alias75

Think this is the ace card we hold on this deal, if Alves only wants to sign for us and noone else that puts us in a strong bargaining position. Yes Sevilla can refuse to sell him this season but then they have an unhappy player plus they've lost out on 15 million Euros (or whatever the fee is) in this situation the player usually gets their wish although with Del Nido we know things are never easy. Im still pretty confident this will happen and the comments of Alves' agent seem to be a message to Sevilla that they either accept our offer which did afterall meet their initial valuation or risk having an unhappy player next year who will more than likely leave for less money sometime in the future.

£14 million is too much, but we have Krongkamp and maybe even Dudek who we could use in part exchange for this player.

Im certainly happy with the players we've brought in so far, our best 11 last season was very strong, the 1 weakness was maybe a 2nd striker and Bellamy should be an improvement on what we had last year. The other signings should strengthen the squad consdierably. Aurellio is genuine competition for Riise and that strengthens a weakness in the squad at left back, Gonzalez will hopefully get his permit and thats another option wide left , i wont comment on the others as nothing is signed and sealed yet, but i think Rafas done a great job of getting a very strong squad together in just 2 years. A lot of big earners that arent in his plans have now been moved out and i think he has a group of 20 plus players everyone of which he trusts to do a job for the team when called upon.

Thats my hunch too, i think Rafa has called their bluff and now we have 2 realisitc options if it doesnt happen. Sevilla have signed their replacement and the player himself by all accounts has his heart set on this move, if it doesnt happen Sevilla are going to have an unhappy player on their books plus 2 right backs, if it doesnt happen this season i wouldnt be surprised to see it happen next season probabaly for less money. If Trabelsi has been in Liverpool for talks though i wonder if that deal would go ahead if we signed Alves? He is being signed primarily for right wing so i suppose its possible we could get both.

Geds a great man your right he got us back to winning ways and while he made mistakes (some we're still trying to repair) his commitment to the club couldnt be beat.

dont want to knock Ged but we're still trying to recover from the big money signings he brought in that didnt work out. When you see players like Cheyrou and Diao still taking millions from the club in wages every season its no wonder we cant spend what we need at the moment, slowly those players are being shipped out and the squad ceratinly has a much stronger feel to it with 2 top quality players in every position. A manager like Rafa deserves to be given all the financial support he wants hes earned that right, but i get the feeling he spends money like its his own anyway so if he thinks a player is overvalued he'll look elsewhere, if Alves is determined to play for us then im guessing he wont be too happy that his move could be dead because his current chairman moved the goalposts and is now holding out for a little more. I have a sneaky feeling we'll see him at Anfield even if its not this year.

re Kujt dont forget he usually plays with another stirker up there today it was 4-3-3 Look at Rooney today playing as the lone striker you could argue he had a very similar type of game to Kujt today in that he worked very hard and had a couple of half chances he didnt take, does that make Rooney a bad player? of course not the same applies to Kujt.

Gutted for Dudek hope he gets it all back. Is it also true that the Everton trophy room was emptied? Police are looking for a man carrying a blue carpet!

Kujt should start today against Argentina for those that have never seen him play before.

dont think there'll be a problem with the release clause as has been said its been reported in the press for months. As for Bellamy ive watched him a number of times in the flesh for Wales and hes one of those players thats always a threat, even when hes having a poor game because of his pace and workrate. He never stops and always gives his marker a tough game, think his pace will improve us greatly (assuming he signs) and this will be the best group of players hes ever played with so that should improve his game even more. Think he and Crocuh could be a great partnership.

Think it depends which team you could loan him team, if hes playing for one of the better teams in that league it could be a good experience for him, there are usually 2 or 3 teams that run away from the rest for example going out on loan to a side like Reading last season would have been a good experience for our younger players as they are a team that like to play good passing football.

id rather he was loaned out to a Championship team, let him get used to the English way of playing. Thought we should have done the same with Le Tallec and Pongolle when they first arrived.

That idiot Sven will probabaly play Stevie there.

Cos after this world cup his value is going to sky rocket. sorry wrong forum...

Its a lot of money but hes a young player that could have 6-7 years in the 1st team. He has a very good profile in Spain now so if for some reason it doesnt work out im sure there'd be takers for him. Everything ive seen of him though suggests hed be a great signing. His attitude is spot on, and hes very good going forward, he covers 3 positinos in the team (RB,RW, right wing back) really hope this happens.

If Alves signs thats him and Stevie for right side. Id like to see Luis used mostly as a 2nd striker hes seems much more effective there and is much more involved, Kewell is another option there with Gonzalez able to play wide left. Garcia could save us money on a striker, hes hit and miss in front of goal but is probably the best player in the team in terms of getting into goalscoring positions. If its only 1 striker it has to be a fast player like a Bellamy or Defoe or Owen, with Cisse now injured we need someone up front with pace that can play with Crouch.

time for Alves to have a wood with el presidente

Watched him give Nesta and Cannavaro a really tough game a few years back for Wales so i think he can do it against the best, i also think hes improved as a player since then. I havent watched lots of Bellamy but the one thing thats constant when i have watched him is hes one of those strikers that looks a real pain to mark for the opposition. He is always a threat because of his pace and because of the way he plays the game he always has the potential to do something special. Sometimes the things he tries dont come off but i cant remember him having many games where he hardly figured. He has that nusiance factor about him that Rush used to have, i think for £6million if that is correct he'd be a very good signing and give the team something we dont currently have.

I really hope if Rafa feels we need 2 new strikers he'll be supported fully to get the players he wants. Other clubs that dont have regular CL football seem to speculate on transfers, Rafa is a proven manager and he should be trusted fully, and supported by the board to bring in the players he thinks will get us the PL.

Id like to think if Rafa really wants 2 new strikers he'll get them irrelevant of whats happened to Cisse. Yes im sure they were relying on the money from any sale to fund some of the transfers but other teams in worse financial positions to us seem to speculate much more than us in the transfer market. If Rafa thinks we need 2 new strikers id hope he'll be trusted and given what he needs. (within reason of course)

Get well soon Djibril - yes the guys on Eurosport say a broken shin. Not sure if thats better or worse.

Dont think Schevchenko is 6ft 7 , what i meant was theres not many strikers in Europe of his size, his hold up and link up play has looked very good in the last few games for England and if he continues to finish in the way he has been then theres not many players with all those attributes.

Stevie never got out of 1st gear, think after the last world cup he was being very careful not to get injured. Crouch linked up very well with Owen and took his goals really well, great assist by Carra for the 2nd. If he has a good world cup how much would Crouch be worth? lots of criticism when he was signed for £7million but i cant think of any other player that offers what he does.

Yeah distribution will be a problem but im sure Carra will keep it very simple and give the ball to players that can pass it better. One thing is for sure we know he'll be very disciplined in that positiion and at least it allows Stevie to play further forward. Hope he does well, there wont be anyone trying any harder thats for sure.

Just another illustration to how ruthless he is as a manager, thats 3 of his signings gone within 2 years. As a supporter thats really encouraging as under Houllier we all knew he had his favourites and he was pretty stubborn in admitting when he made mistakes to a point where some of his mistakes are still at the club. Rafa has shown with Nunez, Josemi and now morientas that hes prepared to admit when he makes a mistake or a player doesnt adapt as well as he thinks. Seemed a really nice guy and you could tell he was working so hard to make an impression but it never happened and he just wasnt cut out for this league. Guess this means that 2 strikers will be brought in, think Kujt would be an excellent replacement for Morientas.