DECEMBER 20
We won't repeat mistakes of 2002

By Chris Bascombe - Liverpool Echo

Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry today admitted the club must learn from the mistakes of 2002 when the Reds go New Year shopping this January.

Parry compares the current situation at Anfield to that three years ago, when the Reds built a foundation for sustained success, only to see it rapidly disintegrate.

The failure of £20m worth of signings in the notorious summer of 2002 ultimately led to the downfall of the last regime.

Although Rafa Benitez has taken Liverpool into a menacing position much swifter than anticipated, the similarities will be evident when he goes recruiting in January.

Top class purchases may sustain a Premiership challenge, but failure to sign the right players could bring the steady improvement to a halt.

"I've been optimistic about our future before, but not more optimistic than now," admitted Parry today.

"In 2002 it was also looking good. Just like then, the foundations are there for us and now it's about kicking on and taking the next step. We've just got to keep on doing what we're doing, keep on improving and make sure the players we acquire are of the right quality. That's the key. Not to buy the wrong players and make rushed decisions.

"A lot of doubts about the team which were expressed around September and October were misplaced, although just as we said you don't hand out trophies in October, you don't hand them out in January either."

Although Liverpool returned from Japan last night with glum faces after their loss in the World Club Championships, Parry believes the pain of defeat can also have a galvanising impact.

"The disappointment of defeat to Chelsea in the Carling Cup final was the motivation for us to kick on last season. That's the way to look at it," he said.

"We're already thinking of doing what we can to return to Japan next year. You have to take a lot of pride out of the performance of the boys. Sometimes it makes it harder to bear when you're the better team."

Parry also dismissed claims defeat to Sao Paulo ultimately made it a worthless trip.

"You can't say it was only worth going to Japan if we'd won. It was worth going because we wanted to win," he said.

"We'll just have to go back and win next year. We were very professional in our preparation and that was vindicated in the way we performed. Sometimes you have games like the final when you're just not going to score."

Liverpool must now focus on the challenge of forcing themselves back into the title race, where they're currently trailing Chelsea by a formidable 15 points.

The Reds chief is remaining tight-lipped on the club's next moves off the pitch, although somewhat tantalisingly he did hint at imminent progress by adding: "I'm expecting a busy Christmas, one way or the other."

DECEMBER 20
Benítez has £10m to complete
Liverpool jigsaw in January sales

By Dominic Fifield - The Guardian

Rafael Benítez intends to use the January transfer window to strengthen his Liverpool side and will have £10m to spend as he looks for those elusive pieces he believes will complete his jigsaw.

Though Chelsea appear to have disappeared over the horizon at the top of the Premiership, he is keen to keep up the chase and at least secure a Champions League place for next season.

"We want to be busy next month and, always, signings are important. But now we are in a good position it will be even more so," he said.

"It won't just be about the money, either. I always say it's like having a table with three legs and you need to get one more which will fit properly. You want a certain size, the right size, but people may be saying: 'Have this one, it's cheaper and it's better at this or that.' But what use is that if it doesn't fit? You have to make sure you get the right one. It is the same in football - if you want to build a team, you have got to bring players who fit in.

"But I knew Pepe [Reina] who is very positive, and Momo [Sissoko] who is a good worker. Bolo [Zenden] had the experience of playing here already and was a good option for us, and [Peter] Crouch is English and we'd been talking about him for months before the end of last season. In this case we have done it with four players, but we want more."

Liverpool have been here before. In 2002, having finished second in the table and carried their first Champions League campaign through to the quarter-finals, Gérard Houllier spent almost £20m on El Hadji Diouf, Salif Diao and Bruno Cheyrou, players he hoped would establish the club at a higher level. Yet the trio failed miserably to make their mark and Houllier never recovered from that wasted summer of lavish expense.

Benítez's £10m is modest in comparison but represents a hefty sum given the club's inability to attract new investment in the past two years. Failure again could be catastrophic.

"It is always difficult to sign players in January because the best are playing in good teams already, which makes it harder mid-season, but then after the World Cup prices go up if they have had a good tournament," added Benítez.

"At the moment the team trusts each other. When you build a team and change players, but they keep winning, they all have more confidence in their team-mates. That makes it easier to build things long-term. I have got it right a lot of times over my career, but also made a lot of mistakes." The Spaniard can ill afford to make another next month.

Apart from choosing the right players it will also be a test of Benítez's bargaining skills. He has already been told that one of his targets, the Benfica winger Simao Sabrosa, will cost £12.2m, more than his entire budget. The Portuguese player almost moved to Anfield in the summer and has been widely tipped to join them in the new year.

