Support NeoGAF

[Alucard]

A couple of days late, but I have to say that was one of the shittiest finals ever. Neither team looked like they belonged playing at this level.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Bale has completed his transfer to Spurs. £5m initially, rising to £10m. Doesn't say what's that based on, maybe just automatic payments every so often, maybe appearances and things.

 

[Lakitu]

A couple of days late, but I have to say that was one of the shittiest finals ever. Neither team looked like they belonged playing at this level.

Yet they were, and they beat several top class teams to get there, so shut up.

 

[Cornballer]

Uhhhhh, wtf?

U.S. to play Catalonia and Switzerland
May 25, 2007

CHICAGO (AP) -- The U.S. soccer team will play exhibition games in Europe against Catalonia and Switzerland in October.

The Americans meet Catalonia, a Spanish regional team, on Oct. 14 at Barcelona, Spain, then play at Switzerland three days later. Because Catalonia is not a FIFA member, that game will not be considered a full international.

Switzerland, a co-host of next year's European Championship, has not played the United States since a 1-1 tie at Pontiac, Mich., in the opener for both teams at the 1994 World Cup.

The Americans gather Monday in Carson, Calif., prior to an exhibition game against China on June 2 at San Jose, Calif. After that, they play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the Copa America, then go to Sweden for an exhibition game on Aug. 22.

 

[Cornballer]

This clears up a few things about the friendly. Should be a good match - apparently they should have a hostile crowd at the Nou Camp. Even though it doesn't count as a real cap, it should be useful for the US.

USA Schedule This Fall

USA at Switzerland is confirmed -- Oct. 17 at a venue to be determined. The last time they faced each other was in the 1994 World Cup when Wynalda scored on an outrageous free kick at the Silverdome.

USA vs. Catalonia (yes, the region of Spain) is confirmed -- Oct. 14 at Nou Camp in Barcelona (I told you it would be intriguing!). Brazil played them before the '02 World Cup, Costa Rica faced them in '06. So for this friendly against the United States, expect a team of players of Catalan descent who are not playing for Spain's national team that week. This team has drawn big crowds at Nou Camp the last several years.

Considering it is the year after a World Cup, a decent schedule for the USA: Mexico, Ecuador, Gold Cup, Copa America, Sweden, Switzerland and this interesting other one.

Also, USA roster for the China match on June 2 will be unveiled Tuesday.

This was the Catalonia roster last year.

	GK 	Víctor Valdés   	FC Barcelona
	GK 	Albert Jorquera 	FC Barcelona
	DF 	Curro Torres    	Valencia CF
	DF 	Oleguer Presas  	FC Barcelona
	DF 	Alberto Lopo    	Deportivo de La Coruña
	DF 	Fernando Navarro 	RCD Mallorca
	DF 	David Belenguer 	Getafe CF
	DF 	Dani Fernández  	Barcelona B
	MF 	Roger García    	Ajax Amsterdam
	MF 	Gerard López    	AS Monaco
	MF 	Sergio González 	Deportivo de La Coruña
	MF 	Jordi López     	RCD Mallorca
	MF 	Joan Verdú      	Deportivo de La Coruña
	FW 	Jonathan Soriano 	Espanyol
	FW 	Albert Luque    	Newcastle United
	FW 	Óscar Serrano   	Racing de Santander
	FW 	Antonio Pinilla 	Gimnàstic

 

[Osorio]

I didn't even know a Catalonia team existed. Are there teams for the Basque Country, Andalusia, Galicia, etc.? Either way it's good for the US since I want to see them win with Bradley outside the US.

 

[Cornballer]

I didn't even know a Catalonia team existed. Are there teams for the Basque Country, Andalusia, Galicia, etc.? Either way it's good for the US since I want to see them win with Bradley outside the US.

Neither did I. I have no idea if there are other regional Spanish teams.

The US has a good schedule coming up - the friendlies with Sweden and Switzerland in Europe will be good tests for Bradley and his squad.

