Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Tusky

missingtime wrote: »

euros or sterling

Always sterling.

el rabitos

guillem balague today:

Albert Riera is close to finalising a transfer from Espanyol to Liverpool after the two sides agreed a €10 million deal in principle. The 26 year old former Manchester City player had also been the subject of a bid from Everton, but after an improved offer from Anfield and a busy day of negotiations yesterday, the player is on the verge of completing a move to the red half of Merseyside within the next 24-48 hours.

Rick Parry will travel to Barcelona on Thursday morning in order to meet with Espanyol and put the finishing touches to the paperwork. The Liverpool Chief Executive had planned to arrive in Barcelona on Wednesday, but the trip has been postponed due to flight complications and Champions League commitments. It is expected that Riera will accompany Parry on his return to the UK on Thursday evening in order for the player to undergo a medical examination prior to completing the deal.


GuillemBalague.com reported yesterday that Everton had previously lodged a €12 million bid for the player, and that Espanyol were using rival bids from Liverpool to prompt a bidding war for his signature. However, sources close to the player revealed that Riera had his heart set on playing at Anfield and said: "Albert could not be trying any harder to secure a move to Liverpool FC." With the opportunity to work under fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez playing a decisive role in influencing his decision, it would appear that Albert Riera has finally got his way.

ballague stated that we offered €5 million plus voronin a few days ago which was rejected. be interested to see if voronin has any part in this deal. he hasnt been mentioned yet though, would be a good move for him i reckon.

i'd like to think that we're only paying 8 - 10 million euro up front and the rest being paid based on how many games he gets over 2 years.

Karmafaerie

PiE wrote: »

Does anyone know what this quote was in relation to? Did he get dicked over by Espanyol or is he whining about nothing?

Here's the full quote form last week.

Liverpool target Albert Riera has revealed he is desperate to quit Espanyol.

The £6million-rated Spanish winger is being chased by Kop boss Rafa Benitez.

And Riera has accelerated his exit by slamming the criticism aimed at the club’s players.

He said: “I want to leave Espanyol. I do not want to be part of a club that does not take care of or protect its players.

“I do not know if I will go to Liverpool or some other team. I am staying hopeful and I would really like everything sorted out within the next two weeks.

“It would be best for everyone concerned because I know that my transfer would clearly be beneficial. I do not want to cause any problems.

“I don’t want to be at a club where the supporters have no love for the players, or where it depends on whether the team qualifies for Europe or not.”

Riera’s move to Anfield could be thrown into doubt after it was revealed he has a £16million release clause in his contract.

Sporting director Paco Herrera, a former Liverpool coach, said: “If he says he is going to go then he has more information than his club – he must know that there is an interested club who will pay the amount of money needed.”

The Rooster

Mr Alan wrote: »

Also worth bearing in mind the different calibre of player Liverpool possess in comparrison with Espanyol.....

Indeed. Though the opposite of that is we should bear in mind that he was only a sub for Espanyol (with their poorer standard of player) 16 times in his two seasons. Of course there are many potential reasons for that, but based on what those who have seen him play plenty of times, I'd say inconsistency is one reason.

I'd say he'll be excellent, when its a nice day and the full back doesnt kick him too much...;)

MementoMori

On the Riera fee thing I've seen a lot of prices quoted - lowest I've seen was €8m plus €3m in add-ons (€11m=£8.75m) up to highest of £12m. Going to go with an estimate of £10m plus £2m in add-ons until I hear different/from more sources.

Personally havent seen much of Riera and I do think that Downing would have been the preferred choice but Boro weren't keen on letting him go. I think Boro would have been looking for a minimum of £15m and may well have been looking for more (in the £18m region). There was talk that Pennant was offered to them as part of a player plus cash deal but that Boro werent interested in Pennant.I think we could have made a proper offer for Downing but the apparent lack of interest in Pennant, Voronin, Itandje and Finnan has forced Rafa into going for the cheaper option.

I can't understand why so many people seem to think Babel is going to be played on the right In his almost fifty appearances so far he has been played on the right exactly twice. I expect Babel to be first choice on the left side with Riera as backup. While Rafa likes options, it is clear that he views Babel as a left-sided player first and foremost.

People have been debating whether or not Riera is any good or not - I don't know but I am at least relived that we do at least have a proper left sided attacker in addition to Babel. Clearly this is an improvement on the situation previously where we have had Benayoun as our left-sided backup, or were reduced to playing Aurelio or Insua there.

