I'm pretty sure Simao rejected us, not the other way round. As did Malouda, who's also a proper winger.

We were after Simao for for about 3 years, so it's highly unlikely when he finally did decide to leave Benfica we pulled out at the last minute.


As for Mancini and Maxi, can you imagine if we sign both of them for just £4m?!?! That would be the bargain of the century!

I seem to remember we missed out on Simao 'cause they raised the price by about £2million, from around £12m. Or that could've been Alves.

We definitely had offers in for him anyway. As with Malouda like Sticky said (i forgot him).


Anyway, now we've lost Chelsea we need Dani Alves, Phillip Lahm, David Silva, Karim Benzema and David Villa. Well, i wouldn't be surprised if some overreacted like that. People have even called for Rafa's head, so it's expected.

I hope we do use May to try and wrap up a few signings - after the Euro Champs it'll be much more difficult, assuming the player is involved.

Liverpool's move for Simao Sabrosa has broken down after Benfica demanded £13.6million for the Portuguese winger.

Simao was given permission to travel to Merseyside for talks with the European champions but the deal floundered when Liverpool refused to increase their initial offer of £7million beyond £10.2million.

Benfica sporting director Jose Veiga admitted the 25-year-old would be disappointed in not having secured a move to Anfield but insists the player will still give his all for the Lisbon club.

Veiga told the Renascenca radio station: "I am convinced that Simao will not be against us because he is a great professional and he has proved this throughout the years he has played for Benfica.

"He is the captain of this team and knowing the spirit of sacrifice, I know that he will put his soul and body into it in order to help us achieve success."

Simao came through the Sporting Lisbon youth system before moving to Barcelona in a £7million deal in 1999.

After two campaigns in Spain, he returned to his homeland with Benfica, who he helped to win the 2004 Portuguese Cup and last season's SuperLiga title.

Earlier, Reds boss Rafael Benitez had defended his handling of the Michael Owen transfer saga.

The Liverpool boss confirmed he had no intention of matching Newcastle's club record offer for Owen, having seen the England striker move to Real Madrid for £8million a year ago.

Benitez reveals he wanted Owen to publicly state he did not want to go to Newcastle - which would have wiped the Geordies' bid off the table - before Liverpool could do business. In the end, Benitez said: "The deal was impossible."

He was keen on Simao, Benfica's captain who can play on either flank, and would have finally solved Benitez's desperate chase for a right-sided attacking option

This was 2005 news

So what it sounds like, is we were close to signing him and they upped the asking price, instead of making it clear initially they wanted more than the £10m we offered.

So they strung us along and slapped us in the face, hoping we'd still go for it because we'd pursued it that far. We didn't stand for it though.

How many players have we lost out on for the sake of a couple of million in recent years? No wonder Rafa doesn't like Parry.

Simao? Alves? Mancini? Quaresma? Ronaldo (not totally sure about what happened here)? Kuyt (the first time anyway)? Probably a few more to add to that list as well.

Some rumours (the Barry interest has since been confirmed):





As i've said, i hope we sign him for left-back. £10million would be a decent price but i'd expect them to push it up maybe trying for £14million - we could settle on £12million perhaps.



I did think about Abidal, with all the rumours of Lahm joining Barcelona. If we have no other intentions for that position, and he is available, i would be very happy to see us make a bid for him.



And of course, regardless of Barry, i hope Alonso stays. He's not been very good this season but has so much more to him than we've seen. With a full season starting and avoiding injury he can return to his form of old.

Riise's also expressed concern over his contract, but i haven't quoted that.

The Crouch part exchange for Barry is a bad deal. I hope we don't do it!!!

going by that, they'd only be giving us £6m for Crouch, which is an insult. He has been England's best striker for the last 2 years, so should fetch at least double that in my opinion. And on top of his amazing record for England in recent years, he has also been stunning in the CL and was our overall top scorer last season.

I think Crouch will ultimately sell for less than normal 'cause his contract is down to its final year. Annoying, to say the least.

I don't think we would have offered Crouch in any part exchange though Sticky. Rafa still wants him to resign i'm sure.

Resign lol. You worried me there for a bit. I hope Crouch does re-sign, but i doubt he will. He's behind Kuyt and Torres in the pecking order, and we may end up bringing in another striker who will be ahead of him.

I think Crouch will leave but i cant see him going to Villa as i think hed be behind Carew and Agbonlahor. Carew is much more of a handful for the defenders. Crouch is awful in the air for a person of his stature. Hes not strong enough for me gets bullied in the air far too often.

Sorry yeh i meant re-sign. I can't see him doing that either though. Torres and Kuyt as you say Sticky would be ahead, as could Babel be before long. I think if we played with two strikers all the time he might've stuck around and tried to prove himself for another season but i can't see it now.

I doubt he would join Villa, and if i could choose i'd pick Portsmouth. I think he and Defoe could be a devastating partnership if played regularly, one i'd love to see materialise. Him linking back up with Redknapp again has been mooted as a possibility.

