HICKS & GILLETT SLASH ASKING PRICE FOR LIVERPOOL

A major change in approach by hated Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett has taken place.
The duo are willing to sell 50% of the club to interested parties.
Previously, the Yanks wanted only to sell 25% of the club for £100 million.
However, despite extensive hawking of the club in the Middle East, they have not found an investor willing to invest in Liverpool Football Club on those terms.
With the club £240 million in debt, due entirely to the hated Americans, they have had to take drastic action.
Now Hicks and Gillett are willing to sell half of the club in order to gain new investment.
It is believed this will bring DIC back into the reckoning as they could buy a major stake in Liverpool FC.
Work needs to begin on the new stadium soon, Liverpool City Council is pressing the club to begin work on the new ground so new investment is needed quickly.
Lets hope that this is the beginning of the end of the Hicks & Gillett regime, for once and for all and we finally get in proper owners who are fit to run the club the way it should be run.

RAFA SAYS HES STAYING AT LIVERPOOL

Despite intense debate and reporting in the media, Rafa Benitez has this evening come out and issued a statement denying all reports claiming he will be the next Juventus manager.
Rafa stated:" I want to make it absolutely clear I have no agreement with Juventus and have not and will not be meeting Juventus or any other club.
I have a long-term contract with Liverpool and I repeat what I said on Friday, that I am happy here and my only focus is to do my job as well as I can to get the team back into the top four."
This is a welcome statement by the boss which should put an end to all the nonsense in the papers and on the net about the Juventus job.

ITS A FORWARD WE NEED, NOT A FULL BACK

Rafa Benitez has been quoted in the Press today as saying we need another right back n the Transfer Window as cover for injured Glen Johnson.
Jamie Carragher has been playing very well in the position lately, we also have Phillip Deggen available to play there, while Martin Kelly and Steven Darby also play in that role.
No, what we are crying out for is a decent forward who can score plenty of goals for the team when Torres is on the injured list, which is happening far too often for Liverpool.
So come on Rafa, pull a rabbit out of the hat and bring a quality striker to the club an propel us into the top four again.

£20 MILLION AQUILANI HAS TO PLAY

After last night's disappointing performance against Wolves, the question must be asked.
Why wasn't Aquilani playing?
The little Italian had begun to find his feet in a Liverpool shirt, using the ball well, making things happen in the middle of the pitch, showing lots of neat touches and he set up the goal by Kuyt after 5 minutes against Spurs.
To my mind he should have been an automatic starter last night with either Lucas or Riera on the bench.
But Rafa obviously doesn't fancy him in tight, physical matches, so he was dropped to the bench and the team struggled for creativity without him.
Rafa, you have got to have more faith in your players and the team.
The best way to cope with a team like Wolves or Bolton (up next) is to get the ball down and pass it.
Pass and move is the Liverpool way not hoof it up the field.
Lets hope we see the 'Little Prince' in the team on Saturday, not warming the bench again.
What do you think?
Was Rafa right to leave him out of the team against Wolves?

MAXI MAKES HIS FIRST START

Maxi Rodriguez makes his first start in a Liverpool jersey as Steven Gerrard returns to the side while unlucky Aquilaini drops to the bench.

Team:

Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Insua, Rodriguez, Lucas, Mascherano, Riera, Gerrard, Kuyt.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES'S

Hard to tell whats going on with this Kenwyne Jones fella.

Over the weekend you had Steve Bruce (Man Utd scum) complaining about Liverpool 'tapping-up' the player behind his back.

Then we hear he would go to Anfield on loan to save on taxes?

How daft is that?

Then the press say the deal is dead in the water as Sunderland want £12 million for him on a permanent transfer which seemed to blow Liverpool out of the water, as we have little to spend this Transfer Window.

Now today it turns out that Christian Purslow, Liverpool's astute MD and Niall Quinn, Sunderland's Chairman, have been talking away to each other since the window opened about signing the player.

Rafa Benitez, in his press conference today said cryptically that it was a matter for the two Executives to sort out, implying that it was out of his hands.

It gets stranger by the day this story.

Jones is not a bad player, but I wouldn't give £12 million to Steve Bruce for him, no way.

VENABLES SAYS LIVERPOOL SHOULD SELL STEVE GERRARD

Terry Venables has come out in the press this week and said that Liverpool should consider selling Steven Gerrard.

