RAFA UNSURE OF HIS FUTURE

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has revealed tonight that his time at Liverpool maybe drawing to an end.
When asked if anyone from the Anfield boardroom had sat down with him and given assurances over his future, he replied pointedly: “No.” He added: “For one year I have been listening to stories about Martin O’Neill taking my job or Klinsmann, Mourinho, Rijkaard or Hiddink.

“But I have to keep doing my job. All I can do is focus on the next game.
“The opportunity to be in a European final is massive for any club. We have some problems with injuries, but we will be ready for the game.
Clearly the new board of Broughton, Ayre and Purslow are sceptical about the club's future under Benitez.
Why the beleaguered manager has made this public knowledge is familiar to close followers of the club.
When the team is doing badly or has a season like this one, Benitez, bless him, plays the victim.
It has baled him out many times before.
However, much as I like the man, it looks as though the new Anfield hierarchy might well be glad to see the end of the Rafa regime.
I think he should be given one more season to win the league title and if he cannot do that, then its time to say Que Sera, Sera.

TORRES FEARS FOR HIS LONG-TERM FUTURE IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL

Fernando Torres spoke of his fears that Premier League may shorten his career.
Speaking to the press, Torres was in cautious mode when he said;"I just can't imagine what state I'll be in within five or six years if I continue to play here - it could easily give me problems when I stop playing. The physical level is superior to all other countries."

He added: "The Premier League is such a tough competition and I have always admired this championship and the players who are here,
"This is my third season and I'm still amazed to see (Steven) Gerrard, (Wayne) Rooney and (Frank) Lampard, players who have been here a long time, still playing at such a high level and with such impressive rhythm because the English league really wears down a player.
Torres then went on to praise his manager Rafa Benitez;"The difference between him and my other managers is that when I was at Atletico I was always over-protected.

"They didn't ask so much of me," he said.
"Here, Rafa demands a lot and I have to live up to expectations. Some players need to be spoilt and other players like me need to always be pushed, and to have more asked of us.
"If I score twice in a game I want to hear that I played badly to help me do even better next time.
"Rafa is ruthless and sometimes it is tiring but he knows the right way to deal with me.
"I have put in a lot of effort but you always need someone who brings the best out in you, someone who is very demanding.
"If Rafa had not been here I would never have come. He has taught me a lot and he has helped me go beyond my limits and to be the player I am today.
Torres believes in Benitez, so , hopefuly he will come back to us in August with a clean bill of health.

OWNERS NEVER PAID FOR NEW STADIUM LEASE

Cheapskate

The new stadium at Stanley Park is in jeopardy.
Hicks and Gillette have not secured the all-important 999 year lease on the ground which is an absolute must before a sod can be turned on the place.
Liverpool City council expected the lease agreement to be signed two years ago.
But those penniless Americans have stalled on paying the £300,000 a year because, as we all know by now, the Yanks are just here to make a quick buck and do not care a jot about Liverpool Football club or its fans.
Meanwhile, the club is to spend £500,000 on renovating existing corporate boxes at Anfield.
Seems like the move to a new stadium is further away than ever.




Source (notw)

POOR PERFORMANCE IN MADRID

DIEGO FORLAN

What do you say about that display?
Poor in defence to let in Diego Forlan to score against us again after his Man Utd displays a few years ago.
Liverpool looked disjointed and unable to string a move together the entire match.
We should never have lost this game, in fact we had a perfectly legitimate Yossi Benayoun goal wrongly ruled out for offside in the first half.
A 1-1 draw would have been a fairer result based on the evidence of the game.
The 24 hour trip from Liverpool did have an effect on the team performance.
Team bonding? Don't make me laugh, it looked like each Liverpool player couldn't stand the sight of each other the way they played out there.
For 90 minutes they kept giving the ball away, hit too many long-balls and had about as much cohesion as the loser of a three-legged Donkey race.
Still, we got away from their with a 1-0 defeat so I am hoping that we will have another famous night at Anfield next Thursday.
We have to go on the attack from the off so that will allow the shackles to be removed as we go for a win against the Spaniards.
Why was Nabil El Zhar brought on as a sub late on?
If you pay £17 million for Aquilani, then surely he has to come on.
F**ked if I know.

