my liverpool fc

Following the Premier League arbitration panel’s decision to block Gabriel Heinze’s move to Anfield, the Argentinian international has agreed a deal with Real Madrid and is expected to sign for the Spanish giants on Thursday.

It has always been understood United would willing sell the unsettled defender to an oversees team and with them blocking the move to Merseyside he has now been forced abroad.

Rafa Benitez was furious at the decision not to allow Heinze to sign for Liverpool and on Wednesday blasted the Premier League asking “How can a player with a signed agreement be treated like this? He [Heinze] has a document which is clear, but the Premier League prefers to believe the word of someone else who made a mistake.”

Benitez was also angry at the matter of Liverpool playing at lunchtime on Saturday directly after midweek internationals - something which happened to Liverpool more than any other club last season and is scheduled for four more times this season.

In the past Benitez has questioned why in England we still play games on a Saturday following internationals when in Spain they - sensibly - move all matches to a Sunday to allow teams an extra day to prepare, and maybe more importantly, players an extra days rest.

International Round - Up

Peter Crouch played just over half an hour in England’s 2-1 defeat to Germany at Wembley.

Fernando Torres played the first half for Spain in their 3-2 win over Greece, Jose Reina played the full match in goal, while Xabi Alonso played the last 25 minutes.

Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel both came on at half time for Holland in their 2-1 defeat at Switzerland - it was Kuyt though who scored the Dutch goal in the 52nd minute, assisted by Babel’s cross from the left Kuyt headed home.

Steve Finnan and Daniel Agger had contrasting nights as the Republic of Ireland hammered Denmark 4-0, Agger played the full match and Finnan an hour.

Sami Hyypia played the full 90 minutes as Finland beat Kazakhstan 2-1.

Another season is upon us and I make no apologies for spouting a cliché when I say that this year I really am more excited and hopeful than I have been in a very long time. I know I said this last year and a lot of you will be thinking “here he goes again spouting his mouth off”; but this time I really feel that this will be a great season.

After years of (let’s be honest) over achieving with a decent but limited squad, I believe that we now have a side capable of being genuine challengers. We have real, solid quality plus strong cover for every position now, except maybe left back. I’m going to examine our squad as it currently stands and where I feel that the quality is in each position. There may still be more decent additions to be made but today I will be identifying who I believe will be the key players this season.

Goalkeepers

Jose Reina has been a big success; whilst prone to the occasional error (in typical Liverpool style) he has been extremely solid in his first two seasons. He beat Ray Clemence’s clean sheet record that stood for many years and after many years of panicking whenever the opposition attacks it’s nice to feel confidant again. His contribution to our success in cup competitions cannot be underestimated, particularly with his performances in penalty shoot-outs. I can put my hand on my heart and honestly say that I wasn’t even slightly nervous during both of the shoot outs we won against West Ham and Chelsea.

Scott Carson is now back in the squad as understudy to Reina. Jerzy Dudek has now gone to Real Madrid so the reliable and talented Carson has been brought back from a one year loan spell at Charlton Athletic. It’s debatable how long he will stay at the club and be happy as second best because he is a tremendous talent with experience at international level with England. For the time being however, it’s nice to know that if anything happens to Reina we have good cover waiting on the bench.

Defence

At left back we have John Arne Riise and Fabio Aurelio. As anybody who has been in my company for any games last season knows, Riise is not a favourite of mine in defence. While he is tremendous going forward I feel that he gets done over by opposition forwards far too often. As frustrating as he can be Riise is actually one of our most consistent defenders with not as many errors leading to goals as I think.

Aurelio has proved that he is a really quality player with some terrific performances last season, especially in the away leg against PSV Eindhoven in the champions League. It was unfortunate for him to suffer the long term injury just as he seemed to be looking the business. Hopefully when he returns to the side he will continue where he left off.

