All new transfer speculation 09

[redrosetints]

So remind me again, he's a fat spanish waiter who was supposed to win us the title on Gerrard, Carra and Sami plus £85m over the 6 summers ?

 

Ha. Maddock is spinning agains the owners too in the Mirror. Bout time some of the fans remembered whose side they are on. Rafa is part of the solution, the owners are the problem. Get behind the team and manager, vent your fury on the owners.

 

 

TheGame - Times Online - WBLG: Fans one-sided in Rafael Benitez debate

 

Fans one-sided in Rafael Benitez debate

 

Benitez.385x185

 

Oliver Kay

 

So, Rafael Benitez is at it already, is he? Bleating about transfer money before the season has even begun? Getting his excuses in first? This from the man who has spent £240 million in five years at Liverpool, and still has not won the Premier League title!

 

Sorry about that. There is an unwritten rule that you are allowed to tell only one side of the story when analysing Benitez’s record at Liverpool, so it seemed only right to start in that vein. While we’re at it, Benitez blew their hopes of the Premier League trophy last season by ranting at Sir Alex Ferguson, refusing to pick Fernando Torres, selling Robbie Keane and insisting on zonal marking at corners. Of course he did.

 

Benitez is not without his idiosyncracies, but to judge from some of the reactions to my Final Word column yesterday and to a couple of comments he made in which he was vague about the funds the club’s owners were making available to him, you would think he was the one who was responsible for Liverpool’s various ills.

 

Americans at fault for financial shortfall

 

Someone e-mailed me yesterday with a list of Benitez’s 83 signings as Liverpool managers, listing six as successes and 77 as flops. Given that the flops included players such as Fabio Aurelio (first-choice left back signed on a free transfer) and Dirk Kuyt (£9 million, vastly underrated) as well as nine home-grown players who have come through the youth academy, as well as the admittedly terrifying number of teenagers the club imported from abroad, you might say that the list was rather skewed.

 

Clearly, Benitez has made a number of dodgy signings. At right back alone, you can list Josemi, Jan Kromkamp and Philipp Degen. Further forward there have been Antonio Nunez, Mark Gonzalez, Sebastian Leto, Fernando Morientes, Craig Bellamy and, of course Keane, none of whom lasted more than 18 months.

 

But these are not the names that define Benitez’s success or failure at Anfield. He likes to wheel and deal, far more than is normal for a manager at a club of Liverpool’s size, but it is beyond dispute that his net outlay of £85 million over the past five years (£230m spent, £145m recouped) has brought a huge improvement in a team and a squad that came within four points of winning the Premier League last season.

 

My point yesterday was that Benitez would have needed only a reasonable amount of backing in the transfer market this summer in order to establish Liverpool, the second-best team in the country last season, ahead of a weakened Manchester United, a transitional Chelsea, an inexperienced Arsenal and an embryonic Manchester City as favourites for the Premier League.

 

By reasonable, I mean even something like his past net annual budget, which has amounted to £17m.

Nothing excessive, just the kind of outlay that might have facilitated a little fine-tuning. For a club that made a pre-tax profit of £10m in the most recent financial year, since which they have raised another £5.8m in the transfer market (with the outlay on Albert Riera, Peter Gulasci and Victor Palsson more than offset by guaranteed fees of at least £12.8m for the sales of Keane and Steve Finnan) and generated vast sums with their success in finishing second in the Premier League and reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

 

On the face of it, he has made two big-money signings: Glen Johnson from Portsmouth for £17.5m and Alberto Aquilani from AS Roma for £20m. And yes, both fees look a little inflated. But they have been offset, almost to the pound, by the sales of Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa, Sebastian Leto, Paul Anderson, Adam Hammill and Jack Hobbs.

 

There have been notable costs this summer in the new contracts for Torres, Daniel Agger, Kuyt and others, including Benitez, not to mention the expensive business of paying off an enormous number of staff in a dramatic revamp of the club’s technical and youth academy staff.

 

But by far the biggest drain on Liverpool’s resources is the debts brought on by those wonderful owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr – huge interest bills to be paid on money borrowed so that, erm, they could keep clinging on to a club that they clearly cannot take forward. Money well spent, I’m sure you will agree.

 

Liverpool left with striking problem

 

Could Benitez have made better use of his resources this summer? Time will tell. A personal view is that he needs another striker as cover for and sometimes as a counterpoint for Torres. But strikers (with the exception of Michael Owen) cost money. Benitez has had none. When it comes to the final reckoning at the end of the season, which admittedly is 38 games away, I wonder whether that might the difference.

[Woo]

Quality article that by Oli Kay.

[Whelan]

And here's a not so good article (sorry, good article but not a rafa love in!)

 

Guardian, Rob Biaggi

 

"Don Welsh is a name now forgotten by all but the most diehard Liverpool fans but the club's manager during its 1950s nadir was the last at Anfield to survive in his job after three successive trophyless seasons - a feat emulated by Rafael Benítez this summer. Not that Benítez's position is under threat. After fighting and winning battles against the owners, the chief executive and more than a dozen of the club's long-serving academy staff, he has established an impregnable position.