FA: FINISH SEVENTH AND YOU QUALIFY FOR EUROPE

News from the FA today that Portsmouth have failed in their bid to gain entry into next season's Europa League so UEFA have awarded the spot to the team finishing seventh in the Premiership.
This is good news for Liverpool who currently lie in lowly 7th in the League.
They have been in a battle with Aston Villa for sixth so the pressure is eased slightly.
All eyes are now on tonight's semi-final against Athletico Madrid.

RAFA HAPPY WITH TEAM SPIRIT AFTER MARATHON JOURNEY

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez pronounced himself happy with preparations following the Marathon 24 hour journey to Madrid.
Rafa gave an uplifting Press Conference on the train from Paris to Bordeaux earlier today.
The Liverpool boss claimed that the long and ardous journey would not drain the players, rather it would have a galvanising effect on the team as it prepares to play the first leg of their Europa League semi-final game against Atheletico Madrid tonight.
'The trip has been surprisingly good, because you can see how everyone is sticking together,' he said. 'Sometimes you can take positives from something like this and, for us, it is the way the players have had a better team experience.

'Normally, we would be on a plane for maybe two hours, with everyone watching the film or using their PlayStation or something like that. But this has been different. They have been together for a long time and have talked more and done other stuff as a group.
'It has been difficult for everyone, because we are all tired. But you could see the players in the railway station, all talking to each other in different groups, then changing round to speak to others, rather than just sticking in their normal groups.'
So Rafa is obviously hoping for some team-bonding from the trip, lets hope so Rafa.
Come on ye Reds!

GLOOM AT ANFIELD DESPITE EASY WIN

Liverpool ran out easy winners against West Ham last night 3-0 but instead of the result and performance boosting the Anfield crowd, the mood in the stadium was one of despondency.

The Reds ran out easy winners with goals by Yossi Benayoun, David Ngog and an own goal by Rob Green.
Liverpool had all the possession and all the chances and were in complete command of the game for the full 90 mins and a bigger winning margin wouldn't have flattered the Reds.
But it all felt a bit flat, the crowd never really got going, 6,000 spare seats due in part to flights being grounded all over Europe.
The bombshell news that Fernando Torres has played his last game of the season for Liverpool following another operation on his right knee seems to have affected everybody from the fans through to the players.
It makes our chances of beating Athletico Madrid that much more difficult and they are a tough team to beat with Diego Forlan in their side.
But more than that, we are now fighting with Aston Villa for a Europa League place for next season, we are back up to sixth while Villa have a game in hand on us again.
Fighting for 6th place in the league, that's where we are, sad isn't it?
The uncertainty over Rafa Benitez's future, the club up for sale with a ridiculous asking price of £800 million by Hicks, its all combining to make it a gloomy season at Liverpool this year.
However being a die-hard fan for over 35 years now, i will keep believing and supporting the team as ever.

BOMBSHELL; TORRES TO HAVE KNEE OPERATION

Terrible news coming out of Anfield tonight is that Key player Fernando Torres is out for the rest of Liverpool's season.
A club spokesman said: "Fernando saw a specialist in Spain earlier today and it was decided that he would need surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee.

"This will be carried out later tonight. We cannot comment ahead of the operation, but as a guide, the usual rehabilitation period for this type of procedure is around six weeks."
This is terrible news as we stuggle to score goals without the great man in our side.
Our chances of winning The Europa League and finishing 4th have been dealt a fatal blow.
I just can't wait for this season to end as quickly as possible, its been a disaster.

