Liverpool FC Forum

by **Reg** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:52 pm

Riise quiet on Toon talk

Defender refuses to comment on Newcastle speculation
By Eivind Haugen Last updated: 18th March 2008

Liverpool defender John Arne Riise has refused to comment on speculation linking him with a summer move to Newcastle, according to the player's representative.

The Norwegian international, who is also capable of playing in midfield, has fallen out of favour at Anfield this season with Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez preferring the pairing of Fabio Aurelio and Ryan Babel on the Reds' left-hand side.

However, Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan is rumoured to be an admirer of Riise, who joined Liverpool from Monaco in 2001 for £4.6million.
Keegan is understood to be keen to bolster his shaky defence in the summer after shipping 57 goals so far this term.

However, Riise's representative - Jan Kvalheim - insists the 27-year-old, who has also been linked with a move to Aston Villa, will not add weight to the speculation. "This is just speculation and John Arne will not comment on this," Kvalheim told the Dagbladet website.

by **destro** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:57 pm

I don't watch much of the Spanish National team, do Villa and Torres play together for their country or is it a case of one of them + whoever, attacking mid etc ? If they are a partnership for Spain how do they play together ?

Just wondered because of what he ( Villa ) has said about a possible move away from Valencia and the fact we will no doubt be linked with him, does anyone see it as a partnership that would work or did we just strike lucky with Torres in terms of the way he has adapted to the English game, I have a feeling Villa would maybe cost more and might not have the same impact.

by **NANNY RED** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:16 pm

JoeTerp wrote:just some "youngish wide-like attack minded" names to throw out at ya:
Aiden McGeady (Celtic 21)
Valon Behrami (lazio 22)
Jesus Navas (Sevilla 22)
Andrés Guardado (Deportivo 21)
Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart 23)
Gonzalo Higuaín or Royston Drenthe (if Real REALLLY wanted Xabi and he REALY wanted to leave)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon 21)
Toni Kroos (Bayern 18 yo)
Damián Ísmodes (Racing Santander 18)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg 23)
Alexis Sánchez (River Plate 19)

Id defo snap your hand off for Higuain crackin little player i think he plays for Argentina aswell so have a word Masher

by **RUSHIE#9** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:45 pm

JoeTerp wrote:just some "youngish wide-like attack minded" names to throw out at ya:
Aiden McGeady (Celtic 21)
Valon Behrami (lazio 22)
Jesus Navas (Sevilla 22)
Andrés Guardado (Deportivo 21)
Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart 23)
Gonzalo Higuaín or Royston Drenthe (if Real REALLLY wanted Xabi and he REALY wanted to leave)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon 21)
Toni Kroos (Bayern 18 yo)
Damián Ísmodes (Racing Santander 18)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg 23)
Alexis Sánchez (River Plate 19)

I think straight away you can remove Jesus Navas from that list. He is well known for getting incredibly homesick whenever he has to leave Seville to the extent that he even had to withdraw from the Spain squad at one point IIRC because of homesickness. Sufficed to say a move abroad is extremely unlikely.

Hatem Ben Arfa is one of those players that interests me for some reason but I don't actually know that much about him.
I was at the Nou Camp earlier in the season when Lyon played Barca and he came on for the last 1/4 of an hour. I can't really remember him doing much but then again when your team is having rings run around them it's always gonna be hard to have any effect.

by **metalhead** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:47 pm

NANNY RED wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:just some "youngish wide-like attack minded" names to throw out at ya:
Aiden McGeady (Celtic 21)
Valon Behrami (lazio 22)
Jesus Navas (Sevilla 22)
Andrés Guardado (Deportivo 21)
Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart 23)
Gonzalo Higuaín or Royston Drenthe (if Real REALLLY wanted Xabi and he REALY wanted to leave)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon 21)
Toni Kroos (Bayern 18 yo)
Damián Ísmodes (Racing Santander 18)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg 23)
Alexis Sánchez (River Plate 19)

Id defo snap your hand off for Higuain crackin little player i think he plays for Argentina aswell so have a word Masher

I don't know nanny, I watch alot of real madrid games I don't think he is quality, has potential but isn't a goal scorer and maybe not good enough for us.

