Liverpool FC Forum

by **Bad Bob** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 2:36 pm

Reg wrote:From the LFC site: looks like we´re not buying nor selling .....we've rolled over.

Rafa Benitez insists Liverpool are ready to secure the 'one or two' top signings required to overhaul Barclays Premier League winners Manchester United.

The Reds boss is delighted with his current squad having overseen our best title challenge since 1990.

Benitez believes a few select improvements could be enough to transform Liverpool from runners-up to champions.

"I think we have enough money to add the one or two players that we need," he said.

"I'm very happy with the squad we've got. This season has been really good and we've competed on all fronts. If we can sign one or two players then I'm really positive that we can improve.

"I won't talk about any figures and I can't say how much we have."

Benitez's confidence in his current crop stems from a record-breaking campaign in which the Reds took Alex Ferguson's men all the way.

"I'm also positive because we were talking recently about how Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard didn't play together for a long time this season," he said. "Hopefully they will play together more next season.

"We've also got good young players like David Ngog, Nabil El Zhar, Ryan Babel and Emiliano Insua, who was playing really well, coming through.

"We have a very good squad but we can still improve a little bit.

When I decided to sign a new contract I did it because Liverpool Football Club is more than a club. It is the heart of the city. It is our life and for the people here it means so much. I thought I had to sign. We have to fight. We have to do it.
"How much can we improve? Enough to win the title? I'm sure it will be enough to compete. Like this year, we will try to compete on all fronts until the end."

Benitez's focus in recent months has been on ensuring the club keeps hold of its star names.

Daniel Agger, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt have all followed their manager's lead by agreeing new deals.

"Some clubs were asking for our players so the priority was to extend the contracts of our key players," he said. "Those players who are the spine of the team.

"We spent some money to guarantee this and now we just have to improve a little bit because we are in a very good position."

Benitez, who signed a new five-year contract back in March, celebrates five years as Liverpool manager next week.

And his appetite for the job remains as healthy as ever.

He added: "When I decided to sign a new contract I did it because Liverpool Football Club is more than a club.

"It is the heart of the city. It is our life and for the people here it means so much. I thought I had to sign. We have to fight, we have to do it.

"Every single year, every single week and every single day when you talk with a fan he is supporting you and supporting the team.

"You can see the passion and it makes a massive difference.

"Our fans are amazing and when I talk with people in Spain they all say the same. We will see it again when we go to Asia in pre-season.

"I receive a lot of letters from people talking about the club. And as I said before this is more than a club."
++

Can't see why these quotes are a cause for a

Reg. Rafa's right--we only need 1-2 quality players in, provided we keep hold of the key ones we already have. Way too many people get caught up in the hype of transfer talk, IMO, and think we have to spend shedloads of cash on half a dozen players to compete. We don't, as last season proved, and I for one am glad that Rafa's looking to keep what he has and build on it with just a couple new faces.

by **Roger Red Hat** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 2:44 pm

... is the right answer.

We were pushing that league title all season, right until a couple of games from the end. Rafa said all we can do is win the last 9 league games and see what happens. Well, we did win them and we won them playing fab football.

1 or 2 players to arrive is all we need

by **tubby** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 2:53 pm

As long as those 1 or 2 are quality and not a gamble.

by **Ciggy** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:15 pm

Arjen Robben.

by Chris Stanton , 09 June 2009

Real have also courted Liverpool playmaker Xabi Alonso, but Perez did not sound optimistic about the possibility of a deal being done.

“He is a great player. Having said that, he plays in a great team and we don’t know either if they want to sell him."

Arjen Robben, meanwhile, has been mooted as a possible new arrival at Anfield and Perez did admit that new signings would inevitably lead to departures.

“If we want to bring some in, then others will have to leave," added Perez.

"Sneijder and Robben are two players that have a good reputation in Europe and many teams in Europe have an interest in them.”

http://www.setanta.com/....d-56390

by **Johnny Boy** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:19 pm

I think we have to 'read between the lines' a little.