 

[Mama Smurf]

There's certainly a Basque Country one, I remember seeing them play once against...I dunno, someone.

 

[Cornballer]

There's certainly a Basque Country one, I remember seeing them play once against...I dunno, someone.

Yeah, I've been poking around wikipedia. Euskadi XI is the Basque version. Catalonia have been playing together for a long time, too.

 

[Steroyd]

I'm dumping him for Alves.

Hussy

Arbeloa can play across the backline he's a utility player that would be most useful like when we ran out of LB's and Riise had to make up for a left winger.

I can't believe I forgot about the B internationals I'm going to be starved enough of football for the next 3 months as it is.

 

[Mama Smurf]

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article2584210.ece

Liverpool put £12m price tag on Bellamy to lead Anfield exodus

So how about that Mido?

 

[Mama Smurf]

I just found out that Ian McShane, the most badass cocksucker ever, is not only from Blackburn but his dad used to play for Rovers.

Now you all feel like twats for supporting good teams, don't you?

 

[Cornballer]

Ok, you've got me there. Ian McShane > *

 

[Dr Zhivago]

 

[Lakitu]

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article2584210.ece



So how about that Mido?

Pedersen - Bellamy swap deal

Do rumours not come out today?

 

[hadareud]

12 million? :lol


No rumours yet Lakitu

 

[Lakitu]

12 million? :lol

Way too high, but he does know how to swing a club, so that obviously adds a few million.

 

[Lakitu]

RUMOURS

DAILY MAIL

# Portsmouth are confident of pulling off a double swoop for Middlesbrough's Mark Viduka and Aiyegbeni Yakubu.

# West Ham have joined the race to sign Craig Bellamy from Liverpool.

# Aston Villa hope to replace the departed Jlloyd Samuel with Portsmouth's Matthew Taylor.

DAILY EXPRESS

# Juventus are lining up a £17m bid for Chelsea's Frank Lampard.

# Gerard Houllier has emerged again as a candidate for the vacant Manchester City manager's job.

# Arsene Wenger has dismissed speculation that Cesc Fabregas will leave Arsenal this summer.

# Tottenham are set to move for Michael Owen if he can prove his fitness this summer.

# Jussi Jaaskelainen is out to secure a new four-year deal at Bolton. It is understood that Sunderland have tabled a £2m bid for the 'keeper.

# Sheffield United have knocked back bids for Phil Jagielka and Chris Lucketti.

# Liverpool want £12m for striker Craig Bellamy.

# Tottenham have finally landed Gareth Bale from Southampton for £10m.

DAILY STAR

# Sven Goran Eriksson has pleaded with Manchester City to make him their new boss.

# Yossi Benayoun has signed a new five-year deal with West Ham.

# Sunderland are prepared to offer Preston £5m and Stern John for striker David Nugent.

# Sheffield United have told Everton they must come up with £6m for Phil Jagielka.

DAILY MIRROR

# Roy Carroll is the latest victim of the summer clearout at West Ham.

# Sevilla's Jaunde Ramos is the shock name on Manchester City's wanted list for their next manager.

# Liverpool's new owners are ready to fund a move for Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o.

# Tottenham are ready to battle Manchester United for Sporting Lisbon's Nani.

# Portsmouth are keen on Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia.

THE SUN

# Nigel Reo-Coker has been told he has no future at West Ham while 'keeper Rob Green will be offerd a new deal.

# Hayden Mullins is a target for Reading.

 

[Lakitu]

KOP DOLLAR FOR ETO'O

LIVERPOOL'S American owners are ready to show their commitment to manager Rafa Benitez by funding a move for Samuel Eto'o.

Stung by criticism from the Anfield boss, they will also put their hands in their pockets to agree deals for top internationals Gabriel Milito and Daniel Alves within the next few days.

Benitez said after the Champions League Final that he is sick of "talk, talk, talk" at the club, with nothing ever getting done, and implied that it could force him to walk away.

But the billionaire owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks aim to show they will usher in a new, dynamic era, by offering decisive intervention in the transfer market.

