Fc Liverpool Blog

Latest reports from Premier League confirmed that Liverpool have assured the services of talented England international Joe Cole.
Joe Cole was the target of clubs like Arsenal, Milan, Liverpool or Tottenham after his contract at Chelsea has expired this summer.
It looks like the key role in the team offered by Liverpool was decisive for the player decision.

Considering the financial problems of football clubs worldwide this move could be best season signing  for Liverpool  but also one of the biggest transfers of the season.

Liverpool suffered badly after Xabi Alonso departure, Aquilani or Lucas failed to fill the void left, and Cole could take that role.

Capturing a player of his caliber on a free transfer is another solid argument for a good signing. Also the former Chelsea player can play almost one every position at midfield and that could be decisive.

Joe Cole played only for  West Ham United before moving to Chelsea in 2003.

After a completely missed season in which Liverpool have not won any trophy, missed Champions League places, and more than that they were close of not reaching Europa League, “The Reds” are preparing a massive change of the squad for the next season in order to reenter into the race for Champions League or even Premier League title.
This would be even more likely if Jun Zhu would buy the club. The only problem is that the asked price seems to be pretty big, €940 millions, compared to real value of the club estimated by the experts at €590 millions.

Although Liverpool fans wanted Chelsea to win the title and begged Benitez to lose the game against them  to destroy any chance  of winning the title for Manchester United, now they turned against him and want the Spanish manager out of Anfield.

Benitez spent €440 millions since he came to Liverpool but failed to win any Premier League title.  He won the Champions League title in that dramatic final at Istanbul against Milan. Anyway that does not matter to much now in the fan hearts.

A separation is possible in the summer, the Spanish technician is wanted at Juventus. Besides him a few star players could leave Anfield with Torres and Gerrard on top of the list.

Chelsea, City and Barcelona want Torres while Gerrard  is on Inter and Real Madrid list. Aquilani is also a target for Juventus who would offer around €12 millions on him.

After selling Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid this week, Liverpool already found a replacement for the Spanish playmaker.

Aquilani

Reports from Italy and England suggest that Roma have accepted Liverpool‘s bid for Alberto Aquilani and the transfer sum is around 20 millions.
The Italian international will  come to England  at the end of this week in order to complete the medical test and negotiate the contract details with Liverpool officials.
Rafa Benitez is well known as an admirer of the former U19 and U21 European Champion. Aquilani is a creative midfielder with good passing  and long shots but also a team work player. Probably Aquilani‘s capture will delight the fans but there are still questions marks regarding his settle in England.
It is well known that few Italian players succeed in Premier League and Rafa Benitez already has a similar experience with Andrea Dossena. Another weak point for Aquilani is that he get injured easily.
Anyway considering his age if he will adapt quickly and will be fit for most of the season then he can have a great future at Liverpool.

Michael Owen was signed by Manchester on a free agent after his contract with Newcastle expired.

michael owen

Even if the player could have been signed on a free few clubs have shown the interest on the former “Golden Ball”.

Probably many of us expected Liverpool to make a move, or many of us wanted to see him back in “The Reds” shirt, but Benitez has not showed any interest on the player.
Owen was hit by a series of injuries in the last couple of years and probably this was the main reason why Liverpool did not signed him.
Another reason could be the player wage demands.

It is well known that Owen was one of the best payed player in Premier League when he was playing for Newcastle and this might have scared a few managers.
Another possible reason why Benitez did not wanted Owen at Anfield is because he does not fit his tactics. Benitez use to play with only one striker up front, helped by two wingers.
Owen is not the type of player that likes to fight with the defenders, he is a quick striker, he likes to have spaces.

As a Liverpool fan all I can say is that I’m a little disappointed that he signed for Manchester because  I would have like to see him back in “The Reds”  shirt.

On the other hand I’m happy for him because he deserves to play at the highest level and this move is a good opportunity to come back to his best form.

Babel joined Liverpool in 2007 and since then he made 75 appearances in all competitions, managing to score 13 goals for “The Reds”.

The Dutchman failed to impress as a striker, and was used most of the time as a winger by Benitez. Babel is somehow disadvantaged by the system used by Benitez with only one striker in front. Still Babel could take advantage on the situation, if we consider Torres fitness condition.

The 22 year-old player is hoping to get more chances from his manager since Keane departure.

Babel is a talented player whose main qualities are pace and ball control. He likes to came from behind and overcome his opponents.

If he would be given more time to play and he would regain his confidence, Babel could became one of the best attackers from Premier League over some time.

Liverpool showed superb comeback against Portsmouth and consolidated the second position into the Premier League standings.

fernando torres

Rafa Benitez men took advantage on Chelsea’s home stalemate and took two points advantage in front of them.

Benitez decided to rest some players and kept Torres, Riera, Kuyt and Xavi Alonso on the bench.

Both teams had numerous chances into the first half but none managed to score.

Portsmouth managed to open the score just 7 minutes into the second half through David Nugent. Fabio Aurellio, one of the best men for Benitez, managed to equalize after a superb free-kick 7 minutes later.

In the 78th minute it was again Portsmouth who took the lead. Hermann Hreidarsson scored this time.

Kuyt draw the score again for Liverpool in the 85th minute from Torres pass. Both Kuyt and Torres have entered the field few minutes ago.

Everybody was expecting to end it in a draw but in the second minute of the stoppage time Benayoun found Torres into the Portsmouth area  and the Spanish international headed into the back of the net.

Torres has won the game again.  Rafa’s superstar proved again how important is for Liverpool. What a game!

Only six months after leaving Spurs for Premier League rivals Liverpool, Keane returned to Tottenham Hotspur on transfer deadline.

Although he was seen at the beginning of the season as the perfect partner for Torres in front, Keane failed to establish himself into the Rafa Benitez starting line-up. Keane was one of the most expensive transfers for Liverpool since Benitez arrival. The Ireland international has cost Liverpool £20 million and it’s supposed that he rejoined Tottenham for only £15 million.

This move proved to be Benitez biggest failure. Since his arrival Liverpool spent around 200 million on transfers. Benitez has rarely spent large amount of money on a single player, choosing carefully due to the limited budget that he had available.

Keane transfer was contested even from the beginning by some Liverpool fans. Despite scoring 107 goals in 254 games for Tottenham, Keane was considered by many not the right player for Liverpool and extremely over-rated.

Keane is the third player resigned by Tottenham in this transfer window after Jermain Defoe and Pascal Chimbonda.