CaughtOffside.com

Liverpool Offer £2m for Veteran Centre Back: Clever Move

Steven Constable — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:46:40 +0000

Rafa sets his sights on defensive cover.

The Rumour

Liverpool have offered £2million to Portsmouth for Sylvain Distin in an attempt to replace Sami Hyypia, who has left for Bayer Leverkusen after ten years at the club. The 31-year-old defender has one year left on his contract at Fratton Park, after joining from Manchester City two years ago.

The Source: (Times Online)

The Analysis

With Sami Hyypia gone Rafa could probably do with some cover in the centre of defence and this Portsmouth defender is a pretty solid customer. Whilst the Frenchman has been around a bit and is the wrong side of 30 he has managed to stay fit enough to miss just two Premier League games in the last two seasons.

Benitez knows that in a busy season where a successful team may well rack up between 50-60 games he needs to broaden his squad so as to deal with challenging on multiple fronts. The former Man City man is strong in the tackle and an intelligent customer and i guess the only issue would be whether he would be interested in becoming just a squad player at his age?

The Likelihood

Distin to Liverpool: Rafa may be more likely to opt for this move, depending on how much of a bargain he turns out to be.

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Liverpool In £25m Player Swap Chase: Sounds like a Bad Deal to me!

Steven Constable — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:46:34 +0000

Not much of a swap deal, more an attempt at a football transfer mugging!

The Rumour

Barcelona have reportedly continued their chase for Liverpool’s midfield hardman, Javier Mascherano.

The treble winners have been linked with a move for the Argentina captain since before the season ended, and it is now believed that they could use French defender Eric Abidal to tempt the Merseysiders to part company with their star midfielder.

According to Sport, Reds manager Rafael Benitez is keen to bolster his defence, particularly at left-back, and Abidal is a player who fits perfectly into the Spanish gaffer’s plans.

The Barcelona-based paper believes that the Blaugrana valuate the Frenchman at around €15 million - the same amount they purchased him for from Lyon back in 2007 - and would include the 29-year-old in a player-plus-cash deal to sign Mascherano.

The Source: (goal.com)

The Analysis

As far as player swaps go, even with a chunk of change offered as a sweetener, this one makes no sense whatsoever. Eric Abidal is a decent left back but by no means outstanding and at 29 not exactly a spring chicken, why then would Rafa be interested in even considering this swap deal?

Javier Mascherano was inspirational last term and is a player idolised by the Liverpool support and is unlikely to be considering leaving a club who are on the up and up even if it were to join the all conquering Barcelona side.

Finally does Rafa badly need a left back? I wouldn’t say it’s urgent. Insua has improved this season and Aurelio and Dossena both do a pretty decent job so i am not sure that the club urgently needs a replacement in that department.

The Likelihood

Mascherano in swap deal with Barcelona: Nope!

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Arsenal Favourites to Land £8m Goal Machine To Replace Adebayor

Steven Constable — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:23:20 +0000

Man who can’t stop scoring earmarked to replace trouble making striker.

The Rumour

Arsenal are favourites to beat Manchester City to the signature of Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko as an £8million replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor.

Bosnian striker Dzeko, 23, hit 26 goals in 32 games in helping fire Wolfsburg to the Bundesliga title and Arsenal have registered their interest with his club.

Gunners coach Boro Primorac has been out to watch the 6ft 3in target man and has given glowing reports to Arsene Wenger.

The Source: (Daily Mirror)

The Analysis

It does appear that Emmanuel Adebayor’s Arsenal career is more or less at an end and any attempt by Arsene Wenger to encourage fans to lay off the Togolese star have fell on deaf ears, and the main reason for this is that the striker has got exactly what he deserves after last summers half arsed attempts to engineer a transfer to AC Milan were followed by a distinctly average season.

