Rafa Benitez is still pressing Liverpool's owners to approve his planned £18m purchase of Gareth Barry despite the insistence of George Gillett and Tom Hicks that the midfielder is overpriced.

Having sparked a public spat between Martin O'Neill and Benitez, the interminable saga has now taken a new direction to reveal precarious tensions within Anfield. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez has blamed Rick Parry, the Liverpool chief executive, and the club's owners for the protracted Gareth Barry transfer saga.

"I will try to be very clear over the [Barry] situation," Benitez, the Liverpool manager, said. "Everyone has been talking and it seems that the blame is put on me. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez had to be talked out of quitting as Liverpool manager last week over the protracted Gareth Barry transfer that is causing a fresh rift with the Anfield hierarchy.

It has emerged the Spaniard decided to resign after being told the club's American owners would not stump up the £18m to sign Barry from Aston Villa. Click to continue reading...

What is undoubtedly the world's richest soccer league, arguably the best soccer league, (let's here it from the Serie A and La Liga fans now) but certainly the most-widely watched soccer league in the world begins in a few short hours: the English Premier League.

What's the connection to soccer in Los Angeles?

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Gareth Barry's long awaited transfer to Liverpool is now on the verge of collapsing. Villa manager Martin O'Neill has included Barry in Villa's UEFA Cup squad which means the midfielder would be cup tied in European continental competitions. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez wouldn't be too pleased with signing a player for big money and then not being able to play him in the Champions' League. Click to continue reading...

Well, fellow football fans, the season is finally here. Can you believe we survived an entire summer? Now that the season is here, which five matches should you absolutely make sure you get to watch? This week's Premiership Talk Friday Five tells you.

1. Sunderland vs. Liverpool. Liverpool fans and players alike have deemed this the year that they finally win the Premier League.

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Friday's news and rumours Paul Ince struggling to make friends at Blackburn? [BBC] Martin O'Neill cup-ties Gareth Barry. Screw you, Rafa [The Sun] Wayne Rooney fit for Man Utd opener v Newcastle [Mail] Adrian Mutu ordered by Fifa to pay... Click to continue reading...

Gareth Barry'S proposed move to Liverpool edged nearer to collapse after the midfielder appeared for Aston Villa in the Uefa Cup last night.

Barry started and scored in his team's win in their qualifying first leg tie against FH Hafnarfjordur in Iceland.

The England international's selection means he will be cup tied and unable to play for another side in Europe until the knockout stages in February. Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill insists Gareth Barry "knew the consequences" of his decision to play in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night.

Barry scored the opening goal as Villa cruised to a 4-1 victory over FH Hafnarfjordur in Iceland in the second qualifying round match, a result which home boss Heimir Gudjonsson admitted has killed the tie off at the halfway stage. Click to continue reading...

Here's an early season bet to blow you away-Manchester United to be top of the Premier League by the end of September.
Alex Ferguson's champs don't typically get off to a flyer, but double figures for the title favourites is a huge risk by bookies SunBET.

Granted United have some tricky away trips to Portsmouth, Liverpool and Chelsea – and will miss the slavery service of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and a few other sicknote stars.

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Aston Villa are preparing a £9 million bid for Newcastle United winger James Milner. The former Leeds man has been targeted by Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez all summer but it now looks as though Martin O'Neill is to chance his luck by making a bid for the England under-21 international.

Milner, 22, had a brief spell at Villa Park two seasons ago and was close to a £4 million permanent move then, but for whatever reasons nothing materialised. Click to continue reading...

Gareth Barry's proposed move to Liverpool finally appears to have fallen through after he asked to join Aston Villa's Uefa Cup challenge.

The England midfielder declared himself available to play after speaking to Martin O'Neill's staff, giving the clearest indication yet that he will remain at Villa Park. Click to continue reading...

I recently (and more than a little prematurely) hailed Martin O'Neill as a genius for holding on to Gareth Barry via the tactic of quoting Liverpool a high price for his best player and not accepting a penny less. But that's not the only tactic for preventing your players from leaving. Our latest football comic from [. Click to continue reading...

