Liverpool F.c.

[Jimjim]

Torres, Babel, and Yossi. I love the first two, and the last may be good. The midfield will be clogged now, though. Everyone will be competing hard for the starting positions.

[Torv]

So that's left with Riise who hasn't had his contract extended?

Heinze then?

I want Quaresma!

[spot]

For too many years now we've had too many second rate players such as Riise. We've been starved of true class in some positions.

Benitez has shown how good he is, by winning what he has with alot of second rate players, and some players who just turned up for the money - admittedly some bought by him.

Hopefully he's a lot wiser about the English game now.

I do have a good feeling about the buys so far, lets see.

Spot

[Jimjim]

Huh? Is Riise gone? I saw his picture on the site when they showed Torres training with his new teammates.

Edit: Nevermind. He has two more years on contract, it just hasn't been renegotiated yet.

[Torv]

Babel and Benayoun have both signed.

One more signing I reckon.

[scousemouse]

I am very happy with the signing of Babel. I watched him in the under 21 euro championship and he ran the show. Dutch coach Marco Van Basten said this boy is going to be the next Thierry Henry and if he gets any where near his standard we will have landed a gem .

As for Torres and Benayoun , the jury will still be out until after a few games of the season gets underway.

The pressure that is going to be on Torres' shoulders will be immense and I just hope he scores an early goal because even though the whole of Anfield and all the Liverpool supporters will be behind him 100 % , the british media will tear him to shreds if he gets of to a bad start .

I think the pressure is off slightly for Benayoun , he either has to be playing superbly to break into our midfield or someone is playing sh*te .

Would still like to see one more addition , a world class full back would be nice Rafa .

[scousemouse]

Liverpool submit new stadium plan Liverpool's stadium plans are set to become a realityLiverpool have submitted plans for their new stadium at Stanley Park to the city council and hope to begin work by the end of the year.

The proposal sets out a timetable for construction of the arena, which could cost £280m and has a 60,000 capacity.

A planning application is scheduled for 25 July and the stadium has potential for expansion to accommodate 80,000 fans, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Liverpool hope to receive permission by October and start work before 2008.

New Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks said recently: "The design is now final. It's spectacular and I can't wait for everybody to see it.

"I think our fans will love it. It's very creative architecture, very contemporary but also unique to Liverpool. "It is all centred around the Kop - it will be the symphony stage that plays to the symphony hall."

[scousemouse]

All the best God .

Fowler ponders switch to Sydney Robbie Fowler wants prospective clubs to promise first-team footballRobbie Fowler will hold talks with his family before deciding whether to accept an offer from Sydney FC.

The 32-year-old is a free agent after being released by Liverpool, and has been in Sydney for discussions, with Cardiff City also in the hunt.

Fowler said: "I spoke to Sydney's chief executive George Perry, and obviously I'm very interested.

"I've got a young family, so basically I'm over here to see what it's like and see if it's good for them."

He added: "Obviously I'm over here to see how it is, then I'll go and report back and see how they feel."

Cardiff are also waiting to discover if Fowler can be tempted into a move into the Championship.

Bluebirds chairman Peter Ridsdale told the Liverpool FC website: "We have offered an attractive package and are hopeful Robbie will decide to come."

Fowler's adviser George Scott said Cardiff could be an option for Fowler.

We have got eight offers on the table and Robbie Fowler is considering the lot of them

Robbie Fowler's adviser George Scott

He said: "I think Cardiff, if they have the ambition, is the sort of place Robbie would thrive at."

The forward is financially secure, thanks to shrewd property investments, and it is possible he could take a drastic drop in wages from his Anfield salary.

But failing that, Cardiff would either need to shatter their wage structure - which is unlikely given the financial constraints caused by building a new stadium at Leckwith - or put together a huge sponsorship package.

Ridsdale told BBC Sport Wales that he was surprised to hear that comments attributed to him had appeared on Liverpool's website.

"There's been a lot of press speculation, obviously I know Robbie from his days at Leeds and he's an outstanding finisher and outstanding footballer," Ridsdale said.

"Were we ever in a position where we could attract him, I think our supporters would realise our talk of ambition is more than just talk.

"If and when we're in a position to announce the arrival of a player of that stature we will do so, but in the meantime I don't like talking about speculation."

Major League Soccer side New England Revolution are also thought to be courting Fowler, who won 26 caps for England and scored seven goals.

