Liverpool Rumours And General Discussion 2008/2009

Karmafaerie

raven136 wrote: »

degan as our right winger?is it possible rafa see's him in that alves type role.

German pundits rate him as great going forward but cant defend for shi##

Rafa's always said that he wanted more going forward from his full-backs.
More wing-backs if honest.
That's what Degen is, and that's what Dossena is, and that's why I think that Degen will be used more than Finnan and Arbeloa for this reason.

patmac

Lads anyone heading to Manchester for the Liverpool game on Mar 14th there are cheap tickets on Aer Lingus now http://www.aerlingus.com/cgi-bin/obel01im1/bookonline/index.jsp

PHB

Can people stop taking this thread off topic? New thread has been made.

Not only that, can people stop posting crap which will almost certainly lead to things being off topic? I find it funny that the same people who bitch about United fans coming into the thread are the same ones who post stuff like 'Torres is better than United' or 'United spend a billion more than us'. Like what do people expect to happen?

Karmafaerie

Fair enough, but I stick by my statement about Voronin!!!:D

spockety

Rick Parry's latest column:

It is extremely busy behind the scenes at Anfield right now as Rafael Benitez and myself work hard on the club's summer plans.

This relates to buying and selling and putting the finishing touches to our pre-season schedule which is crucial to our Champions League preparations.

We are spending a lot of time together. It is always a little frustrating when deals take longer than you might have hoped because of the complexities of transfers these days. However, fans can rest assured that we are putting in the hours to make things happen.

We remain upbeat about the way things are going and will keep fans in touch as things progress.

Having announced six away friendlies as part of pre-season build-up, we are now close to finalising a prestigious home game against Lazio at Anfield on Friday, August 8. The visit of the Italians will be an attractive proposition for our supporters who will remember the Rome side coming here for a friendly in July 2002.

We had a spell a few years ago when we arranged a number of games of this calibre against teams like Parma and Inter. Ironically, Rafa's former club Valencia was probably the last of those.

Gerard Houllier used to quite like matches at this level as part of his preparation and Rafa sees the value in the build-up to our vital Champions League qualifier in August.

The away games already confirmed are against Tranmere Rovers, FC Lucerne, Wisla Krakow, Hertha Berlin, Villarreal, Glasgow Rangers and Valarenga. We will take a lot of fans to Ibrox where I know we will get a great welcome.

It will also be the first opportunity on UK soil to salute our Spanish players after their tremendous success in the European Championship, not least matchwinner Fernando Torres. His world-class qualities were there for all to see against Germany.

Fernando's winning goal in a well-deserved 1-0 victory was a classic piece of finishing. Liverpudlians know all about his pace, determination and skill. All of these qualities played a part in a superb strike that stunned his marker Lahm. The defender looked favourite to win the ball, but he was caught out by Fernando's explosive speed. We all remember Kenny Dalglish's famous dink over the keeper in the 1978 European Cup final against Bruges. Spaniards everywhere will never forget the Torres equivalent as he clipped the ball into the back of the net over the advancing Jens Lehmann.

Our striker had already warned the Germans with a great header that came back off the post. Congratulations must also go out to Xabi Alonso who came on as a substitute to play his part and also squad members Pepe Reina and Alvaro Arbeloa who picked up medals as members of a talented Spanish group.

* Most fans will be aware that "enabling" work has been started in Stanley Park regarding the New LFC Stadium. This is a very important step forward. We have obtained licence agreement from the council to start work on the park and it's a significant moment, being the first time any physical work has been undertaken. It's all about site preparation to ensure we are ready to commence building in the Autumn with completion planned for the summer of 2011.

astrofool

PHB wrote: »

Can people stop taking this thread off topic? New thread has been made.

Not only that, can people stop posting crap which will almost certainly lead to things being off topic? I find it funny that the same people who bitch about United fans coming into the thread are the same ones who post stuff like 'Torres is better than United' or 'United spend a billion more than us'. Like what do people expect to happen?

To be fair, there is no topic for this thread to go off of, other than "Liverpool".

MementoMori

Just some transfer speculation for those that might not have seen it.

According to Elisha Scott on www.ynwa.tv the player with the good CV that Liverpool were considering was Hernan Crespo.

