GWistooshort

We were actually linked with quite a few in the mainstream media when I was doing my daily transfer round ups (which wasn't for the whole window): Crouch, Eto’o, Negredo, Pandev, Pavlyuchenko, Tevez, Tuncay, Villa & Zarate, as well as several South American-based strikers (Matias De Federico, Falcao, Kerisson, Kleber) & a couple of youngsters (Alberton Bueno & Luc Castaignos) I think it's fairly safe to assume given the squad that the fourth signing Rafa recently referred when he say "We signed three players, but wanted four" was a striker

Sky Sports reckon Hertha Berlin are still interested in Voronin http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_5653546,00.html

Or Nani

worth £18m?

Listen to all of it HERE from 34 minutes in or an edited clip HERE Liverpool Echo Oct 26 2009 Liverpool FC managing director Christian Purslow backs Rafa benitez LIVERPOOL managing director Christian Purslow insists Rafa Benitez’s job is safe even if the Reds do not win the Premier League this season. He also says Anfield stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are not for sale at any price. Purslow launched his support of Benitez even before the Reds’ 2-0 home victory over Manchester United yesterday. He said: “The most important aspect of the football club I was involved in in my first week in the job was securing Rafa for another five years. You only have to look at the Premiership era and our two major competitors in the last 10 to 12 years to see the benefits of longevity. “Liverpool Football Club is on a long-term journey and that journey is to be the most successful club, firstly in our country and secondly in the world and you don’t do that by worrying about short-term results. You do that by having long-term plans centring on the people and the strategy. Rafa Benitez is absolutely central to that plan. “The core of the team which won 86 points last season remains intact with some excellent additions so I have every reason to believe we can perform at that level this season over the season.” To the direct question of whether he would guarantee Benitez’s position was safe even if the club did not win the league he said: “Yes I would.” Purslow, who was speaking on BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme, also insisted Spanish striker Torres had no clauses in his contract which allowed him to leave Anfield if they did not qualify for the Champions League. He said: “Fernando signed an extension to his contract this summer. He has a five-year contract. He is a crucial leader in our team. He loves Liverpool Football Club. He has been fantastic around the place. Fernando Torres and Liverpool Football Club go together and I believe they will go together for the length of his career.” To the question that he was not for sale at any price, Purslow replied: “Correct.” The same, he insisted, went for Gerrard, while he said Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano, whose future has been the subject of speculation, was also happy at the club. Purslow said: “He is the leading central holding player in world football. It is inevitable that big clubs will covet players of that quality. “We also had another central midfielder (Xabi Alonso) coveted by a world team in the summer who left us. “We sat down with Javier at the time and he reasserted his total commitment to Liverpool. He has had a lot going on with the Argentina (World Cup) qualification situation which is now behind him. He is a hugely important player for us. He is a leader and this week in the aftermath of Lyon he has been a powerful figure.” Purslow also said Liverpool were four weeks into a process of raising new equity in the club which could take six months. He insisted, however, that it did not mean controversial American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were prepared to sell. Purslow said: “There has been a huge amount of interest in the club from some extremely wealthy and expert investors but it will take three to six months to pull that together. “It means there will be new investment into the football club. Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett have no plans to sell their shares. We will be issuing new equity to new investors, broadening our ownership.” http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-f...00252-25013458/

