Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Karmafaerie

I expect a trouncing for Liege to be honest.
Maybe not on the scoreboard, but they'll be ran ragged all night, and I can see Liverpool as easy winners.

Mr Alan

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

NabyLadistheman

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

Ya. We could focus on winning the league, DIC would re-coup the losses from early missing out the Champions league.

Personally I don't think that would happen...the yanks wouldn't go, we'd be plunged into further mayhem with them and come the summer with the league not delivered Rafa will be gone. It's a thin line, remember how bad we played against Marseille las season...summit similar and all of the above might be a prophesy!

I can't see that happenin though so here's to an improved display and a positive result

wcarey1975

have to agree dont think the yanks would sell up all that would be achieved by losing or drawing the game on wednesday would be our budget for winter/summer windows. Add to that Rafa would probably not be in charge at the start of next season IMO. Oh well hopefully wont come to that. 3 dissapointing games into the season and they have to change at some point. Here's hoping it's wednesday.

The Rooster

Not being in Europe would very probably improve our chances of challenging for the league. But of course losing all the potential revenue would be bad. And we'd still be in the bladdy wafer cup so we'd still have european games to fulfill.

How going out of the Champions League = the yanks "forced to sell up and leave" is beyond my understanding. But given they've bought the 3 most expensive players in Liverpool history and the most expensive defender, I don't think they'd be minded to sell after a big negative result that would force the price down. The time they would be most likely to sell would be if we won big competitions and therefore the value increased.

torresistheman wrote: »

Ya. We could focus on winning the league, DIC would re-coup the losses from early missing out the Champions league.

The only way DIC would "re-coup the losses" would by putting in more debt. (They don't do free gifts ). Of course you're probably in the camp of more debt would be good if it meant getting rid of the people who brought us Torres, Mascherano, Skrtel...

Daemonic

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

I think you'd have to add the proviso that Rafa would not be sacked by the new owners for the European failure...then I'd say yes...with my head...maybe.

oobydooby

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

No. Not supporting the team on the pitch (or on the telly) because the owners are bad for the club is like undermining your country because you dislike the government.

G&H were sold the "asset" and if they turn a profit on it fair enough to them. Fans should be angry that they were sold the club and the blame lies squarely with the previous owners IMO. Also, as for fans running the club, well businessmen might run the club with a more level head. Also, there are hundreds of local football teams around the UK/Ireland and in many of these the fans don't have a say in the running of the clubs. What chances then for an international "superbrand" like Liverpool FC?

Whatever happened to Steve Morgan by the way? I heard they wouldn't sell the club to him years ago because Moores had a personal grievance with him, despite him being a hard-core fan. Anyway he's probably going bust now with the collapse in the property markets... so the club might still be in trouble.

zing

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

Funnily enough I've been thinking that for the last week or so but saying nothing.

The Rooster wrote: »

How going out of the Champions League = the yanks "forced to sell up and leave" is beyond my understanding.

It's not so much as forcing them to sell but servicing their loans atm is very much dependent on securing CL money and without it they wouldn't be in as strong a position to meet repayments. And bear in mind that they are said to currently be looking to bring in additional investors and also need to refinance the whole lot again within the next 6 months - the less income coming in the less appealing an investment the club will be (esp given the current markets).

That said I suspect that loosing out on 1 years CL money wouldn't affect them too much - they'd just rob peter to pay paul and probably leave Rafa with a negative xfer budget next summer. Loosing out on it over a couple of years probably would have an affect though but the club would have suffered significantly too.

EDIT: Naturally I meant the clubs loans and the clubs ability to repay it's loans.

zing

oobydooby wrote: »

Whatever happened to Steve Morgan by the way?

He bought Wolves iirc.

copacetic

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

No

Malice

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

I wouldn't anyway. The embodiment of Liverpool FC is the 11 guys in red (or grey) that run out to play football, not the owners/board of directors/canteen staff.

oobydooby wrote: »

Fans should be angry that they were sold the club and the blame lies squarely with the previous owners IMO

I totally agree with this. David Moores deserves a lot of blame for the current ownership situation.

The Rooster

zing wrote: »

It's not so much as forcing them to sell but servicing their loans atm is very much dependent on securing CL money and without it they wouldn't be in as strong a position to meet repayments.

And that would be good?????

Missing out on the CL would mean we'd buy one or two less players than planned either this week or at Christmas. And/or sell one or two more players.

And bear in mind that they are said to currently be looking to bring in additional investors and also need to refinance the whole lot again within the next 6 months - the less income coming in the less appealing an investment the club will be (esp given the current markets).

Agreed. Although personally I'd rate the club becoming a less appealiing investment as bad news.

DeadSkin

Mr Alan wrote: »

would people accept missing out on the CL group stages if it meant the yanks were forced to sell up and leave?

Nope, I wanna see success on the pitch.