Someone was asking about Itandje - seems he's still a Liverpool player and it looks like he might be prepared to sit on the bench and earn a salary for taking part in training sessions:mad:

Seems that Voronin, Pennant, Itandje and Finnan could be sold if we receive any reasonable offers. Was rumoured that Stoke offered £7m for Pennant and Sami - cant see Sami leaving but apparently Pennant was none too thrilled about moving to Stoke :mad: I think Rafa's dropping him from the squad is designed to show him that he is not regarded as been part of the long-term plan.

I'm also waiting to hear the "traditional friends in the Liverpool squad" story for Riera - odds are high on one of the Spanish lads obviously so I'm going to go with Arbeloa.

I'm still confused as to what Rafa's optimum first choice is but I think it is something like below

Reina
Arbeloa Carragher Agger Dossena
Mascherano
Kuyt Gerrard Babel
Torres Keane

As regards any other signings before the transfer deadline, I don't really expect any more signings. Presumably the most likely arrival would be a right-sided midfielder which would be dependent on Pennant leaving, as well as maybe Voronin. However with the options of Kuyt/Gerrard/Keane/El Zhar/Pennant/Voronin on the right, it's hard to see money being spent there unless at least one and in all probabilty two of these players move on. Could well see a situation where Pennant and Voronin are sold now or in January and a new right-sided player is bought in then.

Mr Alan

Tusky wrote: »

Always sterling.

i always thought the commonly quoted currency was always the one of the selling club. in this case, Euros.

most reputable sources are saying 8m pounds risning to 9.2m (or watever Evertons tabled offer was), which i think is excellent business. considering we'll probably get 6m for Pennant.

Xavi-my understanding was that City wanted to keep him, but couldnt afford him? also that he was played out of position a bit.

the reason for his increase is quite obvious, he has turned into a much better player than that time as evidenced by his call up to the Spain squad and his inclusion in the La Liga team of the season.

5starpool

Like a lot of others I am somewhat sceptical about Riera, but I really hope that he can add another option and a bit of excitement at times. I really don't expect him to be consistently good (very few players are) but if he can add a bit of much needed width then at least this could stretch defences more than we normally do allowing more space along the front line to hopefully exploit.

I really want this to be a good signing, so as some of the others have said, I will reserve judgement and give him a few months to settle in, although given his season at city and the fact that he is 26 he should need less time than a lot of new imports.

Waster

MementoMori wrote: »

On the Riera fee thing I've seen a lot of prices quoted - lowest I've seen was €8m plus €3m in add-ons (€11m=£8.75m) up to highest of £12m. Going to go with an estimate of £10m plus £2m in add-ons until I hear different/from more sources.

Personally havent seen much of Riera and I do think that Downing would have been the preferred choice but Boro weren't keen on letting him go. I think Boro would have been looking for a minimum of £15m and may well have been looking for more (in the £18m region). There was talk that Pennant was offered to them as part of a player plus cash deal but that Boro werent interested in Pennant.I think we could have made a proper offer for Downing but the apparent lack of interest in Pennant, Voronin, Itandje and Finnan has forced Rafa into going for the cheaper option.

I can't understand why so many people seem to think Babel is going to be played on the right In his almost fifty appearances so far he has been played on the right exactly twice. I expect Babel to be first choice on the left side with Riera as backup. While Rafa likes options, it is clear that he views Babel as a left-sided player first and foremost.

People have been debating whether or not Riera is any good or not - I don't know but I am at least relived that we do at least have a proper left sided attacker in addition to Babel. Clearly this is an improvement on the situation previously where we have had Benayoun as our left-sided backup, or were reduced to playing Aurelio or Insua there.

Someone was asking about Itandje - seems he's still a Liverpool player and it looks like he might be prepared to sit on the bench and earn a salary for taking part in training sessions:mad:

Seems that Voronin, Pennant, Itandje and Finnan could be sold if we receive any reasonable offers. Was rumoured that Stoke offered £7m for Pennant and Sami - cant see Sami leaving but apparently Pennant was none too thrilled about moving to Stoke :mad: I think Rafa's dropping him from the squad is designed to show him that he is not regarded as been part of the long-term plan.

I'm also waiting to hear the "traditional friends in the Liverpool squad" story for Riera - odds are high on one of the Spanish lads obviously so I'm going to go with Arbeloa.

I'm still confused as to what Rafa's optimum first choice is but I think it is something like below

Reina
Arbeloa Carragher Agger Dossena
Mascherano
Kuyt Gerrard Babel
Torres Keane

As regards any other signings before the transfer deadline, I don't really expect any more signings. Presumably the most likely arrival would be a right-sided midfielder which would be dependent on Pennant leaving, as well as maybe Voronin. However with the options of Kuyt/Gerrard/Keane/El Zhar/Pennant/Voronin on the right, it's hard to see money being spent there unless at least one and in all probabilty two of these players move on. Could well see a situation where Pennant and Voronin are sold now or in January and a new right-sided player is bought in then.

