Rafa hoping for improved consistency

Rafa wants us to follow up the win at the weekend with another win in Europe to get a decent run going. He is expecting a difficult game against Anderlecht however he knows a victory should put us through to the knockout stages:

''We have that chance against Anderlecht and will try to do it.''
''Anderlecht are a team with quality players, some of them can really play well and produce good football.
''They have some good players but not the best in Europe. They will try to play their very best at Anfield and it will be very difficult.''
Overall Rafa does feel that progress is being made:
''I think of the same speech that I have said all season,'' said Benitez. ''The team is stronger this year. ''In the Champions League we are playing well, in The Premiership we sometimes play well and sometimes not so well. ''But the team is more consistent than last season. How can you be more consistent? By winning one, two, three games in a row.
''Every team goes against us with a lot of passion but we need to approach each game with more consistency than we did last season,'' he concluded.

I am expecting us to follow up the performance against West Ham with another excellent European display. Hopefully we can convert a higher ratio of chances, run up a nice scoreline and fill the team with more confidence.

Please let me know how you think the game will go.

Rafa says Nando's commitment is not in question

Rafa has stressed how determined Moro is to succeed at Liverpool. Morientes was in excellent form on Saturday and showed signs of adapting well to the hectic nature of the Premiership. This is what Rafa said about him:

"When Morientes joined Liverpool he had a choice of clubs who were prepared to pay him more money. He could have joined Lyon or Monaco, but he wanted to come to Liverpool.
"He took a pay cut and said he would only be paid in full if he won trophies and scored goals and was given bonuses.
"That shows everyone the hunger he has to succed. He has a big reputation and maybe he is trying to start again at Liverpool, but everyone was happy with him on Saturday.
"He worked very hard and was very unlucky not to score
"If you talk to Morientes, there is no doubt how much he wants to succeed at Liverpool.
"The fans responded to his performance on Saturday when they applauded him off the pitch. They could see he worked hard. That will help his confidence."

Nando linked up very well with Gerrard at times against West Ham. I'm sure that once he starts scoring for us in the League he won't stop.

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Zenden boosted by goalscoring sub appearance

Bolo was delighted to get his first goal for the Reds in front of the Kop:

"It was special to get my first in front of the Kop," claims the Dutch star. "It was good for me and good to settle the match that way. That [win] was a big boost for our confidence and I was pleased to get my first goal. We needed that second goal to finish the game off as we created a lot of chances but again couldn't convert them into goals. "You have to give credit to West Ham because they came here with a very offensive attitude. Their full-backs came forward, and midfielders went forward. You must give them credit for coming here and trying as too many sides just put everyone across the box and try to stop you getting a goal while hoping to grab something on the counter. "The critics labelled us with the tag that we can't do it in the domestic league and we are only good in Europe. It is up to the players to make sure that doesn't happen. By the end of the week we could be in the last 16 of the Champions League. That is how quickly things can be turned around. If we get a run now and wins under our belts, things will look a lot different in a few weeks time."

Bolo hasn't had too many chances to impress but scoring an important goal should enable him to start our next game against Anderlecht.

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West Ham boss impressed with Reds

Alan Pardew has said, after our 2-0 victory, that we our the best team they have faced this season:

"Liverpool are the best team we have played this season," he said. "Steven Gerrard wanted to make a statement coming back into the team, and the manager took a gamble playing him on the right and it worked out well for him. Steven Gerrard looked like what he is - one of the best midfielders in the world. "I expected there to be a reaction from Liverpool. The first goal gave them a lift and they then showed more imagination in their play, but before that they were looking a bit staid."

He has also praised Rafa's playing style saying we are strong both in defence and attack:

"He (Benitez) is paid not to listen to the fans on the phone-ins or even his board, he wants to win and he was just intent on hurting us with his tactics and it worked. "When I assess people we are playing against, I am not concerned by what people say about them, I just look at their records. And Rafael's record is outstanding. "Everyone has their own philosophy about the game, and Liverpool now are a strong team who are good defensively, want to play a good passing game and build up a crescendo to getting a goal. "That is how Rafael wants his teams to play, and that is what Liverpool do well."

It's always enjoyable to receive praise from our opponents. Long may it continue.

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Rafa ready to bring success with or without money

Rafa knows that, although it helps, money does not guarantee success. His is convinced he can use his scouting network and coaching skills to make us great both domestically and in Europe:

"I am not the kind of manager who says we need hundreds of millions of pounds to improve the team," said Rafa. "I have confidence in my scouts. If you have more money it will be easier, if you don't have big money, it will be more difficult. "Before the transfer window, we'll tell the club: 'These are the players we want'. Then we will see if we have enough money. But I have an advantage in January that we didn't have last year – we are the Champions League winners. Sometimes, finding hungry players is enough. Sometimes you don't need big money to sign the best in the world."

Rafa has promised that our league performances will soon match the high levels we produce in Europe:

"We will change the situation. In three months, you may say we are as good in the league as we are in the Champions League. There is no magic secret, just to work harder."

We all hope you're right Rafa.

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Xabi responds to critics in style

After returning to his majestic best form, Xabi has spoken of his pride for playing for the club and urged our players to ignore the exaggerated reports in the press and focus on improving:

"You have to be calm. We are a big club and if you have a bad performance then you know you will be criticised.
"It is best to concentrate on improving and not to bother with what is written about you. But we all care. We all feel the disappointment, we all wear the shirt and know what that means.
"That is why we are all committed to the club and trying to do things as well as possible and to climb the table."
He added: "It is my second season here but I really feel the pride of wearing a Liverpool shirt, I am fully committed to the club.
"Always there is something to prove. When situations like this arise you always have to show you are a good team, you understand that people will criticise and you accept it.
"So now after this win everyone is feeling better and we are aiming to win on Tuesday in the Champions League, and that will be two very important victories and will hopefully change peoples' opinion about us."

Our performance yesterday demonstrated that when the players show hunger and desire we are an excellent side. All we need to do now is replicate this in every game to achieve the required consistency.

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Rafa pleased with performance and result

Rafa was clearly delighted and relieved by the performance today. Although he says he was expecting a win:

"I had confidence in the team. The team work hard in training and you could see an organised team trying to win until the end.
"The team is stronger but you need to win and then people will believe."
"The team played well, they were organised and we kept a clean sheet which was good. We have done the things people asked us to do, we played good football and scored two good goals," he said. "We needed the second goal and Bolo was fresh to come off the bench and do that in front of the Kop.