Who to replace him is the question.

I wouldn't mind us making a sneaky bid for Mario Balotelli of Inter Milan. He's only 17 (18 in August), but supposed to be a sensational Italian prospect, rather Drogba-esque from the (admittedly short) clips i've seen of him. Big and strong for sure, with a powerful finish on him. He's said to be unhappy at Inter because they've stuck him back in the reserves from being in the first squad, and is contemplating a move to Spain or England.

Granted he's very, very young, but we need someone who is willing to not be first-choice, and so you're either looking at someone with Kuyt's mentality or someone who’s either too young or too old. He could probably start if needed though... and we'd always have Babel to substitute for Torres if the latter was injured if Balotelli wasn't ready.

It's just a thought. And probably a long-shot.

I agree with that, but it hink Crouch is a much better player than Agbonlahor and Carew.

This i supposed to be a good season for Carew, but he only has 13 goals, and when you consider he plays for one of the most attacking teams in the league, and has recently been scoring a lot, it gives you an indication of how few goals he had scored this season before he hit this recent purple patch, and how many more he should be scoring.

I often find myself watching Villa thinking they need another good striker. Far too often i see Carew waste chances, Agbonlahor do nothing, or one of their muppets on the bench come on and be useless.

Y'know, if Barry did sign and Alonso left (which judging by either's form over the past season or so wouldn't be a disaster), the one benefit is the definite return we'd see from Xabi, i.e. from his transfer back to Spain.

That is where he'll most probably go - to Spain, and more than likely to one of Barcelona or Real Madrid. I wonder if Benitez could exploit Alonso's highly sought after signitature and perhaps strike a swap deal with either club for a player they're willing to let leave? Both are said to be doing a fair bit of rebuilding, so it isn't far-fetched.

The obvious choice if he moved to Barcelona would be Abidal + cash (£5m?). That would well and truly solve our left-back issue and with Lahm highly likely to move to Barca i could see him being available.

Players from Real Madrid are a bit more of a speculative effort, at least from myself (unlike you Sticky, since you follow them and would know who could be a possibility). It's going to either be a full-back or winger most probably; which leads me onto the assumedly unattainable Sergio Ramos, and then Robinho. I did read Schuster was looking to offload the latter however, although i don't really keep that up-to-date with goings on at Real.

As i say, the obvious exchange would be Abidal. But suggestions are welcome...

Check this side out Sticky...


-------------------------------------Torres


--------Babel------------------------------------....---------------Silva
------------------------------------Gerrard



------------------------Barry
----------------------------------------------Mascherano


----Abidal-----------------------------------------------------------Degen
-------------------------Agger-----.--------Carragher


-------------------------------------Reina


Subs: Itandje, Skrtel, Arbeloa/Aurelio, Lucas, Mancini/Benayoun, Balotelli, Kuyt


In
Abidal - £10m
Balotelli - £5m (?)
Barry - £14m
Degen - £0m
Mancini - £4m
Silva - £17m
-
TOTAL: £50m

Out

Alonso - £15m
Carson - £6m
Crouch - £8m
Finnan - £1m
Guthrie - £2m
Kewell - £0m
Pennant - £7m
Riise - £4m
Voronin - £2m
-
TOTAL - £45m


In fact, it's insane that we could revamp the side like that and only be out of about £5million... and at the most i could see it stretch to £15m net, if the numbers given weren't totally accurate. It is a long list of departures but i think next to all will be linked with exits - perhaps only Alonso and Crouch being wanted to stay. And if we sell them, i think maybe trimming the squad slightly, like in attack, would still greatly benefit us because of the added quality out wide.

Abidal would be a brilliant buy as he'd solve our long-running left-back issues within a flash. I kept Babel on the left 'cause i think with someone overlapping he'd be far more dangerous - he's still predictable as it is because he can only really come inside and shoot, but with someone of Abidal's calibre relentlessly overlapping on the outside then the right-back or whoever has a real problem, because Babel's options are totally opened up.

The same idea would be applied to the left with Silva cutting inside and Degen overlapping. The Swiss full-back is the notable weakness in that side, but we've reportedly signed him (or at least a Bosman player), so there's little avoiding it. Maybe it's him, maybe it's not, but i've stuck him in anyway. He looks very quick and that's always a good thing, something we need - assuming he can defend and attack too.

You could call Gareth Barry a step down from Alonso but the was the Spaniards been playing for a while now you'd struggle to have a case. Sure in his first season or so he was sensational but he's not shown that for too long - and Barry could be more suited to our Premier League bid. I don't have a problem with him coming in.

Then you've got the likes of Mancini on the bench, if he wasn't starting, and Balotelli who'd be hungry for any playing time.

In attack we'd be a little light, but i'd be content with Torres, Balotelli and Kuyt - but only because Babel in my opinion could lead the attack if needed, with Mancini taking his place. It works - just about.

If only i was Liverpool manager...

