the players we're being linked with...

[chorlton]

but I want Quaresma, we need a player that will frighten the fuck out of defenders. We need a Torres for the right.

 

Quaresma is not torres on the right wing, he doesn't have Torres consistancy or work rate for a start.

[Rashid]

Quaresma is not torres on the right wing, he doesn't have Torres consistancy or work rate for a start.

 

Torres didn't have consistency either before he joined us. In fact he was infuriating and I desperately wanted him here.

[coop]

Rashid is right regards Torres. He was a talent in Madrid but didnt perform every game as he didnt have the class of player he has now around him.

[StevieH]

If Rafa remains as manager, I cannot imagine him signing Quaresma and playing him on the right wing as he isn't his sort of player. He likes players who have quality, but also work hard and track back and close down space when we are not in possession of the ball.

[Rashid]

If Rafa remains as manager, I cannot imagine him signing Quaresma and playing him on the right wing as he isn't his sort of player. He likes players who have quality, but also work hard and track back and close down space when we are not in possession of the ball.

 

Rafa likes talented players too, I know he likes hard work but Quaresma works hard too. He was defending in his own penalty against us. Quaresma has amazing talent, and like Torres he could explode. Fergie tried to buy him twice like he did Torres and he doesn't often get his attacking signings wrong.

[StevieH]

I think in order for us to move forward & to start challenging, we need to convert draws into wins and to be more prolific away from home. WWe need a less cautious approach and to start playing more of an open expansive game. There is no need to play both Mascherano and Alonso in the same side in the Premiership.

 

Quaresma looks a talented player, but I would prefer us to sign Luka Modric ahead of him as I think he would fit in well in Rafa's 4-2-3-1 formation.

[Paco]

can't find that thread were rafa said he'd signed someone who speaks english but isn't english.

 

van der vaart is fed up at hamburg and he's a midfielder, Rafa loves midfielders

[surikell]

van de vaart is a joke

 

ben arfa is a great signing but then it would cost us JAR + Crouch + everyone who is expendable. so we should stick to quaresma. he maybe didnt have the highest of work rate, but then everyone plays at Anfield somehow got that extra energy..

[Thants]

Any Kevin Davies linkage yet? I see he has a 'damaged hand'.

[shanks59]

If Rafa remains as manager, I cannot imagine him signing Quaresma and playing him on the right wing as he isn't his sort of player. He likes players who have quality, but also work hard and track back and close down space when we are not in possession of the ball.

 

So why did he sign Benayoun?

[Rashid]

Ben Arfa, Queresma and Deco - you know it makes sense.

[Ste Mc]

Am I alone in thinking that Quaresma is vastly overrated ?

 

Every time I've seen him I've been utterly underwhelmed. Personally, I would be very disappointed to see us waste money on somebody who does a clever back heel and a decent cross in one game every ten.

 

This debate is a microcosm of the problem with modern day football. Celebrity big name players do not make a team. That was United's problem for twenty odd years whilst we swept all before us. The Glams wanted big names while we bought Whelan, Rush, Hansen and their ilk for a set of trackies and a bag of footies. We then built on their potential, made them better footballers and moulded them into our team.

 

There is another thread which has a you tube of European Cup semis against the soundtrack of that Al Pacino speech from Any Given Sunday. He talks about what a 'team is'. 'A guy who will sacrifice himself for the team; that is a team'. He doesn't say "a guy who will do a clever flick but disappear when the tackles are flying in or the pressue is on".

 

Maybe I'm getting old :(

 

What changed United's fortunes ? A glut of homegrown talent and a manager who played football that suited them. :whatever:

[Vivaldo]

This is why need a sporting director. Rafa or any LFC manager should never have carte blanche to spend 100's of millions without scrutiny. The players being linked are dogshit apart from the croatian lad.

 

What makes you think the sporting director will not do the very same thing you say?

[Crazyhorse7778]

I think Quaresma's stock among Liverpool fans dropped greatly after we played Porto, he didn't show up in either game, but if we were to judge all players by that criteria then we wouldn't rate Ronaldo very highly either.

 

I feel he needs a move to further his career, much like Ronaldinho did when he was at PSG. He won't become the best player in the world when he moves but he can become one of the top players in his position provided he makes the right move.

 

Last year his goals came in the big games in the Portugese league, as well as good performances in the CL against Arsenal, Chelsea and HSV.

 

I feel he can become more consistant playing for a good team in a quality league, but he is never going to lose that streak while playing against the likes of Naval and Leixoes in the Portuguese League, they are not the calibre of team for force/inspire consistancy out of him.

[surikell]

Spot on, crazy horse. Plenty of us were in doubt too when we sign Torres. Also, when Rafa said Pepe was the best goalkeeper in the world. But then, most of the time, it's not who you buy, it's more to getting the best out of your player. Rafa is that kind of manager. Even Jose can't turn Shev into goalscorer.

 

Having said that, im still worried about Quaresma (probably) lack of attitude. He doesn't seem the type who'll run till the last breath for his team. Well, we already have one Macsherano.

 

 

BTW, it'll be fun if we could steal Nani.. Or even Ronaldo for that matter.. Hahaha..

[bobhorse]

Quaresma Is the type of player who will improve for being in a better team IMHO i think he would be far better than anything we have had on the wing since Digger

[rebel23]

Benitez given go-ahead to spend at Liverpool

By Mark Ogden

Last Updated: 10:30pm BST 24/04/2008

 

Rafael Benitez is on the verge of making Borussia Dortmund defender Philipp Degen his first summer signing at Liverpool after persuading Anfield's warring co-owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to sanction his plans for reinforcements.