The current status is that Liverpool's interest has cooled, but can see it making a certain sense in a short-term backup striker situation. As regards his age - he's 34 today {happy birthday Hernan } Given his contract with Chelsea ended yesterday, he's available on a free, but I'd imagine he'd be looking for tasty wages. As I said can see it making sense given the financial situation. Doubt highly he would have been Rafa's first choice when it came to the transfer market but as a backup option if we don't manage to sign two big attacking players I can see it making sense.
Given his age I'd say he'd know he would be spending a fair whack of time on the bench and as regards the striking role I'd definately prefer him ahead of Voronin and maybe even Kuyt.

As regards Elisha Scott - he is well respected as someone who knows what is going on in the club - he had the news of Babel's arrival before anywhere else, he also has dropped hints previously (six to eight weeks ago) that Liverpool had an interest in Keane.

One the Antti Niemi thing link - apparently he's having some minor operation on his wrist at the moment so any movement there will be held up for a few weeks. As regard the Brazilian keeper Cavaleri we have been linked with the last day or so don't know how interested I'd be in him. Given the situation with Leto's passport, I think we should hang on until he at least has his EU passport confirmed. Also there has been no further news on Itandje and Galatasary apart from what I last heard which was that negotiations were sticking on wages. Tempted to give them a call and tell them not to bother signing Kewell but put the money towards signing Charles instead.:p

On Dossena - when did he go on his honeymoon? - I'd have thought they'd have managed to tie this one up by now at least. I was expected the announcement of Degen and Dossena on the same day.

Saw there was a rumour about Spurs bidding £10m for the Pavlueychenko (the russian striker guy). Might go some way to moving the Crouch Keane deal along. Also saw some stuff about Sunderland and Spurs disagreeing about the value of Bent so possibly cooling that óne down.

The Riera thing seems to have picked up some heat again lately - I havent seen much of him lately but from what I can remember of him in the PL last time around I was distinctly unimpressed. Given the money being talked about I don't think I fancy this much.

On the Downing deal, I wonder if a Carson plus cash deal could be the way to go here, if we do want Downing. Since Schwarzer has gone to Fulham, Boro are definately in need of a keeper (remaining keepers Ross Turnball, Brad Jones:rolleyes:), so I think they would have to be interested in Carson, especially if we were lenient on price, in a palyer plus cash deal.

Karmafaerie

Crespo.
Interesting.
Not ideal, but interesting!

Still wouldn't mind seeing Niemi on the bench.

Dossena is back from his honnymoon now, should be unvieled on Mon.

I'd love to see Keane with a Liver bird on his chest!:D

Riera is a lot better than he showed in the PL, and I' prefer him over Downing.
Wouldn't mind either TBH.

Good post.

Dub13

taidghbaby wrote: »

to be far i dont think benitez and ferguson are in it for the money!!

It must piss them off,the two of them are defiantly two of the best managers in the game and to see people like Harry Redknapp & Avram Grant on the same wages must get to you.It would get to me.

leninbenjamin

Crespo would end up being Morientes MkII. Great player but has difficulty operating in the premier league with physical defences and high defensive lines. You'd need a lot more mobility from a prospective target imo.

PHB

I thought Crespo had signed for Inter?

spockety

Dossena signs:

From www.liverpoolfc.tv.

Andrea Dossena has today put pen to paper on a four-year Anfield deal.
The Italian full-back becomes Rafael Benitez's second acquisition of the summer following the arrival of Swiss international Philipp Degen.

Dossena, who has been capped once at senior level by Italy, is seen as the ideal replacement for John Arne Riise, who departed for Roma earlier this month.

The 26-year-old began his career aged 14 with Hellas Verona in northern Italy, coming through the ranks before spending four seasons in the senior squad.

His big break came when he signed for Udinese in 2005, though he was immediately loaned to Treviso FBC 1993 for a year.

The defender returned to the Stadio Friuli ahead of the 2006-07 campaign, where his form eventually saw him make his international bow in a friendly against South Africa in October 2007.

By the end of the season his move to Merseyside had been confirmed, with Dossena saying: "Liverpool are a great team, and it is great to be linked to such a famous club. I want to play Champions League football, the Reds have already won it and they often get to the big games. In England, they are on the same level as Manchester United."

