a skillfull player tends to draw our attention more often, but we must be able to distinguish between the skillfull player and the cutting-edge player.

The first will dribble or dwell on the ball showing his technical ability; the second wins matches, is a constant threat to opposing teams and the solution for his team-mates when they can’t find their way. With a single touch he can find an open team-mate, he can find an open space when and where he should, makes an effort to do things the right way and always tries to do what will benefit his team the most. In other words, he will play good football in order to win matches, not just for show.

After this explanation, I will give you my views on this competition as an active manager, something that will give you a different perspective on this Euro Cup. I think that for a group of footballers who’ve played so many games during the season – 59 in the case of Liverpool players- , there are too many games in the qualifying stages.

In order to give an opportunity to all the national teams, there are many games that, beforehand, don’t create a lot of interest. As a player or a manager it doesn’t make much sense to coming into a match thinking how many goals they will score on me and leave happy if it’s not more than three. And as a fan it’s not fun when they opposing team’s level is not the adequate. Besides, this accumulation of effort during the season increases the risk of injury. Ryan Babel just got injured for five or six weeks, Cannavaro won’t be able to play the Euro as well. And that’s just scratching the surface.

In terms of the chances for the different teams, I believe that we are all betting on the same teams with little variation. Portugal has the potential and a favourable draw. Germany looks the strongest on their group, not forgetting Croatia. Group C, by far, is the most difficult since the likes of France, Holland or Italy are capable of topping the group. The strength on that group will eventually be bad for Spain, which is the team that most of us are interested in, because if they are able to go through, which they will, they will have to face a very strong team regardless of which one it is.

Despite all this we are all confident that this will finally be the year that at last we take advantage of all the talent and potential that we possess and that we can achieve that sought –after title that we all been waiting for.

Good luck and good football.

machiavellianme

witnessmenow wrote: »

Hey lads, way off topic but my jerseys arrived from jomzajung and i thought i'd upload some pictures to show what they're like.

They werent uploading right so sorry about the link.

Very happy with them, might just have to go back and order more!

The Liverpool home one looks fake but maybe thats just the resolution? Are there stripes down the front with every second stripe using those tiny ventilation holes to give the contrast?

zing

Sounds like Xabi is resigned to leaving

After four years in La Liga and four years in England, playing in Italy would be like completing my career.

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3660862,00.html

witnessmenow

Well, They are fake


On the of the jersey? No, as far as i can remeber(im at work) all the front is one material except under the arms and at the shoulders.

comparing it to this its actually more real looking than i thought!

I'll try up a better picture later

Tusky

The reason it might not look 100% genuine is because the new Liverpool jersey has only been released. If you give it a few weeks it will improve. Does it have the gold liverbird at the top on the back ? Thats a tell tale sign.

MementoMori

From the BBC Gossip for today

Newcastle United are furious with Liverpool after they offered three "nonentities" in part-exchange for winger James Milner. (Evening Chronicle BST 1242)

F.uck off Newcastle United - I'm pretty furious we are even considering players of the level of Milner. Also non-entities when referring to JAR and Jermaine Pennant is an utter joke. (see related article below) Would be much happier to get £5m cash from Roma for JAR, to be spent on a better player. A straight swap deal for Jermaine Pennant - maybe - wouldn't exactly be over the moon, but I suppose it could be considered a strengthening of the squad.

Checking his stats

2007-2008 Newcastle Aps 33 Goals 3
2006-2007 Newcastle Aps 51 Goals 4
2005-2006 ASton Villa Aps 39 Goals 3
2004-2005 Newcastle Aps 44 Goals 1

Aps 167 Goals 11 one ever 15 games - hardly impressive.

Is only 22 - i thought he was older - forgot he made his debut at 16. Seems to me to be a case of a very good young player who failed to develop into a top class player when playing the game as an adult. Was an early developer physically who used this to rack up an impressive number of international under age caps, but hasnt developed on. I know he's youngish but I also think he's very unlikely to dvelop into a top player and reckon there's a much greater likelihood that he will never get an international cap, than becoming an established international player.

