Sunday, June 29, 2008

Rafa Gets Tough: Only Winners Wanted Here

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is only seeking summer transfer targets who can help the club foster a winning mentality.

Benitez told Liverpool's official website that the players he'll bring to Anfield this summer must be winners.

The Spaniard has made it clear that, like just about every Liverpool fan, he wants more than anything to bring the domestic League title back to Anfield. Liverpool hold the record for most English title successes - 18 - but haven't been crowned champions since the 1989-90 season, and have seen arch-rivals Manchester United lift their tally from seven to 17 in the meantime. It means the Reds have never been title winners in the Premiership era.

That glaring omission eats at the soul of every Liverpool fan - and club captain Steven Gerrard is no different. He has stressed that he will consider his career unfulfilled if he cannot count at least one Premier League winner’s medal among his haul by the time he retires from playing.

And Benitez is also clear that winning the League is the one that matters most to him now, having already achieved European glory.

"Winning the title would be the biggest achievement of my career," said the manager. "It's more difficult than in Spain because teams here spend big money.

"But we will do our best. The key for me is not to talk about winning the title but to talk about doing a good job so we can be close, so we can be contenders.

"If we are close I think that we can win the title."

So far only Philipp Degen has been added to the squad at Anfield, though Benitez has several players in his sights. However, he stressed that anyone he brings in must be a winner.

“The key, though, is to sign the right players with the right mentality – a winning mentality – competitive players, players who are desperate to come here to win something,” he told liverpoolfc.tv.

"That is the key for me. We have been analysing a lot of things this summer. For example, we were conceding a lot of goals last season from set pieces.

"We need to know why because the previous season we only conceded six, but this year it has been 16. We need to know why so we can improve in these areas, but keep the team scoring goals in open play.

"We have been really good in defence for three or four years but we need to improve a little bit if we want to be in contention."

Liverpool Keen On Robbie

Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane has emerged as a transfer target for Liverpool, according to a report in the News of the World.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is reportedly keen on bringing the striker to Anfield to partner Fernando Torres up front as the Reds go in search of their first Premier League title.

According to the paper Liverpool are willing to offer Tottenham a massive £20 million for Keane and are happy to throw in Peter Crouch as part of the deal too.

Keane, 27, joined Spurs from Leeds in 2002 and is the club captain at White Hart Lane. His current partnership with Dimitar Berbatov is one of the most prolific in the Premier League, both players netting 23 goals each last season for Tottenham.

The Irishman has enjoyed a successful last season at Spurs, winning his first major competition, the Carling Cup, with the club and also scoring his 100th Premier League goal and his 100th goal for Tottenham.

However, with Berbatov expected to leave the club this summer in search of Champions League football, it is unlikely the club will also want to let the talismanic Keane leave as well, hence the offer of Peter Crouch as part of the deal.

Crouch has been widely linked with a move away from Liverpool after failing to cement a regular place in the starting line up at Anfield. The striker managed only nine league starts for Liverpool last season although he did end the season with five Premier League goals to his name.

Whilst Crouch is rumoured to want to leave the club in search of regular football and to improve his international prospects, manager Rafael Benitez is clearly reluctant to let him go and has reportedly already rejected approaches by Portsmouth for the striker.

Martinez Criticises Anderson Snub

Swansea boss Roberto Martinez has questioned Paul Anderson's loyalty after the winger snubbed a return to the Swans to join Nottingham Forest.

The Liverpool man impressed during his season's loan spell at Swansea last term and Martinez was willing to pay £100,000 for a second 12-month loan.

Spaniard Martinez said: "Everyone knows being grateful or loyality in football does not exist anymore."

The deal for the 20-year-old midfielder should be finalised over the weekend.

Martinez continued: "We are proud to be involved in the development of a player that no-one wanted 12 months ago who now has six or seven choices.

"We are delighted how he adapted as we allowed him to enjoy his football, that's why he has enjoyed a lot of interest from clubs this summer."

Anderson, Swansea's young player of the year in their League One title-winning season, will link up with his new Forest team-mates on Tuesday.

He told Forest's website: "I enjoyed last season at Swansea but after speaking to Forest I just felt it was the right move for me."

Should Rafa Go After German Striker?

With Rafa Benitez reportedly on the look out for a foil to play alongside Fernando Torres next season, and names such as David Villa being bandied about by the press, one striker who could be available for the right price has confirmed he is thinking about a move from his present club.

