Mr Mojo

I would definitely cash in on Merieles, provided we got our money back. I genuinely think he had a 5-8 game spell, starting from when Kenny came back, that he was actually any good. I don't rate him based on his performances for us and think the rumour of £12m for him is worth taking, and would rather keep Aquilani as he's now probably worth less on the market but I feel he may prove more valuable to us. Just an opinion kids.

Obviously this must be rubbish, but I'm posting it anyway, and I'm crossing a finger or two that the Cahill deal happens alongside it... Liverpool and Chelsea Set for Shock Swap Deal as Blues Target Midfield Star Posted on 19 August 2011 Liverpool are reportedly set to propose a remarkable swap deal with Chelsea if the Blues are serious in their pursuit of Raul Meireles. Chelsea are focussing their efforts this summer on bolstering a midfield that was often left short of creativity and imagination last season and are attempting to recruit Valencia's Juan Mata and Tottenham star Luka Modric. The Blues have also been linked with Portugal international Meireles, who they believe can add more drive and work-rate to the middle of the park. It is thought manager Andre Villas-Boas is a fan of the 28-year-old having worked with him briefly while both were at Porto. Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish is keen to trim the size of his midfield following the arrivals of Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing. Despite being recognised as Liverpool's player of the season last year, it is thought Meireles could be sold in order to free up some space and to ease the wage bill. And according to caughtoffside.com, the Merseyside club will demand striker Daniel Sturridge in return for Meireles if Chelsea firm up their interest with an offer. England U-21 star Sturridge was in superb form last season whilst on-loan at Bolton. After joining Wanderers in January, the 21-year-old forward bagged eight goals in 12 appearances but still finds himself way down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge. Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba are the obvious first-choice while the presence of Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and £20m new-boy Romelu Lukaku means Sturridge has dropped further down the list. Liverpool are keen to bring in another striker as they are short of options behind Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez but whether Sturridge will be willing to swap the bench at Chelsea for Anfield is uncertain.

I'm hoping this is the short version and there's a 10 minute one about somewhere, just so I get the full story of course.

Any win will do for me as, like Abs says, there's no easy away games in the Premier League these days. Coupled with the fact we aren't at tip top condition ourselves, I see it being a difficult game and maybe just scraping the win. But I think we're only going to get better and whatever result we achieve will be bettered when we take them at Anfield later in the season.

Members forum?

What he means is that this pre-contract signing is against the rules, and cannot be done, so will not happen, regardless of who says it. He could only sign a pre-contract with foreign club, and even then, not until January.

I don't think I've ever been this excited for an opening game before, thought this type of feeling was for children only.

I like this post a lot, and hope you're right.

What is this Click Liverpool site? Is it credible?

Give him a new contract on the condition he brings his Mrs to work everyday.

And rightly so. I'm struggling to think of a worse signing we've ever made.

That made chuckle.

I'm the same, feel we could win all but one, probably drawing at Spurs. Sunderland (H) - 3pts Arsenal (A) - 3pts Bolton (H) - 3pts Stoke (A) - 3pts Spurs (A) - 1pt Wolves (H) - 3pts Total 16pts, probably making us top of the league.

This is the transfer speculation thread so ... Liverpool are ready to hijack Arsenal's potential move for Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard. According to Fanatix.com, the Merseyside club are eyeing one more attacking player and have already made an enquiry for Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay. However, it is unclear how likely it will be to land the Dutchman as he was only signed by the Catalans in January. Therefore, Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has turned his attentions to 20-year-old Hazard who is also a target for Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman even admitted in January that the club were tracking him. He said: "We follow him. And personally I think he's a real talent and he's good enough to play for Arsenal, yes. "In the offensive department we have many players. At the end of the season we'll have a look at the situation but at the moment it's completely ruled out." The Lille midfielder has attracted the interest of a host of top European clubs following a season in which he was instrumental in his club's first league title since 1954. Arsenal though, remain favourites to sign Hazard thanks to their close ties with Lille built during their successful negotiations over £10.9m forward Gervinho. The Gunners are reportedly willing to meet the £20m asking price but will only make an offer with the proceeds of any possible sale from Samir Nasri or Cesc Fabregas. This has given Liverpool a window of opportunity to make a move for the Belgian starlet, although they must also off-load players before making an official bid. A number of players are expected to leave the Reds in the coming weeks with Alberto Aquilani, Milan Jovanovic, David N'Gog and Joe Cole all reported to be on the verge of moves. It is thought the departure of that quartet will free up enough space on the wage bill and generate enough transfer money to fund a move for Hazard.