Benfica's president Luis Felipe Vieira, however, has warned Liverpool they will not get the 26-year-old on the cheap. Any deal has also been complicated by the fact the two clubs have been drawn against each other in the Champions League. "It is not in our thoughts to sell Simao or any other player in January," said Vieira. "We would only be ready to study the matter if somone offered more than [£12.2m]."

Second-string Reds keeper Jerzy Dudek has been linked with a move in the opposite direction and his transfer fee could help bring down the cost of Simao. But Vieira insists that any deal for the Poland international would be dealt with separately and would be up to the manager Ronald Koeman and his staff. "Dudek is a question for the coaches, but him and Simao are independent matters."

NOVEMBER 18
Reds boss' green light to buy

By Chris Bascombe - Liverpool Echo

Rafa Benitez has been reassured significant funds will be available to strengthen his squad this January, despite Liverpool's ongoing search for investment.

Liverpool's need for additional finances has been widely publicised, but that won't deter the club from making necessary additions when the transfer window opens.

And Benitez insists Champions League eligibility won't be a factor when determining the players he wants to sign.

Benitez said today: "The board has told me they know we must try to improve the squad and sign more players and it's good we are all thinking the same way.

"We are going to move forward because we want to win trophies. I'm happy with the scouting department and we are thinking about the right players to sign, not how much they will cost.

"We have a lot of confidence we will bring in the players good enough for us."

Signing players in January is notoriously more difficult, and the fact many of the most attractive recruits are cup-tied can also be a factor.

But Benitez says the Premiership, not Europe, will be his main concern.

He explained: "We need players to improve the team. If a centre-half can't play in the Champions League, okay, we have Sami and Carra.

"You never know how many games we have left in Europe. If we can't use a new player for two, four, six, or even eight games, that's a nice problem for me because it means we're in the final again.

"We know we have to make the Premiership the priority and not think about other things."

NOVEMBER 10
Benfica set Simao price

By Mark Buckingham - Sky Sports

Benfica are ready to sell Simao Sabrosa to Liverpool, providing the European champions meet their asking price.

Liverpool tried to land the Portugal international over the summer and appeared to have struck a deal with Benfica.

A fee of £10 million had purportedly been agreed before Benfica pulled the plug on the transfer, just before the close of the transfer window.

The Reds remain on Simao's trail, with manager Rafa Benitez still striving to bring in a player to feature on the right wing.

Reds chief executive Rick Parry admitted after Simao had played against Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League that a new bid could be in the pipeline in January.

Parry is likely to glean encouragement from Benfica's latest stance, which suggests they have set a fee for Simao.

Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira confirmed that he will not block Simao's exit, on the proviso his demands are met.

Vieira told Record: "Some day, Benfica will have to say farewell to Simao.

"We have a gentleman's agreement."

It is understood that Benfica are now willing to accept €18 million (£12 million) for the winger and that could be within Liverpool's reach.

The Portuguese giants are happy to settle for that amount, as it will give them a profit on the €12 million (£8 million) they paid Barcelona four years ago.

NOVEMBER 10
Benitez keen to sign the right players

Kop Talk

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says he isn't prepared to break the bank recruiting young talent with the wrong mentality.

Even if the board gave him an open cheque book to sign who he wanted, when he wanted, he insists that kind of approach is the wrong one because he only wants players with the right attitude at the club.

Rafa said: "You can be surprised when you speak about a young player how much an agent talks about money. It's unbelievable.

"We have been talking to a lot of young players. You can talk to them for the first time and be quoted £1m. The second time you go back, people start talking about £5m. You know at that moment, the player isn't the kind of person you should sign. If people are talking about money at a young age, they don't have the right motivation.

"With the best players, it's not about money. Some agents we have spoken to about players have told us their player would rather not go to Chelsea, but would prefer to join another club.

"Scott Carson is a good example, as both Liverpool and Chelsea were interested, but he chose Liverpool."

Rafa's comments would be welcomed by former boss Bill Shankly. He once asked a player if he'd like to play for Liverpool Football Club only for the young lad to say he'd ask his agent and get back to him. We're unable to publish what Shanks said next but put it this way, our interest in the target ended there and then and rightly so.

OCTOBER 28
Boss: We'll definitely buy in January

By Paul Eaton - LFC Official Website

Rafael Benitez has promised Liverpool will succeed in January where they failed in the summer by adding a right winger and central defender to their squad.

The Liverpool boss remains delighted with the four players he did manage to sign before the transfer window closed, but he admits the failure to land at least two more players has cost the club so far this season.