Nothing personal against the guy but Rafa's comments mention Babel, sorry but Ryan has had enough chances for me now and clearly is either not good enough or needs a different type of league to show his best.
El Zhar is ok but in honesty as far as width goes are either of these going to win us the league or become regulars in the team?
Rafa spent £11 million on Babel, add to that the Dossena £7 million and that's a lot for very little end product.

Surely we should be trying to generate funds from the likes of Babel to get more cash in.

Rafa needs 'Torres-like' signings to take us to the next stage.

I agree we don't need a squad overhaul but we need top quality players to take us to the top.

I would rather have one world class player than 3 Pennant and Dossena type's.

by **mistyred** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:25 pm

Ciggy wrote:Arjen Robben.

by Chris Stanton , 09 June 2009

Real have also courted Liverpool playmaker Xabi Alonso, but Perez did not sound optimistic about the possibility of a deal being done.

“He is a great player. Having said that, he plays in a great team and we don’t know either if they want to sell him."

Arjen Robben, meanwhile, has been mooted as a possible new arrival at Anfield and Perez did admit that new signings would inevitably lead to departures.

“If we want to bring some in, then others will have to leave," added Perez.

"Sneijder and Robben are two players that have a good reputation in Europe and many teams in Europe have an interest in them.”

http://www.setanta.com/....d-56390

Hell yeh

Robben, He would completely transform our attack, and i'm sorry
i love Xabi as a person and player but Sneijder i would rip their
arms off for.

by **Greavesie** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:26 pm

Robben and Sneijder, either of them would do me just fine, Silva as well and we may just have a great squad next season

by **Reg** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:35 pm

Bad Bob: The gameplan was to clear out the underperforming lads - Babel, Voronin, Lucas + 5 others, raise cash then buy at least 3 quality players. It doesnt look like Silva wants to come, we didnt get Barry and instead we´re now faced with losing Xabi and possibly Masher whilst the manager praises Babel? If thats teh best we can do the god help us all.

by **tubby** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:55 pm

He probably has no choice. If we did sell them we probably wouldn't get anywhere near what we paid for them with the exception of Dossena and even then I doubt we would all of it back. Looks like another season with Lucas and Babel.

by **Madmax** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:06 pm

radio have been on about city getting tevez.... hmmmm

by **bunglemark2** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:10 pm

Madmax wrote:radio have been on about city getting tevez.... hmmmm

Read that in The Times today alright mate....looks like that could be a done deal....

by **bunglemark2** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:11 pm

What's the latest on the Masch saga anyway ? I read at the weekend that he's a tad upset that the doesn't get paid anything near what the others get.....Is it just rumour or is there any truth to him wanting away ?

by **Bad Bob** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:12 pm

Reg wrote:Bad Bob: The gameplan was to clear out the underperforming lads - Babel, Voronin, Lucas + 5 others, raise cash then buy at least 3 quality players. It doesnt look like Silva wants to come, we didnt get Barry and instead we´re now faced with losing Xabi and possibly Masher whilst the manager praises Babel? If thats teh best we can do the god help us all.

Your post raises a few questions for me, Reg:

1) Who's gameplan do you speak of? I don't recall Rafa or anyone at the club saying that was the agenda for the summer

2) Who are these '5 other players' you mention and how much are we likely to get from their sale?

3) Has there ever been anything definitive about Silva coming or not coming? It always struck me as one of those fanciful paper rumours more than anything else. IMHO, clinging to those rumours is like riding a rowboat in a hurricane. One second you're raised to great heights with the promise of a new signing while the next you're plunged into the deepest trough with word that he's not coming after all. Since most of these rumours turn out to be nonsense, anyway, why climb in that rowboat to begin with? Just spend your summer on the beach watching the waves roll in and out and see what washes up by the time August rolls around.

