Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

yom 1

The BBC are reporting that Gerrard's trial could last up to 2 weeks. Will he be missing the Far East trip then and 2 weeks of preseason training? Its a terrible start to his season if he is.

stevoslice

bbc gossip page has it that hull are after voronin on loan, can't see this happenin really, would leave us very short on cover...

On the lucas issue, he does have it all to prove this season, and i've got quite a good feeling that he's gonna step it up too.

whatawaster

Talksport (who are full of crap all the time) have said the Alonso deal is almost done.

It's apparantly 23 million pounds, plus Negredo, plus Snjeider on loan.
Would be great deal if true, which it's almost certainly not.

Handsome Bob

Boggles wrote: »

Why does he have to hand in a transfer request, what real difference does it make?

By wanting Xabi to hand in a transfer request, Rafa is publicy washing his hands of any responsibility in Xabi's departure.

Daemonic

yom 1 wrote: »

The BBC are reporting that Gerrard's trial could last up to 2 weeks. Will he be missing the Far East trip then and 2 weeks of preseason training? Its a terrible start to his season if he is.

He'll miss the Far East trip but I'm sure the club have arranged training sessions for him around the times he'll be in court and when the team are back in Liverpool he'll have times he can train with them. Plus the Espanyol friendly is on a weekend so he can fly out to that and the Athletico friendly shouldn't be a problem either.
Anyway, better it happens in pre-season rather than after the season starts.

I wish a fcuking decision would be made either way tbh.

It's seems to be dragging on a while now.

If he is going which seems fairly likely, we need to get players in asap to join up with the rest of the team for pre-season.


EDIT, just seen Fink is about again today. Goodbye

mike65

[insert finky facepalm here]

gucci

whatawaster wrote: »

Talksport (who are full of crap all the time) have said the Alonso deal is almost done.

It's apparantly 23 million pounds, plus Negredo, plus Snjeider on loan.
Would be great deal if true, which it's almost certainly not.

Maybe bull i agree, but Spurs were heavily linked with Negredo recently

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5438538,00.html

Seen him play 2 or 3 times, looks handy enough.

whatawaster

gucci wrote: »

Maybe bull i agree, but Spurs were heavily linked with Negredo recently

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5438538,00.html

Seen him play 2 or 3 times, looks handy enough.

Yeah i like him a lot. He seems like the perfect stand-in for Torres to be honest.
Perhaps either N'Gog or Nemeth would go on loan if he came in.

yom 1

Daemonic wrote: »

He'll miss the Far East trip but I'm sure the club have arranged training sessions for him around the times he'll be in court

Yeah I was sure they would have something organised for him but its not exactly ideal for our captain to be getting ready for the new season in between court appearances

Anyway, better it happens in pre-season rather than after the season starts.

Aint that the truth!

slingerz

If Alonso leaves then I think Anfield would be a hive of activity.

If as reported the Alonso deal is £23 million + Negrado + Sneidjer on loan then Benitez should take it. He could snap up Aquilani for £16 million and according to rumours should have enough left to stage a £25-£30 million bid for Ashley Young/ David Silva.

Would be a pretty sweet summers transfers right there.

---

Reina

---

Johnson--Skrtel----Carra

---

Aurelio

---

Masch

---

Aquilani

---

Sneidjer

---

Gerrard

---

Young

---

Torres

---

Subs: Cavalieri, Insua, Agger, Arbeloa, Lucas, kuyt, Riera, Benyaoun, Negrado, Babel

Strong subs bench too. I'd almost back Liverpool for the title if it comes to fruition!

The attacking 4 there would be seriously frightening for any side

Chardee MacDennis

really 23m plus negredo plus sneijder on loan? I dont think thats a great deal at all tbh. 23 plus sneijder maybe or plus sneijder and negredo on loan. but i for one wouldnt be happy if that is the deal...

mike65

Agree, its bearly acceptable if thats what happens. Liverpool should hold out for 30 miilion cash or 25 plus Sneijder minimum.

joker77

mike65 wrote: »

Agree, its bearly acceptable if thats what happens. Liverpool should hold out for 30 miilion cash or 25 plus Sneijder minimum.

Do you mean Sneijder on loan?

Or do you seriously think he's only worth 5 million???

whatawaster

Sneijder is worth close to 20 million on his own. 25 plus him is a fantasy.
Getting 30m plus for Alonso (or less plus GOOD players) would be excellent business. Double what we would have gotten last summer.