Karmafaerie

spockety wrote: »

Dossena signs:

From www.liverpoolfc.tv.

Hmmm quicker than I thought.

Good news though.

MementoMori

Hurrah on the Dossena signing:)

It is always a little frustrating when deals take longer than you might have hoped because of the complexities of transfers these days. However, fans can rest assured that we are putting in the hours to make things happen.

Was a little worried when I saw that bit, obviously the Italian language isn't one of Parry's gifts.

Crespo never signed for Inter was only on loan there, was a Chelsea player all along.

Further news from Elisha Scott on ynwa "Liverpool are definitely interested in Keane and vice versa."

Karmafaerie

MementoMori wrote: »

Further news from Elisha Scott on ynwa "Liverpool are definitely interested in Keane and vice versa."

*crosses fingers*:D

MementoMori

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Crespo would end up being Morientes MkII. Great player but has difficulty operating in the premier league with physical defences and high defensive lines. You'd need a lot more mobility from a prospective target imo.

I don't think you can say this for sure. His goal-

Appearances (Goals) Record

1993–1996 River Plate 64 (33)
1996–2000 Parma 116 (62)
2000–2002 Lazio 54 (39)
2002–2003 Internazionale 18 (7)
2003–2008 Chelsea 49 (20)
2004–2005 → A.C. Milan (loan) 28 (10)
2006–2008 → Internazionale (loan) 48 (18)

I don't know about recently but I'm pretty sure a fair few of those 49 apperances for Chelsea were substitute ones. I have memories of him going off/coming on around the 60/70 min mark quite a lot, so I'd say his goals per min stat might be even better looking.

The bit about having difficulty operating against PL physical defending seems to me to be nonsense - Crespo always struck me as well able to handle that side of the game - he's a big enough lad. Also I'm pretty sure that the Italian defences he's been scoring goals against would also be pretty physical, as well. A puffball he aint.

As regards the high defensive lines bit I don't really know how relevant that is - I can't think of many teams in who play very far up the pitch - it didnt seem to bother him much the last time he was playing in the PL.

As for the mobility thing Crespo never struck me as massively dependent on his pace in order to score goals. Given that Liverpool have had Crouch in the squad I'm sure Crespo would be at least his equal, if not Crouch's better with regard to this. Also I'm pretty sure Crespo might just be slightly better as regards actual heading ability.

On a related point he turned 33 today not 34 (I subtracted wrong:o)

Also given how lovable Masch is, I'm sure he can be good mates with Crespo when he arrives.

The more I think about it the more I like it - it give us options, no?

Torres, Keane, Crespo, Kuyt, Babel, Voronin, Gerrard, Barry, Penant, Lucas, Benayoun, Nemeth as the attacking players in the squad doesnt strike me as half bad :) Throw in Bentley and Downing as well for the laugh just to improve the options to insane heights

Reganio 2

We had a spell a few years ago when we arranged a number of games of this calibre against teams like Parma and Inter. Ironically, Rafa's former club Valencia was probably the last of those.

That was the first game Liverpool game I ever went too .

Mr Alan

I said i thought Crespo would be an excellent free signing quite some time ago :cool:

cant see him OR rafa going for it though

MementoMori

Mr Alan wrote: »

I said i thought Crespo would be an excellent free signing quite some time ago :cool:

cant see him OR rafa going for it though

Why not?

Mr Alan

his attitude isnt great. he is whiney. didint like life in London-cant see Liverpool as a city appealling. I would consider him quite lazy. Just not really a "rafa" player.

although personally, i think he might be worth a punt.

PiE

Rather give Nemeth a run as third choice striker (or fourth behind Torres, Babel & Keane); bringing in another player such as Crespo would limit his chances of making it.

rosboy

Anyone know how much the Dossena deal was worth? I've heard a few figures, but not sure of exact number.

MementoMori

Pretty sure the Dossena deal was £6.8m, possibly rising to £8m depending on add-ons.

Drag00n79

Spain's Euro 2008 hero Fernando Torres has spoken of Rafael Benitez's relentless demands at Liverpool.


"There are days when you think: 'My God, this guy doesn't let you breathe!' At times like that you don't realise all he wants is for you to improve," Torres tells the latest Champions magazine, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League.

"When you are in a team where things are going mostly well, players tend to relax.