He made his Liverpool debut as an 18-year-old in 1993, scoring 171 goals in 330 games before joining Leeds for £11m in 2001 and then Manchester City for £6m in 2003.

Fowler returned for a second spell at Anfield in January 2006, although his starting appearances were limited.

[Jimjim]

Come to the U.S. Robbie.

[keddy]

Come to the U.S. Robbie.

He's not that washed up! He could still do a job for Accrington Stanley or Millwall

[Torv]

Hey hey, don't knock our "soccer". The future "Sir David Beckham" is already here playing for LA Galaxy living in LA with Lady Posh. And we all know he's only here to raise the level of his game.

[keddy]

Hey hey, don't knock our "soccer". The future "Sir David Beckham" is already here playing for LA Galaxy living in LA with Lady Posh. And we all know he's only here to raise the level of his game.

He's just there to raise the level of his ego, income and a waning profile. As for her, she's looking to raise the level of her bottom and boobs or am I over looking anything else?

[scousemouse]

Is it christmas ?????

Liverpool will not sell Peter Crouch for less than £20m. (News of the World) But that may not put off big-spending Manchester City, whose new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson is keen to land the 6ft 7ins hitman. (Sunday Mirror)

Rafa has put the 20 million price tag on Crouch to warn of intrest from Villa , Newcastle and Man City. He claims Crouch is an important part of the way Liverpool play in europe and is an asset to us , but if we could get anywere near that kind of money for him then surely we would have to take it .

If spurs spent 16.5 million on Darren Bent then Crouch has to be in the same price range as that .

[scousemouse]

Hey hey, don't knock our "soccer". The future "Sir David Beckham" is already here playing for LA Galaxy living in LA with Lady Posh. And we all know he's only here to raise the level of his game.

He's just there to raise the level of his ego, income and a waning profile. As for her, she's looking to raise the level of her bottom and boobs or am I over looking anything else?

The word 'Beckham " is not allowed on this thread lads .

[scousemouse]

Just when he was starting to look good he had a bad injury , the latest on Fabio - first Brazilian to pull on a Liverpool shirt :

Aurelio will miss start of season Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez says Brazilian left-back Fabio Aurelio will not be fit for the start of the season.

The 27-year-old ruptured his Achilles tendon during a Champions League tie against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven in April and is still recovering.

Benitez told the club's website: "Fabio isn't fit. It could be another month before he recovers. We knew it would be a long time when he got injured.

"He is improving, but it is not easy when you have this kind of injury." Auerlio made 25 appearances during his first season at Liverpool after joining on a free from Spanish side Valencia last summer.

[Jimjim]

I love Fabio's play and have missed him. As I said before I'm really going to be missing Garcia as he was my favorite player the last couple of years.

As for Crouch, is money even worth it? Even for a player that isn't worth much (not saying this about Crouch), if they give something to your team that few could then you can't put a price on that. That's my opinion, anyway. I think he's a valuable striker to have.

[Torv]

VORONIN OFF THE MARK AS REDS BEAT BREMEN

Andriy Voronin was a two-goal marksman as Liverpool maintained their unbeaten start to pre-season with a 3-2 victory over Werder Bremen in Grenchen, Switzerland.

John Arne Riise was also on the scoresheet in a game that saw Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun make their debuts for the Reds.

Ukraine striker Voronin netted his first goal for the club after just four minutes to open the scoring, capitalizing on a misplaced defensive pass and rounding the keeper before slotting into an empty net.

Bremen then drew level through Schindler two minutes later but Riise restored the lead when smashing the ball home from 30-yards out in the 14th minute.

The impressive Voronin was a constant threat up front and doubled his tally on the hour mark with well-taken finish after latching onto a defence-splitting through ball.

Torres, who twice went close to opening his account, Babel and Benayoun all appeared as second half substitutes as Rafael Benitez took the opportunity to give the majority of his squad a run-out.

Hugo Almeida managed to pull a goal back late in the game but Liverpool held on to claim a third successive summer win.