Tony Barrett in the Liverpool echo says £8m.
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liverpoolfc/0100news/tm_headline=liverpool-fc-agree-albert-riera-deal%26method=full%26objectid=21605336%26siteid=50061-name_page.html
He's the best source for all things LFC as far as I'm concerned. This figure goes along with reports in the Spanish press which said an inital £6.5m rising to £8m depending on appearances and success. Good value for a Spanish international winger. Half the Downing price once that English player VAT kicks in I reckon.

Waster

The Times says £8m too.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/liverpool/article4615666.ece

joe123

To be honest im gutted we are spending so much on a player of Rierras quality. From what ive seen of him hes pretty average. And im not going by any of these youtube compilations either as they can make djimi traore look good.

It really shows what state the club is in when hes our second biggest signing of the summer when you take into account weve already sold a very valuable asset in peter crouch.

Rafas transfer buys are pretty poor at times. One of my mates who watches nothing but spanish football and rang me today and laughed when he said we were signing this guy.

Absolutely gutted.

slingerz

I wonder about Riera too. But I suppose you have to trust Benitez and the scouts on this that they see something your buddy doesnt

Karmafaerie

joe123 wrote: »

To be honest im gutted we are spending so much on a player of Rierras quality. From what ive seen of him hes pretty average. And im not going by any of these youtube compilations either as they can make djimi traore look good.

It really shows what state the club is in when hes our second biggest signing of the summer when you take into account weve already sold a very valuable asset in peter crouch.

Rafas transfer buys are pretty poor at times. One of my mates who watches nothing but spanish football and rang me today and laughed when he said we were signing this guy.

Absolutely gutted.

And how many Liverpool fans were gutted at us spending £20,000,000 on Torres, and how many "experts" of Spanish football were 100% convinced that he'd be a complete flop?!

You're gutted, that we got one of Spains players of the season last year, at well bellow market value?!
I hope that goes well for you.;)



As for Riera, the main thing that excites me about him is his diversity compared to Babel.
They're almost opposite players.

Riera is an intelligent tricky player.
If you watch him at his best, he always seems to find space.
He's not the fastest, but he has great positioning, control, an eye for the clever little one-two or through ball, and a brilliant cross.

Babel is a million times more direct, powerful, fast, is a better finisher, and has a real rocket for a right foot.

Riera likes to stay wider, while Babel - as we all know - just loves to cut inside.

I think that most defences will be blown apart by it.
Start with Babel running the right back ragged, and then switch to Riera to stretch him to breaking point.
Or visa-versa.

I'm starting to look forward to our new look left side.

redspider

joe123 wrote: »

To be honest im gutted we are spending so much on a player of Rierras quality.

Rafas transfer buys are pretty poor at times.

It does seem quite a bit of money for someone that may or may not do that well.

Benitez has signed so many wide (non-central) midfield players, its unreal really, and with mixed results as you point out. Either Riera is a gem which everyone has been overlooking (apart from Espanyol with their asking price of course) or else he will end up like many of the others, just unable to make it/past their best or not good enough, like a Zenden.

Like all Liverpool followers, we are giving the assessors and the scout team and Rafa the benefit of the doubt. Clearly with this movement the Barry thing is 110% dead in the water, which suits the team in my opinion.

The CL game on Wed night is very important. I do expect some jitters until that 1st goal is scored. Hopefully there will be no boo-boos. Even if wer were somehow knocked out, I would not expect the Yank owners to speed up their exit. They are likely to ty and sit out a year of non-CL qualification with a view then to selling when the club gets back in. Keeping in the CL will likely allow then to sell the club sooner.

Enjoy the match, and I have no idea what team Rafa will pick. Will Masch get on? Lets see ....

Redspider

Boggles

Karmafaerie wrote: »

I think that most defences will be blown apart by it.
Start with Babel running the right back ragged, and then switch to Riera to stretch him to breaking point.
Or visa-versa.

I'm starting to look forward to our new look left side.

Karmafaerie your definately a "The Glass is Half Full" man.

I don't know much about this guy, but what is appartent is that there is a lack of quality wide men for sale out there, this guy might not be a world beater, but you can't expect every signing to be, especially in the current market.

