Of course it comes as no surprise to anyone, but Alonso has officially handed in his transfer request today. Now that the cat is officially out of the bag, it's going to be very exciting to see how Rafa responds to this.
Archives for July 2009
July 30, 2009
Stevie G's dancing girl revelation !!
Did any of you think there was more than meets the eye to the video of Gerrard's nightclub brawl ? Well actually one person obviously did notice and came up with their own version of it. Click here to check it out.
Some of you will enjoy it, some of you won't, but it should provide you all with a brief distraction from the news of Alonso handing in his transfer request.
Some of you will enjoy it, some of you won't, but it should provide you all with a brief distraction from the news of Alonso handing in his transfer request.
July 29, 2009
Distin or the kids to cover LFC at the back
Arbeloa's £3.5m transfer to Real Madrid is almost complete, and the agent for Dossena has also claimed that LFC has accepted a £4.3m bid from Napoli. Consider the first team defenders we'll be left with after that (Johnson, Insua, Aurelio, Degen, Carragher, Agger, and Skrtel).
July 24, 2009
Revised proposal from Share Liverpool FC
'This Is Anfield' has an interesting article on the revised proposal from 'Share Liverpool FC' and also 'Spirit of Shankly'.
In a nutshell, they're trying to achieve a broader base of ownership for LFC fans. Originally they were looking for £5,000 to buy a single share, which is a bit too steep for the vast majority of fans.
However, they've lowered the bar to participate by allowing fans to purchase a single share at a more affordable £500. Click here to read the article.
In a nutshell, they're trying to achieve a broader base of ownership for LFC fans. Originally they were looking for £5,000 to buy a single share, which is a bit too steep for the vast majority of fans.
However, they've lowered the bar to participate by allowing fans to purchase a single share at a more affordable £500. Click here to read the article.
July 23, 2009
Skrtel is out, but Agger is back
The quality of football on display during pre-season doesn't really matter, as it's all about building up player fitness levels and getting some practice in before the Premier League begins.
July 21, 2009
The brilliance of Babel
In terms of raw ability, Babel has loads of it. The lad is incredibly skillful, he's faster than Torres, and has excellent shooting ability. However, he's still a work in progress when it comes to his tactical awareness and consistency.
At the start of summer it looked like Babel might be leaving LFC, but things have changed since then. Rafa has said that he's very impressed with how Babel's mentality has developed this year and wants to keep him.
Considering that the World Cup is coming up next summer, I'm sure Babel must be dying to play a part in that. Imagine how serious he must be about fighting for his place knowing that a place in the World Cup is at stake.
Remember Babel is still very young, and at just 22 years of age, he's still maturing as a player. Rafa knows better than any of us what Babel is capable of, and importantly has faith in him to develop.
We've already been treated to moments of sheer brilliance from Babel (his first ever goal for us is something I'll never forget). And a more mature, confident and driven Babel should ensure that we're in for a real treat this season.
At the start of summer it looked like Babel might be leaving LFC, but things have changed since then. Rafa has said that he's very impressed with how Babel's mentality has developed this year and wants to keep him.
Considering that the World Cup is coming up next summer, I'm sure Babel must be dying to play a part in that. Imagine how serious he must be about fighting for his place knowing that a place in the World Cup is at stake.
Remember Babel is still very young, and at just 22 years of age, he's still maturing as a player. Rafa knows better than any of us what Babel is capable of, and importantly has faith in him to develop.
We've already been treated to moments of sheer brilliance from Babel (his first ever goal for us is something I'll never forget). And a more mature, confident and driven Babel should ensure that we're in for a real treat this season.
July 16, 2009
Liverpool's Euro away kit for 2009 / 2010
Addidas have come up with yet another really cool kit design for Liverpool FC.It's certainly not a patch on our awesome new Phantom black away kit. But it's still a quality kit.
If you want to see all of our kits over the last few years, just click here.
July 15, 2009
Agger injury flares up again
Looks like Agger has suffered a recurrence of the back injury he had last February. At the time he was out of action for a month. This time round though it's expected he'll only miss a couple of pre-season games.
Considering that Rafa is talking about the possibility of Agger being able to make the trip to Thailand and Singapore next week, it's fairly safe to assume that it's not a full flare up. And as long as Agger is eased back into action, they can avoid it becoming more serious.
Considering that Rafa is talking about the possibility of Agger being able to make the trip to Thailand and Singapore next week, it's fairly safe to assume that it's not a full flare up. And as long as Agger is eased back into action, they can avoid it becoming more serious.
July 13, 2009
Alonso saga comes full circle
We all know how poorly Alonso was treated last summer, but he followed that up by producing his best ever season for us. Since then we've been treated to many weeks of speculation from the media. The latest rumour [link], is that Alonso has apparently told Rafa that he wants to join Real Madrid.
Bear in mind that he hasn't actually handed in a written transfer request. But if it's true and he really wants to go, then it's best to let him leave. Alonso gave us 2 great seasons, and for that we should be thankful.
