Magic8Ball

Its true we are creating chances, but surely they are not of sufficient quality if we were not scoring from them ? I put it to you that not only do the other top 3 sides finish better they create better chances - now thats interesting as which is the more important finishing better or creating better chances ? and thats where we diverge in our arguement. you say we are not finishing well ... I say we are not creating chances of sufficient quality and frequency to finish maye you're right one thing is for sure Man U and Arsenal create better chances than we do and score more goals than we do the only team that finishes better than us are Chelsea - - so I guess its 6 of one and half a dozen of the other Lets just getter better flankers/wingers/creative attackers and a better striker so we can all be happy

lets face it Man U, Chelsea ( what's happened to Drogba?) yea even Arsenal have enough creative talent and ammuntion to win games like this, we're still lacking in that department maybe part of it is how Rafa wants his strikers to play ....?

dont be so bi polar the point is - doesnt matter where the player comes from, we wont know what they can do for Liverpool untill they are doing it so a big name, small name, this league , that league - matters not - once the season starts then we can start to know whether they will contribute enough to help Liverpool win something ( the league)

like Bellamy was last season ???

firstly : we lost secondly : Newcastle won We just dont have " the right stuff " in our "creative players " or "Forwards"

HELL YEAH lets call them the Redheads

Last time I saw Quaresima he had as much talent as C Ronaldo but just wasnt using it - I'm not sure he knows how to use his talent now and he's older than C Ronaldo plus his asking price is 12-15m Sadly I dont know Nani - anyone able to give me the low down on him ? Alves is tailor made for us

Kuyt is definately a Berkamp wannabe no Wannabe is not a Japanese restaurant

we need more than Villa we need wide creative players who can set up goals and score goals only when we have these players will having a striker like Villa really show you cant pass a ball through every defense anymore you need someone who can draw defenders out of position create chances and if they fall to him take them we need the equivalent of this seasons C Ronaldo on either wing !

Revealed: the US billionaire who is in talks with Arsenal By Nick Harris Published: 09 February 2007 Arsenal are involved in advanced talks with a billionaire American sports tycoon, Stan Kroenke, about forming a ground-breaking partnership with Kroenke's Major League Soccer franchise, the Colorado Rapids, The Independent can reveal. The deal will primarily focus on Arsenal's push for expansion in America, initially at least, but an intriguing aspect is that it will put Arsenal into business with Kroenke, one of America's richest men with a personal fortune of more than $2bn (£1.02bn). Kroenke, 59, a property magnate, is a prolific sports investor whose portfolio includes the NFL's St Louis Rams, the NBA's Denver Nuggets, the NHL's Colorado Avalanche, and the Rapids. He sees huge potential for football in America, evidenced by heavy investment in the Rapids, including a new, dedicated stadium that will open for the 2007 season. But he has watched with interest as his compatriots Malcolm Glazer, Randy Lerner, George Gillett Jnr and Tom Hicks have bought Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool, and is understood to be open-minded about branching out in England himself. There is no suggestion that Arsenal's current major shareholders - Danny Fiszman (25 per cent), Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9 per cent) or David Dein (14.6 per cent) - are looking to sell, but Kroenke would give them a ready-made option if that changed and Kroenke wanted to expand his interests across the Atlantic. Another shareholder, Granada TV (9.9 per cent), would like to offload its shares, but those alone would not hand the buyer significant power. With three of England's "big four" - United, Chelsea and Liverpool - already in foreign hands, Arsenal alone remain under British ownership. This had led to inevitable takeover rumours in the past year, not dampened by the fact that the hedge fund Lansdowne Partners has been stockpiling Arsenal shares (2.7 per cent). Lansdowne also bought into pre-takeover United, eventually selling to Glazer. Under the terms of the proposed Arsenal-Rapids alliance, it is planned that the Rapids will be renamed, and become either Arsenal Colorado or Colorado Arsenal. There are also plans to change the colour of the team strip to match the historic maroon strip Arsenal wore last season. Both the proposed names have been trademarked by Kroenke's Sports Enterprises firm, and their website domain names have been registered to KSE headquarters in Denver, Colorado, in anticipation of the deal being signed. The tie-up could also see the teams play against each other in friendlies, work on coaching initiatives, and develop players. The Rapids have plans to visit England for pre-season training before the 2007 MLS season starts in April. It is not known yet whether they will use Arsenal's facilities. The Rapids will play the final game of their pre-season tour against Valencia in Spain on 21 March. Arsenal have been involved with a variety of partnership agreements, including the Belgian team Beveren and an academy in the Ivory Coast. They also have a "technical partnership" with Spain's Celta Vigo, a club increasingly likely to be used as a "staging post" for South American talent en route to London. The Rapids tie-up would give Arsenal access to North American talent, or be an option for young players to gain experience. One stumbling block to Arsenal's link with the Rapids is that MLS rules do not allow franchises to change names or team colours without 18 months' notice, unless a penalty payment is made. Legal work to resolve this issue is ongoing. Arsenal ideally want the deal to begin in time for the 2007 season, when the international media spotlight will focus on the MLS with the arrival of David Beckham at LA Galaxy. An added complication is whether adidas, which provides kit for all MLS teams, will have time to produce a new Arsenal Colorado strip in time for this season's kick-off. An important figure in forging the partnership is Jeff Plush, 41, the Rapids' vice-president and managing director, who is also a key man in the KSE empire. It is understood he is an Arsenal fan. He has specialised in recent years in the expansion of KSE's "strategic business initiatives, new media enterprises, and brand development". The Gillett and Hicks takeover at Anfield has highlighted a growing desire by American sports tycoons to invest in English football. In a development which is separate from the Kroenke-Arsenal talks, The Independent understands that another American billionaire, with three franchises "in US sports", has been looking at Premiership clubs. A well-connected source at a New York investment firm said that this unnamed owner considered a bid for Liverpool last year. The source said that the person in question is not Robert Kraft, the owner of the NFL's New England Patriots, whose previous interest in Liverpool was well publicised, but declined to say who it is. The speculator is believed to be considering other options. Arsenal are an attractive option because of their international status, while Newcastle are seen as ripe for a takeover. The owners of Manchester City and Reading would sell to the right bidder but probably lack the name recognition an American would crave. link Hope we continue our push into the US, just like Africa there is enormous sporting talent there and a great financial opportunity to become a well recognised team there