Teams

Liverpool: Carson, Riise, Hyypia, Paletta, Finnan, El Zhar, Gerrard MBE, Hobbs, Pennant, Crouch, Voronin (captain). Subs - Agger, Babel, Kuyt, Benayoun, Carragher, Darby, Arbeloa, Torres, Mihaylov, Alonso, Sissoko

Werder Bremen: Wiese, Baumann, Fritz, Rosenberg, Andreason, Alberto, Frings (captain), Borowski, Niemeyer, Schulz, Schindler. Subs - Bischoff, Vranjes, Loning, Pellatz, Almelda, Jensen, Wome

Referee: Daniel Wermelinger

Conditions: Humid

Attendance: 10,180

Liverpoolfc.tv Man-of-the-Match: Andriy Voronin

Whoohoo!!

There has got to be more Pool fans here.

[scousemouse]

Heinze move to Anfield ruled out

It's been nearly 60 years since a player from Man u joined Liverpool or from Liverpool joined Man u and I think the run will continue for a long while yet

Heinze joined Manchester United from Paris St Germain in 2004Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out the possibility of defender Gabriel Heinze joining Premier League rivals Liverpool.

Anfield boss Rafael Benitez made a £6m bid for the 29-year-old Argentine on Monday but it was rejected by United.

Heinze has also been linked to Real Madrid and Inter Milan but Ferguson said: "I can assure you Liverpool will not be getting Gabriel Heinze. "We have had a couple of offers for him and we have turned them down."

[scousemouse]

All the beat Jerzey , kop legend 4ever thanks to instanbul

Dudek set to sign for Real Madrid

Former Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek is set to sign for Spanish champions Real Madrid on a free transfer.Madrid on a free transfer.

Dudek, the penalty shoot-out hero of Liverpool's 2005 Champions League win, has been unable to dislodge Pepe Reina from the first-choice spot at Anfield.

The 34-year-old Pole was released by Liverpool at the end of last season.

Dudek told Liverpool's website: "On Monday I will fly to Spain to pass medicals, sign a contract and be presented as a Real Madrid player."

Dudek, who joined Liverpool from Dutch club Feyenoord for £4.85m in August 2001, will be understudy to Iker Casillas at Real.

The Pole revealed he had been offered the chance to return to Feyenoord, but the lure of playing for Real proved too strong.

He added: "I was considering a return to Feyenoord, and Jacek Krzynowek was encouraging me to join him at Wolfsburg.

"An interesting offer from a respected newly-promoted Premiership club appeared and I was also thinking of moving to Portugal. "However, when Real showed interest I was very proud and did not think long."

[spot]

Yep, second that...

[scousemouse]

The new boys looked good last night , I know its only pre-season but lets hope the signs are good. I cant see Voronin being a first choice striker but if he keeps this kind of form up then who knows ??!!!?? . Torres only played 26 minutes so I'll wait untill he makes a first team start to see how he goes.

Werder Bremen 2, Liverpool 3

GRENCHEN is the watch-making capital of Switzerland, and it provided the right time for Fernando Torres to make his Liverpool debut last night.

The club record signing from Atletico Madrid emerged as a second-half substitute as Rafael Benitez’s side continued their pre-season preparations with a 3-2 win against Werder Bremen.

Fellow newcomers Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel also made their first appearances in a Liverpool shirt in the picturesque setting at the foot of the Swiss Alps.

But it was the sight of £18million man Torres that drew the loudest cheers from the 10,000 supporters inside the Stadium Bruehl, the Spaniard demonstrating some flashes of class during a 26-minute cameo.

Torres even came close to netting a fairytale debut goal in the final two minutes, first denied by a fine close-range parry by Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese and then clipping the ball just wide after a powerful surge into the area.

But the evening’s goalscoring honours were instead claimed by another of Liverpool’s new boys, Andriy Voronin, who netted two well-taken goals to add to John Arne Riise’s blockbusting 25-yard strike.

The Ukrainian was given another chance to impress from the start after his lively display at Crewe on Saturday.

He didn’t waste it and, given the anticipated fierce competition for places in attack this season, Voronin can be pleased with the initial impression he’s made since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer.

Voronin didn’t waste any time in underlining his credentials last night by giving Liverpool the lead in the fourth minute with his first goal for the club.

It was a neatly-taken strike, the striker capitalising on an error from Bremen centre-back Peter Niemeyer to race clear, skip around keeper Wiese and roll the ball home.

However, three minutes later Bremen were level when a left-wing cross from Christian Schulz was turned on to the crossbar by Markus Rosenberg and Kevin Schindler nodded in the rebound from inside the six-yard box. Another goal to add to his list.

