GWistooshort

Quite a bit of the link seemed to come from the fact that Liverpool's chief scout Eduardo Macia was apparently instrumental in Silva's development as a youngster - he was described as Silva's "mentor" in 1 article I think - & the 2 reportedly remain in close contact

Transfer news/speculation from this morning's papers......... Gareth Barry is "on the verge of joining Liverpool". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...ston-Villa.html Liverpool are "still waiting anxiously" for Hicks & Gillett "to confirm that they have the funds to finance Barry’s proposed £18m transfer". http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle4467028.ece The Barry deal will now be a cash only deal as Steve Finnan "would prefer a move elsewhere". Spurs have revived their interest in David Villa, whom Rafa has previously said is on our list of striking targets, & "has crept on to [Man] United's radar in recent days". "However with Real Madrid being informed of any move for Villa the danger of being gazumped by the Spanish giants is high". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...le-Everton.html Spurs "are preparing a bid of £32m for Villa", "thought" to be financed by selling Dimitar Berbatov to Man Utd for £30m. It is "highly likely" that Villa "will soon be on his way to a new club". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...--Football.html Villa "would prefer to remain in Spain" either at Real Madrid or Barcelona "but neither club is expected to move for him", although the Premier League "holds appeal for him". http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/au...ottenhamhotspur Villa's agent is meeting with the Valencia president this afternoon, who will reportedly "be making it clear [he] is not up for sale & that his continued presence is vital for the long term future of the club". Villa's agent will reportedly "be asking Valencia to demonstrate just how important [Villa] is by giving him a pay rise". Reported Barcelona target David Silva, who has been linked with Liverpool in previous articles, will be holding talks with Valencia this evening. His agent said "The player has a contract with Valencia, but he needs to see just how much he is valued by the club. He has worked hard over the last two years, had a great Euro 2008, and he needs to feel valued." The Valencia president said "we will be telling David Silva that we want him and we would like him to stay at Valencia. We have no problems in that respect." http://www.guillembalague.com/rumores_desp.php?id=46

He has been linked in some articles previously, but may just have been speculation by the journos concerned.

I'm not going to live that one down am I?

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From the official site after the match............ Despite the worry over his captain, Benitez revealed his starting XI in next week's third qualifying round is likely to be similar to that which took to the pitch in Norway on Tuesday night. "It is close to the team for next week," he said. "We have some players at the Olympic Games, so we used some young players and they showed quality. But maybe we will see the majority of the players we used in the first half." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N160800080805

Here you go................. Steven Gerrard faces a race against time to be ready for next week's Champions League qualifier against Standard Liege after limping out of the 4-1 friendly win over Valerenga with a thigh strain. Boss Rafa Benitez is hopeful his skipper will be fit for the trip to Belgium next midweek, though an early diagnosis of seven days on the sidelines means it will be a close call. "It is a thigh strain. We need to wait but it could be one week," the Spaniard told Liverpoolfc.tv. Despite the worry over his captain, Benitez revealed his starting XI in next week's third qualifying round is likely to be similar to that which took to the pitch in Norway on Tuesday night. "It is close to the team for next week," he said. "We have some players at the Olympic Games, so we used some young players and they showed quality. But maybe we will see the majority of the players we used in the first half." The 4-1 victory over Valerenga, a side 16 games into their domestic season, was secured thanks to goals from Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, David Ngog and Yossi Benayoun. The Reds have now plundered eight goals in their past two friendlies – though Benitez is confident there is even more to come. He explained: "Yes, it was another good work-out. It was a good game, with four goals for us and good play. "But the players aren't 100 per cent yet – that would be difficult right now. The other team were fitter than us but you could see we were passing, pressing and the understanding between the players was better. I am really pleased with the result. "Normally when you have quality, when you are playing well and creating chances, you will score goals." On Ngog, who now has two goals in three appearances since signing from Paris Saint Germain, the Anfield boss added: "Like I have said before, we are really pleased with our scout department. They are finding players like Ngog, players with quality who are not a high price. There's also Dani Pacheco, Krisztian Nemeth and Nabil El Zhar, who has been injured." Torres and co now head back to Merseyside ahead of their final pre-season friendly against Lazio on Friday – and Benitez claims they will do so carrying fond memories of their Scandinavian jaunt. "It was amazing and it was a surprise for us to see so many people in a red shirt. The support for the team here is really good," he said. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N160800080805

