Boardroom v Benitez: Bust-ups, Battles And Barry

Anticipating the fixture to round off the month of August, I thought this is the most opportune time to provide the final views on the long running issue of the summer. Liverpool travel to the Midlands to face Aston Villa, and as we now know, Gareth Barry will be staying a Villain. That is until the next chance to switch arises.
For me there is little competition between the midfielders at the centre of the saga: Barry and Alonso. I feel the Englishman outweighs his Basque counterpart in almost every aspect of the game. Barry is better equipped offensively (delivery, penetration, goals, assists, set-pieces), defensively (tackling, marking, endurance, ball-retention, concentration) and generally (versatility, composure, acceleration, decisiveness, leadership).
The fact is Gareth Barry would be a stellar addition to Liverpool FC, and all the evidence, being both statistical and anecdotal, displays Barry as top player. Our abject left side is a major concern, which may be soothed with a new arrival (Riera is taking a medical today), and Barry could have been a short-term solution. His sheer consistency in the Premier League is commendable, and alongside his box-to-box attributes he is often see as the lynch-pin of the Aston Villa team. His adaptability creates a wealth of options over the field, and for such an investment, the lack of injuries he has picked up guarantees his availability for a full season. And as he is English he contributes to UEFA domestic league quota legislation, which may be preventing the sale of Pennant or Finnan.
The man, originally from the South coast, has been subject to constant media speculation, taunts from his home crowd and the loss of his testimonial match. Lucrative incentives prevented him from handing in a transfer request, but an unauthorised newspaper interview took place criticising his manager. Administrative procrastination and politics then took place, with Benitez publicly urging an early conclusion towards the capture of his top target. Multiple bids were lodged and rejected over the months, with mixed messages from the owners over finances and willing for the deal to happen. The stumbling block seemed to be with deal-breaker Rick Parry, who has been under fire from all corners, and most recently from the manager, again. A statement released on the official website, with the notable exception of the owners names, read that the fee was "too high". Much has been reported in the media of the movement towards football being controlled by money more than ever. Players are often seen as assets and property, or as Blatter and Ronaldo stupidly see it: "slaves". Liverpool may have considered residual or sell-on value for Barry and deemed that they would not recoup enough on a sale of a player that haven't purchased yet.
I believe in today's relative economic climate, the market dictates the cost of players with prices rising year on year in spite of fears for global recession. Martin O'Neill and Randy Lerner have clear reasoning over the matter, with players in similar roles such as Hargreaves, Essien and Mascherano costing upwards of £18million. This price has obviously been baulked at, as a major factor in this transfer is the age of the player in question, and also the premium prices for English players. Benitez himself can be seen as delusional and hypocritical for demanding £16million for Xabi Alonso. Even though some could say he is protecting the interests of the club, he regularly excuses his chances of winning the league by referring to the spending power of the top 2 sides and the difficulties in beating teams with the likes of Carrick, Anderson and Mikel warming the bench. Such an inflated value has warded of interest from Juventus and league rivals Arsenal, but one stark development is the absence of interest from Spanish teams. The clubs make regular homeward bound calls for their ex-patriots through the press, but haven't even been rumoured to put in a bid.
As the seasons have rolled on, Alonso has been depreciating in form and value. He established himself in his first two seasons as an expensive import who could control the flow of the game, setting a tempo and rhythm to our play with clear vision and passing; the consummate professional. But subsequently has been laid off to the treatment room and been replaced by Mascherano, Lucas and most recently Plessis, playing bit-part roles with varying success.
I think there may be a future for the Barry deal, and the first opportunity will the the January transfer window. One point that supports this idea is that his UEFA Cup appearance in Iceland cup-tied Barry until the knock-out stages of the UCL this season, which get underway in February. This is when the competition really starts to take shape and a big-money name at such a time would be a great boost, even though such agreements are usually sealed in the summer. The structure of the deal would change, concerning the payment schedule, involving a lower price and perhaps instead significant add-on clauses or compensation.
But the most important reasoning to secure Barry is the necessity to bring in the right player for the team.