LuckyLloyd

Boggles wrote: »

Karmafaerie your definately a "The Glass is Half Full" man.

I don't know much about this guy, but what is appartent is that there is a lack of quality wide men for sale out there, this guy might not be a world beater, but you can't expect every signing to be, especially in the current market.

Maybe, but I think it is one of those times when I would rather overpay for a wide man with English nationality who we know is above average in the premiership than spend 8m on a guy who has shown decent numbers for two seasons in a different footballing culture.

Therefore, hearing that we were bringing in Downing for 16m would please me more than to hear we are bringing in Riera for 8 + add ons.

This again brings us back to the argument about buying to improve the squad specifically for a joust at the league title over the next couple of years - and is why I felt the Keane signing made so much sense.

Karmafaerie

Boggles wrote: »

Karmafaerie your definately a "The Glass is Half Full" man.

I don't know much about this guy, but what is appartent is that there is a lack of quality wide men for sale out there, this guy might not be a world beater, but you can't expect every signing to be, especially in the current market.

Optimism is the preferred drink to half fill your glass with for Liverpool supporters!;)

But seriously, If bringing on El Zhar, can make that much of a difference, with the defenders getting stuck in one frame of mind, and not being able to adjust, imagine what would happen with better quality players.

I know it won't unlock every defence, and obviously the big teams, pay the big bucks, for defenders who can adjust.
But right now, Liverpool have to start taking the small teams to pieces.

As for the big teams, well nobody hear can argue that Riera doesn't have a reputation as a big game player.

joe123

Karmafaerie wrote: »

And how many Liverpool fans were gutted at us spending £20,000,000 on Torres, and how many "experts" of Spanish football were 100% convinced that he'd be a complete flop?!

You're gutted, that we got one of Spains players of the season last year, at well bellow market value?!
I hope that goes well for you.;)

First of all why would you "hope it goes well for me" We are liverpool fans I hope to god im wrong and he turns out a great signing....

Secondly and more seriously there is no comparison to when we signed torres to this. Id like to point out I was elated we signed torres but besides that at least we new Torres was one of the biggest up and coming forwards and had big big potential. The only fear was that he could flop.

With Riera its more of "oh no not another squad player". In my eyes hes another option rather than another elite to sit nicely along side torres and gerrard.

Hes not the guarnteed starter to take Kuyts place. Hes not the player who when looked upon a teamsheet other teams would fear. If we were going for another squad player why not try get SWP?? Hes bags of potential (maybe rafa tried) Still though i just feel they were so many better options.

In rafa we trust I guess :rolleyes:

Xavi6

Tusky wrote: »

Well Riera only had 15 apperances in the league and 4 apperances in the Fa Cup for Man City. With all due respect, Man City of two years ago were pretty dire and I recall him being played as a wing back. I agree, if you judge him based on his days at Man City, it looks like hes not up to much.

However, Rafa is judging him on his last two seasons at Espanyol, which earned him his first few caps in the Spanish national side.

I'm not saying hes a world beater, but its unfair to judge him on his very brief stint at Man City. Its pretty clear to me that hes being brought in as back up for Ryan Babel. Rafa likes two players in all positions and we currently only have Babel for the left.

P.S the price being quoted is 8-12m, not 15m.

On the point in bold, we weren't 'dire' by any means and he was never played as a wing back. We played a flat 4-4-2 with Stephen Jordan as a left back (or Ben Thatcher) and Riera directly in front.

We would have lined up as -

---

James

---

Richards/Mills---Dunne

---

Distin----Jordan

Sinclair

---

Barton

---

Reyna

---

Riera

---

Vassell

---

Samaras

---

Mr Alan wrote: »

Xavi-my understanding was that City wanted to keep him, but couldnt afford him? also that he was played out of position a bit.

Lol we could afford him, Pearce just genuinely didn't want to sign him.

Regarding his position with us, see above.

~Rebel~

xavi, when people are saying he was asked to play as more of a wing back i dont think they mean literally at left full back, but more that he was asked to stay around the halfway line or deeper as his starting position, rather then further forward as he likes to be, and that he was asked to defend more then suits his game. As you said yourself, he didn't look interested when he should have been tracking back. I suppose the ideal is that he won't have to be too worried about that with 2 DMC's and that he can just focus on the part of the game that excites him, going forward, and hopefully this will bring out the best in him. As has been pointed out already he was great in a free flowing Espanyol last season, but when the team struggled in the latter half of the season, so did he. Hopefully the team can gel well enough that everybody gets the best out of everybody else.

One thing we should note is that Riera has improved pretty much every season. Not saying this trend will definately continue, but its as good an omen as any.

