David Hodgson

Much sense there but let down by talking about people wanting to 'spin' things against Parry. What the f*ck does that mean ? Myself and many others are critical of Rick Parry, but for very sound reasons. You may not agree with them, but there is an argument for criticism of the powers that be, at the club. Why one can't have a rationally held viewpoint or conviction, without it always being belittled as being 'an agenda', baffles me. Also, this argument that the club shouldn't overspend or risk 'doing a Leeds' is facile. What the clubs financial capacities and tolerrances are we simply don't know. We know it is one of the biggest and richest in the world, and should be able to compete in the transfer market with other clubs of similar standing. If it can't, it's reasonable to assume a degree of mismanagement. If the figures the tabloids are talking about are correct (that Rafa wants 30m) this summer, then I don't think Benitez is asking much. We can comfortably raise half of that from sales, and we spent bugger all last summer (in net terms). I don't think anyone expects us to spend like Chelsea, but our net spend last July/Aug of about 6/7m was far too little for a club of our stature.

Yes.

Spot on Kev. Every f*cking tabloid this morning is running with stories of Rafa demanding more cash or else. They are virtually the same story in every paper. A co-incidence of speculation or a calculated leak ? Personally I'm delighted. Good on Rafa.

I'm smokin' cigars. We are will go through, no problems.....

I was at Anfield for the England game. It was like watching paint dry. I will never waste my time going to watch an England friendly again. The worst thing about it are England supporters. I feel dirty just being associated with them. If England were just another premiership team, their supporters would be considered the crassest fans in the division. We'd despise them.

Who's said that ? What Rick Parry and David Moores do have is control of a valuable asset that is capable of attracting significant investment .i.e. Liverpool football club. That it has value that could liberate funds for players and the stadium is not disputable. The question is what are the terms of a possible deal and how do those terms suit the various interests involved. The board can justifiably claim that the deal has to be with the right people at the right price. However this seems to serve as an excuse for a deal never being closed. Some will choose to believe that the delay is due to the powers that be at Anfield wanting to hand over the reigns only to a benefactor with a pedigree of the most upstanding morals. Cynics might wonder if the current majority shareholder will only sell when the price remunerates him most satisfactorily, and that the needs of the football club come behind those of a man keen to get only the best price for his biggest asset (which is his perogative). Regardless, the bottom line remains that Benitez could be armed with more cash. Where there is will there is way, and without resorting to Risdale-esque accounting. In today's 'football Echo' Bascombe is talking about the biggest threat to Liverpool keeping Benitez is the money they are prepared to provide him for him to fulfil his ambitions. He's right, and the club need to wake up to this quickly (they may already have done so, we'll find out this summer).

I'm not deaf but even I could lip read that. Anyone who reported it otherwise is being deliberately mischievious. They should be prosecuted for wasting police time.

Yes, yes , yes....all liberalism aside, what's the score with this ? Is the wider web community utterly convinced that Cole is one of the gay men in question? Whom might the 'other one' be. The one with a mobile phone up his anus, I mean.

Out of order there. I would be f*cking devastated if Rafa left. He's the bloody messiah FFS. However, what I want and what I think will happen are two entirely different things. I remember having these kind of debates last summer when the first post Istanbul 'Gerrard to leave' stories started emerging. I could see clearly then that we were in real danger of losing Stevie, and so it proved. It didn't make me feel good to be right. I assure you. It's a shame we can't intelligently debate things which aren't always desirable (like Rafa potentially leaving) without people thinking a rationally held view is simply part of an agenda. Thanks to RP for the support.

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There's no way he'll go to Real with Perez in charge. Despite the fact that he's from Madrid, that they're the worlds biggest club, would pay him a fortune and would give him any player he wants, there is still no way he'd consider Madrid, because......Perez is in charge........except.......he isn't.

When did he get this run ? I must have blinked and missed it. Is Cisse lazy ? Well Guy Roux didn't think so. Neither did GH who loved his work horses as much as Rafa. I think it's a bit simplistic to say that Rafa thinks he's 'lazy'. Maybe he doesn't give enough defensively, maybe he doesn't follow instruction as rigidly. All these things may be valid reasons why Rafa doesn't fancy him as a player. Sometimes, though, really really good managers get these things wrong. Of course, who am I to tell Rafa what to do, but then again, what's the point of discussing football issues on a football forum if we don't think we can occasionally do better than the manager. FWIW I don't think Cisse is a long term answer, but then neither are Crouch or Morientes. I think a pacy forward always gives you more options, and I've felt many times lately that we are making things easy for opposition defences by allowing them to defend a high line, and never having to worry about their defenders getting turned. It's not an accident that we don't score enough.

I thought I'd take the opportunity to let ma boy see an England game.

Here's a thought. Maybe Cisse would be a better player if he was given, god forbid, a 'run of games'. You know, that 'ol concept used to excuse hapless non-scoring strikers. The one we've heard trotted out endlessly to excuse the constant misfiring of our taller, slower strikers. Cisse was once a decent goalscoring footballer. He probably could do with some good old fashioned confidence. The sort that comes from being given (I'll say it again) 'a run of games'.

No, your'e the Barbie......Has Ken said she let you come the England game with me yet ?

Yes...he's a really good player.

I did get your point Stevie. I trust his proclamations too, but he's only said all that he can realistically say, thus far. There's nothing in this latest statement that would render him a liar if he did leave in the summer. Having said that, Rafa was more than happy to bare-faced lie over the Owen saga last summer. He was categorically denying we had any interest in him, right up until the last week. The list of candidates will always be long and full of names, if you're talking about Real Madrid, but that doesn't change the fact that Rafa will look like the number one best choice.

I think this summer will be the testing period for Rafa. Real are clearly going to go all out for their next big manager, and will rest at nothing to get him. At the moment I think it's Capello or Rafa for that job. It's ironic that if our season fizzles out a bit now, it could make Rafa wonder whether the grass might be greener back home, but at the same time a fading Liverpool would make Rafa less attractive to Perez. Should the worst happen, and we lose him, my number one choice would be Gus Hiddink. I don't think it's a matter of 'trusting' Rafa. I trust him to do his best for Liverpool football club, but to seek to do even better for himself and his family. Should Real come in in the summer with a massive offer that Rafa can't resist, I would be gutted, but I wouldn't consider he'd betrayed any trust.

...pant...puff...pant...whew......I'm here....whadhappen ?.......Parry ? ....Ahh, he's OK really.....I don't know his exact job specification, so he must be doing really well...mustn't he ?

I can't see that there's any specific substance to this story, and I'm taking Rafa's denial at face value, but......we would be naive and foolish to believe that Real Madrid won't remain a realistic, constant threat to our keeping Rafa, whilst they remain without a successful manager. It does not mean one has to think any less of Rafa to accept that he is not a lifelong Liverpool fan, and that he IS both a former Madrid man and human enough to find the biggest job in world football, available in his home town, a tad appealing. I accept the 'but Perez is a loony' argument, and it may keep him away from Real, but no-one can rest easy on this situation until Real Madrid have a good manager on board.

Yep. Nothing that can't be put right, but it is disturbing how we periodically put in performances as lame as this. We posed absolutely zero attacking threat in the entire game.

Everyone who played in Istanbul is a Liverpool legend .

i see what you did there...

I saw that, and that's obviously a good sign, but I'm presuming, then, that Elisha hasn't changed his view ?

I think we've just taken our paranoia about the media to a new level. Just because 90% of people on internet football forums are middle class swots who may well know what 'Schadenfeude' means (literally : shameful joy ), doesn't indicate that the average ignorant oik, on the street, has a fu*kin scooby-doo what it means.