By Chris Wright

With the transfer window just beginning to creak in the wind (of change?), we at Pies reckon it's high time to begin speculating and hypothesising on the ins-and-out – quite literally – of this summer's prospective transfer activity.

This week, the prospective comings and goings of Merseyside's finest, Liverpool and Everton, are put under scrutiny.

Have Liverpool lost the plot? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

There was widespread optimism around Anfield at the end of the season. "King" Kenny Dalglish had returned as manager, masterminding a resurgence that saw Liverpool narrowly miss out on European football. New owners FSG seem to be owners with Liverpool's interests at heart after the shambles of an affair that was the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Liverpool are on the verge of securing deals for two long-term transfer targets in Aston Villa winger Ashley Young and Newcastle United defender Jose Enrique, according to reports in the Guardian.
The Metro reported at the weekend that Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish would be handed a 'significant' transfer budget in the summer and while many expect a host of arrivals it is more likely the money will be used to fill two crucial areas.

By Sindre Trygsland, writing from Lancaster, England. Sindre is an avid Liverpool supporter, connoisseur of Scandinavian football and business student at Lancaster University.

The appointment of Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish has once again transmitted hope to the millions of Liverpool supporters around the world.

Hull City give Kenny Dalglish a headache after beating Liverpool

• Anfield club lose 3-0 • £20m Jordan Henderson fails to impress To suggest that Liverpool supporters are not sure about Kenny Dalglish may seem similar to declaring that David Attenborough is not altogether certain animals are very interesting – but the fact is, Dalglish has plenty to prove this season.

With their main goal threat away in Argentina, around £44 million of new signings starting on the substitute's bench and their captain still recovering from injury, Liverpool's pre-season defeat at Hull will not set alarm bells ringing at Anfield.
But it cannot be dismissed and Kenny Dalglish, under pressure to improve the club's fortunes after spending £100 million since returning as manager in January, did not mince his words after his team's 3-0 setback against the Championship club.

It started out strangely enough when the teamsheet was released, with Lucas missing out due to a mild thigh injury and Poulsen unexpectedly seeing his second start in a row, and though the Dane again wasn't a massive liability, his frequent wandering and at times over-ambitious hit or miss passing did noticeably hurt Liverpool's ability to control the center of the park.

**With no real breaking news on the transfer front and Ed and I feeling as though there's little more to say that hasn't already been said, it seems as though it wouldn't hurt to bump this post on tactics back to the top of the page. It went up while people were already occupied with the initial Torres rumours, and an hour later the Suarez story broke and completely buried it.

One year ago today, Christian Purslow sacked Rafa Benitez and the club began its nosedive into the abyss, descending from a stumbled-to seventh place finish towards Roy Hodgson, Joe Cole, Christian Poulsen, and Paul Koncheskey, while backroom battles brewed and potential suitors fell by the wayside.

It's Monday. It's the offseason. So that must mean we've got some Xabi Alonso-related tidbits to get to that will make us feel all warm and fuzzy in the afterglow of a lost romance whose embers are kept stoked by furtive, whispered words of hope and the possibility that all might not truly be lost.

Martin Skrtel is the latest Liverpool player to announce he will soon become a father.
The wives or partners of Fabio Aurelio, Jay Spearing, Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt are all pregnant - while Glen Johnson, Pepe Reina, Christian Poulsen and Lucas Leiva have each celebrated births in the last few months.

Defender John Flanagan today (Friday) signed a new long-term contract at...

Liverpool 4: Poulsen 19′, N'Gog 22′, Coady 72′, Carroll 85′
Guangdong 3: Steer 46′, Lin 90′, Hongbo 92′

And so a new season begins. Or at least the road to it does. Certainly without the extended break forced by the European Championships and World Cup in recent years it doesn't feel like as much of a wait as in the past, when half the players would have just now been starting into their short summer breaks following international commitments.

