New Torres Nike advert

This fantastic new Nike ad that just about sums up how the red half of the city feel about our beloved number 9!



It follows news today that El Nino is to be given a pay rise following a fantastic debut season and to kill off any ideas that Chelsea may have about luring the Spaniard to Stamford Bridge.

It was well publicised at the time of his signing from Atletico Madrid that Torres took a pay cut in order to come to Anfield and there's little doubt he deserves the reported £15,000 rise in his weekly wage after 33 goals in his debut season...

Now everyone....BOUNCE! Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah!

Rounding up the last few weeks and looking ahead

Talking Reds is backing Spain at Euro 2008!

Apologies for the lack of blogging these past few weeks.

Between wrapping things up in my own personal life in Liverpool and dealing with the fall out from Manchester United's third European Cup win it's been a bit busy.

Not that United's win took a huge emotional toll on me but it did make me want to avoid football for a couple of days before and afterwards with all the predictable hysteria.

It was a good game which I wasn't expecting but even the suggestion that somehow this "Game of Games" as ITV billed it was better than the drama of Istanbul three years ago was absurd.

Anyway enough about events in Moscow.

On the transfer front at Liverpool, it's been disheartening if not unexpected to learn that funds are limited this summer. There are some reports that Rafa has been given a meagre £20m to spend meaning that he will need to sell to raise the kind of funds needed to compete with the other three.

Philip Degen's expected arrival means Steve Finnan looks set to join Jermaine Pennant, Peter Crouch and John Arne Riise on the transfer list this summer.

Scott Carson will likely be off too and we have some confirmation of Xabi Alonso's position at the club. While wishing to keep the Spaniard, Rafa has named his price and £16m is what Juventus will need to pay if the elegant midfielder is to join ex team mate Momo Sissoko at the Stadio Delle Alpi. It would be interesting to know how Alonso feels about this. He is no longer indispensable, a far cry from his position at Anfield a couple of years ago.

It would be a real shame to see him go in my view. He's a quality player whose contribution to the team is often overlooked amidst the eye catching tackles and all action style of Javier Mascherano and the sheer power, drive and goal scoring brilliance of Steven Gerrard.

But £16m is also a lot of money and is much needed given the ownership situation which has, after one summer of heavy spending, seen us revert back to the same position we were in before the Americans' arrival - going for our second choice targets because our first choices are too expensive. It's a mess that will no doubt come to the forefront again in the coming months.

Speaking of targets, our interest in Gareth Barry has brought us into conflict with Martin O'Neill, a man once often mentioned as a future Liverpool manager but who seems to have found his level at Aston Villa. He has been mighty pissed with our attempts to lure Barry to Anfield. It's likely to take time but if Barry wants to leave, and so far that is not entirely clear, then it's only a matter of time before it happens.

The fact we can throw Scott Carson into the mix could be a useful bargaining chip. Our valuation of him at £10m does seem a tad high but then perhaps Villa's valuation of a player who has no European experience and has only recently become a regular fixture in the England side is also high. Our assessment of Carson falls in line with some of the ridiculous prices we've been quoted for up and coming English players in the past.

Our solution to the left back issue appears to be Udinese's Andrea Dossena. I know nothing about this player but based on Benitez's previous defensive acquisitions in the likes of Arbeloa, Skrtel and Agger you can be reasonably confident this will be a shrewd buy provided we see off reported competition from Fiorentina and Juventus.

If Crouch leaves, there will be a strikers position open. I don't think anyone feels comfortable with Andriy Voronin being considered as an alternative to Fernando Torres. So it raises the question as to who we can bring in that is prepared to sit on the bench much the same as Crouch did last season but is good enough to adequately fill Torres' boots when called upon.

David Villa continues to be mentioned as he looks set to leave struggling Valencia but where he fits into our new formation is a question that Rafa will need to answer. He's a striker of immense quality and it will be interesting following Euro 2008 to see how he links up with Torres.

El Nino himself is subject of tabloid speculation about a mammoth £50m bid from Chelsea. Liverpool's denial was expected, more importantly Torres himself has little interest in joining the Russian circus at Stamford Bridge.

Instead we can look forward to him hopefully banging in the goals in Austria and Switzerland next month and returning to Anfield in July ready for his second season.

Needless to say I'm backing Spain at this summer's championships which I'm thoroughly looking forward too. The absence of England means we have none of the usual media hysteria and can instead look forward to what will hopefully be a quality tournament.

I'll throw in my tuppence worth as the tournament progresses as well as rounding up all the transfer gossip and deals throughout the summer months.

Have a great summer and keep checking back here for all the news!

Reds 1-0 City: That end of season feeling.

It's taken me quite a while to get over Wednesday but the pain of it all was somewhat lessened by getting a chance to see the Reds in action against Manchester City at Anfield this afternoon in a typical end of season testimonial type non event.

Neither side went hell for leather and it made for a pretty dour affair. Some had Euro 2008 in the back of their minds, others just couldn't wait to sack it off for the summer.

There was much the same feelings in the crowd. Anfield was very quiet. Unlike in recent seasons we did not have the prospect of a European Cup final to look forward to and that probably explains it.

It was a dour game notable only for our shiny new kit and an encouraging performance from Emiliano Insua at left back. The young Argentinean was the only youngster given a chance despite the rumours of Anfield debuts for Damien Plessis and Kristian Nemeth.

Both did grace the hallowed turf today but it was at half time when the reserve squad were presented with the Barclays Northern Premier League title and with the second string aiming for the national title against Aston Villa at Anfield on Wednesday that's probably why they didn't play today.

El Nino added another fine goal to his collection, making mince meat out of the normally excellent Richard Dunne before finding the far corner. It's 32 for the season now and he equals Roger Hunt's record of scoring in eight consecutive home league games. If he brings such great form into next season then there will be many more records broken.

It's been an amazing debut season for the lad, far beyond any of our expectations, probably even his. But every defender in the league will know him just a bit better next year.

Xabi Alonso, while still a fantastic and important player to the side, has never quite hit the heights of his debut season. But Torres has mental strength in abundance and that will count for a lot. Anything close to the form he has shown this season will be more than acceptable next term.

The exclusion of John Arne Riise and Peter Crouch perhaps speaks volumes about their futures at the clubs. Question marks too over Alonso. A summer of change is on the horizon after an up and down season that was never helped by the off field instability.

We've improved massively in the league despite what some may think. We lost ten league games last term, we've lost just four this time around, one less than champions elect Man U.

Clearly the problem lies with draws which we need to cut out and be more clinical against sides, particularly at home.

But Rafa has come upon a formation that gets the best out of our two best players in Gerrard and Torres. A few key additions in the summer and we'll be on the right track.

We've been saying for a good ten years that we're just a couple of players away from challenging for the league but I genuinely believe that is now the case. But only if Rafa gets the funds and support necessary to continue the great work he has done so far.

To win some you must lose some

You can hold your heads up high lads, you gave it your all. We will be back.