Rafa is not concerned by our misfiring strikers. He doesn't care who gets the goals:

"If you have the midfielders going forward and scoring goals I will be happy." "I thought the strikers worked hard and created space for the midfielders. It was an important game for Morientes and he worked hard, played well and gave us a lot of possibilities with his passing and link-up play."

Rafa elected to play to play Gerrard in the problem right midfield position and was delighted with the impact he made:

"Gerrard is a very important player for us and played well. He played on the right, left and between the lines today. Steven gave us options on the right with his crosses and intelligent running. It's a possibility I will play him there again if it means there is a better balance to the team."

The result today was massive. It was imperative to end our recent poor run of results. We still have two games in hand and if those our won we will be in the top six.

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Rafa can't wait for transfer window

Rafa has admitted that our squad doesn't have the depth required in some places. He is hopeful though of a successful spending spree in January to address the problems:

In some positions, we don't have enough players," said Rafa.
"You can't change things that happened in the summer now, but we can put it right in January. We know we need to think about the future.
"When you've missed a player you need in the summer, you must make sure you fill the position in January. Our scout department is working hard to find at least the two players we need, a right midfielder and centre-back.
"I'm confident we will sign the players we want in January because Liverpool are an attractive club to top players.
If it's possible to sign more than two players, I will. I still hope Mark Gonzalez will be able to join us in January.
"The four players we signed in the summer give us more quality. We have done some good things, but we know we needed to do more. We've made two mistakes by not signing a right midfielder and a centre-back, but we got four things right with the players we brought in.
"We have a better squad than last year, but I think recent results show we don't have the balance.
"In some positions we know we need to do something for the future. We are preparing now for the transfer window.
"We tried hard to sign players for the right side and centre-backs, but when you try for one month for one player and then he says no, as in the case of Luis Figo, you have less time to go for the next name on your list. If that player isn't sure if he wants to join you either, you move to the next. You have a responsibility not to spend more than the player is worth.
"We had a lot of names in the summer, but they all proved difficult. I'm confident it will be different in January."

In my opinion the problem positions are the defence and right wing positions. We are also crying out for a proven Premiership goalscorer. Unfortunately they are very hard to obtain.
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Sami says we are nowhere near our best

Sami believes our poor run of form is due to a lack of goals. However his is sure the problem won't last last as Nando is getting close to the sharpness required to convert the chances he is getting and Djib is now playing with more confidence:

"We've not played anything like our best yet. But we have been creating plenty of chances which is always encouraging," said Hyypia. "When you are at 1-0 a second goal can often kill the game and we haven't been able to do that consistently this season. It's all about confidence, especially for strikers, and so hopefully they will get a few more goals over the coming games. "There has been all sorts of stuff in the papers about Djibril supposedly wanting to leave but now I'm sure he'll be more confident and will show he can score many goals for us. "It's the same for Peter Crouch. He is a good player and has done very well for us. I've played against him so know how difficult that can be. "We know he can score goals but he has other strengths also. He is good in the air and, for a big man, is good on the ground also. Give him a few goals and he will do very well for us. "Then we have Fernando Morientes coming back from injury. He just needs to regain his confidence after being out for a while and we have already seen that he is getting in the right positions. He's had a few chances that he'd normally have put in, but an injury always affects your form. "Fernando is a very good player and he has shown in training that he is more than capable of scoring goals as he has in the past in Spain and France. It will come with him. Everybody just needs to be supportive of one another. "It's a team game and it's not only the attackers who are responsible for scoring goals. Everybody in the team has to play a part in that."

It's hard to draw too many positives from our recent performances but at least we are creating chances and Kewell had a decent game on Tuesday.

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Xabi hopeful of improvement

Xabi has conceded that our midfield and attack are not playing in the manner they should be making it extremely difficult for us to win games:
"Right now, after losing two consecutive games like we have, there is talk of a crisis.
"This season we are finding it really hard to score. When things are like that it's obviously very hard for us to win.
"We have more options than last year in terms of the number of players. But none of us - particularly midfielders and strikers - are playing right."
Xabi is convinced the situation will improve and is backing Peter Crouch to break his duck soon.
He added: "The new signings are working hard. Peter Crouch will be judged on his tally and I'm sure he'll start scoring a lot of goals soon.
"I hope we will recover and the defeat against Fulham was only a slip-up.
"The Premiership is very hard but nothing is impossible. Chelsea have 22 great players and they are a step ahead of everyone else. What's the point of saying anything else."

The worrying signs recently are that as well as not scoring we have started conceding some soft goals. We have a chance tomorrow against another newly promoted team, who don't travel too well, to get three points. Only once we put a run of wins together will we be able to stop talking about a potential crisis.

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Rafa has a tactical headache

Rafa feels that we are currently struggling to implement his tactics. He has said the players need to be more aware tactically and be able to adapt to different situations:

"The first priority is to improve defensive tactical play because it is less complicated than the attacking side and is important for success,'' wrote Benitez in a Uefa newsletter.
''The most important thing for me is to be organised. I work on a lot of patterns of play and, of course, as the statistics prove, counter-attacks and set-plays are very important.''

Rafa has explained that when he was at Valencia his players took all of his tactical requests onboard and this brought them the success they achieved:
''It was a team that worked very hard and had been together three years,'' he reminisced.
''We were therefore able to talk about where and when to do the pressing. They knew what to do, and we could change tactics quickly.
''This was a team which understood our style and what we were trying to do."

Surely it is Rafa's job to ensure the players understand exactly what he requires from them.

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Carson faces long wait for further chance

Scott Carson is bemoaning the fact that our league cup exit is likely to prevent further chances for youngsters like him for a while:

"We won the Champions League last year and that is always going to be a heavy burden to carry on our shoulders, but we will keep working hard and I think things will change around very soon," he said. "The mood is still very positive - a couple of bad results are not going to let it drop and I think we will soon be back up there. "The result at Palace was disappointing for the younger players, because we have been given a chance and we will not be able to get any more chances in this competition now. "We knew it would be difficult, but we have had a few chances and it was just unfortunate that they have put their two chances away. In the first half, we passed the ball superbly, got it wide and got in a few crosses - but we could only put one of them in."

Unfortunately some of our youngsters the other day did not appear to be ready for 1st team football at a high level. The only way for them to improve would be to send them out on loan.

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Gerrard issues apology

Stevie G has apologised for our pitiful performance yesterday and called for an immediate positive response. He has honestly stated that Rafa is not deserving of the blame but the players:

"I do not see why anyone should have a go at the boss," Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo. "He's been saying the right things to us and doing the right things. "It is the players who have to accept responsibility in this situation, we have to take the blame." "That kind of performance is just not acceptable for Liverpool Football Club," Gerrard continued. "A lot of our fans paid a lot of money to see that, and what they saw just wasn't good enough. We have to say sorry to them for that. "People can go on about the first half chances all they like but that is not enough for us. "We have got to perform for 90 minutes. "There has got to be a big reaction to this now. We have all got to play for the shirt and start showing how much it means to be playing for this club."

