[quote author=Herr Onceared link=topic=35150.msg921753#msg921753 date=1249866434]
[quote author=Skullflower link=topic=35150.msg921749#msg921749 date=1249865556]
Rafael BenÃtez has given an ominous indication of Liverpool's financial state by admitting his transfer budget may not exceed what he has recouped through player sales. Ahead of a Premier League campaign of high expectations at Anfield, the Spaniard claims he is looking to existing players such as Lucas, David Ngog and Nabil El Zhar to improve last season's second place finish and win the club's first league title since 1990.
Doubts have been cast over Liverpool's spending power since American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett agreed a refinancing package last month that involves repaying £60m of £290m debt over the next 12 months. Last week BenÃtez made a £6m approach for the Hull City defender Michael Turner but balked at Phil Brown's £10m valuation of the 25-year-old.
Under the terms of the five-year contract BenÃtez signed with Liverpool in March, £20m was to be allocated for new players this summer plus whatever he raised through sales. It now appears, however, that the Liverpool manager's budget could only amount to what he has received for Xabi Alonso, Alvaro Arbeloa and Sebastian Leto as he attempts to overhaul Manchester United in the title race.
BenÃtez has so far spent a headline figure of £37m on Glen Johnson and Alberto Aquilani, although the £17m fee for the former Portsmouth defender has been recouped by selling Leto, Arbeloa, Jack Hobbs, Paul Anderson plus money from Robbie Keane's return to Tottenham Hotspur in January. He now has to ask the club's owners whether the £10m profit he made on the £30m sale of Alonso to Real Madrid and the £20m signing of Aquilani from Roma will be reinvested this summer, a situation that casts serious doubt on his ability to add the likes of Valencia's David Silva to his search for defensive cover.
"We have to work with the players we have at this moment and keep working with the scouting department," said BenÃtez , who saw his team lose their final pre-season friendly 2-1 to Atletico Madrid at Anfield on Saturday. "We had some money but I will not talk about figures. When you talk about the figures I think it is clear. I will not say anything. I don't have the answer. We are working hard with the players we have and the money we have. Always it is difficult to compete in the Premier League with clubs who have more money."
The Liverpool manager refused to confirm that Hicks and Gillett have revised his transfer budget but admitted he is uncertain as to what he has left to spend. "We will see," he said. "We are talking about these things. We are working always. We try to be ready just in case [we can sign someone], but you never know. It depends on the prices. It is something I have to talk with the club about. We have some ideas and we have to discuss these ideas."
BenÃtez revealed he is seeking improvement within the Liverpool ranks for this season's title challenge, and believes the acquisition of Aquilani will provide greater penetration at home. He explained: "To sign better players than we have now is not easy. If you analyse it you have to spend big, big money to sign these players. We have to manage with the players we have and I am pleased with them and hopefully with the experience of last season they will be better.
"I think we have some young players who need to improve, [Mikel] San Jose, [Daniel] Ayala, but also Ngog, Nabil, [Ryan] Babel and Lucas; young players with quality. The priority [this summer] was to extend the contract of the senior players to make sure we kept the spine of the team. Alonso decided he wanted to go. He told me in May he wanted to leave. We had to keep working and I think the price at the end was good. With this money we have brought in Aquilani. We knew he had an operation, but we wanted to change a little bit the games at home when the opposition is deep and it is not easy to give the final pass. Aquilani will be good there. The other players we have to wait and see how they progress in the season."
Aquilani made only 14 appearances for Roma last season because of an ankle injury that required surgery in May and will delay the Italian midfielder's Liverpool debut until at least a month into the new season. The 25-year-old was also sidelined two seasons ago with a serious thigh strain, but BenÃtez denied the £20m deal represents a gamble.
"We couldn't change the situation of Alonso. He decided to go, we had to progress. You have to manage in the best way you can," the Liverpool manager said. "If Aquilani was in a normal market he could cost £25m-£30m but because of his operation he was a bit cheaper. We have to wait but he is a player we are signing for five years, not for five matches. I was talking with a lot of people in Italy and people are saying it is a fantastic signing. He is now under the control of our medical staff because he had been going to different people. I think it will be better and he has the quality to settle down in England."
BenÃtez has an added headache ahead of Sunday's opener at Tottenham with all three of his established central defenders - Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel – injury doubts. Carragher is awaiting results of a scan on an ankle injury sustained against Atletico on Saturday, while Agger has a back problem and Skrtel is recovering from a hamstring strain but has now returned to light training. "I am 80% sure we will have two available for the next game," he said.
Guardian
[/quote]Those figures dont even make sense.
He's recieved 30m, 3.5m and 3m for the 3 players sold.
And so far PAID OUT 8m for Johnson (thats actual money out this transfer window) and 5m for Aquilani (according to the figure in another thread released by Roma) so even if the suggested 20m kitty were removed to service the debt.
That would still leave 23m of the money from sales.
Bottom line is the press know 2 bits of fuck all, and as usual spin Rafa saying 'we will see' into doom and fucking gloom in comparison with Fergie saying 'we wont sign anyone' and the press fawning over a fucking has been crock and a winger from Wigan.
Fucking bollocks. We may or may not sign anyone else but regardless the press will be after ruining us. Fuck em.
[/quote]
I don't know. For me, Rafa's quotes have the scent of someone trying, in a roundabout way, to inform fans that he can only operate under the restrictions placed on him by the owners. In much the same way as he's voiced his concerns in the past, only in a less provocative way. He knows expectations are high after a strong season, particularly after the lucrative sale of Alonso, and the transfer funds that many fans presume to be available. It sounds to me like he's trying to set the record straight, and reign people in a little.
I hope I'm wrong though.
