Rahul

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Cliches eh? Nearly as bad as statistics.

Anyone have any idea when this Dossena deal is being completed too? I'd be a lot more comfortable if it was actually signed and sealed without there being any chance of a Parry f*ck up. How long has his honeymoon been now? Three weeks?!

The Silva links do seem to be quite strong and widespread though which is promising!

Momo didn't sign until summer 2005. Didi maybe, or didn't Stevie play centrally with Luis on the right? Agree what you say though. Think its time we moved on without an albeit class player to help the team develop. I personally think in 4231 one of the "2" has to be getting some goals from the centre and if given the choice of Xabi or Masch, I'd have Masch in the team every single time.

Very old: http://www.premiershiplatest.com/news/spai...ver-551490.html

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Thanks for doing this each day mate! Much appreciated.

Really hope thats the case mate.

No issue with that. Its the suggestion that he's having to sell players he'd rather keep like Xabi in order to finance other transfers like Barry as opposed to having the money to bring in Barry without selling Xabi.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...080610-1158.htm To be fair Rafa has alluded to it himself: "If we had a lot of money to spend it would obviously be better. But if we don't it doesn't matter. "It is not about buying the most expensive players, it is about buying the right players and we can sell some players to get the others we need.

Lol, I wasn't after a complex answer. Just wondered whether he knew if we were as skint as its seeming we are needing to sell to buy etc.

Elisha; are we as skint as its seeming we are?

But most of us know that Xabi can control the tempo of the game and that with Barry we might lose some of that ability to keep possession as well (atleast in the short term whilst we adapt) though Barry would offer us more going forward. You see, we could all say that and make judgments on them as players in relation to the team already without stupid and ridiculous stats being brought into it. If you made your points without trying to somehow justify them with pointless invalid stats less people would take the p1ss. You completely undermine yourself whenever you bring stats into it.

Kaizer out of interest though, how much do you think stats can tell us about a player? On a scale of 0 - 10 with 0 being stats tell us absolutely nothing about a player and 10 being it tells us everything about them.

- Would be hard to keep him as Barry had told him he wanted to sign for us. - Was the last player to have the England armband and that our offer wasn't acceptable - Disappointing for him as he's trying to build a team and Barry has been a major player for Villa - These things happen in football and you just have to get on with it

Linekar did flat out ask him though to be fair.

But Kaizer, your stats are claiming Xabi can control the tempo of a game better based on those stats? Even more than Stevie. Ok fair enough, but even if Barry isn't as good as Xabi at controlling the tempo of the game, he could still be a good player for us playing in a position which we all know will be different in essence to the role Xabi haves, so though he might not control the tempo as well, his role or contribution to the attacking side of our play (as one example) would be much improved. Also, as someone else has said, comparing the role Xabi plays for us where he's a lot deeper in comparison to Barry who gets forward a lot more and thus is likely to have a lower % as attacking passes aren't going to come off as much as simple ones Xabi is more likely to play so deep in our team. Thats just one (of many) examples which show stats mean f*ck all really, and even less so on the subject of pass completion between two players who play for different teams and in different ways.

Oh you had him on ignore? Apologies.

Why do you base so much on stats though? They can be interesting and relevant to a point, but they aren't that important or significant when judging players.

Liverpool win race to sign James Milner Rafa Benitez is set to inflict more misery on Aston Villa by beating them to Newcastle star James Milner, as Liverpool also close in on Gareth Barry. Boss Benitez and Anfield chief executive Rick Parry have made contact with the Magpies to offer Jermaine Pennant in part-exchange for Milner.And the clubs are now haggling over how much cash Liverpool must also pay for £7million-rated Milner, who penned a new four-year contract last July. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley wants to raise funds for new players and trim the the club's wage bill while ambitious Milner is keen for European football to boost his England ambitions. The winger's likely move to Merseyside is another huge blow for Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who tried to sign Milner in August 2006 and wants him this summer. O'Neill has already been fighting a losing and increasingly tense battle to keep Villa's inspirational captain Barry out of the Reds' clutches. But Villa are resigned to the versatile 27-year-old midfielder quitting after he told O'Neill this month he wanted to move to Anfield. Parry is putting the finishing touches to a third cash bid of £15m, with £3m in add-ons, for Barry which Liverpool hope will finally ensure they get permission to speak to the ace. Villa are holding out for £20m but Barry, who has 20 England caps, is on standby to open talks with the Anfield giants after returning from holiday and a compromise is set to be thrashed out. Liverpool are also hopeful of securing the arrival of Newcastle's 22-year-old former Leeds trainee Milner using fellow winger Pennant as bait. Pennant, 25, is surplus to requirements after failing to make a sustained impact since a £6.7m move from Birmingham in July 2006 and was originally offered to Villa in the Reds' first £10m bid for Barry. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/200...89520-20604040/