Alberto Aquilani has given the Kop plenty of food for thought this pre-season, and looks to finally be playing to the level that was expected of him when he first signed. When the Romanista was recruited by Rafa Benitez two years ago, there was many a raised brow, due to the Italians injury record and the contrast in styles between himself and predecessor Xabi Alonso. Aquilani is more trequartista than regista. The Italian played sporadically during that first term. only clocking twelve hundred minutes, spread over twenty-seven appearances, or, on average, one half of football per outing. Having been brought in for roughly £20 million, while still recovering from a serious injury, his lack of appearances, and effectiveness, upon recovery was a sore spot with many supporters. With sickness often being cited as a reason for his absences — homesickness maybe? — he soon wore out his Anfield welcome. It was, in fact, the first time that the Italian had ventured from his homeland for a prolonged period of time. He is not the first talented player unable to function away from home. Jesus Navas forewent a place in the Spanish national team for several years because of severe homesickness. Still, even on top of Aquilani’s many injuries and relatively small time on the pitch, a record of two goals and six assists shouldn’t be dismissed easily. Especially when you compare it to his record of thirteen goals and nine assists in a hundred and thirty-six games for his boyhood club, Roma. Many believed that the silky midfielder wouldn’t be able to do a job in a ‘traditional’ central midfield role, due to his slight build. Roy Hodgson subscribed to that theory, opting to send AA back to Italy, after featuring him throughout the pre-season. The doubters where very swiftly put in their place, though, as the Old Lady enjoyed Serie A’s best central midfield partnership in the early season. Felipe Melo and Aquilani combined well but everything went wrong for Juventus after the holidays. Well not everything; the loanee continued to clock up impressive performances; so many that he priced himself out of a permanent move to the Bianconeri. You may think that having a midfield destroyer like Melo next to him would allow AA to continue pussyfooting around and not worry about going into tackles with intent, but, according to whoscored.com, AA had a tackle per game ratio of 3.0, third best on the side, behind defenders Fabio Grosso and Frederik Sorensen. Interestingly, he’d fit in exactly the same place with the Reds, as only Lucas Leiva and Martin Kelly, among players with more than one appearance, averaged better in league play last year. So, given a chance, what can Alberto bring to Liverpool this season? As Andrew highlighted previously, the squad seems geared towards getting the best out of Andy Carroll, with midfielders that have high crossing percentages. I think this rules out the Italian, as he epitomizes the pass & move philosophy rather than the receive & cross disicpline. Unlike Andrew, I see Carroll more as a tactical handicap than any sort of conundrum. The fact that the club has paid £35 million for him means that he has to be made the centre piece of the team, much like predecessor Fernando Torres has been at Chelsea. This will happen at the expense of Luis Suarez who is a far superior player to Carroll and, for me, the best player at the club. Carroll is a weapon to pulverize lesser teams that ‘park the bus’. Against any decent side, he’s not that viable an option and should only be used off the bench. A front trio of Aquilani, Gerrard and Suarez would strike fear into any defence, but against obstinate bottom-of-the-table teams, penetration may be an issue, in a similar manner to Arsenal’s well-documented struggles. Much as Rafa Benitez once employed Peter Crouch, that is when Carroll would be most effective. Movement will unravel the vast majority of defenses and having Aquilani, Gerrard and Suarez constantly chipping away from different angles and positions, gives LFC movement in abundance. Players such as Maxi Rodriguez and the Geordie can only dream of being on the same wave length as such a sublime trio. As firmly as I believe that, the reality is that Gerrard is unavailable until October (or later) and no one wants to see £35 million wrapped up in a down parka and blowing on its hands in the dugout. Considering that team selection will predominantly be Carroll geared, it makes you wonder whether, when and where AA will feature. Lucas has the deep midfield slot firmly wrapped up and it’s looking like Charlie Adam will be taking another. Jordan Henderson is another significant investment that the hierarchy will expect to be trotted out fairly regularly, if not as often as Carroll. It would appear that he is ahead of the Italian in the pecking order, however. The early forward line will likely be Suarez, Carroll and Stewart Downing. Still no sign of Christian Poulsen, Joe Cole (thank God on both counts!), AA, Raul Meireles, Maxi and Jay Spearing. Poulsen and Cole are very much excess to the squad and Spearing is the only capable replacement for Lucas. That leaves Mereiles, Maxi and Aquilani to battle it out for the attacking scraps. The former Porto man has developed an excellent partnership with fellow Portuguese speaker Lucas, perhaps giving him the inside track and leaving the Italian and Argentine to fill gaps in the front three. After accepting that he wouldn’t be able to stay in Italy, Aquilani has shown the professionalism to come back to Anfield and fight for a place. Unfortunately, it seems that circumstances have transformed Aquilani from an embarrassment on Rafa Benitez’ transfer record into a victim of Liverpool’s new-found embarrassment of riches. Daniel Doran moderates the LFC forum on The Football Net.