It was a very disappointing reaction yesterday to Rafa's call for a change in attitude and improvement in our play. Hopefully the players will give a better response to the captain's demands.
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Rafa critical of players approach

Rafa has questioned the player's commitment in the early stages of the Fulham game. He is very unhappy with what he calls a lack of understanding of the importance of the game. He had this to say regarding the sub standard performance at the weekend:

"We had more determination in the second half, but the first half was the same kind of performance away from home as last year. "Everyone must understand these kinds of games are important. It's acceptable to play at the same level as Chelsea and lose, but it's not acceptable to play Fulham, whom we know we are better than, and come away with nothing. "It was as though we didn't understand the importance of the game in the first half. Only in the second was there a response, and then I felt it was a question of time whether we would score, but their keeper made a lot of saves. "Last season we made a lot of mistakes and I thought we were learning from them. We've started strongly in other away games and I didn't expect to see us play like this again after last year. "This is our first defeat away this year and we can't afford to make the same mistakes in future. It's important the players understand we can't approach games in this way."
"It's not just the players who need to improve, but all of us," said Benitez. "I include the staff, the players, everyone. "We all know we need to change the attitude, particularly after European games. Yesterday we all spoke and watched the match again. The performance of the team was bad in terms of the aggressiveness of the players. "We had a lot of the ball, and controlled the play, but didn't show enough until the second half. We've had these problems before after a Champions League game. "We've all seen the big mistake we made with our first half performance and now we need to correct it."

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Rafa wants to go on the attack

Despite saying we controlled the first half against Fulham Rafa was unhappy with our lack of creativity. He expects better movement and more crosses to be supplied for the strikers:
"Always when you lose a match you must be very disappointed," he said. "We played bad in the first half. We controlled the game but in the first half we didn't go forward with enough intensity. "The players need to know the second-half at Fulham is the performance we want at Liverpool, not the first half which was bad. "In attack in the first-half we did bad movement and the players didn't move enough, but we also needed to give them better chances as well. We need to support the strikers a lot better when they get the ball. "We have been speaking a lot about getting crosses into the box for Crouch and Morientes and we need to get to the by-line and cross good balls. We are working on that and I am confident we will get goals very soon. "Against Anderlecht we had 18 shots at goal so we do create chances. We just need to finish them off a lot better."
Its encouraging that Rafa expected more from us in the first half. I was under the impression that he only likes us to attack with numbers when we are a goal down. If we can start all games, the way we play when we are behind, then things should improve very soon.
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Carra calls for an end to travel sickness

Carra has issued a rallying call stating that we can finish in the top three. However he has said we will need to end our miserable run of results following European games:
Carragher said: "It's a big setback for us. Before the game, we had had a few draws and we had lost once but with all due respect to them, where they are in the division we should be beating them. "I am sure all the European stuff will get dragged out again about how we never play well the weekend after a Champions League tie. "We always seem to have problems after European games. I think it's something like 15 times on the spin that we haven't won after a European game. "If we carry on like this, it could be a difficult season. We don't just want to do well in Europe. We want to do well in all the competitions we are involved in. "It's a good job we are doing well in Europe at the moment because it would be really depressing if we weren't doing well there, either. In the league, we are not building on our European Cup victory like everyone hoped we would at the moment. "Some people expected us to go on and win our own league after last season and I got a bit of stick early on for saying I thought that we might come up a bit short. "But I felt that Chelsea were too far ahead in terms of quality for us to catch them this season and I still feel we should be aiming to break into the top three. "We need to sort our results out quickly if we are going to do that."
At the moment it is looking like a repeat performance of last season, great in Europe but poor in the Premiership. We only appear to be hungry in the Premiership once we go a goal down. Unfortunately quite often this is too late.
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Rafa says Garcia is best just behind a striker

Luis Garcia has played in numerous positions since his arrival at Liverpool. Rafa believes he is best suited to playing as a support man to the striker as he explained to Liverpoolfc.tv:
"Some people think Luis is just a right winger or a left winger but that's not true. He can play in three different positions. Maybe for us and here in England his best position is between the lines in a central role. "We will try to use Luis between the lines in some matches because he has game intelligence and he can play off Cisse, Morientes or Crouch without any problems."
We saw in Anderlecht how effective Garcia was in this position. He linked up well with Cisse and got into a few scoring positions. Luis has the ability to make space for himself and deliver incisive passes when he is playing in a central role. I believe he is our most inventive player and will be most effective with a pacy striker.
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Rafa blames defeat on missed chances

Rafa feels that the defeat to Fulham was yet another case of the result not reflecting the performance:
"If you control the game as we did today, normally you don't lose. Today it is difficult to explain. I thought we deserved goals," said Benitez.
"The first half we controlled the game - think how many opportunities they had. Just two free-kicks and the goal.
"We had lot of possession and they created almost nothing - but we were losing 1-0 after the first half. We had a very good second half. We created good chances but did not score.
"I thought in the second half we played really well and we had to score but in the second half their goalkeeper (Warner) was their best player."
"We need to improve our performances to win games. And that means scoring goals. Today you can see how many chances we created but we did not score. We have to score," he said.
"But I am thinking about the Carling Cup and Crystal Palace now. We will continue working."

Our recent Premiership form is very worrying. The only victories we have managed are against a promoted team and ten man Blackburn. Hopefully Rafa will come up with a solution sooner rather than later or we will have a tough task to even qualify for the Uefa Cup.

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Rafa eagerly anticipating Gonzalez arrival

Rafa has spoken of his excitement at the capture of Mark Gonzalez. He feels he is just the type of player we need. The only obstacle preventing him playing is the lack of a work permit. With a bit of luck he may get one in January otherwise we will need to wait until the summer when he becomes a Spanish passport holder:

"We are now waiting for the work permit, he is a player we want to use as soon as possible. But if it is not going to happen now we will have to wait for next season.
"He is a young player, a left winger who can get to the byline and produce the crosses for Morientes and Crouch.
"It is important that a big club has many players for each position.
"Gonzalez is a different kind of player, he is quick and gets to the line. It is most important for us to have this type of player, maybe we can use Bolo Zenden or Kewell on the right side.
"He has a lot of pace with great skills, but the most important thing is that he is a hungry player.
"We are working at getting him here as quickly as possible, but if we cannot use him now we will wait until next season when he will then have a Spanish passport.
"He is finishing his recuperation after the cruciate knee injury and he will be back playing maybe in the next month."

