Bleacher Report - Liverpool

The Battle For Fourth Place?

Kieran Beckles — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:15:35 -0500

Six-hour flights to Doha, 15,000 riot police marshaling stadia, and the hand of Henry sending the Irish dancing back to Dublin were just some of the main talking points of a frenetic and controversial, international break.

Football players and fans will be thankful to return to the normality of domestic football.

The most intriguing clash of the weekend undoubtedly will be at Anfield, where fifth meets sixth as Liverpool look to leapfrog Manchester City and move into fourth—if only temporarily.

It has been described as the "battle for fourth place;" a title which would presumably irk Rafa Benitez after the Reds came so close to winning an elusive Premier League title last campaign, but have stumbled over most hurdles this season.

Indeed, in their current plight, securing the final Champions League spot is a more realistic target than knocking Sir Alex Ferguson of his lofty perch.

Mark Hughes will be desperate to halt City’s current, cumbersome sequence of stalemates. After enjoying a successful start to the season, City have stalled in recent weeks, culminating in a frustrating 3-3 draw with Burnley at the Eastlands.

The trip to Liverpool provides the likes of Adebayor and Tevez with an ideal opportunity to cement the European ambitions of their employers.

Benitez has struggled to come to terms with a lengthy list of casualties in recent weeks, but he expects to have some of his big guns returning for this crucial league game. Steven Gerrard is fresh and raring to go, which will provide the manager, the players, and fans with renewed optimism as the club look to resurrect their season.

Questions will be rightly raised over the fitness of some of Manchester City’s players. Barry, Bridge, Lescott, and Wright-Phillips made the 10,000-mile round trip to Doha and played in England’s defeat to Brazil. Liverpool will be looking to capitalize on any fatigue shown.

Mark Hughes has plenty of depth to choose from should he opt to rest these key players, but he will want his strongest unit present to defeat an out-of-sorts Anfield outfit.

The tenacious Gareth Barry will be looking to flaunt his unquestionable talent in front of the Kop, reminding the Reds what could have been.

He’ll need to pass a fitness test on a troublesome groin.

The smart money will be placed on the home side. Liverpool perform best under pressure and Benitez will hope to replicate their outstanding performance against United a few weeks back.

Ultimately, Hughes would be content to settle for a sixth consecutive draw, but Benitez will recognize that, after a less than satisfactory result against Birmingham a fortnight ago, a win is imperative.

The Spaniard said: “Maybe we can start the season right now. Winning against City will boost everyone and if that happens I am sure we will see the best of the team.”

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Rafael Benitez: One Week to Define an Era

Adamo Digby — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:09:30 -0500

It is only November, and yet for one of England's biggest clubs, the season could end this week.

It has been a nightmare start for Liverpool and their manager, Rafael Benitez, and it could be about to get much worse. Adamo Digby takes a look at eight days that may well decide how his tenure at Anfield is remembered.

Before we look forward let's go back to the start. Back to June 2004. Liverpool had just finished a distant fourth in the league, 15 points behind third place, and a staggering 30 behind eventual—and unbeaten—Arsenal.

In stepped former Valencia manager, Rafael Benitez, fresh from winning La Liga and the UEFA Cup. He was charged with turning around Liverpool's fortunes, and bringing glory back to Liverpool. He sold off a number of well-liked, local players in Owen and Danny Murphy, replacing them with relative unknowns such as Xavi Alonso and Luis Garcia.

Then, to widespread astonishment, he led the Anfield club to their fifth European Cup, beating Juventus, Chelsea, and Milan along the way. This left him untouchable to many of the clubs fans, willing to forgive many errors along the way. He had finally given the Kop something new to taunt their rivals with, after suffering, by Liverpool standards, a barren decade and a half.

Then another new start came in February 2007, when Hicks and Gillet took over the club ownership, promising a new stadium and funds for the best players. They seemed to be the ideal for Benitez; finally he could lead Liverpool to a long-awaited league title.

It proved to be a false dawn however, the ground remains merely a dream, while the transfer funds have plunged the club into terrible debt. The owners failed to back the manager when he requested players such as Gareth Barry, then appeared to sign Robbie Keane behind his back.

