Oh, it looks like we’re finally going to get our first happy ending of the summer! After much debate and discussion, it appears that Pompey will finally link-up with the striker they couldn’t seem to live without. [Read the rest of this entry »]

My how things can change in just one week! If you recall, last week Pompey boss Harry Redknapp made it clear to anyone willing to listen that his £6m offer for Liverpool striker Peter Crouch was as high as he was willing to go. He wasn’t going to be dragged through the mud for a lanky Crouchigol robot!

Well seven days later it appears that Redknapp is still a man of his word. He’s still not going to pay more than…oh…wait…apparently Redknapp isn’t afraid of the mud after all! The Daily Mirror reports that Harry found another four million quid in his seat cushion that he’d like to add to a FINAL bid (if you really believe him now) for the Liverpool man.

Portsmouth will make a final £10m bid for Liverpool striker Peter Crouch. (Daily Mirror)

Judging by the big names Rafa has on his wish list, it would seem to be in the goateed-one’s best interest to make sure this deal got done. Nobody with a brain is going to pay the £15m valuation for Crouch, so why not get the most for him now and use some of it to finalize a deal for Gareth Barry. Now THAT would make sense!

Are Liverpool supporters fine seeing Crouch leave for £10m? Do you think he’s really worth his £15m pricetag?

Harry Redknapp knows the tricks of the trade. After having a £9million bid [Read the rest of this entry »]

Well I never. There are many Premier League clubs who I thought might lodge a bid for this player, but not Arsenal. [Read the rest of this entry »]

From the looks of things, it appears that Rafa Benitez has no plans in the near future to let lanky Liverpool striker Peter Crouch go for anything less than the £15m valuation, placed squarely on his big forehead. That seems to be a foregone conclusion. [Read the rest of this entry »]

While the speculation over Peter Crouch’s future rumbles on, there’s another striker on the books at Anfield who will need to pull his socks up next season if he’s to remain at the club. [Read the rest of this entry »]

The credit crunch is biting everywhere, including Anfield it appears. [Read the rest of this entry »]

There has obviously been loads of speculation with regard to who Liverpool will or won’t be signing this summer. Most of this is hogwash, designed to sell newspapers to speculation-hungry punters, although the prospect of Valencia [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 »]

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?

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.

The Sun reports that 24 year-old West Ham United striker Dean Ashton will sign a new 5-year deal worth £13 million (£50,000 per week).

“The striker is expected to OK a five-year deal worth around £50,000 a week. Ashton, 24, is finally ready to commit himself after lengthy negotiations and it will confirm he has settled his differences with boss Alan Curbishley.

The player, who has battled back from a serious broken ankle, had two years left on his current deal — worth around £13,000 a week.”

Though he may not be the most exciting striker in the league to watch, he had quite an effective season for the Hammers. He netted an average of about 1 goal per 3 matches, highlighted by that fantastic overhead kick against Man United. Rumours were swirling around Ashton this summer, and many papers fancied an £11 million switch to Newcastle for the promising player. He was clearly unhappy with the deal he had, which had players such as super-flop Freddie Ljungberg earning substantially more money. There were also stories that he was not seeing eye-to-eye with boss Alan Curbishley. This report surely puts all those rumours to bed.

The more interesting question is whether he is worth the money he is making. With the way that footballers get paid today, I think this is a decent deal for West Ham. When compared to the £80,000 that Portsmouth are reportedly prepared to pay Liverpool benchwarmer Peter Crouch, some might even call this a bargain. I would not go that far. So, what’s the word on Ashton? Good signing? Overpaid? Bargain?

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?

If you’re type of person that believes the words coming out of Liverpool gaffa Rafa Benitez’s mouth, you’d know be part of a fairly small minority that believes his 15 million pound valuation of strike Peter Crouch was A-OK! For those of us not living in a dreamland, you’d know that no team in all of Europe would pay that hefty sum — even if they knew they were getting a player twice the size of the average footballer!

Well apparently you can count Peter Crouch among those currently living in the non-Liverpool dreamland. The Daily Star is reporting a source close to Crouch as saying that he’s prepared to play out the the final year of his contract at Liverpool and leave in the summer for free! This would of course keep Rafa from peddling the striker off on another team and adding more to the transfer kitty.

“Peter’s been treated appallingly by Benitez,” said the source.

“First there’s been the lack of games, then Benitez claiming Peter had been offered a new contract.” (The Star)

So what’s your take Liverpools supporters: Will Rafa ever end up getting anything for Crouchigol this summer, or will he ride the pine for another season before leaving for free?

Rafael Benitez has been told by Rick Parry that Liverpool must be Premier League contenders next season (that doesn’t mean tailing off around Christmas time), despite the Spaniard claiming the domestic title is just one option. Nevertheless, some serious spending appears to be under way, with The Sun reporting that Andrea Dossena could be the newest recruit at Anfield in the next few days.

The Italian left-back is rated at £8million, which looks to be well within the Reds’ budget, especially if they offload the likes of Crouch, Carson and Riise. Despite interest from a couple of Serie A clubs, Liverpool appear to be in pole position to sign the player from Udinese.

Dossena, 26, revealed: “Liverpool are a famous team and it’s good to be mentioned with them.

“I want to play in the Champions League and Liverpool are a side who have won it and reach the late stages often.

“They are one of the famous names in Europe — comparable with the biggest teams in Italy.

“In England I think Liverpool are Manchester United’s equal — they can rival them.”

Hmmm, we think you might be slightly misguided on that last point Andrea. It’s been several seasons since Pool were a match for United, at least in the Premier League. It sounds like a scratched record to ask whether Liverpool might finally have the squad to challenge for the title but, can Liverpool finally challenge for the title, providing they make some more quality additions such as the above?!