The former England boss, now reduced to writing for trashy tabloids and the odd TV appearance claims the club would be better off by cashing in on our Captain and buying two quality players with the money we would get from cashing in on Stevie G:

"The £40m, £50m or even £60m received for Gerrard could fund three or four good signings and be the catalyst for a bright new era at Anfield.

"Liverpool could have a new direction," El Tel goes on to say,"New tactics and goals could come from elsewhere on the field.

I am sure he is as frustrated as anyone by his club's season...I wonder if he might depart this summer?

Much will depend on where his club finish this term."

Thanks for that Terry, I don't think Steven is going anywhere, he is Liverpool through and through and recently laughed off reports in the press that he is set to leave the club.

In fact, he is determined to bring the Premiership trophy to Anfield before he ends his career.

Keep smiling Terry!

LIVERPOOL WON'T SIGN JONES

It looks like Kenwyne Jones will not be joining Liverpool anytime soon.
Following ex Man Utd player Steven Bruce's amazing outburst against Liverpool, claiming they were tapping up his player, Liverpool FC have decided to pull out of any deal for the striker.
The Trinidad & Tobago player was signed from Southhampton in 2008.
Sunderland value the player at £15 million which is simply not an option either this season's window, or the next for Rafa Benitez.
Liverpool MD Christian Purslow rang Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn for clear the air talks over the player saying there were no attempts to unsettle the player.
Liverpool will now be looking to Europe to bring another striker to Anfield this winter.
Valencia's Nicola Zigic remains a feasible option, having only played 3 games in three seasons for the Spanish side, the tall Serbian is available and Rafa is looking to snap him up.

STEVEN GERRARD THIS SEASON'S STATS

The absence of Stevie Gerrard through injury this season has been worrying, we have sorely missed our Captain many times this campaign.
However, in the stats below, it shows that he has not made his usual contribution to Liverpool games as he normally does.

Five goals in 17 appearances in the league for the Liverpool captain is below his usual high standard, lets hope for better things on his return from injury.

The team is playing and defending well again now so lets hope Gerrard can deliver the goods, when he returns from injury.

This season:
Apps: As sub:Goals:Yellow:Red
Total (Club) 25 (2) 6 3 0
League 17 (1) 5 2 0
FA Cup 2 (0) 1 0 0
League Cup 1 (1) 0 0 0
European/Others 5 (0) 0 1 0

NEW ATTITUDE GETTING RESULTS

Liverpool have beaten Spurs 2-0 at Anfield, thanks to two goals from Dutchman Dirk Kuyt.
The Reds faced a tough game against Harry Rednapp's team who are ahead of Liverpool in fourth place, so a home win was imperative.
So a fifth minute goal involving Aquilani and Kuyt was just the start that Rafa and his team needed.
The tempo of the rest of the game was a Liverpool team challenging ferorciously for every ball, trying to win every tackle and competing for every 50/50 ball.
Tottenham was simply ground down by the Liverpool machine which gave away nothing in defence.
Kyrgiacos was magnificent in defence, keeping former Red, Peter Crouch in his pocket and getting forward to threaten from every set-piece.
As the second wore on, it was Liverpool who were finishing the stronger, Kuyt had some good chances to add to his goal, Riera also came close with a header as the Reds dominated the ame.
The inroduction of David Ngog for the tiring Aquilani had an immediatle effect.
The young Frenchman caused havoc among the Spurs defence and was eventually fouled in the box for a penalty that Kuyt scored at the second time of asking by ref Howard Webb, giving Liverpool a 2-0 win.
The result was welcome and moves us into 6th in the table and just a point behind Tottenham in 4th.
So our season is back on track in the Premiership.
Good to see George Gillette come out an support Rafa at this time.
Good also to see Stevie G rubbish reports that he wants to quit Liverpool, I was fooled by that one myself.
So well done Rafa and Liverpool, we have turned a corner.

VIDEO OF LIVERPOOL TARGET NICOLA ZIGIC

Nikola Zigic vs Roma
It seems that Liverpool are in the hunt For Valencia's Nikola Zigic.
The 6ft 8" Serbian striker has only played three times in three seasons for the Spanish club and is keen on a move away from Spain.
The 28 year old went on loan to Racing Santander last season, scoring 13 goals in 19 games, so he obviously has something about him.
Liverpool, Chelsea and numerous other clubs are interested in him so Rafa better move quickly if we are to snap him up.

