Football Soccer Goals

Steven Gerrard believes it is only a matter of time before Liverpool start challenging for trophies.

Skysports.com understands Liverpool are offering Jonjo Shelvey to Blackpool on loan in a sweetener to land Charlie Adam.

The drama over Raul Meireles is possibly unfounded, probably overblown, and most likely something that will send me into a coma. That’s no reason to avoid the situation, though—peoples on the Twitter have assured us that other people score more goals and play golf more often, so there’s not much to worry about. Regardless of who ends up in Liverpool’s central midfield, there’s a good chance they’ll be nearly bald.

That doesn’t mean you have to stop loathing Charlie Adam/Raul Meireles/yourself, though, as there’s plenty of reasons for any and all of the above. And if you’re just enticed by the fact that we’re talking about transfer rumors, it’s a perfect storm. Copping to the fact that you’re only hanging around on the off chance that you can pick a fight with someone about transfer rumors makes you honest, and it makes you an asshole. Result!

So congratulations, you honest asshole, here’s this week’s rumor mongering:

Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-arlie Adam: He signed yesterday! He’s signing today! He’ll sign tomorrow! Did he bogey the eleventh?

Nobody cares! Whether he does, whether he doesn’t, this has turned into the most anticlimactic transfer story of the summer. You can be for it, against it, or ambivalent, but any way that this thing turns out it’s less than captivating. A large part of this is down to those that have made his signing a part of their everyday fare—not a day has gone by that we haven’t heard about an imminent offer, medical, or signing, and the glory of it all is that there’s only two months left in the transfer window! Oh, that’s no good?

Raul Meireles: The rumors that won’t die now seem to have gained actual traction, with sources that aren’t entirely awful reporting that there’s some sort of contractual disagreement between Meireles and the club. As with everything you wish would be forgotten, it has to do with the former owners; apparently he was ensured some sort of pay raise after a season’s work, and now that a season has gone by, Meireles and his agent are looking for increased wages. There’s not much more for me to say about how my feelings on this situation or how important I think he is to Liverpool—pay the man.

Juan Mata: As I noted yesterday, the object of our affection has now been linked with a bid from Arsenal; the man himself had stated that he was going to wait until the end of the U21 Euros to start conversations about his fate for the 2011-2012 season, so it was little surprise that we heard about a bid first thing Monday morning. Only problem is that it came from Arsenal, not Liverpool. With so much time left in the window and the performance he gave in Denmark, there’s plenty left to hear about how things shake out.

Pepe Reina What the Fuck Not Again: I hadn’t heard anything about a Reina exit rumor since he spoke out a few months ago, but I guess there was something out there that needed refuting. With David De Gea headed to the red half of Manchester, Atletico were always going to be looking for a new number one, but after Reina’s recent recommittment there’s little chance he’s moving elsewhere. Not that Atletico would have been the destination, or where exactly that came from, but nice to have almost immediate confirmation as to whether or not something is happening.

Connor Wickham: Young! English! Expensive! Etc Etc! Connor Wickham’s name has been thrown around for awhile, and while the signing of Jordan Henderson seemed to momentarily killed the push for all things English, Liverpool’s back in the mix as Sunderland and Ipswich have reportedly agreed a fee of £13m. Whether or not that means Liverpool are actually interested in a bidding war for the striker is one thing, but you know, Daily Mail and stuff.

Other People that Have a Pulse: By all accounts the Doni talks are a done deal in the wrong direction, with the former Roma keeper ruling out a Liverpool move because he wasn’t going to get the wages he felt he deserved. If only Liverpool could shed themselves of those players earning way too much, like Raul Meireles. Also, Stewart Downing is still floating somewhere in the ether, and he’s reported to be turning in a transfer request to make his move to Liverpool possible. That is, until he’s bid on by every other club that’s looking to pay over the odds for a decent enough English winger. Then he’ll be headed elsewhere.

