beejay

Looks to me like this is the 60,000 seater submitted for the current planning permission with the "away" stand already of a sufficient size to accommodate part of the expansion. That means once we have consent for this scheme we can then submit new plans showing seating instead of big screens etc without requiring a whole new structure or any demolition. It also confirms what Parry & others have said - by the time the stadium opens in 2010, the intention is that it will have a bigger capacity than 60,000.

Just put a bet on Kuyt scoring today. Anti-mockering works every time

Wait til the season starts - he will be back to the usual stuff about us being lucky & boring.

We definitely have the strength in depth now to sustain a challenge but the key still is the way we approach away games and overcoming deficits. I can't see Rafa throwing caution to the wind so we will probably work on the same formula as Chelsea - don't concede, control the ball, score on the counter and shut up shop. Last season we were punchless in far too many away games and if we fell behind we rarely came back. We are far better equipped to create chances this season provided we adopt a positive approach. Our appalling pre-season was dismissed by many last year as "so what" but having finished the previous season in fantastic winning style we then took our friendlies form and stumbled into the start of the season with our confidence draining away very quickly. I would really like us to take the pre-season games seriously, find some cohesion & winning spirit and then go into the Villa game with confidence & determined to win, not to accept a draw.

Fee agreed £11.5m bbc & ajax website

The speculation was a swap...

Surely if Heinze left ManU because he is 2nd choice to Evra he would want some assurances from Rafa that he would get more games at Anfield? Given that Carra/Agger are undeniably 1st choice that means Heinze would expect to play left back ahead of Riise & Aurelio. So where would that leave Riise? Fighting for his place or surplus to requirements?

The Post are leading on Heinze's quote - but it's hardly a come & get me plea http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liv...-name_page.html Finnan also signing a new deal

If we signed Babel it makes sense from the standpoint that Kewell would be the senior left sided player with Babel as his deputy and given Harry's injuries & Rafa's predilection for rotation, Babel might end up playing a lot. It also fits the theory that the rest of our summer buys will be in the 5-12m bracket But on the other hand, where would that leave Leto? Same age, same position. It also fits the theory that the rest of our summer buys will be in the 5-12m bracket - Babel would be about 10m? Heinze 5-6m, Benayoun 5m that's probably job done.

Meltdown on their boards! Q has boarded a private plane to Liverpool - mass suicide. Still only internet rumour though - no real sources

Unless, we buy Heinze and play 3 at the back with the width from 2 winger-backs, 3 in the middle and 2 strikers.

The Post this morning : http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...64375-19413142/ Can't help thinking the £9m from Portsmouth is a sham to make Marseilles stump up their £6m.

Think it's the same as this : http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=344741

There's a poster on 1 of the west ham forums reckons Bellamy is having a medical today at some private hospital in Woodford. Probably bull. Their Bellamy threads are so similar to the ones we had a year ago it's uncanny - y'know, "he's a c*** but he'll be our c***" , "Curbs can tame him" blah blah

The story is in the Star and says it's a player-plus-cash package worth £11m with Benayoun moving to us. To be fair, the West Ham sites are running the same stories so there may be something in it although they reckon it's £5-6m + Benayoun.

Just to cheer you up Knoxy, one of Rafa's quotes from yesterday : With clubs moving in for striker Craig Bellamy, Benitez's current attention is on strengthening his options out wide in midfield. He played down talk of a move for Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze but is keen to strengthen before the start of the new season. "We are working on other areas, maybe two or three things will be enough," he added. "At the end of the day I'm really happy with the squad but there are two or three things we can do." Bloody L if it's Quaresma & Mancini that will do for me

Yes - to be accurate it's £20m less £5m = £15m. Sell Cisse & Bellamy = £0

That's right - how bitter can you get to go on at such length to dismiss us as a rival? Still they've signed Pizzaro, Sidwell & Ben Haim who will make us quake in our boots

Looks like we have wasted our money http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=71878 HAHAHAHAHA

That makes a whole lot of sense No offence like but try playing another record - every post is about signing no more than 2-3 players (how many have we signed so far?) or about your opinion of Riise. And you are wrong on both counts.

Are you Scot in disguise?

The Post has a little snippet about Paletta going to Levante on loan with a view to a permanent transfer. I think someone mentioned this may happen, so kudos to whoever that was.

That is the logical conclusion unless we are preparing to sell Riise and there has been no indication of this in any of the papers. Heinze wants to move to gain a regular starting position so if he comes, Rafa must have told him he has a major role to play. The idea that he comes purely as cover for Carra/Agger/Riise doesn't ring true. We may well be planning to play 3 centrebacks on a regular basis next season with Riise/Aurelio well suited to attacking wingbacks and on the right, Rafa seems interested in Mancini who started out as a full back and before him, Alves who would have been ideal for this system.

That's 5pm here?

RAWK saying Torres will fly out via Spain in next 24 hours for his medical