Liverpool

[eduardo]

Again I'm off to work at 8pm so I don't have the time to argue over all the points least to say that I can tell you immediately that Torres was ?20.2m and they paid ?7.5m for Babel guarenteed, with the other ?4m on if's, but's, and's and maybes with ?2m of that rumoured to be only payable if Liverpool win the Premier Lge.

The Bellamy fee was ?8.5m. Cisse was ?8m and they got a ?2.5m loan fee for Carson. I'll work the other stuff out over the weekend.

This is info that I don't need to look up as I know it having got it from the Liverpool Echo. A source I wholeheartedly trust in matters regarding LFC.

I'm not going to argue the Mancs transfer fees as it's not my club.

I must sum up as I must dash but I stick by my initial statement which you will probably not agree with and may not like but I stick by it.

[eduardo]

I know many decent Londoners and they get annoyed at the bad press they get for supposedly being cocky.

The reason is complete and total wankers like you give them a bad press.

[Arginald Valleywater]

Even Ferguson is sticking up for Liverpool! Wonders will never cease. Thing is we need a strong Liverpool, it is good for football and Liverpool itself. A strong Everton, Villa and City is also good. All are capable of upsetting the top 3 and that is good for everyone. Under the current owners it ain't going to happen. They can afford daft wages for Gerrard and one or two others but not a squad that can win the league.

[Sam Slater]

Well, the Liverpool Echo is a Liverpool paper so I'll take it with a pinch of salt.

I got my info from

I can't see a French club paying 8m for Cisse; hell, I can't imagine a Premiership side paying that much for him.

Anyway, we can argue fees all day, but I stand by my point that Rafa's had the time and money. It's not all 'the Yanks fault'.

[Sam Slater]

Lol! No he isn't! He's playing mind games with Rafa! Can't you see?

When Rafa was spouting off, Fergie said nothing and just as it seems that Rafa is accepting who's boss and being quiet, Fergie tells everyone he's on Rafa's side.

He's hoping Rafa gets a second wind and flares up again! !laugh!

[eduardo]

The Liverpool Echo is all things and more in regards to Liverpool Football Club.

The paper breaks all the stories about the club first. Whether that be player sales in or out, or whether that be boardroom stuff, ownership issues or the fiasco with the new stadium.

The rest of the media, be it written, visual/audio or the web then follow afterwards and it's obvious that the Echo get all their information from sources inside the club.

I trust that paper/website implicity and it gets it's information right I would say 99% of the time and is factual compared to other national papers and websites who like to inflate some transfer fees to make a better story therefore I trust the ?42m out (?42.7m to be precise) and ?27.5m implicitly as they know there stuff.

I will stand by my view. Benitez has not had anywhere near enough money to compete and the ?38m (net) you mentioned for last summer is laughable. It is barely a 1/3 of that.

It is true the club spent (net) more on players the summer before but even then the club was cash strapped. The club offered ?9m for Danny Alves but couldn't meet the (then) ?11m asking price and had to buy Pennant instead because he was cheaper.

It's no secret that Benitez also wanted to sign Anelka for ?8m from Turkey but they couldn't afford it so got Bellamy for ?6.5m instead. Again a cheap option.

That's only ?3.5m extra for 2 players to get his main targets. Hardly a fortune in the modern age but they couldn't find that money and had to settle for 2nd raters instead of the choices.

If you want quality then it costs and the fact is that the Mancs have been shopping in Harrods (and so have Chelsea) and Liverpool in Sainsbury's which makes Ferguson's job alot easier than Benitez.

It serves Liverpool right as the club has been a shambles at boardroom level for years.

I think this thread has run it's course now as we've both stated our views so I'm going to leave it here and enjoy my weekend off.

[eduardo]

This wasn't mind games. More the mythically managers union where they all stand by each other and back each other up and Fergie meant what he said.

What reason would he have to play mind games with Benitez?

Liverpool have no chance in the Lge. Will more than likely get dumped out of the Champs Lge by Inter and even if they did meet in the FA Cup, Benitez Liverpool sides have only scored one goal in 7 games against Fergie's lot.

That wouldn't exactly have Fergie quaking in his boots would it.

I've no doubt he meant what he said but that's just great, as now the manager of our greatest rivals starts to feel sorry for us and shows us pity.

Can it get worse than that?

Sadly, I think it probably will get worse.

[Mike_CFC]

I used to admire and respect Liverpool FC when i was younger,when they were winning everything and thrashing everyone around them,including my beloved Chelsea.

That respect went out of the window in 2005 when Chelsea won their first top flight title in half a century.Instead of gettting credit,all we got was abuse.
It's like they are the only club in the world that deserves respect.

Keep living off your History,Scousers.Our's is just starting,and i'm loving every minute, having experienced the 'dark days' !drink! !happy!