 

Switzerland international Degen, who can play on both sides of the back four, will complete a Bosman move at the end of the season. Benitez will now step up efforts to lure Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, Athletic Bilbao centre-half Fernando Amorebieta and Wigan winger Antonio Valencia.

 

With the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future ownership of the club, doubts had emerged over Benitez's readiness to stay at Anfield next season.

 

However, after a "positive" meeting with Hicks this week which was, crucially, staged with Gillett's blessing, Benitez is confident that he will be free to pursue his leading targets with the backing of the estranged Americans.

 

Benitez said: "It was very positive. We spoke of targets and everybody now knows the names and how to progress, so it was positive.

 

"If you have a target, you need to speak with everyone about the price and how to progress. If everyone knows about it, it is much better.

 

"I have a responsibility as the manager. People talk about Hicks and Gillett, but we have two owners and a chief executive and a responsibility for improving the squad for next season. We needed to say to the owners, 'these are the targets and we think we can go in this way', and that was the purpose of the meeting."

 

Although Benitez invested more than £40 million in his squad last summer to secure Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun, Liverpool remain in the slipstream of Chelsea and Manchester United in terms of spending power.

 

And with Peter Crouch, Jermaine Pennant and John Arne Riise likely to attract bids from rival clubs this summer, Liverpool's net spending could be below the £20 million mark.

 

Benitez, who is also said to be interested in Blackburn's David Bentley, said: "I'm sure we won't need too much [money]. Our squad is much better now and we maybe need four or five players, but we will not need to spend big, big money.

 

"If you want to win the title, you must spend millions and millions. The key is maybe to sign the players that you need and the players that will make the squad stronger."

 

Last night, Riise spoke for the first time about his own goal against Chelsea on Tuesday. "What can I say? I am ashamed and disappointed. I decided to stoop and head the ball in the direction it came from. But it was a swerving cross, the ball was wet and it slid right off my forehead," he said.

 

"These things happen for defenders from time to time. I have been involved in tougher things in my life than this and I know that I will handle this in a good way."

 

Liverpool's 4 targets

 

Barry, Aston Villa £15m

There was a concern about his lack of pace but, at 27, he remains a key man for England and Villa, where he is captain.

 

Valencia, Wigan Athletic £8m

Ecuadorian who can play on either wing, and is also an option in the centre. The 22-year-old is on loan at Wigan from Villarreal.

 

Amorebieta, Athletic Bilbao £5m

Tough-tackling central defender, 22, with poor disciplinary record. Tipped as a future Spain international.

 

Degen, Dortmund £0m

Swiss international, 25, available on a free. Favours right-back, but can play on the left or further up-field.

 

Benitez given go-ahead to spend at Liverpool - Football News - Telegraph

[rebel23]

more from the independent, notice he talks about the squad and not the first team, do we really want a team full of hard working squad players and little flair? surely he has to understand the importance of quality in the first XI? (groan)

 

----

The names on Benitez's list are believed to include Philipp Degen, the Borussia Dortmund defender available under the Bosman ruling, Aston Villa's Gareth Barry and Blackburn's David Bentley.

 

But Benitez said that Liverpool were not looking to break the bank with the kind of big money signing which brought Fernando Torres to Anfield last summer. He said: "We won't need too much. Our squad is much better now and we maybe need four or five players. But we will not need to spend big, big money. It's all about doing the deals at the right moment."

 

The sense of harmony over who Benitez might buy is highly unexpected, coming two weeks after the furious public row in which Hicks tried to manoeuvre Parry out, in part by implicating him in the issue of the talks held with Jürgen Klinsmann over Benitez's job, before Christmas. Yesterday's disclosures provide the clearest sense yet that Benitez is ready to stay at the club during the probable handover of power which threatens to be another challenging period for the club.

 

Though Torres has been a revelation Benitez pointed to the unpredictability of big money signings. "If you want to win the title, you must spend millions and millions," Benitez said. "It is not easy, so the key is maybe to sign the players that you need and the players that will make the squad stronger. Then you have to try to progress with those players. How much have Chelsea spent in the last five years? If you want to go to that level, you need to spend millions and millions, but nobody can guarantee that players costing £20m will settle down.

 

"If you need to write on a piece of paper, I could give you the best pen in the world. But maybe you don't need that pen for the paper."

[Xabi D]

Them 4 signings would not take us forward in any way.

[philyhamann]

Rafa must know our patience isn't unlimited, another season of finishing miles behind Man Utd and Chelsea just won't do.

[WaltonRed]

4 or 5 players worries me greatly.

 

I think Degen is a decent aquisition on a bosman but 8m for Valencia?!

 

I hope we are blagging to keep up with order targets.

 

We dont need that many we need 2 for big money, id be happy if one was Barry but the other must be a winger.

[bobhorse]

another thing i just thought of

 

mabe he wants Barry for an attacking leftback role because the shiek has decided to sign Ronaldhino for the left alowing babel to move right and Kuyt to be Torres when he needs a rest:whistle:

[Ian Sea]

Why would we sign another centre back? We have 4 quality ones already so there's no way we need to buy another, especially if money is tight.

[TommyW]

remember last year?

 

we were linked with all manner of shite (Forlan????) before we ended up with Torres and Babel

 

time to relax a bit lads, probably getting worked up over nothing

[spider-neil]

let's wait until the ownership of the club sorts itself out first then who rafa actually signs before diving all over rafa