With defences most certainly not on top, Liverpool regained the lead on 14 minutes. Jermaine Pennant, again lively down the right if occasionally wasteful with the final ball, was fouled and picked himself up to roll a free-kick to Riise, whose 25-yard thunderbolt proved far too hot for Wiese.

Like Liverpool, Werder Bremen had finished third in their domestic league and they gave Benitez’s side a decent workout.

It meant there was a surprisingly competitive edge to Liverpool’s first-half performance, never more evident than when Peter Crouch left full-back Clemens Fritz in a heap following a clattering challenge.

Both teams appeared dangerous every time they went forward and Scott Carson, making his first Liverpool appearance since conceding five in the friendly defeat in Mainz last August, clutched an angled drive from Leon Andreasen.

But the goalkeeper could only watch as Carlos Alberto –no, not that one – ballooned a gilt-edged opening horribly off target after Rosenberg’s square pass found Bremen’s Brazilian midfielder unmarked in the area.

[scousemouse]

It looks like Rafa really rates Pennant. Some positive cooments from the bossman about the new signings , and after our final game in Switzerland we are off to Hong Kong for the Asia trophy tournament along with Portsmouth and Fulham along with a Hong Kong team.

Our first game is against Hong Kong and will be shown live on super sport on tuesday 24th July and the winner will play the winner of the portsmouth fulham game in the final on friday 27th July on the same channel. It will be nice to see the new lads in action .

Rafa Benitez: Liverpool new boys raise the bar Jul 19 2007

by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

RAFA BENITEZ believes his summer spending spree is already having a galvanising impact on the battle for starting places this season.

The Liverpool boss says the arrival of players of the calibre of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun is not only improving the quality of the squad, but prompting established stars to raise their game.

Benitez senses many of his stars are working even harder to impress during the pre-season games, and that bodes well for the campaign ahead.

“I’ve said many times my idea at Liverpool was to build a squad with at least two good players for each position,” explained the manager.

What’s important is that the standard of all these players is now very high. That’s the key for me. Over the course of eight or nine months of the season we will have injuries and suspensions, but when everyone is fit you will see all the players working very hard to be at their best for every game. That means the quality across the whole squad improves.

“Maybe you can see already how hard the players are working.”

Benitez also believes players who arrived at the club last season, such as Jermaine Pennant, have the capacity to step up another level and build on a promising opening campaign.

“It’s too soon to start talking about what players will do this season, but you can see we have players such as Pennant and Benayoun who have the ability to change a game,” said Benitez.

“We know they have the ability to do things on the pitch which others cannot and the key is to see them always trying to make a difference on the pitch. Pennant ended last season very well and has shown some good movements in the games we have played so far. Already a lot of our players are showing their quality.

“But we must be careful when talking about these games. People should remember the players have still trained on the same day as they’ve played in the matches so they are not at their level yet.

“We have seen a lot of positive play already. It’s good for us we are scoring goals and creating a lot of chances, but it’s normal the balance between our defence and attack isn’t what it should be yet. On Tuesday, it was also a very physical game with a good tempo.”

Plans for Brazilian midfielder Lucas to train with the squad in Switzerland have been shelved.

He’ll stay at Melwood with the reserves while the club seeks to resolve his passport problems.

Liverpool play their second Swiss game against Auxerre tomorrow before jetting to Hong Kong.

[scousemouse]

More of the same from Gerrard , and its nice to hear him saying good things about Torres.

Steven Gerrard: Signs are good for new season Jul 19 2007

by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

CONFIDENT Steven Gerrard has warned title favourites Manchester United and Chelsea that new-look Liverpool will be “all over” them this season.

Supporters were given a first glimpse of Rafael Benitez’s Anfield revolution on Tuesday night when Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun all made their bows during the 3-2 friendly win over Werder Bremen.

The trio are at the heart of a summer spending spree that has exceeded £40m as Benitez aims to close the 21-point gap on champions United. And Gerrard reckons Liverpool are in a much better position to launch a genuine title challenge over the next 10 months.

“I’ve watched what the other teams are doing in the market and they’re all strengthening,” said the Anfield skipper. “But all those teams will be looking at us and thinking we are going to be all over them this season.

“I’m not going to start making any unnecessary predictions about what’s going to happen this season, and the last thing any of us need to do is build hopes up too much.

“But without doubt, if we all perform to our level each week, we have the players to push United and Chelsea all the way.

