davewigan

Maybe he knows the sale is imminent and looking to splash the cash!

Could it be the same consortium that where in the papers about a month ago interested in the scum? May have looked at the cost of buying them and the fact the glazer don't want to sell and changed there target. Wasn't abromovich looking at various clubs before Chelsea and come close to buying spurs.

Maybe it's Mauktoum who is personnaly interested. What is his personal wealth?

From the express had to check the date was 2010! LIVERPOOL SALE CLOSE AS JUVENTUS ENTICE RAFA BENITEZ Express DIC Link Rafa Benitez is on the verge of ending his six-year reign at Liverpool Sunday May 2,2010 By John Richardson Have your say(0) DUBAI International Capital are closing in on a £500million buy-out of Liverpool as manager Rafa Benitez prepares to join Juventus. It will be all change at Anfield over the coming weeks with unpopular American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks relinquishing control and the club being forced to find a new boss. In fact, the search for a new manager is already under way, with high-ranking Liverpool officials aware that Benitez has verbally agreed to join Serie A side Juventus at the end of the season on a £4.5m four-year deal. GENERAL ELECTION 2010: GET THE LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS HERE... Now it’s just a case of the Italians agreeing compensation with Liverpool for Benitez to end his ­ six-year reign on Merseyside. There will also be a major upheaval in the boardroom with DIC, the investment arm of Dubai’s ruling family led by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the front runner in the process to agree a deal with Gillett and Hicks. DIC attempted to purchase the club in 2007 when major shareholder David Moores declared he was open to offers but then former chief executive Rick Parry recommended a sale to the Americans. They were also in negotiations a year later to buy Gillett’s 50 per cent shareholding only for talks to break down. Now it could be third time lucky for Sheikh Mohammed, a regular visitor to this country through his passion for horse racing. DIC will also commit funds to build the much-anticipated new ground and make a considerable sum of money available for transfers. Prominent in the discussions is DIC chief and self-confessed Liverpool fan Sameer Al Ansari. SEARCH FOOTBALL for: Whatever the outcome of the delicate negotiations, Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow knows he has to prepare for a future without Benitez. He is compiling a list of likely candidates which include Inter Milan’s Jose Mourinho, Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill, Ajax’s Martin Jol and former Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard. But the eventual answer could lie closer to home with former manager Kenny Dalglish. The Scot, who returned to Anfield under Benitez to assume a role in the academy and is also a Liverpool ambassador, would bring unity and the old boot room spirit back to the club. Benitez has become increasingly frustrated with life under Gillett and Hicks, believing that history is repeating itself. He left Valencia, where he won two Spanish titles and the UEFA Cup, famously stating: “I asked for a table and they bought me a lampshade” – a reference to players he wanted to sign. Before facing Chelsea today at Anfield in what will almost certainly be his last home game as Liverpool manager, admitted: “I left Valencia because the conditions changed.” On his current situation at Liverpool he added: “I decided to sign a contract extension last summer because the squad was good and the money could be there. At the end the conditions have changed. “The season has not been good. That is clear.”

I won't believe any of it till we see Mihir Bose inside view! After months of bascombe sensational exclusive reporting in the rag, when apparently somethingSis happening and been picked up by a number of other media outlets he seems to have missed the story completely, he mist have done a parry and gone on his hols.

Is the scum bags had lost shrek for 10 games do you think they would have been 10 points or more worse off and they have another 35 million striker to cover his absence.

Torres for 10 more games and I think we would have at least 10 more points

I know this is one of the worse seasons I have experianced in 25 years. But if Nando had been fit for mist of it I think we would have been challenging for the league. His stats of 19 games and 15 goals is tremendous especially considering a number of those games he hasn't been fully fit and looked like he has struggled . Where would the scum bags have been if shrek had the same problems who has 28 games and 25 goals. The positions in the league could be reveresed

Mascherano .....???

7 points from 9 and only one goal conceded

and who would you sugest as a suitable replacement, working under the same constraints that currently exist?