 

As he begins his new five-year contract the club's unpopular owners are too cowed by valid criticisms to exert control in any area other than the size of his transfer budget and Rick Parry, whose alleged caution scuppered Benítez's desire to meet Aston Villa's asking price for Gareth Barry last year, has cleared his desk.

 

The duties of the man the fans dubbed "Coco the Clown" have been temporarily assumed by the new managing director, Christian Purslow, a Spanish-speaking former season-ticket holder and Harvard Business School MBA who has already, it is said, struck up a good relationship with the manager. Good job, too, as Melwood stalwarts such as Steve Heighway, Hugh McAuley and Dave Shannon have found to their cost over the years. Disagree with the boss over policy and there has only ever been one winner. With the coup d'etat complete and the club being rebuilt to his model, no one stands in his path.

 

And the fans seem to like it that way. Apart from some disquiet about his fondness for deploying the prosaic Lucas - and Liverpool fans' loyalty to the incumbent manager in the past has not stopped Jamie Carragher and Ronnie Whelan becoming Main Stand scapegoats - the Spaniard sails along with the backing of those who go to games and the rabid support of the cyber warriors and massed ranks of phone-in Rafapologists.

 

To them, of course, the pair of trophies he won on penalties in the first two years of his Anfield spell - the thrilling second-half revival against Milan in the 2005 Champions League final and the comeback from two down against West Ham to win the FA Cup - make him immune to criticism. The odd selection mistake, costly and imprudent purchase, overly cautious approach against demonstrably inferior teams or obdurate adherence to a hole-strewn zonal-marking system scarcely make a dent in their icon. In his defence, every manager has flaws and blindspots and his are no more flagrant than his contemporaries' but his tendency in his public pronouncements to flit between mordancy and monotony has given him a reputation for petulance that is difficult to disregard.

 

His scorn for Everton - the "small club" slur from two years ago and likening them to Extremadura last season - might be written off as barbs in a long-established city rivalry were it not for the disdain with which they were said. Similarly, his handling of the press conference immediately after the news broke that Tom Hicks and George Gillett had sounded out Jürgen Klinsmann as a possible replacement in 2007, was an object lesson in churlishness. Having been upbraided by the owners for his outspokenness about a lack of funds to invest in players, he responded to every single question with: "As always I am focused on training and coaching my team." Again, it could have been funny had it not been delivered with the curled-lip and deliberately heavy-handed sourness of a schoolkid who wants everyone to know they are making a point.

 

His spat last season with Sir Alex Ferguson was excusable in that it came after he was provoked by the usual post-Christmas mind-games charade of the Manchester United manager. Holed up at home with kidney stones, Benítez seems to have collated a dossier of United's transgressions and he ran through their catalogue of referee-intimidation with barely concealed ire. To some his rising to United's bait played directly into Ferguson's hands but that depends on whether you believe that old claim that Ferguson's mind games are effective. What is sure, though, is that it gave the United manager the ammunition to portray Benítez as unhinged and his quip that he "would need to read more of Freud" before he could understand his rival's thrust was a sharp rejoinder that left the Spaniard looking small when Liverpool failed to hang on at the top of the table.

 

The title was theirs for the taking. All the spoils from four league games against Manchester United and Chelsea were won and draws home and away against Arsenal meant they comfortably topped the big-four table. But the old problems of a team set-up for Champions League football surfaced in seven home draws when an instinctive dependence on counter-attacking was stymied by a lack of adventure from the home side and the visitors. In the spring the goals came by the bucketload as his perfected and cherished 4-2-3-1 system bore fruit but by then it was too late.

 

Keeping his key midfielders out of the clutches of Spanish predators has been Benítez's key priority this summer but he has also spared the time to lambast Barry's greed for choosing Manchester City over Liverpool. He can't help himself. Ask him a question and if there's a point to be scored he'll usually oblige. It has served him well during his internal battles. He has got the club in one hand and the fans eating out of the other, but now it is time to deliver"

[silverlining]

 

Keeping his key midfielders out of the clutches of Spanish predators has been Benítez's key priority this summer but he has also spared the time to lambast Barry's greed for choosing Manchester City over Liverpool. He can't help himself. Ask him a question and if there's a point to be scored he'll usually oblige. It has served him well during his internal battles. He has got the club in one hand and the fans eating out of the other, but now it is time to deliver"

 

Some fair points in that article, but I'm afraid the bits in bold are waht is important.

 

1) He hasn't kept BOTH key midfielders out of the clutches of "spanish predators"

 

2) He may have got rid of Parry et al, and "taken control" but the simple fact is that he has yet another excuse for not "delivering", and it's entirely valid: he hasn't spent any fucking money this summer, without generating every penny himself.

[redrosetints]

Quality article that by Oli Kay.

 

Indeed, with Him, Evans and Barrett, the Times is the place to be for LFc comment and analysis.

