Liverpool FC Forum

[account deleted by request]

was absolutely immense today. MOM for me. there's no way he should be playing anywhere other than here in the near distant future. sign him up on a 5 year contract now.

Rubbish ....... There is no way we should be signing Mascherano to a five year contract 








He's only young, give him a six year one 

[roberto green]

we cant lose mascha he has been a revelation.

As for Rick Parry i saw him getting interviewed the other day and I think he is a nob head and wouldnt believe a word he says.

[holylamb2006]

Ye this is a messy situation ....

Benitez says this ....then the 2 owners say this .... then parry says that .....

I tell you one thing he is an expensive little bugger

[ConnO'var]

Ye this is a messy situation ....

Benitez says this ....then the 2 owners say this .... then parry says that .....

I tell you one thing he is an expensive little bugger

Worth every penny though imo.

If I had to choose between him and Alonso, I would pick him any day of the week.

Disclaimer:
I'm not saying that we should get rid of Alonso btw. All I'm saying is that if we had no choice but to only select one for whatever financial reasons,
a central midfield triumvirate of Gerrard, Mash and Lucas would be my preference over Gerrard, Alonso and Lucas.

[stmichael]

As for Rick Parry i saw him getting interviewed the other day and I think he is a nob head and wouldnt believe a word he says.

you needed to hear an interview to come to that conclusion?

anyway, if the yanks don't pull their fingers out and give us the funds to make this deal happen i'll be seriously pi$$ed off.

[account deleted by request]

Javier Mascherano proves his value to Rafael Benitez
Liverpool 4 Portsmouth 1Oliver Kay at Anfield
They appear to have more pressing concerns at a time when their ownership of the club has already reached crisis point, but if Liverpool’s American owners were to cast an eye over the performance on Saturday, they might just start to understand why Rafael BenÍtez wants them to put their growing financial worries to the back of their minds and stump up £17 million to sign Javier Mascherano to a long-term contract.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr will not do so, of course – not yet and possibly not ever, given the uncertainty that has raised serious doubts about their troubled regime as the clock ticks down towards a February deadline to refinance the £220 million that they borrowed to fund their initial takeover. Transfer activity is no longer the top priority at Anfield – and nor, for this reason alone, is the future of a manager for whom the American tycoons have little or no time – but even as he struggles to come to terms with the instability of his own position, BenÍtez cannot tolerate the idea of allowing Mascherano to slip through the club’s hands.

Fernando Torres may have stolen the limelight with two late goals, his ninth and tenth in his first 11 appearances at Anfield, but not even he could quite eclipse Mascherano. With Steven Gerrard unusually subdued alongside him, the Argentina player was relentless, terrorising the Portsmouth midfield throughout and having a hand in each of Liverpool’s four goals. In a typically understated way, it was a masterclass from the man known in his homeland as Jefecito, or little chief.

The performance made a mockery of his inability to get a game for West Ham United a year ago, but who at Liverpool can say where he will be in another 12 months, with the club’s unusual lease arrangement with his “owners” due to expire in the summer? Barcelona are lurking with intent, hoping to exploit the continuing uncertainty at Anfield. BenÍtez said on Saturday evening: “It’s always better to get it done as soon as possible, but we just have to wait.” And wait and wait, it seems, while the owners try to get their finances in order.

For Liverpool’s two opening goals, a volley from Yossi Benayoun and a comical own goal from Sylvain Distin, Torres played an important part, but on both occasions it was Mascherano who won possession from Sulley Muntari. Thereafter, with his team 2-0 up in 15 minutes, others simply went through the motions, but from Mascherano there was no let-up.

[Torres 2007]

he's alright Mascherano.

he's no superstar tho..

[metalhead]

he's alright Mascherano.

he's no superstar tho..

He is not top class, no


oh give me a break, Bamaga wrote a compelling arguement on why he is quality. 

[Foximus]

he's alright Mascherano.

he's no superstar tho..

Meh, hes no superstar yet but hes well on his way.. Potentially one of the best holding midfielders in the world if not already.

[NANNY RED]

Piece on Masher tonights echo

Rafa Benitez to bide time on Javier Mascherano Dec 24 2007




by Nick Smith, Liverpool Daily Post




RAFAEL BENITEZ is confident he can find the funds to make Javier Mascherano’s move permanent – but might have to wait until the end of the season to complete the deal.

The Argentinian midfielder signed on loan from West Ham last January, and when that expires at the end of this season Liverpool will still have first option to buy him permanently.

But while Benitez and the player himself would sooner tie up the loose ends when the next transfer window opens again next week, the Liverpool manager is prepared to wait.

