GWistooshort

I'm not so sure He's nearing the end of his contract & hasn't signed a new one & was apparently very unhappy earlier in the season when Scolari wasn't picking him regularly & I think it's worth seeing whether he has become disillusioned with the managerial merry go round at Stamford Bridge He'd probably need to push for the move, but I reckon he could be available for £12m max

Martin Keown believes that Liverpool will go on to win the Barclays Premier League - because they sold Robbie Keane back to Spurs. The former Arsenal centre-half, who won the title three times with the Gunners in 1998, 2002 and 2004, has claimed that it is no coincidence that Rafa Benitez's side have returned to form since Keane's exit. Keown, now a pundit on Match of the Day 2, told the Evening Standard: 'Keane remains a top-class forward but it can be no coincidence that since his departure, the Reds have found their best form - with Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres fit and at the fulcrum of the revival. 'No matter what Keane's contribution was in any match following his £ 20.3million move from Tottenham, he was always the talking point. Rafa Benitez had to field endless questions about the Irishman and it was draining for the manager and player, who both deserved better. 'Keane was bought [for £20.3million] to play off Torres, but Gerrard was consequently pushed back into midfield which only stunted the effectiveness of their captain and contributed to a lack of fluidity. But Benitez's best team is now obvious. 'Rafa's 4-2-3-1, with Gerrard pushed further forward behind Torres, is now a devastating system that maximises everything from the players he has at his disposal - as was demonstrated by the England player's superb hat-trick yesterday against Aston Villa.' Benitez now finds himself fielding press conference questions about his side's stunning victories - 5-0 over Villa, the 4-1 thumping of title rivals Manchester United and 5-0 aggregate triumph over Real Madrid - instead of the 'Keane' question. Keown, 42, added: 'Everyone seemingly knows their place within the squad. 'That clarity of thinking is at odds with Sir Alex Ferguson's United at present and I believe Liverpool will maintain this push and pip the champions because they are now playing with the belief that the Premier League title is in sight.' Liverpool trail United by one point, although the Red Devils have a game in hand. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...eane-Spurs.html

I was reading an interview with him the other day in one of the broadsheets & he's apparently matured a lot since the recent birth of his 1st child From what I've heard/read about Van Persie it sounds more like immaturity than a bad mentality

I agree that Van Persie will be more difficult if Arsenal qualify for the CL (although the qualifying round is potentially quite a bit trickier next season), but he's got less than 2 years remaining on his contract & hasn't signed a new one & has said the most important thing for him is winning trophies. If Arsenal don't win a trophy this season (for the 4th consecutive season) & he doesn't sign a new contract this summer (which it sounds like he isn't going to do) then I could see Wenger being tempted if we offered Babel in part-exchange - Wenger was reportedly very interested in Babel before we bought him & I imagine the prospect of developing Babel where Rafa has "failed" would appeal to Wenger's ego. The best thing for me about Van Persie is not that he could cover for Gerrard, but that he could be effective cover for Torres. He would also be able to play alonside Fernando if we play 2 strikers upfront rather than Gerrard off Torres. This means that we don't have to outlay 2 fees - 1 for a left-sided player & 1 for a back up striker. I'm also struggling to think of a striker that we could buy as back up for Fernando whom we could rely on to score goals if Torres is out, especially if he's not been playing regularly, who provides something different to Torres, who would be able to lead the line effectively in his absence, but who could also play effectively alongside him if we wanted to play with 2 strikers up front rather than Gerrard off Torres & importantly would also be happy to spend much of the time sitting on the bench. In my mind Van Persie fulfills all the criteria I think we need & if he does have to step in for Torres he will be up to match fitness & sharpness if he has been playing regularly on the left-side, so we won't have to wait a number of games for Torres' cover to find form/start scoring etc.