Tusky

Xavi6 wrote: »

On the point in bold, we weren't 'dire' by any means and he was never played as a wing back. We played a flat 4-4-2 with Stephen Jordan as a left back (or Ben Thatcher) and Riera directly in front.
.

Fair enough about his position. Yea were fairly dire though. Finished in 15th place, 9 points above the relegation zone.

Yea lost 14 of your last 17 games of the season and went on a 9 game losing streak at the very end of the season.

Seeing as Riera only moved to City in January for the second half of the season, he wasnt exactly walking into a team in great form.

Xavi6

Don't get me wrong, I like Riera and I personally wish we had of signed him. Better than that shitehawk Musampa or Sibierski out there.

However, he was genuinely lazy in a 4-4-2. I know that's not necessarily Liverpool's style but they do play with a back four so I would expect him to have to do some form of tracking back, even if say Mascherano and Lucas are on the field.

I just think that it a big aspect of his game that Liverpool fans won't tolerate. Well, that and his serious lack of pace.

eZe^

I don't see why ye aren't in for Diego Capel to be honest, 16 million euro buy out clause, one of the most promising left sided wingers in the world at the moment. 20 years old and imo at a higher level than Riera already. Unbelievably pacey, tricky and intelligent. The only thing is he is as one footed as RVP.

~Rebel~

eZe^ wrote: »

I don't see why ye aren't in for Diego Capel to be honest, 16 million euro buy out clause, one of the most promising left sided wingers in the world at the moment. 20 years old and imo at a higher level than Riera already. Unbelievably pacey, tricky and intelligent. The only thing is he is as one footed as RVP.

Have wondered about this too, why is nobody snapping him up? Would make sense for so many clubs, just seems very odd. Same as the lack of serious bids for Luis Suarez, another one thats befuddling me.

Karmafaerie

joe123 wrote: »

First of all why would you "hope it goes well for me" We are liverpool fans I hope to god im wrong and he turns out a great signing....

Secondly and more seriously there is no comparison to when we signed torres to this. Id like to point out I was elated we signed torres but besides that at least we new Torres was one of the biggest up and coming forwards and had big big potential. The only fear was that he could flop.

With Riera its more of "oh no not another squad player". In my eyes hes another option rather than another elite to sit nicely along side torres and gerrard.

Hes not the guarnteed starter to take Kuyts place. Hes not the player who when looked upon a teamsheet other teams would fear. If we were going for another squad player why not try get SWP?? Hes bags of potential (maybe rafa tried) Still though i just feel they were so many better options.

In rafa we trust I guess :rolleyes:

I hope that you being "gutted" about a signing, that hasn't even been signed yet, works out for you.
As Boggles pointed out, I find optomism more palatible than unbridled pesemisim.

And I never said that you personaly questioned Torres, but an unbelievable amount of people did.
Not sure if you posted here or elsewhere, but the amount of people that went on about how terrible a signing he was, and about how he'd never make it in the Prem.

And Riera won't take Kuyts place, cause they're not competing for the same place!
Kuyt only ever starts on the right, Riera only starts on the left.
He was bought to cover an area we were seriously undermanned in!

On the right we have Kuyt/Pennant/Voronin/Benni/Zhar/Gerrard/Keane/Degen.
On the left, Babel/Benni/Aurelio.
Notice the disparity?!

Riera is a player hat could be okay, or could be good.
it strenghens the squad, and that's a good thing.




Moving on
All this talk about Rafa not spending well on wide midfield players is crap too.
Who's there.

Garcia. Did a great job for us.
Gonzales, one of the only real noticable flops, but one who we got our money back for.
Zenden. Fee transfer, worth a punt.
Leto. still hasn't gotten a chance.
Pennant. Not terrible, just doesn't suit the current system. And we'll make most if not all our money back.
Nunez. Not really a buy, tacked on in the Owen transfer.
Babel. Looks real promising. Could be amazing IMHO.

Where's this record of terrible buys?!

Tusky

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Garcia. Did a great job for us.
Gonzales, one of the only real noticable flops, but one who we got our money back for.
Zenden. Fee transfer, worth a punt.
Leto. still hasn't gotten a chance.
Pennant. Not terrible, just doesn't suit the current system. And we'll make most if not all our money back.
Nunez. Not really a buy, tacked on in the Owen transfer.
Babel. Looks real promising. Could be amazing IMHO.

Where's this record of terrible buys?!

Err, this is Rafas 5th season and we still dont have a top quality wide man/winger (whatever you want to call it). The closest we have is Babel who has the potential, but isnt there yet.