The club became a mess, in-fighting, players openly expressing their desire to leave, yet Benitez continued to work near miracles on the field. Liverpool had their best ever Premiership season last year, yet still finished four points behind the champions, Manchester United.

This summer Liverpool lost Alonso to Madrid, but picked up Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani. Perhaps this would be their year. Perhaps now, Benitez could lead them to glory instead of more heartache for the fans, more misery on the field, more ammunition for those who believe Benitez to be less than advertised.

Already they have suffered defeat to Fulham, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Sunderland in the league, and lie seventh, eleven points behind the leaders. They crashed out of the Carling Cup to Arsenal. It has been no better in the Champions League, with losses to Lyons and Fiorentina.

This week, then, seems pivotal for both club and manager, with three games . It begins on Saturday as Manchester City visits Anfield. Defeat here would make a top four finish difficult. Not only would it leave them even further behind, but as City looks to replace one of the established "Big Four," defeat to them at home could spell disaster.

Then comes a Champions League night no Liverpool fan can be looking forward to.

Liverpool travel to Debrecen on Tuesday night, knowing that even a win might not be enough. If Fiorentina can beat Lyons at home, then the Reds go out of the Champions League at the first hurdle. Given the financial state of the club this will be yet more bad news for everyone connected to the club.

The last game of the three comes next Sunday at Goodison Park, for the Merseyside derby with Everton. By then, this game may be all Liverpool has to play for this season—pride and local bragging rights. That doesn't fill the trophy cabinet or satisfy supporters of a club like this.

A week to save the season then, and with it, perhaps, one man's job—maybe even his legacy.

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Liverpool v Manchester City Online Preview: Premier League Football

Sports Betting Review — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:07:50 -0500

Liverpool vs. Manchester City

21st November, 2009

Anfield

Kick-Off: 12:45 GMT

Liverpool

The international break could not have come at a better time for Liverpool, who will have had time to regain their thoughts and focus for Saturday's Liverpool vs Man City matchup.

Rafa Benitez' men are in desperate need of a win, as the club have won only one of their previous five Premier League matches.

Unfortunately for Liverpool, injuries have cast a dark shadow over the squad as of late.

The injuries to stars Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres were, for obvious reasons, huge blows to Liverpool, but the team has failed to step up their game in the absence of their leaders.

The fact that Liverpool currently sits seventh in the league on only 19 points from 12 games is a bit shocking. And in wake of their failures, Benitez has been on thin ice in the media.

This Liverpool vs. Manchester City clash will not make things easier for the side, as they will be facing a team who is undoubtedly looking to break into the top four and oust the Reds from their formerly comfortable position.

Liverpool's most recent 2-2 draw with Birmingham at Anfield was only the latest in a long run of poor performances. And, if Liverpool doesn't right the ship sooner, rather than later, Benitez could very well be out the door, as could Liverpool's future Champions League aspirations.

Manchester City

Manchester City have generally done well through the first three months of the season.

Mark Hughes' side currently find themselves one position ahead of Liverpool in the table, in sixth. The Blues have gathered 20 points for their efforts this season, but have a game in hand over Liverpool.

Still, the fine position Man City find themselves in has been no indication of the way the club has been performing recently, as they, too, will have enjoyed the break.

After storming out to an inspired start, City have now drawn all of their last five Premier League matches, the latest of which came in a 3-3 draw against Burnley.

Man City was the better side, but were down 2-0 just after the half hour mark. The match swung wildly following Burnley's second goal, and City hammered three consecutive goals past Brian Jensen to take a 3-2 lead.

Then, with only three minutes remaining, substitute Kevin McDonald levelled things up for the visitors.

For a team that holds such high aspirations as Manchester City now does, draws against weaker sides simply cannot be an option on a regular basis if the side is to challenge the Big Four at the top of the table.

Prediction

With a run of mediocre results behind them, Man City will certainly be hoping for three points at Anfield on Saturday.

The Citizens managed a draw in last season's Liverpool vs. Man City fixture at Anfield, but lost the Man City vs Liverpool match at the City of Manchester Stadium by a scoreline of 3-2.