LETS BATTLE FOR FOURTH PLACE

After last weekend's drama at the Britannia Stadium where a battling display by the Reds resulted in a draw against Stoke, we face a crunch match at Anfield against high-flying Tottenham Hotspur.
Tonight's game against Harry Redknapp's Spurs represents a difficult match against a team currently above us in fourth in the League.
Liverpool, desperately in need of a win, go into the game without injured Torres, Gerrard, Johnson and Benayoun.
This means we will have to play Aquilani, new signing Maxi Rodriguez in midfield and either Ngog or Ryan Babel alongside Dirk Kuyt in attack.
I thought the experiment of playing Kyrgiacos alongside Carra and Skrtel worked well against Stoke, until the last minute, of course.
Whatever team Rafa decides to put out tonight, lets hope its good enough to beat the Yids and move us up the table, where we belong.

STEVIE G WANTS TO JOIN REAL MADRID

Liverpool Captain Steven Gerrard wants to add to his medal collection by moving abroad to Spanish giants, Real Madrid in the summer.

The Captain is worried at the direction the club is taking this season and is worried that Liverpool is falling behind Man City, Spurs and even Aston Villa this season.

It is believed that the 30 year old skipper would command a fee of £30 million, which Real Madrid would have no problem in raising for a player they have coveted for a long time.

A source close to the player said: "Stevie doesn't want to play for another club in the Premier League. If he did move, then he would prefer it to be abroad to a club like Real Madrid or Inter Milan."

Hard to blame Steven if he wanted to put his career first, he has given his life to Liverpool Football club and owes us nothing, so I wouldn't blame him if he left.

After all Kevin Keegan, John Toshack and Graham Sounness did the same thing years ago.

GILLETTE WANTS RAFA OUT NOW

Its is reported tonight that George Gillette wants an immediate end to Rafa Benitez's reign at Liverpool.
It is said that he was reluctant to award him a new five year deal last season and is now pushing for a termination of the under pressure Manager's contract.
Tom Hicks, however, is keen to keep Rafa at Anfield as he believes the man still holds the support of the Kop.
Though, the season to date has been very poor reaching a new low with the loss to Reading at Anfield on Wednesday, they managed a hard-fought draw with Stoke at the Potteries.
While the two Americans are at loggerheads, it appears that no decision will be reached on Benitez's future.
The Anfield faithful have a major bearing on all of this.
If they turn on Benitez, as they did after the Reading defeat, then matters will have come to a head and Hicks will act by removing Rafa.

RAFA HAS TWO GAMES TO SAVE HIS JOB

Wasn't it sad to watch Rafa's press conference at Melwood today?
Nervously reading from a scrap of paper, he apologised to the fans because of this disastrous season.
He mentioned "facts" again, like he did last year when Liverpool were then top of the League and looking good for the Title.
Of course we didn't quite make it last year, but this term we have taken a major step backwards in terms of results and performances.
Tomorrow's lunch-time game against Stoke and Wednesday's crunch game against Spurs will define Liverpool's season in the League and also Benitez's future at the club.
Despite MD Cristian Purslow coming out and saying that Rafa's job "Is not on the agenda."
The fact is that is Liverpool want to attract badly needed new investment in the club, they cannot do so with a Manager who is failing to get results.
With injuries to Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun this is crisis-time at the club.
If results don't go our way tomorrow and especially on Wednesday, expect an announcement from Anfield terminating Rafa's reign.
It is believed his huge payout wouldbe paid in instalments allowing the Americans to make a swift move for Guus Hiddink who is willing and available to take over the reins at Anfield.

IS HIDDINK THE MAN TO REPLACE RAFA?

Guus Hiddink's record with Chelsea.
After the sacking of Chelsea's former manager, the Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari during the 2008–09 English Premier League season, Chelsea confirmed on 11 February 2009 that Hiddink would become Scolari's replacement until the end of the Premier League season, whilst continuing his duties with Russia.

Hiddink's first game in charge was a 1–0 victory against Aston Villa at Villa Park.

His first game in charge at Stamford Bridge was a 1–0 victory over Juventus in the Champions League knockout stage.