The biggest signal of their intent will be a move for Eto'o when the Spanish season is completed within the next fortnight, with Gillett insisting last night: "We will back the manager completely - if he said he wanted to buy 'Snoogy Doogy', we would back him."

The Eto'o deal will cost in excess of £30million, but Liverpool would fund it by offering Spanish international Xabi Alonso in part exchange, with the midfielder stalling over a new contract.

Barcelona would be reluctant to release their brilliant Cameroon striker, but he has been unhappy at the Nou Camp over the past year, and if they fail to lift the Spanish title this season, they may decide to cut their losses.

Barca boss Frank Rijkaard is an admirer of Alonso. The sale of Eto'o could both generate funds for team rebuilding and provide Rijkaard with the defensive midfielder in Alonso that he so desires.

Eto'o had a very public falling out with Barca's talisman Ronaldinho, and he hinted earlier in the season that he would consider leaving at the end of the current campaign. He is probably the biggest-name striker in world football at present, and would fit Benitez's idea of a hard-working forward who can create chances as well as exploit them.

The Americans would love nothing better than to bring in a huge star to give them a real publicity coup in their first venture in the transfer market.

1) I had heard the Gabriel Milito deal is nearly done.
2) This Eto'o deal is never going to happen. First of all, Rafa won't get rid of Alonso and Eto'o has continuously stated that he ain't leaving Barca.

 

[psycho_snake]

Tottenham are set to move for Michael Owen if he can prove his fitness this summer.

Tottenham are ready to battle Manchester United for Sporting Lisbon's Nani.

Tottenham have adapted chelsea transfer policy of buying anyone we are interested in.

 

[Lakitu]

Tottenham have adapted chelsea transfer policy of buying anyone we are interested in.

Where are they getting all this money from?

 

[psycho_snake]

Dechamps resigns as Juve manager. Its a big possability that he will now be heading to Lyon.

As for the new Juve coach, Its rumoured that Lippi could make a return to management or capello will go back to Juve.

 

[psycho_snake]

Where are they getting all this money from?

I dont know, but Jol know show to spend the money well and tottenham are getting closer to breaking the top four barrier every season.

 

[Steroyd]

Where are they getting all this money from?

The same place as Newcastle, out of their bloody (eewww) Bloomin' arses.

 

[Hooker]

Dechamps resigns as Juve manager. Its a big possability that he will now be heading to Lyon.

Wow, this is one thing I did not expect.


Why would he want to leave now? European cups?

 

[psycho_snake]

Wow, this is one thing I did not expect.


Why would he want to leave now? European cups?

I think it could have been an agreement between him and the board. Maybe the board didnt have enough faith in dechamps to get Juve a CL spot, so they told him that he should resign.

I think that lippi will be their manager. Capello is an other option, but I doubt he's going to leave because real madrid will want to stick with him. Lippi on the other hand doesnt have a job and he's really liked by the juve fans, so there is a possability that it could happen.

 

[psycho_snake]

In other italian news, galliani has repeated what berlusconi said by saying that Milna will sign a big striker.

Rumours keep coming up about eto'o. This time the italian press say he could be heading to Inter because Ibrahimovich is in trouble with the board after he praised moggi. Its rumoured that Zlatan will go to real madrid.

Sissoko has also been linked with a move to Juve for the last few days. I can see that happening. He's going to get limited appearances if he stays at liverpool, so moving could be his best option if he wants to play football. Juve would be a good place for him to go because he'll become a first team player and he'll be playing CL football in a couple of seasons, if not the season after next.

 

[hadareud]

Full England squad to face Brazil and Estonia:

Goalkeepers: Robinson (Tottenham), Carson (Liverpool), Green (West Ham).

Defenders: P Neville (Everton), R Ferdinand (Man Utd), Terry (Chelsea), Bridge (Chelsea), Brown (Man Utd), Carragher (Liverpool), Dawson (Tottenham), King (Tottenham), Shorey (Reading).

