Official Liverpool Thread

[botchedpiledriver]

First round of Champions League qualifiying:

The Welsh Champions TNS vs. The European Champions Liverpool

Interesting.

[pigeon]

Great draw. Another game at Anfield South.

[Summers]

I like TNS..

[pigeon]

Well, at least they get a big payday out of this.

EDIT:

Reds swoop for Sevilla starlet

by Paul Higham -  created on 24 Jun 2005

Liverpool have made a swoop for Spanish teenager Antonio Barragan from Sevilla.

The 18-year-old has been in Sevilla's youth set-up and the Spanish side were desperate to sign him on a professional contract.

Rafa Benitez has been monitoring Barragan's displays at youth level and the youngster decided not to accept the deal on offer in Sevilla in order to join the European champions.

Sevilla are not happy at losing the Spain Under-18 international, and will be looking for a decent amount of compensation from The Reds.

"He has been negotiating with Liverpool for the past six months," said Sevilla sporting director Ramon Rodriguez.

"The Fifa rules regarding young players who do not have professional contracts have favoured us on many occasions and this time it is Liverpool who have taken advantage of them to take the player.

"We tried to keep him, but the player has freely chosen another route. We have looked after him, but he has decided to leave Sevilla."

Sevilla have a good record in producing young talent, with Jose Antonio Reyes the biggest name to flourish when swapping Spain for Arsenal.

Benitez has not been scared of using his knowledge of the Spanish game to add new faces to his Liverpool squad, and Barragan may be just the first of a busy summer of spending for the Merseysiders.

The Reds will need all the fresh legs they can get, and quickly, with a packed season ahead of them starting as early as mid-July with the first qualifying rounds in the defence of the UEFA Champions League crown.

Benitez has spotted the potential of the well-thought of Barragan and he will add more depth to Liverpool's squad when he moves to Anfield.

Edited June 24, 2005 by pigeon

[pigeon]

TNS IN A RUSH TO SIGN UP LEGEND

Steve Hunter 25 June 2005 

  Total Network Solutions are aiming to try and pull off one of the biggest shocks of all time when they face Liverpool in the Champions League and to help them out they are trying to tempt an Anfield legend to put his scoring boots on once again. 

Liverpool legend Ian Rush might be at the age of 43 but as he showed in the Tsunami charity match at Anfield last season he has lost none of his eye for goal and looked really sharp.

 

TNS managing director Mike Harris is a close friend of Rush and he is hoping to lure him out of retirement for this match.

 

Harris said: "Ian's a big friend of mine. He opened our 500-seater stand four years ago and helped coach our strikers before we played Manchester City in the UEFA Cup two years ago.

 

"I'm sure we'll be talking soon and when we do I'll ask him to put his boots back on. The sight of Ian Rush on the bench against his former club would give the side a massive lift."

 

Meanwhile, speaking before the invitation from Harris to put on his boots once again, Rush welcomed the draw and said it will be a great occasion.

 

Rush said: "I've helped TNS out by training their strikers and I was a non-executive director at the club for a spell.

 

"It's a great draw for a club of their size and I wish them well. If you're going to play Liverpool then this is the time to do it. But I don't anticipate too many problems for Liverpool." 

Edited June 25, 2005 by pigeon

[pigeon]

ZENDEN TO SIGN ON MONDAY

Paul Eaton 02 July 2005 

Rafael Benitez will make his first summer signing on Monday when Boudewijn Zenden completes his free transfer move from Middlesbrough. 

Liverpool have confirmed that Zenden has passed a medical at Anfield and will sign his contract with the Reds on Monday morning.

 

Zenden's contract at the Riverside Stadium expired at the end of June and the Dutch international has jumped at the opportunity to link up with Rafael Benitez's European champions on a free transfer.

 

The 28 year old will sign his contract in time to be eligible for the start of Liverpool's Champions League qualification campaign on July 13.

 

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton said: "Bolo Zenden has passed his medical. We have reached an agreement with the player and expect the contract to be signed on Monday morning.

 

"He will then be introduced at a press conference later that afternoon." 