Carra and Agger - Solid

Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger have built up a really great partnership in central defence with the still superb Sami Hyypia there to give either player a break when required. Carraghers ability and quality goes without saying, we all know how amazing he is and that really doesn’t need to be analysed by me here. At the start of last season I thought Agger was a talent for the future but he stepped in and made himself virtually undroppable. He was one of the real stars in the side last season with consistently good performances game after game. He reminds me of Alan Hansen in a way because he isn’t afraid to come forward with the ball and I never feel worried that he will give away possession. He also pops up with his share of goals too and can often be in the right place at the right time, the second leg of the Chelsea semi final for example. Hyypia may have lost some pace but this isn’t really that important because his game never relied heavily on pace anyway. There still aren’t many players who can read the game as well as him and his aerial ability is quality too.

At right back we have my personal choice for player of the season last year, Steve Finnan. I was over the moon when he signed a contract extension recently. He may not be a big superstar but Liverpool fans understand just how vital he is to the team. He rarely makes mistakes in defence and going forward his crossing ability is sublime, he is really is a superb player. Alvaro Arbeloa was brought into the side during the transfer window and he can play at either left or right back. I saw enough of him last season to realise his quality and would feel confident if he is put into the side at any stage this season.

Midfield

On the wings we have some exciting talent who like beating players and have the ability to put in decent crosses. On the left we have Harry Kewell and Ryan Babel. On his day when he is fit Kewell is as good as anyone. He has been terribly unlucky with injuries but has shown on occasions that he can still be an important player for Liverpool. At the moment he is fit and he looked great at the end of last season, considering he’d been injured for almost one year. If he can come out flying this season he may just get a run in the side. Waiting alongside him is our new signing from Ajax, Ryan Babel. I’ve only seen glimpses of him in pre-season but what I’ve seen so far has impressed me. I must confess I’d never seen him play before we bought him but the reports of his ability are extremely encouraging.

Will we get the much needed flair out wide?

On the right we have the constantly improving Jermaine Pennant and new signing Yossi Benayoun. Pennant had a slow start last season but from January onwards he was tremendous. He seemed to improve with every game culminating in a world class performance in Athens in the Champions League Final. How he doesn’t make the England team is quite beyond me. In pre-season he seems to have continued where he left off and looks really confident and that is so good to see. Benayoun is a terrific player who was very consistent for his previous club West Ham. He was one of their best players in the 2006 FA Cup Final. In pre-season games he seems to have settled into the club seamlessly and I’m sure he will make his mark in the side this season.

In the centre of midfield we are extremely spoiled and I’m not exaggerating when I say that we have three of the best midfield players in Europe, if not the world in Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Javier Macherano. If we get the Stevie G from 2 seasons ago then we will take a lot of stopping. We certainly aren’t a one man team like certain people in the media might have us think, but it’s definitely true that when Gerrard plays at his best the team is elevated to a different level. Mascherano was a revelation when he came on loan last season. If he had been with us from day one I definitely don’t think we would have lost so many games away from home in the first few months of last season. What an amazing player he is.

Alonso has shown signs in pre-season that he is very much back to his best dictating the play from deep positions and making some of the most accurate passes you’ll see. As if that wasn’t good enough we also have Momo Sissoko and Luca leiva. Sissoko was far from his best in the second half of last season when he came back from injury and in pre-season he has been working hard but still giving the ball away sloppily. Leiva is the Brazil under20’s captain and an amazing prospect for the future.

Strikers

This is another position in which we are oozing quality this season. Only Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt remain from last season after Craig Bellamy was sold to West Ham Utd and Robbie Fowler was released to Cardiff City on a free transfer. I’m a really big fan of Crouch and he defied his critics by having a great season in 2006/07. He was our overall top scorer and scored some fantastic goals. Two overhead kicks and a hat-trick against Arsenal combined with a great run of goals in the Champions League gave him a terrific season.

Dirk Kuyt also had a good season, he fitted in immediately from his first touch on his debut against West Ham. He was our top scorer in the Premiership and I don’t think any other player worked harder or covered more of the opponents half of the pitch. Joining those guys will be our record 20 million pound signing Fernando Torres and Ukranian Andriy Voronin who arrived on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.