Don’t bother reassessing what you’ve actually learned from today’s rumor mongering, because we both know you didn’t come here to learn. Plus there’s probably no quantifiable way to express how much these posts mean to you, and I wouldn’t want you to feel embarrassed when you find yourself lacking the words.

This is also me tapping out for the week—Noel’s taking over through the weekend to handle things and celebrate the Charlie Adam deal(s) while I drag a UHaul across the United States. So, it’s mostly a push. But if you’re on the fence, consider this:

So Monday’s here and Charlie Adam’s not, but he also might be, or at least he’s having the world’s longest medical at Melwood. Either way it’s a continual failure for people who think they know something and don’t, and are so content to continue to disregard reality and push back what they thought was happening yesterday but is actually happening tomorrow that they’re really gonna show you once he arrives. All signs point to these folks eventually being right, which I’m sure they’ll view as a vindication of sorts, but I’d caution you to never forget the fact that for weeks they were full of shit. Being right about something that’s become so obvious after actually being wrong more than you were right doesn’t mean you were always right, it means you were mostly wrong.

But, at the some time I’m invested in the wrongness of all this because these are the same people announcing the imminent exit of Raul Meireles, and I’ve got an unhealthy level of emotion wrapped up in him sticking around for awhile. Selling him off because of a contract dispute doesn’t make much sense, as he’s someone who makes the squad much better and likely deserves an increase from a reportedly lowish weekly wage. Not low in the “99% of the rest of the world” sense, but low in the “making £60,000 less than Joe Cole” sense.

Anyway, at risk of becoming known solely for Charlie Adam and Raul Meireles rants, the Monday notes:

* We’ve payed varying levels of attention to the various international competitions lately, and we saw the first final of the summer over the weekend as Spain asserted their dominance at every level with a 2-0 win over Switzerland in the U21 Euro final. Perpetual object of lust Juan Mata continued his high level of play and smartly switched play as part of the move for Spain’s opener and the eventual winner, and Thiago capped things off with a late free kick from forty-odd yards. Another deserved trophy for a nation who’s churning out a scary amount of talent.

Sadly the links with Mata have died down of late, with Arsenal displacing Liverpool as the English club most likely to have their hopes dashed late in the summer. The North London club have apparently bid £18m for the Spanish forward/winger/demigod, which breaks records for clubs that haven’t yet gotten caught up the ridiculousness of bidding on young English talent.

* From hopeful young Liverpool players to actual young Liverpool players—the English youngsters progressed to the knockout stages of the U17 World Cup in Mexico atop Group C after a 2-0 win over fellow qualifiers Uruguay. There was considerable less Liverpool involvement in the final group stage match, with Raheem Sterling, Adam Morgan, Matty Regan, and Jack Dunn all starting on the bench, with only Dunn making a substitute appearance. Brad Smith made his return after missing out through injury against Canada and played a full ninety, and Nathaniel Chalobah (Chelsea) and Max Clayton (Crewe Alexandra) notched the goals that sealed the group victory for England.

We should see a return to normal service for Liverpool’s youngsters in the match with Argentina on Thursday, as Sterling’s been England’s best by a longshot, and each of Morgan, Regan, Dunn, and Smith have featured in two of the three matches. In a summer that saw the U21s fail so miserably, the success of the younger boys has to be encouraging; it’s not just that they progressed past the group stages as expected, but that they’ve put together something resembling football for most of their time in Mexico. So it’s encouraging at least until Stuart Pearce gets a hold of them, when the hoofs start flying and central midfields are bypassed with frightening regularity.

* And lastly, while we’re keeping hope alive that Daniel Agger will make it to the end of August fully fit, it’s nice to hear the Dane speaking positively about the brand of football he sees Liverpool turning out under the guidance of Kenny Dalglish and Steve Clarke:

“I like Kenny’s playing style and I think it suits Liverpool. It suits the football club and it suits the fans. I was really happy he and Steve Clarke signed their deals. Steve has made a big, big impact and he is really good. I can’t say enough good things about him. Kenny suits this club. He knows everything about it, and the fans know him. It’s positive for the future.

