Hello, no top news so far, no new Fernando Torres-like signing.

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Jay Spearing (above), eyeing a new deal! As does Stephen Darby (left)!

 We might not have signed a 30-million player yet, but we have committed the future of several players to Anfield now, which must be seen as a big step towards establishing in the Premier League top! The latest players to sign are Stephen Darby and Jay Spearing, both making a handfull of matches last season, mainly in the Champions League. Both Darby and Spearing will probably wait for a real chance in the first-team.

Both Alvaro Arbeloa and Glen Johnson are currently inhibiting the position to the right in Liverpool’s defence, and with Johnson being signed for a huge sum, we cannot else but conclude that Darby will be second, or even third, in line. Spearing, in turn, is in a similar position with Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Lucas, and probably Xabi Alonso in front of him, all competing for two, or at its most, three central midfield positions. 

The youth ranks of ours have not been exceptional, so to speak, the latest five years. Since Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, and Jamie Carragher broke through, no real super player has gone through the Academy and up to Melwood to really take that first-team spot.  We currently have some young starlets (Lauri Dalla Valle, Alexander Kacaniklic, Thomas Ince, Adam Pepper, Daniel Sanchez Ayala, and so on), but with Rafael Benítez gaining more ‘power’ within the club, more are arriving.

Now it is made official that five Hungarian players will join Liverpool’s reserves on trial. As we Liverpool fans know, Liverpool has a link to MTK Budapest, and players such as Andras Simon, Peter Gulasci, Zsolt Pölöskei, and Krisztian Nemeth has come to Liverpool from MTK. Now, Attila Abu (goalkeeper), Patrik Poor (defender, with a funny name…) Krisztian Adorjan and Patrik Vass (midfielders), and Peter Horvath (striker) join the Academy. Scout Frank MacParland has invited the players after having seen them in Hungary.

Adorjan and Vass make their second visits to Liverpool.

And so, finishing with a fantastic picture from Switzerland (where Liverpool are on training camp):

 Sincerely yours,

Rafael Benítez has confirmed that Liverpool has rejected four bids on key players so far, in this transfer window. Worrying in one way, but also very strong by the club to be firm!

We know that Xabi Alonso, Javier Mascherano, Fernando Torres, and Alvaro Arbeloa has been targeted by really big clubs all around Europe, and that Benítez aims at keeping them. However, the clubs interested still has bidded four them, and just recently our manager told us that:

“We have had some very big offers for some of our key players this summer, and that includes Fernando Torres”. Which club are we talking about? Well, he did not reveal any names except Fernando’s, but I would guess either Manchester United or the other Manchester team, City. Maybe more likely to see City bid for Torres, as it is a very phony club which thinks money is everything. It is rumoured to be bids up to 70 million pounds, and even so I am proud that Liverpool had the guts to reject.

Benítez continues:

“But we always knew that when a bid came in we would say no.The main thing was that Torres wanted to stay here. People knew the player wanted to stay, but it did not stop clubs trying.”

Furhter on, I would guess that either Xabi Alonso or Javier Mascherano have been targeted, probably by Barcelona and/or Real Madrid. Both Spanish clubs have virtually officially maed it clear that the Liverpool players are in their greatest interest, and that our two midfield dynamos are much wanted at Santiago Bernabeu and Camp Nou. Especially Alonso had a superb season 08-09, and I can understand that clubs are interested by him, but please show some respect to Liverpool! You know the club does not want to sell, so back off, please.

On the other hand, two players have signed new contracts! Super Captain Steven Gerrard has signed a stunning deal, giving him up to 180 000 pounds a week to keep him in Liverpool until 2013, in a contract which Gerrard himself describes as possibly his last! Also Nabil El Zhar, the Morroccan winger, has signed a deal until 2012. To me, the deal with Gerrard is self-evident in itself (and of course vital for the club’s future), but the deal with El Zhar is not at all necessary! El Zhar made 19 games last season, but scored no goals and had no assist. Surprisingly, he was not sold or loaned to a club in the Christmas period. I hoped to get him sold for maybe 2-4 million pounds (he is not worth more…), but Benítez has decribed the speedy winger as a “lucky charm”… Ridiculous deal, in my personal opinion, as we need more money for new transfers (we need better players than El Zhar if we are to challenge for the Premier League trophy!).

Found a picture of Michael Owen durign training session with his new club (cannot remember the name of the club though…):

Looks like Ryan Giggs finds Owen as alien in that dress as everybody else does…

Well, that is it for today. More pictures from the final evening of the Under-21 Eurpoean Championship will come later.

Sincerely yours,

Hi, here come some pictures of mine from the final day of the Under-21 European Championship!

Of course we took more pictures, but I will upload them later! These include players pictures from later that evening, as me and my friend happened to stumble over the restaurant where the German team was celebrating!

Sincerely yours,

Hi, I have not updated for a very long time, it feels like (and is…).

Thing is, a brilliant game between England and Sweden has been played and Germany beat England big time in the final! I was at the final with a friend, and after the game we were lucky enough to find the German U-21 national team and some people connected to it (e.g. Oliver Bierhoff and Joachim Löw). Got some pictures from it, but will upload them later.

First of all, a short report and my view of the semifinal England-Sweden.

The best game I have ever seen, I think. I immediately compared it to both the Champions League final Milan-Liverpool where Liverpool fought back from 0-3 in half-time to grab the penalty win and also I compared it to this season’s game Chelsea-Liverpool which ended 4-4. Sweden played without two of their best players, Emir Bajrami and Pontus Wernbloom, while England had all of their players available.

Well, I cannot describe in words my feelings after 3-0 to England, and consequently I could not say how much I totally loved the comeback! But I do could scream it…

The game (the first 90 minutes) in highlight mode:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/wH0wb0z_n9w" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

3-0 to England after 45 minutes, and that was embarrassing, but I never gave up hope, and as I said, I did compare the game to other, heroic games from the past (well, only on Facebook, but I did mention them)! My goose bumps were bigger than the hunch of the Hunchback in Notre Dame, I can say! And I screamed so that my neighbours must have been wondering big time… 

And when Marcus Berg had a header in the bar in the 118th out of 120 minutes, I virtually died within.

So came the penalties. Follow the complete shoot-out once again here:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/0qKF5GK2vuw" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Well, the three players who missed where three of the best players on the pitch! James Milner missed the first for England, and was dominant against Sweden for England throughout the game, even though he did not have enough power to really threaten in the end of the playing time. Marcus Berg scored twice, and was given the Golden Boot in the Under-21 Eurpoean Championships! Was fantastic, and partially replaced suspended Pontus Wernbloom as hard-working link between attack and midfield (Wernbloom quite similar to Steven Gerrard, I must admit...!). The player who missed the decisive penalty was Guillermo "Gische" Molins, a speedy and technical winger from Malmö FF. He was actually a joker, and was thrown in by manager Jörgen Lennartsson (who I saw after the game at Malmö Nya Stadion). Molins did it very good, and had one assist and one cross that eventually resulted in the most beautiful attack in the UEC! Robin Söder heel-kicked the ball down to Berg who smacked the ball up into the net! Link here: The Swedish super goal.

Superb game, and you can see the whole here: CLICK TO SEE THE WHOLE GAME. Will be shown in another window.

Sincerely yours,