Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Boggles

Karmafaerie wrote: »

His presense could do harm, albeit unintentionaly.

Constant media speculation.
Rafa ruins MO headlines.
MOTD inquiries into MO.
Rafa being blamed for ruining Englands World Cup chances.
etc...

All this could be of a detriment to the squad, and moral.

Thats exactly it, you would have Owen cam constantly.

IMO he will struggle to find a premeir league club.

Karmafaerie

Boggles wrote: »

Thats exactly it, you would have Owen cam constantly.

IMO he will struggle to find a premeir league club.

And unfortunately, the player cam would be of him on the bench.

Boggles

Karmafaerie wrote: »

And unfortunately, the player cam would be of him on the bench.

Thats what I ment, half of Shearers interviews were talking about Owen, the media trying there best to stir the pot.

Whatever about bringing back Fowler, that was for the fans and very low risk, Owen could potentially blow up big style, Rafa will stay well clear.

Karmafaerie

Boggles wrote: »

Thats what I ment, half of Shearers interviews were talking about Owen, the media trying there best to stir the pot.

Whatever about bringing back Fowler, that was for the fans and very low risk, Owen could potentially blow up big style, Rafa will stay well clear.

x2

Thanx 4 The Fish

Boggles wrote: »

Thats what I ment, half of Shearers interviews were talking about Owen, the media trying there best to stir the pot.

x 4

Highsider

Rafa could'nt (and rightfully so) give two hoots about what the media thinks. If Owen stayed fit for a season he would bag 20 goals imo. If anyone else can think of one player that would be available on a free that could do a job for us then i'm all for it. We are not minted like Chelsea,City,Man U and will have to sell to buy so it could well mean we will have to offload Alonso for 20m+ to fund a new striker and winger. If bringing in Owen meant we could keep Alonso and use any cash we have to bring in the winger we need then it's a no brainer.

Thanx 4 The Fish

When was the last time Owen banged in 20 goals a season, I am fairly confident that even in a very good season, he would be closer to 10 and we already have two or three players who will do that for us in support of Nando and Steve G.

Mr Alan

Owen never scored 20 goals in a season in the PL. Ever.

mike65

19 was his best in the league I think.

jesus_thats_gre

Well he scored 8 in 28 appearences this season - 7 of those were as a sub.

To be honest, his stats in the past two seasons aren't much worse than his stats at Liverpool.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=7930&cc=5739

Thanx 4 The Fish

So there is a bit of a washed up striker who is going for free. Reckon we should definitely do all that we can to get him.

Mr Alan

Owen will score goals where ever he goes.

Its the rest of the package that comes with him & the feeling toward him from a lot of match-going fans that make the decision tough.

Thanx 4 The Fish

Will he though? Unlike Fowler, Owen has relied on his pace to score his goals and get in the right positions and looking at him this season it is plain to see that he misses that pace as he does not get on the end of chances that 5-8 years ago he would have been slotting away with aplomb.

jesus_thats_gre

Anyone fancy calculating the amount of goals he scored per minute since joining Newcastle versus that before he left Liverpool.. I reckon that it will be similar enough..

Mr Alan

exactly-T4TF, his pace has been gone since he arrived at newcastle & spent a large part of the last couple of years crocked....he still scores goals though.

If he is happy to be on the bench, then i think we should go for him, if he's not, then i think we shouldn't. Simple really.

Highsider

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

When was the last time Owen banged in 20 goals a season, I am fairly confident that even in a very good season, he would be closer to 10 and we already have two or three players who will do that for us in support of Nando and Steve G.

When was the last time he stayed fit for a whole season;). Like i said i personally don't think he's "past it" by any means. IMO put him in a very good team and he will score a bucketful of goals. I've watched him from time to time and from what i've seen he is still fast (not 1999 fast) and there is no doubt he knows where the back of the net is. I'm not bitter about the way he left the club either so i'd have no problems about seeing him wear the shirt once more. In reality i think it's a BS rumour anyway's as i can't see Rafa wanting him back.

5starpool

If Owen joined again I think mostly it would be to try and resurrect his England career which always seemed to me to be his priority when he was with us before.

eagle eye

Its hard to know exactly how much Owen has left, he started the season crocked and finished it the same. He still manages to get his goals though when he does play.