Poor Performances And Late Luck

I would firstly like to state my happiness for our two Premier League wins of the season. I say this as it is widely acknowledged that Liverpool FC have had dismal performances, displaying numerous weaknesses and ugly football, and this bumpy start isn't in line with the positive signs shown in our pre-season form.
Throughout the beginning stages of our campaign I have noticed worrying signs in tactics and player's attitude. One vital area of a successful team is the many partnerships that need to be strong, fluent and flexible when playing, so in a 4-4-2 formation (which Rafa has adopted thus far) there are 5 duos over the pitch. Arguably the most important of these are the strikers and we have seen the great and the good during the Sunderland and Middlesbrough games. Naturally time is necessary for a comfortable harmony to germinate between Torres and Keane, but we all hope that its sooner rather than later, and there are certainly positive indications of the pairing being fruitful and if not bounteous. One good sign is the first away goal for Torres at the Stadium of Light, which was a concern last term as he only managed to score 3 times away from Anfield in the league.
Unfortunately there have been a series of anonymous players during matches and this is an unacceptable trait. Forwards thrive on service, and with players like Gerrard (now playing in a midfield role), Kuyt and Benayoun not providing enough quality deliveries, it is hard for strikers to execute their role. And then they tend to drop deeper and deeper to seek the ball or long hoofs from the defenders are seen. This totally the opposite situation to bygone seasons when we made plenty of chances and had no-one good enough to finish them. Gerrard himself has been quoted as being only 70% fit due to groin problems and international duty, but so far he has been lackadaisical, seen as simulating/diving and over appealing to referees (and I have as much blind loyalty as the next fan) when he should simply get on with the game. Alonso has been similarly poor, with him being caught on the ball, missing easy lateral passes and appearing discomposed and edgy. Another disappointing feature of our game is the useless corners/set pieces that we engineer, as poor delivery is a regular occurrence with the ball hitting the first man and the ball being cleared instantaneously.
Dossena is another player that could be scrutinised, as he has exhibited positive and negative techniques during his short tenure at Liverpool FC. Dossena represents the first ever Italian player to join Liverpool and he was credited to being the second best left back in Serie A, behind Juan Manuel Vargas, who made the move from Catania to UCL contenders Fiorentina this summer. He currently holds two international appearances for Italy and vies for that spot with Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan) and Fabio Grosso (Lyon). Labelled as a wing-back he is often overlapping on the touchline to provide options and genuine width. He has a medley of decent tricks to make space for himself and send in a good cross, plus he can hit accurate 50 yard cross-field passes. However it is his defensive qualities that are to be questioned, which is understandable as he is switching from a back 5 to a 4. He maintains positional deficiencies on the ground and in the air, electing to over commit and slide tackle, which if unsuccessful, then leaves that flank vulnerable and creates unnecessary pressure on the team. A balance of decision-making is needed of when to chase and block shots/crosses, and the more flamboyant and crowd pleasing lunging forays. Also defensive responsibilities cannot be attributed to him if he has run the length of pitch and is subject to a rapid counter-attack. This job must then be assigned to a destructive midfielder to plug the gaps and break up opposition moves. The key word is time for both him and Degen (plus other possible foreign recruits) to adjust to a new culture and language; adapt to a different system and the speed/physicality of the Premier League.
A slight surprise this season has been the minutes gained by Nabil El Zhar in the first team. Personally I think he and Leto are not good enough to be Liverpool players now or in the future, which is a view shared by Voronin who has bemoaned his lack of opportunities. But another angle on this situation is the absence of Jermaine Pennant and hopefully progress is underway to shift him out to a more suitable mid-table club. Pennant embodies the only true winger in the first team squad, and it seemed Benitez would rely on flying wing-backs to cause havoc. But this clearly hasn't materialised, and with fans and pundits alike highlighting the chronic lack of width to our game, a response may be the arrival of a left winger. Tactics have had us resorting to ugly long ball assaults, but Albert Riera of Espanyol made be the man to supply regular service from wide areas and utilising the pitch to stretch teams on the counter-attack. Views on him vary with some citing his below par stint at Manchester City and others stating he is alongside Luis Garcia as the Barcelona based club's best players last season. He seems to be a confidence player and in need of the 'arm around the shoulder' approach to achieve consistency, as last season his form dropped considerably in the latter period. This is a name that was mooted in the early stages of the transfer window with a 'come and get me' plea from the player as he became disillusioned by the home supporters giving the team abuse as poor league form saw their season peter out, but he has since made his peace with them. Media reports have suggested a fee has been agreed at around £8-10million depending on appearances, and the player denied a move to Everton who stumped up the same amount. This transfer seems to be in reaction to the denial of the Gareth Barry move, that was blocked by the owners and seemingly CEO Rick Parry. The problem was not financial and spectators saw this as the board undermining the manger's decisions and showing that off-field tensions have resumed. Barry was rated statistically as the best all-round player last season, and with Alonso in indifferent form, a change is needed for this opinionated fan.
I think the appropriate juncture to judge the new signings is after they have individually played 6 league games, and then the fans can assess their adaptation rate and performance levels. Alongside the fresh faces at Anfield we must take into account the fitness of established players. As previously said, Gerrard is not at his best and the ability to reach optimum level of other players has been hampered by late returns from Euro 08 (Torres, Kuyt etc) and the toll on players in the hot and polluted conditions of the Beijing Olympics (Mascherano/Lucas/Babel) which lasted the whole 2 week duration of the Games. All these issues were known prior to the season and seem to have not been totally offset, but the fact remains that we have secured 6 points. The manager and captain have commented on the immediate change in atmosphere made by the return of these players and this should stabilise the team and positively affect our on-field displays.

