It has been revealed that Xabi Alonso was prevented from writing an open-letter to Liverpool's fans
when he left the club. Given the Spaniard's contribution to the club, I find this to be very
disappointing.
Both John Arne Riise and Luis Garcia wrote open letters to Liverpool fans when they left the club,
both of which were published on the official Liverpool FC website.
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Yesterday, I looked at the real cost of Jan Kromkamp's transfer to Liverpool. Today, I attempt to
establish the true cost of Xabi Alonso and Luis Garcia, two of Rafa Benitez's most successful
signings.
At the time of both transfers, the BBC reported that Garcia cost 6m, but in their report for
Alonso's transfer, a fee was not specified.
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It is widely believed that Liverpool acquired Jan Kromkamp for free as part of a player-exchange
with Josemi. Every official source that has looked into Liverpool's transfer dealings has stated
the same alleged fact. Well, after some research, that myth can now be debunked - Liverpool
actually paid a surprisingly large transfer fee for the ineffective Krompkamp, the amount of which
some may find surprising
According to Liverpool's annual report for 2005, Kromkamp cost the club £4.
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Why didn't Alberto Aquilani play any part of the Lyon game? Can someone please explain to me the
logic behind keeping him on the bench for the full 90 minutes because I just don't get it.
Aquilani was on the bench against Lyon therefore he must be fit. He was even warming up at one
stage.
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Rafa Benitez has decided to start with Fernando Torres against Lyon.
The full team for Lyon is:
--------- Reina
Carragher --- Agger -- Kyrgiakos -- Insua
Kuyt -- Lucas -- Mascherano -- Benayoun
Voronin -- Torres
Subs: Cavalieri, Aquilani, Babel, Ngog, Spearing, Darby, Ayala.
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Gerrard out. Johnson out. Aurelio out. Torres half-fit. Several other players doubtful. Two defeats
in three CL games. Third in the CL group table. eight defeats since the start of the season.
Liverpool have no chance of beating Lyon on their own ground, right? WRONG.
Liverpool thrive on being underdogs and if history has proven one thing about the club it's this:
in times of adversity, and when everything looks hopeless, Liverpool can and will triumph.
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Rafa Benitez has admitted that Fernando Torres is carrying a hernia injury. Given the consequences
of aggravating that injury, should Torres be rested against Lyon to avoid a longer-term
problem...or should Rafa take a risk and play him anyway?
Yesterday, Benitez had this to say about Torres' injury:
"We know Fernando has a [hernia] problem, and we have to manage it.
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Despite 8 defeats in 15 games this season, JODY DANIELS refuses to give up hope, and is confident
that if Liverpool fans keep the faith, their loyalty will eventually be rewarded.
In my view, fans publicly chastising the club Manager/Owners (or accepting the pessimistic, bias
and prejudiced stories written by the media) is totally against the spirit of Liverpool FC.
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Last week I posted what I believed to be Rafa Benitez's 10 biggest transfer blunders. This week, as
promised, I take a look at the 10 best signings during the Boss's 5 years in charge. And there have
been some absolute corkers!
When you think back to the squad Rafa inherited (Traore, Biscan, et al), it is clear that our squad
is now superior in almost every way.
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There seems to be a lot of confusion over how much Liverpool paid/will eventually pay Roma for the
services of Alberto Aquilani. Figures such as £20m, £17m and £5m (!) have been bandied about,
but the truth is the total outlay could (potentially) turn out to be much more.
On the 8th August 2009, Roma released official details of Aquilani's transfer fee.
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Football fans are regularly accused of being 'fickle' but, as Pepe Reina proves with his latest
comments, it seems that footballers also fall into that category!
September 12th - Liverpool had lost 2 of the first 4 league games. Clearly down in the dumps, Reina
stated the following:
"We all want to win the league but right now it's not a realistic objective.
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John Arne Riise would (apparently) like to return to Anfield in January. Would the Norwegian be a
good addition to the team, or is Liverpool well covered on the left?
There doesn't appear to be any official source for this rumour but I think it's worth discussing
anyway.
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Bill Shankly once said: "Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and
you'll stay on the floor". Against Fulham on Saturday, Rafa Benitez didn't aim for the sky or the
ceiling; he didn't even aim for the floor! With his cautious approach and maddeningly
incomprehensible decisions, Benitez went against everything Liverpool FC stands for and committed
the ultimate footballing sin: he gave up and conceded defeat.
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If you believe what you hear - and what you saw against Fulham - you'll probably believe the wolves
are at the door for Señor Benitez. However, I'll try to put things in perspective without using an
array of cringe-worthy Halloween puns.
What happened against Fulham was a disaster, and a game we shouldn't have lost going into.
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