I'd much prefer to have Pennant as cover on the right than Benayoun and if Rafa continues with the current formation we would need four or five players to be in contention for the title. The acquisition of Barry makes me think he may revert to a four-four-two with Barry on the left, but i think it's Barry's versatility which has attracted Benitez and he will remain with a four-three-three with perhaps one defensive midfielder rather than two. This considered, my team would be:

Goal Keeper
Reina> Maik Taylor> David Martin

Right-Back
Arbeloa> Finnan

Centre-Backs
Skrtel/Carragher/Agger> Hyypia

Left-Back
Dossena> Aurelio

Right-wing
Bentley> Pennant

Defensive Mid-Fielders
Mascherano/Lucas/Alonso

Central Midfielders
Gerrard-Barry

Left-Wing
Babel/Riera

Centre-Forward
Torres> Kuyt/*Crouch

* Obafemi Martins would be my choice in place of Crouch if he were to leave Anfield

Gerrard wants Reds to splash the cash:



http://www.espnstar.com/epl/newsdetails.cmd?id=7042741

Quite desperate comments from him. A plea to the owners. But will it happen???

Chris Bascombe, (former Liverpool Echo now NOTW columist) did actually say a few weeks ago in a Liverpool pod cast on thisisanfield.com to expect one or more of the senior players to come out and make a stand about the owners. I gather this is it.

Cant see us spending big this summer, certainly not in the Torres mould (even though that signing was shouded in other player sales and propaganda!

These owners will not splash the cash full stop

anyone heard the disgraceful link with Stuart Dowling? a £12 mill bid i heard is being rumoured. From Bentley to Dowling. Why do we always opt for the back up. this will, if true, be 3 steps back! Man Utd or Chelsea would never settle for him.

I heard "Liverpool will try to sign Stuart Dowing if they fail in their bid for Gareth Barry", which assures me that this is bullsh*t. Benitez will be signing Barry to bolster the centre of midfield; Downing wouldn't do this.

Plus it came from News of the World.

i also believe this to be shite but it is the same old and for us very probable. Torres seams to be the only major big name target we have actually been mentioned with and then succesfully brought to the club. We are always mentioned with big names yet fail to get them for one reason or the other, and settle for a back up.

While i too believe this to be rubbish, it annoys me it is even mentioned, even if it is in the news of the world.

Liverpool manger Rafael Benitez has confirmed the club have completed the bosman signing of Borrusia Dortmunds Swiss full back Phillip Degen.

Benitez: "Philipp is still young but has gained great experience from playing in the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund and on the international stage with Switzerland,he also played in the Champions League during his time with Basel and so is used to top level football.

"He is an offensive player with great energy and a winning mentality. His strength is going forward and I am confident he will prove to be a quality addition to our squad."

Degen himself has stated he had no worries about joing Liverpool: "When I received the offer from Liverpool, there was no doubt I would accept it," he said. "They are one of the biggest clubs in the world and I am looking forward to the challenge of establishing myself there and playing in the best league there is."

Pretty much anticipated this, after it was 'revealed' a month ago in the papers.

I'm not sure how good he is but hope we all give him a chance. Just 'cause he's on a free doens't mean he's utter crap. From small clips i've seen of him he's very quick and quite attacking - with Dossena linked to us also it's further indication that we're going to be playing a more attack-minded, adventurous game next season, with the full-backs linking up with attack much more.

And on another note, we now have a new team to support in the European Championships: SWITZERLAND!

Fulham are also being touted as Finnan's next destination, with him returning to the club he left for us, as he's inevitably going to leave.

Rumours are that the Juve director Jean-Claude Blanc has flown in to Liverpool to try and strike a deal for Alonso also. I hope that is not true.

me too! Im not too keen on changing my name to Gareth Barry!

Ben where are you getting your quotes from mate???

Alonso news is all over the web. Riise also linked with Juve too apparently

Various different sites.

Koptalk

You don't use that place do you mate?

Anyway, the Alonso story is gathering pace and there certainly seems to be substance behind it. Apparently the deal is imminent. I am surprised.

That said, if it means we can spend more on a right-winger and/or striker then i'll be more than satisfied.

Rumour is that Alonso is now linked with a 12 million pounds move to Juventus...

http://www.espnstar.com/epl/newsdetails.cmd?id=7043140

Rafa wants £16m before he'll consider it apparently.

Dont blame him too!