"But you must always push yourself; never become complacent; try to do your best every single day.

"At a club like Liverpool you can't sit back after scoring 20-odd goals and say 'Well, that's it.' After you score 20 Benitez is at you during the next training session and stays on top of you all day, all week.

"He tells you to go off on your own and do new exercises. I want to progress in life, not relax, not be complacent and you need someone close to you telling you to keep at it.

"It is impossible to do it otherwise. We don't always fancy having someone that close but in the long term I am sure everybody will thank him for it."

Torres, who arrived at the club a year ago on Friday, admits that he has a lot of respect for Reds skipper Steven Gerrard.

He continued: "I really admire Steven Gerrard because I know the pressure he is under every day, everybody talking about him all day long - in the changing room, in the pubs, in the stadium...

"I've heard people say he should be stronger, have a stronger personality. And I know by experience how difficult it is to deal with that and he's at another level of course - because Liverpool is a huge club.

"People look at you from a distance and challenge you with their eyes. All that happens every day to Stevie and he copes with it, everything that is expected of him all the time.

"He's always under tremendous pressure to perform and everyone looks to him to show leadership, to lift the team.

"He's a great example to everyone and those of use who have been in a similar situation know how difficult it is to handle. It's incredible the way he carries himself regardless of what is going on around him.

"I'd love to be captain of another team one day and Steven has show me how to be a great leader."

Torres also reveals that his girlfriend Olalla is a 'calming influence' for him when he is 'impulsive, when things are not going well or we lose a match."

He says: "She has had to suffer much disappointed ranting and moaning especially when I was at Atletico. Now she is also having a good time herself. She has ways know how to calm me down when i haven't been able to see the way out of the tunnel or wake me up when I've been sleeping. She pushes me when I need to be encouraged.

"The person that lives with you is sometimes the only one capable of helping you up when you don't realise how down you are."


Source

taidghbaby

Dub13 wrote: »

It must piss them off,the two of them are defiantly two of the best managers in the game and to see people like Harry Redknapp & Avram Grant on the same wages must get to you.It would get to me.

i can see where ya'r coming from but i dont really think their like your normal cashley cole player who bloat the premiership!!

at their level of pay (3mill+) they have more than enough to survive, and (with no proof) i dont think either if them have 10 aston martins in their driveway!!

if at the start of the you were to offer them top wages or a premier title then i know which one they'd choose!!

GBX

According to www.breakingnews.ie were about to sign a new keeper, which would surely end Itandjes stint. Would also put a spanner in the works for Carson who at this stage would probably be resigned to be on his way out.


http://breakingnews.ie/sport/mhgbidojkfid/

Thanx 4 The Fish

Would not mind keeping Carson but I doubt he would stay to be backup so it is about getting somebody who would be happy but who is also good enough.

therecklessone

Daily Mail says Crouch on his way to Pompey for £10m

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1031979/Crouch-way-Pompeys--10m-bid-wins-out.html

Peter Crouch finally landed his move to Portsmouth yesterday after the south coast club relented over his valuation and had a £10million bid accepted by Liverpool.

Throughout months of uncertainty over his future, the striker has insisted he would consider quitting Anfield only for Fratton Park, despite Tottenham offering £9m for him less than a fortnight ago.

His wish was granted when the two clubs struck an agreement last night over a deal that will be confirmed when the Football Association offices open on Monday morning.

Crouch was in jubilant mood after learning that Portsmouth had succeeded in a pursuit that was first revealed in Sportsmail earlier this year.

He made it clear he was prepared to run down the final year of his Liverpool contract rather than be forced into joining any other club, such was his determination to link up with Harry Redknapp and boost the ranks of England players at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth already have a quartet of England squad members in David James, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and David Nugent. Crouch has long felt that more frequent starts under Redknapp would reinforce his standing at international level.

Liverpool will receive £8m up front and will waste little time putting it to good use.

They are close to sorting out the fine detail of Gareth Barry's protracted move from Aston Villa and are still exploring ways of prising £20m rated striker Robbie Keane away from Tottenham.

With Juventus expected to meet the £15m price tag on Xabi Alonso, they could soon have the funds needed to launch another bid for Keane.