4) Is there a strong likelihood that Alonso and/or Masch will leave? Again, I think there's a lot of media spin (and agent spin) going on here that's muddying the waters considerably. I think Rafa's said enough in his direct quotes, though, to convince me that he's absolutely committed to keeping both of them, which is the best course of action. Should one be desperate to leave, however, I think Rafa will play absolute hardball to get top dollar out of their suitors, providing us with a wedge to spend that will help soften the blow. In either case, I think Rafa's got the right idea.

5) Is praising Babel a sign that he's staying or a way of bigging him up for sale in the transfer market? Who can know but, again, I think we'll manage either way. If we can sell him for a good price, then lovely. If, however, his poor performances have depreciated his value too much we'll hold onto him and see if he can't produce a bit more quality next season--either to earn a place in the manager's thinking or to facilitate a move that the club might actually sanction. It's fair to say I'm one of his least ardent supporters but, for me, not selling him is not the end of the world.

6) Is the god help us all plea not just a bit over the top? I mean, this squad did manage to run the Mancs very close for the title this year, score a bunch of goals, rack up lots of points and play some of the most exciting football we've seen the lads in Red play in some time. Would it really be so unspeakably terrible if we had to give this group of players another crack of the whip next season? Maybe scraping together whatever change we find under the cushions in the Melwood lounge will be enough to provide one or two more players to round out an already strong squad and the stability will do us a world of good? Maybe missing out on Barry and sticking with Lucas as back-up central midfielder will provide much-needed continuity and avoid a repeat of the Keane media circus, with the camera zeroing in on Barry's dejected mug every couple of minutes when he finds himself on the substitute's bench again? Who knows?

Anyway, I don't think we're in bad shape all told in terms of our current squad and that's why I applaud Rafa's commitment to tweaking rather than radical reshuffling.

by **bunglemark2** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:19 pm

Alright Bob...

Thing is, you still have to wonder how much RB's hands are tied in his attempts to bring in those one or two players who might make the difference between 1st and 2nd. I mean, from the looks of it, Tevez is off the market; Silva ain't coming (neither Silva); Barry (questionable and all though he is) was snapped up by Citeh once they decided to buy him; Ribery is wait out of our league.....

I wonder how much it has to do with RB knowing who he wants and grabbing the bull by the horns and getting him....versus knowing we don't have the cash to buy a real top but expensive addition to the squad.

by **Bad Bob** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:33 pm

bunglemark2 wrote:Alright Bob...

Thing is, you still have to wonder how much RB's hands are tied in his attempts to bring in those one or two players who might make the difference between 1st and 2nd. I mean, from the looks of it, Tevez is off the market; Silva ain't coming (neither Silva); Barry (questionable and all though he is) was snapped up by Citeh once they decided to buy him; Ribery is wait out of our league.....

I wonder how much it has to do with RB knowing who he wants and grabbing the bull by the horns and getting him....versus knowing we don't have the cash to buy a real top but expensive addition to the squad.

Mate there's no question that we cannot afford to get into a bidding war with some of the bigger spenders out there but, frankly, that's been the case for quite some time. It just so happens that we're seeing more clubs splashing out these silly season than we have in the past. Man City are obviously looking to do a Chelsea and spend a wedge of cash, Real Madrid are back in the galactico mode, Chelsea look like they're going to back Ancelotti etc. Not much we can do about that reality and moaning about it ain't going to change a thing. I'd prefer to look at it this way. We finished the second-best team in the best league in world football this past season, with a promising future ahead of us. If that isn't enough to attract certain players than they can't be the players we really want anyway. If Gazbaz wants to to cash in on the City offer instead of fighting for a place with us let him...I won't lose sleep because it's as clear an indication as you'll find that he wasn't the player for us. Same's true with Tevez, Silva or whoever else--and that includes current players if they decide the grass is greener elsewhere. What we're looking for is another Torres--a top player who is only interested in moving clubs if we're in for him. Surely there's someone out there with quality that wants to be a part of what we're building here and who won't have his head turned by the cash other clubs are offering? Alternatively, we play the patient game and look to sign players of proven quality who have now been deemed surplus to requirements because their clubs have bought some new toys to play with. Step forward mssrs Robben, Van Nistelrooy etc.

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