Due to an ankle injury and permit issues we haven’t seen too much of Torres so far in pre-season but we’ve seen is extremely encouraging. He appears to have an understanding with Kuyt and some of their moves together have been breathtaking. Torres is able to get into great positions and get shots on goal when they don’t look possible.

Plenty of options up front for Rafa now

For me the biggest surprise and biggest enjoyment of the pre-season games has been the performances of Voronin. I will confess that I wasn’t expecting much from him and anticipated him being nothing more than a squad player. However he has been man of the match in the majority of pre-season games I’ve watched and he really has been sensational. The goals he scored were terrific and his movement on the pitch and his teamwork have been superb. I believe he’s definitely given Rafa a real headache now in a good way when it comes to team selection. I still expect Voronin to play mostly in the domestic cup competitions but don’t be surprised if he makes his mark if he gets a chance in any games he plays in.

Is this the best squad we’ve had in years? I think the answer has to be a definite yes. I don’t see any weak links in a variety of starting elevens. With the excellent business Rafa has done in the transfer market as well as the resigning of the key players we already had, we have the best chance of winning number 19 since Kenny Dalglish resigned sixteen years ago. I’m trying not to get carried away but it’s really hard. The opening game against Aston Villa just can’t come soon enough for me and I have a feeling it’s going to be another exciting year for Liverpool fans.

Ste Speed

For those of you who remember the muddy pitches of 1970s England, it was a time of footballing innocence. There were no foreign players, transfers were mainly conducted between English and Scottish teams and there were 50,000 crowds at Anfield and Old Trafford each week – most of them standing up. There were no corporate shirt sponsorships, no Sky TV, no Internet and no club television channels. For a pre-season Far East tour, you went to play Ipswich and Norwich, and there were no stadiums with names like ‘Reebok’ or ‘Emirates.’

Liverpool were signing Kevin Keegan for 30,000 pounds back then, and Kenny Dalglish for a whopping 440,000 pounds to replace him a few years later.

The two biggest clubs in terms of support were Liverpool and the mancs. The biggest in terms of winning trophies was hands down Liverpool, due to the combined genius of a certain Mr. Shankly and his sidekick & successor Mr. Paisley. These were the days when we were battling Brian Clough’s Derby and Bobby Robson’s Ipswich Town for the title. (Yes kids, it’s true!) Even Leeds were good.

Man United were the big spenders even then, as they tried in vain to wrestle control from their neighbours supreme. They tried, and tried…. and continually failed. A conveyor belt of managers came, spent, failed and left while Liverpool collected Championships and European trophies for fun. Great managers (Shankly, Paisley, Clough, Robson etc.) were the winners back then. Money played only a tiny part in success as was proven by the Ipswich’s, Derby’s, Notts Forest’s and QPR’s challenging (and even winning) the First Division Title.

Those were the good old days, but somewhere along the line, as the game became more and more cut-throat and corporate, Liverpool simply failed to keep pace. As the world changed, Liverpool were left behind as the corporate monster that is Man United took full advantage. The result, by the mid 90s, was that Liverpool’s ‘family club’ image, while something to be proud of, was being left behind in the new, aggressive, corporate, money driven world of football.

While Liverpool could not (or would not?) fork out more than around 10 million for a player, the mancs were creating the future. Massive, unheard of sums of money were being spent on Ferdinand, Veron, Van Nistelrooy, Rooney and recently Carrick. These five alone cost a combined total of around 130 million pounds. Liverpool’s 15 combined ‘record signings’ cost less. While we were shopping at Tesco’s, the mancs had taken their shopping trolley to Harrods.

As they gradually increased their stadium capacity to close on 80,000, Anfield has been stuck on 44,000 for years. If you consider (conservatively) that the average fan spends 30 quid per game, that’s 1.1 million pounds more income in EVERY game. 30 home games a season adds up to 33 million pounds per season in additional revenue.