The Guardian Tuesday 24 March 2009 Gillett may sell assets to strengthen position at Liverpool • George Gillett looks set to reinforce his involvement at Anfield • Sale of Montreal Canadiens interests could raise £230m Andy Hunter The Liverpool co-owner, George Gillett, may attempt to consolidate his position at Anfield by selling his stake in the Montreal Canadiens hockey franchise. Gillett has been looking to sell his 50% holding in Liverpool for over a year and is under increasing financial pressure as the July deadline approaches on a £350m refinancing package he arranged on the club with his co-owner Tom Hicks. Both Hicks and Gillett have been seeking investors willing to buy the latter's stake in Liverpool and finance the stalled new stadium project on Stanley Park, only for their asking price and strained relationship to thwart any deal so far. Gillett, however, could strengthen his role at Anfield after it was revealed he has appointed four financial firms to explore the possible sale of his other sporting assets, including the Montreal Canadians, the Montreal Bell Centre where the team plays and the Gillett Entertainment Group. He has an 80.1% stake in the Canadiens – who were recently valued at £230m in the American business magazine, Forbes – and money acquired from their sale would allow Gillett to meet the personal guarantees in the Anfield refinancing deal and continue his controversial ownership of the club with Hicks. The Canadiens' president, Pierre Boivin, told La Presse: "We're talking about a very large range of firms and assets which are good companies. There is Liverpool, Nascar, the Canadiens and the Bell Centre. This [the review] could involve refinancing, the arrival of new investors or – purely and simply – the sale of certain assets." Boivin added: "The process has been started but we're only at the beginning. We're not hiding it; we're going through a very difficult economic period." Gillett has previously insisted the Canadiens were not for sale. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/ma...diens-liverpool

From last week............ "Striker Freddie Kanoute has pledged his future to Sevilla despite revealing that several clubs in England are keen to take him back to the Premier League." http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footbal...st-1648887.html Sorry Eric

I'd go for Joe Cole as well as Robin Van Persie (who could play on the left of a 3 behind Torres & be the back up striker for Fernando), Gareth Barry & Glen Johnson This would give us: ----------------------------------------------------------------------Reina-------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------Arbeloa or Johnson----------------2 of Agger, Carragher & Skrtel-----------------Aurelio or Insua----------------- ----------------------------------------------------2 of Alonso, Barry & Mascherano--------------------------------------------------- ----------------Joe Cole or Kuyt-----------------------------------Gerrard-------------------------Van Persie or Riera--------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------Torres-------------------------------------------------------------- I would sell/let go Itandje, Degen, Pennant (out of contract), Voronin, Leto, Babel (to Arsenal to get Van Persie if needs be) & also Lucas & Dossena if we got Barry. I can't see Rafa fancying Robben's mentality myself.

You may be right, it depends on our transfer budget & the size of the squad we want IMO having Alonso/Mascherano/Barry to choose from for centre mid & Aurelio/Insua/Barry for left back is a marked improvement on Alonso/Mascherano/Lucas & Aurelio/Insua/Dossena However, I think two (right & left) top quality wide players & a back up striker for Torres are definitely higher priorities than getting Barry in so we may need to sell to get him in & therefore I'd be prepared to offload Dossena & Lucas to do so

I don't think that will be the case come this summer Barry will be cheaper than last summer (probably significantly so) as he will only have 1 year left on his contract & O'Neill has said he won't stand in Barry's way if Villa don't qualify for the Champions League Signing Barry would also allow us to sell both Lucas & Dossena, which should allow us to get him at very little or any net cost

He would replace Lucas meaning we would pick 2 from Alonso/Barry/Mascherano for centre-mid, with Barry likely to replace Mascherano when we are playing more defensive teams (particularly at home) He could also cover at left back for Aurelio & Insua meaning as Swagger said we could sell Dossena & the fee we get for him plus the fee for Lucas means that Barry should end up costing us very little if anything overall Plus he's a locally trained player which is important given our squad for the Champions League knockout rounds is currently 2 players short because we don't have enough locally trained players If the stories about Michael Johnson's attitude are correct then I don't think he has the right mentality for Rafa