Chardee MacDennis

Sneijder is worth as much as Real value him at, which from reports I dont think that's a lot, it seems they would be very happy to let him go, especially after reports that they want to ship out their Dutch contingent...

whatawaster

BastardPrince wrote: »

Sneijder is worth as much as Real value him at, which from reports I dont think that's a lot, it seems they would be very happy to let him go, especially after reports that they want to ship out their Dutch contingent...

They may not see him as a vital squad member, but they are not stupid, and know they will easily get 15 million minimum for him in todays market.

Theresalwaysone

lol 25mil + Sneijder for Xabi. Get a grip lads.

mike65

I value Xabi at 35 million! So Sneijder for 10 which is all he will be worth when the transfer window starts to shut. Real need to get rid of so many players they are not in as strong a position as some reckon.

joker77

mike65 wrote: »

I value Xabi at 35 million! So Sneijder for 10 which is all he will be worth when the transfer window starts to shut. Real need to get rid of so many players they are not in as strong a position as some reckon.

I think you need to get just a little realistic with those figures.

Boggles

mike65 wrote: »

So Sneijder for 10 which is all he will be worth when the transfer window starts to shut.

:eek:

Versatile Attacking midfielder the quality of Sneijder 10 million????

Fink Goddie

mike65 wrote: »

I value Xabi at 35 million! So Sneijder for 10 which is all he will be worth when the transfer window starts to shut. Real need to get rid of so many players they are not in as strong a position as some reckon.

Sneijer will go for more than 10m

whatawaster

Boggles wrote: »

:eek:

Versatile Attacking midfielder the quality of Sneijder 10 million????

If Stewart Downing goes for 12 million god knows what Snjeider is worth

mayordenis

From day one I would of taken 10 million negredo and sneijder. would be an excellent deal.

slingerz

BastardPrince wrote: »

really 23m plus negredo plus sneijder on loan? I dont think thats a great deal at all tbh. 23 plus sneijder maybe or plus sneijder and negredo on loan. but i for one wouldnt be happy if that is the deal...

it was £23 plus Negrado AND then getting Sneidjer on loan. Negrado would be a fully fledged Liverpool player. That would be great business for Liverpool especially if it allows a clause to buy Sneidjer after the loan for £15 million next summer when the pool have the money for him.

If, as is reported, Benitez is also going to go for Aquilani to replace Alonso for £16 million and Ashley Young for £25 Million taking Sneidjer on loan with the option to buy next summer would be a great element as part of the Alonso deal.

By selling Alonso they make £23 million, get cover for Torres in the form of Negrado and get Sneidjer thrown in to add to our creativity in offensive midfield.

The reported £16 Million for Aquilani is a good replacement for Alonso allowing Benitez that extra bit of funding to seal Ashley Young if those reports are to be believed.

PiE

Real are desperate for Alonso - Liverpool should be pushing for the most unrealistic deal possible. Maybe they won't go for it but worst case scenario: we get a good deal.

gucci

joker77 wrote: »

Do you mean Sneijder on loan?

Or do you seriously think he's only worth 5 million???

These deals are sometimes a bit farcical, see the recent Barca Zlatan and Eto' transfer, baffling money exchanging hands. Clearly 90% of the numbers quoted are speculation.

Dublin_Gunner

whatawaster wrote: »

If Stewart Downing goes for 12 million god knows what Snjeider is worth

Or indeed Glen Johnson for £17m............

Handsome Bob

Lads, am I the only one who is worried about Aquilani possibly coming to Liverpool? I've seen him play plenty of times for both Roma and Italy and he never once impressed me. Certainly no where near the calibre of midfielder that we should be going for in replacing Xabi Alonso. I'll be sick if we pay £16M for him.

Dublin_Gunner

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Lads, am I the only one who is worried about Aquilani possibly coming to Liverpool?

Yes.