Yossi Benayoun has turned down the chance of a move to Ajax and told boss Rafa Benitez he wants to fight for his place at Liverpool.

Ajax chiefs were given permission to speak with Benayoun's representatives after registering their interest with Liverpool, as revealed in Sportsmail.

But despite the prospect of linking up again with one of his former coaches, Danny Blind, and interest from Tottenham and Portsmouth, the Israel midfielder has made it clear he intends staying at Anfield.

MementoMori

Crouch for £10m to Porstmouth apparently.

If this report is true then £10m is a pretty good price - definately up at the max of what I was hoping to get for him given his contract but maybe even more interestingly it looks like Spurs had an interest if as reported below they made a bid of £9m for him. I think this might make it less likely than we get Keane (or end up with us paying much more cash for him) which would be a bad thing. However if we end up paying £20 for Keane I'll still be ok with it.

Also looks like it's could be down to the nitty gritty with Villa over Barry. Given it looks like Villa is on the way out, I think it might be a matter of haggling over bonuses (rumours suggest Barry might be due some percentage of the transfer fee/loyalty bonuses {if he doesnt hand in a transfer request} and I've seen figures from £1.5 up to as high as £3m quoted for this, which is quite substanial. :eek:

Quite pleased with the Benni news too - sounds like Pool gave Ajax ok talk to him, but Benni told them he wanted to say, which given his apperances and his role as a squad player showed he must be content with this role.

http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sport/football/article-1031979/Crouch-way-Pompeys--10m-bid-wins-out.html?ITO=1490

Crouch on his way as Pompey's £10m bid wins out

By JOHN EDWARDS Last updated at 9:49 PM on 04th July 2008

Peter Crouch finally landed his move to Portsmouth yesterday after the south coast club relented over his valuation and had a £10million bid accepted by Liverpool.

Throughout months of uncertainty over his future, the striker has insisted he would consider quitting Anfield only for Fratton Park, despite Tottenham offering £9m for him less than a fortnight ago.

His wish was granted when the two clubs struck an agreement last night over a deal that will be confirmed when the Football Association offices open on Monday morning.

Crouch was in jubilant mood after learning that Portsmouth had succeeded in a pursuit that was first revealed in Sportsmail earlier this year.

He made it clear he was prepared to run down the final year of his Liverpool contract rather than be forced into joining any other club, such was his determination to link up with Harry Redknapp and boost the ranks of England players at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth already have a quartet of England squad members in David James, Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and David Nugent. Crouch has long felt that more frequent starts under Redknapp would reinforce his standing at international level.

Liverpool will receive £8m up front and will waste little time putting it to good use.

They are close to sorting out the fine detail of Gareth Barry's protracted move from Aston Villa and are still exploring ways of prising £20m rated striker Robbie Keane away from Tottenham.

With Juventus expected to meet the £15m price tag on Xabi Alonso, they could soon have the funds needed to launch another bid for Keane.

Yossi Benayoun has turned down the chance of a move to Ajax and told boss Rafa Benitez he wants to fight for his place at Liverpool.

Ajax chiefs were given permission to speak with Benayoun's representatives after registering their interest with Liverpool, as revealed in Sportsmail.

But despite the prospect of linking up again with one of his former coaches, Danny Blind, and interest from Tottenham and Portsmouth, the Israel midfielder has made it clear he intends staying at Anfield.

MementoMori

Damm you recklessone - if i hadnt bothered with my pointless comments I would have broken this :)

Tusky

Crouch 10
Riise 4
Alonso 16
Kewell 0

30m raised so far pretty much.

Barry 15 (hopefully no more)
Dossena 6.8
Degen 0

So were up about 8 million at the moment and have to replace Kewell and Crouch. So two more attacking players and Id say we are done.

raven136

id say the barry deal with be around the 16m with add ons.

is the dossena deal from previous money or is rafa having to sell to fund him?