GET TORRES ON THE TRAIN TO SPAIN

Fernando Torres is grounded in every sense of the word.
His right knee has flared up again and all flights out of the UK are grounded due to some Finnish belly-ache with Ash covering the Skies of Europe, Armageddon days are here again.
Seriously though, the club should think about sending poor Nando to Spain via the Eurostar through France and then onto Spain.
Yes, a long tedious journey that the young man may not wish to undertake, but, if he could get to met the man who operated on his right knee Ramon Cugat again to get a full examination of the extent of the injury.
Then it would be worthwhile, if he gets the all clear from his Doctor, he can stay in Spain for the Cup game first leg against his old club, Athletico Madrid.
The Surgeon earlier this week stated that there appeared to be no major problems from his initial scan and he felt that Torres should be fit to play "within a week".
There is a doubt about all Europa League ties being called off this week due to the no fly zones currently in operation. Things may have taken a turn for the worst if you believe everything you read.
Latest rumours are that Torres will have to have further surgery on the Meniscus that will rule him out for the rest of Liverpool's season and maybe the World Cup for Spain as well.
This would be a tragedy for the lad who was set to shine for both club and country in the Europa League and the World Cup Finals.
Lets hope he gets the all clear as soon as possible.

RAFA, I THINK ITS TIME FOR YOU TO GO

On the 21st Anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster when we were somberly remembering the loss of those 96 Liverpool fans, young and old, what do we read in the papers and on the net?

No, not a heart-felt homily to the dead, instead Rafa's agent Manuel Garcia Quillon touting his boss to the football clubs of Juventus and Real Madrid.
Instead of keeping silent on this day of all days.
 When humility and composure is expected, Rafa's agent was kiteing his boss around Europe when he should have been keeping his mouth shut to respect the dead today.
I understand that stories do get bandied about in the Press and on the Net on the slightest thing, but surely Benitez's agent could have kept quiet for one day at least.
No, he didn't, he gave interviews saying Juve want him to sign within ten days, Real Madrid might want him at the end of the season, then saying Rafa wants to stay at Liverpool if he gets loads of cash to improve the team, otherwise he is off, and finally saying some Chinese consortium will buy Liverpool only if Rafa Benitez is retained as Manager.

Seems to me as if Benitez is getting his agent to play the Devil's Advocate and is using him to strengthen his tenuous position at Anfield.

Very clever Rafa, Machiavellian politics at its best,but it has backfired on you in my opinion.

Revealing your hand when Liverpool is remembering its dead is a serious error on your part, yes you were at the Ceremony at Anfield today and you played your full part, but for me, your time is up.
Go now, in the name of God.

RAFA TO GET £50 MILLION FOR NEW PLAYERS

Great news today. With the effective takeover of the club's debt by Barclay's bank and the postponement of the July repayment of £100 by RBS to allow time for our club to be sold by the hated Hicks and Gillette.
There is also likely to be an announcement that funds will be made available in the summer - potentially up to £50million - as Barclay's Capital, one of the biggest and most respected investment banks in the world offer an interim refinancing package to stabilise the club in the period they need to find new owners.

This is great news, it means Rafa finally has the chance to dip into the market for a  quality centre-forward, a new winger and a decent left back.
There was the very real possibility of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard being sold this Summer had Barclay's not stepped in.

With the probable sales of Riera, Deggen and Babel raising more cash to spend in the transfer window, Benitez will have no excuses and must spend astutely and wisely this Summer to properly compete with the teams from Manchester as well as Chelsea and Spurs next season.

Martin Broughton will take over as chairman of Liverpool FC this week on the orders of RBS.

Hicks and Gillette will also step down from the board as the squeeze is being put on them to sell up by the bank,it is believed the Americans want £500 million for the club, when they only paid £240 million to David Moores three years ago, they will now have to settle for the best offer they can get, well done RBS.

Despite our poor season in the League, we may have something to cheer off the field, at last!

TORRES KNEE INJURY NOT AS BAD AS FIRST FEARED

Fernando Torres is in his native Spain this week to try to discover the exact nature of his latest knee injury.

The striker was badly missed in Sunday's draw with Fulham, so everyone at Anfield is praying that he will be fit to resume as soon as possible.