PHB

Isn't the problem with DIC that G&H are overvaluing? If Liverpool get to a stage where they can't meet the repayments without drastic measures (like selling players instantly etc.) then G&H would be forced to lower their prices. DIC step in, everyones happy?

~Rebel~

PHB wrote: »

Isn't the problem with DIC that G&H are overvaluing? If Liverpool get to a stage where they can't meet the repayments without drastic measures (like selling players instantly etc.) then G&H would be forced to lower their prices. DIC step in, everyones happy?

in theory that seems to be where it might be heading. The rumours are that G+h cant secure the next stage of funding so need to either sell or look for more investors. Whats worrying me a bit is, in one of the last rumours i heard, that they're looking into some very 'unexpected and surprising' investors...probably bollox same as most of the rumours have been, but im not sure this is a topic on which im gonna like surprises..

zing

The Rooster wrote: »

And that would be good?????

I didn't say it would be. It's wishful thinking that it would or could be good but imo we'd suffer too much for it - in terms of transfers, the stadium, etc.. If only I could find a wishing well or a genie in a lamp to make the pair of 'em go away.

Agreed. Although personally I'd rate the club becoming a less appealiing investment as bad news.

Depends really - if it's less appealing to banks and investors then I'd be very surprised (in the current markets) to see dumb & dumber sweating it out for the long haul - taking their other investments into account. We know there's at least one party that appear to interested in buying it if it comes up for grabs again. Whether or not they'd be any better is of course a great unknown.

mike65

If throwing a CL game would get G&H out it would have happened by now.

Mike.

monkey9

From rte.ie Monday, 25th August, 2008


Javier Mascherano is unlikely to be involved in Liverpool's Champions League crunch tie against Standard Liege on Wednesday.

Mascherano led Argentina to a second consecutive Olympic title in Beijing after his country retained their crown by beating Nigeria in the football final and he is heading back to Merseyside after his triumph.

The 24-year-old midfielder was due to leave China at the weekend, but boss Rafael Benitez does not think he will be prepared enough to face the Belgian champions at Anfield in the third qualifying round, second-leg tie.

The match is poised at 0-0 after Liverpool's alarmingly poor performance a fortnight ago in the first leg in Belgium.

The Reds stand on the brink of losing a minimum of €12.5m prize money from UEFA if they fail to qualify for the group stages.

Benitez said: 'Javier will be back with us soon. But I do not think he will be in contention to play in Europe.

'He has spent too much time travelling and playing, that makes it difficult to be at your best.

'The same thing applied to Ryan Babel. He returned from China last week after Holland were knocked out, but I only really considered him as a substitute at the weekend.'

Babel came on for the final 25 minutes of Saturday's 2-1 home win over Middlesbrough, but looked short of fitness.

Brazilian midfielder Lucas has also returned to Liverpool from the Olympics.

zing

monkey9 wrote: »

From rte.ie Monday, 25th August, 2008


Javier Mascherano is unlikely to be involved in Liverpool's Champions League crunch tie against Standard Liege on Wednesday.

He's not even in the squad as registered with UEFA for this round so how could he feature ? Same for Lucas but Babel is in it - I guess Rafa expected him home a bit earlier than the other two

http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/club=7889/competition=1/index.html

That list has Dossena & Kelly down as gk's for some reason

Karmafaerie

~Rebel~ wrote: »

in theory that seems to be where it might be heading. The rumours are that G+h cant secure the next stage of funding so need to either sell or look for more investors. Whats worrying me a bit is, in one of the last rumours i heard, that they're looking into some very 'unexpected and surprising' investors...probably bollox same as most of the rumours have been, but im not sure this is a topic on which im gonna like surprises..

Is that the talk of G. W. Bush investing in Liverpool?!!:eek:

FunkZ

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Is that the talk of G. W. Bush investing in Liverpool?!!:eek:

Fecking great, we won't be signing Kaka we'll be TAKING Kaka, sweet!

Karmafaerie

FunkZ wrote: »

Fecking great, we won't be signing Kaka we'll be TAKING Kaka, sweet!

Could you imagine!

Rendition signings!!!:p

Tusky

Looks like we are getting Riera.

Albert Riera pays ultimate snub to Everton

James Ducker

Everton's torturous summer took another turn for the worse last night when Liverpool moved closer to signing Albert Riera, the Spain winger, from Espanyol.

Although Everton had a £9.5million bid for Riera accepted by Espanyol, the player has made clear his desire to move to Anfield, with Liverpool hopeful of completing a deal in the coming days provided that they match the offer made by their Merseyside rivals.

