It was always going to be a case of ‘when’, not ‘if’, as far as this Liverpool defender exiting the club was concerned [Read the rest of this entry »]

According to the Kop, Fernando Torres ‘gets the ball and scores again’, although the Liverpool striker has been overshadowed at Euro 2008 [Read the rest of this entry »]

Harry Redknapp is just about to pounce in the transfer market by the looks of things [Read the rest of this entry »]

With Liverpool players expected back in training on July 7, manager Rafa Benitez will continue to put things in place for the coming season.

This week, a number of deals could well be sorted.
[Read the rest of this entry »]

If money was no object, then the tabloids would have you believe that £300m could be invested in new arrivals at Anfield. However, this target could apparently only need a little persuading to become a feared strike partner for El Nino!
[Read the rest of this entry »]

Is next season make or break as far as Rafael Benitez is concerned? Surely if the Reds land fourth place in the Premier League again, while failing to make significant headway in the Champions League, there will be pressure on the Spaniard to step down, having taken the club as far as he could?

The Daily Telegraph report that the Liverpool manager remains focused on the job in hand and has no doubts about his Anfield future. However, he surely won’t want to go through a similar scenario to last season when there were boardroom squabbles aplenty.

“Now is not the time to be saying goodbye,” he said. “Fernando Torres’ agent has asked about my Liverpool future and my answer is that I am 100 per cent committed. If we had a lot of money to spend it would be better, but if we don’t it doesn’t matter. It is not about buying the most expensive players, it is about buying the right ones.”

It appears that Benitez had lodged an improved bid for Gareth Barry, as he looks to tinker with his squad during the summer. Andrea Dossena has already been bagged, with surely two or three quality players also on the way. Does Rafa have what it takes to bring Liverpool fans a Premier League title at long last?

If there’s one position that Liverpool have got sussed in order to become Premier League champions, it is their centre forward. Fernando Torres, the Reds’ number nine, was awesome for the scousers in his debut season at the club and a few more players of his calibre wouldn’t go amiss if Pool are to somehow bridge the gap between themselves and Manchester United.

The Liverpool Echo report that Torres wants to see some decent cash spent this summer, to ensure the club are well-placed to win some silverware next term. It looks like Barry is on the way, yet El Nino insists that Rafael Benitez must be given plenty more ammunition for fresh blood.

Andreas Dossena is the only player Liverpool have spent money on so far this summer, and Torres said: “It’s clear that they (United and Chelsea) have a lot of 20 or 25 million pound players, and that difference is what separates us in the table.

“I hope that the club does what needs to be done and we can quickly catch them up. In order to compete with Manchester United and Chelsea, if we can’t keep up with them economically, then we have to get it absolutely right in the transfer market.”

Indeed, Liverpool face the same problems as Arsenal FC in that the respective managers have to be economists as well as football managers. While Sir Alex Ferguson and the new Chelsea manager can pick out players likes sweets in a shop, Benitez and Wenger have to see how far their pocket money can stretch first.

I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s hard enough claiming a cup of tea back on expenses where I work. Upon handing in the form to the boss, there’s a pregnant pause that seems to last an age before he finally signs off the £1.65 and sends to the accounts department.

One assumes that the process is a little more flexible at Anfield, where news greets us that Liverpool co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett ran up a princely sum of £1.4million in expenses last year. Must have been a lot of prawn sandwiches for their entourages! On a slightly more serious note, The Times reports that the club’s financial position is not looking at all good, with many fans protesting outside the ground yesterday.

More than 300 Liverpool fans spent yesterday posting eviction notices at Anfield, demanding repossession of the club, and the pressure on Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the warring American owners, will increase with the publication of their first set of accounts.

Kop Football (Holdings) Ltd, one of the club’s parent companies, made a £33 million loss in the year ending July 31, 2007, according to accounts submitted to Companies House last week. The club’s £350 million loans will also have to be refinanced as early as January and the club must pay interest on a £64 million loan from Kop Football Ltd, its immediate parent company.

The article also reports that the co-owners wrote off £10million when scrapping the club’s design for a new ground, hardly the sort of thing that will warm them to the fans, especially with Rafael Benitez having to raise cash for new players by flogging the dead wood in his squad for an inflated price. What do you make of this Liverpool fans?