Still, it shows if nothing else that we can generate funds from selling various players who're either not good enough or want to leave.

looks a good side not sure if inter would sell though looks like he has a bright future.....seriously dont like mancini no were near as good as quaresma would also prefer rodriguez or diego capel

I like that team Ben, but i can't see Inter letting Balotelli go for just £5m. I'd use that as an excuse to get Farfan, because he can play on the wing and up front.

As for Barry, i wouldn't be willing to pay £14m for him. We could buy someone much better for that price. Don't get me wrong, i like Barry and rate him very highly, but i'm not willing to pay that much for him. It's not like he's young or anything. Tottenham only paid a couple of million more for Modric, and Arsenal paid just over half that for Rosicky - who are both better in my opinion. Well, at least better in terms of value for money. Modric is about 6 years younger than Barry.

I wouldn't be prepared to sell Crouch for just £8m. I think he's worth much more than that. Double that in my opinion. If Barry is worth £14m, then Crouch certainly isn't worth £8m. I think he should fetch more than Barry - who i can't see being bought for that much. I really think Crouch is more than good enough to go for over £15m.

And now on to Abidal. I don't think he would cost us £10m. That's about the price Barca paid isn't it? I think his value would've gone down to about £7m, but hey, it's not a huge difference. I'd be willing to pay £10m for him though, because despite this season, i think he is still the best left back in the world.

That is a very good team though, and the difference Abidal and Silva would make could be really give us a fighting chance. I really like the options we would have, with Mancini and the other wingers.

Your saying Crouch is worth 16 million "double of 8" ?

No way he worth 16 million.

Well if Anelka was seen as a bargain for that price, why isn't Crouch worth that? He scored more than Anelka last season, he has a better international record, and a better record in the CL. Also, he offers something very few strikers can offer, (incredible height) and he's English. Oh and he's younger.

I could see Man City paying £12m+ for him.

i would love him to come to the toon. I do understand what your saying and your right, but i wouldnt want us to spend much more then 10m.

Yeah i didn't really have a clue about his price, hence the '(?)'... i just know he's thinking about moving on. I'm not sure about Farfan instead though as i think we could really use someone big, strong and quick up front that can lead the line in place of Torres... and of course someone who isn't going to whinge at not playing every week. Farfan does offer versatility though. Perhaps, depending on the price we could get Farfan for, you could get him in place of Mancini (because of his ability to play in attack), and then find someone of a different mould for Torres' cover.



I know £14m is high - but when you consider Bent went for £16.5m and Carrick £18m, Villa are going to think Barry is not too dissimilar. My reasoning was also that we'll probably offer players in exchange, perhaps Carson (£6m) and Riise (£4m), but because i don't think they'll be overly keen by that proposition we may need to add a few million on top to sway them (taking it to around £14m).

And also, Benitez is obviously intent on Barry signing, hence little point in speculating on other players of the same position, regardless of price.

Although i am a little concerned we may be getting Barry for the left-wing. I haven't actually, other than mere speculation, seen anything to suggest Alonso will be leaving in the summer and Xabi himself has even said he will be staying. Barry would perhaps be a similar replacement for Kuyt, in that he's not an out-and-out flair player but more solid, consistent and versatile, which could be what Benitez is after. That's my thinking anyway, whether we'd like it or not.



The problem with Crouch is that he has only a year remaining on his contract, meaning we're going to get a cut-price for him if he's sold. I totally agree he's around the £15m mark, but we won't get his full estimation. In fact he's in a similar state to Mancini, where he could buy-out his contract and leave us with only a few million in compensation (or so i've read).

I blame Parry, as per usual.



Well my estimations are just that, and could easily be wrong by a few million either side. The important thing is that Abidal should be available, and even at £10m (the figure i've merely read) would be definitely worth enquiring about. We badly need a full-back of his quality to take us on a great deal further.



It is a very good team indeed; but my fears lie in the fact that Benitez's transfer aspirations may not be so high, or financial limitations may mean he can't afford them to be so high. In fact i've decided not to speculate on our potential summer signings anymore, 'cause it's just frustrating, and i'll just wait and see what happens instead. We'll ultimately be disappointed i think if a team similar to what i set out is what we're expecting. Fun to dream anyway.

I'd take Balotelli. Brilliant player now and has enormous scope for higher fame. He'll be a world beater oneday, you just watch Hopefully in a Red shirt!!

That's good to know. Mainly because of the supposed budget. Everyone knows the earlier you buy the better - but what is uncertain is how much we'll have to spend. I assume around £30million would be net, which would be brilliant - it couldn't be the total outlay without considering the money we'd recover from sales, as then we'd be basically spending nothing. I'd be surprised if it was £30million net though as that's more than we spent last summer, and could be easily doubled with the sales of Carson, Crouch, Finnan, Guthrie, Pennant, Riise and Voronin.


Oh and meanwhile, we're being linked with Kenwyne Jones again. Apparently offering Crouch + £9million...



What a load of bullsh*t. He's worth twice that...