Match Day: Pre-season Friendly #7

Valerenga 1 - 4 Liverpool
Tuesday 05 August 2008 18:00

Liverpool XI: Cavalieri, Dossena (68), Agger, Carragher (45), Arbeloa (68), Benayoun {58} (68), Alonso {19} (54), Gerrard (c) (27), Kuyt (76), Keane (68), Torres {50} (68).

Substitutes: Darby (22), El Zhar (14), Hyypia (45), Insua (22), Nemeth (22), Ngog {84} (22), Pacheco (22), Plessis (36), Reina, Spearing (63).

Match Day: Pre-season Friendly #6

Glasgow Rangers 0 - 4 Liverpool
Saturday 02 August 2008 15:00

Liverpool XI: Cavalieri, Dossena (60), Carragher (45), Skrtel (45), Arbeloa (45), Benayoun {60} (72), Gerrard (c) (60), Plessis (45), Kuyt, Keane (60), Torres {23} (45).

Substitutes: Agger (45), Alonso {70} (45), Darby (45), Hyypia (45), Insua (60), Nemeth (30), Ngog {56} (45), Pennant (18), Reina, Spearing (60).

Systematic Squad Shredding Sought

The current Liverpool FC first team roster, in my opinion, accumulates to 26 players. I think this amount of available players needs to be reduced to 23 which involves five outgoing players and two incoming. The duo of imports to the club are apparent from my previous posts, hence I will continue into the current squad members that need to be sold if we realistically want to rise to the head of the league. The cut will not only decrease the number of possible players eligible for the manager to select (contributing to a limitation of his relentless rotation) but simultaneously incentivise the reserve players. The 23 man squad would include 4 current reserve players (which would therefore lower the main group again, to 19) and they may be given a larger role in the lesser competitions and minor Premier League games. Two players for every position is still maintained and this is a clear shift towards quality over quantity. This venture would also benefit the club fiscally, generating financial funds which would contribute towards transfers, wages and the like.
Itandje, Finnan, Alonso, Pennant and Voronin are the 5 players that should be shown the door and would garner collectively considerable prices, at approximately £26million, which would be added to the net profit gained from previous departure deals. The reasons for the exit of these players hinges on many factors, such as their age, potential, valuation and also the nature of future purchases.

• Itandje: Last season Itandje had shaky and indifferent performances for Liverpool FC. He played in no Premier League or Champions League matches and had in total 7 appearances with 1 clean sheet, conceding 10 goals. In many ways it is unfair to judge him on sporadic games, which involves plenty of pressure on a goalkeeper, who is nervous and desperate to impress, and I think fans have been overcritical of him in some instances. Some goals he conceded were either simply skilful or plain unfortunate, like the last minute Barnsley goal in the FA Cup 5th Round and the deflected Lampard goal in the Carling Cup defeat, during which he won the fan's man of the match vote. His time seems to be up with him not travelling out to Switzerland training camp and the arrival of Cavalieri. Plus it has been rumoured he is in advanced dialogue with the Turkish champions Galatasaray and Ligue 1 club PSG, who could pay a decent fee for his services. Also his attitude and demeanour could be questioned, however this could be symptomatic of his reserve goalkeeper role which requires copious amounts of patience and optimism. These types of players are regularly unsettled and don't stay for too long, evident in past stoppers such as Kirkland, Dudek and most recently Carson.