Isn't Paul hart available - he has the experiance of working with no budget

No. What the club needs now is stability. Getting rid of the manager mid season is not the way to go. Rafa has earned the right to be judged at the end of the season. And even then it would need to be complete worse case scenario bl(bottom 10 etc.) for me to change my mind

Redknapp - I was speaking to my mate stevie and he wants to play in the middle... i tell you!!

Rafa must have forgot (AGAIN) he has only 1.5 to spend and has spent 2 million of that on the Greek!

MOTD commentary title winning teams need 5 /6 players to get into double figures just before Torres Goal. Where do they spout this s*** from, didn't only one team have more than 2 player get double figure league goals last year you f***ing dumb f***!! Check your f***ing facts!!! No f***ing wonder fans are so uneducated when this crap is being said as gospel, up there with the b****x you need a 20 goals a years striker and reference to the welsh midget is made when he has never scored more than 19!

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle6802539.ece ------------------------- Liverpool agree deal for Sotirios Kyrgiakos as defensive coverTony Barrett Recommend? Sotirios Kyrgiakos, the Greece defender, will have a medical before the weekend to complete his £1.5 million transfer to Liverpool. Rafael Benítez, the Liverpool manager, confirmed last night that a fee for the giant centre back had been agreed with AEK Athens. The Greek club were initially reluctant, but the player had insisted that he wanted to move to Anfield. “This is the biggest challenge of my career. I have accepted Liverpool’s proposal,” Kyrgiakos wrote on his website. AEK finally had to admit defeat in their attempts to keep the 30-year-old. In a statement, AEK said: “We respect his decision and have repeatedly stated that we never keep any player against his will, for whatever reason. But the timing of the departure of Sotirios Kyrgiakos has come at the worst possible moment for our club.” Kyrgiakos’s impending arrival on Merseyside has been made all the more urgent by the jaw fracture suffered by Martin Skrtel, which kept the Slovakia defender out of Liverpool’s Barclays Premier League match against Stoke City last night. Daniel Agger has already been ruled out for three weeks with a back problem. Related Links Torres told to concentrate on scoring Benítez options look limited in defence Benítez makes a spectacle of himself Decent bets Sylvain Distin looks likely to join Aston Villa after the way was left clear for the club to conclude a deal for the Portsmouth defender. Liverpool and Manchester City had both been interested in signing Distin, but with Benítez set to buy Kyrgiakos and Mark Hughes edging closer to luring Joleon Lescott to the City of Manchester Stadium, Martin O’Neill, the Villa manager, has the field to himself as he bids to secure the French centre back’s transfer. David Moyes, the Everton manager, watched Middlesbrough in action on Tuesday night as he seeks to reinvest the windfall that is set to come his way from the expected sale of Lescott.Robert Huth was one of the players being monitored by Moyes, who also took the opportunity to run the rule over Adam Johnson and Gary O’Neil. Long shots Liverpool are ready to make an offer for Rafael van der Vaart, the Real Madrid midfield player. However, given that the Holland playmaker would cost about £10 million and Benítez has nearly exhausted his budget, there is little chance of a deal. Dead certs Michel Salgado has signed a two-year contract at Blackburn Rovers after leaving Real on a free transfer. “I want to enjoy the next two years, playing in the Premier League,” the 33-year-old defender said. “It is one of the best in the world.” ------------------------- I know barrett is well regarded as a journalist by a lot of fans but "Liverpool are ready to make an offer for Rafael van der Vaart, the Real Madrid midfield player. However, given that the Holland playmaker would cost about £10 million and Benítez has nearly exhausted his budget, there is little chance of a deal." Why the f*** make an offer if we don't have the money, Rafa a bit bored and nothing better to do today....?