[pigeon]

Gerrard set to walk out as Liverpool rift widens

By Henry Winter

Steven Gerrard's patience with Liverpool finally snapped Sunday over their sluggishness in offering him a contract improvement, and the inspirational captain who cradled the European Cup in his arms 40 days ago now appears destined for Chelsea or Real Madrid. Training-ground spats, negotiating-room stand-offs and civil war now engulf Anfield.

The Kop will be in uproar Monday at the suggestion that the dithering of chief executive Rick Parry and perceived ambivalence of manager Rafa Benitez has sent their mightiest warrior hurtling out of Anfield into the eager embrace of Champions League rivals. Big clubs cannot lose such big players.

Gerrard, who had a serious disagreement with Benitez at training on Saturday afternoon, is a proud individual who does not like being messed around and he is known to be angry over the stance of Parry and Benitez. Having struggled to get Parry to agree a date for contract discussions, Gerrard decided Sunday he had had enough, that even if Liverpool came to him today saying they would meet immediately to sort out a new deal he would tell them: ``No chance''.

It will take a huge concerted effort on Liverpool's part, assuming the desire exists, to make Gerrard stay. He has withdrawn from all dialogue with Parry. Gerrard's camp insist these are not scare tactics, that their intentions are real: the England international has one foot outside Anfield.

Jose Mourinho, the Chelsea coach who nearly signed Gerrard last summer, will be delighted by the weekend's developments. A central midfield featuring the England pairing of Gerrard and Frank Lampard, anchored by Claude Makelele, could help to bring the champions joy in Europe.

Liverpool, who harbour dreams of reclaiming the English title, would be loathe to sell to Premiership opponents and Gerrard initially indicated he would find it difficult to play against his home-town club in the league. Yet the Merseysider is now so aggrieved at Anfield's handling of his contract situation that he is minded to decide where he is heading, and staying within England would appeal more to someone of Gerrard's character. Chelsea have the money, the ambition and the known interest.

So do Real Madrid. The kings of the Castellana are invariably linked with the hottest footballing properties and Gerrard's falling-out with Liverpool will be closely monitored by the Bernabeu hierarchy. More trophy-winning gladiator than shirt-selling galactico, Gerrard is just the type of leader and motivator that Real's midfield craves. Upstaged in style and substance by Barcelona, Madrid are desperate to reimpose themselves on Spain and Europe and they know that Gerrard could be the catalyst.

Real have signed Osasuna's tackle-happy midfielder, Pablo Garcia, yet anyone who knows Gerrard appreciates that he is best raiding forward from a midfield station patrolled by a more defensive counterpart. Whether he would really consider moving abroad is a serious issue for someone like Gerrard. A possible stumbling block might be if Madrid were to sell his friend, Michael Owen, when Robinho arrives from Santos.

The fact that Real and Chelsea have been given such encouragement over Gerrard will be seen as Liverpool's fault. Gerrard and his trusted adviser, Struan Marshall, of agents SFX, could have sat down with Parry and wrapped up a deal in a couple of hours. Gerrard, though mindful of his value to employers, is neither greedy nor complicated to deal with.

Two schools of thought are being applied to Liverpool's perplexing tardiness. One suggestion is that they are impoverished and are stalling to make Gerrard accept a lesser financial package. Yet sources close to the club insist that money is not an issue. If that is true, the blame shifts from Parry to Benitez, who may not see Gerrard as an irreplaceable cog in his midfield.

Xabi Alonso, a wonderful signing by Benitez, can also set the team's tempo, yet those tens of thousands who made Istanbul such a special place to be almost six weeks ago will remember it was Gerrard who galvanised the side against AC Milan.

For all the passing guile of Spaniards like Alonso, home-grown players like Gerrard and Jamie Carragher are the heartbeat of Liverpool. Gerrard attended Carragher's wedding on Friday and was given permission to skip training on Saturday, yet still went in to work out. He encountered Benitez and was disappointed by the manager's attitude. Monday's press conference to unveil new signing Bolo Zenden should be lively.

RAFA: I WANT STEVIE TO STAY FOR LIFE

Paul Eaton 04 July 2005 

  Rafael Benitez today insisted he wants Steven Gerrard to remain a Liverpool player for the rest of his career. 

Speaking at a news conference at Melwood, the Reds manager quashed speculation that he wants his captain to leave the club by insisting Gerrard has a major role to play in his Anfield future.