by **NANNY RED** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:52 pm

metalhead wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:just some "youngish wide-like attack minded" names to throw out at ya:
Aiden McGeady (Celtic 21)
Valon Behrami (lazio 22)
Jesus Navas (Sevilla 22)
Andrés Guardado (Deportivo 21)
Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart 23)
Gonzalo Higuaín or Royston Drenthe (if Real REALLLY wanted Xabi and he REALY wanted to leave)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon 21)
Toni Kroos (Bayern 18 yo)
Damián Ísmodes (Racing Santander 18)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg 23)
Alexis Sánchez (River Plate 19)

Id defo snap your hand off for Higuain crackin little player i think he plays for Argentina aswell so have a word Masher

I don't know nanny, I watch alot of real madrid games I don't think he is quality, has potential but isn't a goal scorer and maybe not good enough for us.

I like him alot and has the potential to be come a great player playing with the right team

Do you think the way Madrid play though suits him

by **metalhead** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:01 pm

NANNY RED wrote:
metalhead wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:just some "youngish wide-like attack minded" names to throw out at ya:
Aiden McGeady (Celtic 21)
Valon Behrami (lazio 22)
Jesus Navas (Sevilla 22)
Andrés Guardado (Deportivo 21)
Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart 23)
Gonzalo Higuaín or Royston Drenthe (if Real REALLLY wanted Xabi and he REALY wanted to leave)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon 21)
Toni Kroos (Bayern 18 yo)
Damián Ísmodes (Racing Santander 18)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg 23)
Alexis Sánchez (River Plate 19)

Id defo snap your hand off for Higuain crackin little player i think he plays for Argentina aswell so have a word Masher

I don't know nanny, I watch alot of real madrid games I don't think he is quality, has potential but isn't a goal scorer and maybe not good enough for us.

I like him alot and has the potential to be come a great player playing with the right team

Do you think the way Madrid play though suits him

He doesn't play much with real madrid because of Raul and Van nister. I think it suites him, he is gifted technically, but misses too many chances and outmuscled easily. However, I like his friend Gago more, excellent player (but we dont need another midfielder).

by **NANNY RED** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 11:19 pm

metalhead wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:
metalhead wrote:
NANNY RED wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:just some "youngish wide-like attack minded" names to throw out at ya:
Aiden McGeady (Celtic 21)
Valon Behrami (lazio 22)
Jesus Navas (Sevilla 22)
Andrés Guardado (Deportivo 21)
Roberto Hilbert (Stuttgart 23)
Gonzalo Higuaín or Royston Drenthe (if Real REALLLY wanted Xabi and he REALY wanted to leave)
Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon 21)
Toni Kroos (Bayern 18 yo)
Damián Ísmodes (Racing Santander 18)
Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg 23)
Alexis Sánchez (River Plate 19)

Id defo snap your hand off for Higuain crackin little player i think he plays for Argentina aswell so have a word Masher

I don't know nanny, I watch alot of real madrid games I don't think he is quality, has potential but isn't a goal scorer and maybe not good enough for us.

I like him alot and has the potential to be come a great player playing with the right team

Do you think the way Madrid play though suits him

He doesn't play much with real madrid because of Raul and Van nister. I think it suites him, he is gifted technically, but misses too many chances and outmuscled easily. However, I like his friend Gago more, excellent player (but we dont need another midfielder).

Ive heard good reports on him though from Michel very talented

by **maguskwt** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:12 pm

metalhead wrote:f*ck me

DIEGO SET TO GO TO REAL MADRID

now that sucks... would've really liked him here... very good creative second striker and still very young... IMO he's more of a creator than aguero and will be pefect with torres...

by **JoeTerp** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:48 pm

Pipita just turned 20 in December he has 46 appearances with 6 goals and 6 assists in two years so he plays a pretty decent amount, I think Ruud has had some injury problems plus he can play out wide a little highlights

by **JamCar05** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:31 pm

maguskwt wrote:
metalhead wrote:f*ck me

DIEGO SET TO GO TO REAL MADRID

now that sucks... would've really liked him here... very good creative second striker and still very young... IMO he's more of a creator than aguero and will be pefect with torres...