Gonxzalez

You know something this pre Barca training trip reminds me of the time when Houllier took the squad out for a week in december Carragher said something like we met the Man Utd boys in the airport and they were off to a CL game, we had no games and that just brought home the gulf well since then Liverpool have won more silverware than any other English club - so I'm hoping this trip is the start of something special for this squad

for 3 years thats a poor deal - now for 2 years that would be ok considering

This is probably more rafa building an u21 team than buying for the first team we really need to sort both wings out come next season - so I'll trot out one of our old favourites for RW - Quaresima - any news on his progress ?

that smells true lets face it if they deny mascherano to us they have to punish (deduct points from) west ham and perhaps pompey too

why are we waiting ...why..y are we waiting

oh the irony ......

Anfield has always been the cathedral of football

Absolutely correct !! What amazes me is that there is so much resistance to the club actually capitalising on its world regard, everyone moans about moving - its just across the park and the revenue will help provide further success AND keep ticket prices reasonable Its my hope that the Americans will start to market the Liverpool FC Brand - conservatively with some class) around the world and make their profits that way. This would mean they could continue to invest heavily on the first team and on the field success

we used to do that till the FA stopped us. In fact we were the first British soccer club to do so back in 2000-2001 season I think that in part accounts for the registrations. now for an internet business 28m active users is a lot of money via advertisement or a paid for service of some kind I would be happy paying a reasonable fee to be able to see all Liverpool matches and reserve games where ever I were in the world

two interesting things: 1 Rumour has it that Mascherano had a clause in his contract that would mean WHU having to pay more once he played more than a certain number of games rumoured to be 10 2 Rumour WHU realised they had violated U18 and stopped playing Mascherano, and tried to offload him ASAP Things should be interesting from here on in, and dont forget Pompey with Fernandes, they are in a similar position

I'm kind of hoping that we get called Champions and that re our new owners its a case of anything you can do ( Glazer ) we can do better .. better not make a song and dance about it ;-)

and that my freind is the point

Today is a landmark day. I am not referring to the lovely lady that I had staying over last night, breaking my lengthy self-imposed ban on relationships, or indeed of Scottish women. No, today is not cause for celebration. My smiles of last night withered and died like an English Rose in Autumn. Today is a black day. Today we mourn the passing of a friend, comrade, member of our family, and a key part of our lives that has passed away.. Football died today. Liverpool have sold their soul to the Americans, and we can no longer call it the beautiful game. They are selling their soul for vast amounts of money that will ruin football. Football is ruined and we can never get it back. The small teams are now even further away from the fat cat big boys and cannot hope to compete. Their success will forever be tainted with the money they have, which they are just buying success with. How can any of the "small clubs" cope now? Liverpool are ruining football. How long will this vile aberration on the game`s image last? That depends. The question on everyone`s lips is what will the Red Mickeys do when the Septics get bored of their new plaything, and stop feeding it dodgy money, walk away, and leave you with massive debts? How did these Yanks get their money anyway? Earned it fairly and squarely it says in the papers. That`s as it maybe, but we feel that the indecent amount of money has been stolen from the poor, destitute, starving peasants struggling to survive in the bitter hardship of the US. Ask them how they feel about this sum of money being spent on a football team whilst their children shiver and die in the fields due to lack of food/shoes/Nintendo. I propose that at 11 O`clock tomorrow morning, a minute`s silence be held for the sad, bitter demise of football as we know it. RIP Football Unbelievable this is the funniest thing I've read today, oh well guess Irony is not dead