MFletcher

Heinze was excellent in his first season. Now his shortcomings are exposed. He has a tendency to dive in when he shouldn't, can make crucial mistakes (San Siro), isn't tall enough for CB but isn't good enough in an attacking sense for LB. Then again, if Rafa wants options he might sell Riise and use Aurelio as an attacking LB and buy Heinze to play as a wholly defensive LB? Just a thought.

Link mate? He was on Five Live earlier commenting on. He said basically the same as what I'd read earlier in the day.

Cisse has no finesse whatsoever. Look at the Super Cup final. One goal was from a handball and the other he blasted straight at the keeper and knocked in the rebound. He's a decent player with pace and power, but if you can't place your shots regularly then you won't be a top class striker for a top class team. His leg breaks were horrific and he was desperately unlucky, but I don't think he endeared himself to the fans by looking as useful as a cardboard cut-out at times. He seemed to have a refusal to work hard. Comparing him to Kuyt this year is laughable. Kuyt was tearing round the pitch in the 110th minute at full pelt to try and close Terry down in the CL semi. Cisse would probably have been gesticulating at Rafa for telling him to work harder. £6M is a good fee for a pretty limited player. He doesn't suit Rafa's style of play, so it's best he moves on.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle2007603.ece Liverpool expect to complete the signing of Fernando Torres from Atlético Madrid within days, but even that £20 million-plus record deal may not be the most striking of the summer at Anfield if Rafael BenÍtez succeeds with an improbable bid to prise Gabriel Heinze from Manchester United. No established player has moved directly between the North West rivals since Phil Chisnall joined Liverpool in 1964, but the manager intends to change that, having identified Heinze, who is out of favour at Old Trafford, as a leading contender to reinforce his defence. The Argentinian, who is playing for his country in the Copa America, was thought to be close to moving to a club in Spain, but Liverpool are understood to have made preliminary inquiries about his availability. Potential suitors may not be required to negotiate directly with United as the 29-year-old can be bought out of his contract for approximately £6 million under new Fifa regulations. But, while a deal for Heinze remains a long shot, the arrival of Torres, one of Europe’s most coveted forwards, is imminent, with Liverpool understood to have negotiated a fee below Atlético’s asking price. Related Links Cisse set for Marseilles switch Benitez closing on major signings Torres sale could spark fans revolt There were reports in Spain last night that Manchester City – flushed with cash after the takeover by Thaksin Shinawatra – had outbid Liverpool for Torres. Those claims were not confirmed by City, but the 23-year-old is determined to move to Merseyside and hopes to sign as soon as he returns from holiday next week. The structure of the deal is unclear, but Liverpool, after some haggling, expect to pay less than the £27 million stated in the player’s contract, which in any case only applies to Spanish clubs. If Luis GarcÍa, valued at £4 million, moves in the opposite direction as part of the deal, Liverpool may end up paying Atlético little more than £20 million. Torres will hope to make more of a lasting impact at Anfield than Djibril Cissé, who at £14.2 million remains Liverpool’s record signing, but the France forward has indirectly helped to smooth the Spaniard’s move to Merseyside, with his £6.1 million switch to Marseilles close to completion last night. Craig Bellamy, the Wales forward, is another who is likely to be sold. BenÍtez would not comment on Torres beyond saying that “he is one of the players we have looked at”, but, having previously questioned the club’s board – and implicitly the American co-owners, George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks – over a lack of urgency in the transfer market, his mood was improved. Liverpool are also hopeful of signing a winger shortly, but it is unlikely to be Florent Malouda, of Lyons, who disappointed BenÍtez by suggesting that he would be equally happy to join Arsenal or Chelsea.

£1.85M I believe.

He obviously sees Betis as a stepping stone to greater things. As a fan, I'd be rather annoyed hearing that.

This is true. Vickery claims that Leto is nothing special and he's slightly bemused as to why we've made a move for him. If it means anything, he said Paletta would be poor. Although he rates Lucas very highly and expects him to do well here.

I've already got him in my Master League team. Honestly, I'm delighted with this move. He could be the best striker in the world with the right coaching and good service.

Would it be premature to change my MSN picture to one of Torres? I don't want to tempt fate. Seriously though, this is looking great. What a way to put to bed any unrest over the intentions of the new owners. This isn't breaking our transfer record - this is absolutely smashing it.

As in he's happy with the contract on offer?

He was dire for the Mancs last season.

I don't debate he's a good player, but he's not exceptional. And in relation to Kuyt, he is a quality finisher - something that we didn't see an awful lot of this season. His finishes against Reading, Villa and West Ham were excellent. He also showed the ability to poach goals against Newcastle, Reading (his second at home and the winner away), Arsenal (FA Cup) and Milan. Crouch's finishing can be very erratic. Compare his fantastic performance against Arsenal to his dire one against Blackburn on Boxing Day. I don't think I've ever been more bemused than when he missed his third header (his third sitter). Newcastle were linked with him in January and it wouldn't surprise me to see them bid for him again. Allardyce would love someone of his height up front. I recall an article where it said Newcastle were still interested despite the change in manager. And IIRC, in an interview Rafa did he talked about players who we didn't really want to sell, but might if the offer was right. My first thoughts were Sissoko and Crouch. With Momo accepting a new contract and Torres incoming, would Pete really be happy being third choice yet again? I'm speculating of course, but I consider it a real possibility.

I think that if we had a good bid (say £12M) from someone, then Crouch could be on his way. Take Newcastle. If they sell Martins to Arsenal for his release clause, we might see them come in for him to play with Owen/Viduka. I rate Crouch, don't get me wrong. But I think he's limited. If you look at Torres (and Tevez), they could create something from little if things weren't going the team's way. But if the service from out wide is poor, then Crouch won't offer very much.