Both Liverpool and Manchester City will be eager for a result in this fixture, for similar reasons.

But. Liverpool should be the hungrier of the two sides, and with captain Steven Gerrard set to make his return from injury for the match, the Reds would have to appear to be the more likely of the sides to take a result away on Saturday.

Liverpool vs Man City Prediction: Liverpool 2, Man City 0

Get the BEST Liverpool vs Man City Odds and Betting Tips at the Sports Betting Review site now!

Also, read our other weekend previews, including Man Utd vs Everton , Sunderland vs Arsenal , and Chelsea vs Wolves plus three others!

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Rafa Benitez's Bargain Hunting Costing Liverpool Dearly

illya mclellan — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:21:43 -0500

At the close of last season, it was thought that Liverpool were finally going to end the run which has seen them not lift the league trophy since the managerial tenure of Anfield legend Kenny Dalglish.

Now, a mere 12 games into the new season, they seem to be out of the title race. Not only this, but Europe is looking grim as well.

For Liverpool fans across the globe, this has come as a shock and has brought them back to earth to face the grim reality that the cost cutting measures of the financial crisis has meant that the club entered the new season under-prepared, unready and with a squad that is still far too reliant on two key players.

The question here is whether the blame is solely Benitez's or if it is to do with the clubs ownership not being true blue reds.

After all, can the American owners really understand the nature of the passion of Kop end regulars? Or any Liverpool fans for that matter?

It is hard to imagine many of the premier leagues foreign owners really understanding what the game means to the people who flow through the turnstiles to place their hopes and dreams at the feet of their heroes.

So if Benitez was forced to curb spending because of budgetary constraints, it now appears extremely ironic that they are now in danger of slipping out of the lucrative champions league positions which guarantee the club millions in revenue every season.

So in order to cut costs, they went into the new season with a squad that has only two real world class players and a lot that have had the odd good day followed by a few bad ones.

When the only major signing Benitez made in the off-season being the acquisition of the unfortunate Aquilani, who though a very good player, has been hindered terribly in his time in Italy through injury and so far not helped his new club at all to bear the burden of the loss of the Spaniard Alonso.

Perhaps complacency crept in to the Liverpool camp.

After all, last season they should really have won the league at a canter, whereas they instead found themselves in the familiar position of looking up the table at Manchester United.

Four points behind the champions at the close of the season they clearly lost the title because of the sides inability to close out fixtures against mediocre opposition. Drawing 11 games to United's six.

This was clearly the problem that needed to be addressed and it was widely expected that Benitez would go some way toward solving the problem of the teams heavy reliance on Gerrard and Torres with the signing of at least one more world class striker and one more world class midfielder.

World class is not used lightly in this context either, by world class it is meant the players should be able to make a shadow squad for a world 11 or other such all star side.

Instead the cash was spent on an injury prone midfielder who has struggled to play in Italy and now has not appeared yet in the EPL, which by many peoples standards is a much more physically demanding competition than Serie A.

Perhaps Benitez should have taken more time to appeal to his bosses to unlock more funds to his command so that he was able to buy two quality players that could have functioned in the place of the two players that seem to be irreplaceable when they are absent.

Instead, he chose to get Aquilani for under twenty million when he realistically should have been looking at buying two players at a cost of up to £60 million.

While this figure seems high, in comparison with the revenue amounts the club gains from the champions league every year along with advertising and exposure for the club brand through appearances in the champions league it is nothing.

If the players that were purchased would have helped them to reach the last 16 of the CL and kept them in the hunt for the EPL trophy its a good piece of management.

Now it seems that bargain hunting has cost Liverpool millions, may cost Benitez his job and maybe even herald danger that Liverpool could slip out of the top four and maybe even creaked the hinge on the door to mid table mediocrity.

The bargain hunting nature of the football manager is always lauded as a great gift,where in actuality most managers at successful clubs have to part with large amounts of cash in order to guarantee the continuation of that success.

Liverpool have to salvage their season from here on in and the January transfer window will need to be utilised in order to shore up the team.

Astonishingly two players that perhaps could have been ideal for the positions that Liverpool needed to fill and find adequate cover for, have been languishing out of the squad at Lazio. Goran Pandev and Cristian Ledesma are both out of favor with the ownership of the Italian side because both are eager to move on to greener pastures.