Espanyol rejected a bid of £4million plus Andriy Voronin, the Ukraine forward, from Liverpool and want a straight cash deal, with the Anfield club likely to pay £8million up front and a further £1.5million in add-ons.
Now there are TWO ways to feed your fantasy

We have built on last year's success of PlayTheGame by offering fantasy football managers double the fun this coming season
Related Links

Should the transfer hit a hitch, Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, will not hesitate to switch his attention to Stewart Downing, the Middlesbrough winger.

Having been snubbed in recent weeks by Tiago, the Juventus midfield player, and Diego Milito, the Real Zaragoza striker, the prospect of missing out on Riera is another blow for Everton and all the more galling because the player seems destined to join their Merseyside rivals.

“There is a team which is offering what we have asked and another one which isn't, but the player is interested in the one which is offering the least,” Paco Herrera, the Espanyol sporting director, said. “We will not lower our asking price.”

Everton's disappointment was partially offset by the news that Lars Christian Jacobsen, the Denmark right back, is expected to become the club's first signing of the summer today, provided that there are no problems with the medical that he had yesterday.

Jacobsen, who has agreed a 12-month contract, will join on a free transfer after being released by

FC Nuremberg. He made seven appearances for the German club last season, but did not play in the 2-0 Uefa Cup defeat by Everton.

Moyes is also hopeful of signing Nikola Zigic, the 6ft 8in Serbia striker, from Valencia on a season-long loan, with a view to a permanent move, although with the transfer window due to close in six days, the Everton manager faces a race against time to land the five players he wants to bolster a threadbare squad.

Benítez has no such problems, but, while he identified Riera as his principal target after the Liverpool board refused to sanction the £18million signing of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa, the Spaniard could still be in the market for another player in the event that he manages to offload any of Voronin, Jermaine Pennant or Xabi Alonso.

Of more pressing concern to Benítez, however, is the return leg of Liverpool's Champions League third qualifying round tie against Standard Liège tomorrow. Having been held to a goalless draw in the first leg in Belgium less than a fortnight ago, the tie remains delicately poised, with Liverpool standing to lose at least £10million in revenue should they fail to qualify for the group stage.

Benítez, meanwhile, has urged referees to afford Fernando Torres more protection amid concerns about the treatment the Spain striker is receiving at the hands of defenders.

Chardee MacDennis

Tusky wrote: »

Looks like we are getting Riera.

“There is a team which is offering what we have asked and another one which isn't, but the player is interested in the one which is offering the least,” Paco Herrera, the Espanyol sporting director, said. “We will not lower our asking price.”

is that our old Paco?

EDIT: Seems it is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paco_Herrera

LuckyLloyd

Going to say it right now - Riera is not what we want to see. He is inconsistent and lazy - a player who fades in and out of games and seasons really. Yeah sure, he may very well do some nice stuff every so often - but he will frustrate and annoy for the most part.

I'd rather stump up 16m for Downing tbh.

zing

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

a player who fades in and out of games and seasons really. Yeah sure, he may very well do some nice stuff every so often - but he will frustrate and annoy for the most part.

The new Luis Garcia so

Yeah I know - that's not being very fair to Luis at all..

LuckyLloyd

zing wrote: »

The new Luis Garcia so

Yeah I know - that's not being very fair to Luis at all..

Quite probably from what I have seen. And now, I did love little Luis - but he wasn't the type of player that wins you leagues!!

kida

Now Benitez knows Liverpool must win Wednesday's second leg.

He said: "Our performance in Liege was poor, but the result was good. We did not concede an away goal and we hope that playing the second leg at Anfield will make a massive difference.

"The entire team did not play well. They (Liege) were organised, pressed well and were very aggressive."

someone should explain to Benitez the way the away goal works :pac:

The Rooster

As Boggles might say:

How can you concede an away goal when you're at home??

Malice

Ah he probably just got the word order wrong. He probably meant to say:

We did not concede a goal away

Gelio

malice_ wrote: »

Ah he probably just got the word order wrong. He probably meant to say:

That would make more sense

monkey9

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Going to say it right now - Riera is not what we want to see. He is inconsistent and lazy - a player who fades in and out of games and seasons really. Yeah sure, he may very well do some nice stuff every so often - but he will frustrate and annoy for the most part.

I'd rather stump up 16m for Downing tbh.

Sounds like the new Harry Kewell

Chardee MacDennis

Everton's bid to bring £12m-rated Espanyol winger Albert Riera to Goodison Park could be hijacked by rivals Liverpool, who have shelved plans to sign Aston Villa's Gareth Barry. (Various)

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez could raise £7m through the sale of winger Jermaine Pennant and centre-back Sami Hyypia to Stoke, while Everton are also looking into Valencia's 6ft 8in Serbia international striker Nikola Zigic. (The Guardian)

i'd be surprised to see Sami leave...

DeadSkin

I'm sure Rafa came out and said Sami is goin' nowhere, a few days ago.

zAbbo

I thought we knocked Stoke back on a 2.5m bid last week?