Now they just need some decent wide men and they’ll be ready to launch a title assault which might be sustained until at least the end of January. Sky Sports report that Rafael Benitez has strengthened his defence by acquiring Andrea Dossena from Udinese for the princely sum of £7million – money well spent?

It appears the player is delighted to be signing for the Reds, especially as he’s the first Italian to be on the books at Anfield. According to the objective source that is his agent, Dossena was the best left-back in Serie A last season, so Pool should thank their lucky stars that they’ve managed to snare him.

“I understand he is the first Italian international to play for Liverpool – a great opportunity for him and he is really happy,” Pastorello revealed.

“He had his medical on Wednesday and we are just awaiting the formalities of that but we would think everything will be signed very shortly,” he continued.

“An agreement between the clubs was hard, but we all found it and everything is now ready.”

“There were many teams interested in him,” he confirmed.

“He was the best left-back in Italy last year, arguably along with the boy [Juan]Vargas at Catania.”

It now appears Benitez is trying to offload Alonso, Crouch and Carson so that he can bring Gareth Barry into the squad. It also appears that John Arne Riise’s days at Anfield are numbered, who else will be making way so that Liverpool can raise the cash for new blood?

The battle between Liverpool and Aston Villa for on-loan keeper Scott Carson looks to have hit a massive roadblock after Matin O’Neill told Rafa Benitez to take his £10m fee and shove it. With Carson out of the picture, it now looks like Villa will make a play for 37-year-old Blackburn keeper Brad Fiedel.

The Daily Mail is reporting that O’Neill believes he can snatch the keeper from Blackburn for more than half what Liverpool was asking for Carson.

O’Neill believes Friedel can provide a short-term answer to Villa’s quest for a new No 1 and is confident he can land him for as little as £3m, given he is 37 and is on a one-year rolling contract. (Daily Mail)

Friedel might be considered old by most football standards, but he’s been far-and-away one of the most consistent keepers in the Premiership for some time now. And if O’Neill won’t pay for Carson, then you’d have to think that the next best thing could be the American-born Friedel.

Would Villa supporters welcome a move for Friedel? Or would you rather see Martin keep looking for a younger keeper for the future?

Gareth Barry has said that he’s ambitious. He’s also claimed that he wants to play Champions League football, something that ain’t happening in a hurry at Aston Villa. Therefore, it appears that all roads lead to Liverpool for the midfielder, although the Midlands club do have a condition, according to the Daily Mirror.

Martin O’Neill wants £8million AND Peter Crouch for Gareth Barry.

That is what the Aston Villa manager will tell Liverpool when they make their improved offer for the England midfield star.

Anfield gaffer Rafa Benitez is poised to make a new bid for Barry after O’Neill dismissed his opening £10million offer, made up of cash and players.

Now this will be interesting, especially as Liverpool value Crouch at around £15million, roughly the same price tag that Villa have slapped on Barry’s head. Do the Reds want the England midfielder badly enough to lob Crouch and a load of cash in Martin O’Neill’s direction? It’s clear that the lanky striker is surplus to requirements at Anfield, but we all know how stubborn Rafael Benitez can be when it comes to transfer fees.

Far be it from me – or anyone for that matter – to question Rafa Benitez and his summer transfers, but when Liverpool fans take a look back next season, chances are pretty good that the signing of Udinese left-back Andrea Dossena could go down as one of the main reasons why Liverpool were successful in the upcoming season.

The Liverpool Daily Post is reporting today that Dossena is undergoing a medical in Merseyside, and could be just days away from signing for an expected £7m.

The Italian left back is due to get married this weekend but such is his desire to sign for the Reds he has taken time out from his wedding preparations to fly to Merseyside to undergo his medical.

A fee in the region of £7m has been agreed with Udinese and terms have also been agreed with the player who was revealed as Rafa Benitez’s number one target for the left back position in the ECHO last month. (Liverpool Daily Post)

A player that takes time out of his wedding plans to sign with the Reds? It looks like Rafa has found another player willing to sacrifice his time for the good of the club (if you can really call snubbing your bird to sign a new contract sacrificing for the good of the team!).