I'm not suggesting giving him a 5 year contract on Jovanovic like wages, but maybe he could do a 2 year job if, and i'm only saying if, we can't bring in someone as a first choice option. Cheers for the medal.

Is Upson a free agent now? If so he could be a cheap short term solve for centre half cover/competition.

Blackpool have signed Liverpool midfielder Tom Ince on a permanent deal following his successful trial at Bloomfield Road. The 19-year-old, son of the former England and Manchester United midfielder Paul, has featured in the Seasiders' last three pre-season games. He has signed a two-year deal with an option for a further year. Ince, who turned down a new contract at Anfield in search of first-team football, will be in the squad for the opener at Hull.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle has dismissed speculation linking star defender Gary Cahill with a big-money move to Liverpool as "without foundation". Cahill has been in the spotlight for much of the summer. Arsenal have been leading the list of clubs interested in acquiring the England international, although so far there has been no formal bid for the 25-year-old. However, the latest report in the Daily Mail - although it does appear somewhat mild - seems to have irritated Coyle. "This story is without a shred of foundation," he said. "It is irresponsible. To just reel words off is in poor taste. "Nothing surprises you in football but people should have more knowledge of the background for anything before they write it. "It doesn't faze me. I am not raging about it. I am just making a point." The odds would still seem to be stacked against Cahill being at Bolton by the time the present transfer window closes in September. Coyle insists he is remaining focused on the start of the new Premier League season in another week's time, and the same goes for Cahill as well. "Gary had been through that much and read so many things, he is really focused. That is the way we will treat it," said Coyle. "It is not difficult for me either because there is nothing to chat about. "There are 27 days left. This is another one. Nothing has happened, there is nothing concrete, there is nothing to report. "If someone leaves, it will be the right business for the club but I don't pre-occupy myself with thoughts like that when I have a team to prepare for the rest of the season. "If anything happens, we will re-adjust. At the moment it is hypothetical, so will focus on the players we want to add to the club."