He needs as much money as possible to get the guys he wants so he'll be pricing our guys for sale highly. I'm sure he'll have leeway and meet in between so maybe Alonso will go for 14 million. It's a way to squeeze out a few more quid from buyers.

yeah id agree thats probably the tactic although its not unrealistic to demand £16m for Alonso when compared to some english midfielders like Carrick and Hargreeves, not mention Barry for around £15m somehow being english seems to add credibility to higher transfer fee's!??!?! its strange.

I agree. There are Chelsea's around there that pay right at or above sticker price... Which we all know...

Sticker price = sucker price.

But if they have the money, then it's all the better for us. I'd personally like Xabi to stay though. He had a bad injury early on in the year and wasn't able to reach his full ability so I can't blame him for not being a superstar this year. He fits very well in the new system, and he's one of my favorite players so I'm hoping he stays. If not, I hope he goes to Juventus or Barcelona so at least those are teams I don't mind. And if he leaves I'll have to throw away my Xabi poster.

Yeah Xabi is a quality player and I'd hate to see him leave but at the same time I can see the idea behind moving him on at a high fee.

He has never really reached the hights of his first season for us and in truth is that no matter how much we like him and how well we've done during his time here, the team is still searching for the right blend in midfield to push on to challenge for the title..

This season Xabi has looked a little off the pace and has been found dwelling on the ball for a split second longer than required on more than a few occasions. Maybe the introduction of Barry in his place will offer us something else. He wouldnt have the passing range of Alonso but would defo give us a bit more steele and english grit in the middle of the park, not to mention an eye for goal too.

It would be sad to see Xabi go but for the benifit of the team as a whole I can understand the logic.

By the look sof it Liverpool are looking to head into the new season with a more attacking line up using the width from attacking full backs, so suring up the middle of the park to allow the full backs to roam forward is a must, in that sense I think the aquisition of Barry would make sense sitting in alongside Mascherano while Gerrard roams behind Torres.

I was pleased to wake up this morning and read Benitez is holding out for £16m. £12m would be a joke. We should try and entice either Real or Barca into a bidding war for him if we can, or at least another side, and hence push up the price to as much as possible. If we can switch Alonso for Barry and at a profit, that would be good business in my opinion.

The generated funds will go nicely towards a more attacking player or players. Hell if we sell Crouch to, as we could be forced to, we may be looking at £40m to throw around, on top of any initial budget:

Itandje - £2m
Carson - £6m
Finnan - £2m
Riise - £4m
Alonso - £16m
Guthrie - £2m
Pennant - £6m
Crouch - £8m
Voronin - £2m
TOTAL - £48m

Those are all pretty likely departures, with Finnan replaced by Degen, Riise for a long time doomed, Pennant told he can leave, Crouch unhappy, Carson wanting first team football, Guthrie a youngster, Itandje inadequate cover and obviously Alonso's situation. The only one i hold much doubt over is Voronin as Benitez may prefer to keep with 4 strikers, no matter their quality. Considering a starting budget of about £15m should be a minimum if we're to compete, and if Hicks has any intentions of staying, we'll have a huge transfer kitty this summer, comfortably £60m+ - mostly self-generated too!

Going off mostly rumours, and knowing what areas we'll have to fix:

Rame (Keeper) - Trade/Itandje + £2m
Degen (Right-Back) - Free
Dossena (Left-Back) - £8m
Barry (Centre-Mid) - £14m
Riera (Left-Mid) - £7m
? (Right-Mid) - £Xm
? (Striker) - £Xm
TOTAL - £31m

That would mean we'd have around £30m at least to spend on two positions.

I'd be surprised to see so much work done (it is six outfield players after all), but with the inevitable departures a lot of work may have to be done. I'm just hoping so badly that through all of this we manage to solve the right-wing position. That's vital.

You love doing those things dont you Ben. I think every time i look in this thread your playing manager

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has hit back at claims the club's asking price for keeper Scott Carson is too high.

Carson, 22, has been on a season-long loan at Aston Villa this season, but any permanent move is being held up by his believed £10m-price tag.

"It is a matter between the clubs," Benitez told the Liverpool Echo.

"We agreed the fee with Aston Villa last year. The fee has been there for one season so to talk about the fee now is not correct."

Benitez added that his Villa counterpart Martin O'Neill was aware of the situation.

problem would be solved if we did a part-exchange deal for barry