This source suggests that Arsene Wenger is looking to a hugely impressive Bosnian to replace Adebayor. 23 year old Edin Dzeko wasn’t exactly a household name before the latest season kicked off but his strike partnership with Brazilian Grafite helped Wolfsburg to their first ever Bundesliga title and did so in style.

Now Edin looks set to leave the German champions after the club’s boss left to join Schalke and Wenger and others are looking to snap up the in form striker as soon as possible.

The Likelihood

Dzeko to Arsenal: This could very well happen in the coming weeks.

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Liverpool Ready for Stunning £20m Midfield Maestro Bid

Steven Constable — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:23:14 +0000

Moneybags City want to buy anything that moves!

The Rumour

Manchester City are ready to take advantage of an Anfield feud to snatch midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Alonso has had an icy relationship with fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez, ever since Liverpool boss Benitez tried to sell him last summer.

Now, the Mirror can reveal that Alonso heads the list of players wanted by the super-rich Manchester club, and manager Mark Hughes even placed him ahead of Gareth Barry as a target.

The City boss wants the pair to form the fulcrum of his midfield, and he is ready to capitalise on a breakdown of the relationship between Alonso and his boss to try to tempt him with a £20million bid.

The Source: (Daily Mirror)

The Analysis

Manchester City are attempting to sign every living footballer on the planet, or so it seems, but surely their attempts to sign Xabi will be thwarted.

Alonso’s agent has stated that his client may well be looking to leave the club but surely if he did so it would only be to return to his native Spain. Now that Gareth Barry has been snapped up by Mark Hughes there seems less chance the midfielder would want to leave Anfield now that Rafa hasn’t signed the former Aston Villa captain.

If the intention from Xabi was to seek clarification from Benitez that he was indeed a first choice for Liverpool then recent quotes from the boss have outlined just how highly he rates the Spaniard so hopefully that will be the end to it, but i don’t think for one second that he will even entertain the notion of moving to Eastlands.

Also, its worth noting that the Blue half of Manchester has already brought in numerous players in or around Xabi’s chosen position so not sure why they would be out to sign yet another big name!

The Likelihood

Alonso to Man City: Never in a million years!

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Arsenal to Enter Bidding War For £12m Defensive Battler

Steven Constable — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:36:54 +0000

Wenger is upping his game with this long targeted midfielder.

The Rumour

ARSENE WENGER is ready to enter a bidding war with AC Milan to pit Yaya Toure alongside brother Kolo at Arsenal.
Boss Wenger is preparing a £12million bid for the Barcelona star but accepts he may have to improve on that following the midfielder’s impressive Champions League performances against Chelsea and Manchester United.

As Yaya proved in Barca’s European glory run, he could also play alongside Kolo, 28, in the centre of defence.

The Source: (The Sun)

The Analysis

Arsene Wenger’s admiration for Kolo’s younger brother Yaya is well known and the Arsenal boss has been linked with the Barcelona man for some time now and it would appear that a move for the 26 year old former Monaco man would be a tougher nut to crack now that the Catalan side hold claim to being the best club in Europe right now.

Yaya was immense in Rome and showed he is more than able to fill in at centre back when needed as he effectively dealt with Man United as Pepe looked for Toure to replace the injured Rafael Marquez, a job he performed fantastically.

Arsenal of course need a defensive midfielder and haven’t really replaced Patrick Vieira since he left some years back, although Flamini did do a good job in the role before he left for AC Milan in controversial circumstances.

The Likelihood

Yaya to Arsenal: If there is one man who can convince Toure to move from the Camp Nou to the Emiratres then it’s Mr. Wenger.

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Liverpool Owners Lose £42.6m: Will this Damage Rafa’s Spending Plans?

Mr Comfort — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:21:10 +0000

Any need to panic?