He would be a huge risk for Liverpool to take imo, although if he was to have an injury free run he would be a great purchase. Its hard to say how much of his pace he has lost due to the fact that he has not had a good run of games over the last couple of years.
This season he managed to score 8 goals in pretty much 20 full games. Thats very good with the way Newcastle played this season.

mike65

He would be free so not much of a risk.

Glico Man

Quote:

MILAN, June 1 (Reuters) - Italy striker Fabio Quagliarella has signed for Napoli from Udinese on a five year-deal, the Naples club said on Monday.
The speedy 26-year-old has returned to his home town despite interest from Serie A champions Inter Milan, whose coach Jose Mourinho recently praised Quagliarella's attitude. Media reports said Juventus were also tracking the player.
A statement on Napoli's website (www.sscnapoli.it) gave no financial details of the deal.
Quagliarella has scored 41 goals in 146 Serie A appearances for Torino, Ascoli, Sampdoria and Udinese while he has 12 Italy caps and has netted three international goals.
Udinese and Napoli were both flying high in the early weeks of the season but their form dipped around the same time and they both finished outside the European places.
Quagliarella rejoins Napoli coach and former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni, who gave the forward his Azzurri debut and took him to Euro 2008.


This will surely light the fire under the story of Ezequiel Lavezzi going to Liverpool don't you think?

Karmafaerie

aaronh007 wrote: »

Quote:

MILAN, June 1 (Reuters) - Italy striker Fabio Quagliarella has signed for Napoli from Udinese on a five year-deal, the Naples club said on Monday.
The speedy 26-year-old has returned to his home town despite interest from Serie A champions Inter Milan, whose coach Jose Mourinho recently praised Quagliarella's attitude. Media reports said Juventus were also tracking the player.
A statement on Napoli's website (www.sscnapoli.it) gave no financial details of the deal.
Quagliarella has scored 41 goals in 146 Serie A appearances for Torino, Ascoli, Sampdoria and Udinese while he has 12 Italy caps and has netted three international goals.
Udinese and Napoli were both flying high in the early weeks of the season but their form dipped around the same time and they both finished outside the European places.
Quagliarella rejoins Napoli coach and former Italy boss Roberto Donadoni, who gave the forward his Azzurri debut and took him to Euro 2008.


This will surely light the fire under the story of Ezequiel Lavezzi going to Liverpool don't you think?

Ohhhh.

Karmafaerie

Mr Alan wrote: »

exactly-T4TF, his pace has been gone since he arrived at newcastle & spent a large part of the last couple of years crocked....he still scores goals though.

If he is happy to be on the bench, then i think we should go for him, if he's not, then i think we shouldn't. Simple really.

But how much would he be on the bench Alan?
We need a top class striker to stand in for Nando if he gets injured.
There's a good chance that if Torres does get injured, all MO would be able to do is keep him company on the physio table.


To me the risk would be in putting our faith in a player that has undeniable talent, and IMO the attitude to do well, but may not have the legs.
We were let down this season, cause when Torres was missing, we had nobody to step up.

If we choose MO to be Torres' backup, and MO is injured, then we could end up at the end of next season, talking about next year again.

DeadSkin

Karmafaerie wrote: »

But how much would he be on the bench Alan?
We need a top class striker to stand in for Nando if he gets injured.
There's a good chance that if Torres does get injured, all MO would be able to do is keep him company on the physio table.


To me the risk would be in putting our faith in a player that has undeniable talent, and IMO the attitude to do well, but may not have the legs.
We were let down this season, cause when Torres was missing, we had nobody to step up.

If we choose MO to be Torres' backup, and MO is injured, then we could end up at the end of next season, talking about next year again.

That's true to an extent, the 2 losses suffered in the league, Torres didn't feature.

Torres did feature in 8 of the draws in the league though.

~Rebel~

Karmafaerie wrote: »

But how much would he be on the bench Alan?
We need a top class striker to stand in for Nando if he gets injured.
There's a good chance that if Torres does get injured, all MO would be able to do is keep him company on the physio table.


To me the risk would be in putting our faith in a player that has undeniable talent, and IMO the attitude to do well, but may not have the legs.
We were let down this season, cause when Torres was missing, we had nobody to step up.

If we choose MO to be Torres' backup, and MO is injured, then we could end up at the end of next season, talking about next year again.