While the seventies relied on fantastic scouting and players readily available for purchase from any British or Irish club, today’s world relies on one thing – money! Great coaching helps of course, and Arsene Wenger should be applauded for making a fight of things for the last decade on a shoestring budget. But the mancs, pre-Abranovitch, were far, far and away the biggest spenders in the league. And thus, not surprisingly, the most successful.

Then of course came Abrinovitch. Two Chelsea titles, the first for half a century, duly followed. Why? Money! For the first time in two decades, the mancs were outspent by one of their rivals. Chelsea went from mid-table nobodies to the English powerhouse virtually overnight… spending 200 million quid to do so.

So guess what? The manc dummy spitting began. Having ‘bought’ the title since 1991, they were now screaming from their prams how unfair it was that Chelsea had all this dosh and were outbidding them for players. “It’s just not fair. They inherited money. We had to go on tours of Asia and sell 500,000 replica shirts to the Chinese for ours,” they cried. Prior to Abrimovitch, the mancs had outspent EVERY other English team since the mid-eighties. Now, for the first time, another club was able to compete financially and the mancs did NOT appreciate the competition.

In my book, money is money and titles are titles, no matter where the cash comes from. In no history book does it say ‘Chelsea – Champions of England because they spent more.’ The mancs had all the dosh for 20 years, Chelsea have had it for 4. They’re the two huge spenders of the corporate era, and the only two able to effectively challenge for the Premier League Title over the last few years.

So, all hail the year 2007!

This is the year the sleeping corporate ‘giant’ that is Liverpool, finally woke up. And times could not be more exciting than they are right now. A brand new stadium, (which will help make Old Toilet live up to its nickname) with a capacity rising to 80,000. Billionaire owners at Anfield, the club splashing out on 20 million pound players of world-class status, contracts of our current world-class stars all signed and sealed and our own TV channel. It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

I finished watched the Werder Bremen game on Tuesday with a mix of excitement and anticipation I haven’t had for years. After watching the cameos of Vorinin, Torres, Babel and Benayoun, I simply couldn’t contain my excitement. Time may prove me wrong, but I’m going to go out on a limb and predict the most potent Liverpool attack since the days of Barnes, Rush, Dalglish, Beardsley and Aldridge. Yes, they were THAT good! Vorinin was fabulous leading the line, Babel & Torres were both quick, strong, balanced and threatening. Benayoun’s neat interplay and eye for a pass were obvious.

Absolutely none of these players are from the school of headless chickens from where we acquired Cisse, Baros, Bellamy and Diouf. You could actually see the footballing brains of all four switched on for every minute they were on the pitch. Compare that to other ‘major signings’ such as Heskey (“he can trap it further than I can kick it” claims my brother-in-law), Diao, Biscan and Cheyrou. This current group of attacking players is different class to those signed over recent times.

We have been playing second fiddle to the mancs for far too long, allowing them to buy success while we shopped in the bargain basket. But for the first time, since those innocent days of the seventies, the playing field has been levelled. They are now not only competing with Madrid, Milan, Chelsea and Barcelona for the world’s best players, but with Liverpool too. Their 19th century stadium will be no match for the 80,000 capacity state-of-the-art New Anfield. Their billionaire owner now has to compete with our billionaire owners. Their TV channel is now on air next to ours.

Old demento knows the threat, and as such – as a matter of principle - is refusing to sell Heinze to us. While I for one would welcome him, his signing will not make or break our season. What’s more important is the reason the old fool refuses to sell to us. It’s not tradition or rivalry (after all, they bought Cantona and Smith from Leeds, and Rooney from the Bluenoses) - it’s fear. He knows the threat the new Liverpool era is likely to pose, and he wants no part in ‘helping’ us to knock him back off his perch.

