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 »]
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 »]
Every day, Liverpool fans are bombarded by a metric ton of rumours relating to new signings already sizing up a property in the Merseyside area, but they can’t all be signing! So who exactly do Liverpool fans want to see arrive? You never know, the bearded Spaniard may well be viewing this page whilst having his afternoon cuppa! [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 »]
The Guardian’s Merseyside guru Andy Hunter reports that despite Anfield comedy duo George Gillett and Tom Hicks recording a £33m loss for the year ending July 31, 2007 with their Kop Holdings Limited company, the Spaniard will still be given a decent wedge to splurge. However, the Guardian also reports that much of “the Spaniard’s spending rests heavily on the amount raised through player sales this summer” and that the amount given to Benitez is “understood to be far from what the manager would like”. All in all looks to be a bit of a miss, and with Roma dragging their heels about forking out 5 million quid for John Arne Riise, it looks like it’ll be a long summer at Anfield…
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?!
Clearly if Rafa Benitez is going to fund all the transfers he seems to be lining up, he will need to offload some dead wood. With this in mind, we have the latest rumour regarding a quartet on their way out.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez plans to sell at least four of his senior players to raise much-needed transfer cash. John Arne Riise, Steve Finnan, Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch are being touted around the Premiership. (Daily Mail)
Of the four mentioned, who could possibly net £20m in total, Peter Crouch is the one I feel should be persuaded to stick with the club. He has shown towards the tail-end of the season just what he can do with an extended run in the first team. The other players are surplus to requirements but Finnan deserves a pat on the back for his services to the club as it does seem likely that the former Fulham man may well have played his last game for the club. What do Liverpool fans think about these potential outgoing stars, are any of them worth holding on to?
It will come as no great surprise to hear that Harry Kewell is leaving Liverpool after five seasons at the club. When the Australian arrived from Leeds United in 2003, he was regarded as one of the hottest players in the Premier League but perpetual injuries have seen him play just a minor role for the Reds every season. Amazingly he did get to start the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul before being subbed due to (yes, you’ve guessed it) injury.
Sky Sports reports that Rafael Benitez has given Kewell and his agent short shrift over the possibility of a new deal and that the winger will be moving to pastures new in the summer. It appears that a certain Norwegian full-back with a penchant for scoring spectacular own goals could be joining him.
“We have tried to come to an agreement with the player and his agent, but that has not been possible,” said Benitez.
“Kewell will leave the club at the end of his contract.
“With Riise and the rest of the players they have one or more years left on their contracts, so he is still our player at the moment and he knows if we receive a good offer – good for him and the club – it could be…
“But he is still our player and I am really pleased with him because he is a fantastic professional,” added Benitez.
Presumably Liverpool fans won’t be sad to see Kewell leave Anfield, although the same might not be said of Riise, who has done pretty well during his seven years at the club. The Norwegian has managed 33 goals for the Reds, which isn’t bad for someone who’s played mainly as a full-back.
Say what you like about Craig Bellamy (feel free to sum it up in six words!), but the Welsh hot-head of a striker is not all bad. Yes, he might have beaten John-Arne Riise up with a golf club while at Liverpool and OK, he might have had a heated exchange of words with a young lady in a Cardiff nightclub. However, the BBC report that he’s also prepared to put his money firmly where his mouth is by building a football academy in Sierra Leone.
“Because of the war, children haven’t had any opportunity,” he said.
“They haven’t been thrown a football, they’ve been thrown a gun.
“Now we can give them a chance that their fathers or grandfathers never had. That’s the buzz for me.
“I’m not looking to find and sell players. I’m not an agent. I want to make it clear that if any player does make it, any fee goes straight back into the academy.”
The article reports that the ex-Liverpool striker has set up the Craig Bellamy Foundation, ploughing £650k into creating a better life for the children growing up in this war-torn region. It’s good to see a minted footballer doing something positive with his wealth, albeit an unlikely one. Whatever next, Ashley Cole helping with the relief operation in Burma! That would change our opinion of the Chelsea defender!
Someone once said that football’s a ‘funny old game’ and so it might prove to be next week. Right now, Sky Sports are reporting the misery of John Arne Riise after his own goal gifted Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Anfield on Tuesday night. However, many of you will remember the Norwegian defender scoring at the Nou Camp last season after a previous altercation with Craig Bellamy and a golf club. Can the same thing happen at the Bridge next week.
“It was very disappointing to see the ball go in our own net, especially at that time,” The Norwegian full-back told NTB.no.
He added in The Sun: “What can I say? I’m ashamed and devastated.”
Riise had only been on the pitch for half an hour as a substitute – will Aurelio get the nod ahead of him next Wednesday? One thing’s for sure, if Benitez plays ‘Ginger’ from the start, nobody will be more fired up or motivated to do well and help ensure their team reach the Champions League final.