Rafas best transfers have been Torres, Mascherano, Alonso, Reina, Agger, Skrtel..etc. All central players.

Waster

eZe^ wrote: »

I don't see why ye aren't in for Diego Capel to be honest, 16 million euro buy out clause, one of the most promising left sided wingers in the world at the moment. 20 years old and imo at a higher level than Riera already. Unbelievably pacey, tricky and intelligent. The only thing is he is as one footed as RVP.

I could be wrong but I think I read somewhere that he doesn't want to move yet. He could be another Seville home bird like Jesus Navas who won't move, and Reyes, who moved but hated being away from home.
I reckon we made a profit on Gonzales but I don't have the exact figures. Will see if I can dig them out this evening. I know a lot of Spanish clubs were interested in him after the season he spent on loan before playing for us.

Jazzy

Tusky wrote: »

Err, this is Rafas 5th season and we still dont have a top quality wide man/winger (whatever you want to call it). The closest we have is Babel who has the potential, but isnt there yet.

Rafas best transfers have been Torres, Mascherano, Alonso, Reina, Agger, Skrtel..etc. All central players.

pretty much that.

i dont think reira will be that good. ill give him a chance but i really dont have faith in him. if im proven wrong - brilliant!

missingtime

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Moving on
All this talk about Rafa not spending well on wide midfield players is crap too.
Who's there.

Garcia. Did a great job for us.
Gonzales, one of the only real noticable flops, but one who we got our money back for.
Zenden. Fee transfer, worth a punt.
Leto. still hasn't gotten a chance.
Pennant. Not terrible, just doesn't suit the current system. And we'll make most if not all our money back.
Nunez. Not really a buy, tacked on in the Owen transfer.
Babel. Looks real promising. Could be amazing IMHO.

Where's this record of terrible buys?!

There you go.

zAbbo

When Rafa first signed, he was given a 5 year contract - has anyone heard if he got an extention?

The reason we aren't picking up younger wide players like Capel or Nevas, is because we've already risked on that type of player before (Gonzalez), and seeing as this may be Rafa's last year - he has opted for more mature and ready players.

It's worth noting, that even though Rafa has signed nearly 50 players, he had to rebuild the whole youth and reserve teams - we have brilliant academy facilities, but unfortunately Houllier dropped the ball and didn't invest in young talent in the same way that Arsenal and United were doing.

That seriously put us years behind. We now have the top reserve team, and a strong youth team who won back to back FA Youth cups (06 & 07), as well as topping their league group last year.

We are still waiting for a player of decent quality to break through from the reserves and youths this decade!

redspider

RTE article> The Anfield chief has pressing issues involving Xabi Alonso, Jermaine Pennant, Sami Hyypia and Steve Finnan before the transfer window shuts next Monday.

I hope he's not thinking of selling any of those. Alonso is needed, Pennant with the current squad can come on and do a job, change things in a game, an impact sub, especially in a 4-4-2 system which Rafa seems to be going for, or played in games against lower opposition. We need Sami as slow as he is as a back-up CB. His experience will also help the likes of Agger and Skrtel to continue to develop. And Steve Finnan is still perhaps our best back as Arbeloa has not nailed down that position with his performances so far. Unfortunately for Steve, he is not Spanish, and like the other RB's that Rafa has tried (Josemi anyone), it will take a lot of bad performances by Arbeloa for Steve to regain that place. It would be a shame if Rafa pawned him off because even at 32 he is still good enough for this season. (His 60m sprint times can be checked at the end of the season).

Karmafaerie wrote: »

Garcia. Did a great job for us.
Gonzales, one of the only real noticable flops, but one who we got our money back for.
Zenden. Fee transfer, worth a punt.
Leto. still hasn't gotten a chance.
Pennant. Not terrible, just doesn't suit the current system. And we'll make most if not all our money back.
Nunez. Not really a buy, tacked on in the Owen transfer.
Babel. Looks real promising. Could be amazing IMHO.
Where's this record of terrible buys?!

Well the problem is that all of those buys werent able to come in and cement a place and become a guaranteed pick. We need one wide midfield player that has more attacking attributes than Kuyt and who's name is a shoe-in on the team-sheet ala Torres, Gerrard, Cara.

Garcia didnt do that, although he tried and had a few good moments but he lost possesion about 1 million times.
Gonzales probably has some bad press, he wasnt that bad, he just wasnt good enough.
Zenden at times was woeful, and kept cutting inside when WIDTH was what was needed.
Leto, still early days perhaps and everyone deserves a chance but not good enough so far.
Pennant, can do a job at times but not 1st choice.
Nunez, now that was a mistake if you ask me.
Babel looks the most promising so far but needs to do it week in week out and for a full 90 mins, not as an impact sub only.