Midfielders: Beckham (Real Madrid), Gerrard (Liverpool), Jenas (Tottenham), J Cole (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Bentley (Blackburn), Carrick (Man Utd), Lampard (Chelsea), Downing (Middlesbrough), Dyer (Newcastle).

Forwards: Crouch (Liverpool), Owen (Newcastle), Smith (Man Utd), Defoe (Tottenham).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6694743.stm

finally a sensible decision by McLaren

 

[Hooker]

Good god, Eto'o & Ronaldo being fed by Kaka, Seedorf & Pirlo




*splooge*

 

[hadareud]

and the rumours:

Saturday's gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS

Juventus are preparing a £17m bid for Chelsea's Frank Lampard. Juve also want Ajax's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Bayern Munich's Claudio Pizarrro. (Express)

The Italians are also keen on Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso and his Anfield team-mate Mohamed Sissoko. (Times)

However, Alonso could be heading to Barcelona as part of a £30m deal with Samuel Eto'o going to Anfield. (Mirror)

Sevilla's Daniel Alves and Zaragoza's Gabriel Milito will sign for Liverpool "within the next few days". (Mirror)

Arsene Wenger has rubbished reports he and Cesc Fabregas are set for summer moves to Real Madrid. (Various)

The Gunners are closing in on Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Moutinho. The 20-year-old will cost £15m. (Mirror)

Having beaten them to the signing of Gareth Bale, Tottenham are now set to challenge Manchester United in the race for Sporting Lisbon's Nani. (Mirror)

Tottenham are monitoring Michael Owen's return from injury with a view to bringing him to London. (Express)

Reading are back in for Sunderland midfielder Dean Whitehead after having a £2m offer turned down. Charlton and Portsmouth are also interested. (Times)

And the Royals are set to swoop for Liverpool centre-back Sami Hyypia after his move to Fulham fell through. (Star)

Portsmouth are also in the mix to land the veteran Finnish defender. (Mirror)

Pompey are up for signing anyone and everyone at the minute. They are battling it out with Everton to sign Charlton full-back Luke Young. £2m could seal the deal. (Sun)

And boss Harry Redknapp is confident of landing former Fratton Park favourite Yakubu and his Middlesbrough strike partner Mark Viduka. (Mail)

Pompey are also keen on West Ham's Marlon Harewood and Paris St Germain forward Bonaventure Kalou. (Times)

But Wigan and Aston Villa are also tracking West Ham's Marlon Harewood. (Times)

And West Ham boss Alan Curbishley is still hopeful of signing Viduka - as well as Newcastle midfielder Scott Parker. (Times)

While the Hammers have joined Blackburn and Aston Villa in the race to sign Liverpool's Craig Bellamy. The Reds want £12m for the striker. (Mail)

Nigel Reo-Coker has been told he can leave West Ham - so long as buyers cough up £8m for the midfielder. (Sun)

Matt Taylor is set to leave Portsmouth in a £5m move to Aston Villa. (Mirror)

Lyon want Chelsea's Portuguese right-back Paulo Ferreira. (Times)

Hibs will move for Chelsea reserve keeper Yves Ma Kalambay. (Daily Record)

Sheffield United have told Everton they will have to pay £6m if they want to sign midfielder Phil Jagielka. (Star)

Sunderland are set to offer £5m plus Stern John for Preston striker David Nugent. North End want £8m. (Various)

OTHER GOSSIP

Sevilla coach Juande Ramos wants to come to England next season and is on Manchester City's wanted list. (Mirror)

Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is 'keen' on the City job. (Various)

However, the odds have tumbled on former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier taking the City helm after he quit French club Lyon on Friday. (Sun)

Although Houllier's departure from the six-time French champions means he is now free to become Arsenal's director of football. (Mirror)

Micky Adams will take the helm at MK Dons after Martin Allen left the club to join Leicester. (Star)

AND FINALLY

Watford have secured a new sponsorship deal. They will bear the brand name Beko on their shirts instead of the names of their Turkish parent companies - Arcelik and Koc Holding. (Mirror)

Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/6694459.stm

Published: 2007/05/26 10:24:26 GMT

© BBC MMVII

 

[Lakitu]

The Gunners are closing in on Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Moutinho. The 20-year-old will cost £15m. (Mirror)

 

[Steroyd]

×2

They bought him in my Pro Evo Master league either Konami are gods of coding or my game is psychic.