• Finnan: Last season Finnan was ordinary, looked slow and was predictable in his movement and decision making on the right side, often being espoused by centre half Jamie Carragher. His lack of speed may now be revealing his age of 32, and he has never been a genuine threat to the opposition or held much technical ability, unlike his counter-parts in the league. He has previously been the steady and reliable man to put in a shift, and ironically taking headlines as the unsung and under-rated player at Liverpool. Now these attributes are no longer required and the club, who need to be more expansive and creative in wide areas, utilising the full capacity the turf can provide. Finnan can produces standard crosses and uninspiring displays, which leads me to believe he could be easily replaced, especially since Degen has joined the club. Defensively he is definitely capable, but is now surplus to the team, and could be used as a make-weight to Aston Villa for the acquisition of Gareth Barry, or return to Fulham or even Ireland to extend his career.

• Alonso: Last season for Alonso was disappointing to say the least, and in my view his injury heavily contributed to this, interrupting his fourth season at the club. It is said form is temporary andclass is permanent, however the Spaniard has progressively lost his dominating skill of unleashing pin-point passes and defence splitting assists. I think he has lost his mobility, confidence and has a questionable temperament, developing into reckless behaviour to the detriment of the team. His indisciplined actions result in conceding set-plays in dangerous areas and him picking up infractions. He may also be injury prone with two ankle problems: a break and ligament sprain, plus breaking his metatarsal this season, which are all considerable injuries involving long lay-off times. But the crux of the argument is his competitors, with Mascherano an £18m shoo-in for a starting berth and the possible inclusion of Barry who is ranked above Alonso for this opinionated fan. The club has a wealth of centre midfielders, and the numbers being exchanged in the media point towards an economically beneficial transfer. But despite this, Juventus decided against this move, favouring the Dane Christian Poulsen. Other rumours indicate Internazionale are now interested with their prospective deal for Lampard hitting the buffers. I wouldn't be surprised to see him prosper in the Italian league, which is heavily tactically based and has a slower tempo and style. This is substantiated in his Euro 2008 performances for Spain were he impressed, however his role was more advanced than at Liverpool and he was given more freedom offensively, whereas Gerrard occupies that position at the moment. He will be missed the most if he leaves, especially with memories of his half-way line goals and the 3rd goalin Istanbul, and this is reflected in the high value he demands.

• Pennant: Last season was not particularly successful time for Pennant and he didn't build on the limited positives of the season before, with the highlight being his starting appearance in the Athens final. When Pennant was purchased I felt that he was the third choice that Benitez wanted in 2006. This is reflected recently with Kuyt replacing him, showing the fans the continuous hard graft and goal scoring and assisting that is needed for such a role. In contrast Pennant has a small box of tricks and turns, with spurts of pace and dribbling on the right wing. To me it seems he lacks enthusiasm and endeavour during games, and appears to be content with his time on the bench at a top 4 club who is playing in the Champions League. I have thought that he could progress at Liverpool, especially as he is our only true winger, and could give us the touch-line hugging play we seem to crave (calls to buy Bentley and David Silva) but he has not improved enough and needs to leave. He won't attract a high price, but at the moment any revenue is welcome to match the high cost of our two targets, and there have been tenuous links with Blackburn for a sale. However one stumbling block may be a change to a UEFA ruling in 2006, regarding locally trained players. It stipulates that clubs are required to register 4 club trained and 4 domestic association trained players in each squad. Pennant would qualify for the latter of these groups since he trained at a different club (Arsenal) for at least three years between the age of 15 and 21. But with the loss of Kewell and Crouch, and possibly Finnan, who were registered last season when the rules were only 3 players of each, that would leave us in a degree of strife. David Martin, Barry and Keane are eligible to fill this quota, and therefore either Finnan or Pennant would need to stay.

• Voronin: Last season was a time of woe for the Liverpool faithful who saw glimpses of talent during the pre-season period (again this time around), but watching the Ukrainian forward over the following 10 months was cringe inducing dysphoria, not to mention seeing the number on his back. His lack of basic footballing ability was shocking and this was compounded by his horrific hair. Of course we wish no harm on players and we give all our men a fair chance, but I wasn't down heartened when he contracted an ankle injury in January. In all fairness he contributed goal wise, with 6 to his name and had snippets of flair, but in my opinion was thoroughly disappointing and unimpressive. His poor control, incoordination and waste of possession was infuriating to see, when more competent players could get their chance to impress. There has been some gossip surrounding this player, linking him back to the Bundesliga where he has maintained a high regard. A clutch of German clubs are reported to have shown interest and any price would be suitable in my eyes. Even though Crouch has left and Kuyt has been moved to the right, the future development of Krisztian Nemeth is promising and also the addition of Robbie Keane would rectify a loss of striking options.
  