Not unless we sell someone first according to the Sunday Times yesterday.............. The Sunday Times October 25, 2009 Cash crisis will stop transfer deals Duncan Castles and Nick Harris 1 Comment RAFA BENITEZ will have to sell before he buys in the January window as Liverpool’s finances remain dangerously stretched — the American co-owners have failed in their efforts to attract new investment — and serious doubts continue about the manager’s effectiveness in the transfer market. Co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have been unimpressed with elements of Benitez’s player-trading strategy, a consistent source of conflict at Anfield. The Spaniard has been forced to fight for permission to make any signings in the new year, eventually achieving a compromise position enabling him to fund purchases out of sales. Benitez has prioritised the recruitment of a second striker, capable of supporting Fernando Torres and adding more physical power to Liverpool’s attack. The manager’s preferred option is to sell Ryan Babel, but Liverpool may struggle to recoup the £11.5m they paid for him in 2007. Benitez is also considering allowing Yossi Benayoun to leave. The Israeli midfielder was handed a 12-month contract extension in the close season after proving himself an effective member of the squad, but is well thought of among Europe’s major clubs and more likely to raise a substantial fee. Benitez remains frustrated that Hicks and Gillett have failed to agree the sale of the club. He does not expect recent talks with Saudi Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah to deliver substantial new investment. The Americans have hit a wall in their investment bid, with several potential investors keener to wait for the club to be sold again at a knockdown price rather than inject money now. Hicks and Gillett have hired Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Rothschild to look for new investment, targeting the Middle East, but there is a strong feeling there that Liverpool are heading towards a financial crisis of their own making, one that will force the owners to sell. A source who was involved in a previous Gulf-based bid for the club says: “There’s a feeling among potential investors that they may as well wait for things to reach crisis point at Anfield, wait until the Americans are forced to find a way out at a reasonable price, than pay way over the odds now. Nobody is in a rush because the club is going nowhere fast with them in charge.” Even after the rescheduling of Liverpool’s loans with RBS and Wachovia in the summer, and a £60m cash injection, the club remain £245m in the red. It is believed that the interest on the loans has become more punitive, making on-field success vital. Failing to make the knockout stages of the Champions League this season would be financially painful — losing out on up to £11m more — but not disastrous. Missing out next season altogether would cost £30m and mean possible meltdown. Prince Faisal is the most recent rich suitor to have been courted, by Gillett at least. But he has been left unimpressed, so far, by a big asking price (£100m-plus) for a small stake (20-25%) and by Hicks and Gillett’s history of feuding. As a spokesman for him said: “He cannot be seen as a solution to the debt or problems in the existing relationship between the owners.” Nobody in football doubts a new Liverpool stadium — which is on indefinite hold — can be a cash cow, making them financially competitive against Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. But there is no prospect in the foreseeable future of Hicks and Gillett raising £450m to build it. They are expected to be at Anfield today but will face vocal opposition from thousands of fans in an organised protest. Gillett has been in England for a week, but one source says he has been staying at a hotel away from Liverpool, on police advice, for his own safety. Both owners are under financial pressure at home. The Hicks Sports Group, which owns the Texas Rangers baseball team and an NHL ice hockey franchise, is trying to reschedule debts of $525m after defaulting on a $10m interest payment in March. The Rangers are for sale, with one group of potential buyers looking around this week. Gillett sold his 80% stake in the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey franchise this summer for $Can550m, forced partly by the necessity to raise cash to inject capital into Liverpool as a condition of the debt rescheduling. It is not known whether he has other major debts to repay in America, but he is looking to expand his motorsport interests into the Middle East. He owns the Richard Petty Motorsports NASCAR team, and his talks with Prince Faisal have focused on that more than football. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6888871.ece

Click below for highlights & post-match interviews....... Highlights (Virgin) [4:55] UK only Rafa (Sky) [1:52] Rafa (BBC) [2:32] Man Utd Assistant Manager Mike Phelan (BBC) [2:55]

Dossena's injured (which may have been your point) http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...091023-1334.htm The article has news on the rest of our injuries........... REDS WAITING ON INJURED TRIO Paul Eaton 23 October 2009 Rafael Benitez will give late fitness tests to Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson before finalising his team selection for Sunday's showdown with Manchester United. All three players are currently facing a race against time to be fit to take on Alex Ferguson's men after recovering from groin problems. Torres trained with his teammates on Friday and will be assessed further tomorrow, while Benitez hasn't given up hope of Gerrard recovering sufficiently before kick-off to take his place in the team. Johnson missed the midweek defeat to Lyon after reporting a tight groin, but has since spoken of his belief that he'll be fit. "It's the same situation for all the players," he said today. "Fernando trained today and has been working to a specific programme. "We will speak with the physios over the weekend before making a decision about Steven. "Hopefully Glen will be available but we'll have to wait and see. We will make late decisions with all of them." Asked if Alberto Aquilani could be involved after his midweek appearance for the reserves, Benitez replied: "No, I don't think so. We wanted to give him some time on the pitch but still it's too soon to say when he can play for the first team."

Plus one other, presumably a forward (ref Rafa's "we wanted four, but only signed three" comment before the Lyon match)

Did you mean Liverpool could have bought Bent, Cattermole & a damn good full back or two for what we spent on Johnson and Aquilani because neither Johnson's nor Aquilani's fee alone would buy all of these? According to the clubs involved (each fee is linked to the relevant source) initial fees for Bent & Cattermole were £10m & £6m respectively, rising to a maximum of £16.5m for Bent & an undisclosed amount for Cattermole, thought by Sky to be £8m. So a minimum of £16m up to a maximum of £24.5m for both. Whether we could have afforded Bent & Cattermole would also have depended on the payment terms Spurs & Wigan wanted because we know that we only had to pay €5m for Aquilani upfront & it was widely reported that a significant part of the Johnson fee was offset by money that they still owed us for Crouch. It would be very interesting to see the figures from the last transfer window for the initial payments we received for players sold compared to what we paid out in intial payments for players signed - I wouldn't be at all surprised if the former was considerably higher than the latter.