[Whelan]

Some fair points in that article, but I'm afraid the bits in bold are waht is important.

 

1) He hasn't kept BOTH key midfielders out of the clutches of "spanish predators"

 

2) He may have got rid of Parry et al, and "taken control" but the simple fact is that he has yet another excuse for not "delivering", and it's entirely valid: he hasn't spent any fucking money this summer, without generating every penny himself.

 

If you read the latter end of the article you can see the snideness coming to the fore, the concentration on the 'spat' with Shittarse etc.

 

In all fairness you write for your audience, it is the Guardian, so it was written for Man U fans!

[Carra_is_legend]

Indeed, with Him, Evans and Barrett, the Times is the place to be for LFc comment and analysis.

 

Aye. That is the only newspaper I'm planning to read this season.

[WaltonRed]

Kranjcar saying he wont sign a new deal at Pompey and will leave for free next summer.

 

I'd take him for about £5-6m.

[slug]

I just read that Diego Lugano is on a free. He's a bit of a dirtbag but a good defender.

 

Also I'm watchin a repeat of Ajax v RKC now on ESPN and that Luis Suarez looks like some player. I've heard people talk about him before but had never seen him play. I have to say i'm impressed.

[redrosetints]

I just read that Diego Lugano is on a free. He's a bit of a dirtbag but a good defender.

 

Also I'm watchin a repeat of Ajax v RKC now on ESPN and that Luis Suarez looks like some player. I've heard people talk about him before but had never seen him play. I have to say i'm impressed.

 

Lugano and Sol Campbell seem to be the two obvious choices to give us short term defensive cover. Pay as you play.

[silverlining]

Lugano and Sol Campbell seem to be the two obvious choices to give us short term defensive cover. Pay as you play.

 

 

Sol Campbell?

 

We may as well get an Easter Island statue, paint it black, and plant it on the edge of our penalty area, as sign that fucker.

[WaltonRed]

I've been going on about Sol to my mates.

 

He'd be a class signing for a year.

[slug]

Has Lugano had injury problems?

[Woo]

I just read that Diego Lugano is on a free. He's a bit of a dirtbag but a good defender.

 

Also I'm watchin a repeat of Ajax v RKC now on ESPN and that Luis Suarez looks like some player. I've heard people talk about him before but had never seen him play. I have to say i'm impressed.

 

Lugano and Suarez would be quality signings.

[redrosetints]

Aye. That is the only newspaper I'm planning to read this season.

 

Aye, Jones fan blog was one of the few things that kept me sane last season. Always a good read.

[INTORRESTING]

would take krancjaer and would go for neill or campbell if it meant getting some sort of attacker aswell.

[Carra_is_legend]

would take krancjaer and would go for neill or campbell if it meant getting some sort of attacker aswell.

 

Going by the reports and UEM, we only have £6m to £7m so we can forget about "attacker" for a start.

 

Neill is a greedy cunt. I hope you haven't forgotten that he has already rejected us once. Fuck him.

 

Campbell is past it. He will also look for a big last payout.

 

If Rafa wants a defender I would rather we get someone like Turner (if Hull reduces the price which I think they will) or Shawcross (we can afford him I think). And then hope they develop into a decent centre half over the next few years.

[INTORRESTING]

Going by the reports and UEM, we only have £6m to £7m so we can forget about "attacker" for a start.

 

Neill is a greedy cunt. I hope you haven't forgotten that he has already rejected us once. Fuck him.

 

Campbell is past it. He will also look for a big last payout.

 

If Rafa wants a defender I would rather we get someone like Turner (if Hull reduces the price which I think they will) or Shawcross (we can afford him I think). And then hope they develop into a decent centre half over the next few years.

 

6 or 7 may be tempting to pompey if he has said he will leave on a free. I would rather get him in and campbell and neill than just get a turner or shawcross, may not be realistic but worth a try maybe. Also may help Kelly's progression if we just sign a stop gap.

 

By the way Maktoum is being linked with a horse that could fetch 50 million quid.

[Drewas]

A mate has texted me saying Silva has trained with LFC for two days and that they have suspended betting.

 

Can anyone confirm this?

[INTORRESTING]

Nooooooo, you will foil rafa's plan of keeping it quiet, pleading poverty and then doing a deal under the radar!

[silverlining]

A mate has texted me saying Silva has trained with LFC for two days and that they have suspended betting.

 

Can anyone confirm this?

 

 

Yes.

 

It's bollocks.

[EVO VIP BUNKER]

I'd like Wheater from Borough, but would probably be big money again??

 

Failing that what about a cheeky bid for surples to requirements Dunne at City??

[PaulMcC]

I don't think Kranjcar would improve us.

[INTORRESTING]

phone up Ladbrokes and try and put a bet on silva joining us

[rondeco]

A mate has texted me saying Silva has trained with LFC for two days and that they have suspended betting.

 

Can anyone confirm this?

 

They suspended betting? For what? Ballack creases a cunt and he gets nothing. Completely unfair.