Success continued in the form of a 3–1 away victory against Liverpool—commentators stated that Hiddink had rejuvenated Chelsea following Scolari's departure.

After knocking Liverpool out of the competition, Hiddink went on to take Chelsea to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea lost out to eventual winners Barcelona in the 93rd minute after 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge, after numerous penalty calls were turned down. They were knocked out on the away goals rule.
Hiddink only lost once during his tenture as Chelsea manager, a 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, where Luka Modric scored the only goal of the match. In the final home game of the season, in which Chelsea beat Blackburn Rovers 2-0, Chelsea home fans chanted Hiddink's name throughout the match and called for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to 'sign him up' (on a permanent basis).Hiddink's highly positive reception highlighted the Chelsea fans' appreciation of the manager. He marked an end to his Premier League campaign with a thrilling 3-2 away win over Sunderland.
In his last game as a temporary coach of Chelsea, he won the 2009 FA Cup by beating Everton 2-1 at Wembley. He was visibly pleased at winning the Cup, and in subsequent interviews claimed it was one of his biggest achievements. Even though throughout his tenure at Chelsea various players asked him to stay, including captain John Terry, Michael Ballack, and Petr Čech, Hiddink always stated that he intended to return to his post with Russia.

Now that he is a free agent following his release from the Russia job when they failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, he is available to the likes of Liverpool, maybe we should sign him on a pre-contract agreement for next season.

I am still hoping Rafa can turn things around for Liverpool though.

Its up to you, the fans.

What do you think?

Should we go for Guus, or stick with Rafa?

RAFA STAYS UNTIL END OF THE SEASON

Following last nights calamitous defeat at home to Reading, there has been an outcry in the media by former players, pundits and some fans to sack Rafa Benitez as soon as possible.
However, this is not the Liverpool way of doing things, the Boss will be given until the end of the season to see if he can get things back on track.
According to Liverpool MD Cristian Purslow, Benitez's position: "Is not on the agenda."
There is no doubt that it has been a disastrous campaign so far.
Out of the Champions League at the group stage, seventh in the Premier League, out of The Carling Cup and now dumped out of The FA Cup by a club at the bottom of the Championship.
Not a good season by any standards.
Its a remarkable turnaround in fortunes from last season when we were top of the Premiership at the same stage of the Season.
Where has it all gone so badly wrong?
The loss of Alonso is the main reason, he was our play maker, everything went through him from defence to attack.
The limited but improving Lucas has been playing in his stead while his replacement, Alberto Aquilaini has only now broken into the team and, to be fair, he looks a class act.
Injuries to Torres and Gerrard early in the Season have not helped either as we don't have proper replacement for Torres especially.
Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun all picked up injuries against Reading and will be out for between two to six weeks, a disaster.
The defence has let in far too many goals this campaign.
I think we have lost 11 games already this Season.
So the pressure is definitely on Benitez.
He has to try and guide Liverpool to fourth in order to save his job.
It will not be easy with Man City, Spurs and Villa all playing well and all ahead of us in the League.
But I and the Liverpool board believe he should be given until May to get things right.
Otherwise Guus Hiddink, Jose Mourinho and others wait in the wings.

NOBODY ASKED FOR FERGUSON'S HEAD WHEN LEEDS BEAT UTD

Aahh, there he is.
Old Red Nose himself.
Despite being beaten by League One side Leeds in the 3rd round also, nobody called for his sacking did they?
So why are all the papers calling for Rafa's head after this defeat?
Yes, it was a bad defeat against lowly Reading to knock us out of the Cup but it was no worse a defeat that the defeat than Man Utd by Leeds in the game the other week.
Yes it is a demoralising defeat tonight by Championship Struggling Reading but we have to to take it on the chin and move on.
I always felt that the Europa League was our best hope of glory this season and tonight's match confirmed that view.
Its a disappointing defeat, nothing more than that.

