alias75

With Stevie playing so well in the center it means we have 3 very good players competing for 1 position in most games, im a huge fan of Alonso but think on form it has to be Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle in the big games. Because Gerrard does a lot of attacking from the middle it means whoever plays with him has to do a lot of the ugly things, at the moment i think Mascherano is much better at playing that way than Alonso. For most games where we're going to be getting most of the ball you'd want Alonso in there for his ability to keep things ticking over and his superior passing, but yesterdays game was a prime example of where it should have been Gerrard and Mascherano. Im not sure if Masch is being eased into the season, he did play the Copa America but his form for us has been superb, and in the one game hes played this year he was arguably MOM. I can't remember any poor performances from him so far and the team results when hes played have been very good. Its a tough one for Rafa because Stevie has been so good from the middle it means effectively you have 3 players for 1 position (given that none of the other 3 are attacking midfielders) long term i can't help but feel we'll have to sell 1 of Sissoko or Alonso (or not take the option on Mascherano) and sign another right sided player because Stevie has to play in the middle for the majority of games and the central midfielders we have are too good not to play regularly and 1 of the 3 wont be playing too often.

Theres also the counter argument that we signed Sissoko on a new long contract so that we get his proper value if he is sold rather than having to sell him with only a year left on his contract. Rafa obviously rates Mascherano very highly after going to all that trouble to sign him and then selecting him for the CL final so you have to assume we intend to make it permanent, that'll probably mean Sissoko goes but with him signed for another 4 years we'll get a good fee for him.

Veronin has looked quick enough in the games i saw...

All the quotes from Rafa at the time clearly stated we have an option on him and i doubt we would have gone to all that trouble just for an 18 month loan. Think hes already proven what he can give the side and if Rafa is going to be more attacking as the signings suggest someone like Mascherano thats able to read the game so well defensively is absolutely essential in that type of formation. When we've tried to go more attacking before (under Rafa and before that under GH) we've conceded too many precisely because we havent had anyone of his class to protect the back 4.

If he continues in the way he started we have to buy him. 20 million is fair if you look at the price for someone like Hargreaves as an example. He's still very young. The key is there simply arent many players out there that can do what Mascherano does, hes almost always in the right place at the right time defensively keeps the ball moving without giving it away and plays with the head of a 35 year old. At the moment id make Mascherano #1 of our 3 "defensive type" midfielders, the fact Alonso and Sissoko signed new contracts in the summer is no guarantee that they wont be sold and that money used to sign Mascherano, but now anyone wanting either of those players will know we don't have to sell and that will mean we get the price we deserve as they are 3 excellent players and in most other teams would be guaranteed starters. I really hope we sign him on a long contract i think he'll become one of our key players.

I find it hard to believe we wont take up the option we have on him, he started the CL final and in the games he played he was consistently one of our top performers. As for Sissoko / Alonso signing new contracts that doesnt mean they still wouldn't be sold next season, just that now we don't risk losing them on the cheap if their contracts are due to expire.

Agree but they might be trying to appeal to Heinze's loyalty to them if they ask him not to sign for us. As you say if that clause is in there there's nothing they can actually do to stop him signing for whoever meets the fee but that doesnt mean they may not try and persuade him to sign for someone else.

Thought these quotes from Fergusson were interesting... (from a press conference in Japan) "Gaby's agent has advised us that he wants to move on," Ferguson told at a press conference in Tokyo. "I am not too sure about that and we do not have a concrete offer from any particular club. "But there is some momentum regarding the player's next move in terms of through his agent, even if nothing is close at this moment in time."

Not if Utd were desperately trying to stop him signing for us, plus hes just got back from the Copa America. Anyway since the Copa has finished the reports are that this is at a more advanced stage.

think we're going to see 4-3-3 a fair bit this season with our wide players quite advanced, this means we need 2 defensive midfielders (take 2 from Alonso, Mascherano and Sissoko) with Gerrard supporting so they should all get their fair share of games. the way i see it we have 3 players competing for 2 positions (Alonso, Mascherano, Sissoko) with Gerrard being an advanced midfielder and also playing on the right.

From what i understand the question isnt Heinze buying himself out of his contract, but he has a clause saying he can leave if a club bids 6 million. The sticking point is that Utd dont want to sell him to us, but the clause isnt club specific so providing we bid the 6 million theres not a lot they can do about it.

Liverpool completed a £20m deal yesterday, with the £5m rated Luis Garcia moving in the opposite direction, and Benitez added: “I am happy for everybody at the club, for George Gillett and Tom Hicks who agreed to sanction the deal and for Rick Parry who worked hard to make it happen. Does that mean he cost 15 million plus Garcia?

Tevez has been a top player for a long time, i remember the last Olympics where he was awesome, and at the world cup he was very good. Even when he wasnt scoring at West Ham he was consistently being voted their best player since the goals started flowing he obviously got more press but he was playing very well before then. if theres a chance we can get him i think we have to go for it, our group of Argies and Spanish speakers (including one of his bests mates) must put us in a good position over most teams.