The only downside is that he's not a right winger. Hopefully Rafa is working on solving that problem in time for the transfer window.

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Rafa wants more from Djib

Rafa has challenged Djib to improve his allround game to ensure he keeps his place in the side. Rafa has been delighted with Cisses' goals in the last two games but expects him to offer more to the team citing Peter Crouch as a good example of a team player:

"He needs to play well now with everyone fit.
"It is not only about scoring goals, it is about playing well for the team and trying to do the job we want from him for the team.
"Peter Crouch was playing well and he would like to score also, but for me it was more important that he played well for the team."
"For Cisse the most important thing is scoring goals, we have used different players around him and that has helped.
"But I want more competitiveness amongst the strikers so it will be better for me if the others are scoring too.
"Confidence is always good for strikers, if you score then you are more confident.
"He may not have always reacted the way I expected, but at the moment whenever you see him he is always happy, and that is important now.
"But I now have a lot of players back to fitness and it is a good problem for me to have choices like this to make.
"Cisse did well against Anderlecht, he is in form and scoring goals. And that is good for him, good for me and good for the club.
"Now I would like to see Crouch, Morientes, Sinama-Pongolle all scoring goals and trying to make it even more difficult for me."
"It is difficult to select a team at the moment, we have 20 players now fit so I have tough decisions all the time.
"Cisse has more confidence, it is important for him to be scoring.
"Last season he was injured for most of the time and that was tough for him because in the previous seasons he had always scored a lot of goals.
"He needs to score, it is very important for him, and it gives him even more confidence."

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Gerrard and Kewell ready for Premiership return

Rafa has confirmed that both Harry Kewell and Steve Gerrard will be fit for Premiership action tomorrow:
"It's important for me to have these players back. We have a lot of important games coming up and the more players I have available for selection the better. "It presents me with a problem when it comes to selecting the team but it's a good problem."
It is very interesting that we have won both of our games whilst Stevie has been out injured. Apparently some stats show that we have a better record in his absence. I believe the players have a different mentality when Gerrard is playing. They seem to look to him for inspiration without concentrating as much on the impact they can make individually. When he is not playing they are aware that they will need to perform better to make up for his absence. This seems to have a positive impact on the overall team performance.
I doubt Harry will start tomorrow but I am sure Rafa will introduce him as a substitute at some stage as he nurses him back to full fitness.
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Djib sets 20 goal target

Djib is hoping that his recent performances will represent an upturn in his fortunes during his Liverpool career and he is backing himself to score a reasonable amount of goals this season:
"Maybe this week is like a new starting point for me and my Liverpool career," he said. "I feel a lot happier now. That's normal because you're always happier when you're playing. I also feel a lot more relaxed about the situation. "I know I need to have confidence in myself and I think I've shown that on the pitch last night. I wouldn't say I've always felt confident I will score, but when I go out there that's what I'm thinking about - scoring goals. "If I want to play I know I have to perform when I get the chance, not just by scoring but by making the right passes too. "I think if I get a good run in the side, I can score 20 goals for Liverpool this season. We have four strikers, and we have great players who can make a lot of chances for us like Stevie, Bolo Zenden, Luis and Riise, so we can all score. Stevie, Luis and Peter Crouch will all score a lot this season. "I'm happy with the goal last night but the three points was most important, to stay in touch with Chelsea. "We know if we win the next game, there will be less pressure on us because we'll be in a strong position to qualify."
Hopefully Djib will continue in his good vein of form to ensure Rafa isn't tempted to sell him in the transfer window.
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Gonzalez deal imminent

The transfer of Mark Gonzalez is likely to be concluded very soon. Gonzalez was initially going to join on loan until the deal was scuppered when he was denied a wok permit. Gonzalez has now stated that the deal will be permanent and he has signed for four years:
"I do not have a lot of time to speak," he told Tercera from Madrid airport. "I am going with my suitcases at this time but tomorrow, at eight in the morning, I will give a press conference when I arrive in Santiago.
"Yes, I have already signed as a new player of Liverpool.
"The contract with the English club is for four years but I cannot give you any more details. Tomorrow, you will know everything."

Paco Herrera has confirmed that only a "few details" need to be ironed out to rubber-stamp the transfer.
"Mark Gonzalez is a footballer that has interested us for some time," he commented.
"Today, we could initiate the necessary procedures to agree to buy him.
"No longer do we speak of a loan, but of the final purchase of the player."
It appears that the work permit problems have finally been resolved clearing the way for his arrival. Rafa has stated how highly he rates him and says he will be a very exciting acquisition.
We look forward to seeing him in a Liverpool shirt terrorising defences as soon as possible.
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Xabi backing Djib to score more

Xabi is happy that we got the victory our play deserved last night putting us on the brink of qualification to the Champions League knockout stages:

"It was a good result for us against a team who knew it was probably their last chance to stay in with a chance of qualifying. We did a good job, scored a good goal and deserved the win."

Xabi has also been delighted with Djib's response to the speculation regarding his future. He has netted the winning goals in the last couple of games:

"It's very important for us to have strikers who are scoring goals. We struggled to score earlier in the season but we're doing better now. "Cisse is a good goalscorer and I'm sure he'll have taken a lot of confidence from the last two games. The more goals he scores the better for us."

Hopefully by taking Cisse off last night Rafa was saving him for another start at the weekend. Djib will be very high on confidence now and hopefully Rafa will give him the run in the team required for him to fully prove himself.

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Seville planning Josemi bid

There are reports in the Spanish media suggesting Seville are lining up a transfer window move for Josemi. Seville are short in the right back position following the sale of talented youngster Sergio Ramos to Real Madrid. The current Seville coach Juande Ramos used to work with Josemi at Mallorca and is known to be a fan of the tough tackling rightback.

The Spanish club are though to have allocated £ 2 million for the bid. However much will depend of Josemi. He has already stated he wants to stay and prove himself in the Premiership and Rafa is giving him ample opportunities.

Personally I feel that Josemi still needs to improve significantly to justify his place in our squad. He does not inspire too much confidence when he plays and gives away too many free kicks.