Perhaps Benitez needs to forget about bargains and just splash the cash so that Liverpool do not fall too far behind the clubs they have tried so hard to dethrone in the last few seasons.

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Liverpool V Man City: Rafa's Reds Must Slam Top Four Door in City's Face

Sam Dalton — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:47:41 -0500

After embarking on a miserable run of only one win in nine, after conceding goals left, right and centre to the likes of Birmingham, Sunderland, and Fulham, and after showing such desperation in matches that a player has needed to dive to rescue a point against a relegation struggler, Liverpool appear to have left the door open to the VIP party of the Champions League.

Manchester City, Tottenham, and Aston Villa all sense the chance to gatecrash the biggest show in town, all ready to pounce on Liverpool’s failings this season. This weekend offers the perfect chance for Rafa Benitez and his team to slam the door firmly shut in their face.

When Liverpool kick-off against Manchester City on Saturday lunchtime, it will be time for Benitez’s depleted squad to show Robinho and co. that gaining entry to next season’s Uefa showpiece will not be as simple as might currently appear so.

Liverpool look a mid-table side at the moment, shambolic in one box and wasteful in the other, yet once the half of the squad which currently lie on the treatment table have returned to fully-fledged match action, and once the dream team of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are finally firing as a double-act again, Liverpool will begin to look more like title contenders.

Too many points have already been dropped for Benitez’s team to be a genuine title threat to Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal this season, but there is no reason why Liverpool can’t replicate the scintillating form they produced in the last few months of last season.

The squad is almost identical, so why can’t the results be?

Injuries has been the main reason so far, and Man City surely recognise that Liverpool’s challenge for the fourth Champions League spot will intensify dramatically once the club’s medical staff finally get a few days off. Fernando Torres will replace David N’Gog; Alberto Aqualani will replace Lucas; Fabio Aurelio will replace Emiliano Insua and captain fantastic Steven Gerrard will roar back into action in attacking midfield. What a difference.

Once Liverpool’s squad is fully fit and firing, Man City should beware. When Benitez can field his strongest eleven, as he could do in last season’s climax, there are few better teams in Europe.

Liverpool’s manager will have to add strength in depth to his squad so that injuries don’t make so much of an impact in future, but Liverpool’s current squad is still good enough to comfortably secure a Champions League spot, even with the odd injury.

Though Xabi Alonso’s departure to Madrid was clearly a major loss, Liverpool still boast a formidable nucleus.

With Jamie Carragher marshaling the defence, Javier Mascherano roaming deep and biting into tackles, Steven Gerrard raiding forward and scoring goals and Fernando Torres always liable to flash in a lightning finish, on paper Liverpool are supreme.

If that sublime spine can stay fit for the majority of the remainder of the season, and if other important players like Yossi Benayoun, Glen Johnson, and Dirk Kuyt can stay off the treatment table, then Liverpool should coast to fourth place.

If Benitez can get Liverpool playing anywhere near as well as they were in large periods of last season, when they did the double over Chelsea and Manchester United and thrashed Newcastle 5-1, then Liverpool will simply have too much for most teams.

Manchester City, on the other hand, have had an almost full-fit squad so far this season, and have struggled to beat promoted sides like Birmingham and Burnley. In future years, when Mark Hughes adds more quality to his squad, particularly in defence, then Man City may seriously consider themselves a likely top four team.

For now, though, a fully-fit Liverpool will always beat them to the Champions League. As more and more players gradually pick themselves off the treatment table, Rafa Benitez’s side must start to show why they are still one of the best four teams in England—starting on Saturday lunchtime

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Andriy Voronin: Liverpool FC's Invisible Man

Nabeel Khokhar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:59:03 -0500

Rafa Benitez once described Andriy Voronin in the following manner: "He is clever, has great game awareness, and gives us so many options in attack. He can play behind a main striker, lead the line himself, or come into attack from the flanks.”

Is this the same Andriy Voronin that is currently in possession of the No. 10 shirt at Liverpool FC? Surely not!