“There is a big difference. It is a different way of playing football. The training sessions are enjoyable. People talk about confidence and it is such a big thing in football because it can change from one day to another. The main change is about being positive. Playing positive football and that’s the biggest difference.”

I’ve just as much love for Agger as anyone else, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point some similar quotes at the beginning of last season. But that was also before Liverpool started fighting out hard-earned losses at home to Wolves and Blackpool, and Agger changed his tune even before the calamitous results turned to pot. As usual with Agger, though, the conversation doesn’t really need to be about anything other than his fitness, which has conspired against him far too many times to worry about whether or not he finds the training ground to be an enjoyable place. Liverpool need him fit and are a far better side when he is, and if he’s able to hit the ground running (or at all) in the 2011-2012 campaign we’ve got reason to be optimistic.

That wraps up another slow Monday that we’ll likely all spend awaiting the imminent arrival of Charlie Adam, so keep your eyes on the Twitter for all the inside news that isn’t true. And thanks again to Matt/LucasLeiva21, who was responsible for our guest post over the weekend. Three weeks running we’ve had excellent contributions, which makes the dull days of summer much more manageable.

Back tomorrow to report news of Charlie Adam’s signing before I turn the wheel back over to Noel midweek, so in the meantime you can rethink your strategy to use your backpack as a tee on the cliffside:

Today’s mill is not afraid to shake its booty

Bright, noisy, dripping in gold and not afraid to shake their booty at passing strangers, it can be hard sometimes to tell the difference between Manchester United’s summer transfer policy and Glastonbury headliner Beyoncé. United’s summer of rampant spending looks set to continue with a £6.5m deal for Celtic left-back Emilio Izaguirre — “100% true”, says the player — followed by a £10m move for Barcelona’s European-Under-21-final-free-kick-scoring Thiago Alcântara.

Barcelona are happy to sell him to a Premier League club, the Mirror reports, but only if they can have a buy-back clause inserted into the deal. United aren’t keen on that and as a result look set to lose the player, possibly to Bolton. Well if they liked him they shoulda put a ring on him. Alcântara may in fact end up at Arsenal as a makeweight in the Cesc Fábregas deal, though the Telegraph reckons that Barça are preparing a £31m straight-cash offer for the midfielder that should land on a desk in north London sometime today.

Did anyone else notice, by the way, that Beyoncé’s final words at the end of her Glastonbury set were “drive home safely”? Was that the least rock’n'roll moment in the entire history of rock’n'roll? Other, that is, than the moment Saturday headliners Coldplay submitted a rider rumoured to have included “an assortment of vegetarian, gluten-free dips”. Anyway, we digress. More relevant Glasto talk: Wayne Rooney apparently spent three hours in a drum’n'bass tent and is reported to have been “chuffed” after meeting Mumford & Sons.

Spanish winger Juan Mata has leapt to the top of Arsenal’s transfer wish-list. The 23-year-old has also been linked with Liverpool, but Kenny Dalglish has apparently shifted his focus to Tottenham’s Aaron Lennon, though they’ll have to stump up £18m either way. Talking of Arsenal, their other main target, the Vélez Sársfield midfielder Ricardo Alvarez, might now go to the equally interested Internazionale instead.

Talking of Spurs, it looks like Giovani dos Santos is heading to Spain, though Tottenham want a fairly ambitious £6.5m for the man who has started just nine games for the club in three years and can’t find anyone who wants to pay it – it might help if they show potential bidders his goal in Saturday’s Gold Cup final.

Talking of £18m-rated left wingers, Chelsea have been told they can have Arda Turan from Galatasaray, but only if the Turks get £7m and Didier Drogba in return. If Drogba does go the Blues might hang on to Daniel Sturridge, which would disappoint West Bromwich Albion, Bolton, Newcastle and Stoke.