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Rafa pleased with Cisse contribution

Rafa was delighted with Djib's and the team's performance last night. However he stated we need to be more clinical in front of goal to kill off games and enable us to relax a bit more in the second half:
"Djib did very well. It was a good goal, the keeper had no chance, and it's good for him to keep scoring. The fact that the goal came from a set-piece was extra pleasing and we must do this more often. "It was a difficult game. We created a lot of opportunities, I think we had 18 shots in total, but couldn't score a second goal that would have killed them off. "We controlled the first half but were under pressure for quite a bit in the second half when Anderlecht played some good football going forward. "Overall though it was a really good result and maybe one more win will be enough for us now to qualify."
It was yet another impressive team performance away in Europe. We haven't lost in Europe for a year and look like stretching the run further. If only we could reproduce this form in the Premiership on a regular basis.
Please post your comments on the game.

Rafa hints at another Djib start

Rafa has explained that Djib may again be in the starting line up away to Anderlecht on Wednesday. He feels that Djib will be the man to utilise the space that Anderlecht will leave as they need a win and love to attack cavalier style at home:
"It is a possibility," Benitez responded when asked if Cisse would start on Wednesday. "Anderlecht know they must win to have any chance of qualifying and they realise this could be their last chance. If they attack high up the pitch, we will have chances to exploit and maybe Cisse will start."
"If you look at the players they have in their team, it's clear that they are not a bad team," Benitez claimed. "They have a lot of quality to choose from and they attack with pace. They certainly play some nice football but sometimes when they go forward, they leave some space open at the back. I've watched their game against Real Betis and they created a couple of clear openings before Betis scored. They will want to win and so do we so it could be a very exciting game of football to look forward to."
Hopefully we will increase Anderlecht's run of successive Champions League defeats into double figures and take a big step towards qualification.
Please post your comments.

Kewell back in Squad

Rafa has confirmed that Kewell will be in the squad that travels to Belgium. At best he will feature as a substitute. Rafa had this to say to Liverpoolfc.tv about his return:
"Harry is feeling much better now. He will definitely be travelling with us and could maybe play some part, we will have to assess his fitness before the game," says the boss. "If he doesn't figure against Anderlecht then I am sure he will be back playing either at the weekend or the following midweek. "His return will be a big boost for us. He is the kind of player who can beat players and get in crosses from the by-line from which the likes of Peter Crouch and Fernando Morientes can benefit."
Rafa has also said that Gerrard should be back for the weekend trip to Fulham.
It looks like Kewell will be steadily reintroduced this time and Rafa will not be taking any chances.
Please post your views.

Berbatov would like England move

After the news last week that we had made an enquiry for Berbatov in the summer the player's agent has told Skysports.com that he would be interested in playing in the Premiership:
"I am aware of the interest in Dimitar," Dantchev told skysports.com.
"I have seen the reports of interest from England and I know there is also interest from other clubs.
"I have received nothing official from any English clubs, but Dimitar is a key player at Bayer Leverkusen and he is scoring goals for club and country.
"Dimitar has been at Leverkusen for five years and he is happy there, but he would be interested in a move to England if he received an offer.
"It would depend on a club agreeing a deal with Bayer Leverkusen."
Dimitar would have no problem moving to England, but it would have to be to a top club.
"It is not necessary that he moves it would have to be to a team and manager that really wants him."
There were reports over the weekend that we are still after a striker. Berbatov would certainly be a good addition to our side. He has an impressive goalscoring record in the Bundesliga and has scored 19 goals in 33 Internationals for Bulgaria.
Please post your views.

Hughes blames red card for defeat

Mark Hughes believes that Blackburn would have got a better result had the referee not sent off his Georgian defender. He feels the red card was harsh and will be appealing:

"It was hard to take, we started the game brightly and were the more dominant team, the sending-off changed the complexion of the game," he said.
"Having spoken to the lads, the referee's initial decision was that it was a penalty and he was pushed into seeing that was incorrect and when he goes over to the linesman he is saying it was likely to be a yellow card.
"But then he asked for clarification from his assistant and he is told the tackle was outside the box, then he comes back and gives him a red card.
"If he had given the penalty, would he have sent him off? The fact he didn't give a penalty seemed to change his mind and give our lad the red card."
Hughes added: "It wasn't a goalscoring opportunity, he wasn't bearing down on goal and he was actually going away from the goal.
"There were players getting back and the referee needs to look at the decision because he has affected the outcome of the game and we will appeal.
"If we don't appeal we will lose him and also Lucas Neill at right-back, and that's our cover taken out in one go.
"It changed the game. I thought we were excellent all day, we had to be determined and resolute and as the game went on I felt the only way we would concede was a set piece. Liverpool didn't create anything in open play.

I agree with Hughes that the sending off was harsh. However it was about time we were on the right end of a controversial decision. The bit of luck received is necessary sometimes to get things up and running. We now need to build on this victory to improve the confidence of our team.

Please post your comments.

Djib delighted to prove his worth

Djib hit back yesterday at the taunts from the Blackburn fans and also proved a point to Rafa by netting the winner. He explained the reasons for his emotionally charged celebrations:

"They were singing 'Cisse glass leg.' I was angry after that and I just wanted to score because of those stupid fans. And I want to say 'thank you' to the Liverpool fans for supporting me after that.
"The goal was important to me because I broke my leg badly at Blackburn last season, I am pleased with the goals I have been scoring and have no problem with the coach."
"I ran across to shake hands with the boss as a small message to show everyone there was no problem between me and the manager. I wanted to show to the fans that we have a normal relationship.
"The most important thing was the three points because we are not in a good position. I really just want all the speculation to stop now about problems between me and the coach and me and the club. I am happy to stay here - why should I want to leave?
"You could see the fans' reaction to me. You won't find fans like that anywhere in the world, so I don't know why people say I want to leave. I want it all to stop and for me to work for the club.
"The best way is to carry on scoring goals, I have had a good season so far with goals, but we need points because we can't stay in positions like 12 and 13.
"When I came back from France we just spoke normally as player and coach, and did not talk about what has been said. There are more important things to talk about."

Djib did his bit yesterday, hopefully Rafa will now give him a run of games up front so he has a proper chance to prove himself as a top Premiership striker.

Please post your views.

