EXCLUSIVE: Benitez handed measly £5m summer transfer kitty!
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ln the Red! Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez handed measly £5m summer transfer kitty
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks’ pledge to hand Rafael Benitez a ‘substantial transfer budget’ was in question last night after it emerged that the manager has no more than £5million to spend.
Despite three meetings with new Anfield chairman Martin Broughton, Benitez is still unsure if money generated from player sales will be made available to him for signings and remains wary of giving the go-ahead to deals that would see Yossi Benayoun, Ryan Babel, Albert Riera and Philipp Degen sold to foreign clubs.
Amid concern that it could take up to 18 months for Hicks and George Gillett to sell up as they hold out for £800m, and with Benitez’s own future still in some doubt, Liverpool are wide open to big offers for unsettled stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard.
Please don't go: Rafa Benitez knows he faces a fight to keep Steven Gerrard
Both players have indicated they will wait until after the World Cup before making any firm decisions and incoming Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho yesterday became the first to register his interest in Gerrard openly.
Benitez is desperate to keep hold of the pair, a feeling shared by the various factions that have emerged at Anfield as Liverpool have descended deeper into debt and internal chaos.
But opinion is split over whether it might make financial sense to cash in on at least one of the stars if it allows the club to make several new signings.
Sacrificial Reds: Ryan Babel (right), Yossi Benayoun (centre) and Albert Riera could leave AnfieldJavier Mascherano, Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson are the other players Benitez would be loath to lose, although problems over agreeing a new contract with Mascherano have left the Liverpool boss with no option but to consider sacrificing the Argentina midfielder to try and raise transfer funds.
On Wednesday, Hicks ruled out the possibility of selling Liverpool’s top players and promised ‘significant investment’ this summer which, he claimed, would mean the club’s gross and net transfer spending had doubled since he and Gillett took over three years ago.
Confusion: Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks insists there is money to spend
Benitez is believed to be working to a budget of £4-5m. It is one of the reasons he has struggled to tie up a modest £2m deal for Rangers defender Danny Wilson, which would rise to £4m with add-ons.
The Liverpool boss has not always helped his own cause, however, with many fans still wondering why he paid £17m for Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani last summer.
Aquilani ruled out a move to Juventus yesterday, insisting he wants to stay.
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song bo?
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The problem is with Benitez, not the amount of the transfer kitty, but of course it affects too.
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Sell these players, then Liverpool play what? Youngsters? or playing those Free Transferred players?
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Well, with EU countries heading to gloomy recession, you can't expect much to be given to Managers, unless, your boss is a Rich Russian (Chelsea), or Oil States (ManCity)..
To Sell access players (like it or not), also trim down the team's payrolls (every week), hence, the bottomline is to stay healthy in club's accounting books.
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liverpool is a good club with history but its kinda sad to see major clubs saddled up with debts.
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Yeah... a great club indeed, but the failure of reaching the Champions League next season really dampen the potential revenues...
Definitely not a good time (right now) to rebuild the team as recession is at their door steps. Not much funds will be available to most eurporean clubs. I believe even the banks will not giving too much Credit (LC) to clubs on transfer markets..
Have to wait til end of WC to determine who stays and who goes....
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nice 5M
sell riera lor ... -
sell torres and gerrard to generate cash.
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buy noh alam shah
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Originally posted by jonchao72:
buy noh alam shah
now we're talking !!!!
5m can buy Nor Allam Shah, Alexander Duric.................what the hell ???
5m can buy the whole S'pore national team lah !!!
then club change name to Singapool or Liverpore
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I think Ah Ben have to pack his bag and go to Inter Milan.
He cannot tahan another season with no money and losing stevie and torres.
Without the key players, Liverpool is looking at below middle table status next season.
The owners are just killing Liverpool with the high price tag.
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he will stay one since he already got excuse for next season's failure - no money.
if he go Inter, he'll be exposed as a flop.
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WTF??? Is this a joke? Substantial amount = 5M?
