Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has vowed to start rebuilding his side immediately after the Champions League final defeat by AC Milan in Athens.
Out-of-contract players Jerzy Dudek and Robbie Fowler are leaving and Benitez revealed Mark Gonzalez and Boudewijn Zenden may follow them out of the club.
"We have a deal nearly completed for Gonzalez and I have told Bolo that he can talk to other clubs," said Benitez.
"We must quickly sign our number one targets and spend big and spend now."
Benitez is eager for Liverpool to close the gap on Manchester United and Chelsea and club owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks agree with his vision.
"Our fans know what we must do and so do I," added Benitez.
"When you look at the champions Manchester United spending £20m on a midfield player and we have been paying only £8m to £9m for our strikers, you know what must be done.
"I have been told by the new owners that they will back my plans.
"If we wait we will be chasing the players who are second and third on our list. We need to change the structure of the club on and off the pitch."
Liverpool finished third in the Premiership this season and Benitez added: "We need to pay the price needed for each position. We have finished 21 points behind United and 15 behind Chelsea.
"They will both spend big money again and we will just be marking time. If we continue the way we are we will be fighting for third or fourth spot again at the end of the season - and we cannot have that all the time.
"Two seasons ago we got 82 points, a club record, and we could not get into the top two. If we do not improve now we will always be fighting for fourth spot.
"It is obvious we do not have enough players for nine months competing in four competitions."
rafa is in no mood to hang about this summer...
the new owners have been given the message...
big funds will be needed to revamp our team...
i would say rafa should have about 60 million to play with, maybe more...
lets just say it will be a very busy summer for benitez...
We must spend big, says benitez - And spend now...
5 posts
• Page 1 of 1
by matrix » Thu May 24, 2007 7:52 pm
The American duo have made all the right noises about restoring Liverpool to the pinnacle of the English game.
Benitez has accepted the pledges at face value. But, in the aftermath of last night's Champions League final defeat to AC Milan, the Spaniard has laid bare the stark reality of the situation Liverpool find themselves in.
And, if Gillett and Hicks are really intent on ensuring the Merseyside giants' league title drought does not extend beyond 18 years, Benitez wants money, lots of it - and he needs it now.
"Sometimes, when you are in another country or another continent, you don't know how important this time is," he said.
"The owners have said they will back me and we are really excited about the future. But it is okay to talk, we need to change things now.
"The top sides have been spending £50million or more over the last five or 10 years. Manchester United just won the league and finished 21 points in front of us. They are paying £20million for a new midfield player in Owen Hargreaves. We have been spending £9million on a striker. That is a big difference.
"We cannot reduce the gap if we spend almost the same amount, or do almost the same things.
"If people think it is enough, fine - but next season all we will be fighting for is to get into the top four."
Gillett and Hicks do not have to look back too far to work out what is likely to happen if Benitez does not get his way.
The 47-year-old may appear jovial and relaxed but underneath the pleasant exterior beats the heart of an ultra-ambitious man who quit Valencia for Liverpool three years ago because the Spanish outfit refused to meet his demands and has already rejected overtures from his beloved Real Madrid on three separate occasions.
On his arrival at Anfield, Benitez famously declared he asked the Valencia board for a coffee table and was given a table lamp instead. And he has still not forgotten.
"We won the league with Valencia for the first time in 31 years," he recalled.
"Afterwards, everyone said 'fantastic, we are so good we do not need to spend any money'. The following season we finished fifth.
"With Liverpool, we have won the FA Cup, the Super Cup, the Community Shield and the Champions League and reached another final.
"But if we do not spend money now, we will continue to lose games because we do not have enough quality and eventually finish 20 points behind United, Chelsea and Arsenal."
With Bolo Zenden, Mark Gonzalez and - possibly - Craig Bellamy among those on their way out, the decks are being cleared for a huge influx of new players.
The number of potential signings is wide-ranging. The defence and midfield will be tinkered with, while at least two new strikers can be expected given Liverpool's season-long difficulties in front of goal, which proved so costly in the Olympic Stadium.
David Villa, Samuel Eto'o, Darren Bent and Carlos Tevez could all appear on Benitez's radar.
Clearly though, business needs to be done swiftly if the Spaniard's demands are to be satisfied and Gillett and Hicks are to ensure Liverpool's magnificent new stadium in Stanley Park is not to become a huge white elephant by the time it opens in 2009.
"I can't say exactly how many players I want, it depends on the market," said Benitez.
"Also, there might be someone we don't really want to sell who we get a fantastic bid for which makes us look at the situation again.