It was in July 2007 that Benitez presented the Ukrainian Voronin to the public. The pony-tailed Voronin signed a four-year contract after deciding not to extend a successful three-season spell at Bayer Leverkusen, where he scored 32 goals in 92 appearances for the German club.

Voronin came to Liverpool with a reputation of being a technically gifted and talented footballer. Unfortunately, the Liverpool fans have yet to see much of this technical prowess and talent.

Life in the red of Liverpool started brightly for Ukrainian forward, as he scored his first competitive goal in only his second appearance. Voronin then went on to score his first Premier League goal against Sunderland 10 days later and quickly netted again in the next league game against Derby County, propelling Liverpool to the top of the table.

Things seemed to be progressing well and it appeared that the Reds might have found their very own "divine ponytail." But at the turn of the year, the Ukrainian suffered an ankle injury during training that required surgery, thereby halting any real progress that he had made.

After recovering from the injury, Voronin made a few appearances at the end of the season, but did nothing to impress Benitez and it seemed that Voronin’s stay at Liverpool would be short-lived.

However, rather than selling him, Liverpool agreed on a loan with Hertha Berlin, and Voronin again found himself playing in the Bundesliga. Back in Germany, where he had gained prominence, Voronin went about re-establishing himself as a potent striker.

In 20 appearances for the German capital’s top side, he found the back of the net on 11 occasions and became a favourite with the fans in Berlin. Happy to be scoring again on a regular basis, and back in a league that suited him more, Voronin pushed for the loan deal to be formalised into a permanent move.

However, with Hertha strapped for cash and Liverpool looking to make a sufficiently larger profit than they deserved from the deal, no agreement was reached and the Ukrainian was back at Melwood.

Since then, Voronin has slowly started to disappear. Falling further and further down the pecking order, he has found himself becoming Liverpool's invisible man.

When fit, Fernando Torres is Rafa's first choice striker, and with the likes of Ngog, Kuyt, and Babel being preferred over the Ukrainian, Voronin has found his chances few and far between.

Having little or no impact even when used as an impact substitute, his value to the squad has diminished with every performance.

But even when he was given a run of a few games with the first team, his performances left fans wondering if his heart is still in it.

Scoring goals is what Voronin was brought to Liverpool for and a majority of goals by strikers like himself come from strikes inside the penalty area. It is strange then that a lot of the time you find him dropping into midfield when the ball does go into the box, and Voronin is not there as he is either making his way in or staying out.

When a player's confidence is high, he goes looking for the ball and he wants it all the time. When confidence is low, the opposite is true and you don't want the ball. You don't look for it. You are always afraid to make a mistake.

Voronin is woefully low on confidence and when he recently found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat, his finish was that of a player who has lost the belief in his own ability.

What is even more exasperating for fans, is that Voronin seems to have lost any drive, passion, will, and even appetite. There is no fight, nor fire in his belly. It appears that he is simply going through the motions.

Voronin has replaced Lucas as Liverpool's most criticized player. Lucas may not have the ability, but he always shows a fighting spirit and never disappears.

Whereas the Ukrainian obviously had what it took to be a success in the German League, playing for the Liverpool Football Club seems like a step too far. Sadly, Voronin falls short of the quality of player that Liverpool needs in its ranks if it is to be challenging for domestic and European honours.

With the January transfer window approaching, Benitez would do better to accept whatever offers come his way for a player that has fast become Liverpool's invisible man.

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Has Rafael Benitez's Time at Liverpool Been a Failure?

Barney — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:51:47 -0500

The title of this piece may have surprised you.

Sure, Rafael Benitez is going through a bad patch, but how can a man who led Liverpool to fifth place in his first season and had turned that into second place by last season be a failure?

How can a man who won two of the biggest trophies in English football—the Champions League and the FA Cup—in his first two seasons be a failure?

How can a man who, while winning that Champions League, gave Liverpool fans arguably the greatest night in the club's illustrious history be a failure?

Well, in my last article, I looked at Benitez's future at the club and whether he had taken Liverpool as far as he could.

In this article, I will be looking at his Liverpool career so far and whether or not he has been a success at Anfield.

Since Benitez joined in the summer of 2004, he has been the subject of countless column inches and has courted controversy at every corner.

