FEBRUARY 3
Milan Jovanovic agrees
pre-contract deal with Liverpool

By Andy Hunter - guardian.co.uk

Liverpool have agreed a pre-contract deal with Milan Jovanovic after convincing the Standard Liège striker he will be given the opportunity to impress at Anfield next season.

The Serbia international, 28, is out of contract at the end of the season and is understood to have accepted a three-year deal with Liverpool, having initially harboured reservations that he would become part of the supporting cast for Fernando Torres should he move to Merseyside.

Rafael Benítez had hoped to sign a new striker during the recent transfer window but the agreement for Jovanovic, who is expected to earn around £10m over the course of his Anfield contract, will encourage the Liverpool manager that he retains the support of the club's board for long-term planning despite a poor season on the pitch.

JANUARY 13
Rafa's delight at Maxi deal

By James Carroll - LFC Official Website

Rafael Benitez is confident new signing Maxi Rodriguez has all the necessary attributes to become a success in the Barclays Premier League.

The 29-year-old became Liverpool's first acquisition of the January transfer window when he put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half year deal at Anfield on Wednesday.

And Benitez believes the former Atletico Madrid ace will prove to be a fine addition to his Reds squad.

"We were looking for players with character and a good mentality," the boss told Liverpoolfc.tv. "He has played for Argentina and Atletico Madrid and is a player with personality.

"He can play in three positions - on the right, left or as a second striker - and is someone with a very positive mentality, which is what we are looking for.

"He is comfortable on the ball, can pass and keep possession. He is good at getting into the box and scoring goals and a good finisher. Every year he gets five to 15 goals from the right side of midfield.

"I know he was not doing as well as he did in the past at Atletico Madrid, but he is doing really well with Argentina and wants to impress for the World Cup."

Rodriguez has been greeted by a couple of familiar faces at Melwood in the form of Argentina captain Javier Mascherano and Fernando Torres, whom he played alongside for two seasons at Atletico before El Nino moved to Anfield.

Benitez feels the duo will help their new teammate adapt to the demands of Barclays Premier League football, and reckons the pair will in turn be lifted by the deal.

"He knows Mascherano and Torres and he can provide a lift for some players," said the Spaniard.

"I think he will adapt to English football because he is a clever player and takes up good positions on the pitch.

"It is a question of adjusting to the pace of the game and he will need some time, but with these players around it will be easier for him."

The arrival of Rodriguez significantly bolsters Benitez's options in the wide-areas - and the manager is adamant this will be beneficial to Liverpool's form over the second half of the campaign.

"Rodriguez will be a different kind of player for us and also competition for Kuyt on the right side, along with Nabil El Zhar and Yossi Benayoun," he said.

"He will give us the opportunity to manage some of the other players and rest them if necessary to keep the level of the team."

Benitez added: "I have been talking with him and he is really pleased and ready to come here. I have told him what we are expecting from him and he is ready for the challenge."

JANUARY 13
In profile: Our new no. 17

By Paul Hassall - LFC Official Website

Liverpool today announced the acquisition of Maxi Rodriguez from Atletico Madrid. Here's the lowdown on our
new number 17.

A talented winger with an eye for goal, Maxi is the Reds' first signing of the January transfer window.

The Argentina international can play on either flank and has also been known to feature in an attacking midfield role.

Nicknamed La Fiera, he first came to prominence with Newell's Old Boys and enjoyed three seasons with Los Leprosos after rising through their youth system.

His superb technique had him earmarked for a move to Europe at an early stage and in 2001 he signed for Spanish Second Division side Real Oviedo on a six month loan deal.

He made just one appearance for the Carbayones but earned a permanent move to La Liga outfit RCD Espanyol after top scoring for Argentina's under-20 side as they secured the FIFA World Youth Championship on home soil.

During three seasons in Catalonia he scored 26 goals in 110 matches and also made his full international debut in a friendly match against Japan in 2003.

At the start of the 2005-06 season he made a big money move to Atletico before making a significant impact on his country's World Cup campaign in Germany.

A brace in a 6-0 rout of Serbia and Montenegro was followed by a stunning extra-time winner against Mexico in the last 16. Argentina were eliminated by the hosts in the next round, but when the competition was over, a poll conducted by FIFA saw the left-footed strike crowned as the best goal of the tournament.

The winger's impressive showing on the world stage meant much was expected of him when he returned to Atletico, but an injury picked up during Argentina's friendly with Spain in October 2006, reduced him to just 10 first-team appearances that season.

He hit top form again in 07-08, helping Atletico to fourth place in La Liga, thus securing Champions League football for the first time in seven seasons.

The Spanish outfit were named in the same group as Liverpool on their return to Europe's premier competition and it was Maxi who scored the opener in his side's 1-1 draw at Anfield. They would go on to reach the last 16 of the competition and would once again take fourth place in La Liga.

Maxi's contribution to Los colchoneros' success was significant, but despite featuring in Atletico's 2-1 win over the Reds in a pre-season friendly during the summer of 2009, it was clear he needed a new challenge and will now face that as part of Rafael Benitez's Liverpool side.

JANUARY 13
Purslow: We won’t be
selling Gerrard or Torres

This is Anfield

Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow has dismissed weekend reports that suggested star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard may be sold this summer.

Speaking to the Liverpool ECHO Purslow said “The idea that we would ever wish to sell our top players is completely against the interests of this club.”

Purslow also discussed the club’s existing debts, explaining that they currently total £237m – not the over-exaggerated amounts the national media often claim, and that new investment into the club should be expected within the next few months, in order to reduce the level of debt and kickstart the new stadium project.

“Provided all goes well, there is a serious possibility of new fresh investment into Liverpool Football Club within the foreseeable future.”

