Liverpool F.C. | Straight and Lateral thinkings...

Hiatus

2008-09-28T14:30:00.002+01:00

Hiatus

Match Day: Premier League #6

2008-09-27T18:17:00.002+01:00

Everton 0-2 Liverpool

Saturday 27 September 2008 12:45

Liverpool XI: Reina, Dossena, Carragher, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Riera (65), Gerrard (c), Alonso (80), Kuyt, Torres {57} {61}, Keane (80).

Substitutes: Hyypia, Aurelio (25), Babel, Lucas (10), Cavalieri, Agger, Pennant (10).

Match Day: Champions League Group Phase #1

2008-09-16T12:11:00.009+01:00

Olympique Marseille 1-2 Liverpool
Tuesday 16 September 2008 19:45

Liverpool XI: Reina, Dossena, Carragher, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Babel, Gerrard (c) {26} {31} (69), Mascherano, Lucas, Torres (64), Kuyt (86).

Substitutes: Alonso, Degen, Keane (4), Riera (26), Cavalieri, Agger, Benayoun (21).

Match Day: Premier League #4

2008-09-13T17:01:00.002+01:00

Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
Saturday 13 September 2008 12:45

Liverpool XI: Reina, Aurelio, Carragher (c), Skrtel, Arbeloa, Riera (71), Alonso, Mascherano (86), Benayoun (67), Kuyt, Keane.

Substitutes: Hyypia (4), Babel (19) {77}, Ngog, Dossena, Cavalieri, Torres, Gerrard (23).

Ex-Spurs Strikeforce In Red's Reunion

2008-09-09T00:52:00.033+01:00

This season's first 'North-West derby' commences this Saturday following the international break, which saw many of our players jetting off all over the globe to play for their respective countries. But this simultaneously allowed time for new signings, fresh from the closure of the transfer window, to train at Melwood and current players to recover from their injuries.
Team news ahead of this clash at Anfield will inevitably focus on the added assets of both teams, totalling a staggering £50million. Keane and Berbatov may come head-to-head for the first time competitively and become embroiled in one of the most infamously ferocious encounters during this season.
Unfortunately, such matches have looked favourably towards the Mancunians in recent times, with the history of the last 4 Benitez years in the Premier League reading: 0 wins, 1 draw and 7 losses. Now for this opinionated fan, the most recent games (bar the embarrassing 3-0 mauling, not helped by the idiotic Bennett), we have dominated throughout and ended up losing, either because we haven't been clinical enough or simply unlucky. And as a precursor to this game, the public slanging commences and is not so surprisingly initiated by the Scotsman. This time we hope to see the jibe from SAR on our Robbie backfire, akin to the Rafa/Drogba mess in the Champions League.
The news leading up to this Top Four meeting is not positive, as the two most influential players we have are more than likely going to be out - Gerrard with a persistent groin problem that was operated on, and Torres who pulled his hamstring against Villa. This could however be put into some sort of perspective, by the absence of Ronaldo and Hargreaves from the opposition, negatively effecting their start to the season.
This game may see the introduction of our new left winger, who has had just under 2 weeks available to train and prepare with the team. Some primary advantages for him to settle quickly at LFC is his command of English, his nationality as his fellow countrymen rife at the club and his time in Manchester in 2006. He has past experience of this league during his time with City, and has been involved in high profile games with his former club Espanyol, such as the UEFA Cup Final in 2007 where he scored against the defending champions Sevilla. He is seen as the outlet on the wing to display his technique and provide bombarding deliveries for our strikers. Such an option has not been forthcoming with the nature of forwards Kuyt, Babel and Benayoun. Keane has still to make his mark in a Red shirt and with the two so often heralded members of the team missing, we need to see new leaders step forward and perform.
During the season, it is often speculated by pundits that to win the title you have to take points off you're competitors. As of late, Liverpool FC have generally underachieved in this area, be it deserved or not. We are entering this match with a heavily depleted team, who have played poorly in the opening matches. And we are going to face the club and manager successfully chasing down our record with two consecutive championships. So all I can surmise is that we can only hope for the best this time.