Stoke’s Matthew Etherington has jumped to the top of Aston Villa’s list of replacements for the departing Stewart Downing, though with James Milner, Charles N’Zogbia, Matt Jarvis and Den Haag’s Wesley Verhoek also there, it’s a pretty chunky list. Downing, incidentally, will hand in a transfer request this week to force through a move to Liverpool, for whom Charlie Adam could sign today (with Jonjo Shelvey heading to Blackpool for a season-long loan).

Bolton are ready to lavish a combined £6m on Benfica winger Rodrigo and Middlesbrough defender Rhys Williams.

Stoke — three mentions in one Mill: what are the odds? — whose back-up keeper Thomas Sorensen could be on his way to West Ham, want £4m-rated Monaco defender Cédric Mongongu. They have also made a complicated double bid for Birmingham duo Scott Dann and Cameron Jerome. Tony Pulis has proposed an £8m initial fee, with all sorts of bonus clauses meaning the fee might so much as double before the Potters have finished paying out. For that to happen, however, both players would have to earn international recognition, Stoke would have to break into the Premier League’s top six and Andy Murray’s collection of Percy Pig sweets would have to sprout wings and fly to the moon.

Craig Gardner is also likely to leave Birmingham, with Sunderland — who are also preparing a £7m bid for Reading’s Shane Long — Wolves and Newcastle — who also want the Paris St-Germain striker Mevlüt Erdinc — scrapping over the goalscoring midfielder. Possibly coming to the Blues is Hibernian manager Colin Calderwood, who Chris Hughton wants to make his assistant (though he might end up taking Dann’s place in defence at this rate).

Manchester City’s megabucks transfer targets of the day are Fiorentina midfielder Alessio Cerci, Partizan Belgrade defender Stefan Savic and the Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero. But trumping them all is Porto’s comedy-named striker Hulk, upon whom a £36m price tag has just been slapped.

And most likely recipient of QPR’s squillions of the day is 37-year-old World Cup winning Italian centre-back legend Fabio Cannavaro.

Neil Lennon is hoping he can convince Emilio Izaguirre and Beram Kayal to stick with Celtic.

Arsene Wenger claims Arsenal are doing all they can to keep Gael Clichy at Emirates Stadium.

**This weekend’s guest post comes from Matt, who’s been posting as LucasLeiva21 (not the real Lucas, as we found out recently) over the past year. He takes a unique approach to recapping the season gone by, drawing on Liverpool’s most famous non-footballing native sons to take a look at how things ended up in the 2010-2011 campaign. Submitted before the Aston Villa match, it’s a great combination of two of the most prestigious Merseyside products. You can get in touch with Matt at mts0189@ya​hoo.com.**

The 2010/11 Liverpool F.C. campaign was, if nothing else, an emotional roller coaster for all involved. Fears of relegation and going into administration, very real possibilities just mere months ago, have now been supplanted by a strong sense of optimism for the next campaign, a campaign that ought to include a serious challenge for title number nineteen and a return to the Champions League in 2012/13. Before we look ahead at the season to come, though, it’s necessary to reflect on the season that was. While I consider myself a perfectly articulate gentleman, I am humble enough to acknowledge that this season was a bit beyond my comprehension. Such lack of comprehension has led me to consult the music and lyrics of Messrs. Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starkey, in a perhaps vain attempt to capture the mixture of misery, suffering, optimism, and joy that was the 2010/11 Liverpool season.

Let me tell you how it will be,
There’s one for you, nineteen for me,
Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
Should five per cent appear too small,
Be thankful I don’t take it all,
Cause I’m the Taxman,
Yeah, I’m the Taxman.
If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat,
If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.

Taxman (August-September 2010): Tom Hicks and George Gillett can be called a lot of bad names for sure. I personally liken them to taxmen, draining the club of its resources through their financial mismanagement. George Harrison wrote the song as an attack on excessive taxation by Prime Minister Harold Wilson, but I find it perfectly apropos in looking at the reign of Hicks and Gillett.