The parent company of Liverpool FC, owned by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, lost £42.6m in the year to August 2008.
The loss was mainly due to the £36m of interest payments that Kop Football Holdings had to make to service the debt taken on to buy the club.
Its auditors warned that the need to refinance loans by 24 July cast “significant doubt” on the future of the group as a going concern.
But they added the club’s owners were confident they would secure the funds.
The US owners bought Liverpool in February 2007, promising to build a new stadium. (BBC Sport)

I guess this shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise given the financial downturn. There probably isn’t a single investor, company or business that hasn’t registered some sort of loss but the question every Liverpool fan will be asking themselves is will this mean that Rafa has less money to spend this summer?

It is clear Benitez wants to bring in a few new faces in the coming months and whilst he can generate funds by selling a few of his squad players he won’t want to be in a situation where he needs to offload any big names in order to bring in new talent.

What do Reds fans make of this news?

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Link Loving - June 4th (The Spoiler Edition): Former Liverpool Star’s WAG wearing little and Singing badly; Arsenal Star has Hot Wife; Newcastle Fans Taunted; Footballer Vomits during Match

Mr Comfort — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:28:24 +0000

A tribute to the genius of The Spoiler, in Link Form.

Arsenal Star appears in Russian Version of Hello with extremely attractive Wife!

(The Spoiler)

Norwegian Game interrupted by Vomiting Footballer (Video)

(The Spoiler)

Hot WAG Abi Clancy wearing very little and dancing but also singing…badly (so watch without volume!)

(The Spoiler)

Hilarious but cruel trick played by Sky Sports on Newcastle Fans!

(The Spoiler)

Liverpool Should Make a Move To Sign This Midfield Genius!

Mr Comfort — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:23:44 +0000

Surely the Anfield outfit could do with this intelligent attacker?

Elano has claimed that Inter Milan are trying to sign him from Manchester City. The Brazil midfield player is likely to fall farther down the pecking order after the arrival of Gareth Barry. “There are negotiations and I hope the Inter directors will go right to the end,” he said. “I want to wear the Inter shirt.” (Times Online)

Manchester City’s Brazilian international strikes me as the perfect potential buy for Liverpool and given the fact that he seems set to leave Eastlands I would urge Rafa Benitez to consider such a signing.

The intelligent playmaker can play all across the midfield and perhaps most crucially for the Merseysiders he can play just behind the striker and would be an excellent foil for El Nino. The 27 year old has had two good seasons at the Blues but now seems destined to play a bit part role as the club sets its sights on bringing even more big names to the club and now could be the right time for a cheeky bid for the former Shakhtar man.

What do Liverpool fans think? Could he be just the man to help finish the Title chasing jigsaw?

Spurs Consider Fresh Approach for £5m Defender With Occasional Bouts of Craziness

Steven Constable — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:51:11 +0000

Redknapp sets sights on veteran

The Rumour

Harry Redknapp is considering a fresh approach for Manchester City centre back Richard Dunne in his quest for a new defensive linchpin.

With Ledley King still dogged by a persistent knee problem, Tottenham manager Redknapp wants to strengthen the middle of his defence this summer.

Dunne, 29, could be made available for a cut-price fee of around £5m.

The Source: (Daily Mail)

The Analysis

On his day Richard Dunne is a centre back who can be relied upon to put in a performance of determination, passion and grit but he does occasionally go missing at an important time and can make elementary errors but thankfully for Man City these instances have lessened over the years.

Harry Redknapp would dearly love another defender to help cope with the inevitable loss to injury for bit portions of the season by Jonathan Woodgate and Ledley King, Dunne could well be that man and can also do a good job at right back if needed.

The Likelihood

Dunne to Spurs: As the big names start to arrive at Eastlands the Irishman may well find himself surplus to requirements so this deal could well suit all parties.

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Liverpool Legend Steven Gerrard Reveals All in Intriguing Interview (Video)

Mr Comfort — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:19:19 +0000

Stevie G in TalkSport Interview.

Gerrard talks England, Liverpool, the Failed Title Chase, Kings of Leon and the Biggest England Prankster!

CLICK HERE to see the Video.