GWistooshort

You know you must have injury problems when Degen's getting the nod ahead of you on fitness!

Fowler

Here's my guess........... 1 Reina 2 Cavalieri 3 Johnson (locally trained) 4 Carragher (locally trained) 5 Agger 6 Škrtel 7 Kyrgiakos 8-9 Two of Aurélio, Dossena & Insua 10 Darby (locally trained) 11 Irwin (locally trained) 12 Kelly (locally trained) 13 Kuyt 14 Benayoun 15 Aquilani 16 Mascherano 17 Lucas 18 Spearing (locally trained) 19 Riera 20 Babel 21 Gerrard (locally trained) 22 Torres 23 N'Gog 24 Voronin 25 Eccleston (locally trained)

We have to wait until Jan because the rules say he has to be registered with us for a period of 3 entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 & 21 to qualify as locally trained & because he joined in the Jan transfer window, 36 months occurs first Par 18.10 http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Downlo...77_DOWNLOAD.pdf

Squad for the Group Stages had to be submitted to UEFA yesterday (see par 18.13 of http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Downlo...7_DOWNLOAD.pdf) Should be posted HERE shortly

Sorry John Although that was & still is the right link direct to the highlights if I navigate to it independently for some reason it doesn't work (not for me either) if clicked on from my post above Try http://www.football.virginmedia.com/page/L...,,12555,00.html & scroll down & hopefully it will be available for you under "Premier League Latest Video" I'm not aware that these highlights are restricted to the UK, although they may be - sorry for messing you around if they are

Here you are http://www.football.virginmedia.com/page/F...AssetId=8836552

Sorry John - I haven't

Van der Vaart staying at Real despite offers from 2 unnamed English clubs http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11827_5527963,00.html

Click on the links below for the post-match interviews v Bolton............... Rafa (Sky) [2:09] Rafa (BBC) [2:44] Gerrard (Sky) [2:16] Gerrard (BBC) [2:34] Bolton manager Gary Megson (Sky) [3:23] Megson (BBC) [5:02] Le Tissier's analysis (Sky) [4:07]

From the Times today.............. "Arresting experiment Something curious took place in Florence, less than 24 hours after the violence at Upton Park. Fiorentina took on Sporting in their Champions League play-off without an on-duty policeman at the Stadio Franchi. With Uefa’s permission, security was left to the stewards. It is all part of an ambitious plan by Francesco Tagliente, Florence’s progressive chief of police. Tagliente believes in reducing — and in some cases eliminating — police presence to combat fan violence, including creating special “pram parking” areas at the ground for families with toddlers and urging Fiorentina’s Ultras to “twin” with Liverpool supporters’ groups before their Champions League match. It is about time someone in Italian law enforcement tried a different approach." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/col...icle6815549.ece

Today's round-up of transfer speculation from the mainstream media concerning us &/or players we have recently been linked with… Michael Turner The Mirror claims Hull gave Sunderland permission yesterday to speak to Turner, who the paper says has been chased by Liverpool earlier in the transfer window, & that he is likely to agree to a move. The Times claim Sunderland are confident of signing Turner & say Hull's £10m valuation put off Liverpool. David Wheater The Independent claims Everton are keen on Wheater, who has been linked to Liverpool in previous articles, for around £7m.

Here are Purslow's comments.............. The Times August 29, 2009 Liverpool forced on the defensive over transfers Tony Barrett Christian Purslow, the managing director of Liverpool, has defended the club’s spending in this summer’s transfer market. Purslow denied that Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, has been starved of funds and insisted that net outlay is in keeping with previous years. Liverpool have made two significant signings since June with Alberto Aquilani, the Italy midfield player, and Glen Johnson, the England full back, moving to Anfield for a combined sum of about £36 million. In the past week, Sortis Kyrgiakos has also been signed for a fee of £1.5 million from AEK Athens, a bargain basement capture necessitated by continuing injury problems to key defenders. With Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa having joined Real Madrid for fees of £30 million and £3.5 million respectively, Sebastian Leto signing for Panathinaikos for £3 million and several other fringe players departing Anfield, it appears that Benítez has balanced the books at the very least. Purslow, though, is adamant that this is not the case, contending that the Liverpool manager has in fact spent a net £20 million on reshaping his squad. “We’ve spent pretty much the same as we’ve spent every year over the past four or five years,” said Purslow, who took up his new post at Anfield in June. “We’ve spent about £20 million more than we’ve generated, which is what we expected. We’ve bought players the manager wanted to buy and sold players the manager wanted to sell and it has cost us almost to the penny what we expected it to cost. “In fact, some of our competitors haven’t spent any money and we have. Spending isn’t the panacea everyone thinks it is, but we’ve spent £20 million and that’s real money. There are lots of costs associated with buying players and extending players that all go into transfer funds.” Speaking before today’s Premier League meeting with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium, Benítez said it was unlikely that Liverpool would make any more signings before the transfer window closes on Tuesday. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6814314.ece

Bascombe also says that if Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League Hicks & Gillett "would come under intense pressure to sell off valuable assets" ie players because they "have secured bank loans based on regular Champions League participation" & their "business model depends on Champions League qualification". He also says that "hopes for a record £80m shirt sponsorship deal, which is due for renewal, will also be hit by Liverpool's poor start, as advertisers negotiate on the basis of elite Euro involvement for the next few years". & finally that Rafa's position "is safest of all" because "the club can't afford to sack him as he would collect a £25m pay-off under his new 5-year-deal".