Rafa challenges Kewell to deliver

Harry Kewell's return is imminent. Benitez has said that he is running out of chances to prove that he is the world class player who caused so much excitement when he arrived. In fairness the last eighteen months has seen Kewell suffer from a catalogue of injury problems. Rafa rates Kewell very highly and had this to say about his return:
"Harry will need some time to get back to his best, but this is an important season for him. "Harry wants to be fit and playing again, he wants to show people that he can play and be a good player for Liverpool. "He is disappointed with how it has gone for him during his time here, but he is a professional who knows what he is capable of and he wants to play. He has more confidence in his fitness now. Maybe in the past he didn't have that kind of confidence, but he does now. "The fans have criticised him a little at times, but they see a player with Harry's talent, they realise he is good and they want him to perform better. "If you are a good player and play for Liverpool, you have to expect supporters to say, 'Come on, play better'. "I have to manage the situation and understand Harry's problems, but this is a season where he does have to play well. "I see Harry as a key player to help Peter Crouch develop as our centre forward. We have different players with different qualities and abilities, but Harry is the main one who can get to the dead-ball line and put over the kind of crosses that Crouch likes. "I know Harry can do this. When I arrived at Liverpool, I brought with me the memory of once seeing Harry play against Manchester United for Leeds at Old Trafford and he was fantastic. "Leeds lost the game, but he gave Jaap Stam a lot of problems, and that is the Harry Kewell I want to see playing for Liverpool."
There is no doubt Rafa will give Kewell all of the support and chances he needs to succeed. The question is whether he can return to the form he showed in his early days at Liverpool. Hopefully our fans will be as patient as Rafa. If Kewell can return in style we will certainly have one of the best left sided midfielders in the Premiership.
Please post your views.

Spanish target available for £4million

We have recently been linked with Spanish striker Riki. The former Madrid youngster is making a big name for himself in La Liga playing for Getafe and has already been the subject of a bid from Depor. This season he has scored 4 goals in 6 games. He is also able to play on the wing which will make him an even more attractive option for Rafa. He has a buyout clause of only £ 4 million so the bank won't need to be broken to secure his signature. Getafe president had this to say about his availability:
"We realise that Liverpool or any big club could want Riki, but nobody has officially spoken to us. I don't know if they have spoken to his agent," he told Marca.
"I have to say that not Liverpool nor anyone are going to get him for 4million euros (£2.73m) - they have to pay his buy-out clause."

"He is an adaptable striker who is in the news and it would be a shame for us to lose him, but it's obvious that if someone pays his buy-out clause and he wants to go then there is nothing we can do about it," he added.
"I am not surprised Liverpool may want him because he is in incredible form at the moment. Liverpool have scouts here and all over the place."

Please post your comments, particularly if you have seen him play.

Roux blasts Rafa's tactics

Djib's former manager and mentor, Guy Roux, has revealed to the News of The World that he has been offering Djib lots of support to help him through his current difficult spell. Roux has no doubts about the qualities of Cisse after watching him bang the goals in for a number of seasons when they were together at Auxerre. His is perplexed by some of Rafa's tactical decisions and feels that Cisse would be far more dangerous up front than Peter Crouch:

Roux said: "I have had Djibril on the phone a lot in recent weeks.
"He is not in a good way but I have told him not to get annoyed and wound up.
"Of course he isn't happy, but I have tried to convince him there are better days ahead — although maybe not under Benitez."
"It is not hard to see why Djibril is confused. The manager has made some strange decisions.
"When I look at the squad, it seems to be very weak and I think they are in for a tough season.
"But Djibril has the qualities necessary to succeed and I've told him to be patient.
"Who knows what will happen — especially if Liverpool are 14th at Christmas."

"When I watch Liverpool, I find it hard to understand what's going on.
"They're playing a big guy up front, who looks like he would take at least 14 seconds to run 100metres — whereas with Djibril you've got one of the fastest players in the world.

"It's difficult to work it out, especially when Peter Crouch is hardly banging in the goals.
"Why does Benitez play Cisse wide on the right? That isn't the way to get the best out of him, and I should know.
"I don't know whether he will have to leave, I hope not, but it's a tough call for him."

Roux is very close to Cisse therefore his opinion is likely to be slightly biased however his opinions to echo a lot of comments that our fans have made regarding playing Djib up front and not on the right. Although Peter Crouch has put in some good performances he has yet to score and didn't come close yesterday whereas Djib had a hatful of chances.

Please post your views.

Rafa happy with important win

Rafa was pleased with the victory yesterday even though it was by no means a vintage performance. Blackburn were defensively stubborn, particularly after the sending off, but the main thing is, as Rafa has stated, we won the three points:

"We knew we would be playing against a tough team and it would be difficult to break them down. They played with 10 men in the second half and made it tough for us but we tried to play football and pass the ball. "We could have won by more than one goal and Morientes could have had two goals but the most important thing was we won the game."

We now must build on this Premiership win and go on a run or we will be struggling again to grab the fourth spot.

Please post your comments.

Rafa launches staunch defence of Crouch

Peter Crouch was unfairly jeered when he was brought on as substitute for England on Wednesday. Rafa has rounded on the boo boys correctly claiming they have little knowledge of the game. He has also stated, after praising Crouch's early performances, that if Crouch doesn't perform as expected he will accept the blame:
"He is a player for my club and for as long as he works hard, he can be sure everyone at the club and our fans will be with him," said Benitez. "If he doesn't play well, okay, it's my decision and it's my responsibility, not his. For as long as he's on the pitch wearing a Liverpool shirt, and he's trying to do the things I ask of him, I accept all responsibility. And if we don't play to his needs, we must find the solutions. "I only care about our supporters - not what other supporters in another stadium are saying. "I was surprised by what happened and it's a pity. Those responsible don't know a lot about football or understand the game. "If you've watched the games he's played, and listened to the managers, no-one can say anything other than he's a good player. "As a manager, I'm convinced he's a good player. I don't feel I need to repeat this all the time because if you've watched our games, you can see this. "The fact he's in the national team shows a lot of people have the same opinion. All the managers who've worked with him talk well about him. "Maybe there are better players in England or the rest of the world, but he's still a very, very good player and he will do an excellent job for his club and his country. "If he is a good player for us, he will stay in the national team. The most important thing he needs to know is he has my support."
Please post your views on Peter Crouch.

Rafa plays down Cisse problem

Rafa has today responded to the growing speculation regarding Cisse's future by stating that he is happy with his attitude and performances in training. This is what he had to say:
"I don't want to have any problems with my players. I want them to work hard in training and focus on games and that's what Cisse is doing. "I have been talking with him about the press rumours and told him he just has to concentrate on the next game and prepare well for it. I said that if he scores goals then it's good for me and it's good for him. "The most important thing is to win games and he understands that. He's had two training sessions since he got back this week and I know he's ready for tomorrow's game. "All the players want to play in all the games, but Cisse is the only one who I have named in every squad list this season. He can play lots of games at Liverpool."
Either Rafa doesn't rate Cisse as a player or he wants to stick with his 4-5-1 formation. Otherwise surely he would have featured more this season. The problem was compounded when Cisse went away on International duty gave some interviews and his comments have been misquoted after being translated. It will be interesting to see how heavily Djib features in the next few games.
Please post your comments.