Summer Transfers 08/09 Update: Pictures #3

2008-09-05T01:36:00.002+01:00

Summer Transfers 08/09 Update #6

2008-09-02T01:48:00.002+01:00

1st XI
IN:
Philipp Degen (BV Borussia Dortmund - Free) [RB]
Andrea Dossena (Udinese Calcio - £7m) [LB]
Diego Cavalieri (SE Palmeiras - £3m) [GK]
David Ngog (Paris Saint-Germain FC - £1.5m) [FW]
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur FC - £19m) [FW]
Albert Riera (RCD Espanyol - £8m) [LW]

OUT:
Harry Kewell (Galatasaray SK - Free) [LW]
John Arne Riise (AS Roma - £4m) [LB]
Peter Crouch (Portsmouth FC - £11m) [FW]
Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion FC - £3.25m) [GK]
Steve Finnan (RCD Espanyol - £1m) [RB]
Andriy Voronin (Hertha BSC Berlin - Loan)

Reserves/Academy
IN:
Deale Chamberlain (Tamworth FC | 16 y/o)
Nikola Saric (Herfolge BK | 17y/o)
Vincent Weijl (AZ Alkmaar | 17y/o)
Christopher Buchtmann (BV Borussia Dortmund | 16y/o)
Zsolt Poloskei (MTK Hungaria FC | 17y/o)
Emmanuel Mendy (Murcia Deportivo | 18y/o)
Vitor Flora (Botafogo FR | 18y/o)
Peter Gulacsi (MTK Hungaria FC | 18y/o)

OUT:
Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente - Loan)
Paul Anderson (Nottingham Forest FC - Loan)
Anthony Le Tallec (Le Mans UC72 - £1m) [MD]
Danny Guthrie (Newcastle United - £2.5m) [MD]
Robbie Threlfall (Hereford United - Loan)
Adam Hammill (Blackpool FC - Loan)
Sebastian Leto (Olympiakos CFP - Loan)
Godwin Antwi (Tranmere Rovers FC - Loan)
Jack Hobbs (Leicester City FC - Loan)
Jordy Brouwer (FC Utrecht - Loan)
David Martin (Leicester City FC - Loan)
Miki Roque (FC Cartagena - Loan)
Craig Lindfield (AFC Bournemouth - Loan)
Astrit Ajdarevic (VfB Stuttgart - £1m) [MD]

Match Day Pictures: August

2008-09-01T14:56:00.005+01:00

Match Day: Premier League #3

2008-08-31T21:52:00.004+01:00

Aston Villa 0 - 0 Liverpool
Sunday 31 August 2008 16:00

Liverpool XI: Reina, Dossena, Carragher (c), Skrtel, Arbeloa, Leiva, Alonso, Mascherano, Kuyt (68), Torres (30), Keane (78).

Substitutes: Benayoun (12), El Zhar, Babel, Ngog (60), Cavalieri, Aurelio (22), Agger.

Boardroom v Benitez: Bust-ups, Battles And Barry

2008-08-29T15:49:00.013+01:00

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

Champions League Draw: Group Stage

2008-08-28T22:21:00.002+01:00

16 September v Marseille (a)
1 October v PSV Eindhoven (h)
22 October v Atletico Madrid (a)
4 November v Atletico Madrid (h)
26 November v Marseille (h)
9 December v PSV Eindhoven (a)

Match Day: Champions League Qualifier #2

2008-08-27T00:09:00.007+01:00

Liverpool 1 - 0 Standard Liege
Wednesday 27 August 2008 20:05

Liverpool XI: Reina, Arbeloa, Aurelio, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Alonso, Benayoun (60), Kuyt {118}, Torres (119), Keane (83).

Substitutes: Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Plessis (1), Spearing, El Zhar (37), Babel (60).

Poor Performances And Late Luck

2008-08-26T23:54:00.018+01:00

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

Match Day: Premier League #2

2008-08-23T17:34:00.004+01:00

Liverpool 2 - 1 Middlesbrough
Saturday 23 August 2008 15:00

Liverpool XI: Reina, Dossena (75), Carragher {85}, Skrtel, Arbeloa (83), Benayoun (65), Gerrard (c) {90+4}, Alonso, Kuyt, Torres, Keane.

Substitutes: Agger, Plessis, Aurelio (15), Ngog, El Zhar (7), Babel (25), Cavalieri.