Correct

No cracks for Rafa Geoff considers Liverpool's enigmatic manager Geoff Shreeves Posted 23rd March 2009 Shock and awe at Anfield on Sunday and that was before the result too. Before the kick off, in fact. Rafa Benitez picked the 11 players to start the game that Andy Gray expected him to! When I say Andy expected, I have to add the rider that my colleague is nearly always stumped not just by the Spaniard's selection but also the thinking behind it. So did Rafa play what he now considers to be his strongest starting eleven? It certainly looked that way and therefore begs the question as to whether he will play it as often as possible in the run in to the title. The other major surprise is that the Liverpool coach allowed his captain Steven Gerrard to stay on the pitch to try and complete his hat-trick. Gerrard has said his two burning ambitions are to win the Premier League for Liverpool and get a "Well done" from Rafa. Shortening price for the first hope, very long odds the second. Fifty minutes gone and the home side are 4-0 up, game over. Having been hauled off when he'd scored two against Real Madrid the previous week, the Liverpool skipper was understandably looking anxiously towards the touchline, in fear of getting hooked. He needn't have worried though, Rafa really wanted him to complete his first ever league hat-trick. Not for individual glory mind you, just for goal difference! Quite simply, Benitez does not do emotion. Goal celebrations, smiles, cheers, pats on backs do not feature in his repertoire. Gerrard has said his two burning ambitions are to win the Premier League for Liverpool and get a "Well done" from Rafa. Shortening price for the first hope, very long odds the second. Improve is Benitez mantra. He told me he was born to be a coach and even when he was a 13-year-old boy he would give his team mates marks out of 10 and tell them how they could improve. Added to this, by his own admission, he was a modest footballer so he must have been really popular! Off camera Rafa is often warm, hospitable and chatty, nothing like the short answering straight batsman he becomes when the red light goes on. I've asked him many a time why he won't be himself for the media or indeed be more bullish about his team's prospects but he says that's just not for him. Talk too much and you set yourself up for a fall as well as putting unnecessary pressure on your team is his stance. Rafa's rant? Even that was premeditated, considered and coldly delivered. Quite simply although he's hard boiled, Rafa is a good egg and as we approach Easter he's certainly not cracking up. In fact he's on the hunt. http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,2...5089426,00.html

If you haven't seen them there are interviews with Hicks & Rafa to listen to/watch free on the official site Hicks http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/archivedirs...090319-1405.htm Rafa http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/archivedirs...090319-1406.htm

My thinking is that signing Barry would allow us to sell both Lucas & Dossena as Barry would be fine as cover at left back for Aurelio & Insua meaning that Barry would cost us very little if anything as well improving our midfield options & being a locally trained player

I think Babel is more likely to go than Riera - haven't seen enough from Babel to suggest that he can score enough goals to satisfactorily fill in for Fernando. I also think that whoever we have as back-up for Fernando has to be able to play up front alongside him if need be & also offer something different for the occasions when we need to bring on a different option from the bench & I don't think Babel can fill either of these roles. Left-sided attacker is one of the positions I would look to strengthen this summer, looking for a player in the Gerrard/Torres class, but I would keep Riera who I think is a useful squad player. We won't get anything for Pennant unfortunately as he's out of contract in the summer.

I think Rafa will definitely be looking for more locally trained players considering our Champions League squad is currently only 23 players when we are permitted 25 players because we haven't replaced Pennant & Keane from our squad for the group stages

Post-draw interviews............. Rafa Rick Parry Hiddink Chelski's secretary

Carra's reaction to Rafa signing

There's a link to Hicks' interview with BBC 5Live at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/t...ool/7953300.stm

Yes it is legal - it's the same agreement that we had for Mascherano before we signed him permanently

I agree with Ernest - see the article posted at http://www.ynwa.tv/forum/index.php?showtop...p;#entry2341317 for details of how bad things are in Dubai at the moment However, Oliver Kay did write in the Times earlier this week that "Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, continues to monitor events [re the ownership of Liverpool] with interest." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle5941623.ece

My guess is that Ferguson made his lastest comments because he wanted to ensure that the media focus in the lead up to his team's match against Fulham today wasn't on whether Man Utd are going to slip up or not, which would have increased the pressure on his players, so he gave the media something that he knew would dominate the coverage - he set the agenda. His comments also help protect his players' confidence which could have been dented by constantly hearing that not only were they well beaten by Liverpool, but by a team that cost significantly less than they did.

Correct

Dossena - he's moved on from being the new Ray Kennedy, he's the new Kenny Dalglish!