“We are looking in great shape, not only going into this season but for the next few years. I thought going away for the summer that we were three or four players away from where we need to be.

"We are in a great place to challenge United and Chelsea and I hope if we get things right from the beginning we can beat them to the big prizes this year."

Gerrard says the fact Liverpool have, unlike recent years, done much of their major transfer business long before the start of the season will allow them to begin strongly.

"Previous years have shown how important it is to sort everything out early, because it’s not easy for new players if they’re arriving just before the deadline," he added. "It makes it harder to settle. It’s important we get off to a good start and that’s going to be a lot easier if we have everyone here as soon as possible.

"I’ve liked the way we’ve done business this summer. We’ve got the likes of Voronin, Torres, Babel and Benayoun coming in to do the business then players like Leiva, Leta and Nikolay Mihaylov who add depth and put pressure on the established players."

And Gerrard has reiterated his belief that Torres can prove a major success in the Premier League.

"When we sign a striker I look at the defensive pairings of United and Chelsea and ask if we’ve signed a player who is going to cause them all sorts of problems," said the skipper.

"I did it with Torres and ended up with a smile on my face because I don’t think anyone will enjoy playing against him."

Gerrard also dismissed any notion of a hangover from last season’s Champions League final defeat against AC Milan and insists Liverpool are raring to challenge for silverware on all four fronts.

"We go into it brimming with confidence," he said. "Someone asked if Athens might knock us out of our stride this year, coping with the disappointment and that, but it’s not going to happen.

"It’s gone, that defeat is for historians and Milan fans. It means nothing to us, even though it broke our hearts at the time.

"It’s all about Moscow , the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the League Cup - and we start the season with our eyes on them all."

[Jimjim]

Voronin looks good but he needs a serious haircut. Five first choice strikers is great for Liverpool and with Babel being able to play out wide, the attacking prospects look promising. Heinze would have been a great addition to defense but I think if he leaves United, we should try to get him on loan.

[scousemouse]

I do hope the lad stays , he's still very young and has all the making's of a future England's number 1

<H3 class=entry-header>Carson thinks about Kop future</H3>

Liverpool keeper Scott Carson last night admitted he might have to quit Anfield to protect his England chances. Carson, who signed a new five-year contract last summer, says he would ideally like to remain at Liverpool, but wants to be sure he’ll get first team opportunities. He admitted he is No 2 to Pepe Reina but expects to be given some first team opportunites.And with Aston Villa keen to sign him boss Rafael Benitez could consider a £6million sale to the Midlands club.

[scousemouse]

All the best God

<H3 class=entry-header>Fowler goes to Cardiff</H3>">

ROBBIE FOWLER has agreed to join Cardiff City in the most sensational transfer deal of the summer. England World Cup star Fowler, 32, will have a medical tomorrow morning and is expected to sign for the Ninian Park club within 48 hours. Fowler, released by Liverpool at the end of last season, will see his wages drop from £50,000 a week to around £15,000.

http://' target="_blank">Cardiff bosses appear to have pulled off a stunning coup by persuading the Kop idol that they can provide him with the challenge he is seeking. And if the Bluebirds win promotion, Fowler’s deal will be worth around £25,000 a week with bonuses. The club was not commenting last night, but we understand chairman Peter Ridsdale has booked an early flight back from his family holiday in Florida. Ridsdale, who has been patiently tracking Fowler for more than a fortnight, will arrive in Manchester early tomorrow before being driven to Cardiff to meet Fowler, his agent George Scott and City boss Dave Jones. We revealed last week that Trevor Sinclair, who joined Cardiff this month, had phoned his old England team-mate Fowler and urged him to come to South Wales. Now Fowler has responded and told Sinclair and Jones: “I’m on my way.” We understand a deal was hammered out on Thursday. Cardiff had always been well in the running to sign Fowler, who has also starred in the Premiership for Leeds and Manchester City. The road to signing the player was cleared when he rebuffed approaches from Australian club Sydney and Cardiff’s Championship rivals Leicester City. Fowler will be Cardiff’s SEVENTH signing of the summer — and so far the club hasn’t spent a penny in transfer fees. So the Bluebirds are still sitting on the £5million Sunderland paid for Michael Chopra.

Will Robbie be a huge hit at the Bluebirds, or are Cardiff relying on a player that is past it? Write your comments below...