It’s not the first time that John Arne Riise has scored an own goal for Liverpool this season. Back in January, the Norwegian put the ball through his own net away at Luton in the FA Cup, can he make it a hat-trick before the season is out? Anyway, according to Rafael Benitez in The Guardian, the full-time whistle should have ‘peeped’ well before the Chelsea equaliser.
In fact, the referee appears to be squarely to blame as far as the Liverpool manager is concerned. Apparently, he made a number of decisions against the home team as well as adding far too much injury time on at the end. Was it inevitable that the arbiter would cop some flack from at least one team?
The disgruntled Spaniard said: “It’s difficult to understand. There were 94 or 95 minutes and every decision went against us. All the corners, free-kicks and fouls. But, in the end, it was an own-goal. It’s not the first time. We knew before the game it was going to be difficult [with this referee]. Against Marseille it was more or less the same. You can’t blame the referee for the own-goal at the end but the time? One minute in the first half, four in the second. It’s difficult to explain.”
Benítez also had cause to bemoan the referee for a push by Ashley Cole on the goalscorer Dirk Kuyt inside the Chelsea penalty area, an offence that went unpunished by Plautz. “The first four fouls against us were for pushing,” he added. “I saw one of their players pushing with two hands in the penalty area and nothing given. I’ve seen too many things tonight but I don’t want to say too much.”
You’ve already said plenty Rafa! It’s clear that much of his frustration is down to the fact that it’s now a tall order if Liverpool are to qualify for their third Champions League final in four seasons. It’s been a long time since they won at Stamford Bridge, with them needing a 1-1 draw simply to take the game into extra-time. Any hope for the Reds?
January may be over, but that doesn’t stop the rumour mill spinning as wildly as ever. Rafa Benitez is apparently looking to rid his squad of deadwood at least that is what the papers say (The Sun)
Among those destined to leave are 15m rated Xabi Alonso, who looks set to return to La Liga with Atletico Madrid and Valencia being prime candidates for the 26 year old’s signature. The midfielder’s season has been greatly curtailed through injury but he is still a quality player who is according to rumours longing for a return to his homeland.
Other players looking likely to be heading for the Anfield exit include. Norwegian wide man John Arne Riise has had a distinctly average season so far and has attracted the interest of the likes of Aston Villa and West Ham, and it does seem likely his days are numbered which is a shame because over the years he has been a good servant to the club over the last six and half years.
Peter Crouch, who I think proved his worth with a battling performance against Sunderland on the weekend, is also linked with a move away, as he has been for many months. Portsmouth, Man City and Newcastle were reportedly sniffing around the giant striker, but hopefully Rafa will see sense and off load dodgy Dirk instead!
One player that frankly should have been offloaded long ago is Harry Kewell who has been given the whole hearted support of the loyal Reds faithful for too long now, surely he has proven himself to be at best a luxury and at worst a complete waste of space. To be honest I haven’t heard of any club really willing to give him a contract, and it wouldn’t surprise me if someone from the MLS came calling!
The last player reported by this source to be set for a move from Rafa’s ranks is Andrei Voronin, which considering the efforts it took to bring in the Ukrainian in the first place seems a touch speedy given he has only been on Merseyside for a little over six months . He started with a bang and ok he has been a little muted in recent weeks but he is still a good asset and as long as he is happy to battle for his first team place just like everyone else, then I would keep him.
Part one of todays bulging and mewing burlap sack of rumours…
Liverpool full back John Arne Riise has claimed (via his agent) that he isn’t about to jump the Anfield ship and scuttle over to Newcastle. (Various)
…Meanwhile on the other side of Stanley Park, David Moyes is confident that star defender and goal machine Joleon Lescott will turn his nose up at reported interest from Arsenal and Manchester United and sign a contract extension with the Goodison outfit. (The Sun)
Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson is getting all hot and bothered over CSKA Moscow’s Brazilian triumvirate Vagner Love, Jo Alves and Daniel Carvalho and wants to bring all three to the Eastlands. (Various)
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is monitoring 21-year-old Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko and is pondering a move. (Various)
The seemingly never-ending questions over defender Gery Cahill and his Aston Villa future could be (finally) coming to an end, with Bolton agreeing a fee and Sunderland and Birmingham also showing an interest. (Various)
Spanish team Murcia are after Portsmouth’s bumper-sized midfielder Papa Bouba Diop. (Daily Mirror)
Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan is to snap up a very Keegan-ish player, he will splurge £2m for Derby winger and all round bloody good prospect Giles Barnes. (Daily Mirror)
…However, King Kev has now ruled himself out of the running for Spurs defender Pascal Chimbonda. (Various)
Liverpool defender John Arne Riise angrily pointed an accusatory finger at those that don’t treat his gaffer – Rafa Benitez – with the respect he deserves. Riise said:
“We don’t know what the owners are thinking but, remember, Benitez has given this club many trophies.
“He deserves to be treated with more respect. It’s a shame he’s gone through this.”
Riise was talking about the Spaniard’s American paymasters, and if players like Riise can openly say things like this, what on earth are they saying in private?
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