 

[hadareud]

I could actually see this happening

 

[Shinobi]

Midfielders: Beckham (Real Madrid)

Owned. Good for him.

And who the **** is Moutinho?

 

[psycho_snake]

Good god, Eto'o & Ronaldo being fed by Kaka, Seedorf & Pirlo




*splooge*

Dont forget that they have ronaldo too.

I highly doubt that milan will get both ronaldinho and eto'o. barca cant afford to let both their star players leave and if the did decide to do the insane thing and sell both of them, they will sell them for a ridiculous sum of money. Its not going to happen. However I can see one of them leaving. I think its more likely to be ronaldinho than eto'o

 

[psycho_snake]

Although Houllier's departure from the six-time French champions means he is now free to become Arsenal's director of football. (Mirror)

If I was a gooner, I wouldnt be happy that Gerard "I won the shitty treble and did nothing else useful at Liverpool" Houllier could be the new director of football.

 

[hadareud]

Owned. Good for him.

And who the **** is Moutinho?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joao_Moutinho

I don't know too much about him, only that he made his Portugal debut as an 18 year old. Which should be a good sign.

If I was a gooner, I wouldnt be happy that Gerard "I won the shitty treble and did nothing else useful at Liverpool" Houllier could be the new director of football.

he won't be. Wenger said that the director of football would be an Englishman.

 

[psycho_snake]

Juve have just released a statement that Dechamps hasnt resigned. However they said that the board will continue to talk to dechamps to clarify the situation. I can still see him going. I think Juve are going to try and get Lippi or capello; lippi looks like the easier target. If they know that hey can get lippi then they'll tell dechamps to resign.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Oh damn. GolTV is showing the Valencia-Real Madrid-Barcelona games live one after the other.

There goes my Saturday. :lol

 

[psycho_snake]

he won't be. Wenger said that the director of football would be an Englishman.

shame. I would have loved to see that happen.

Gazzetta dello sport had an interview with beckham and he revealed that he turned down the chance to play for milan before he signed for LA Galaxy.

You can read it here:

http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/may26h.html

 

[Shinobi]

Funny enough, this is the first story I got on a Moutinho news search...

Moutinho strengthens Sporting ties
Friday, 25 May 2007

João Moutinho and Tiago have signed new contracts with Sporting Clube de Portugal keeping them at the Lisbon outfit until 2013 and 2008 respectively.

Homegrown talent
Sporting will be particularly pleased to have tied their 20-year-old Portuguese international midfielder Moutinho to a six-year deal. A product of the renowned Sporting academy, he has enjoyed an impressive season, scoring four goals in 29 Liga games to help his side finish runners-up behind FC Porto and secure a place in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage.

'Happy ending'
"I feel wonderful because both parties wanted to renew my contract. It is a happy ending all round," said Moutinho, who broke into the Sporting team in 2004/05. Goalkeeper Tiago, meanwhile, has accepted a new one-year contract with the club he joined during the 1995/96 campaign. The 32-year-old has made 79 appearances for the Lions. Paulo Bento's men still have a chance of silverware this term as they face CF Os Belenenses in Sunday's Portuguese Cup final. "My first goal now is to help Sporting win the cup and we will do everything in our power to achieve that," Moutinho added.

http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=543636.html

 

[hadareud]

:lol

so much for the quality of newspaper rumours

 

[psycho_snake]

Oh damn. GolTV is showing the Valencia-Real Madrid-Barcelona games live one after the other.

There goes my Saturday. :lol

Same here, even though Ive got to finish my art project and revise for 6 other exams I have next week.