So, all in all, far from glorious signings.

Now to be fair to Rafa and to all managers, signing players is not an exact science, especially ones that come in from a different league. There is a risk involved as they may or may not flop (underperform). But like any darts player, you will hit teble-20 if you are good enough with a few shots, and so far, Rafa has not hit the target with any of these buys.

Lets see if Babel will progress this season for the above record to change. He may get his 1st chance to do that tonight.

Redspider

ibh

redspider wrote: »

RTE article> The Anfield chief has pressing issues involving Xabi Alonso, Jermaine Pennant, Sami Hyypia and Steve Finnan before the transfer window shuts next Monday.

I hope he's not thinking of selling any of those. Alonso is needed, Pennant with the current squad can come on and do a job, change things in a game, an impact sub, especially in a 4-4-2 system which Rafa seems to be going for, or played in games against lower opposition. We need Sami as slow as he is as a back-up CB. His experience will also help the likes of Agger and Skrtel to continue to develop. And Steve Finnan is still perhaps our best back as Arbeloa has not nailed down that position with his performances so far. Unfortunately for Steve, he is not Spanish, and like the other RB's that Rafa has tried (Josemi anyone), it will take a lot of bad performances by Arbeloa for Steve to regain that place. It would be a shame if Rafa pawned him off because even at 32 he is still good enough for this season. (His 60m sprint times can be checked at the end of the season).

Agree with this, apart from keeping Pennant. The sooner his electronic tag states he is out of Merseyside, the better imo.

Finnan is in a bit of a shit situation at the minute. He is definately good enough to be first choice or at least pushing Arbeloa all the way. Arbeloa has been average so far this year, i know it's only a couple of games but Finnan should be given a chance to show what he can do.
As a Liverpool fan i hope we can keep Finnan at the club and have a fair fight for the RB spot. As an Ireland fan and a fan of Finnan in general, i think he should move on to a Premier League team where he will have lots of gametime. A lot of teams would be glad of him, even at 32 yo.
I would even go as far as to say that he is one player that Rafa has constantly tried to replace (for the good of the team obviously) but has failed to find somebody who is a marked improvement. I think Rafa signing other RB's has always resulted in Finan lifting his game to another level.

zing

zAbbo wrote: »

When Rafa first signed, he was given a 5 year contract - has anyone heard if he got an extention?

Yeah - he signed a new 4 year deal 2 summers ago. Think it was a 4 year deal anyway.

redspider wrote: »

Unfortunately for Steve, he is not Spanish, and like the other RB's that Rafa has tried (Josemi anyone), it will take a lot of bad performances by Arbeloa for Steve to regain that place.

Josemi was given game time to help him try & adapt to the english game - can't blame Rafa too much for that can you ? iirc he didn't start too badly either (as in first couple of games) but picked up an injury very early on and was pants afterwards.

As for Finnan Vs Arbeloa - I much prefer Finnan at RB. He might be pushing on a bit but at least he can get a decent cross in.

Nunez, now that was a free mistake if you ask me.

fixed that for you. We paid nothing for Nunez (other than his wages). We got him as part of the Owen deal and from what I've heard it was a case of you can have X for Owen or you can have X + Nunez for Owen. No other players were being offered as part of the deal.

Personally I think Reira is another stop gap. Not what we need but Rafa wasn't able to get his main targets for whatever reason. From reading the comments of others who've seen him play I've concerns about him & Dossena playing regularly together - if Reira doesn't track back much (as some say) and Dossena has gone forward as he does we could be left fairly open on the left.

zAbbo

If those 4 players are going, expect another player to be brought in, a surprise one - like Babel last year.

missingtime

zAbbo wrote: »

If those 4 players are going, expect another player to be brought in, a surprise one - like Babel last year.

Ohhh i'm excited now

DeadSkin

ibh wrote: »

I would even go as far as to say that he is one player that Rafa has constantly tried to replace (for the good of the team obviously) but has failed to find somebody who is a marked improvement. I think Rafa signing other RB's has always resulted in Finan lifting his game to another level.

Agree with that.

Finnan has made that right back slot his over the years and he's had a fair amount of competition for it too, Josemi/Kronkamp/Arbeloa and now Degen is in the picture[know nada about Degen].
There is no doubt Finnan can still do a job for Liverpool and I always feel more relaxed when I see his name on the teamsheet.

