Fagan

from the independant. athletico stating they want to hang on to torres is nothing to be worried about in my opinion. they kind of have to say that about their captain and most important player Atletico ready to thwart Liverpool's pursuit of Torres By Andy Hunter Published: 21 June 2007 The Premiership elite are facing another summer of frustration in their attempts to lure Fernando Torres to England, with Atletico Madrid refusing to countenance the sale of their talismanic captain. Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal have all been strongly linked with the 23-year-old forward who has a €40m [£26.9m] release clause in his contract and is considering finally severing his allegiance to his boyhood club following their failure to qualify for the Uefa Cup next season. Rafael Benitez has reportedly made Torres his primary target as the Liverpool manager seeks a high-profile goalscorer to rectify the shortcomings he believes were responsible for defeat in the European Cup final. However, £28m is beyond the budget of the new American owners George Gillet and Tom Hicks as Benitez looks to strengthen in several departments this summer and Atletico have informed the Anfield club that Torres is not for sale. The Spanish club are expected this afternoon to state publicly their intention of retaining the Spanish international.

giggs has played his best stuff over the last 5 years. i know he plays for the scum but he's been one of the greatest players since the premiership started

show pony is way harsh. the guy scores goals. end of story. i think hes played in something like 163 league games in the 5 seasons he playes at madrid and scored 75 odd goals. thats a consistent average of a goal every other game, in the best league in europe/ the world for a team that is by no means one of the best in that league. not too mention, hes the captain of his team and can clearly shoulder pressure and responsibility. I want him

on that note, el nino will take the premiership by storm...

id like to get 'El Nino' on my number 9 shirt

i love little luis, have him on the back of my shirt. but i dont see him getting much of a look in next season with alonso, stevie, mascherano and lucas all vying to fill the midfield. that coupled with pennant, harry and the new winger(s) rafa seems to want to sign. if we left him as a bit part player next season his value would plummet and so would his form probably. if torres turns out to be the nuts then it will be good business. it might also explain why rafa would be trying to get in yossi as replacement for luis

no he said garcia, with a big grin on his face. when he was challenged on that very point, he said, well there are lots of garcia's and listed off a few including luis. and then him, the presenter and graham hunter all started laughing. it was perfectly clear he was referring to luis

he meant euro. he said 40 million buy out. garcia is as you say worth about 15M euro then throw in another 20/25M and we have ourselves a new striker! (terms and conditions apply)

yeah he said his buy out was 40M which makes sense if hes talking in euro. i believe ballague, hes solid enough with the transfer rumours and we know hes close to rafa

finally some interesting transfer gossip. ballague just on sky sports saying that torres will force his way out of madrid this season. he was asked what would ti take to buy him. he said with a very wry grin: "about 25 million + garcia" he didnt say if it was 25 million euro or sterling. euro id imagine. id be happy with that

apparently reyes is signing for athletico 365 quoting marca a replacement for torres no doubt.

id love to see any pics of it please

ive nothing against him coming to us, but as long as he's not our main signing in that position. his experience would be invaluable i think and his professionalism. but hes not prolific. and we need prolific

Offal

i dont know if i agree with that. it would totally undermine the echo's journalistic integrity if they couldnt have a critical article. and in fact, hasnt bascombe written many critical articles of the club and its management over the years. whether they need LFC to survive, is debatable. but either way, them writing a negative article, is not going to impact on LFC's survival! and have a negative knock on effect on the echo.

i know, but they interview about 'phase 2' was put up on the offal only yesterday. the offal wouldnt/doesnt put up press releases from the owner about bringing players in unless something is looming on the horizon. my point was, up until now, all we've had is tabloid speculation and nothing from the club. then as soon as the spanish league ended, the club put up its hicks article. not a coincidence.

going back on topic for a second. all the stories and quotes from hicks about us moving into 'phase 2' and starting to bring players in, is timed almost perfectly with the end of the spanish league. obviously you dont need to be a brainiac to assume rafa would dip into the spanish transfer market, but i reckon we'll see some comings and going int he next week or so. im sure rafa took a break and is more than likely back now, the spanish league has finished and the transfer stories are hotting up with official quotes being released by the club itself. so, it seems that torres and/or milito might well still be on the cards, or at least seeming more likely.

based on my opinion

its seems very likely that eto and henry will swap clubs

i would rather bent to torres to be honest. a lot of hype about torres, fact is hes not that prolific, bent is a proven goalscorer in the premiership, with a far inferior team to us but i would take villa ahead of either of them and eto ahead of any other striker in the world at the moment, i think hed be perfect for us

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like thats gonna stop the endless moaning and groaning we should petition to have the transfer window close earlier in order to shorten the torture!

funny, i was actually saying to a mate last season how id like if we signed yossi. i think hes very effective, a very good playmaker who has an intelligent pass. more effective than garcia. wonder will this mean luis will be let go to make extra cash available

is ushers word normally spot on?

same as the journos then