From his decision to let golden boy Michael Owen leave to his dreaded rotation policy, from his epic encounters with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea to his latest duels with Sir Alex Ferguson, including the infamous "fact" rant.

Incidentally, I came across an interesting fact of my own the other day: The first letters of the five teams Liverpool have lost to in the league this season (Fulham, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Sunderland) spell out the word "facts."

Benitez seems to either be a tactical genius, nullifying the effects of some of the world's best players, or a stubborn manager who refuses to change his game plan, whether Liverpool are playing at the Nou Camp or the...err...Sportsdirect.com@St. James' Park.

Quite simply, he has become a man people either seem to love or hate.

Until recently, all Liverpool fans seemed to adore him. After all, he gave us Istanbul.

But now, even some of the Anfield faithful have turned on him, which, for a club with such a rich history of supporting their managers, spells trouble.

Sure, the legendary stadium isn't filled with a constant tirade of abuse, but the trademark "Rafa Rafael, Rafa Rafael, Rafa Rafael, Rafael Benitez" chant is being heard less as each week goes by.

The reason for this? One win in nine matches.

Yes, that run of results is unacceptable for a club of Liverpool's stature, especially when it included the worst run of defeats for more than 20 years, but is it enough to wipe out five years of progression?

Quite simply, no.

Benitez's record at Liverpool, whatever the current state of the club might be, is actually very impressive.

The recent win against Manchester United was Benitez's 200th game in charge of the club.

His record of 114 (57 percent) won is only bettered in the history of Liverpool Football Club by "King" Kenny Dalglish, who won 120.

Which means that Benitez has had a better start than the great Bob Paisley (113 wins), the incomparable Bill Shankly (106 wins), and his predecessor Gerard Houllier (101 wins).

Sure, Shankly may have taken over a club floundering in the second division, but to top Paisley, who inherited Shankly's great team, is some achievement, even if it is just by one game.

Arguments may arise that the league was more competitive in those days, with no "Big Four" and a lot less money, so how does he compare with the longest current serving managers in the league?

Arsene Wenger, the man who transformed Arsenal from George Graham's boring outfit to the most watchable side in the country and arguably the world, won 110 of his first 200 games, a win percentage of 55.

Sir Alex Ferguson, considered by many as the greatest manager of all time, won just 87 (44 percent) of his first 200.

So, at this stage in his career, Benitez has done better than the two most successful managers of the Premier League era.

Does that mean he will go on to emulate them? Of course not. I believe he can, but you just have to compare Houllier's and Ferguson's stats to show that the first 200 games don't indicate the way your career is going.

What is does show, however, is that he needs to be given time. Ferguson and Wenger were given time and showed exactly what they can do. What if Liverpool got rid of Benitez and let a potentially legendary manager slip through their fingers?

But there is a flip side to every argument.

So far, I have argued the point that I believe is right: Rafael Benitez has not been a failure at Liverpool.

Others may argue that he has, and I can see their logic very clearly.

Benitez was brought in to win the Premier League title. Pure and simple. It may not have been his sole goal, but it was certainly the main one.

He was chosen largely for his work at Valencia, where he broke the duopoly of Real Madrid and Barcelona, and the question on everyone's lips was whether he could do it in England.

So far, he hasn't. Therefore he has failed—and he will continue to fail until he does win the title.

Whether he wins another Champions League or two more FA Cups, he won't have been a success until he achieves his primary objective.

Can he do that? Only time will tell, and I pray that he gets that time.

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Eduardo to Liverpool?: You're Kidding, Right?

Michelle Alves — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:33:48 -0500

Undoubtedly, this is the worst start for Liverpool in a long time; manager Rafael Benitez will need nothing less then a miracle to keep league dreams alive.

Having lost only two games last season, Liverpool still did not go on to win the league. With a start of more than seven losses this season, it seems nearly impossible that Liverpool win the League.

Rafa’s future will remain in question unless he can force somewhat of a phenomenon into the team.

Liverpool’s injury-struck season has not gone unnoticed and the start of January signals an opportunity for Benitez to bring on some much-required reinforcement to the Liverpool team.