Johnson - I am sure 5 live referred to him as the english Cafu! Benny Reina

Reina 8 Johnson 9 MOM Carta 6 Ayala 6 Insua 7 Kuyt 6 Masch 7 Lucas 7 Benny 8 Gerrard 7 Torres 7

What doubts over Torres, a couple of unlucky injuries last year, but no past form. Agger I understand.

Looked up the brawl, quite witty!! http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2008...ttoo-suggestion Instead of helping their side lose 1-0 to Juventus this weekend, Christian Panucci and Alberto Aquilani warmed the Roma bench. At training yesterday, Panucci was telling teammate Philippe Mexes about a new tattoo he was planning, when Aquilani interrupted with one of the wittiest comments ever to fall from a footballer’s lips: “Maybe you should get a tattoo of yourself sitting on the bench in Torino.” Instead of firing back a witty retort, or pointing out that Alberto was also on the bench at the weekend, Panucci resolved the situation with fisticuffs, and three teammates had to pull him off of his sharp-tongued teammate. Roma manager Luciano Spalletti passed the incident off as ‘disappointment’ following the Juventus defeat - let’s hope they’re all over it before Real Madrid turn up tonight.

Roma Fans View http://roma.theoffside.com/team-news/to-ho...ever-comes.html I expect this to go through, and yet I have absolutely no worldly idea how Alberto Aquilani can possibly pass a medical right now. Or ever. So while we wait for the officially official word, let’s look at this from every single possible positive and rational angle, as we have no need to delve into the negatives of selling a Roman as gifted as Alberto Aquilani. •Alberto Aquilani is injured. A LOT. His league games read 14, 21, 13 in the last three years. And he’s no longer “a talent” - he’s 25 in a game which caters to the young. And that’s…€500,000 per league game in transfer fee. That’s A LOT. However, it was always going to take one of two things to determine whether he’s injury prone or it’s something else entirely: a move to a new club or a new coach at Roma. Liverpool FC have weighed in with their theory. I happen to concur - the evidence throughout the squad is simply too abundant to ignore. But only time will tell, and I’ll happily admit I was wrong should he move Merseyside and break down more often than an emotionally unstable stripper. •Luciano Spalletti plays his favorites. Alberto Aquilani is not one of them. Regardless of how you feel about the Chilean dwarf, Spal loves him and Spal makes the decisions. As long as David is healthy, David plays. End of. •Central midfield is stacked and you pluck from your excess to plug a weakness. Unless you recall last year when Filipe, Cicinho, Marco Cassetti and Rosella’s uncle-in-law found themselves not only playing, but starting in central midfield. •£20m is A LOT of money. €24m is equally A LOT of money. That money can fill a lot of holes on a team which could use some holes filled. At the top, at the bottom - anywhere but the middle. And, quite frankly, if you take away his birthplace, he was the commodity which was the easiest to sell at the highest return. Francesco? Please. Daniele? Ditto. Vucinic? Mirko has It. Whatever the f*** It is, you can’t buy…it. Mexes? The back line is the weakest link as it stands - take Philou away the wheels fall off entirely. And so then there was Alberto. •I realize he started more than his fair share of controversies. Failing to shake Spalletti’s hand last year, whether he saw it or not. The contract situation. Making fun of and ultimately brawling with Christian Panucci (despite its hilarity). Even quarreling with His Tottiness. The kid’s a fiery Roman through and through. This is not always a good thing. Too many explosive elements in one place… •Again: €24m, or thereabouts, for a player in your deepest position who averages 42% games played - that’s played, not started - per league season. Take away the name, the birthplace, the floppy hair and it’s a no-brainer. *** I see all the rational reasons, and yet I ignore them. This is Roma. Emotional, passionate, irrational. We love not because we want to, not because it’s the smart thing to do, but because we must. And this is a dagger directly into our emotional, passionate and irrational hearts.

Just think this thread could be used for evidence!!!!

I thought only foreigners wear gloves!

Radio City got an interview with Hicks at the final whistle, sounded like he enjoyed it, now lets hope that means he gives Rafa the big 'war chest' !!