MementoMori

Forgetting the reported £1m for LeTallec there Tusky

Plus we've got out list of surplus to requirement players (players we can sell who are surplus to requirements or well down the pecking order). These are players who we could easily sell imo without weakening the squad to any great degree, assuming we get a number 2 keeper in(either the Cavalieri bloke for £3m or Niemi at the £350k mark)

Carson - £5m - seems highly unlikely to still be at Liverpool by the start of the season according to pretty much all reports
Itandje - £2m - Come on Galatasary pay us some cash already
Guthrie - £2m - Bolton bid £1.5m previously supposedly - just wondering if we might be holding on to him as cover, given his Premiership experience last season, until Lucas & Masch are back from the Olympics - transfer window is open until the 31st of August by which they will be back; hopefully uninjured.
Finnan - £2m - Do we really need Arbeloa, Degen and Finnan all competing for a RB spot? Especially when we have Aurelio and Carragher in the squad as emergency worst-case cover? Seems content to stay according to recent statements but I can still see him moving on.
Hobbs - £1m - Saw a rumour somewhere that someone was looking to buy him for £1m and I'd have to consider him surplus to needs.

Theoretically we could net £12m (maybe more/maybe less) from these surplus to needs players which would be sweet.

rosboy

Tusky wrote: »

Crouch 10
Riise 4
Alonso 16
Kewell 0

30m raised so far pretty much.

Barry 15 (hopefully no more)
Dossena 6.8
Degen 0

So were up about 8 million at the moment and have to replace Kewell and Crouch. So two more attacking players and Id say we are done.

By all accounts we got something from for Le Tallec too. Not sure how much, but have heard figures between 1 and 3 million.

Edit: MementoMori got there before me:)

Tusky

We should be able to get some top quality up front and thats based purely on player sales. If we even have a budget of about 10 or 15m on top of that, there could be some good signings.

mru

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/jul/04/liverpool.galatasaray

at long long last. the man never gave us a game. nice to see those who were content to pick up a pay chaque without ever really pushing themselves getting shelved out of the club.

DeadSkin

Liverpool's opening game of the season against Sunderland is an evening kick-off on Setanta. Sweet .

machiavellianme

DeadSkin wrote: »

Liverpool's opening game of the season against Sunderland is an evening kick-off on Setanta. Sweet .

I thought all games on the first and last day of the campaign were run concurrently?

Melion

Nope, only the last day.

IIRC we were the first game of the season last year, half 1 kick off against Villa.

Malice

If, as seems likely, Peter Crouch is off to Portsmouth for £10 million it's a good fee from the point of view of not now having to worry about him leaving on a free transfer the season after next. I for one will wish him all the best (as long as he never scores against Liverpool ).

With that said, it does put pressure on Voronin, Babel and especially Kuyt to fill the goal scoring gap that Crouch's departure will produce. Hopefully they will be up to the task as I don't see Liverpool shelling out for another forward.

Boggles

raven136 wrote: »

id say the barry deal with be around the 16m with add ons.

I doubt there will be any add ons. Villa will want to be shot of him completely.

Tusky

malice_ wrote: »

If, as seems likely, Peter Crouch is off to Portsmouth for £10 million it's a good fee from the point of view of not now having to worry about him leaving on a free transfer the season after next. I for one will wish him all the best (as long as he never scores against Liverpool ).

With that said, it does put pressure on Voronin, Babel and especially Kuyt to fill the goal scoring gap that Crouch's departure will produce. Hopefully they will be up to the task as I don't see Liverpool shelling out for another forward.

Mark my words - there is absolutely no way Rafa will sell Crouch and not bring in another striker. Babel so far is inconsistent. Kuyt is extremely unreliable and nonclinical when played as a striker and Voronin is no more than 4th choice. He will DEFINITELY bring in a new striker.

Drag00n79

Melion wrote: »

Nope, only the last day.

IIRC we were the first game of the season last year, half 1 kick off against Villa.

It was Setanta on the Saturday at 5.15.

Malice

Tusky wrote: »

Mark my words

Ok, I have bookmarked your post. I will make a note to remind you of it if Crouch does go and another striker doesn't come in .

Tusky wrote:

there is absolutely no way Rafa will sell Crouch and not bring in another striker. Babel so far is inconsistent. Kuyt is extremely unreliable and nonclinical when played as a striker and Voronin is no more than 4th choice. He will DEFINITELY bring in a new striker.

I hope you are right but out of the strikers that are at the club at the moment, the one I think most people would offload is Voronin, not Crouch. Babel and Kuyt are more often played wide and I don't think they are suitable to be the main striker in a 4-5-1 if, God forbid, Torres is unavailable.