Sky's TV guide said it is on at 11pm, but according to the official site LFC TV closesdown at 11pm, otherwise appears that it is repeated tomorrow at 12 noon

Gerrard has a thigh strain & the initial diagnosis is that he's out for 7 days, meaning he faces a race to be fit in time for the Champions League 1st leg qualifier against Standard Liege All according to the official site http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...080805-2054.htm

No Finnan????

Roma boss Luciano Spalletti has admitted that Yossi Benayoun is on his list of targets. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_3936881,00.html

It wouldn't have suited me, honest!

Interesting article from today's Birmingham Post, given our discussion earlier today about Villa's statement.......... Barry saga damaging goodwill at Villa Aug 5 2008 By Brian Dick Martin O’Neill Wednesday, July 30 2008, just after tea-time: “Naturally we’re all absolutely delighted that Gareth will be staying at Villa Park and relieved to find a resolution and closure to this saga. “Liverpool were informed that the deadline came and passed. Now we can all look forward to the coming season with relief, anticipation and ambition.” Martin O’Neill Saturday, August 2 2008, just before tea-time: “Gareth and his agent came in to say they still felt Liverpool could do the deal. I gave it some thought and realised at the end of it all there is little point in pretending. “Gareth wants to join Liverpool. Therefore, there will be no deadline. Liverpool have got all the time in the world to raise the money.” The above comments are not just evidence of the hugely restorative qualities of a hearty evening meal, just compare the Aston Villa manager’s tone either side of the deadline - they also point to what was both a public relations disaster and a commercial masterstroke by the club. In producing Statement A within five minutes of the passing of Wednesday’s arbitrary line in the sand, Villa moved the Gareth Barry saga forward at almost breakneck speed. A situation that had descended into stalemate over four months of rumour and counter-rumour was brought to a head in a fraction of that time. Spurred on by the prospect of missing out on Barry and no doubt prompted by the player and his agent, Liverpool miraculously found a spare £18million down the back of the sofa used by Anfield co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett during their weekly lads’ nights in. Despite not selling any of their unwanted players, Liverpool not only discovered they had enough loose change to buy Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur for £20m, they’ve also got sufficient to bring in someone to stand on Xabi Alonso’s toes. How O’Neill must be tittering at the sight of Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez twitching on the other end of his yanked chain. As a result, O’Neill and his employers will reflect that the club was right to make their now infamous - ‘This evening Aston Villa can announce that Gareth Barry will be staying with the club’ announcement. Villa will receive a princely fee for a player who doesn’t want to be there. Excellent business. Nothing changed between O’Neill’s two utterances. Barry had always been clear he wanted to go to Anfield, if O’Neill didn’t know that already, the two meetings he had with the player and his representative in the space of four days last week, made it absolutely clear. Almost as clear as the interview Barry gave to the News of the World while his manager was overseas. Right brave, that. Which can only mean the statement was directed at nobody but Liverpool. However, it did not say as much in the small print. No neutral party can have fallen for what Villa were saying. Barry was never going to slip seamlessly back into the old routine knowing his ‘dream’ move had been stymied by a meaningless cut-off date. And that is to say nothing of the emotional strain Villa’s tactics have placed upon their supporters, many of whom will have been dubious about their club’s intentions in making the statement but who hoped it did what it said on the tin and that their best player would indeed be staying in the West Midlands. In that respect, Villa have misled their fans and many of them are rightfully angry about the situation. They have been fed one line, only for the obverse to be the actual truth and the only logical outcome is a reduction in the goodwill they feel towards the club, their former captain and probably their manager. http://www.birminghampost.net/midlands-bir...65233-21464151/