 

[h0pper]

Eto'o is not going anywhere next season. And if he was going to leave Barca I think he would want to play at Arsenal. He is apparently in love with Henry.

 

[psycho_snake]

Had and shinobi are going to love this

Barca wont rule out Henry

Barcelona sporting director Txiki Beguiristain has told Sky Sports that the Catalan giants would be open to reigniting their interest in Thierry Henry if the striker shows an interest in leaving Arsenal.

Henry rejected the chance to join Barca in order to commit his future to The Gunners last summer, but talk of a switch to Camp Nou has refused to subside and reports indicate that he is again being courted by the Liga champions.

Whilst both Henry and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger have maintained in public that the club's all-time record goalscorer will not be leaving Emirates Stadium, Spanish sources claim that negotiations have already begun behind the scenes.

In light of Henry's apparent u-turn last summer, Barca are reluctant to put all their eggs in one basket, but Beguiristain has left the door open to a potential transfer should Henry decide his future lies away from London.

"When great players show this desire to play for Barcelona, then we can talk and see if their arrival will be beneficial to the balancing of the squad as a whole," the Barca supremo told Sky Sports.

"It seemed like he wanted to come and play here for a while [last year], but then he changed his mind and decided to stay where he was.

"There was initial contact as we thought he was keen to come but it was fairly pointless as he had changed his mind and wanted to stay put, so we let it drop."

To be honest, its nothing big. They said they would think about signing him if he wants to move, but Im poretty sure he said that he wants to stay and wenger has said that he's going to stay.

 

[psycho_snake]

Eto'o is not going anywhere next season. And if he was going to leave Barca I think he would want to play at Arsenal. He is apparently in love with Henry.

And wenger is going pull the money to buy him out of his arse right?

 

[Lakitu]

And wenger is going pull the money to buy him out of his arse right?

I think the only way Arsenal would be able to afford it (and Liverpool / Man U) is if they give them + an expensive player. Arsenal - Henry, Liverpool - Alonso, Man U - dunno, they wouldn't wanna part from any of their biggest players.

 

[Mama Smurf]

I'd definitely offer up Alonso to get Eto'o if he wanted to come, but he probably doesn't. I saw one site (I think it was the BBC), showing a possible Liverpool lineup next season and they had Tevez and Eto'o up front. Now while that would be amazing, that's a liiiiitle bit ambitious. And a looooooooot expensive.

Good to see Bentley called up, not that he's gonna start. There are a lot of players who can play right midfield in that squad, more established players than Bentley.

Shame about Rooney not being there. It's understandable, he's suspended for the Estonia game so we're using the Brazil game to try out another partnership (I really don't care if it's Smith or Crouch with Owen), but it would have been nice to take on Brazil with the strongest team we could. Especially as it's the first full England game at the new Wembley.

Oh well, I have a feeling we'll play well against them anyway. There's the whole pride at the new Wembley thing and England also generally play much better against the bigger sides for some reason.

 

[Lakitu]

There seems to be a lot of trouble at Liverpool, read this:

Déjà vu as Benitez lays down the law


In the summer of 2004, Steven Gerrard gave an interview which exposed why the Gerard Houllier regime had run it’s course.

Having been at the end of his tether for the best part of 18 months, disturbed by the lack of progress of his club, he decided in the immediate aftermath of Liverpool’s Champions League qualification enough was enough

“The next few weeks will be the most important in the recent history of this football club” he said

“I will be watching what happens very closely”

Liverpool had just pipped Newcastle to the fourth Champions League spot, and while Houllier was hailing the achievement, the captain was mourning the fact such a routine expectation was now being perceived as worthy.

There was a clear subtext to Gerrard’s comments then, and although he stopped short of demanding a change of manager, this was the inevitable consequence of any revelution.

Had Liverpool not acted, they wouldn’t have avoided their narrow escape when Chelsea made the second of their three summer approaches for Gerrard between 2003-5.