Do Liverpool supporters think Dossena is the right man to take over the left-back duties? Or were you hoping Rafa would find someone else to take over the role?

Poor John Arne Riise. The Ginger One seems to be getting the silent treatment from Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.

“I have to get [my future] sorted out before pre-season starts,” the Norwegian left-back told reporters this week, still not in the clear about his Anfield future.

“I can’t wait and wait for an answer. I have to get an answer now!”

Given the speculation in the press about Riise’s future, particularly following his disastrous own-goal against Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final, it’s understandable the 27-year-old wants a decision on his future at Liverpool.

Trouble is, he’s not likely to hear what he wants. It’s no secret his time at Anfield is up.
The evidence speaks for itself:

• he’s struggled to hold on to a regular place in Benitez’s starting line-up
• he’s cocked up with too many high-profile errors in the last eighteen months
• he can’t find his scoring boots

Plus Benitez has already lined up his successor in the shape of Udinese defender Andrea Dossena, who is expected to sign in days.

Newcastle are widely tipped to be interested in Riise’s services, but Benitez would no doubt prefer to use him in part-exchange with Aston Villa for Gareth Barry.

It’s not all doom and gloom though for John Arne Riise. He’s on his hols and seems pretty chilled by the whole affair:

“If we don’t get the answer we want, we’ll have to do something. We’re not sitting here and waiting and waiting,” he told Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang

But after two seasons of utter dross, Caught Offside can’t help wonder: Is Riise still good enough for the Premiership?

There’s no doubt that Rafa Benitez is an astute manager. He’s won the Champions League and FA Cup since coming to Anfield, produced a run of decent Premiership campaigns on limited funds and proven himself to be an astute tactician, particularly in Europe.

But since the departure of Paco Ayesteran at the start of last season, Benitez has made a series of massive blunders. He rotated the squad too much early on in the season, fielded weakened sides in the domestic cups, played Andriy Veronin and only got his act together once it was clear European qualification was in doubt.

Now with midfield star Xabi Alonso, arguably Liverpool’s most creative player, being sold off to Juventus to fund the purchase of Villa’s Gareth Barry, Peter Crouch threatening to sit out the last year of his contract and then leave on a free, one wonders if Benitez hasn’t really caught too much summer sunshine. Is he losing the plot?

Most Liverpool fans would be sorry to see Crouch leave. He’s done a brilliant job when called upon over the last year and it’s understandable the lad’s angry having had a £15 million transfer fee slapped across his back.

But there’s no point unsettling the team because of the Crouchy situation.

Rafa needs to sort out what’s happening with Crouch quickly or he’s likely to have one very unhappy bunny casting a downer over the dressing room next season.

As for letting Xabi Alonso go, Benitez is borderline stupid. The Spanish midfielder is pure class and although he struggled with injury this season, when given his chance, he produced the kind of sublime creative passing that’s always been the Liverpool trademark. Would Gareth “pass the ball to the side” Barry really be a significant improvement on Alonso?

With Deggen having already agreed a deal with Liverpool, and Andrea Dossena set to sign, Reds fans won’t have been overly excited by Benitez’s dealings in the transfer market. In fact, the departure of Alonso would be bigger news than any incoming transfers thus far.

If you’re listening, Rafa, give us a sign that Liverpool are pushing forward? Why should we have confidence in your stuttering judgement?

After all, it’s hardly the ideal preparation when you want to retain 4th place challenge for the Premier League title. It had appeared that Javier Mascherano was dead set on representing the nation of Argentina at the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer. However, The Guardian reports that Reds manager Rafael Benitez appears confident of getting across to the player that this really isn’t a competition that you’ll be telling the grandchildren about.

Benítez will ask his £18.6m signing to put club before country. The Liverpool manager is resigned to losing Brazil’s Lucas to the Olympics, plus the reserve winger Sebastian Leto with Argentina. “We will try to find a solution with Mascherano that will be the best for the club and the best for the player,” Benítez said.

Is that the Spaniard’s way of saying ‘We’ll remind Javier of how much money we pay him and where his priorities should lie. After all, this isn’t exactly the World Cup or even the Copa America for goodness sakes.”

Still, good news for Liverpool fans as you don’t exactly want one of your best players to be jet-lagged when the season gets under way. It’s a long old campaign as it is.