 

He said: "I can assure our fans that we want Steven Gerrard to stay with us for the rest of his career.

 

"I renew my deal with Liverpool in four or five years and when I do I would like Stevie to be my next coach, assistant manager and maybe even the next manager after me. He can even have the chief scout position if he wants it.

 

"I want him to stay with the club. We are trying to build a better team and a better squad and I want Stevie to be a major part of that.

 

"Last season I tried to get Stevie to sign a new deal three times. On each occasion he said wait, so we waited.

 

"This year we want to win more trophies and that is why we are improving our squad with new signings."

Edited July 4, 2005 by pigeon

[therockbox]

Rafael Benitez has today confirmed he has signed four new players ahead of the start of next season - with the promise of two or three more to come before the end of the week.

Dutch star Bolo Zenden was officially unveiled as a Liverpool player this afternoon after completing his free transfer from Middlesbrough and he could make his debut in Saturday's friendly at Wrexham.

Benitez also revealed the club have now completed the signing of goalkeeper Jose Reina from Villareal while Mark Gonzales has signed from Albacete and young right back Antonio Barragan has arrived from Sevilla.

The Liverpool boss said: "We have today introduced Bolo Zenden as a Liverpool player but we have also signed Jose Reina, the best goalkeeper in Spain, Mark Gonzales, the best player in Chile and Antonio Barragan.

"We will be signing two or three more players this week."

[pigeon]

Well, we've been linked with Kuyt and Crouch, so I'd imagine a striker will be arriving, possibly one of those two or Govou from Lyon. I haven't heard much about Milito recently, but he was strongly linked and news on Reina went quiet until today so he is a possibility.

I don't think Rafa wants Guti though. He's always denied interest in him in the press.

EDIT:

Steven Gerrard is set to stay at Anfield after talks between him and Rick Parry ended on a successful note earlier today. Steven's agents SFX were believed not be involved in this meeting although that cannot be confirmed.

SFX announced today that talks between Liverpool had stalled and were unlikely to be re-opened. However after Rafa Benitez said that he wanted Steven Gerrard at Anfield for life and Rick Parry said that the club did not want Steven to go, it looks the two of them have got their wish.

We expect an announcement sometime this week that will see Steven Gerrard remain at Anfield.

Edited July 4, 2005 by pigeon

[Turbo Yannis]

£32m is hard to turn down. Go on, accept it. You know you want to

[therockbox]

If Lyon are asking for £26 million for Essien, we can hold out for a minimum of £70 million.

[pigeon]

He's off! Jul 5 2005

World Exclusive by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

STEVEN Gerrard this afternoon delivered the news every Reds fan was dreading - he wants to leave the club.

It came only hours after Liverpool rejected a £32m bid from Chelsea, countering it with a proposal to Gerrard understood to be offering him £100,000 a week to stay.

The devastating blow came in a message to Anfield chief executive Rick Parry, delivered via Gerrard's agent Struan Marshall from SFX.

It marks a massive U-turn by the Reds' Huyton-born skipper, who insisted after the heroic European Cup Final win in Turkey that he wanted to remain at Anfield.

[Summers]

He's just put in an official transfer request.

[pigeon]

Carra for captain.

Guess the only question now is 'how much?'

[Summers]

Well thr 32million offer was shot down quickly, so I'd say a lot closer to 50million.

[fourstarfizzle]

It was gonna come sooner or later, lets just be glad he has more intelligence than Rooney...

"I'm a Liverpool scally, I know what club I'll join, possibly the most hated team in Liverpool, I'll go to Man Utd!"

And thereby making himself never welcome in Liverpool again.

To be honest, I can see Gerrard pulling on a blue shirt by August, Roman has the money.

[pigeon]

Gerrard isn't going to be too welcome in Liverpool after this either la.

Edited July 5, 2005 by pigeon

[therockbox]

"How can I even think about leaving after a night like this?"

k steve.

[evertonfan]

Being an Everton fan, I might be expected to rub it in, but I won't. All I'll say to the kopites is, it's not nice when your best, home-grown player buggers off, is it?

[pigeon]

Being an Everton fan, I might be expected to rub it in, but I won't.  All I'll say to the kopites is, it's not nice when your best, home-grown player buggers off, is it?

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