Me too. But it's not in any way a done deal just yet. I've read somewhere, that Werder are very reluctant to sell him (and haven't actually received a single bid for him), which he himself has accepted. Might of course still end up going in the summer. But as I said... it ain't exactly a done deal apparently.

by **Toffeehater** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:18 pm

This wouldn’t have happened if Arsenal had signed Torres!

March 19, 2008

Controversy is Mr Comfort’s middle name and he likes to make his somewhat oddly sounding voice heard! Everything he says should be taken with a bucket of salt, you have been warned

If you are an Arsenal fan you must be banging your head against a brick wall right now. I am sure you’ve all been thinking it, but surely Arsene should have replaced Thierry Henry in the summer!

Yes the Gunners were very unlucky to lose Eduardo and RVP to long term injuries, but the Croatian even on his best game isn’t in the same league at TH14 and there is an argument that the Dutch lad is still not at his peak.

Emmanuel Adebayor has been a revelation this season but over dependence on the Togolese may have hampered his recent form and hasn’t scored in his last four Premier League matches, against pretty weak opposition I might add.

So Wenger should have outbid Liverpool and brought Spaniard scoring machine Fernando Torres to the Emirates! He is very much the archetypal ‘Arsene’ player and if he can score this amount of goals at the misfiring Anfield outfit imagine what he would have done in north London!

Rafa was right to stump up the fee that so many frowned upon in the summer and now he is the top scorer in the Premier League (if you take away penalties that is!). El Nino has pretty much salvaged the season for the Merseysiders and any success they achieve, be it a top four finish or a Champions League crown, will be down to his performances more than any one else’s.

Whilst it’s true that the title is by no means out of Arsenal’s grasp it does seem that a series of draws has left them playing catch up.

Maybe if Arsenal fans ask really nicely then Benitez might let his prized possession move south? Worth a try!

not a roumor but from the arsebone page , wat a load of b0llox

by **Toffeehater** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:20 pm

f it wasn’t for the suicidal results we suffered during January and February, we would be dominating the EPL with comparitive ease, but “if’s & but’s” don’t win you titles - so here is £31million worth of players that Rafa Benitez must rid himself of if we are going to bring the bloody title home.

John Arne Riise (£4million): I’ve always been a big fan of JAR, he has scored some spectacular & important goals throughout his time at Anfield, but he simply is not performing anymore. He’s useful as a stop-gap on the left-wing as a replacement for Babel if he was injured, but he certainly is not a title-winning winger who can provide our strikers with the deliveries they expect.

His defensive qualities have never been fantastic and I feel his contribution to the team is simply not good enough.

Fabio Aurellio (£5million): It’s difficult to judge Fabio to be honest. He never seems to ‘get stuck in’ enough for my liking and hasn’t done enough to warrant a starting slot in Rafa’s line-up. Defensively he’s okay, nothing special, but he makes the odd costly mistake which is something we cannot afford to make if we are dominate club football once more.

Harry Kewell (£FREE): Dump this useless Aussie as soon as possible Rafa for God’s sake. He has wasted his talent and wasted this marvellous opportunity that thousands of people would give their right-arm for. Initially I lost all faith in the man at Istanbul when he appeared to give up running for a ball he could’ve won, I mean this was the Champions League final and he wasn’t giving it his all.

I was prepared to give him another chance after a handful of determined displays, but as per usual he has let us all down once again. Off-load him for nothing and put his wages towards new signings.

Sami Hyypia (£FREE): As much as I love the guy, he’s getting too old for life at the top of the Premiership. He’s still a danger going forward for corners, and can read the game better than anyone in my view, but his lack of pace (which he has never really been blessed with to be brutally honest) is beginning to show in every game, which usually ends up with the Finn giving away a foul in a dangerous position when he knows he has been beaten.

Jermaine Pennant (£5million): After showing so much promise as a youthful youngster, Jermaine is still to fulfil his potential and simply is not upto Liverpool’s standard. He consistantly fails to beat the first man when trying to put a cross in the box, something that is imperative for wingers.

Peter Crouch (£14million): Although I’d like to see Rafa adopt a style of play that would suit the giant striker, I think it would be better for him if he did leave Liverpool in search of pastures new. Rafa’s style of play simply does not suit Peter in the slightest.

