Transfer Speculation Round-up

Striker (Dirk Kuyt £8m) We definitely need a new striker. Although out strikeforce is not the major worrying factor, i still think we need some reinforcement. Cisse and Mori may be proven strikers in Europe but they have not adapt to the PL. And i wonder if they will adapt to the English game in time for the start of the season. Baros is still running around like a headless chicken. He has been given tons of opportunities to prove himself (esp so after Owen's departure) but he failed miserably. Even Garcia scored more than him despite him being the lead striker last season. I seriously think its time for the Euro2004 golden boot winner to move on but it seems he'd rather sit out his contract. How silly of him to waste his youth like that. Mellor, imho, is not good enough for the PL. He maybe a goal scoring machine in the reserve squad but i just cant see him breaking into the 1st squad. He even struggled to break into West Ham's starting lineup while he was on loan there. On the other hand, i see lots of talent in Pongolle. He just lacks the PL experience. He was injured for most of last season and i doubt he'll be ready for the coming season. So we definitely need a goal scoring machine like Thierry Henry...one who can score around 20 goals/season. Dirk Kuyt's goalscoing records looks impressive. Many fans are skeptical of him bcos he comes from a lesser Dutch League and many fear he'll turn out to be another Kezman. But i feel that he's worth a try. £8m seems abit steep...well...nothing ventured nothing gain. And like wat Slur Alex Ferguscum has said, a good team needs at least 4 great strikers. I agree. Midfielders (Zenden free, Stelios £1m, Figo free) Good bargin. 3 midfielders for just around £1m. With Smicer, Baros and co released, i see Zenden and Stelios as good replacements. Zenden and Stelios are proven in the PL. They do not need time to adapt and both proves to be vital players in their old clubs. I see Zenden as an aggressive and skillful player. He was voted Player of the Season by Boro fans therefore Rafa cant be wrong to sign him FOC. I have seen Stelios play and he's one of the main reason why Bolton is in the Uefa cup nx season. He's good at freekicks and has an impressive goal scoring record for a midfielder. He'll be useful for rotation since we have so many games to play this season. £1m for him is a steal but we could have gotten him for free as part of serial spitter's deal. Figo...as i said before, he is very experience and skillful and might just be the old head(just like Gary Mc) we'll looking for. If he's willing to take a salary cut, SIGN HIM!!! You just couldn't ask for more. Defenders (Milito? Evra? Ibanez?) The most worrying part of the team. Definitely need a need CB to replace the aging Hyypia. It'll be a nightmare if we get to face quick strikers like Henry, Reyes etc. Milito looked very poor in the confed cup but we cant judge a player just by 1 game. I heard from fellow kopites that he is a very good CB in the La Liga. As for Ibanez and Evra, i have not seen them play and therefore i wouldnt comment on them. Actually, we do not need to go for BIG signings. I see Ledley King and Upson as good replacement. King is a good tackler and reads the games well. Upson is a hard tackler and holds the defence well. Its really time to give Carra a new partner and let them form a lethal partnership in the PL. Fullback, fullback...we need a proven fullback! Traore's passing is AWFUL and he looks dodgy at times. I pray we get a proven LB asap! GK (Reina £8m) Wat a price to pay for a GK! But as long as he can keep many clean sheets like Cech, all the money paid is worthwhile. And we are bringing in a long term solution. Hope he can be the rightful replacement for Grobblear... ------------------ well, its the eve of 1st July and i'm looking forward to see who we have signed. No matter who Rafa signed...in Rafa we trust.

Liverpool FC Fixtures 2005/06 (to be updated)