Liverpool V Blackburn Prediction

The game tomorrow is very important again in terms of getting our Premiership season up and running. We have only registered one win in seven games and that was against a newly promoted side. Blackburn are a difficult team to break down as they proved in the 0-0 draw last season. They are also on a good run at present and have been boosted by their win at Old Trafford.
We will need to play at a high tempo from the start to put them under enough pressure to create chances. As Rafa has said we have been a bit unlucky in front of goal this season. Our finishing will need to be more clinical. Hopefully Rafa will decide to select two up front to prevent Peter Crouch being too isolated. Unfortunately Steven Gerrard will be out injured so the creative play will be built around Xabi. It looks like Momo will be playing the holding role allowing Xabi to play further up the pitch. Provided Xabi has enough options up front he will be able to pick holes in any defence with his vision and passing skills.

WithWolves Prediction:

1-0 win

As we seem unlikely to win games clearly at present I think this will be another tense game. However I'm backing us to score one goal with Xabi as the key man and rely on the defence to keep a clean sheet.

Please post your predictions and comments.

Zenden promises more

Bolo Zenden admits that he has found it hard to adjust to the Rafa rotation system but has promised far better performances in the future:
He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "Over the last couple of years I've played in nearly every game and so being in and out of the side is a new experience. "It can be hard for a player who hasn't been used to it to come to terms with squad rotation but the manager has explained himself and told us how he wants to deal with the fact that we're competing in four competitions. "It's up to me to adapt, to stay focused and to convince the manager that I'm capable of being a regular in the side. "I've been pleased with my performances when I have played but I would say there is definitely a lot more to come from me. The fans haven't seen the best of me in a Liverpool shirt yet. I can give much more than I've done so far. "Hopefully I'll get a chance to play this weekend against Blackburn. "It's a big game for us. They've beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford so we know we're in for a tough game. It's been a long wait since the Chelsea defeat and so I'm sure all the lads will be eager to get that out of their systems with a victory."
Bolo will certainly need to improve as he has not shown any decent form yet to suggest his signing was justified. He will also soon find his chances limited further as Kewell is about to make his playing comeback.
Please post your comments.

Rafa counting on winning games in hand

Rafa has pointed out that league table placing is not a true reflection of our performances this season as we have two games in hand:
He said: "We have played two games less than most teams. We can look at the table but I prefer not to because we don't know our real position yet. "I always say it is better to take it one game at a time and then maybe in a few months we will know our true position. "One of those games in hand is against Arsenal and has been set for February 14. We cannot change that situation but we need to start winning games and maybe by then we will be near the top three. "If you have six more points it can make a huge difference to the table. We know that we can easily be three, four, five or six positions higher."
We can currently use the games in hand as an excuse but it will only make a real difference if we win both of these games.
Please post your views.

Will we return for Berbatov?

Bayer Leverkusen have confirmed that we made an enquiry for Dimitar Berbatov in the summer presumably before Peter Crouch was signed:
"There was an enquiry from Liverpool over the summer, although we haven’t heard from them ever since," Leverkusen's director of football, Rudi Voller, told Kicker.
Leverkusen did not qualify for the Champions League and will have problems balancing their books suggesting a sale for Berbatov may be a possibility.
As the Bulgarian is a very dangerous forward there is likely to be a race for his signature. Apparently Bayern Munich, Schalke and Arsenal are also interested however Leverkusen would prefer to sell to a foreign club. His price is rumoured to be in the region of £ 8 million.
Much will depend on the Cisse situation. Rafa is obviously not a great fan of Cisse and he may well be off loaded in January. Berbatov is more of a strong target man type of centre forward. Rafa seems to prefer these qualities in his strikers.
Please post your views.

Rafa ready for long term Chelsea battle

There is no doubt that Chelsea have transformed the Premiership pecking order in a short amount of time mainly due to the vast amounts of money always available both for transfers and wages. However Rafa remains defiant that we will compete with them over the coming years:

"Nobody in England before has had to play against a side which spends £100million every year on players," he said.
"But I'm not afraid of them. I know we can achieve everything we want at Liverpool.
"I know we need to reduce the gap, but we played well against Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Manchester United and could have won those games. I feel we are at the same level as Manchester United now.
"I know we have a good team and a good squad, but I also know that we must improve and that's what we're continuing to work towards. I believe we should look to the future with confidence.
"The Chelsea game is gone now. When you can't change anything, all you can do is forget about it, analyse why it happened and make the necessary changes to ensure it doesn't happen again in the future."
But he accepts improvements have to be made, adding: "We need to learn from the mistakes and put it right. Arsenal and Manchester United will also be thinking the same. Over nine months of a season a side can beat anyone.
"It's true this year Chelsea have started well, but it's dangerous to think too much about what they do. We must concentrate on our own club, nothing else.
"I know we have a good team and a good squad, but I also know that we must improve and that's what we're continuing to work towards. I believe we should look to the future with confidence."
Hopefully Rafa is right. It will also help if some other teams can compete with them as well because a decent title race is already looking unlikely this season.
Please post your comments.

Cisse desperate for 1st team football

It looks like Djib has not helped matters with his recent comments following Rafa's statements on playing as part of a squad the other day. He has reiterated his intention to consider a move if he has not broken into the first XI by December:

"I'll have to make a career decision if matters haven't changed by December," said Cisse.
"With the World Cup just months away, I can't afford to be playing just one game in three.
"This might sound selfish but my situation would be no different even if Liverpool were getting good results while I was on the bench."
"Benitez makes his decisions. He hasn't explained them to me but I don't think I'll seek talks with him.
"I'm not somebody who asks the manager for an explanation when he is not in the team.
"I thought the two goals I scored for Liverpool in the European Super Cup final would make things easier for me.
"I thought I had earned some points but that has not been the case."

I think if Cisse carries on in this vein of making comments expressing his frustration Rafa will let him leave just like he let Baros go.

Please post your views.

Gerrard may be World Player of the Year

Stevie G is on the shortlist for the World Player of the Year award. It is understood that out of the English candidates nominated he is in with the best chance. The Fifa Technical and Development Committee have put together the shortlist and the winner will be announced on the 19th December. The current holder is Ronaldinho. Below is the full shortlist:

Adriano (Inter, Brazil), Michael Ballack (Bayern Munich, Germany), David Beckham (Real Madrid, England), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy), Cafu (Milan, Brazil), Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd, Portugal), Deco (Barcelona, Portugal), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast), Michael Essien (Chelsea, Ghana), Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona, Cameroon), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England), Thierry Henry (Arsenal, France), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus, Sweden), Kaka (Milan, Brazil), Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England), Paolo Maldini (Milan, Italy), Pavel Nedved (Juventus, Czech Republic), Alessandro Nesta (Milan, Italy), Jay-Jay Okocha (Bolton, Nigeria), Raul (Real Madrid, Spain), Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal, Argentina), Arjen Robben (Chelsea, Holland), Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid, Brazil), Robinho (Real Madrid, Brazil), Ronaldinho (Barcelona, Brazil), Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Brazil), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd, England), Andrei Shevchenko (Milan, Ukraine), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Man Utd, Holland), Zidane Zinedine (Real Madrid, France).