[scousemouse]

Heinze move to Anfield ruled out

It's been nearly 60 years since a player from Man u joined Liverpool or from Liverpool joined Man u and I think the run will continue for a long while yet

Heinze joined Manchester United from Paris St Germain in 2004Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out the possibility of defender Gabriel Heinze joining Premier League rivals Liverpool.

Anfield boss Rafael Benitez made a £6m bid for the 29-year-old Argentine on Monday but it was rejected by United.

Heinze has also been linked to Real Madrid and Inter Milan but Ferguson said: "I can assure you Liverpool will not be getting Gabriel Heinze. "We have had a couple of offers for him and we have turned them down."

Maybe not

Liverpool could force Heinze move Man Utd have received offers for defender HeinzeLiverpool boss Rafael Benitez says the club's lawyers are working on forcing through a £6.8m deal for Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson does not want to sell Heinze to his arch-rivals.

But the Reds have met the fee that would secure the 29-year-old Argentine defender's release - stated in a letter from United to Heinze's agent.

And Benitez said: "We made an offer which they rejected. The lawyers are working on it now so we have to wait."

Interview: Liverpool chief exec Rick Parry

BBC Sport understands the letter does not preclude Liverpool from buying Heinze, and he could also fight United to secure a switch to Anfield.

The fee, believed to be higher than the £6.8m mentioned, is not in Heinze's contract, it is contained in the letter to his agent.

Heinze is keen to leave Old Trafford, and Juventus and Real Madrid are also monitoring his situation.

Ferguson does not want any of his top players to join Liverpool - one of United's fiercest rivals.

Only Phil Chisnall in 1964 has travelled the route in modern times.

Ferguson said last week: "I can assure you Liverpool will not be getting Gabriel Heinze.

"We have had a couple of offers for him and we have turned them down."

Heinze has become a firm favourite with the fans at Old Trafford but told Ferguson earlier this month that he wanted a move.

He has been in action for Argentina in the Copa America, denying Ferguson the opportunity to speak to him face-to-face.

But Ferguson insists that if Heinze is to leave, it will be on United's terms.

He stated: "Heinze's agents are rolling the ball all the time but no matter what his agent thinks, we are in the driving seat. "I don't exactly know what Gaby thinks because it is all coming from his agent but this has been going on for a year-and-a-half now."

[scousemouse]

4 out of 4 wins so far for us in pre-season .

We play a Hong Kong 11 tomorrow and the game will be shown live on supersport 7:15 p.m.

It'll be nice to finally watch us play live and see how the new boys are getting on. From reports so far it seems that Benayoun is the one who has settled in the most.

Still waitnig for Torres to get his first goal in a Liverpool shirt , hopefully tomorrow night .

[scousemouse]

4 out of 4 wins so far for us in pre-season .

We play a Hong Kong 11 tomorrow and the game will be shown live on supersport 7:15 p.m.

It'll be nice to finally watch us play live and see how the new boys are getting on. From reports so far it seems that Benayoun is the one who has settled in the most.

Still waitnig for Torres to get his first goal in a Liverpool shirt , hopefully tomorrow night .

[scousemouse]

4 out of 4 wins so far for us in pre-season .

We play a Hong Kong 11 tomorrow and the game will be shown live on supersport 7:15 p.m.

It'll be nice to finally watch us play live and see how the new boys are getting on. From reports so far it seems that Benayoun is the one who has settled in the most.

Still waitnig for Torres to get his first goal in a Liverpool shirt , hopefully tomorrow night .

Pre season friendly from saturday :

Liverpool 2, Auxerre 0 (D,Post) Jul 21 2007

by Chris Beesley

THERE were mixed fortunes for Rafael Benitez’s summer recruits as Liverpool coasted to a 2-0 victory over French side Auxerre in a low key friendly in Switzerland yesterday.

Goals from Steven Gerrard on the stroke of half-time and Daniel Agger on 72 minutes were enough to seal the win at the university ground in Fribourg in warm and sunny conditions which contrasted sharply to the wet weather being experienced back home.

Yossi Benayoun was arguably the brightest of Benitez’s new signings and had a real go at Auxerre’s full-backs during his 63-minute run-out.

Andriy Voronin was quiet when paired with Dirk Kuyt in the first half and was unable to add to his two goals against familiar Bundesliga opposition Werder Bremen on Tuesday although he played his part in the opening goal.