Click on the links below for highlights & post-match interviews.............. Highlights & Rafa (Sky) [6:23] Rafa (BBC) [4:21] AUDIO Carragher (Sky) [1:30] Mascherano (Sky) [1:01] Kelly, Mascherano, Aurelio & Lyon's Delgado & Kallstrom (UEFA) [2:54]

Short clip of the post-match interview with Aquilani HERE

http://www.ynwa.tv/forum/index.php?showtop...p;#entry2453649

This is from his press conference yesterday.............. "When you repeat a lie a lot of times, it becomes true," said Benítez, smiling. "I have a lot of conversations with the players, as individuals and in groups, about positives and negatives. "We have normal conversations, but I suppose they have to sell books, and to do that you have to write something If they do well, I say well done. I have said that hundreds of times, especially when we win. You cannot be close friends, because you have to make decisions. But the relationship is not bad. "I was surprised with Fernando saying what he did in his book. It's true I spoke to him about the goal [in last season's 2-0 victory] against Chelsea, but it is a different situation in the dressing room. "I offered him my congratulations about the baby, but I suppose you have to sell books." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...-with-Lyon.html He also said "Gerrard wanted to talk about the negatives of his play but I said, 'No: let's concentrate on the positives". http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footbal...ds-1805668.html

Houllier will be there http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...091020-0848.htm

My wife has contact with someone very close to Arshavin through her (non-football related) work & they said we didn't make any move for him after she asked them (following the Mirror story earlier this year claiming that we did)

Been some speculation in the press today/over the last few days that the/some players are unhappy with Rafa's alledged detached, cold, aloof relationship he has with them & that coupled with his reported penchant for always focusing on what they need to improve & never offering any praise it's not helping morale, which is low after 3 straight defeats It was a topic of discussion in Rafa's press conference yesterday

The Daily Mirror 20/10/09 Hillsborough families to see two million secret papers Exclusive by Bob Roberts, Poltical Editor The relatives of the 96 Hillsborough victims will start getting access to millions of secret papers on the disaster from next month. The Mirror can reveal that in a major victory for the families, the Government will, within three weeks, announce it is setting up The Hillsborough Independent Panel into the tragedy. The five-person team, which will include representatives of those who died, will start sifting through more than two million documents from the police, medical staff and football authorities. Sources in Liverpool said: “The terms of reference for this inquiry have been agreed. The final stage is for the appointment of the panel and the public announcement. “That is going to happen within three weeks. But the important thing is there is going to be a representative of the family on this panel and it will start work next month.” Trevor Hicks, who is chairman of the Hillsborough Families Support Group and whose daughters Sarah, 19, and Vicky, 15, were killed in the disaster, welcomed the move. The 63-year-old said: “We are moving in the right direction. We have been in lengthy conversations with various members of the Government and we would anticipate they will come to fruition some time. We would welcome being part of the process to decide what is released and what is not.” Families of those who died at the Leppings Lane end of the Sheffield Wednesday stadium 20 years ago believe more could have been done to save their lives – and that the release of key documents will prove fans were let down in the aftermath of the crush. At the inquest the coroner, Dr Stefan Popper, limited evidence to events up to 3.15pm, ruling that all the victims were dead or had irreversible injuries by then. The families claim that meant the emergency response was never fully investigated, nor what happened to each of their loved ones. The move to set up the panel comes after the mothers of three of the victims met Home Secretary Alan Johnson and Health Secretary Andy Burnham at the end of the summer. Ministers have said they want “full disclosure” of the papers but there must be a formal process where evidence can be gone through by an independent panel. The panel, not ministers, will then recommend what can be published. Labour MP Derek Twigg, who has campaigned for the Hillsborough victims, said the Government must now get on with the announcement. He said: “We expect full disclosure. We want it as soon as possible. This has gone on long enough.” When the documents are published they will be kept in Liverpool. However, final publication could take more than a year. Hillsborough remains the worst stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the worst in international football. The inquiry into the disaster, the Taylor Report, identified a failure of police control as the cause. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Hills...icle194659.html

"Lyon arrived at Anfield on Monday for their manager, Claude Puel, to lay a wreath in memory of the 96 killed at Hillsborough" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...-with-Lyon.html

Both the Times (Tony Barratt) & the Telegraph are reporting the following comments by Rafa, probably in his press conference yesterday: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6881698.ece http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...-with-Lyon.html This is the first time I've seen him say anything that refers to the much discussed problems in the last transfer window. Contrasts with Purslow's comments a couple of months ago: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6814314.ece

The Independent says Man City flew Tevez back by private jet as well & offered to share costs with us so we could get Mascherano & Insua back, but we turned them down http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footbal...ag-1805667.html

Aqilani could play for the reserves tomorrow night against Sunderland according to the Daily Post http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...92534-24968528/

Riera out with a hamstring problem according to the Daily Post http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverp...92534-24968528/

You can watch some more clips of Rafa's pre-match press conference HERE