Initial scans, both at Anfield and today in Spain, suggest that there is only slight swelling of the Meniscus which is a small c-shaped ligament around the fibula.

He is being treated by knee-specialist Ramon Cugat who is planning a further test on Nando later this week.

Should he need surgery, he would be out for four to six weeks, this would be a disaster for Liverpool in the hunt for European glory.

However, initial reports seem positive and he may just need ice-packs and some physiotherapy on his knee.
It is hoped that he will be fit to return to action within a week.

I had this story a full day before everyone else, well done me!

WILL JOVANOVIC MAKE THE DIFFERENCE NEXT SEASON?

After today's very disappointing draw at home to Fulham, people have been calling for wholesale changes to the team in the close-season. Torres, Carra and now Benitez have been calling for £60 to £80 million to be reed up by the club to buy new players. Yes, I would to see a David Villa, Silva, Aguero or a Ribery or two at the club, but its just not going to happen.

We are deep in debt, as we all know and if the Americans are still in power in the summer, then the most our manger can hope to get is £20 million plus whatever he can raise from selling off Riera, Babel, Degen and co. That we need a quality striker to play alonside Torres and to cover for him when he is injured, has been obvious all season. 

We have already signed a forward with a reputation for scoring goals at various clubs in Europe. Milan Jovanovic who is joining us on a free this Summer, freely hits the back of the net for Standard Liege where he has averaged around 20 goals a season. While he may not be the star quality signing that everyone wants, we could have done with him today upfront against Fulham.

HICKS & GILLETTE APPOINT BANK TO SELL LIVERPOOL

Tom Hicks and George Gillette have appointed Barclays to oversee an auction of the club to the highest bidder.
The Americans have finally realised that their time as Liverpool owners is at an end and are looking to gain the highest possible bid for their investment.
That is why they have employed Barclay's Capital in an effort to get fresh investors into the club.

Martin Broughton

The prospect of full ownership of Liverpool is likely to whet the appetite of many buyers given the prospect of a new stadium and the great traditions of the club.

Martin Broughton, the chairman of British Airways will be confirmed as the new chairman of Liverpool FC early next week, he will play a key role in the sale of the club.

Broughton is a keen sports fan. He is a Chelsea supporter but more importantly, he has alot of experience in handling difficult corporate takeovers. He is to be chairman on an interim basis only to deal with the possible takeover and will not be involved in the day to day running of the club.

The Rhone Group's offer of £110 million for a 40% stake in Liverpool lapsed last Monday, Hicks wasn't happy with the deal but if a lucrative offer to buy the club outright comes along, then it seems that finally, we may just see the back of those hated Americans and the dawn of a new era at Liverpool football club.

Sounds to good to be true, lets pray that it does happen.

HICKS & GILLETTE IN TOWN TRYING TO REFINANCE DEBT AGAIN!

Yanks Out!

Liverpool's hated owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette are in London trying to refinance the £237 million debt they owe to RBS.
The duo allowed the Rhone Group's £110 million offer for a 40% stake in the club to pass the Monday deadline for acceptance.
"There's nothing imminent," said one of them.
Tom Hicks, in particular, was unwilling to accept the deal as he would have made no money on the deal.
Rothchilds and Merryl Lynch are the two banking operations retained by Hicks and Gillette to oversee their futures at Liverpool, futures I hope they do not have.
RBS have repeatedly stated that they want a payment of £100 million before July from the club, before they consider a new refinancing deal.
It has now emerged that RBS may not pursue that £100 million payment.
It appears that Hicks and Gillette want to go it alone without a new investor brought in.
They want the bank to refinance the £237 million existing debt that they put on Liverpool football club when they bought it.
This is simply a delaying tactic by the hated Yanks as they have run out of options and potential investors who are unwilling to pump money into our debt-ridden club without having a proper stake in the club.
Refinaning will cost the club much more in fees and interest payments and will seriously reduce our transfer kitty in the summer.
What did we do to get these two buffoons at our club?