Reports in Spain suggest Liverpool are set to make Espanyol a fresh offer for Albert Riera, who said yesterday "to play in Liverpool is very attractive". http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_3935852,00.html Gareth Barry "should seal his move to Liverpool later this week". http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-s...97319-21465501/

very good

my post was already long enough

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I wasn't saying that Villa's statement actually has made us improve our offer, but that, in response to Anfield Fox's question what is Krulak on about?, my intepretation is that Krulak was saying to Villa supporters that Villa released the statement to try & do that. Personally I also can't see why Villa's statement would make us improve our offer given the situation (ie plenty of time before the end of the transfer window & a player who has said he wants to join us), but then again I've been surprised that we've repeatedly increased our offers for Barry & gone as high as we have (if reports are to be believed - & they've been pretty consistent across the media on these 2 things) given that on face value we seem to hold the upper hand in these negotiations. However, without knowing all the details it's very hard to know for sure what's going on. Maybe things have gone on during the negotiations that have led Villa to believe that releasing the statement saying Barry was staying would force us to improve our offer? Maybe they believed, based on Rafa's public comments before the transfer window opened that he wanted to get all the new signings in early, that we are so keen to get our new players in as soon as possible, especially with the Champions League qualifier coming up, that the threat of Barry staying would work? Given that any negotiation, even more so when it is a hostile negotiation like this one, involves lots of guesswork & assumptions to try & work out the other side's true position, maybe Villa got it wrong & their statement hasn't forced us to do what they wanted/expected? Maybe they weren't targeting Liverpool directly with the statement, but were targeting Barry, who they felt/hoped/believed would lose his nerve & therefore put pressure on Liverpool to improve their offer? Maybe Villa didn't release the statement to put pressure on Barry/Liverpool as Krulak has implied, but it has turned out to be a major c**k-up & Krulak is attempting to make Villa supporters think it was part of some masterplan? Maybe Krulak actually meant something else by his comments & I've misinterpreted them? While we're on the subject, I wonder whether the reports of a delay in securing the funds needed to buy Barry are a sign that we're trying to reduce the price?

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My username elsewhere was GW, but it is too short on here where usernames have to be a certain number of characters long.

From this morning's Times........... "Liverpool hope to complete a deal for Gareth Barry by the end of this week, possibly in time to play against Lazio in a friendly on Friday. The club are waiting for their American owners to transfer the money from the United States to meet the first instalment of Aston Villa’s £18 million price tag — although there was some anxiety at Anfield yesterday afternoon when the funds had not yet arrived." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle4461044.ece

It wouldn't necessarily work, but my intepretation of Krulak's comment is that he is saying that Villa were using the fairly standard (& not very sophisticated & quite risky, particularly as it was public) negotiation tactic of threatening to walk away from the deal in order to try & force Liverpool to meet their demands. Krulak could be implying something else, although I'm struggling to come up with another interpretation of his words, or this could be revisionism on his part trying to justify a spectacular c**k-up on their behalf by trying to make it look like part of a sophisticated strategy. If my intepretation is correct then, in Villa's eyes releasing the statement would work something like this.......... Liverpool: We would like to sign Gareth Barry. Villa: Sorry, he's not for sale. Barry: I want to sign for Liverpool. Liverpool: We're still interested in Gareth Barry. Villa: We don't want to sell, but will reluctantly because Gareth has told us he wants to leave. His price is £18m. Liverpool: We offer £10m for Barry. £18m is over-priced, it's what we paid for Javier Mascherano who is several years younger than Barry. Villa: Rejected, you're nowhere close. Liverpool: We've managed to find another £2m & increase our offer to £12m, which we feel is a good price. Villa: Rejected, still not enough. Liverpool: Ok, we can increase it to £13m, which we feel is a very good deal. Villa: Rejected, his price is £18m. Liverpool: This is our final offer of £15m, take it or leave it. Villa: Rejected, we want £18m no less. Barry: I still want to sign for Liverpool. Villa: There is a deadline of 5pm on Wednesday to complete this transfer. [Deadline passes without Liverpool meeting Villa's terms - whether the fee or the payment schedule - for signing Gareth Barry] Villa: Gareth Barry will still at Villa - he's no longer available. Liverpool: Ok we'll meet all your terms. Barry: I still want to sign for Liverpool. Villa: Liverpool can still sign Barry.