I stayed up to watch the Argie game last night. I thought Tevez showed a lot when he came in (around the 78th minute). Great run to beat the offside trap, excellent control and a brilliantly placed finish into the bottom corner. Another time he surged up the right and took a shot, but they were 4-1 up at that stage and if it had been remotely close he'd have squared for Crespo. I think he was trying to prove he should have started. BTW, Masch didn't have much to do. Some good tackles, but Argentina were in control, even though they did go behind. In two games I've watched, Gabi Milito has been directly responsible for two goals. One time for Zaragoza he completely miscontrolled the ball and last night he gave away the penalty.

This is the same paper that confidently declared we were looking at a revised list of strikers in a lower price bracket. I'll take what they say with a pinch of salt at the minute. You can imagine Bascombe's reaction when he reads that we're on the verge of signing Torres for £27M. It won't have done his reputation as an "insider" much good, especially when he was constantly lamenting the lack of a proper budget and claiming we were going to have to sign from the "B list".

The article I read regarding Tevez and West Ham was that there would be a £3M to Kia and the other £6M would come from wages of £115,000 a week. There's every chance we could nip in and secure him on a one year "loan", in the same kind of deal we have in place for Masch. If we include an agreed fee, and a reasonable sell-on clause to tempt Kia, we could buy the pair of them next summer (provided they both impress in the coming season). This is all speculation of course.

It wouldn't surprise me either, but was he not citing the Argentinian lot at Inter as a reason why he wanted to go? I think he even said there wouldn't be that big a problem with the language due to that. If he wants to stay in the EPL, then we're probably the first port of call. A good Spanish base, other Argentinian players in Mascherano, Leto, Insua, Paletta and the likes of Xabi, Pepe, Rafa, the coaching staff etc. who all speak Spanish. Plus Masch is his best friend (or at least I think so). The one thing that sticks in my mind about this is the interview Masch gave a while back where he said Tevez was talking about a "probable" move to Liverpool. There's a big difference between "probable" and "possible", and unless the translator was clueless they'd have known the difference. Maybe I'm being too hopeful, but I really, really rate Tevez and think he would be a fantastic signing.

I can only see a left winger being brought in. Gerrard and Pennant will probably have right mid nailed down next season. The left is a much more pressing issue.

I've always had this gut feeling that he'd come here. Of course, there's every chance he'll end up at Real, but I just have "the feeling". Let's hope I'm right.

I'm tearing up Top Player PES6 Master League with Torres and Tevez leading my Liverpool team. I beat Middlesbrough 8-0 earlier on with Tevez scoring five and Torres the other three. An omen? Or wishful thinking?

They aren't backing us? That's only a smokescreen.

Are Radio Marca and Cadena Ser reliable stations mate? Are they BBC Five Live standard (as in good) or TalkSport (as in shockingly bad). I wouldn't trust TalkSport if they told me today was Thursday 28th June 2007...

I'm not sure if Luis has one or two years left on his contract, but the common consensus is that he has one year left. If that's true, then his fee will be lower than expected. Consider that he's recovering a serious injury as well and I think the valuation is understandable. Maybe he wants to go back to Spain? If he has young kids, maybe he wants them to grow up in Spain as opposed to Merseyside? It's not always footballing reasons. If he does leave, then he leaves with my best wishes because he has been fantastic for us.

Presenter: -It seems, like this year at last he will end up out of Atletico de Madrid and in the Premier. Antonio Ruiz, what is Atletico's take on Torres's exit, good afternoon.... Antonio Ruiz -good afternoon, well as of right now Cadena Ser has learned that after weeks of ongoing negotiations Atletico de Madrid and Liverpool could've reached a pre-agreement for the transfer of Fernando Torres for €30m plus Luis Garcia, although they're still trying to work out the details on the Garcia inclusion but it seems that is on course to happen, and of course it still remains that Torres after his vacations in Polynesia next week will not object to this operation, with the okay of his agents but they're still waiting on Torres to arrive in Madrid to personally negotiate all the intricate details of his contract At this time, i insist, Liverpool who are the highest bidders with the offer of €30m plus Luis Garcia could obtain the services of Fernando Torres... Presenter- Juan Antonio Alacala has been working with Liverpool's people all day and Alcala what's being said over there? Alcala- Good afternoon Gallego, from Liverpool they practically consider this transfer a done deal and even put a price on the operation as Antonio Ruiz said. €35m is what's been talked about in England if it was just the Fernando Torres transfer, €30m if Luis Garcia is included. There was a meeting back on June 21st with Rafa Benitez and the new owners where Rafa highlighted as a priority the signing of Fernando Torres. That day the two Americans, Hicks and Gillett, the Americans who are full of cash, made a first offer of around €30m-€32m, because we need to make clear that Liverpool has never tried to pay the full release clause, €40m. Sources of Liverpool, very well informed and consulted by Cadena Ser, say that it's "very likely" that on July 5th, Thursday, next week when Liverpool get back to work for the pre-season, the addition of Fernando Torres will be announced. As of right now, there are contacts, that is for sure. The player is very far, enjoying the beach and they would still need in a second phase the agreement, which wouldn't be too complicated, between Liverpool and Fernando Torres. ---- From ASF on RAWK. If it's true, I'm impressed with G&H bidding £20M quid on the same day Rafa told them that Torres was his main target.

So Cadena Ser could be talking rubbish? ASF claims the journalist covering the story (Alcala?) is credible.