He continued “There are no guarantees – we are operating in an environment where, as everybody knows outside football and in football, it hasn’t been the most active investment market for the last 18 months. But largely because of the quality of Liverpool Football Club, both as a club and as a business, we haven’t had problems in attracting interest.

“However, the devil is always in the detail and in coming months our job is to get somebody over the line that makes sense for all concerned.

“That could be part ownership or it could be complete ownership.”

Fresh investment should mean the new stadium becomes a reality, at last, “Slowly but surely on the strategic side, we are making progress towards finding new investment which is the key to unlocking a new stadium. And that stadium is the single event that will transform the financial prospects of Liverpool.”

Explaining that, “New investment in the next couple of months which reduces our existing debt to a very low level, to enable us then to push on with discussions with banks about financing the stadium.

“It’s that stadium which holds the key to us transforming our fortunes both economically and in football terms.

Speaking about the January transfer window, Purslow said:

“The position is that January in general is not a high priority time for Rafa in terms of player acquisitions. That is largely because of the lack of availability of top quality players.”

“Our plan – and what we are working on – is to try and improve the team; not to be so stupid as to reduce the quality of our squad.

“The suggestion in any way that we would sell players in order to pay down debt or pay money to our owners is preposterous. Neither is true. Neither is possible.

“Any proceeds we generate from the sale of players can only go into our player account for the recruitment of new players.”

JANUARY 9
Benitez should not have
to manage Liverpool FC's debt

Comment by Dominic KIng - Liverpool Echo

Ryan Babel has found his name the subject of debate on numerous occasions this season and that was again the case in the opening week of the new year.

This time, though, rather than sparking chatter about why he can look a world beater one moment but a bungling novice the next, the interest Birmingham City showed in Babel opened a completely different can of worms.

When news emerged that Birmingham, flush with cash following Carson Yeung’s takeover, wanted to make a marquee signing and felt they could do so with a £9m bid for Babel, the vast majority of Liverpool supporters immediately thought: “take it.”

After all, the Holland forward has flattered to deceive more times than many would care to mention, the fee looked enticing and represented a reasonable return on Liverpool’s initial outlay to Ajax in the summer of 2007.

Liverpool, however, had other ideas. Their valuation of Babel – who, remember, is still a current international, only just turned 23 and capable of producing extravagant moments of skill – is closer to £12m; they have no intentions of selling on the cheap.

On the surface, that is a totally plausible argument; good businesses do not sell commodities for prices lower than they have in mind and, furthermore, why would Babel be offloaded to a place where he could come back to haunt the Reds?

But scratch beneath the surface and there is another reason Rafa Benitez was anything but interested in talking terms with Alex McLeish, one that has set the alarms bells ringing loudly on the Kop and beyond.

While Liverpool are crying out for investment in their playing staff, had they cashed in on Babel, Benitez’s best hopes of spending a figure in excess of £9m this month would be to invest in a lottery ticket and hope all six numbers come up.

In the others words, the money would have been swallowed up to help finance the £240m debt the club is trying to manage; club insiders insist that is not the case and the deficit is manageable but critics of Tom Hicks and George Gillett will beg to differ.

True, it’s worth remembering the January window is capricious and top quality players – the type who would provide an injection of star quality Liverpool require – are not freely available; if they are, invariably clubs will have to pay over the odds.

Still it is hugely disappointing, to put it mildly, that Benitez will be limited to bringing just Maxi Rodriguez in for £1.5m when he also desperately needs experienced cover at right-back for the stricken Glen Johnson.

If he is unable to bring in a specialist for that area – and it is looking all the more likely – it will be hard to escape the feeling that Liverpool’s main aim for the next few years will be debt reduction rather than trophy gathering.

Something desperately needs to change; while many see a new stadium or a redeveloped Anfield being key to transforming Liverpool’s financial fortunes, isn’t there a case to be made for investing in the one facet that should always take priority – the team?

Just say the Reds miss out on qualifying for the Champions League this season and, heaven forbid, some of the star players are sold to make up the shortfall in revenue they would normally receive from rubbing shoulders with the best in Europe.

Slowly but surely, Liverpool would find it harder and harder to keep pace with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs, to the point where European football might slip off the landscape completely.

What would the point be in having a sparkling new stadium, then, if the standard of football on offer was way below what has become the norm during the past six years and the big names were out of reach?

The next five months will go a long way to shaping Liverpool’s future and if Benitez feels it is best to hang on to Babel, who might just turn a couple of games with the kind of moments he produced against Lyon and West Ham, then the decision not to sell is right.

Yet what is not right is the fact a club with the Liverpool’s history and pedigree is being forced to rummage around for bargains with nothing other than loose change; expectation and realisation, sadly, do not go hand in hand.

Dossena doesn’t deserve derision

Andrea Dossena’s £4.4m move to Napoli was under threat earlier this week when bad weather left him stranded at John Lennon Airport.

Within 10 minutes, though, 40,000 Liverpudlians arrived en masse to help clear the runway to make sure the deal went through. Boom, boom!

Okay, it’s a decidedly corny joke and, quite possibly, the cruellest we have heard for some time at the expense of a Liverpool player.

Few tears will have been shed, however, now that Dossena has gone back to Italy and brought the curtain down on a difficult 18-month spell on Merseyside.

But, when you think of some of the players who have had the privilege of pulling on a Red shirt in the last 15 years, does he really deserve to have such derision heaped on him?

The answer, quite simply, is no; Dossena, simply, was more suited to European football than the hurly burly of the Premier League, as shown in contrasting performances against Fiorentina and Portsmouth last month.

And, whatever his faults, it should be remembered that he made significant contributions to last season’s stand-out wins against Real Madrid and Manchester United – not too many duds could say that.

Thor Zakariassen ©