Summer Transfers 08/09 Update: Pictures #2

2008-08-17T09:24:00.001+01:00

Match Day: Premier League #1

2008-08-16T11:10:00.003+01:00

Sunderland 0 - 1 Liverpool
Saturday 16 August 2008 17:30

Liverpool XI: Reina, Dossena, Hyypia, Carragher, Arbeloa, Benayoun (80), Gerrard (c), Plessis (45), Kuyt, Torres {83}, Keane (77).

Substitutes: Alonso (45), Aurelio (10), El Zhar (13), Ngog, Cavalieri, Agger, Skrtel.

Match Day: Champions League Qualifier #1

2008-08-15T17:50:00.006+01:00

Standard Liege 0 - 0 Liverpool
Wednesday 13 August 2008 20:05

Liverpool XI: Reina, Dossena, Carragher (c), Agger, Arbeloa, Benayoun, Alonso, Plessis, Kuyt (82), Torres, Keane (67).

Substitutes: Hyypia, Pennant, Insua, Cavalieri, El Zhar (8), Voronin, Gerrard (23).

Match Day: Pre-season Friendly #8

2008-08-14T15:44:00.000+01:00

Liverpool 1 - 0 Lazio
Friday 8 August 2008 20:00

Liverpool XI: Reina (75), Dossena (75), Carragher (c) (80), Agger (75), Arbeloa, Benayoun (75), Alonso (75), Plessis (80), Kuyt, Torres (45), Keane (80).

Substitutes: Hyypia (15), Ngog (45), Cavalieri (15), El Zhar (15), Voronin {90} (10), Darby, Pennant, Insua (15), Finnan (10), Spearing (15), Nemeth (10).

Match Day: Pre-season Friendly #7

2008-08-13T13:53:00.000+01:00

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

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

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

Match Day: Pre-season Friendly #6

2008-08-12T16:36:00.000+01:00

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

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

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

Summer Transfers 08/09 Update #5

2008-08-11T14:04:00.005+01:00

1st XI
IN:
Philipp Degen (BV Borussia Dortmund - Free) [RB]
Andrea Dossena (Udinese Calcio - £7m) [LB]
Diego Cavalieri (SE Palmeiras - £3m) [GK]
David Ngog (Paris Saint-Germain FC - £1.5m) [FW]
Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur FC - £19m) [FW]

OUT:
Harry Kewell (Galatasaray SK - Free) [LW]
John Arne Riise (AS Roma - £4m) [LB]
Peter Crouch (Portsmouth FC - £11m) [FW]
Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion FC - £3.25m) [GK]

Reserves/Academy
IN:
Deale Chamberlain (Tamworth FC | 16 y/o)
Nikola Saric (Herfolge BK | 17y/o)
Vincent Weijl (AZ Alkmaar | 17y/o)
Christopher Buchtmann (BV Borussia Dortmund | 16y/o)
Zsolt Poloskei (MTK Hungaria FC | 17y/o)
Emmanuel Mendy (Murcia Deportivo | 18y/o)

OUT:
Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente - Loan)
Paul Anderson (Nottingham Forest FC - Loan)
Anthony Le Tallec (Le Mans UC72 - £1m) [MD]
Danny Guthrie (Newcastle United - £2.5m) [MD]
Robbie Threlfall (Hereford United - Loan)
Adam Hammill (Blackpool FC - Loan)
Sebastian Leto (Olympiakos CFP - Loan)
Godwin Antwi (Tranmere Rovers FC - Loan)
Jack Hobbs (Leicester City FC - Loan)
Jordy Brouwer (FC Utrecht - Loan)
David Martin (Leicester City FC - Loan)
Miki Roque (FC Cartagena - Loan)

Match Day: Pre-season Friendly #5

2008-07-30T21:46:00.004+01:00

Villarreal 0 - 0 Liverpool
Wednesday 30 July 2008 20:30

Liverpool XI: Cavalieri (80), Dossena (45), Hyypia (45), Skrtel (45), Darby (45), Benayoun (45), Gerrard (c) (45), Plessis, Keane (45), Voronin (45), Ngog (45).