Mark my words, those down the East Lancs Road are taking heed of what’s going on at Anfield, and they’re worried.. very worried. We have the funds, the backing, the stadium, the fans and now… most importantly… the players and manager to not only compete, but to win!

Rafa’s vision, aided in no small part by the Americans and the board, is gathering momentum and taking shape. You can almost taste the excitement. Even the players.. Riise, Alonso, Gerrard, Carra, have become wrapped up in the expectation. The fans haven’t felt this optimistic for years. Neither has Rafa.

Will we win the title this season? Who knows. It might be a step too far as the new players bed in, but I wouldn’t bet against it. We now have the players, manager and foundations laid to bring us success for years to come.

Old demento started his managerial career at the Theatre of Prawns with the goal of knocking us off our perch. With the help of pot loads of money, he managed it. But the playing field is level again now Slur Alex. You no longer have the financial advantage over your main rivals, which saw you buy league titles, while others couldn’t compete.

As you head towards retirement with your pipe and slippers, consider this….

While you initially managed your ultimate goal, the new level playing field means that the perch will soon be reclaimed by its rightful owners.

Alex Malone

Reds midfielder Javier Mascherano lines up for Argentina against Brazil in the Copa America 2007 Final on Sunday, kick off at 10.05pm UK time.

Ashley Gray in the Daily Mail’s Copa Blog named the Masch in his team of the tournament, saying:

There is no one more dependable to have in front of the back four than the Liverpool midfielder. Whether it is an opposition attacking midfielder or a striker dropping deep to pick up the ball, if you head near Mascherano he will hound you. The 23-year-old is rarely beaten and does the dirty work that allows his team-mates to attack so confidently. He has even scored twice himself in this tournament.

More signings to come?

Tom Hicks told how he “wouldn’t rule out one more” when asked about new signings on Wednesday and yesterday Rafa Benitez didn’t rule it out either, saying “We are working hard with the players we have but we’ll also keep an eye on the market. We have another month before the season starts so there’s plenty of time.”

New stadium update - again!

The plans for the new stadium are yet to be revealed but it has been confirmed that the design is now finalised and the plans have been submitted to the council, with a planning application scheduled for July 25th - when plans may finally become public.

The proposal for the new Stanley Park site is for a £280m project with an initial capacity of 60,000. The club hope to receive planning permission by October and start work before the end of the year, with construction completed in 2010.

Timetable as outlined in the Liverpool Echo:

JULY 25 , 2007 – this is the date that Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks says the revised plans will be submitted to Liverpool council, a month later than originally planned.

OCTOBER 2007 – the council will then face a race against time to re-examine the proposals and decide whether to grant planning perm-ission. To meet this deadline, the club will have to make sure the scheme is not dramat-ically different to its predecessor in terms of capacity and impact on the surrounding area. The original scheme was approved in summer 2004.

NOVEMBER 2007 – possibly the most crucial date. The government office for the north west will have to decide whether Liverpool’s plans should be “called in” for further investigation, sparking a public inquiry. This would delay the scheme by several months.

Lucas deal awaiting approval

Brazilian under 20 captain Lucas Leiva was hoping to fly off with the rest of the squad to Switzerland today but his move is on hold until he secures a European passport. Liverpool strook a £5m deal with Gremio earlier in the year but that was reliant upon the neccessary documents being granted as the club are not wishing to encounter the same problems as they had with Mark Gonzalez’ transfer.

The club are working hard to get an Italian passport granted for Lucas.

The Echo also reports there are problems with goalkeeper Nikolay Mikhailov’s work permit, although it is unclear why such problems exist as Bulgaria became part of the EU earlier this year. The Bulgarian Under-21 has been training with the first time this last week but may have to return to Bulgaria.

Aurelio not ready yet

Full back Fabio Aurelio is still a month away from full fitness after suffering a cruciate knee injury against PSV last season, it was hoped he would be fully fit for the start of the season but it now looks a little too soon for the Brazilian. Benitez said “Fabio isn’t fit yet. It could be another month before he is recovered, but we knew it would be a long time when he suffered the injury. He is improving, but it’s not easy when you have this kind of injury.”