Free Full-back Confirmed

Liverpool FC have today announced the new signing of Philipp Degen. He has come on a free transfer signing a four-year contract and will join us on the 1st July after his current deal expires. He is 25 years old, plays in the position of right-back and hails from Borussia Dortmund who play in the Bundesliga of Germany. His comments regarding his move to Merseyside: "When I received the offer from Liverpool, there was no doubt I would accept it. They are one of the biggest clubs in the world and I am looking forward to the challenge of playing in the best league there is."
Degen is a Switzerland international, most recently losing to Ukraine on penalties in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup (they didn't concede any goals all tournament) and will partake in Euro 2008 (held in Austria and Switzerland) if he recovers from his current injury. He joined FC Basel at youth level in 1996 and was promoted to the first team squad in 2001. At FC Basel he experienced Champions League football in the 2002/03 season, alongside his twin brother David Degen who currently plays at the club, on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach.
He has been billed by Benitez as an "offensive player with great energy and a winning mentality." Physically he has an athletic build, is tall at 6ft1in and is a very fast runner (like Skrtel) with a mean cross. He will provide competition for Steve Finnan and Alvaro Arbeloa on the right side, potentially improving both of them due to him, and is the older player Benitez alluded to a month ago: "We have some signings for the next season done. They are senior players for the first team and young players for the first team and reserve team. Two of them are really close, young players, and one senior player is done. He talks good English, but is not English."
There are 3 comparisons I would like to make with Degen. Firstly, I hope, no, I beg that he will not be as bad a signing as the last free agent we snared from the German league: Andriy Voronin. He has been a monumental flop, and the only flickering chance of an exit is a tenuous link back to the Bundesliga for him.
Secondly I would like to highlight the overwhelming disparity between Liverpool FC signing a 25 year old right back, and Chelsea signing a 25 year old right back. Liverpool FC manage to identify a suitable player, for a position of weakness currently in the team, for a Bosman transfer and ward off interest from other clubs. Chelsea try to find the best right back in the world (after spending £5.5m on Juliano Belletti from Barcelona last season) but end up latching onto targets of other clubs (Liverpool FC, Manchester United) and then pay an extremely inflated price for the player: £16million to Porto in exchange for Jose Bosingwa. I'd like to see how these players perform over next season and see if Bosingwa is x16 the player Degen is.
And the final comparison was immediately thought of, as when seeing an image of him, what struck me first was his resemblance to Xabi Alonso.