Villa put out their statement to force Liverpool to meet their demands????

Transfer news/speculation from this morning's papers.............. Gareth Barry’s move to Liverpool "moved a step closer" after he was left behind when Aston Villa headed for a training camp in Spain yesterday, although Liverpool "have yet to meet the £18m asking price". Yossi Benayoun will be staying at Liverpool after they were denied a work permit for Sebastian Leto. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...ork-permit.html Leto has flown to Greece ahead of his proposed loan switch to Olympiakos & is set to undergo a medical today prior to his official unveiling. The deal is initially for 1 year, with Olympiakos having the option of extending it for a 2nd year, although no agreement has been reached regarding a possible permanent switch. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11669_3910800,00.html "Indications emerging from Anfield suggest that the [barry transfer] saga will be concluded very soon", with Rafa "planning" to have signed Barry by the friendly against Lazio on Friday have originally "hoped" to have done it by today. Steve Finnan could move to Villa as part of the transfer. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...--Football.html Aston Villa chairman Randy Lerner’s right-hand man General Charles C Krulak has told Villa supporters “Liverpool entered the negotiations [for Barry] without the money to pay for the player. As for the announcement from the club, if you cannot suss out what happened there, then you aren’t as smart as I think you are. Do you really think we pulled that announcement out of thin air?” http://www.birminghampost.net/midlands-bir...65233-21463938/ Liverpool are "expected" to raise £18m to buy Barry "by the end of the week". http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/g...ers/7542274.stm Rafa "is understood to be furious" by Arsenal's interest in Barry "after it emerged they could provide serious competition [for the player]". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...experience.html Barry "appeared to be no closer to joining Liverpool last night", with "sources at Villa" indicating yesterday that things are "no further advanced" than Wednesday when Villa's self-imposed deadline expired. However, Barry, who was left behind as the rest of the Villa players went on a Spanish training camp yesterday, "remains hopeful of joining this week, in time for Friday's friendly against Lazio at Anfield". Liverpool are "still waiting for the green light on extra financial support needed [from Hicks & Gillett] to conclude the deal", with "no indication from the Hicks camp last night as to if and when [it] might arrive". The "pressure [on Liverpool] has certainly been eased by Arsène Wenger's declaration that he does not intend to make a bid for Barry". Liverpool are "not so desperate for cash that they are prepared to sell on the cheap", indicating that Arsenal's reported £12m approach for Xabi Alonso at the weekend must be closer to £18m if the player is to leave. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footbal...ers-885233.html Alonso is "expected" to join Arsenal after the Gunners have lost out on Gareth Barry, who will join Liverpool. Such is Rafa's desire to sign Barry, he "will be happy to let Alonso go for around £12m". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...so-instead.html The prospect of Liverpool selling Alonso to Arsenal is "unlikely unless the Gunners significantly raise their offer", which is currently only £10m while Liverpool want £16m. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...-Blackburn.html Arsenal are "preparing to increase their interest" in Real Madrid midfielder Ruben de la Red, instead of trying to sign either Alonso or Barry. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/...--Football.html Spurs are "considering" making a last-ditch bid to buy David Villa, whom Rafa has previously said was on Liverpool's list of striking targets, instead of Andrei Arshavin, with a deal for the Russian player proving difficult. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/...star-Villa.html