Liverpool 4: Poulsen 19′, N'Gog 22′, Coady 72′, Carroll 85′
Guangdong 3: Steer 46′, Lin 90′, Hongbo 92′

And so a new season begins. Or at least the road to it does. Certainly without the extended break forced by the European Championships and World Cup in recent years it doesn't feel like as much of a wait as in the past, when half the players would have just now been starting into their short summer breaks following international commitments.

Christian Poulsen has dismissed speculation that he will leave Liverpool and insists he sees his future at the club.
Kenny Dalglish has increased his midfield options with the signing of Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson this summer.
These new recruits will augment a squad already bulging with midfielders in Lucas, Steven Gerrard and Jay Spearing.

Poulsen seeks Reds exit

Christian Poulsen accepts his future lies away from Liverpool and hopes to seal a move this month.

View the full story here: Sky Sports

A news article on 2011-08-13 13:01:20 from: Sky Sports

This news item has been reproduced from today's media.

In the previous post on Babel and the worst transfers of the last decade, I should have better differentiated between a "bad player" and a "bad signing." Buying Alberto Aquilani was an awful, awful deal, but Alberto Aquilani's an outstanding player. Philipp Degen is a terrible full-back but was a free signing that didn't cost Liverpool much more than wages and overtime for the medical staff.

Kenny Dalglish and Liverpool impress again in a 1-0 win over Chelsea.

From Kenny Dalglish's midweek presser, in which he was asked about the impact of Fernando Torres' departure:

"The most important people are the people at this football club. We'll just play against any player they put on the pitch.

Liverpool ended the January transfer window positively, selling at £56m and buying at £57.6m. King Kenny had already brought back the feel good factor and now the wins are starting to come. Beating Chelsea was beyond my wildest dreams and so it looked like even to Dalglish.
The team he put out had a slightly cautious look to it, the Liverpool management team deciding that the Reds should play a counter attacking game.

Danish Striker Nicklas Bendtner has been included in the Denmark squad that will travel to Oslo, Norway in a hope of a vital three points towards the contribution of qualifiying for the European Championships in 2012.

Bendtner is very much one of the stars of the Danish side and has hit 12 goals for his country in 36 games.

Barcelona star Ibrahim Afellay is due for talks over his future at the Nou Camp having been left frustrated by a lack of action in the team.
Liverpool was keen on the Dutchman before he moved to Barcelona in January but things have not worked out for him.
Midfielder Afellay, 25, has failed to command a regular place in the Barcelona team and has been largely restricted to a handful of cameo appearances.

The transfer window still doesn't officially opens across Europe until July first. In England it actually opened at midnight on the day the domestic season ended. Either way, there are always pre-agreements to be made and fees agreed, and all because most players a club might be after couldn't officially be transfered for another month doesn't mean nothing can happen.

Liverpool's owner, Fenway Sports Group, is anxious to rid the club's wage bill of several expensive transfer errors this summer to maximise Kenny Dalglish's budget for "highest quality" signings.
FSG has sanctioned a substantial outlay on recruits at Anfield, with an approach having been made for Sunderland's Jordan Henderson and interest in the Aston Villa pair of Stewart Downing and Ashley Young expected to develop after their commitments with England.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is considering bidding for Sunderland's £10 million-rated midfielder Lee Cattermole.
Dalglish is keen to bolster his midfield with young English talent and is an admirer of both Cattermole and his Sunderland team-mate Jordan Henderson, who is valued at £14 million.

During the league season, Liverpool's senior squad members traipsing off to their respective national sides is just a notch below a Joe Cole wind sprint on things I enjoy watching. There's the worry about injury, the predictably suffocating nationalism from Martin Samuel, and, more than anything, a few weeks without football for Liverpool.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis is thought to be considering a double move for Liverpool pair David Ngog and Christian Poulsen.
The duo are believed to be surplus to requirements at Anfield as Reds manager Kenny Dalglish looks to remodel his squad after being handed the reins at Anfield on a permanent basis.