Great to see Man Utd crash out of the Champion's League tonight!

CORDOZO THE MAIN THREAT AGAINST BENFICA

Liverpool face a tough return leg at Anfield against Benfica.
Already 2-1 down thanks to two well taken penalties taken by Paraguayan striker Oscar Cordozo, the Reds will have to be extra careful in defending this man.
The 6ft 3" striker has scored 27 goals in all competitions this season so he needs serious looking after Thursday night.
In the first leg, their main striker could easily have had a hat-trick thanks to some slack defending by Liverpool's back four.
However, Cordozo didn't find the back of the net with any of his chances, luckily for Liverpool or the tie would be out of sight by now.
I am glad to see Kyrgiacos will be in the back four as he gives us an aerial solidity at the back which will be vital.
So,on Thursday, its all about, keeping things tight at the back and relying on Torres to get the goals to get us into the semi-finals of the Europa League.


Bet Arsenal and Chelsea would like to be still in Europe.
Maybe even Man Utd too!

IS FOURTH PLACE BEYOND US?

After today's disappointing draw with Birmingham it looks like we are out of the race for 4th place in the Premier League this season.
Hard to take, isn't it?
We huffed and we puffed but we couldn't break Birmingham down.
Steven Gerrard's goal was soon cancelled out by a soft goal scored by Liam Ridgewell for Birmingham.
For some strange reason, Torres was substituted for youngster Ngog on 66 mins.
Why Rafa? Exhaustion? I don't think so.
Liverpool had chances to win the game after that with Ngog missing three clear chances on goal.
So it ended in a  1-1 draw, no bad result normally but with Liverpool desperately needing the win, it felt like two points dropped.
At least we have the Europa League against Benifica to look forward to on Thursday!

RYAN BABEL JUST DOESN'T CUT IT AT LIVERPOOL

Following Ryan Babel's stupid red card in our defeat to Benifica, I am really wondering just what is the point in having this young man at our club.
When he was signed as a Liverpool player for £11.5 million three years ago, he was supposed to be the biggest new player to emerge from Ajax and Holland.
However, he has abysmally failed to deliver on his promise since joining the Reds.
I would have opted for Ryston Drenthe from that Dutch under-21 team that did so well in reaching the World under 20's quarter-finals in 2005 instead.
Babel has been given chance after chance by Rafa Benitez but has repeatedly failed to deliver for Liverpool.
Yes, he has scored the occasional good goal for us, but for the most part he has been less than effective in a Liverpool shirt.
The final straw, for me came with his sending off against Benifica on Thursday night.
He needlessly got himself sent off by repeatedly pushing the face off a Benefia defender who had scythed down Fernando Torres.
Babel should have known better than to risk getting sent off and putting his team in jeopardy, but that is what happened and we eventually lost the game with only ten players on the pitch.
This is the latest in a long line of transgressions by the Dutchman, with numerous outbursts on Twitter and Facebook from him complaining about being left out of the team.
I think the time has come to drop him from the team in favour of the industrious Israeli Yossi Benayoun, who hasn't had a good time of it this lately due to niggling injuries.
He is fit now and I would hope that Benitez will pick him from now until the end of the season.
And in the summer transfer window, take the first offer we can get for Babel.  

BABEL SENT OFF & TWO PENALTIES COST LIVERPOOL AGAINST BENIFICA

Liverpool went down 2-1 to Benifica in Lisbon in the Europa League tonight.

Liverpool went ahead on 9 mins thanks to a clever back-heel by Danny Agger from a Gerrard corner.

However, Liverpool's early good work was undone when Ryan Babel was sent off for foul play on the half-hour mark.

After that it was damage limitation for the Reds away from home.

Then in the second half two penalties were conceded by first Emiliano Insua and then Jamie Carragher meant that the Rafa's team had to settle for an away loss in the first leg.
The great thing is we scored an away goal so we stand a good chance of progressing to the semi-finals.