Friendly win for Reds at Wrexham

Teenage striker Besian Idrizaj scored a first half hat-trick to give Liverpool a 3-2 friendly win over Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday afternoon. Jermaine Pennant was involved in all 3 of the goals and of the first team players on show he looked sharpest.

Rafa Benitez used two different teams for the first and second half and gave a host of youngsters a run out in front of a capacity 11,000 crowd.

Teams: Martin, Finnan, Hobbs, Paletta, Arbeloa, Pennant, Sissoko, Peltier, Hammill, Idrizaj (capt), Brouwer. Subs: Roque, Threlfall, Lindfield, Spearing, Nemeth, El Zhar, Simon, Hansen, Huth, Darby, Flynn.

Rafa confirms Cisse and Bellamy departures

Rafa Benitez has confirmed both Craig Bellamy and Djibril Cisse have concluded their deals with West Ham and Marseille respectively - despite the Hammers also wanting to sign Cisse.

Bellamy’s move is reportedly worth £8m, while Cisse’s £6m.

Benayoun is wanted - Rafa

Liverpool and West Ham had attempted to make midfielder Yossi Benayoun part of the deal for Bellamy - but Liverpool value the player at £3.5m but West Ham rejected that offer.

Benitez said “Any move for Benayoun to join us from West Ham will not be linked with the Bellamy sale. We have made an offer which has been rejected.

“He is a player I like and would want to sign, and I believe he wants to join us, but that deal will be separate now. We will have to wait and see what happens now next week.”

Luis Garcia has reflected on his move to Atletico Madrid as part of the deal which brought Fernando Torres to Anfield. Garcia completed his move earlier this week and admits it was hard to leave Liverpool.

The 29 year old midfielder enjoyed some memorable moments during his 3 years on Merseyside; most notably his goal against Chelsea in the 2005 Champions League semi final, but also his lob against Juventus in that year’s quarter final and in 2006 against Chelsea again in the FA Cup semi final.

Luis said:

“Liverpool are one of the best clubs in the world. I spent three great years at Liverpool but it was time to consider my future.

“I could have stayed or I could return to Spain. I have made a decision which I believe is the right one.

“I simply couldn’t reject the offer when given the opportunity to return to Atletico.

“Liverpool has been very important in my career and I will never forget my time there.

“Their fans are amazing, they supported me since my arrival, in good and bad times. I tried to do the best I could to repay their trust but nothing I can do can ever repay their unconditional support.”

Youth Cup Winners get new deals

Liverpool have rewarded five of their successful FA Youth Cup side with new deals. Craig Lindfield (pictured), Jay Spearing, Ryan Flynn, Stephen Darby and Robbie Threlfall have all signed contracts to keep them at Anfield until 2010.

The five players played a key part in Liverpool’s final success over Manchester United last season.

Kewell praises Benitez and shows form for Aussies

Harry Kewell has praised manager Rafa Benitez for supporting him during last season’s injury plagued campaign. The Aussie finally returned to action late in the season and scored the Reds final game of the season with the penalty against Charlton in the final minute.

Kewell is now preparing for the Asian Cup with Australia playing their first game against Oman on Sunday. He was influential in the 3-0 friendly win over Singapore, scoring one and assisting another after coming on as sub. [Read more about Kewell and the Asian Cup here]

Speaking of his 11 months on the sidelines Kewell said “It was tough, but Rafael Benitez supported me through the whole thing. It wasn’t something he was happy about, but it happened. I’ve got a year left at Liverpool and I can’t wait to get back into it.”

Internationals return to training

All Liverpool players (excluding those currently away on international duty - Kewell, Mark Gonzalez, Mascherano, Emiliano Insua) have now returned to pre-season training ahead of the first friendly with Wrexham on Saturday. Those senior players who returned on Thursday will take part in their first action against Crewe a week on Saturday.