It’s impossible not to be reminded of the agitation and hunger for change Gerrard felt then when Rafa Benitez speaks now.

On Thursday morning he effectively repeated what the captain had said three years ago.

“The club must act now…the next few weeks are crucial…if we don’t do more we can’t compete for the title…etc…”

There are those who argue to dismiss the competency of the entire structure of the club takes the argument to the extreme, but the shambolic organisation of the Athens trip did nothing to help those in the firing line, even if UEFA carry most blame.

In the early hours of the morning, as Benitez pondered what to say at Thursday’s press conference, he was strolling the streets around the team hotel because he had no room to sleep in.

The facilities at the team’s base were described by management and players as shocking.

When Liverpool’s representatives spent a couple of days in Athens after the semi-final, they were promised luxurious bedrooms which turned out to be unavailable when the team arrived.

AC Milan encountered similar problems.

In their Wisdom, UEFA picked a city with just one airport in the same week a major global pharmaceutical conference was held, block booking all the top hotels. Fiasco doesn’t do this organisation justice.

Many players had to move out as soon as they arrived, with Benitez eventually giving up his room completely.

“If we don’t win, there will be bloodshed at this club” someone close to the manager warned on Tuesday evening, making it clear Benitez saw UEFA as partially but not exclusively responsible for the problems.

The zeal for revolution this column reported on last week was evident in Benitez’s comments after the match.

Wednesday night felt like a watershed for Liverpool in Europe. Rather than a climax of an exciting new era, it was the end of one.

From the callous approach of UEFA to the depressing site of a minority of fans pushing down barriers (how do they qualify these actions when they’re wearing yellow justice stickers I may ask?), right through to the inappropriate preparations of UEFA and the club which were frankly embarrassing.

The majority of right minded Liverpool supporters must have made the depressing return feeling wounded by their experience. I know many who wonder why they bother. The idea of the European Cup final is sometimes more exciting that the experience of it.

George Gillett and Tom Hicks have spent six months commenting on their extraordinary purchase, but nothing exposes the cracks more than a cup final defeat.

It’s now up to them to keep their part of the bargain and ensure on and off the pitch Liverpool is run like a club worthy of its stature.

The focus is shifting to them, and it’s their job to shift it back to Benitez.

They’ll do this by investing in the team and then taking care of the other under-funded departments.

If they succeed, it’s then up to Benitez to prove how astute he is in the transfer market.

The loss of chief scout Frank McParland to Bolton is a blow, especially since the jury is out on the track record of Eduardo Macia. His purchases must be up to scratch if the money is there, but he can be sure his dependency on the same Italian agents will be monitored if the signings aren’t good enough.

The loss of Paco Herrera last summer was compared to the departure of Patrice Bergues in 2001 which had a destabilising impact. At the moment, worryingly, that still stands.

Make no mistake, Liverpool head into the closed season a club deeply divided, with talented backroom personnel leaving and many key figures barely on speaking terms.

If the summer of 2004 was considered one of the clubs most important in recent history, it may look like a picnic in comparison to what may follow.

 

[Ghost]

BECKS IZ BACK

Goalkeepers: Robinson (Tottenham), Carson (Liverpool), Green (West Ham).

Defenders: P Neville (Everton), R Ferdinand (Man Utd), Terry (Chelsea), Bridge (Chelsea), Brown (Man Utd), Carragher (Liverpool), Dawson (Tottenham), King (Tottenham), Shorey (Reading).

Midfielders: Beckham (Real Madrid), Gerrard (Liverpool), Jenas (Tottenham), J Cole (Chelsea), Lennon (Tottenham), Bentley (Blackburn), Carrick (Man Utd), Lampard (Chelsea), Downing (Middlesbrough), Dyer (Newcastle).

Forwards: Crouch (Liverpool), Owen (Newcastle), Smith (Man Utd), Defoe (Tottenham).


He's gotta feel pretty dumb about deciding to go to LA now.

I for one am glad, he's not a dynamic wide player but you cant underestimate his contribution to the final result.