Rafa Benitez wants showdown talks with Liverpool's American owners in the hope of resurrecting the Gareth Barry deal.

The Anfield boss is focused on the Champions' League clash with Standard Liege in Belgium tomorrow, as Liverpool pursue a place in the group stages.

When he returns, Benitez will want to know why the club agreed to meet Aston Villa's £18million valuation of Barry a week ago, but now feel the price is too high. Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez is ready to risk Steven Gerrard in his attempts to secure qualification for the Champions League group stages.

The Liverpool manager has been hampered in his preparations for tomorrow's third qualifying round tie at Standard Liege and faces a crippling midfield shortage.

Gerrard is struggling to shake off a thigh strain while Benitez is still being foiled in his attempts to sign Gareth Barry after the club admitted they wouldn't meet Aston Villa's asking price. Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa have agreed a £7.8m fee with Rangers for their highly-rated Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar. Villa invoked an exit clause in the player's contract for that amount after Cuellar, 26, made it known he wanted to play in the English Premier League. "My ambition has always been to play for Spain and I believe that playing in the biggest league in the world will help me realise that," he said.

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Aston Villa

2007-08 RECORD League 6th FA Cup3rd round Carling Cup3rd round

Manager Martin O'Neill. Had a difficult summer, paying £5m for a Chelsea reserve and £2m for a 37-year-old and handling the Gareth Barry situation with less than his customary aplomb. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool's quest to sign Gareth Barry has taken another twist after the club's chief executive Rick Parry admitted that "the price quoted is too high". Parry's comments appear to contradict those made by manager Rafael Benítez after the Spaniard claimed that money was not the issue.

The Aston Villa midfielder was identified as a summer transfer target by Benítez but the two sides have so far been unable to agree a fee. Click to continue reading...

Rafael BenÍtez's relationship with Liverpool's owners reached crisis point last night when it emerged that not only had Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr vetoed the manager's bid to buy Gareth Barry but that the American duo had turned down an offer of a £12 million interest-free loan to help to buy the Aston Villa midfield player. Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa surprised many neutrals last season, and probably even some of their own supporters, with their 6th-place finish. In 2006-2007, the Villans checked in at a respectable 11th, a nice improvement from 16th the season before. Villa's emergence, led by manager Martin O'Neill, came with one of the smallest, if not THE smallest, first team rosters in the Premiership. Click to continue reading...

Martin O'Neill finally made some more moves with Reading's Nickey Shorey and Middlesbrough's Luke Young coming to Villa Park for this coming season. Shorey had been on the radar of a few Premiership clubs after the Royals drop and Young... Click to continue reading...

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez insists that Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun will not leave the club this summer.

Dutch forward Kuyt, 28, is a target for German club Hamburg while Benitez admits Roma are interested in midfielder Benayoun, also 28.

But Benitez, after meeting with both players on Thursday, said: "Neither of them will be leaving. Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill looks to bounce back from the imminent departure of club captain Gareth Barry to Liverpool, by shoring up his defence in a £8.5 million double full-back swoop. Don't forget to check out Online Football Manager! Reports are emerging linking the Villans to Reading's Nicky Shorey and Middlesbrough's . Click to continue reading...

Aston Villa's brigade of young English players looks set to expand with the transfer of Nicky Shorey and Luke Young into the club. Martin O'Neill seems to keen to build success on a group of English talent with players such as Gareth Barry, Nigel Reo-Coker, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashely Young, Curtis Davies and Zat Knight to name but a few. Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard's thigh injury will almost certainly scupper any thoughts Liverpool had of selling Xabi Alonso to raise money to sign Gareth Barry. Gerrard returned from Oslo having picked up the injury in the 4-1 win over Valerenga on Tuesday and had a scan and further medical tests yesterday.

Rafael Benitez, the Liverpool manager, believes it is "touch and go" whether Gerrard will be fit for the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round tie at Standard Liege next Wednesday, but he is certainly out of the friendly against Lazio tomorrow. Click to continue reading...