Yesterday's round-up of transfer speculation from the mainstream media concerning us & players we have recently been linked with… General transfer news Chris Bascombe in the News of the World says Liverpool "deny fans' claims of 'missing millions' from summer transfer dealings" with "at least £7m of the budget allocated to salary increases over the next year & around £100m committed to new contracts over the next 4 years" & pay offs & ongoing unfair dismissal claims for the 27 backroom & coaching staff who left Anfield over the summer. Bascombe says "club sources also point to unpublicised but significant hidden costs such as agents & signing-on fees" & Bascombe also claims that Liverpool "began last season 'in the red' to the tune of £9m in terms of transfer deals when they signed Albert Riera [which] was balanced by the sale of Robbie Keane back to Spurs for an initial £12m". Bascombe says Hicks & Gillett's view is "don't blame us" for any imbalances within the squad because they "insist they have consistently provided millions to strengthen the squad - including £30m of their own money" & "cannot be held responsible". He also claims Rafa tried to sell Ryan Babel, Phillip Degen, Riera & Andriy Voronin "to raise funds", but was unable to sell any of them. Meanwhile, the Daily Mail says the claim by Liverpool's Managing Director Christian Purslow that Rafa had a transfer budget of £20m this summer which "does not quite add up" & although Rafa spent £17m on new contracts for Gerrard & Torres, "given the majority of Glen Johnson's £18m fee was forgiven debt on Peter Crouch's move to Portsmouth, it could be argued Benitez had no new money to spend".

£5m fee confirmed on the official Stoke website http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/NewsDetail...1780366,00.html

I know & I'm also aware that when the only news is that other clubs have signed or are trying to sign our reported transfer targets then it just adds to the feeling of despondency brought on by our poor start to the season That said, there's only a couple of days left of the transfer window I'll see what's in the news tomorrow & decide whether I think it's worth posting or not

Today's round-up of transfer speculation from the mainstream media concerning us & players we have recently been linked with…afraid it's mainly about reported targets joining other clubs......... General transfer news According to the LFC official site, when asked in his pre-match press conference yesterday whether there would be any new signings Rafa replied "I don't think so", also saying "Still we are working & we have some clubs asking about our players, but I don't think we'll do too much. It depends on the players, maybe some who are not playing or young players. I don't think we will do too many things". Meanwhile, according to the Times the club's new Managing Director Christian Purslow has "denied that Rafa has been starved of funds". The paper reports that Purslow has claimed Liverpool has “spent about £20m more than we’ve generated" during this transfer window, which he said was "pretty much the same as we’ve spent every year over the past 4 or 5 years”. Purslow also claimed "we’ve bought players the manager wanted to buy & sold players the manager wanted to sell", saying "there are lots of costs associated with buying players & extending players that all go into transfer funds". Arjen Robben Sky Sports report that Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Robben, who was linked with Liverpool in previous articles, for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £22m. Tuncay The BBC reports that Tuncay, who was linked with Liverpool in previous articles, has joined Stoke for £5m. Sylvain Distin The BBC reports that Distin, who was linked with Liverpool in previous articles, has joined Everton for an undisclosed fee. Michael Turner Sky Sports says its souces "understand" that Sunderland "are in advanced discussions with Hull over a deal for Turner", who according to previous articles was the subject as a bid by Liverpool earlier in the transfer window.

This part of the interview is at the end of the video HERE

You can watch some clips of Rafa's pre-match press conference yesterday by clicking on the links below............. Liverpool Daily Post (3m16s) Sky Sports (55s)

That was Tony Barratt's conclusion in the Times the other day as well............ "the Spaniard is well aware that further criticism of his employers could place his job in jeopardy, no matter how much frustration he feels at what some view has been insufficient backing in the transfer market since the end of the 2008-09 campaign" http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6809894.ece

From the article on Rafa's pre-match press conference today on the official site............ "Benitez was also quizzed on whether Liverpool would conduct any more business in the transfer market before the deadline. He responded: "Still we are working and we have some clubs asking about our players, but I don't think we'll do too much. It depends on the players, maybe some who are not playing or young players. I don't think we will do too many things." Asked if there would be any new signings, he added: "I don't think so." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090828-1425.htm

You can watch a short clip from Kenny's post-draw interview HERE

To watch Purslow's post-draw interview click HERE

Today's round-up of transfer speculation from the mainstream media concerning us & players we have recently been linked with… Arjen Robben Several papers, including the Daily Mail, report that Bayern Munich have confirmed they have agreed a fee, believed to be £22m, with Real for Robben, & he will be having a medical with the German club this morning. The Mail claims Liverpool showed "a keen interest" in signing Robben, as did Man Utd. Tuncay The BBC reports that Stoke have agreed a fee with Middlesbrough for Tuncay, who has been linked with Liverpool in previous articles, & he is "expected to join...once personal terms are agreed", although the Guardian says there are "suggestions that the Turkey striker was stalling in the hope that fresh interest might emerge from elsewhere". Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reports that Birmingham have pulled out of any move for Tuncay.