Lukas Podolski, Bayern Munich's free-scoring German international has admitted that he may have to find himself a new club once the European Championships are over, after a season playing second fiddle to Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni at the Allianz Arena. Podolski told German newspaper Sport Bild:

"I will tackle this subject after the European championships. I will have enough time on holiday to think about my situation and I will make a decision on my future then.

"I have made it clear to him (new Bayern manager Jurgen Klinsmann) that I am unhappy with my situation in Munich. He knows what he has in me. He has even said that he understands my problems. We shall sit down together after the Euro and see what happens."

With the ever-popular (yeh right!) Tom Hicks and George Gillett understood to be close friends with Herr Klinsmann, maybe there's a chance that if Rafa does express an interest in Podolski they could help broker a deal. But maybe this time they could talk to Rafa before making contact with the German...

Can Rafa Bring Us The Title Next Season?

Rafa Benitez has revealed that winning the Premiership title with Liverpool would be his greatest achievement as a football manager.

Speaking to the club website, Benitez admitted that despite winning two La Liga titles during his time at Valencia and the Champions League in his first season at Anfield, winning the league in England is a bigger and more difficult challenge than any other.

He said: "Winning the title would be the biggest achievement of my career. It's more difficult than in Spain because teams here spend big money.

"We will do our best. The key is not to talk about winning the title but to talk about doing a good job so we can be close, so we can be contenders. If we are close I think that we can win the title."

"The key is to sign the right players with the right mentality - a winning mentality - competitive players, players who are desperate to come here to win something.

"That is the key for me. We have been analysing a lot of things this summer. For example, we were conceding a lot of goals last season from set pieces. We need to know why because the previous season we only conceded six, but this year it has been 16. We need to know why so we can improve in these areas, but keep the team scoring goals in open play.

"We have been really good in defence for three or four years but we need to improve a little bit if we want to be in contention."

But what do you think? Can next season be the year that the title finally comes back to Merseyside after almost two decades of watching the Mancs and the capital clubs' hauding domestic glory?

Barry: It's Time For Me To Move On


Gareth Barry remains desperate to join Liverpool and has blasted Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill for making no effort to persuade him to stay.

The England midfielder has made no secret of his desire for the regular Champions League football on offer at Anfield.

But despite his pleas to the Villa hierarchy to allow him to leave, the Midlanders have remained entrenched and rejected a reported £15million bid from the Reds earlier this month.

Barry told the News of the World: "My mind's made up, I want to join Liverpool.

"There's no going back, it's time for me to move on. I'm desperate to play Champions League football and that's why I have to leave Villa."

O'Neill has been openly critical of Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez over his pursuit of the Villa skipper.

But despite O'Neill's public posturing, a scornful Barry insists nothing has been done to get him to remain at Villa Park.

"Villa kept saying they wanted me to stay but I have not heard from the manager for weeks," he claimed.

"It's seven weeks now since the season finished but while the gaffer's found time to be a pundit for the BBC at Euro 2008, he hasn't found the time to speak to me.

"Have Villa offered me anything to try to persuade me my future is at Villa Park, not Anfield? Not a thing."

Benitez: Title Would Be Ultimate Achievement

Manager Rafael Benitez claims that winning the Premier League title with Liverpool would be the biggest achievement of his career.

Benitez, who won the Spanish League title twice with Valencia, says the spending power of their rivals makes it difficult but feels his side can improve on last season's fourth place finish.

"Winning the title would be the biggest achievement of my career. It's more difficult than in Spain because teams here spend big money," said Benitez.

Last season the Reds once again prospered in Europe but failed to stay in contention for the league past Christmas.

Next year Benitez is sure that if they can be in touch with the leaders towards the end of the season they can achieve their dream of capturing the title for the first time since 1990.

He said: "We will do our best. The key for me is not to talk about winning the title but to talk about doing a good job so we can be close, so we can be contenders. If we are close I think that we can win the title."

The Spaniard wants to add some more members to his playing squad but claims the mentality of the player is just as important as his skill level and ability.

He explained: "The key, though, is to sign the right players with the right mentality – a winning mentality – competitive players, players who are desperate to come here to win something."

The Reds manager added that he was keen to minimize the number of goals the team concedes from set pieces next term after allowing 16 last season.