He wants to make an extra centre-half his priority in January and with the Mascherano deal set to be worth £17million, Liverpool could need the extra six months to the end of the loan agreement to come up with the money.

The 23-year-old was also hesitant to commit his future to Liverpool until after Benitez had smoothed things over with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett following their public fall-out last month.

But after the two parties called a truce following the meeting they had after last Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United, Benitez hopes that Mascherano will be closer to deciding on his future.

“We’re just waiting. I have confidence he will stay with us,” said Benitez

“I really don’t know (if he will sign in January). The situation is we are working together on a lot of issues, and we just have to wait.

“But it’s always better to get it done as soon as possible.”

Benitez’s desire to keep Mascherano will only have been strengthened his performance in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Portsmouth at Anfield.

The win took Liverpool three points clear of both their opponents and Everton, which is how it stayed yesterday when their Merseyside rivals lost 2-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

It was the way Mascherano nullified the physical presence of Portsmouth’s midfield that laid the foundation for Liverpool to go clear in fifth place, thanks to goals from Yossi Benayoun, a Sylvain Distin own goal and two late strikes from Fernando Torres.

Benitez said: “Mascherano can give us the balance and allow the other players to play their own game.

“When you have a midfielder who is in a good position and can play the ball properly and always supporting the centre-backs and also the attack, it’s really important for players like Torres that they can go forward and sometimes forget they need to defend.

“We have a lot of very good players now with that mentality. Javier has a very good mentality, he’s very professional.

“If you don’t use him he never complains, he’s always ready for the next game. He trains really hard.

“He’s the kind of player you want as a holding midfielder. He doesn’t need to score a lot of goals, just keep the balance of the rest of the team.”


Manchester United’s victory over Everton, coupled with Arsenal’s 2-1 win in the north London derby over Tottenham earlier on Saturday, mean Liverpool remain 10 points behind Arsenal Wenger’s leaders with a game in hand and six off United.

And Benitez insists the complexion of the title race still has time to change, even during the remainder of the congested Christmas period.

“The title race is open,” the Spaniard added. “You never know what can happen over Christmas with three more games.

[Toffeehater]

end of the season is a long time , i hope we can make this deal faster . hopefully the yanks can see his value to the team and give us the funds .

[tubby]

Yeah a lot can happen between now and the end of the season. He could have a falling out with someone, god forbid even Rafa and then ask to leave before then. Im sure Rafa has stressed to the owners how good Masch is and how imperative it is that we sign him up. I just hope we dont have to sell first as with the European Championships it will take longer for players to be sold as teams will wait till after the comp to sign players ect.....

this anyway, how did we get ourselves in a mess. Why wasnt Masch properly signed up in the first place.

[Toffeehater]

Yeah a lot can happen between now and the end of the season. He could have a falling out with someone, god forbid even Rafa and then ask to leave before then. Im sure Rafa has stressed to the owners how good Masch is and how imperative it is that we sign him up. I just hope we dont have to sell first as with the European Championships it will take longer for players to be sold as teams will wait till after the comp to sign players ect.....

this anyway, how did we get ourselves in a mess. Why wasnt Masch properly signed up in the first place.

the deal was not possible as we were well out of the transfer period due to the FA probing and deciding whether masch cud play for us despite be owned by a third party and playing for a clun already this summer

[tubby]

It will be a sad story if we lose him to someone else. The best thing is that he seems like a genuinley decent character, not one who was going to use us to springboard himself back into form and of to Spain. When he first signed for us I was dubious as to how he would approach the media. I thought he would off after a few months but he was great in the final against Milan and to be honest hes very rarley put a wrong foot in whenever hes played.

[Toffeehater]

It will be a sad story if we lose him to someone else. The best thing is that he seems like a genuinley decent character, not one who was going to use us to springboard himself back into form and of to Spain. When he first signed for us I was dubious as to how he would approach the media. I thought he would off after a few months but he was great in the final against Milan and to be honest hes very rarley put a wrong foot in whenever hes played.

yea , maybe thats what we all like about him , he seems to genuinely want to play for us and i really have grown to like masch as a player . when he first signed i thought great another flop with excessive wages to pay , but how he has proved me wrong . in the cl final , till he was taken off for us to chase the game , i barely noticed or even heard kaka's name . if , we do not get him ,  i think we shud spend our money wisely on a second striker or a winger , we already have momo and lucas for cover . I sincerely hope that we get to sign him and for a cut back price for being able to launch his career back . maybe 10 to 12 million will be a magnificent deal for such a player  , hopefully his agent kia manages to see that liverpool were the club that revived his career