I also wonder who are the other three Liverpool first teamers Newcastle are interested in - Torres, Gerrard, and Masch perhaps? More likely Crouch, Finnan are two of the three but cant think who the fifth would be.

http://www.lep.co.uk/national-football/Milner-in-shock-Anfield-move.4071630.jp

Milner in shock Anfield move

Newcastle United's former Leeds United winger James Milner could be heading to Liverpool - with Anfield stars going the opposite way.
The Geordies are interested in five Liverpool first-teamers, with John Arne Riise and ex-Birmingham and Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant top of their list.

And Benitez is ready to negotiate an exchange with 22-year-old Milner heading to Anfield, the News of the World claims.

Milner moved to St James' Park from Leeds in 2004, and also enjoyed a successful loan spell at Aston Villa, but despite his potential as a teenager he has never made the step up many expected.

Tusky

Milner, Downing etc stories depress me.

GBX

on bbc.co.uk ...

"Newcastle United are furious with Liverpool after they offered three "nonentities" in part-exchange for winger James Milner. (Evening Chronicle 1242 BST)"

jesus_thats_gre

lol

Mr Alan

Insua is meant to be one of the non-entities offer by Rafa to Newcastle.....seems strange.

By the way, i actually rate Milner

Unearthly

Can't see Milner adding anything the wingers you have at the moment do

GBX

I agree ... I think Pennant would slightly better/offers more. Granted he is still younger and still learning. Id rather keep Pennant. Also blood Insua to push on forward next season.

MementoMori

Today 15:03
Tusky Milner, Downing etc stories depress me.

and make baby jeebus cry

In other more sorta depressing news - Degen only on the subs bench for the Swiss:mad::(:eek:

His replacement is Stephan Lichtsteiner - Second-choice right-back to Philipp Degen during most of UEFA EURO 2008™ build-up but injury to rival and good form for Lille have strengthened his claim for starting berth at finals. At least its seems to be someone half decent

~Rebel~

Went down to watch the Spanish team train earlier today. Was pretty cool to watch, though their shooting practice was god awful! Marcos Senna was the only one to score fairly consistently. Interesting watch though, and Xabi got a peach of a volley with his left. Also noticed that he and Arbeloa hung around together for most of it. Iker and Pepe seemed the best of buddies as well, Iker seems a hilarious character, himself and Pepe hung aound after the session ended taking pens on each other. Iker kept doing these big high pitched screams to put off Reina, and whenever he scored against Pepe he did a massive sprint and slide into him, screaming at him.

Took a few pics anyway, not great, all i had was my phone, but better then nought!





Iker V Pepe

Pepe Wins!



Pepe V Iker

Pepe wins again!

Dont be at yourself

They're brilliant pics, nice one.

Go on Pepe!

Thanx 4 The Fish

Pepe won't be between the sticks for a while to come, shame really but he is not the keeper that casillas is. Did you manage to sing you'll never walk alone while Villa was nearby by any chance ?? Careful mind, some mancs may accuse you of tapping him up

Dub13

thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

Did You Manage To Sing You'll Never Walk Alone While Villa Was Nearby By Any Chance ?? Careful Mind, Some Mancs May Accuse You Of Tapping Him Up

Lol.

machiavellianme

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

Pepe won't be between the sticks for a while to come, shame really but he is not the keeper that casillas is. Did you manage to sing you'll never walk alone while Villa was nearby by any chance ?? Careful mind, some mancs may accuse you of tapping him up

or next time, just throw him an armband

Thanx 4 The Fish

Worked for FT

Malice

As an aside to the transfer talk that is dominating this thread (understandably), I would like to take the opportunity to wish Javer Mascherano a very happy birthday.