5starpool

Aquilani won't be coming to Liverpool.

slingerz

5starpool wrote: »

Aquilani won't be coming to Liverpool.

why not

killwill

Juat a quick question, does anyone know if Alonso flew with the team to Thailand today?

mike65

He did, but he has to being under contract.

el rabitos

The Reds' travelling party in full: Reina, Arbeloa, Johnson, Dossena, Insua, Agger, Skrtel, Carragher, Mascherano, Lucas, Alonso, Riera, Benayoun, Kuyt, Torres, Voronin, Babel, Ngog, El Zhar, Cavalieri, Gulacsi, Degen, Spearing, Plessis, Nemeth, San Jose, Pacheco, Kelly.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N165095090720-1014.htm

el rabitos

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez today refused to be drawn into a debate over Xabi Alonso's future - despite repeated questions from the Thai press as the Reds officially launched their visit to the Far East.
The Reds party arrived at their Bangkok hotel at 4pm local time after a gruelling ten hour overnight flight from Vienna, where they were greeted by hundreds of press and fans, all with cameras at the ready to greet their heroes as they arrived in town.

Following a quick snack on the team floor of the hotel, manager Rafael Benitez was joined by Jamie Carragher and Ryan Babel to address the media in one of the Grand Hyatt Hotel's function suites.

It wasn't long before the tone of the press conference was set, with one question about Xabi Alonso being followed by another - and then another - until it became clear the manager wouldn't be discussing transfer speculation at this particular press conference.

"He is here with us and he will be available for the games," said Benitez. "The Spanish players and Dossena and Mascherano arrived back late because of the Confederations Cup and internationals, so they will probably not play as much as the other players."

"But are you planning to talk to him about the transfer speculation?" quizzed one local journalist. Benitez, though, familiar with not answering questions he doesn't want to, replied: "He is here with us this week, he can enjoy the games, the weather and the journalists."

thailand2Benitez, though, was far more serious in answering questions about Liverpool's trip to the Far East, with this week's game in Thailand being followed next weekend with a match in Singapore.

"For us this is a really important stage of the season," he commented. "Everything we do during pre-season is about planning for the first game. We will continue to prepare the players well this week and look to play well in the games.

"It was disappointing to lose in Vienna because you always want to win games, but there were lots of positives to take from the game. Hopefully we can keep working well, and keep working hard, over here."

Jamie Carragher also joined Benitez at the top table and insisted he already has his sights set firmly on title glory next season.

"There's going to be a lot of competition this year but if we can improve one or two per cent on what we did last season then we have a chance," he said.

"I think Chelsea will be back this year, Man City obviously are spending money, so it's important we use this time well to make sure we're ready for that first afternoon at Tottenham."

Next up for the Reds on their itinerary is a visit to a local sports club before a reception takes place at the hotel later tonight as their hosts officially welcome Liverpool FC to Bangkok.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N165117090720-1308.htm

sounds like xabi is going to have to make the first (public) move to get this transfer.

i'm hoping once he gets back mixing with the lads he may change his tune, same for masch, but his situation is obviously not as clear cut.

MementoMori

Just looking at the list of who went the Asia, was surprised to see Kelly on there as I thought he was going to the U19 Championship with England.
Turns out he pulled out of the squad. Wonder what that means in terms of the 4th choice CB situation?

Also Martin, Ayala and Darby who were all in Switzerland didn't fly to Asia (along with Gerrard obviously). Not really surprised at Ayala or Martin really but a bit disappointed about Darby. On the basis of Degen's performances to date, I would be a bit worried if Degen was second choice RB during the season and was hoping that Darby would be pushing for his spot in pre-season.

Morzadec

This is what LiverTweet has to say on the matter if anyone is at all interested...

'Relations between Xabi and Rafa have reached breaking point with Xabi refusing to hand in a transfer request which is vital to the deal.
Rafa simply will not let the deal go through until it is publicly clear that Alonso and not himself forced the switch. Rafa has also been angered by the "quotes" from Alonso that have appeared in Madrid paper AS last night/today. He blanked all Qs from an AS reporter last night.'

These Alonso quotes if anyone missed them were:

"It is always a great feeling when Madrid want you, especially considering the phase of the career I am in now.
But at this point, whether or not that can happen is not up to me. It's a matter that involves three parties, including myself. I do not like to force the issue. I prefer to talk."

Which dosn't tell us much new. Basically it looks like there is a chance Xabi could stay even if he wants to leave. And I have full faith in his professionalism to put in good performances next season even if he wanted to move to Real. A lot of people might say that they don't want a player at the club who isn't fully committed, but to be honest can you blame Xabi for wanting to move to Real, with their prestige and the players they've brought in this summer, and the fact he is Spanish?