Phew, we now have a chance of some points on the opening day. I believe 'former' has been missed a couple of times in the article. Sunderland’s O’Shea to miss Liverpool opener John O'Shea By Graeme Anderson Published on Thursday 4 August 2011 11:00 NEW SIGNING John O’Shea will miss Sunderland’s final friendly at Hibs on Saturday AND the start of the Premier League season. The Manchester United utility player has been recuperating from a hamstring strain suffered in Germany but was expected to play in Sunderland’s final pre-season friendly and be ready for the season’s opener against Liverpool. But that timetable is now out of the window, with O’Shea still far from 100 per cent fit. “O’Shea’s still feeling his hamstring,” said assistant manager Eric Black. “It’s hard to put a date on his return because he’s actually starting to heal pretty well. “But it’s too soon to say whether it’s going to be two weeks, three weeks, four weeks. It’s hard to tell, but he’s definitely progressing.” Black admitted there was an element of frustration about the niggling knocks the Manchester United pair O’Shea and Wes Brown have sustained. “That is probably why they’re here.” he said, acknowledging that the league champions don’t allow their finest players to leave cheaply. But he was also quick to point out how valuable both are likely to be for Sunderland this season with competition in defence now fierce, especially with Titus Bramble and Michael Turner getting a full 90 minutes under their belt last night in the 3-0 win at Darlington. Turner’s pre-season has also been disrupted by minor injury but Black expects him to available for Liverpool. “He will be ready to be considered I’m sure, if he stays injury-free,” he said. “ It was great to see Michael play 90 minutes, so he’ll be in the process, the same as everyone else, and we’ll have to see what the manager decides on the 13th. “It’s just how close we can get him to that in the next 10 days. It will be the best ones who have shown what they can do in pre-season that play at Liverpool, and the manager I’m sure will pick the best two for central defence.” Black believes the squad are now almost impatient to begin the task ahead in the new campaign. “It gets to a point in pre-season where after the first two or three games it starts to drag a little bit and you’re desperate for the kick-off. “I thought the players approached the game in the right manner against Darlington but they want to be involved in the real football, and that’s coming fast.” Sorry, this should have been posted in a different thread.

I agree with you to a point, and small discrepancies mean very little, but the reason I feel people get annoyed is that these fees are used to judge the manager and fuel expectation of the fans. It's nothing too serious of course but I can see how it could be frustrating for some.

Carroll definitely shaved, though I wouldn't put it past him to have grown it back already.

Dalglish Looks to Bolster Back-Line with £22m Defensive Pair Posted on 2 August 2011 Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is contemplating making further additions to his squad this summer after he watched his side concede three goals against Valerenga in Oslo. The Reds did manage to score three themselves but it is the fifth pre-season game in succession that the Liverpool defence has been breached on three occasions. Dalglish has already spent in excess on £50million in the summer window with the arrival of Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson, but it is in defence that it appears Liverpool need strengthening. Two players that appear to be at the forefront of Dalglish's plans are Stoke centre-back Ryan Shawcross and Birmingham defender Scott Dann. Shawcross, a former Manchester United youth team player, has impressed many since joining Stoke and was yesterday linked with a move to Anfield. According to reports Liverpool are prepared to bid in the region of £12million for the giant defender who is still just 23-years-old. Dalglish may have to do battle with old rival Sir Alex Ferguson with Manchester United reportedly still having first option on the former England Under-21 defender. The second defender that has been heavily linked with a move to Merseyside could perhaps be a slightly easier deal for Liverpool to complete. Dann is desperate to return to the Premier League after suffering relegation with Birmingham and is known to be a Liverpool fan. The 24-year-old spent his youth watching the Reds in action and have been linked with a £10m move to Liverpool in recent weeks. Dann has revealed he is till committed to Birmingham but declared that he wants to play in the Premier League. "Obviously I'm an ambitious person and I want to play at the top level. Everyone who knows me knows that," said the boyhood Liverpool fan," Dann told givemefootball.com. "I don't really want to comment on speculation. Things have been said in the press and it's always like that. Up until now I'm still a Birmingham City player. "Obviously players have moved on and I'm still here. Until anything happens otherwise I'm still a Birmingham player. I can't say much more really." Dalglish will hope that he can bring at least one of the pair to Liverpool before the end of the season, while he is also still on the look-out for a left-back and could finally seal a deal for Newcastle defender Jose Enrique.

I think Ramsey is a really good player, and totally agree that between them they could fill any gap left by Fabregas.

So has Mata signed for somebody now?