Record £20million acquisition Fernando Torres, who partnered Peter Crouch up front after the break, looked livelier but missed a good opportunity to open his account for the club late on when he was denied by a good save from Olivier Sorin, though you suspected if the chance had come midway through the season, a sharper-looking Spaniard would have buried it.

Story continues

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Arguably the newcomer with the most work to do ahead of the Premier League kick-off at Villa Park on August 11 is Dutch youngster Ryan Babel.

Despite the £11.5million signing from Ajax having the most match practice out of all his team-mates throughout the summer having turned out for the Netherlands in the European Under 21 Championship, Babel struggled to make any kind of impact during his 45-minute run-out.

There’s no doubting that Babel is a hugely-talented prospect and he has time on his side but the combination of a hefty price tag, Liverpool’s burning desire to finally reclaim the title and a long-standing problem finding consistency on the flanks all mean that he can’t take too long bedding in.

The player himself rather ominously suggested that he didn’t know what his best position was after completing his big money move to Anfield so Rafael Benitez, who started Babel on the left wing before switching him to the right, will hope to solve the puzzle sooner rather than later.

Some observers rather hopefully suggested that the ‘dummy’ by Babel which led to Gerrard’s opener was a clever move but that seemed rather optimistic and could just as easily have been interpreted as the Dutchman failing to connect with Steve Finnan’s pass.

But it’s far from doom and gloom because, friendlies or not, Liverpool now head into their tour of the Far East on the back of four victories from as many matches throughout their pre-season campaign to date and it’s always useful to get into winning habits early.

As well as handing high-profile captures Benayoun and Babel with their first Liverpool starts, Benitez also fielded 19-year-old Bulgarian goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov, son of the infamous toupee-wearing Reading custodian Borislav, who is now a bigwig back in Sofia where he served as vice-president of the national football union between 2001-05.

With an inexperienced performer between the sticks for Liverpool, Auxerre sensed a chance to test him with a few long range effort but despite a couple of minor scares, there weren’t too many hair-raising moments for Mihaylov junior.

Both sides struggled to get going in the sweltering heat and Liverpool’s only opportunity before the goal, when Benayoun cut inside from the left to pick out Gerrard, who was unable to beat the keeper, wouldn’t have counted anyway as the linesman flagged for offside.

Just as it looked like the opening period was about to finish without any real incidents of note, Liverpool’s skipper came to the rescue with a well-taken goal with his left-foot.

Right-back Steve Finnan picked up the ball on the halfway line and drove forward, playing a one-two with Voronin before finding Gerrard via Babel’s ‘dummy’ and the captain slotted past Sorin from the left-hand side of the area.

Liverpool made six changes at the interval with Mihaylov, Alvaro Arbeloa, Gabriel Paletta, Jack Hobbs and Yossi Benayoun remaining from the first half.

Thankfully the game started to open up and Torres, showing he can cut inside from the flanks as well as operating in an orthodox centre-forward position, carved out a chance for striking partner Crouch when coming down the left wing but the England striker’s flicked effort was deflected for a corner kick.

At the other end, Argentine centre-back Paletta, who has yet to make an impact at Premier League level, made an important interception to deny Toifilou Maouilda when the Auxerre frontman escaped Agger’s attentions.

After just over an hour’s productive play on both wings, Benayoun was withdrawn for Moroccan Nabil El Zhar who also went on to impress.

Although he has been Liverpool’s first choice full-back for six seasons, John Arne Riise is another performer who knows that he is playing for his place at Anfield with Benitez heavily linked with a move for a new recruit – possibly Gabriel Heinze – in his position this summer.

It’s hard to tell whether the Norwegian, sporting red boots which made it look like he was playing in his socks, was trying to impress given his usual ‘shoot-on-sight’ policy, but Riise went close with a trademark howitzer which fired over the bar.

There was a let-off for Liverpool when Maoulida spurned what looked like the most straightforward opportunity of the match, heading wide from a right wing cross when just six yards from goal and Auxerre were punished on 72 minutes when Agger added a second.

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Sorin was forced to claw away an El Zhar header when the youngster was fed by Pennant from the right.

However, the former St Etienne man took the resultant corner kick himself and easily found the unmarked Agger who headed into the bottom left-hand corner of the goal.

There was still time for another couple of decent opportunities but Crouch headed just over from a Torres right wing cross before the Spaniard spurned his chance to grab a first goal in a red jersey as Sorin got out quickly to smother his stoppage-time effort.