Pennant I think should move on, he's got plenty of time ahead of head but needs to be playing regularly.

mike65

Thats it, jump on the guys command of English!

(edit) Still no word about Finnan in any respect, its like he has vanished.


Mike.

monkey9

zAbbo wrote: »

I thought we knocked Stoke back on a 2.5m bid last week?

Pennant I think should move on, he's got plenty of time ahead of head but needs to be playing regularly.

I'm surprised Portsmouth haven't made an approach for Pennent. They've lost Sully Muntari and wasn't he a right sided player??!!

zing

And Itandje seems to have been abducted by aliens

Thanx 4 The Fish

I thought we sold him to Galatasaray.

monkey9

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

I thought we sold him to Galatasaray.

The last i heard he was on his way to Galatasary. But the sale didn't go through as far as i know. Well, i never heard a conclusion and have heard nothing since!! He must be gone though, surely??!!

zing

Not AFAIK. We nearly sold him to one of the turkish teams iirc but he then turned around and said no - that he wanted to go to PSG instead. Not sure if anyone in PSG had the same ideas though

zAbbo

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

I thought we sold him to Galatasaray.

same thing

Looks like there'll be a scramble over the next week, I think we're looking at a 2 out, 1 in scenario.

zing

Reira signed

LIVERPOOL have agreed a fee with Espanyol to sign Spanish winger Albert Riera.

The two clubs held talks last night and agreed a compromise figure in excess of £8m, after Riera informed the Espanyol hierarchy he was only interested in moving to Anfield.

That dashed Everton's hopes of hijacking the deal, despite the fact that Liverpool's Merseyside rivals had made a higher offer for the 26-year-old.

The Reds' urgent need for a left sided midfield player was again apparent at the weekend as Yossi Benayoun again struggled in that role before being replaced by Ryan Babel.

With the Dutchman preferring to operate in a more central position, Rafa Benitez identified Riera as the player he wanted to give his side some much needed width.

The former Manchester City man will now have to agree terms with Liverpool and undergo a medical before he is confirmed as a Liverpool player.

But his signing could be concluded before the end of the week as long as there are no late hitches.

Benitez would like to further add to his squad but the Reds boss will have to concentrate on moving players on before re-entering the transfer market.

In the meantime, he is focusing on preparing his team for tomorrow night's visit of Standard Liege in a clash which will decide whether Liverpool make it through to this season's Champions League.

Liverpool managed to secure a 0-0 draw in the away leg a fortnight ago, despite playing poorly on the night, and Benitez knows a much improved performance will be needed at Anfield if the Reds are to make it into the lucrative group stages.

But he believes the fact that Liverpool are playing in front of their own fans will make a big difference, even though Standard continued their promising early season form with a 3-0 win over Westerlo at the weekend - a victory which took them to the top of the Belgian league.

"We knew before the first leg and we know now that they are a better side than some people expected," said Benitez.

"We did not play as well as we would have liked in the first leg but now it is up to us to improve and to get the result we need.

"The team is working really hard and even though we have not been at our best we have still been able to get results because our mentality is good.

"We know we have to improve and hopefully that will happen soon because the squad is starting to settle down again after Mascherano, Babel and Lucas came back from the Olympics."

Neither Mascherano nor Lucas will be involved, though, having been omitted from Liverpool's squad list for the qualifying stages because of their involvement at the Olympics in Beijing.

Thanx 4 The Fish

I think that is good news, at least we will have a proper winger in that role instead of a forward who has a left peg and a OMC who drifts outside every now and again.

missingtime

http://www.skysports.com/football/transfer_clockwatch/0,23710,14896,00.html

Transfer clockwatch from sky sports:

According to reports in Spain, Espanyol winger Albert Riera will get his wish to join Liverpool. Espanyol had been holding out for the best offer for Riera, with Everton reportedly making a £9.6million bid. Liverpool are prepared to match that sum, but will spread out the cost of the deal, rather than paying it outright. Riera is now tipped to travel to Merseyside to undergo a medical and could be confirmed as a Liverpool player later on Tuesday.

mike65

Jebus that was quick, why can't they all be like this? Evertonians will be thrilled as this is not the first time this has happened.

Mike.

zing

Yeah - nice to see Rafa pull another deal out from under the bluenoses

Mr Alan

tony barrett wrote:

Benitez would like to further add to his squad but the Reds boss will have to concentrate on moving players on before re-entering the transfer market.

another player coming in if we can get shot of Intandje/Voronin/Pennant?

PiE

'Spose we can't argue with the signing too much if it's around the £10m mark and payments are spread.

Funny how this is the norm for a regular squad player now - 2 or 3 years back a £10m signing woulda been a huge deal for us.

Chardee MacDennis

Mr Alan wrote: »

another player coming in if we can get shot of Intandje/Voronin/Pennant?

wonder what position he'll be looking at next?