Bigger players have left LFC in the past and the club has walked on without them. No doubt Rafa has a plan in place to reshape the squad as needed.
Bear in mind that he hasn't actually handed in a written transfer request. But if it's true and he really wants to go, then it's best to let him leave. Alonso gave us 2 great seasons, and for that we should be thankful.
Bigger players have left LFC in the past and the club has walked on without them. No doubt Rafa has a plan in place to reshape the squad as needed.
July 10, 2009
So long Pennant, it was nice while it lasted
Pennant is a talented player and he proved that with many impressive performances in his first 2 seasons with LFC. However, he lacked consistency and eventually fell foul of Rafa for whatever reasons.
Despite repeated attempts by Rafa over the last year to sell Pennant and recoup some of his transfer fee, Pennant choose to sit out the remainder of his contract and leave a free agent (he has now signed for Real Zaragoza).
That decision on Pennants part has failed to endear him to many fans, but I'd prefer to remember the good times he gave us, especially his man of the match performance in the Champions League final. He always claimed to be a childhood red, and it's a shame he didn't fulfill his potential with LFC.
Despite repeated attempts by Rafa over the last year to sell Pennant and recoup some of his transfer fee, Pennant choose to sit out the remainder of his contract and leave a free agent (he has now signed for Real Zaragoza).
That decision on Pennants part has failed to endear him to many fans, but I'd prefer to remember the good times he gave us, especially his man of the match performance in the Champions League final. He always claimed to be a childhood red, and it's a shame he didn't fulfill his potential with LFC.
July 09, 2009
Full back conundrum for LFC
There was rumours last month that Aurelio twisted his knee while playing football with his kids. Sadly those rumours now appear to be far more factual in nature and he looks like being out for several months. [Edit: LFC have since announced its for a max. of 2 months]
This should be a great opportunity for Insua to cement his place in the first team. But Rafa is unlikely to chance several months without sufficient cover at full back. So what does this mean for Dossena & Arbeloa ?
Arbeloa has only got one year left on his contract and is unlikely to want sign an extension. Dossena did improve (no really!) towards the end of the season, so it might be an idea to give him another chance. Both of them were supposedly leaving LFC this summer but Aurelio's injury complicates things. It will be interesting to see what Rafa decides to do.
This should be a great opportunity for Insua to cement his place in the first team. But Rafa is unlikely to chance several months without sufficient cover at full back. So what does this mean for Dossena & Arbeloa ?
Arbeloa has only got one year left on his contract and is unlikely to want sign an extension. Dossena did improve (no really!) towards the end of the season, so it might be an idea to give him another chance. Both of them were supposedly leaving LFC this summer but Aurelio's injury complicates things. It will be interesting to see what Rafa decides to do.
July 07, 2009
Chris Mavinga signs for Liverpool
Well what do you know, Liverpool has beaten Arsenal to the signing of a French youngster. Now that's something which you don't see every day.
Reds starlets on display during pre-season
Pre-season is an exciting time for two reasons. First and foremost because the withdrawal symptoms from the season proper start to fade away. Secondly it provides an opportunity for Reds fans to catch a glimpse of the upcoming youth players who might get a shot at the big time.
July 03, 2009
LFC's worst kept secret this summer
There's a huge number of changes being made to the Youth Academy this summer. Rafa is making sure that new people with new ideas are being brought in to revamp absolutely everything.
It's a masterstroke on the part of Rafa, that he has managed to persuade our greatest ever player to return to LFC. King Kenny will now play a senior role in the development of our youth players, which should allow him to instill his passion for Liverpool into our youth setup.
Also on the side he'll act as an ambassador for LFC, whatever that position entails it's probably pretty open ended. But with his professionalism and intelligence, I'm sure he can make a go of it. Welcome home King Kenny.
It's a masterstroke on the part of Rafa, that he has managed to persuade our greatest ever player to return to LFC. King Kenny will now play a senior role in the development of our youth players, which should allow him to instill his passion for Liverpool into our youth setup.
Also on the side he'll act as an ambassador for LFC, whatever that position entails it's probably pretty open ended. But with his professionalism and intelligence, I'm sure he can make a go of it. Welcome home King Kenny.
July 01, 2009
Further transfer speculation to be expected
Well the transfer window is finally open, no doubt the media will treat us to even more rumours which have no basis in reality. But with Rafa now having more control over transfers, hopefully we won't have to wait too long to see who the real transfer targets are.
There's been quite a few departures from LFC already (Hyypia, Pennant, Hobbs, Anderson, Leto), with more to follow (possibly Dossena, Arbeloa, and Babel). We've already made one big signing (Johnson) and it'll be interesting to see who else Rafa has in mind.
There's been quite a few departures from LFC already (Hyypia, Pennant, Hobbs, Anderson, Leto), with more to follow (possibly Dossena, Arbeloa, and Babel). We've already made one big signing (Johnson) and it'll be interesting to see who else Rafa has in mind.
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