"In some positions, we don't have enough players," said Benitez today. "You can't change things that happened in the summer now, but we can put it right in January. We know we need to think about the future.

"When you've missed a player you need in the summer, you must make sure you fill the position in January. Our scout department is working hard to find at least the two players we need, a right midfielder and centre-back.

"I'm confident we will sign the players we want in January because Liverpool are an attractive club to top players.

"If it's possible to sign more than two players, I will. I still hope Mark Gonzalez will be able to join us in January.

"The four players we signed in the summer give us more quality. We have done some good things, but we know we needed to do more. We've made two mistakes by not signing a right midfielder and a centre-back, but we got four things right with the players we brought in.

"We have a better squad than last year, but I think recent results show we don't have the balance.

"In some positions we know we need to do something for the future. We are preparing now for the transfer window.

"We tried hard to sign players for the right side and centre-backs, but when you try for one month for one player and then he says no, as in the case of Luis Figo, you have less time to go for the next name on your list. If that player isn't sure if he wants to join you either, you move to the next. You have a responsibility not to spend more than the player is worth.

"We had a lot of names in the summer, but they all proved difficult. I'm confident it will be different in January."

OCTOBER 21
Why Liverpool have a good deal

By Tim Vickery- BBC Sport in South America

In waiting for Mark Gonzalez to recover from a serious knee injury and overcome work permit problems Liverpool have shown great faith in their new signing.

The young Chilean can fill any position down the left flank, from full-back to winger, though his gifts are best suited to an attacking midfield role.

He has an electric burst of pace and an excellent left foot, which means he is very effective on the counter-attack.

It is no coincidence his best games for Chile have come away from home.

With the opposition pushing forward, Gonzalez has exposed them on the break.

He is well capable of getting on the scoresheet, as shown by his record of three goals in 13 caps.

Despite a slight frame he can generate plenty of power to shoot from long range.

He is a threat from free-kicks, and is also adept at arriving at the far post to turn in crosses from the right.

Gonzalez was pitched into the highly competitive atmosphere of South America's World Cup qualifiers when he had only just turned 19.

He proved he could cope, and since then only injury has kept him out of the team. Only a harsh ruling, then, would deny him a work permit for his move to Liverpool.

Chilean players have a reputation for travelling badly.

Gonzalez, though, has already shown that he can adapt to European football.

His club, Albacete, may have been relegated from the Primera Liga, but he came out of the campaign with considerable credit.

Fitting into the Premiership is, of course, a more difficult task.

There is a more physical type of game to get used to, and, of course, the extra pressures that come with playing for a club that is chasing titles.

Everything Mark Gonzalez has done so far would seem to indicate that he is up to the challenge.

OCTOBER 14
Blues still in Rafa's sights

TEAMtalk

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has put into perspective the severe problems created by trying to chase Premiership champions Chelsea.

It is five months since the euphoria of Istanbul when Benitez guided his side to Champions League glory, but their domestic campaign has started with just seven points from six games.

The European Cup sits, permanently now, in Liverpool's trophy cabinet but the Premiership crown they want above all others is still far away.

Two games in five days on the domestic and Champions League front could well define Liverpool's season as they return to action against Blackburn at Anfield.

They then face a vital European trip to Brussels on Wednesday and a Group G clash with Anderlecht.

Both will have to be played without injured skipper Steven Gerrard - recovering from a shin muscle injury while on England duty - and both surely have to be won to lift the Anfield gloom following the mauling Chelsea gave them a fortnight ago.

But boss Benitez remains defiantly upbeat, although he is honest enough to accept that just one win all season in the league is not good enough for Liverpool.

"Nobody in England before has had to play against a side which spends £100m every year on players," he said. "But I'm not afraid of them. I know we can achieve everything we want at Liverpool.

"I know we need to reduce the gap, but we played well against Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Manchester United and could have won those games. I feel we are at the same level as Manchester United now.

"I know we have a good team and a good squad, but I also know that we must improve and that's what we're continuing to work towards. I believe we should look to the future with confidence.

"The Chelsea game is gone now. When you can't change anything, all you can do is forget about it, analyse why it happened and make the necessary changes to ensure it doesn't happen again in the future."

But he accepts improvements have to be made, adding: "We need to learn from the mistakes and put it right. Arsenal and Manchester United will also be thinking the same. Over nine months of a season a side can beat anyone.

"It's true this year Chelsea have started well, but it's dangerous to think too much about what they do. We must concentrate on our own club, nothing else.

"I know we have a good team and a good squad, but I also know that we must improve and that's what we're continuing to work towards. I believe we should look to the future with confidence."

Thor Zakariassen ©