I would expect the deal to go through at some point, but I would be delighted if it didn't, and I would hope that Xabi gets our full support regardless of what happens.

Dublin_Gunner

MementoMori wrote: »

Just looking at the list of who went the Asia, was surprised to see Kelly on there as I thought he was going to the U19 Championship with England.
Turns out he pulled out of the squad. Wonder what that means in terms of the 4th choice CB situation?

Also Martin, Ayala and Darby who were all in Switzerland didn't fly to Asia (along with Gerrard obviously). Not really surprised at Ayala or Martin really but a bit disappointed about Darby. On the basis of Degen's performances to date, I would be a bit worried if Degen was second choice RB during the season and was hoping that Darby would be pushing for his spot in pre-season.

My take on the group that has flown is this. This group of players will make up the first team squad at the start of the season (plus Stevie, obviously) - pending any other transfers in/out.

IMO the surprising non-inclusion in that list is Aurelio. Anyone have any info on why he's not there?

5starpool

slingerz wrote: »

why not

Because his agent and I believe Rafa (I think I saw this, but not sure) have rubbished it, and it is the same type of 'linking' we have with 20 different players every year.

This is why I don't think he will be joining Liverpool, not because I have any inside knowledge.

redzerdrog

aurelio is injured for at least the next 3 months

el rabitos

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

IMO the surprising non-inclusion in that list is Aurelio. Anyone have any info on why he's not there?

injured his knee i believe playing with his kid on holiday : /

Karmafaerie

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

IMO the surprising non-inclusion in that list is Aurelio. Anyone have any info on why he's not there?

Knee surgery.

MementoMori

On Alonso I'm in the camp where I believe that Rafa's valaution of Alonso and what Real want to pay is still some distance apart. I think this iswhy there has been a lot of talk about players being involved in the deal as Real try to resolve this issue.

Real seem to think that because Alonso was available for around £18m last summer they should be able to get him for a similar amount.

I would expect Rafa is looking at an utter mimimum of £30m given his form this season and the fact that it's Real Madrid who have spent a truckload on other players this season and the state of the market this summer.

Personally I would be very disappointed if Alonso went for less than £30m and would be hoping for something in the region of £35m given the state of the market and the difficulty of replacing him. Also I'm be hoping that the price Rafa would be happy to accept will increase the closer we come to the start of the season.

Overall though I be delighted if we hung on to Alonso as I can't see any other result apart from the squad for this season being weakened if he leaves.
Given who potentiall replaces Alonso is unknown at this stage judging how much the squad would be weakened is impossible to know, but given the fact that it's less than 4 weeks to the start of the season I think there would have to be concerns, particullarly when you look at the current squad in terms of cover for an Alonso type playmaker.

Not sure when the squad is back from Asia but given the last game is against Singapore next Sunday I think we are look at this day week at a minimum. I'm still optimistic that Xabi stays though and am glad he is in Asia with the squad.

el rabitos

redzerdrog wrote: »

aurelio is injured for at least the next 3 months

rafa quoted a week or so ago saying its just a month. so good news there

emc2

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

My take on the group that has flown is this. This group of players will make up the first team squad at the start of the season (plus Stevie, obviously) - pending any other transfers in/out.

IMO the surprising non-inclusion in that list is Aurelio. Anyone have any info on why he's not there?

Aurelio is injured. Hurt himself during the summer playing football with his kids. He'll be out for a few months...

Karmafaerie

redzerdrog wrote: »

aurelio is injured for at least the next 3 months

One month.

Rafa wrote:

He was injured playing with his son and really disappointed because he was enjoying the summer," Benitez said.

"He had the operation - he has had a problem with his cartilage - so he will be one month, maximum two months, not six months like I see in the press."

redzerdrog

el rabitos wrote: »

rafa quoted a week or so ago saying its just a month. so good news there

really? didnt see that at all, that is great news last i had heard it was till nearer christmas

MementoMori

Link to BBC story about Aurelio w direct quotes from Rafa below.

"so he will be [out] one month,maximum two months, not six months like I see in the press"

This story is from a week and a half ago so working off the quotes we're looking at Fabio being back between around the first week of August (one month) to around the first week of September (two months) assuming nothing goes wrong between now and then.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61068124&postcount=21569

Dublin_Gunner

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Knee surgery.

I feel dumb. I knew this...