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index....opic=220430.880 Someone on RAWK who seems to be reliable: I posted earlier that a new Signing was coming in for talks tomorrow,unfortunately the Mods blocked the thread,i can say for Certainty that Dossena will be here tomorrow,he will be having Talks/Medical Tomorrow and Wednesday,Rafa is anxious that all the loose ends be tied up as Dossena has to return to Italy as he's getting Married on Saturday!!!! No room for Error or f*** ups Ricky Boy!!!!!!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle4052685.ece Gareth Barry tempted by Liverpool move Aston Villa captain says lure of Champions League has presented him with toughest decision of his career Matt Hughes, Port of Spain Gareth Barry has given the strongest indication yet that he wants to leave Aston Villa for Liverpool by emphasising his desire to play in the Champions League. The England midfield player described the choice he is facing over the coming weeks as the most difficult of his career, but it is one that is likely to end with him leaving Villa Park after 11 years at the club. Liverpool have made a £10million bid, but it may take some time to get the deal done as Villa's valuation is £15million and they have already rejected the offer of makeweights such as Scott Carson and Jermaine Pennant, though Peter Crouch would represent a more attractive proposition. Barry, 27, who signed a new three-year contract last August, is unlikely to force the issue by making an official transfer request, but having told Villa in private that he wanted to leave last month, he is approaching the point of doing so publicly. “Just to think about it makes it a tough decision,” Barry said yesterday. “There's so much to lose at Aston Villa. I've been there more than ten years, got a good rapport with the fans, I'm captain there and have a great relationship with the manager. “But Champions League football helps any player. You only have to look at the England squad to see the amount of players who get in the squad and start the games - the majority play in the Champions League. That's all about the decision that will have to be made. Liverpool are in the Champions League and Villa are trying to push for that. That's all part of my decision if a bid gets accepted.” Barry is hoping that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible and wants to hold talks with Martin O'Neill, the Villa manager, this week, but the Irishman will be concerned that his player's head has been turned by the words of Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool captain said last week that he was desperate for the club to sign Barry and, to judge from their promising partnership in England's 3-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain on Sunday, it would be a good move for all concerned - with the exception of Villa. “It was a bit of a surprise to see Steven go so public,” Barry said. “It's obviously very flattering the team has made a bid for me, but until the bid gets accepted I can't even think about it. “I would like things cleared up, the sooner the better. It would be easier for myself and for the fans as well, so I'm sure we can get it done pretty soon. I've got nothing planned with Martin O'Neill, but I'm sure the manager will want to speak to me and I'll eventually want to speak to the manager. That will come soon enough.” Barry's stock has never been higher and after a stop-start international career he has been one of the big winners under Fabio Capello, with the Italian valuing his hard work and intelligence. After David Beckham's withdrawal at half-time, Barry wore the captain's armband in the second half on Sunday after scoring his first goal for his country to put England on course for victory, but he conceded that he is unlikely to keep it on a permanent basis. “If you were to lead the team out from the beginning, I could have looked at it a different way, but it was still a great feeling just to do it for the second half,” he said. “It will give me a lot of confidence going into next season and was a perfect way to finish the season. Ten days together was important to get to know the manager and for the manager to get to know the players. Ten days is a long time in football and being together for that amount of time, we've learnt a lot.”

I think thats the intention and why Barry is being brought in and Xabi being allowed to go.

I think one of the reasons I'm more eager for him to go than I would have been is because we obviously don't have a lot of money and if selling Xabi from a position which we are already strong in means we get some funds for a right sided midfielder or other important position, then its worth it. Just a shame that its ever got to that stage where we need to be selling anyone to raise funds. F*cking need DIC to take over in some capacity soon before the whole summer is a write off in comparison to the quality the mancs, arsenal and chelsea will be bringing in (not to mention the likes of villa and spurs also potentially spending big).