Liverpool midfielder Christian Poulsen insists that he wants to stay at the club and be part of the rebuilding process.
The Danish international is reported to be one of several players heading towards the exit door this summer, having only figured a handful of times under new boss Kenny Dalglish.

Well, that certainly was a weekend chock full of internationals. And stuff. But mostly internationals. I liked the part where something exciting happened. No, not the Spain-USA match—though it was wall to wall excitement if you enjoy watching small, defenseless animals caught up in jet engines and also don't happen to be a US of American.

Spending most of his time in the bench this season doesn't make Christian Poulsen's lose interest in staying with Liverpool next season, in contrary, the Denmark international is more eager to prove his worth and get more playing time in the future.

Although he is disappointed with the fact that he didn't get a lot of playing time this season, Poulsen stated to the media that he doesn't have any plan to leave the Reds.

Liverpool has completed the signing of Jordan Henderson from Sunderland.
The 20-year-old England international passed his medical and agreed personal terms with the club on Thursday in a deal reported to be worth £20m.
Henderson, the club's first summer signing, signed what Liverpool described as 'a long-term deal'.

Have Liverpool lost the plot? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

There was widespread optimism around Anfield at the end of the season. "King" Kenny Dalglish had returned as manager, masterminding a resurgence that saw Liverpool narrowly miss out on European football. New owners FSG seem to be owners with Liverpool's interests at heart after the shambles of an affair that was the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Martin Skrtel is the latest Liverpool player to announce he will soon become a father.
The wives or partners of Fabio Aurelio, Jay Spearing, Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt are all pregnant - while Glen Johnson, Pepe Reina, Christian Poulsen and Lucas Leiva have each celebrated births in the last few months.

With some haste, a majority of Liverpool supporters will tell you what their side require this transfer window: a centre-back, a left-back, a striker and some natural width. Far from that list would be another central midfielder.
Few loyal to the Merseysiders would dare question Kenny Dalglish but it would be fair to say there have been slight whimpers of uncertainty following the Jordan Henderson signing.

Maddy's Note: BigFourZa, embracing the spirit of transfer season has brought in the highly rated 22 year Karthik, from an unnamed source at an undisclosed loacation for an unnamed fee. Although he's certainly nowhere close to the 20m King Kenny doled out for Henderson, hopefully he performs better for us than the youngster did for the U21s.

ClubCall announced that Stoke City Manager Tony Pulis is possibly interested in a double move for Liverpool's Christian Poulsen and David N'Gog.
Poulsen never got his career off the ground for the Reds, despite reiterating desire to fight for his place he will most likely move on this summer.
David N'Gog has seen an offer from Sunderland recently but it looks to be that he will refuse as they will not match his wage demands.

Joe Cole Alberto Aquilani Raul Meireles Milan Jovanovic Christian Poulsen Paul Konchesky David Ngog Other (please specify)

Christian Poulsen still does not know if he has a future at Liverpool, according to his representative.
The Denmark international proved to be a major disappointment in his first season at Anfield, having been signed by former manager Roy Hodgson last summer.
Kenny Dalglish only used Poulsen on six occasions and the 31-year-old did not play again after the 1-0 defeat at Braga in the Europa League in early March.

Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) want manager Kenny Dalglish to sell members of his squad before they will allow him to spend the cash again.
The Reds have already embarked in a £40million recruitment drive this summer, resulting in Stewart Downing, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Alexander Doni being signed.

One year ago newly appointed Liverpool manager, Roy Hodgson, was familiarizing himself with his new surroundings on Merseyside. Having led Fulham to a Europa League final in the previous season the former Inter Milan head coach was employed to stabilize a ship navigating unsettling waters, occupying the vacant post after his predecessor, Rafael Benitez, had earlier walked the plank.

Fulham boss Martin Jol has made a £1.5m approach for Liverpool midfielder...