To be fair, MO has a much better chance of being fit when he's needed at Liverpool if he isn't being rushed back from any injury like he was at Newcastle. Also, no disrespect to newcastle but they never seemed the best at keeping people fit anyway, consistently had hilarious injury lists.

Also, lets not forget Owen's season at Madrid where he was used in much the same way as pool would be planning to use him. Bits of games off the bench and bursts of starts rather then consistently playing 90mins in game after game after game. With that approach he stayed fit for the whole season and had a very good goals return. Could see him looking at that season himself as a possible benchmark to get the best out of himself and really have himself fit and in contention for England at the end of the season.

He's not a kid, he doesn't need to play 38 league games to prove himself to the England setup, they know all about him. He just needs to get through the season unscathed with a decent goals return and be fit come the world cup. Something which is far less likely if he has to be pushed through every single game for a club that are desperately relying on him as their goalscorer.

I really think a move to pool suits everyone in every way.

5starpool

Anyone know anything about this lad? Doesn't exactly sound enthusiastic.

Cruzeiro forward Kleber has claimed Liverpool are attempting to sign him.

The Brazilian striker ruled out moving to Anfield on Sunday, but performed a u-turn by insisting negotiations were taking place and, according to local reports, the Reds would pay 7million euros (£6million) for his services.

When SporTV channel asked him whether he was going to play for the Merseysiders in the Barclays Premier League, Kleber said: "I don't know yet. They are talking."

The player, however, would like to stay in his homeland.

"Cruzeiro have been made an offer," he added. "I've always said I wanted to play in Brazil and make history here because I know it is possible.

"But I also know the team need to transfer players as they have commitments. We'll see."

The 25-year-old, nicknamed 'Gladiator', was signed by the Belo Horizonte side from Dynamo Kiev when the Ukrainians paid five million euros plus Kleber for Guilherme.

"I want to stay, but if Cruzeiro can afford it," Kleber said.

Not exactly a reliable source though.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_5358870,00.html

eagle eye

mike65 wrote: »

He would be free so not much of a risk.

I'm sure he will cost a bit in wages.

~Rebel~

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm sure he will cost a bit in wages.

Not if its a pay as you play as has been mentioned that it might be.

I dont think he can really expect to be in the top wage bracket at a top team anymore now anyway.

joe123

Is there any talk on David Villa these days? Seems to have gone very quiet on that front.

I always get the urge to play football manager at this time of year. :pac:

Dublin_Gunner

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Not if its a pay as you play as has been mentioned that it might be.

I dont think he can really expect to be in the top wage bracket at a top team anymore now anyway.

I dont think he can really expect to be IN a top team anymore now anyway.

Seriously, he's so 2002.

Any speculation of a Michael Owen return should be quashed, right now. He's no where near good enough for Liverpool anymore.

Why on earth would we be paying for a has-been that is stupidly injury prone the past 2 years?

He was great for Liverpool from '96-2004, but thats it, he's had his time at the club.

NabyLadistheman

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Any speculation of a Michael Owen return should be quashed, right now

100% Has anyone seen any of his performances for Newcastle. He's a Degan sort of signing. Permanently injured when we need him to play - no impact

mike65

More Alonso to Real ****e

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/jun/02/xabi-alonso-real-madrid-liverpool

Real Madrid's new president, Florentino Pérez, is expected to commence his attempts to sign Xabi Alonso by offering the Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo as a makeweight in a deal to bring the *Liverpool playmaker to the Bernabéu.

Pérez's reappointment to the Real presidency yesterday coincided with reports that a £22m deal has been agreed in principle with Alonso and Liverpool. The suggestion was immediately denied by the Liverpool manager, Rafael Benítez, who repeated that the 27-year-old is not for sale, although that resolve will be tested in the coming weeks, with Real among several parties, including Arsenal, who are keen on the Spain international.

Despite public assertions to the *contrary, the prospect of Alonso leaving Anfield remains alive. His relationship with Benítez was badly strained by the manager's attempts to sell him last summer, to fund the aborted deal for Gareth Barry, and Benítez must sell to meet all his current transfer requirements.

Negredo plays for Almería, where his 19 goals this season made him the club's leading scorer for the second campaign in succession, and has been monitored by Liverpool scouts for several months. The 23-year-old has a buyout clause of around £12m but, as a product of Real's youth *system, he would cost his former club only £4.4m under the terms of his move to Almería in 2007.