July Sat, July 9 Friendly Wrexham (A) Wed, July 13 CL TNS (H) Sat, July 16 Friendly Bayer 04 Leverkusen (A) Tue, July 19 CL TNS (A) Sat, July23 Friendly Olympiakos (A) Tue, July 26 CL FBK Kaunas (A) August Tue, Aug 2 CL FBK Kaunas (H) Wed, Aug 10 CL CSKA Sofia (A) Sat, Aug 13 Middlesbrough (A) Sat, Aug 20 Sunderland (H) Tue, Aug 23 CL CSKA Sofia (H) Friday, Aug 26 CSKA Moscow Super Cup, Monaco September Sat, Sep 10 Tottenham Hotspur (A) Tue, Sep 13 CL Real Betis (A) Sun, Sep 18 Manchester United (H) Sat, Sep 24 Birmingham City (A) Wed, Sep 28 CL Chelsea (H) October Sun, Oct 2 Chelsea (H) Sat, Oct 15 Blackburn Rovers (H) Wed, Oct 19 CL Anderlecht (A) Sat, Oct 22 Fulham (A) Wed, Oct 26 Carling Cup 3rd round ? Sat, Oct 29 West Ham United (H) November Tue, Nov 1 CL Anderlecht (H) Sat, Nov 5 Aston Villa (A) Sat, Nov 19 Portsmouth (H) Wed, Nov 23 CL Real Betis (H) Sat, Nov 26 Manchester City (A) Wed, Nov 30 Carling Cup 4th round ? December Sat, Dec 3 Wigan Athletic (H) Tue, Dec 6 CL Chelsea (A) Sat, Dec 10 Middlesbrough (H) Sat, Dec 17 Sunderland (A) Tue/Wed, Dec 20/21 Carling Cup 5th round Mon, Dec 26 Newcastle United (H) Wed, Dec 28 Everton (A) Sat, Dec 31 West Bromwich Albion (H) January 2006 Mon, Jan 2 Bolton Wanderers (A) Sat, Jan 7 FA Cup 3rd round Tue/Wed, Jan 10/11 Carling Cup Semi-Final 1st leg Sat, Jan 14 Tottenham Hotspur (H) Sat, Jan 21 Manchester United (A) Tue/Wed, Jan 24/25 Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg Sat, Jan 28 FA Cup 4th round Tue, Jan 31 Birmingham City (H) February Sat, Feb 4 Chelsea (A) Sat, Feb 11 Wigan Athletic (A) Sat, Feb 18 FA Cup 5th round Sat, Feb 25 Manchester City (H) Sun, Feb 26 Carling Cup Final in Cardiff March Sat, Mar 4 Charlton Athletic (H) Sat, Mar 11 Arsenal (A) Sat, Mar 18 Newcastle United (A) Wed, Mar 22 FA Cup quarter-finals Sat, Mar 25 Everton (H) April Sat, Apr 1 West Bromwich Albion (A) Sat, Apr 8 Bolton Wanderers (H) Sat, Apr 15 Blackburn Rovers (A) Mon, Apr 17 Fulham (H) Sat, Apr 22 West Ham United (A) Also FA Cup semi-final date Sat, Apr 29 Aston Villa (H) Sun, May 7 Portsmouth (A) Sat, May 13 FA Cup Final Results

Dun ever deal with Madrid again

Owen (LFC to Madrid) - £8m + Nunez Owen (Madrid to LFC) - £16m

we must be crazy if we really want to get MO back at this price. Total ripped off by Madrid and a great joke. Frankly speaking, if Manchester Buccaneers wants Owen at Old Trafford, they can jolly well have him at that price. I would rather pay Real Betis £16m for Joaquin than to get the passe Michael-no trophy-n-i'll leave-Owen back at Anfield. No heart. He walked out of us when we needed him most. He promised us that he'll sign a new contract, yeah~ he signed one eventually BUT with Madrid. And we have proven we dun need him so why talk about him returning at this time? NO~

Luis Figo (Madrid to LFC) - FREE but £100 000/wk

He's old but he is still a good player. An excellent old head to lead the team but too bad, he plays for money. A player without passion and hunger for success will do us no good. £100 000/mth is just too much for us. So if Manchester Buccaneers wants him, they can have him as well. But i think it will be too much for a club heavily in debt lol

CL HERE WE COME!

Its official... we qualify for the CL nx season! But there's a few points to note:

1. We'll have to start in the first qualifying round of the competition
2. We are top seeded
3. There will be no country protection for Liverpool (Meaning we might be drawn against the Bluenose in the qualifers and against a fellow PL club in the group stages)
4. Liverpool will be included in the English market pool share with the status of lowest-placed English club.

Meaning...

• we are going to have a tight schedule nx yr
• we need a bigger squad for rotation purposes
• Rafa will announce his first signing SOON!

A tale of two heroes

Didi Hamann has signed a new one-year contract(with a year option), that will keep the 31-year-old German at Liverpool. In the Liverpool Echo interview, Hamann said: "Once Liverpool made me an offer, there was only one place I wanted to play my football."

Thank god, i was so scared that Hamann will leave on a free transfer and get picked up by any of the PL teams. Its obvious that this young team needs an experienced old head like him (just like Gary Mac) to guide them along... especially in international competitions like the CL, the Supercup etc. Didi's footballing experience with Germany proves vital to help the team go further. We just need a DCM there to allow Stevie G and Alonso to move up in attack. And since Rafa loves to play 4-5-1, Didi's presence will make a further impact in the formation. Well done Didi!