Karmafaerie

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that Rafa's done a good job on the wings, just that he hasn't made any truely attrocious signings, and any bad signings were moved on, and for a profit mostly.

Tusky

redspider wrote: »

Pennant with the current squad can come on and do a job

Pennant is definitely on the way out. He hasnt been in the squad of any competitive game so far and only played once in pre-season. El Zhar is being picked above him. Hes not injured as far as I know.

zing

Reira due on Merseyside today for medical according to TB but I read somewhere else that Parry would be traveling to Spain tomorrow morning (couldn't go today due to CL stuff) to try and sort the final details so deal prob won't be announced until tomorrow or Friday.

zAbbo

Oh oh, Rick will surely snap defeat from the jaws of victory on this

Karmafaerie

zAbbo wrote: »

Oh oh, Rick will surely snap defeat from the jaws of victory on this

He'll come back with some magic beans!:D

Daemonic

zing wrote: »

Reira due on Merseyside today for medical according to TB but I read somewhere else that Parry would be traveling to Spain tomorrow morning (couldn't go today due to CL stuff) to try and sort the final details so deal prob won't be announced until tomorrow or Friday.

Would love to know why Parry can't get on with his job whether the team is playing or not

missingtime

Daemonic wrote: »

Would love to know why Parry can't get on with his job whether the team is playing or not

Would love to know why the americans charge the club for business trips?

Actually its best not to think about it at all.

Here is something to take our minds off it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPO77Y4cuLc&feature=related

zing

Can't remember where I read it but it basically said he couldn't travel today and that Reira was expected to travel back with him tomorrow. But TB has just rubished the later part of that anyway and I can't find the first bit - thought it was in The Times last night but can't find the article now.

But don't forget there will be formalities for club directors/senior management at all these games - with equiv types from the visiting club, uefa types & uefa sponsors. It's probably a far busier day for Parry & co than most of us realise - even if it is all corporate lunchs, dinners, etc..

Mr Alan

Milner has handed in a transfer request. Would like us to go for him tbh.

eZe^

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Have wondered about this too, why is nobody snapping him up? Would make sense for so many clubs, just seems very odd. Same as the lack of serious bids for Luis Suarez, another one thats befuddling me.

Well, the reason the Barca/ Real haven't tried to pay his buyout clause is because Del Nido has a gentlemans agreement with both Laporta and Calderon that if either want to buy him, they have to through the club first. So instead of 16 million, he'd cost us more like 25... Del Nido's a genius.

Waster wrote: »

I could be wrong but I think I read somewhere that he doesn't want to move yet. He could be another Seville home bird like Jesus Navas who won't move, and Reyes, who moved but hated being away from home.
I reckon we made a profit on Gonzales but I don't have the exact figures. Will see if I can dig them out this evening. I know a lot of Spanish clubs were interested in him after the season he spent on loan before playing for us.

Well, he used to get homesick, and that why Barca/ Real didn't approach him earlier, but he has gotten over that. He also said he was incredibly flattered that Barca showed interest in him, and that he'd like to play for a big club someday. So I reckon he'd leave now.

Tusky

Mr Alan wrote: »

Milner has handed in a transfer request. Would like us to go for him tbh.

Oh dear god no. If we spend 8m on Riera and about the same Milner, I will hunt Benitez down and beat him with my shoe. If we have 16m to spend, we should but one top class player.

leninbenjamin

Mr Alan wrote: »

Milner has handed in a transfer request. Would like us to go for him tbh.

is he much of a step above Pennant? i don't think so tbh.

Draupnir

Why do Liverpool keep buying average players? Is Benitez on an ego trip where he wants to build a team of averages players and turn them into a great side so that he can reap all the plaudits?

He pretty much did that already by winning the European Cup with that ragball side in 2005, so maybe he should just buy some world class wingers and just maybe get closer to winning the Premier League this year.

missingtime

Draupnir wrote: »

Why do Liverpool keep buying average players? Is Benitez on an ego trip where he wants to build a team of averages players and turn them into a great side so that he can reap all the plaudits?

He pretty much did that already by winning the European Cup with that ragball side in 2005, so maybe he should just buy some world class wingers and just maybe get closer to winning the Premier League this year.

The player he wants, he isn't allowed to buy.

zAbbo

leninbenjamin wrote: »

is he much of a step above Pennant? i don't think so tbh.

I do, I think he's a very good player, he attacks the line, and can cross the ball, if the case was Pennant out, and Milner in for similar money - that would be an improvement imo.

Milner is a better passer & crosser than Pennant, and can shoot with both feet.