SlickRic

mike65 wrote: »

More Alonso to Real ****e

alonso has said he's happy at liverpool.

he's never mentioned madrid as far as I'm aware.

Rafa says he's not going anywhere.

this is still a non-story, until alonso says something that makes me believe otherwise.

why don't they f***ing go back to their Fabregas and Ronaldo loving and leave our Xabi alone?

Mr Alan

Barry in talks with City accoring to the AV official site, so i guess we ain't interested.

To be honest, if we aren't interested i hope he signs a new contract at Villa.
Shocking if he leaves Villa to go to City to be honest after swearing blind its all about the CL for him. Poor form.

SlickRic

Mr Alan wrote: »

Barry in talks with City accoring to the AV official site, so i guess we ain't interested.

To be honest, if we aren't interested i hope he signs a new contract at Villa.
Shocking if he leaves Villa to go to City to be honest after swearing blind its all about the CL for him. Poor form.

to be honest, if true, that's extremely disappointing.

it would be interesting, probably galling, to see the transfer fee paid.

K-9

SlickRic wrote: »

to be honest, if true, that's extremely disappointing.

it would be interesting, probably galling, to see the transfer fee paid.

Read on BBC they where prepared to pay £42 Million for both Tevez and Barry. Think that counts us out then! :eek:

whatawaster

I’m becoming more and more resigned to losing Xabi, unfortunately.
And more and more determined to get as much money/players out of Real as possible.

25 million plus Negredo at a minimum.

SlickRic

K-9 wrote: »

Read on BBC they where prepared to pay £42 Million for both Tevez and Barry. Think that counts us out then! :eek:

that would be hysterical.

Highsider

Mr Alan wrote: »

Barry in talks with City accoring to the AV official site, so i guess we ain't interested.

To be honest, if we aren't interested i hope he signs a new contract at Villa.
Shocking if he leaves Villa to go to City to be honest after swearing blind its all about the CL for him. Poor form.

Here's hoping. Offers us nothing and not a position we in desperate need of filling.

_blank_

Highsider wrote: »

not a position we in desperate need of filling.

Until Alonso goes.

SWAR

Des wrote: »

Until Alonso goes.

If Barry does end up at City, I can't see Rafa letting Alonso go...could be wrong but surely he will see this as madness. Pretty poor form on Barry's behalf if he goes to City ahead of signing a new contract at Villa

SlickRic

Highsider wrote: »

Offers us nothing and not a position we in desperate need of filling.

he offers an insane amount of versatility too.

he's like a better version of John O'Shea (all due respect to JOS of course).

K-9

whatawaster wrote: »

I’m becoming more and more resigned to losing Xabi, unfortunately.
And more and more determined to get as much money/players out of Real as possible.

25 million plus Negredo at a minimum.

Sure they're signing Kaka and Ronaldo too. I wouldn't take the rumours too seriously yet, but yep, that sort of money/deal would be needed to let him go.

Highsider

Des wrote: »

Until Alonso goes.

Alonso has as much chance of leaving as i do of signing for Liverpool. It's been done to death TBH.

mike65

I hope Barry does take the money at City as it must make Alonsos place more secure.

Highsider

SlickRic wrote: »

he offers an insane amount of versatility too.

he's like a better version of John O'Shea (all due respect to JOS of course).

People are entitled to their opinions but i just don't rate the guy at all. Don't get me wrong i'd have him for 7-8m but 18m is a joke price for him. Would be a good squad player but offers nothing in the way of being creative. I've yet to see him have one of those games where you think "yeah this guy has something special about him"..hell maybe it's just me but if you are looking at paying 18m for a player he should have that something special.

_blank_

Highsider wrote: »

18m is a joke price for him.

Which is why the quoted prices for him signing for City are ~12m

Highsider

Des wrote: »

Which is why the quoted prices for him signing for City are ~12m

They mentioned 18m on Setenta sports.

anplaya

just on setanta sports news about barry.also showing gerrard giving a press conference at 2 bells.

SlickRic

Highsider wrote: »

They mentioned 18m on Setenta sports.

if they did, they're stupid.

paying 18m would be more than hysterical.

jesus_thats_gre

Highsider wrote: »

Alonso has as much chance of leaving as i do of signing for Liverpool. It's been done to death TBH.

As much as I love seeing people tell a troll to go **** himself, I wouldn't be quite so confident. Something is defo happening in the background. I just hope that it doesn't work out and he stays.