Dirk Kuyt (£6million): I’m a real big fan of Dirk’s purely because of his workrate and determination when on the pitch, but Rafa has realised he isn’t upto much when in front of the goal which has forced him to play out wide and pick up any loose balls when in the opposing team’s danger area. He must make a switch elsewhere as title-winning side’s need prolific and reliable finishers up-front, sorry Dirk, you’ve been added to my list with great regret.

Andriy Voronin (£1million): Maybe Rafa thought he was playing the latest football managerial game when he bought Andriy on a free last summer, with one eye on making a quick million on him in 12 months time. Not Liverpool quality, not Premiership quality, nuff said.

by **Toffeehater** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:22 pm

After reading Redneck’s article relating to the sale of players and with the likelihood of a clearance of all dead wood in the summer, it looks like some fresh new faces are being hunted by Rafa and Co to revitalise the squad to start another attack on all fronts in the 2008 / 2009 season, below are the details of the possible new signings (if the funds are available that is!) that may be pursued:-

David Villa (Striker, Valencia) – Also known as the Kid, so Fernando had better watch out. Very well known for his goals and accuracy, Villa would be a great addition to the squad. The price tag would be in the region of £25-30m, which may be a stumbling block. However, he would be a great partner for El Nino up top next season.

David Silva (Winger, Valencia) – Another Valencia player that Rafa has shown an interest in, another high price tag but at the age of only 22, the young Argentinean would fit in very nicely on the left wing in place of the departing Harry Kewell.

Matias Fernandez (Winger, Villareal) – Another very tricky young player currently plying his trade in La Liga, Matias is a Chilean midfielder with Villareal and is a playmaker and a great dribbler so would be another great option if Rafa was given the funds to trigger the buy-out clause in his contract of 50m Euros.

Stephane M’bia (Midfielder, Rennes) – A defensive midfielder from Cameroon, currently playing for Rennes in France is fresh from a great African Cup of Nations and has many high-profile clubs keeping an eye on him.

Thierry Henry (Striker, Barcelona) – What introduction does he need? After a torrid time in Spain, Thierry may want to return to the league where he made his name and it is said that he is a close friend of our skipper. The 30 year old Frenchman would be a great signing and with him and Torres up front, surely some silverware would be ours next season!

Oscar Trejo (Striker, Mallorca) – Aged just 19, the former Boca Juniors player has caught the eye of many big name clubs around Europe, and Rafa is reported to be lining up an £8m bid in the Summer.

Sergio Garcia (Striker, Zaragoza) – No, not the golfer, but Real Zaragoza’s pony-tailed former Barcelona striker, another great prospect any a brilliant striker of the ball. Has proved himself at the top level of Spanish football for the past 4 seasons.

Rafinha (Defender, Schalke) - Márcio Rafael Ferreira de Souza, also known as ‘Rafinha’ is another player to be linked to a move to the reds in the summer, after 5 years in the Brazilian league he signed for Schalke in 2005 for 5m Euros and is a great attacking right-back as cover for Steve Finnan.

Mahamadou Diarra (Midfielder, Real Madrid) – The big Mali midfielder has impressed for Real Madrid, who appear to be open to offers with Rafa being amongst the Mali international’s admirers. With a great work rate and a very powerful frame, Diarra would shore up our midfield and would help Javier and Xabi take the mantel off Stevie G in order for him to get forward more often.

Daniel Opare (Midfielder, Ashanti Gold) – With a rumoured move to Real Madrid looming, the Ghanaian midfielder is also reported to be interested in a move to the Premiership. At age 17, he is already seen as a great prospect for the future and has already played for the national team. A fee of £2m is reportedly the asking price from the player’s Ghanaian club which should be well within Rafa’s spending limitations…

So it’s a case of watch this space until the end of the season with plenty more speculation to come, but the next step of the Rafa-lution should be very interesting coming into the 2008-2009 season!

http://kop-tv.com/go/headlines/summer-targets/

by **Toffeehater** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:22 pm

The Premiership big four have been put on alert after Barcelona star Messi admitted he was a big fan of the English league.

Messi said: "Manchester United are very good and Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player who I watch a lot.
"The other top English teams - Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool - are capable of success too, because they have special players like Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres.
"The best Premier League clubs also have the experience of doing well in the Champions League."
Source: tribalfootball.com

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