With Torres and Gerrard unable to play and the Reds facing one of their worst seasons in a long time, what has Rafa got planned?

According to transfer rumours, Benitez has set his sights on Arsenal striker Eduardo. With all the recent unsuccessful transfer attempts, this one, it seems, might be taking a similar route to being just a “rumour.” For a fee of £10 million, it is doubtful that either Wenger or Eduardo may give in.

Although, recently, the Brazilian-born striker has started only three games despite completely recovering from the appalling injury he suffered back in February last year, which could compel him into moving to a team that might allow him more time on the field.

Eduardo is an incredible striker and it is understandable why Rafa would turn to him at such a time, but a fee of only £10 million is what sets uncertainty in one’s mind. A player of Eduardo’s calibre certainly won’t move for so low a price.

His contract is set to expire in 18 months, and so far he has had no indication of whether his contract will be extended.

Rumour has it that, Rafa has said that Eduardo is the answer to Liverpool’s striking crisis. It is undeniable that Eduardo at £10 million is a definite asset, but it’s almost too unrealistic.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s persistence and the injury of Robin Van Persie might lead to Eduardo getting more game time for Arsenal, and this could lead to Benitez having to turn to someone else to save his team.

Eduardo is no stranger to injury, though, and maybe Rafa needs to set his sight on someone consistent, stable and not injury prone...Liverpool certainly don’t need another bench warmer.

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Rumors & Realities: Crocked Arsenal and Broken-Down Liverpool

Zahi Sahli — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:36:25 -0500

Rumors & Realities is back with the latest humorous rumors in the world of football. Yes, we are not always funny. But at least we try.

R-R has been busy watching Arsenal run out of strikers, Liverpool play like Derby County, and Manchester United missing Cristiano Ronaldo yet not admitting it.

Chelsea has been in top form. They may be "old," according to Sir Alex Ferguson, but that isn't holding them back from beating Ferguson's United to the top of the table.

R-R wouldn't want to be tagged a Chelsea fan, but we can't help but take a swipe at the Spaniard tagged the fat chef.

Rafa Benitez recently said that the next game against Manchester City is an important one. It is so important that Liverpool can start the season with it.

The only problem is that while Liverpool are starting their season next week, Chelsea, United and Arsenal have started three months ago.

Transfer Rumors

Broken-down Liverpool are also thinking of luring either Real Madrid outcast Raffael van der Vaart or Benfica's Angel di Maria .

Whether they have money to fantasize about these players remains to be seen.

Who says Liverpool is only about Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard? Okay, perhaps it's everyone who watches football. But others think that Andriy Voronin can score 20 goals a season. Perhaps he can...if he goes to MLS.

With Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner injured, Arsenal are ready to bounce on... absolutely no one.

On a more serious note, Fiorentina are interested in signing Roma's Matteo Brighi .

Brighi was destined for "greatness" according to Marcello Lippi a few years back. He hasn't turned into a great player, but he would certainly give Fiorentina a push.

Juventus, on the other hand, are said to be eying Manchester United's Nani .

Nani isn't too happy at Old Trafford since he has not really established himself as the new Ronaldo or the next Ryan Giggs. He's more of a new Solskjaer...although we rate him higher than Ferguson does.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are desperate to have a first team without home-grown players come next season.

They're so desperate to sign Daniel Alves or Maicon so that Micah Richards doesn't show up in their first eleven. The next step is probably finding a replacement for Stephen Ireland.

The Brazilian who made sure his country beat England's second team on Saturday, Nilmar , has caught the attention of many top clubs in Europe. The teams that are reportedly chasing him are Chelsea and Manchester United.

Chelsea will definitely miss Didier Drogba, among other Africans, when the African Cup of Nations comes by. Hence, they need another striker and Nilmar may fit the bill.

Finally, Milan are ready to put an end to their reputation as a 30 and above club.

They want to get rid of Giuseppe Favalli and Dida...perhaps as soon as the January transfer window opens.

Milan are interested in signing Moussa Sissoko and Ajax striker Luis Suarez . They might even opt to renew their interest in Edin Dzeko of Wolfsburg.

That's it for the rumors for now,

Ciao!

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