On the other hand, Igor Biscan has been told he will not get a new contract. Igor the croatian has been signed by Gerrard Houllier fromCroatia Zagreb for £5.5m in 2000. He has not been a big hit with the Reds faithful since his move here. Most of the time, he has been played out of position by Houllier. Igor has a nightmare spell in defence two seasons ago until Rafa played him in his favoured central role. He was an average squad player but did came on to score some vital goals as a substitute.His performances against Deportivo La Coruna, Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus this season, won the hearts of many Kopites. Despite that, he was still not able to convince Rafa to give him a new contract.

We thank you for all you have done for this club. We will always remember you and all the beautiful memories you gave us. Take care and all the best for your future endeavours~

A tribute to Igor by This is Anfield click here

Who actually are we buying?!

I'm getting abit impatient. Scums signed Van der Sar, Bluenose signed Davies ... there are so many transfer activites happening everyday and yet we are not part of it. The most annoying thing is the tabloid has linked us to almost every single player on this earth(thank god we haven found the martians) and the situation seems to become worse after winning the CL. This is crazy and some of the names being mentioned are far too absurb.

Only people who are mentally unsound will believe that Raul is coming to Anfield. Wake up and smell the coffee mates, the King of Bernabeu will never leave his fortress! Although the lethal partnership between Raul And Morientes makes one drools, no way are we going to witness it happening in Anfield.

There are some players that the fan longed for such as Torres, Ballack, Tevez etc. And they ended up being linked to us in the end. Not because Benitez wants them but because words have being spreading amongst fans. These words eventually became rumours being posted in the forums and eventually ended up in the tabloids.

Another impossible player to come (back) to Anfield is Owen. He already said he'll stay at Madrid and fight for his place. So fellow reds, perish that thought.

If you remember the Mori vs Anelka incident, you will know what i'm talking about. Our Master Tactician enjoys doing business behind a smokescreen unlike a certain 'the special one' who enjoys broadcasting as well as tapping up those he wants to buy. In this way, we will face less competition and not spend unneccessary money. Nice work Rafa! If i'm not wrong, Crouching Peter looks more and more likely to be a smokescreen for another striker *fingers crossed*

The players who are most likely to come are Kuyt, Aimar and a defender (guess between Milito, Upson, O'Shea, Evra). We definitely need a striker(if Baros is to leave), a AM to fill the hole (not KEWELL of Gerrard) and a defender, CB to be more precise to beef up the defense. Jose Reina is a sure-to-come. And i beg Rafa to sell a GK. We dun need 4 GKs ffs.

Come on Fellow REDS!

What's the Champions League without the Champions?

Dear fellow soccer lovers, Put yourselves in our shoes. What would you do if your club has won a competition and yet not allowed to defend their title nx season? Kindly lend a helping hand to LFC by signing this petition. It wouldn't take much of your time. Let the champions defend their title. Lets have a fair CL competition nx season. Let the winners of nx season's CL be true Champions. Thanks! Webmaster -YNWA-

20 Questions - 2005 Liverpool Survey

Came across this article on RAWK and so i have decided to post my reply to the survey here... 1 Age - 24 2 Started Supporting Liverpool - 1988 after a match against the Mancs 3 Favourite All Time Player - Robbie Fowler 4 Favourite Current Player - Stevie G 5 Your 3 Greatest Liverpool Moments - FA Cup 2001/ CL 2005 / All wins against Mancs 6 Best Game You Have Ever Seen Liverpool Play - 2-1 win at Highbury (04/05) 7 Best Ever Liverpool Goal - Mellor's winner against Arse (04/05) 8 Best Ever Liverpool Manager - Bill Shankly 8 Worst Moment (apart from Hillsborough/ Heysel) as a fan - Sale of Fowler 9 Worst Moment In Football, not to do with Liverpool - Marc Vivien Foe's death (RIP mate) 10 Best Foreign Player To Have Played For Liverpool - Sami Hyypia 11 If You Could Buy Benitez Any Current Player, Who Would It Be - Turbo Henry 12 Angriest You Have Been As A Liverpool Fan - 0-4 defeat by Scums 13 Most Hated Team - Man Utd (NO FIGHT!) 14 Favourite Football Pundit - NIL 15 Most Hated Football Figure - Roy Keane 16 Most Underrated Figure In Liverpool's History - Hmm... Didi Hamann 17 Should We Move Away From Anfield - Hell NO! 18 Biggest Flop - Emile Heskey (awful~ waste of money!) 19 An Image That Could Torment You - That smug look on Slur Alex Fergiescum's face 20 An Image To Cherish - Rafa's smile after the pens in CL Istanbul 05 I just realised there are 21 qns in fact. There are 2 qns both numbered as (8) lol