Substitutes: Carragher (45), Arbeloa, Finnan (25), Pacheco (45), Kuyt (45), Torres (20), Alonso (20), Nemeth (25), Agger (45), Reina (10), Pennant (45).

Kopite Keane Successfully Signed

2008-07-28T21:35:00.008+01:00

Robbie Keane has signed for Liverpool FC today for a fee of £19million, on a four-year deal and will earn £80,000 a week. He will wear the iconic number 7 shirt associated with Reds legends Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, Ian Callaghan and Peter Beardsley. He has been included in the squad which travels to Spain for the friendly against Villarreal on Wednesday.
Liverpool had been working behind the scenes to bring Keane to Anfield, as was announced by Daniel Levy in his scathing attack on our club for not pursuing the official channels of communication and negotiation. This was greatly helped by the player himself being a boyhood fan/atic and displayed by him submitting a transfer request. Liverpool FC have agreed to make a donation to our Club’s main charity, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, as compensation and Tottenham Hotspur have therefore agreed not to continue in their official complaint to the Premier League.
Keane is now one of the most expensive footballer’s in the world, having been involved in transfers totalling £58m having previously played for Wolverhampton, Coventry, Inter Milan and Leeds before joining Tottenham in 2002. He established himself as a consistent performer at Premier League level at Tottenham, scoring 13-17 goals in his first four campaigns and 22/23 in the most recent seasons. Keane scored 80 goals in 197 appearances for Tottenham and has scored 33 international goals in 81 appearances.

Stylish Strips: Revolting Or Revered?

2008-07-25T17:11:00.013+01:00

Liverpool FC have released the away and third kit for the following two seasons. It seems like the main idea for the 'silver' away kit is its history of being worn during our last top flight success, and adding a visual angle to our continual desperation to claim #19. My first thoughts of this grey strip was generally negative when I saw a leaked picture of the shirt from somewhere in Asia (I presume, as designs get leaked from the out-sourced countries where they are made). This opinion is down to the drab colour and little else to stimulate or excite the mind, unlike the home kit with the several new aesthetic features. The small squared chequered effect which is all over the shirt doesn't add much either, and I doubt it has any form of functionality on the player's or opposition's performance. Conversely, the European kit looks nice with a metallic tinge of turquoise with a black collar and shorts, like the highly vaunted 3rd kit of last season. From first impressions I'm inclined towards the Euro kit, but I'm sure the grey edition will grow on me when I see our team run out and goals are flying in. I currently own the new home kit with Gerrard/8 on the back in Premier League font. As strange as it may seem, it feels different than the last one. It feels more tailored and impressive and its good to be wearing red again, instead of white.

Summer Transfers 08/09 Update #4

2008-07-24T18:25:00.006+01:00

1st XI
IN:
Philipp Degen (BV Borussia Dortmund - Free) [RB]
Andrea Dossena (Udinese Calcio - £7m) [LB]
Diego Cavalieri (SE Palmeiras - £3m) [GK]
David Ngog (Paris Saint-Germain FC - £1.5m) [FW]

OUT:
Harry Kewell (Galatasaray SK - Free) [LW]
John Arne Riise (AS Roma - £4m) [LB]
Peter Crouch (Portsmouth FC - £11m) [FW]
Scott Carson (West Bromwich Albion FC - £3.25m) [GK]

Reserves/Academy
IN:
Deale Chamberlain (Tamworth FC | 16 y/o)
Nikola Saric (Herfolge BK | 17y/o)
Vincent Weijl (AZ Alkmaar | 17y/o)
Christopher Buchtmann (BV Borussia Dortmund | 16y/o)
Zsolt Poloskei (MTK Hungaria FC | 17y/o)
Emmanuel Mendy (Murcia Deportivo | 18y/o)

OUT:
Nikolay Mihaylov (FC Twente - Loan)
Paul Anderson (Nottingham Forest FC - Loan)
Anthony Le Tallec (Le Mans UC72 - £1m) [MD]
Danny Guthrie (Newcastle United - £2.5m) [MD]
Robbie Threlfall (Hereford United - Loan)
Adam Hammill (Blackpool FC - Loan)
Sebastian Leto (Olympiakos CFP - Loan)
Godwin Antwi (Tranmere Rovers FC - Loan)
Jack Hobbs (Leicester City FC - Loan)