Benitez Targets English Mid-table Maestros

This summer will provide clear indications of the direction the club is heading in, and if we will have a realistic chance of challenging for the Premier League title. One of the main issues during this close season will be the transfers in and out of the club to ensure we have a quality starting XI, that could theoretically be rotated less by the manager. Benitez seems keen to recruit Englishmen to the side, specifically home-grown midfielders that are at the heart of some of the teams who populate the second tier in the league, below the 'top 4'. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Bentley (Blackburn), Michael Johnson (Manchester City) and Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough) are the four most prominent English players that currently ply their trade in the second tier of the Premier League.
Their was some speculation that Rafa was concerned with the '6+5' rule that may be implemented to the game, championed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter and supported by UEFA President Michel Platini. This prospective legislation would force six domestic players to be in the starting team of the club, in addition to five foreign players. This quota system is opposed by the EU as it contravenes Article 39 of the EC Nice Treaty: "Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment." It was previously thought that it did not breach the European Labour Law on the freedom of movement, as clubs would still be free to buy as many foreign players as they wished, with the important difference being that clubs would have to field six players who were eligible for the national team of the country.
However, the European Commission supports UEFA's home-grown player rule that sets quotas of locally trained players at clubs and does not discriminate on players' nationality. The organisation bodies would collectively investigate the objectives of the '6+5' rule within limits of the law, as such an initiative has been deemed illegal, and the UEFA idea has similar objectives and has been formally accepted.
Currently Liverpool FC have 4 English players that are in or on the fringes of the first team squad: Gerrard, Carragher, Crouch and Pennant, plus 3 English players that are out on loan: Hobbs, Guthrie and Carson. However of these seven players, four are expected to leave, which further highlights Benitez's problems if this bill were to be passed.
The predominant English player that seems to top our transfer list is Gareth Barry. There has been volleys of verbal warfare through the media between Benitez and O'Neill, as the news of an official bid was made known to the public before the conclusion of the season. This was seen as an underhand tactic employed Benitez, as it would unsettle Barry and the team, who were in the race for 5th in the league and therefore the UEFA Cup spot. Another reason for the dispute was the nature of the bid, as O'Neill was unimpressed with the "mish-mash" of players (Carson? Riise? Crouch?) in a part exchange/cash deal that seemed to the Villa boss as undervaluing his captain, who he is determined to keep. O'Neill is adamant that Aston Villa are not a 'selling club' and has asked owner Randy Lerner to join him when he meets with Barry, and commences negotiations over his future. The prospect of Champion's League football and a title challenge at Liverpool FC may out weigh assurances of improving the small Villa squad and building towards breaking the top 4, especially as he is 27 years old and may seek top flight football during his prime years as a footballer. O'Neill's intentions were also evident after he axed Patrik Berger (ex-Red) from his squad and the club after he advised Barry to make the move to us, as such an opportunity wouldn't come around often.
Benitez has said many times that they need to secure targets quickly (recently and after the UCL final), and wants to sign players preferably before the end of May. This may be a veiled criticism of the American owners and his request for guaranteed funding, or CEO Rick Parry, who is notorious for stalling on transfer discussions. However this approach justifies the early movement for Barry, which begun with a phone call 20 days prior to the public fracas, and was designed to gage the stance of O'Neill and inform him of the forthcoming bid. Rafa also moved to quash rumours that Barry was a replacement for Alonso in centre midfield alongside Mascherano, and further indicates he may be played on the left. It would be beneficial for the synergy and balance of the team to have a left-footed player on the left of midfield, as even though the decision to play Babel there had its reasons, I believe his incessant runs cutting inside and lack of crosses from the left wing may limit our attacking options. Another observation may be that fact both Lucas and Mascherano will be at the Beijing Olympics for the first few weeks of the 08/09 Premier League season and Champions League qualifiers, therefore Barry may partner Alonso in the centre during their absence. Barry is definitely a versatile and creative player who would be a promising signing, but perhaps not the most popular amongst fans.
David Bentley is the second English player most attributed to our club. It is said that he has rejected a new contract that was offered to him as a reward for his endeavours this season, that would substantially improve his current deal, boosting his wages considerably to approximately £50,000 a week. Manager Mark Hughes has denounced any ideas for the sale of his prized asset and is bullish on such suggestions, as he wants to add more quality to his team. He claims that it is his, and not the players decision if they are to be sold, and reaffirms the fact that Bentley has 3 years left on his current contract. Bentley could similarly wish to perform in the world's biggest club tournament, but also seek to secure a regular place on the right wing for the national team, and once and for all oust David Beckham from the role. I think Bentley is a competent player who has consistently good performances for Blackburn and the national team, and is a predominantly attack orientated player, which will appeal us fans who like to see exciting football. He has accurate delivery achieving 10 assists (matched by Barry and 1 less than Gerrard), supplying Santa Cruz and basically gifting him goals - the media either ignore Cruz and his 19 goals or eulogise over his apparent proficiency, when in reality he has had numerous tap-ins provided by Bentley. Both Barry and Bentley are estimated to cost £15million.
News reports also claim Benitez has reignited his interest in Manchester City play-maker Michael Johnson. The ownership upheaval at Eastlands (we dodged the bullet over Thaksin) may signal trouble for the club, culminating in a player exodus following the mistreatment of Sven Goran Eriksson and plans emanating from the club to revamp the squad. Benitez tried to sign Johnson last season and was rebuffed, but the player is rumoured to be stalling on a new contract, and is valued at around £8million; at 20 years old he would be a wise investment. Stewart Downing is the final English midfielder to be linked with our club, and is viewed as the most unlikely of the four to move to Anfield. He represents the second choice behind Barry for the left midfield, and would cost about £12million. However he has recently signed a new lucrative deal at Middlesbrough, extending his stay till 2013. Recent outings show him to be a skilful player, exemplified in the 8-1 thrashing of a relenting City team where he scored 2 goals, and he also proved his resolve when he scored against us at home after Torres had scored yet another hat-trick.
My verdict comprises of both optimism and pessimism, as I would gladly welcome such stellar additions to our first team, but I am unsure if we will be successful in securing their signatures as their managers and chairmen clearly do not want to part company. The lure of a top 4 club, UCL football and playing at Anfield may be attractive, but I am apprehensive in placing all my faith in the acumen and ability of our owners and chief negotiators when dealing with steadfast and stubborn opponents (both the selling and rival clubs) who are in the position to hold out for exorbitant prices, which we may not be able to match or better.