It definitely looks like the owners are forcing a mass sell off of the Liverpool star players.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
sell torres and gerrard to generate cash.
Selling them (Stevie & Torres) will definitely create revolt in the club's fans based.
The manager will have to rebuild a team around them... but $$ no enough... ( go consult Jackass... lol.
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i think they may be trying to force rafa to quit...
if he quits, they don't have to pay him severance pay
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firstly, upfront, at least he knows it is 5m. unlike MU where they can promise a sky high 90M, but we all know it may even be less than 5m.
secondly, if the manager is so "GOOD", why always need to buy & buy, just polish the gems he already bought or developing. Unless, he is completely useles..
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Ah Ben managed to sold all the gems that he have polished and bought a lot of stones.
He is not useless but just too stubborn to admit that he have failed himself.
That is the difference between him and Jose.
Jose said and prove himself as the special one.
Ah Ben think he is the special one but the result speaks for itself.
Although he may have scored a few tactical victory, they overshadowed by the boo boo he have made and the pet players that he insisted to deploy.
Keeping him in Liverpool will spell more misery to the fans.
He is the only manager with huge ego issue.
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Originally posted by the Bear:
i think they may be trying to force rafa to quit...
if he quits, they don't have to pay him severance pay
aiyah, then they should tell him only got 500K to spend !
make Rafa Tu Lan mah !!!
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Originally posted by Medicated Oil:
Ah Ben managed to sold all the gems that he have polished and bought a lot of stones.
He is not useless but just too stubborn to admit that he have failed himself.
That is the difference between him and Jose.
Jose said and prove himself as the special one.
Ah Ben think he is the special one but the result speaks for itself.
Although he may have scored a few tactical victory, they overshadowed by the boo boo he have made and the pet players that he insisted to deploy.
Keeping him in Liverpool will spell more misery to the fans.
He is the only manager with huge ego issue.
pardon me, I did not draw the Rafa is useless. He did win a UCL (to date, his saving grace).
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Originally posted by Just_do_it_lah:
Selling them (Stevie & Torres) will definitely create revolt in the club's fans based.
The manager will have to rebuild a team around them... but $$ no enough... ( go consult Jackass... lol.
the worst scenario, is if he sell the crown jewels (torres/gerrard), the money is converted to paying the interests of debts or otherwise, and Rafa won't see even a single cent to re-invest into his team or the stadium.
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U GUYZ ARE BLIND.LIVERPOOL HAS ONE ORIGINAL ,ONE AND ONLY CROWN JEWEL.IF LIVERPOOL SELL THIS DIRTY CLOWN,SURE WILL SETTLE THEIR DEBTS,AND PERHAPS,POOL WILL WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEXT YEAR,GUARANTEE LAR.THIS CROWN JEWEL OF ANFIELD VERY PRICELESS,HE WILL FETCH SEVERAL HENDREDS MILLIONS IN ZIMBABWE DOLLARS.ALL LIVERPOOL HAVE TO DO IS SELL THIS ASS CLOWN TO HUNGRY BANGLA CONSTRUCTIONS,SHIPYARDS AND TOILETS WORKERS IN SINGAPORE.THESE BANGLA LOVES UNNATURAL SEX.AND THIS POOL'S PRICELESS GEM I AM TALKING ABOUT IS NON OTHER THAN..YEAH,I THINK U WHO...ITS THE IRRISISTABLE ASS CLOWN MORON BY THE NAME OF...GIVE 3 CHEERS TO.......POOLMAN!!!!!!!YUP,SELL POOLMAN,POOL'S MOST PRICELESS ASS GEM!!!
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No excuse lah! Rafa has screwed up so many signings. He is in no position to complain of lack of cash. What about Aston Villa and Arsenal?
An excellent manager is a manager who can work wonder with limited rsources.
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Originally posted by sg_forum:
No excuse lah! Rafa has screwed up so many signings. He is in no position to complain of lack of cash. What about Aston Villa and Arsenal?
An excellent manager is a manager who can work wonder with limited rsources.
david moyes??