bazz

A potential first team next season as it stands? Reina 6million Arbeloa 2.5million Skrtel 6.5million Agger 5.8million Dossena 7million* Kuyt 9million Gerrard 0 Masch 18million* Barry 18* Babel 11.5million Torres 20million *some estimated - but total: 104million So, not exactly a cheaply set up team is it?

Agree with all that, but Im still amazed at the prices being mentioned as "up to" 18million for Barry and 14million for Alonso. Something has shifted in the space time continuum for this to be real. Yes, lets get it out of the way and concentrate on the other area's and a certain Spanish Sriker, but bloody hell footbally continues to surprise me.

I think its because Rafa is thinking of having Babel/New Signing continue as the left forward, with Kuyt/new signing as left forward and will use the remaining money for a quality player to play in and around Torres. I also think he will sign another attacking player aswell. Estimated signings: Left Back - Done Right Back - Done Midfield Swap - Alonso for Barry RW LW "Forward/Striker" "Forward/Striker" Think he is looking for the bargains for RW and LW because he has Kuyt and Babel there and wants the money to add decent quality in attack in order to make up for Crouch & Probably Voronin leaving. If he continues to buy the couple of bargains at RW and LW, then I could see a top, top class "forward" bought to play off Torres.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...080610-1158.htm Rafael Benitez has once again pledged his "100% commitment" to Liverpool and insisted he wants to fulfil his footballing ambitions at Anfield. As Benitez and his staff work tirelessly behind the scenes to strengthen the squad in time for the new season, the Liverpool boss has reiterated he has no plans to leave the club and is looking forward to the challenge of taking the Reds back to the top of the English game. "I said at the end of the season that I was very happy here and I will say it again," said Benitez. "The supporters have been absolutely magnificent with me, the staff are working very hard and I would not have brought players like Fernando Torres and the young players we have here if I did not have a long term vision for the club. Now is not the time to be saying goodbye. "If we had a lot of money to spend it would obviously be better. But if we don't it doesn't matter. "It is not about buying the most expensive players, it is about buying the right players and we can sell some players to get the others we need. "We have the spine of the team and we just need others in other positions. "Some teams around us are spending £20m and £30m on one or two players. But the important thing is to get the right players and my staff are working hard to do that."

because its silly season and someone has seen his agent getting off a plane at John Lennon Airport in the past twelvety hours

"FFS, not the hat aswell"

WTF? The strangest opinion I think I have ever read on a football forum

25million = Approx: GBP 19.8million Now, that would be tempting as it would provide funds for a 20 million pund Striker David Villa here we come Edit: I don't want him to leave at 10,12,14million - but at 20 million it should be done. Then Rafa can strengthen the areas we really need (Striker and the wings plus creativity in midfield) : Im assuming Degan and Dossena are near done deals

NEWS HEADLINES Rafa: Torres is not for sale On the official site, it says Rafa has stated that Torres is not for sale and this is after 2 days of speculation, there has been 2 weeks of speculation over Alonso and no statement like this from Rafa

Today my thoughts go out to one person: Mr Cech who plays for Chelsea I hope he has the best game of his life and prevents United from winning the European Cup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xabi_Alonso wikipedia diagree: The following season, in 2000–01, Alonso spent the first part of the campaign on loan at SD Eibar before returning to Real Sociedad later that season to break into the first team. He would come to prominence as a key performer in Real Sociedad's second-place La Liga finish (behind Real Madrid) in the 2002–03 footballing season. He scored 3 goals in 33 games

Biggest shock from that article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/3552474.stm) is this: During the 2002/3 season Sociedad ran Real Madrid close for the Spanish title, though the Madrid club eventually finished as champions. Sociedad finished second in an impressive campaign that saw Alonso score 12 goals. 12 goals!!!! When has he even got close to that since?

25 years at AC Milan and 5 European Cups WOW!

Didn't mean to be sarky, but people have to get perspective on here. Some people won't be happy until we outspend the Mancs and Chelsea, now we are NOT in a position to do that. We might be in a position to do that if Abromovich gets pissed off with his toy and we build our stadium and increase our receipts while also breaking properly into the far east market to generate cash. There is no reason in the world that we cannot compete (financial spending) with a club like United, but its going to take a few years They increased the capacity of their stadium and expanded their fan base around the world and now are showing the money from it, when we do the same we could compete financially. Chelsea are just billionaires plaything. We need to purchase players that can gel into the team and bring it forward, maybe a Torres type signing over the next 2-3 years will bridge the gap (11 points), but 20 million players in the 2-3 positions we need just won't happen.

We only finished 11 points from the winners this year, 9 behind Chelsea and 7 behind the best team in the world ever and if we can turn some of our draws into wins (at home as well), we can bridge the gap even closer. Everyone on about 20/30 million pound players here and there isn't exactly what we need. What if our owners broke the bank and signed someone like Shevenko last year and he gave the return he has just given to Chelsea we would all be fuming. Paying the most money doesn't always get you the best players for YOUR team. United have people like Brown & Park in their team and win the title, so we should all remember that not all your players have to be 10million signings.

I hope Gerrard comes out with the following statement: "Nonsense, why would I even be interested in moving to a club that are less successful than Liverpool"

Kaka, k a k a ..........Now Coco, don't f*** it up this time!

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So was Pennant your choice as man of the match or what?

Yeah, me too. The f***** can now waste the finances of some other club.

Well spotted Peter Falk, but maybe on your investigation you didn't see the Clutching at straws part then? Back to school

If we allow someone like Spurs sign Eto'o for 15million and 100k a week and we end up with Downing/Barry I think most of us should be disappointed!

You're a ray of sunshine aren't you

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7384547.stm The rise of Sergio Aguero Would ever consider playing in England? Do you follow an English team? The Premier League is of course an attraction but so is the Spanish League, both because of their renowned footballers and level of play. But right now I'm enjoying my time here in Spain, so I'm not even thinking about change. I watch Premier League games on television but I'm more fixed on the players than on the teams, especially because in England the footballers are of a larger size. I do root for certain teams when watching Champions League for instance, like Liverpool since Fernando plays for them, but I am very content here. Clutching at straws:

NOW you're talking! Would love to have him here