Would Rafa be looking at Nemeth to step up? I remember talk of him going on loan to Leeds. Did that happen?

Tusky

malice_ wrote: »

Ok, I have bookmarked your post. I will make a note to remind you of it if Crouch does go and another striker doesn't come in .

I hope you are right but out of the strikers that are at the club at the moment, the one I think most people would offload is Voronin, not Crouch. Babel and Kuyt are more often played wide and I don't think they are suitable to be the main striker in a 4-5-1 if, God forbid, Torres is unavailable.

Would Rafa be looking at Nemeth to step up? I remember talk of him going on loan to Leeds. Did that happen?

The reason Crouch is going is because hes not happy sitting on the bench. In the current formation Crouch can only play in one position, and thats currently occupied by Torres. He knows his chances will be limited so he wants to go. Im sure Rafa would happily keep him if Crouch wanted to be back up.

If Torres got injured I think Rafa would probably change the formation.

DeadSkin

Tusky wrote: »

The reason Crouch is going is because hes not happy sitting on the bench. In the current formation Crouch can only play in one position, and thats currently occupied by Torres. He knows his chances will be limited so he wants to go. Im sure Rafa would happily keep him if Crouch wanted to be back up.

If Torres got injured I think Rafa would probably change the formation.

Totally agree. I'm a fan of Crouch, has good control and holds the ball up well. As we all know his biggest weakness is headers towards goal.
But, £10m is very good business with a year left on his contract. If he goes I wish him well and I just know he will score against us next season.

Tusky

MementoMori

From the bbc Gossip rumour list

Liverpool are willing to offer Irish defender Steve Finnan as well as £15m plus add-ons to secure Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. (News of the World)

The Anfield club are also still interested in Espanyol midfielder Albert Riera despite having a £9.5m bid rejected by the Spanish club. (The People)

Stoke City are targeting Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson. (Mail on Sunday)

Have to say I thought previously Finnan going to Villa made would have made sense but I don't think it's going to happen with the Barry deal. At the mo I think the Barry deal is down to a case of Villa wanting Barry to turn in a transfer request resulting in no loyalty bonus being made. => Current Pool offer of £15m + rumoured £3m Barry loyalty bonus = £18m

Riera still bothers me - sounds lot a lot of money for an average player. Would prefer Downing over Riera especially of they are going to cost around the same. Wonder if the Dutch guy Affelay might be an alternative option?

About time by Stoke on the Carson front- ithat will be £15m please :D:D -
Seems rather vague for a rumour given no price is mentioned. I think if Stoke had any sense they would snap Carson up, given he has PL experience. For a newly promoted side I think it's a lot easier to focus on cutting down goals against as opposed to increasing goals for, so investing in a de-fence makes more sense as opposing of off-ense cf. Sunderland Gordon for the most recent example. Cut down on the goals against and you are giving yourself a chance.

IrishMike

Liverpool are willing to offer Irish defender Steve Finnan as well as £15m plus add-ons to secure Gareth Barry from Aston Villa. (News of the World)

The Anfield club are also still interested in Espanyol midfielder Albert Riera despite having a £9.5m bid rejected by the Spanish club. (The People)

First makes sense, would be horrified if we paid 10m for Riera.
At best he is a 6-8m player

Tusky

Rafas good at signing defenders, central midfielder & when he is given large amounts of money to spend, he usually gets it right. However, there have been far too many average attacking players bought under Benitez. I really hope we go for a couple of big purchases for the attacking positions. No thank you to Downing and Riera.

Torres
Babel
Crouch
Kuyt
Morientes
Bellamy
Voronin
Fowler
Pennant
Gonzalez
Garcia
Benayoun

Thats in four years and Ive probably missed some...half of the above have been and gone. Thats an average of 3 attacking players each year, half of which havent worked out. Only one of those is truly starting 11 quality (Torres) + Babel who has the potential to be starting 11 quality.

I know some of them were stop gap players, I know that some of them were the best we could get at that particular stage and I know that we made a profit on some of them.

However, we really need some top quality in the attacking positions. Not someone whom if doesn't work out, could be sold for a million more in a year or two. Someone who will be here for 4+ years and actually improve the team.

I just dont see Downing, Milner or Riera as that player. I hope Rafa has something up his sleeve!