Rafa frustrated by International absentees

Rafa is unhappy that he will have only two days with the players to iron out some the errors made against Chelsea. As our squad is rich in International talent Melwood is almost empty when players are away representing their countries. Unfortunately nothing can be done to prevent this and Rafa has expressed his irritation:
He said: "The situation is a problem for all the big clubs. We cannot work properly but we have to be aware of these things at a big club. "But training with three or four players is not the best solution for changing things and improving. After a defeat like Chelsea we cannot prepare the players properly for the next game. "Ideally I would have liked to have the players here on the Monday morning after the game, watching the video and analysing and correcting the mistakes we made. "We also like to give them support and confidence as soon as we can but we had to wait until they came back. We have some time before Saturday but it's not the ideal situation." He added: "The players must understand that they need to forget as soon as possible. They always need to analyse their mistakes and change things as soon as they can. "We were playing well up to that game. Okay, we were drawing many games but we were not losing and the team was strong. "Yes, we have made some unusual mistakes in defence in the last two league games. We need to analyse why and find the solution but I continue with a lot of confidence because the team has been working well."
On the positive side I think some of our players will return with better confidence having just qualified for the World Cup.
Please post your comments.

Andrade available for transfer

Jorge Andrade, the impressive Portuguese defender, who has been linked with us previously, will be available as he has a £ 16 million buyout clause in his contract. Depor's president Cesar Lendoiro has hinted in an interview with skysports.com that he may be willing to sell at a lower price. Unfortunately it also appears Chelsea are interested which will make any deal very hard for us:
"I have received propositions for the player for many months but sincerely the money reflecting his real value has not arrived," Lendoiro informed skysports.com."The great clubs from England and Europe are open to negotiate."Now everybody knows our demands."

Andrade himself says he will only move if he's told to:
"I insist I am very happy in La Coruna," he affirmed. "But the decision belongs to the club."To play for a great European team would be beautiful. "Chelsea? I know Jose Mourinho but I do not have any more news."

Hopefully Rafa will be able to use his negotiating skills to convince him to join us. I'm encouraged that he wants to play for a great European team as this should rule Chelsea out.

Please post your views.

Simao transfer looking more likely

After the collapse of the Simao transfer in August, due to the late demands for a higher transfer fee to appease the Benfica supporters, it has been reported that the Portuguese club will now allow Simao to leave for the original price of £ 10 million. However they are unlikely sell their star man if they get through the Champions League group stage.
As Rafa has denied any interest in Joaquin it looks like Simao will be the number one target in January. Rick Parry has also made some positive comments on the situation saying, "It is an interesting option for us. We need a player with his characteristics."
Please post your views.

Rafa pleased with Crouch start

Rafa has commented that he is trying to find a solution that will enable us to get more crosses into the box to enable Peter Crouch to have more goalscoring opportunities. He had this to say on Liverpoolfc.tv:

"I'm like the supporters in that I'm happy with the way Crouch has played so far," said the Liverpool manager. "Like any striker, though, he wants to score goals and it'll be good for him when he does score. "People have suggested we need to get more crosses into the area for him and I agree with that. We're working hard in training at finding ways to cross for Crouch and also Morientes."

I think the situation with Crouch will be helped by the team playing further up the pitch with Crouch having a strike partner. This will enable him to find more space and be less isolated allowing the team to have more prolonged and dangerous attacks.
Please post your comments.

Le Tallec hints at exit

Antony Le Tallec has confessed that he is fed up of being sent out on loan and feels he is not being given the chances he requires at Sunderland. He arrived at Liverpool with a huge reputation, despite his young age, but has yet to come close to fulfilling his potential:

"Since I was 17-years-old, people have been expecting a lot from me," Le Tallec told But!. "But today I know how it works. "It is obvious, I won't make the same mistakes again. That way, I will get respect. "When the Liverpool officials bought Peter Crouch last summer, they told me I had to leave for Sunderland to get more experience. "They also told me they rely on me for the future but I don't know if I want to stay. I need a club where I feel at ease. "It is not easy every day at Sunderland but I tell myself that I am just here for one year. "Sometimes it is a little boring to be a forward because I spend my whole time defending. "At Liverpool, we always had some chances. Here, you don't have a lot. "I am fed up of being trialled at every club, I don't want to be loaned again. People think I don't care but I want to invest myself in a club. In France, why not?"


I think Le Tallec certainly has the ability to become a great player, however there are some areas where he needs to improve. He is not physically strong enough to impose himself on games in the Premiership and he appears to be lacking confidence at present.

Please post your views.

Rafa believes we are at Manu's level

Rafa has boldly stated that we are already a match for Man U and is confident that we can only improve, no doubt boosted by the signings he is planning for January:

"January is always more difficult to bring in the players you want, but we have some ideas we are working on," said Benitez.
"Of course, it's better to say nothing about it now because when you talk about players, their price goes up.
"I know we have a good team and a good squad, but I also know that we must improve and that's what we're continuing to work towards. I believe we should look to the future with confidence.
"I know we need to reduce the gap, but we played well against Middlesbrough, Spurs and Manchester United and could have won those games.
"I feel we are at the same level as Manchester United now."

I think that Rafa is right when it comes to European performances. However we are sadly a long way behind Man U at present in terms of domestic consistency. Rafa is taking a while to adapt to the Premiership. As he is such a meticulous workaholic there is no doubt he will get there in the end. The question, however, is how long will it take?

Please post your comments.

Hiddink pleased with Kewell progress

Socceroos boss Guus Hiddink believes that Kewell is well on the road to being match fit:
"Harry was working very well this week and I think, for him, it's very important," said Hiddink.
"We will help him, and so too will his club, to make him a good programme so that he can improve his physical fitness and then will be ready for Australia and also for Liverpool in a few weeks - that's what I hope.
"It's not very long but if he retains the rhythm of this week in his preparation and his treatment, and also training, then five weeks should be sufficient for him.
"Maybe not for him to play a full game but at least part of the game."
I wonder how Rafa will play the Kewell comeback. He rates him very highly and normally throws him in as soon as possible. Maybe this time he will bring him back slowly.
Please post your comments.