PLAYER RATINGS AGAINST READING

Player Ratings

1. Cavalieri: Made a few comfortable saves, wasn't at fault for either goal. 6/10

2. Degen: Looked lively early on before fading in the second half.5/10

3. Carragher: Lead the back line with authority, a few nervy moments but took the game to Reading in extra-time. 8/10

4. Agger: Was at fault for the cross for Reading's winner. Made a few forward runs in the game. 5/10

5. Insua: Was caught out of position time and time again, not a good display by the young Argentine. 4/10

6. Aquilaini: Played some good football in midfield showing some nice touches and passes, had a good chance to score late-on but headed wide. 8/10

7. Lucas: Poor game by the much-maligned young Brazilian, failed to dominate the midfield as he should have. 5/10

8. Benayoun: Worst game in a Liverpool shirt. Gave away the injury-time penalty that led to extra-time and then missed a simple chance with only the keeper to beat. 4/10

9. Kuyt: Another hard wording display by the honest but limited Dutchman. 5/10

10. Gerrard: Sent in the shot that gave us a half-time lead via a deflection, looked lively when he was on. 6/10

11.Torres: Went off injured on 26mins, not on long enough to be rated.

Subs;

Ngog: Came on for Torres but hardly got a kick. 5/10

Skrtel replaced tiring Degen. Skrtel didn't ut out cross for Long's goal. 4/10.

Babel: Came on for Gerrard on half-time, didn't try a leg. 4/10

Starman: Alberto Aquilani. Dominatated midfield for long stretches with some quality passing.

So, a bad night for the Reds, we are out or the FA Cup now as well.

Next up Stoke away on Saturday at 12:45pm

Lets hope for a better showing from the team this weekend.

IS MAXI STILL COMING TO ANFIELD?

Just thought I would show you this video of Maxi Rodriguez again, a quality player that should be coming to Liverpool sometime soon.

I think its just a matter of sorting out a pay-out from Athletico Madrid, enabling his arrival at Anfield.

A very welcome addition to the club.

CHAMAKH TO JOIN REDS?

Latest transfer rumours suggest that young Moroccan International Maroune Chamakh may be on his way to Anfield.
The Bordeaux striker had previously stated that he was happy to stay in France with their large Moroccan Community but it now seems that Liverpool are in advanced talks with his agent to bring him to Liverpool for around £8 million.
With the imminent arrival of Maxi Rodriguez from Athletic Madrid, this could be a good bit of business in the market by Rafa Benitez and his scouting team.
It is also reported that Birmingham has bid £8 million for Ryan Babel.
Rafa should snap their hands off on this one, Babel has talent but he has failed to produce it at Liverpool.
Could be a busy transfer window at Liverpool as we try to get our season back on track by getting rid of the driftwood and bringing in proven talent for the team.
What do you think?
Should we sign these players or not?

GERRARD UPBEAT AS DOSSENA LEAVES

Steven Gerrard came out in an honest interview yesterday when he said that: "The table never lies, we haven't been good enough.
We are in this position for a reason and it tells us that we haven't been good enough and the players have to take responsibility for that.
I still think we can turn the corner.
As Captain, I have got to make sure that happens, we need to put it right on the pitch."
A lot of Liverpool's player have been issuing statements this season saying the same thing while their own performances have been well below par.
Stevie G has scored 5 League goals this season, the same as Dirk Kuyt while Fernando Torres leads the way on 12 in an injury-hampered season.
I am confident that Liverpool can up their performances this year, despite a poor start to the season.
We have a lot of quality players in our team and the arrival of Maxi Rodriguez will make a big difference to the team.
Stevie then went on to praise Aquilaini: "The boy is a player, he sees a pass and he can dictate the tempo of a game. I don't want to tempt fate, but he's very similar to Xabi."

Meanwhile, its reported tonight that Napoli have agreed a €5 million fee with Liverpool for
the signing of Italy International, Andre Dossena.
The man has never really figured in Rafa Benitez plans despite scoring good goals against Real Madrid and Man Utd last season.
In World Cup year, the player is anxious to be playing regularly to gain a place in the Italian squad.
Best of luck mate.

LIVERPOOL GET BURNLEY IN THE 4TH ROUND

If Liverpool get past Reading in their 3rd round replay next Wednesday week the get a home tie against Owen Coyle's Burnley.
A tricky test no doubt.
Despite everyone lashing out at Liverpool's performance yesterday, I don't think we played that badly, we created a few chance and Torres should have scored late-on with that header.
That's the beauty of the FA Cup, every team has a chance in a one off game to cause an upset and that's what Leeds United did to Man U today.
I love it!

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF MAXI RODRIGUEZ

MilanKakaBaros - Maxi Rodriguez Goals and Assists Compilation- Argentina and Atletico Madrid

The lad looks good, lets hope we get him.