Today was also the day (in 2000) when we signed the not very legendary at all Bernard Diomede. Info from LFC.TV

IrishMike

Jose Mourinho has made Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard a £30m summer target but the Inter Milan boss has been told he would be wasting his time making an official bid. (News of the World)

No chance in hell of that happening.

Liverpool's owners have told manager Rafael Benitez that striker Peter Crouch can leave the club for £10m. (News of the World)

Very strange story, what the hell say would the owners have in Crouchs future?
It would be solely Rafas call you would hope

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones has been told he is no Didier Drogba by team-mate Dwight Yorke who fears the hype surrounding the Liverpool target could damage his progress. (Sunday Express)

Would love it if Liverpool signed Jones.
Think he would be huge money though as Sunderland have more flipping money than
Liverpool so definitely dont need to sell

Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillet Jr have until the end of September to prove they can fund a planned £300m stadium in Stanley Park. (The Times)

Wish they would just admit they cant afford to own Liverpool and just sell up.
Its beyond a joke at this stage.

Am also horrified by the speculation linking us to Milner.
He is a step down from Pennant which means he is about 5 steps down from what
we actually need on the wings.
Yet another journeyman we are being linked to, shocking

gucci

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

Pepe won't be between the sticks for a while to come, shame really but he is not the keeper that casillas is. Did you manage to sing you'll never walk alone while Villa was nearby by any chance ?? Careful mind, some mancs may accuse you of tapping him up

Haha good one.
Obviously the pictures there can be used in any potential "who's the best keeper" arguments next season!! Its obviously the fairest way to decide who is the best!

zAbbo

Can everyone stop posting rumours which come from The Sun or News of the World

Everything in those rags has turned out to be lies or a rehash of a previous story.

Dont be at yourself

Goal.com has us linked with a £6million move for Arsenal's Bendtnar.

It's ridiculous paper talk, but I'd take him for that price.

kaimera

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

Goal.com has us linked with a £6million move for Arsenal's Bendtnar.

It's ridiculous paper talk, but I'd take him for that price.

Eh, seriously?

No thanks to Bendtnar. £6m could be better spent towards someone else.

Dont be at yourself

I'd take him over Milner! If we sell Crouch, we'll need another forward. Bendtnar would be a good option - he's not of Torres' quality, but nor would he be Torres' price. He can also play from deep, so he'd offer cover/competition for Kuyt and Babel too.

mike65

I think the Hicks-Gillett Crouch price thing is simply a way of saying 'right here's the price its not 14 milion not 12 million of your pounds its 10 million, c'mon and make an offer' its not an order to Rafa to sell.

Mike.

Pepe LeFrits

kaimera wrote: »

No thanks to Bendtnar. £6m could be better spent towards someone else.

Doubt it tbh. I'd be raging if he was sold for that much, Lyon bid £8m about a year ago.

GBX

zAbbo wrote: »

Can everyone stop posting rumours which come from The Sun or News of the World

Everything in those rags has turned out to be lies or a rehash of a previous story.

Why stop posting them? While I agree a lot of it is tripe, its entertaining to hear whats being said in the press. Just because it appears in a tabloid, doesn't mean it will happen. No need to stop posting it here - Its a rumours thread ... :cool:

Dont be at yourself

Pepe leFrits: What's his contract situation like? I know he had a bit of a strop with Adebayour earlier in the year, so if he was coming to the end of his contract, it's possible that he could move for a low fee.

It's still 99% made-up though!

Pepe LeFrits

Signed a 5 year deal in May 07.

Mr Alan

GBX wrote: »

Why stop posting them? While I agree a lot of it is tripe, its entertaining to hear whats being said in the press. Just because it appears in a tabloid, doesn't mean it will happen. No need to stop posting it here - Its a rumours thread ... :cool:

are you a Liverpool fan?

its not cause its ****e gossip that it shouldnt be put here, its cause of the publication that its taken from and Liverpool fans stance against that paper.