"But we need to look at two or three things, that is very obvious to everyone.
"We have some targets but we must move quickly because if we end up with our second or third choices, we cannot be contenders.
"The new owners know what my ideas are and they know what is required. They are businessmen. It is clear when you spend £250million on a stadium, you need to keep the team in the top four and try to be contenders every season before 2009.
"It is not difficult. They want to see their stadium full of supporters. And the supporters know the club needs to progress
100 million sounds amazing if its true...
i wouldn't mind some feedback from you people on how much funds you expect rafa to be given...
i think rafa is puting a lot of pressure on the new owners for big cash...
Benitez has accepted the pledges at face value. But, in the aftermath of last night's Champions League final defeat to AC Milan, the Spaniard has laid bare the stark reality of the situation Liverpool find themselves in.
And, if Gillett and Hicks are really intent on ensuring the Merseyside giants' league title drought does not extend beyond 18 years, Benitez wants money, lots of it - and he needs it now.
"Sometimes, when you are in another country or another continent, you don't know how important this time is," he said.
"The owners have said they will back me and we are really excited about the future. But it is okay to talk, we need to change things now.
"The top sides have been spending £50million or more over the last five or 10 years. Manchester United just won the league and finished 21 points in front of us. They are paying £20million for a new midfield player in Owen Hargreaves. We have been spending £9million on a striker. That is a big difference.
"We cannot reduce the gap if we spend almost the same amount, or do almost the same things.
"If people think it is enough, fine - but next season all we will be fighting for is to get into the top four."
Gillett and Hicks do not have to look back too far to work out what is likely to happen if Benitez does not get his way.
The 47-year-old may appear jovial and relaxed but underneath the pleasant exterior beats the heart of an ultra-ambitious man who quit Valencia for Liverpool three years ago because the Spanish outfit refused to meet his demands and has already rejected overtures from his beloved Real Madrid on three separate occasions.
On his arrival at Anfield, Benitez famously declared he asked the Valencia board for a coffee table and was given a table lamp instead. And he has still not forgotten.
"We won the league with Valencia for the first time in 31 years," he recalled.
"Afterwards, everyone said 'fantastic, we are so good we do not need to spend any money'. The following season we finished fifth.
"With Liverpool, we have won the FA Cup, the Super Cup, the Community Shield and the Champions League and reached another final.
"But if we do not spend money now, we will continue to lose games because we do not have enough quality and eventually finish 20 points behind United, Chelsea and Arsenal."
With Bolo Zenden, Mark Gonzalez and - possibly - Craig Bellamy among those on their way out, the decks are being cleared for a huge influx of new players.
The number of potential signings is wide-ranging. The defence and midfield will be tinkered with, while at least two new strikers can be expected given Liverpool's season-long difficulties in front of goal, which proved so costly in the Olympic Stadium.
David Villa, Samuel Eto'o, Darren Bent and Carlos Tevez could all appear on Benitez's radar.
Clearly though, business needs to be done swiftly if the Spaniard's demands are to be satisfied and Gillett and Hicks are to ensure Liverpool's magnificent new stadium in Stanley Park is not to become a huge white elephant by the time it opens in 2009.
"I can't say exactly how many players I want, it depends on the market," said Benitez.
"Also, there might be someone we don't really want to sell who we get a fantastic bid for which makes us look at the situation again.
"But we need to look at two or three things, that is very obvious to everyone.
"We have some targets but we must move quickly because if we end up with our second or third choices, we cannot be contenders.
"The new owners know what my ideas are and they know what is required. They are businessmen. It is clear when you spend £250million on a stadium, you need to keep the team in the top four and try to be contenders every season before 2009.
"It is not difficult. They want to see their stadium full of supporters. And the supporters know the club needs to progress
100 million sounds amazing if its true...
i wouldn't mind some feedback from you people on how much funds you expect rafa to be given...
i think rafa is puting a lot of pressure on the new owners for big cash...
-
matrix - >> LFC Elite Member <<
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by The Manhattan Project » Sat May 26, 2007 4:05 am
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source transmission 421 general panic hysteria 02 outbreak
foreign mutation 001505 maximum code destruction nuclear
reflection 01044 power plutonium helix atomic energy wave
no uniquely indefinable one 5918 identification unknown 113
source transmission 421 general panic hysteria 02 outbreak
foreign mutation 001505 maximum code destruction nuclear
reflection 01044 power plutonium helix atomic energy wave
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The Manhattan Project - >> LFC Elite Member <<
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