Another youngster on the way.... Rafael Benitez is not only bidding to break Liverpool's transfer record with the signing of Spanish striker Fernando Torres, but he is also bolstering the club's youth set-up. While Liverpool wait for the final details of their £26.5million deal that will bring Torres to Anfield, yet another youngster has announced he is on the way to Merseyside. The latest is CSKA Sofia midfielder Mihail Alexandrov, who has announced that he has agreed a deal to move to Anfield. The 18-year-old has told Bulgarian radio that he has already passed a medical with Benitez's outfit. Alexandrov revealed that he will finish his current youth season with CSKA before linking up with Liverpool. He said: "Everything is done - I've passed a medical, agreed terms, the only thing left is to sign the contract. "Even in my most optimistic dreams, I never thought I would move to a club this big." Alexandrov's capture is Liverpool's second raid on Bulgaria following the signing of Levski goalkeeper Nikolai Mihkaylov last week. In the last few days the arrivals of youngsters Dani Pacheco, Alex Kacaniklic, Marvin Purie, Mikel San Jose, Krisztian Nemeth and Andras Simon have all been confirmed. http://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/...p;TEAMHD=soccer

Looked as fit as ive seen him for a long time, certainly lost some weight in the last few months and did well yesterday.

Think thats the forward we signed from Ajax Jordy Brouwer

Le Tallec is staying to spearhead the reserves crack at the title next season...

Loved that first goal reminded me of a 16 year old Michael Owen

This was also posted on that forum in 2005 which gives a bit more background info.. I have a question about a young player named Dani Pacheco. We bought him from Málaga in 2003 when he was 13 years old. Back then he was the biggest star in Spain having already played for the Spanish NT in a youth tournament.He must be 15 years old now and I wonder if some of you people who lives in Barça have some more info about him? How's he doing and so on. Daniel Pacheco Lobato is half Spanish and half Czech, and he plays in Barca's Cadet B team. He's a good striker who scores a lot of goals, and shoots with both feets. However, he's not the most talented player in this team, where there are Terron(arguably the most talented defender in the Cantera), the German Dennis Krol(strong midfielder, with much quality), The Brazilian Thiago(Son of the Former Brazilian midfielder Mazinho), the Portuguese Alexander Zahavi(a winger with much quality, a little selfish) and of course, the Israeli playmaker and probably the most talented player in Cadet B - Gai Asulin. Most of the information I gave is from reports i'm reading about this team every now or then, but I haven't seen much of most of this team's players in action.

Found this on a Barcelona forum... Pacheco, one of the pearls of the youth team, 'flees' to Liverpool The never ending story. England has set it's sights yet another one of the emerging figures in the blaugrana youth setup and, this time, they've managed to pry it away from Barça. In this occasion, the 'robbery' has been committed by Liverpool, who have taken Daniel Pacheco with them, central forward of the U-16 team. The young player, who, despite having just turned 16 this past January, has already been used regularly for Alex Garcia for the U-18A, has decided to accept the 'Reds' offer to play in England for the next 3 seasons. Although Barça has tried to keep the player under it's wing, the agreement between the English club and the player is irreversible. Garcia Pimienta, his manager at the U-16A's this season, considers that he is "a big loss for the club because we're talking about a striker with lots of quality and a goalscorer. He's been our top goalscorer, reaching almost 30 goals and he's already played with the U-18A's, so i don't think this is a sporting issue, because he is highly valued at the club". The coach considers that "along with Thiago Alcantara and Gai Assulin he is one of the U-16 players with best prospects that we have, but there is nothing we can do now. It all happen very fast". Dani Pacheco arrived in Barcelona from his native Malaga and has spent the last four years at the club. Now, like Cesc, Pique or Fran Merida before him, he's gone to England.

Heinze prior to this season is a much better player than riise, plus he can cover CB to allow us to go 3 at the back. he has struggled this year a bit but hes still a very good player for a relatively small fee he could be a very shrewd signing. LB is one of the positions most agree we could strengthen and with a growing number of Argentinians here it could be a good environment for Heinze to regain the form we saw a few seasons back. As for the debate thats been going on the last 10 pages or so people also have to remember that we have secured the spine of the team for the next 4-5 years, that in itself is a big financial outlay in wages, but we have 6 o7 key players signed on long term contracts. Torres if it happens is a very good start, and hopefully we see 1 or 2 more that will slot into the first team, Mancini and Tevez would make me very happy and im pretty optimistic about Tevez.

does that article above imply Bellamy and Riise combined are worth 9million? if your going to make up stuff at least make sure its slightly plausible.

I think the key to this one is if Torres is as keen to come here as reported thats obviously in our favour but he obviously has to be careful about what he says because of his close connections to the club he doesnt wasnt to be disrespectful, the same goes for Athletico they have to make out their trying everything they can to keep him to appease the fans. I really hope this happens, after watching him at the world cup i think we saw a glimpse of how good he can be, clearly to improve he needs to be playing for a better team with better players, im sure he realises that.

Hasn't Torres already hinted that its time for him to move on?

“Henry? I was chatting to him while he was boarding the plane that took him to the States to see the NBA final. He is a great mate of mine and we will play together." ITS HENRY AND ETO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!