Mr. Hicks and Mr. Gillett had little intention to better the club unless it helped their bottom line, and once their other investments around the world faltered, it became clear as early as the summer of 2008 that players would only be brought in if others were sold, and even then, only a portion of the sales would be put into player acquisition. I’m referring of course to the Gareth Barry saga, where Rafa was put in the difficult position of trying to acquire a left-footed English player to address both the lack of left-footed players on the squad and the upcoming homegrown rule. Of course, this purchase apparently required the sale of Xabi Alonso, and the shopping of the Spanish midfielder set in motion his departure following the brilliant yet anti-climactic 08/09 campaign.

This of course led to the displacement of Javier Mascherano. The loss of Alonso, amongst other factors, contributed to a miserable 09/10 season that saw the loss of Champions League competition for the club and the end of the glorious Rafalution. Mascherano showed up for the 10/11 opener against Arsenal and put on a determined defensive performance in a 1-1 draw that saw a curiously class effort by David Ngog undone by an even curiouser stupid moment by Pepe Reina. After teasing us with such a performance, the Argentine sat out of the Manchester City match in anticipation of his sale to Barcelona, a 3-0 thrashing with a goal by the aforementioned Gareth Barry and the latter goals supplied by another Argentine who has an uncanny resemblance to Frankenstein. The match also saw a recently-concussed Daniel Agger look stupid while playing out of place at left-back, a shining example of the Hodgsonian illogic that pervaded the early months of the season.

By the end of September, the squad was without two centerpieces of its title run of 08/09, in a precarious financial situation, and all too close to the peril of relegation. Oh, and we fucking lost to Northampton Town in the Carling Cup. Yeah, that happened. All thanks to the taxmen draining the club of its wealth to pay off a mountain of debt, and sapping from it the depth and quality necessary to compete for silverware.

You say goodbye and I say hello, hello, hello.
I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello, hello, hello.
I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello.

Why, why, why, why, why, why,
Do you say goodbye, goodbye.
Oh no.

Hello, Goodbye (6-15 October 2010): I think it’s fair to say that when New England Sports Ventures (or what has become the Fenway Sports Group) announced their purchase on 6 October and defeated the bastard Taxmen in court on the 15th, Liverpool fans around the world were saying hello to the new ownership and utterly unconcerned with giving a proper goodbye to the old regime. The new ownership, led by John Henry and Tom Werner, removed the debt albatross from the neck of the club and promised a more responsible business plan from that point on. Now if only we could get better results…

Living is easy with eyes closed
Misunderstanding all you see.
It’s getting hard to be someone.
But it all works out,
It doesn’t matter much to me.

Strawberry Fields Forever (November-December 2010): I’d be lying if I said I’ve ever understood John Lennon lyrics, but then again, I didn’t quite understand what the hell was going on with Liverpool at this point of the season. An acceptable string of results in November raised hope that proved foolish with a horrid December, where a 3-0 win over Aston Villa was followed by losses to Newcastle and Wolverhampton, not to mention the two uninspiring draws in Europa League action that month. Wanting to close my eyes, and misunderstanding everything I was seeing while they were open, I didn’t know how much longer Hodgson could stick around. I know I wasn’t the only one confused—Noel wrote this shortly after the New Year—but it was clear that Mr. Henry had to act quick and remove Roy Hodgson from duty so it could all work out for us.

The lyric “nothing to get hung about” was evidently something that young John Lennon would say to his aunt when she told him not to play in the garden by the Strawberry Fields Salvation Army house. I think most rational human beings would agree that being a shitty manager isn’t a hangable offense. But his performance did warrant a pink slip, sooner rather than later…

Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter,
Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here.
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it’s all right.
Little darling, the smiles returning to their faces,
Little darling it seems like years since it’s been here,
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it’s all right.

Here Comes the Sun (8 January 2011): The proverbial sun that seemed like it had been away for years was none other than King Kenny Dalglish, returning to manage his old club and bring it back to its rightful place in England and Europe. After five miserable months of Hodgson’s Reign of Error, Dalglish was probably the one person who could bring smiles back to the faces of the Kop, and make the long cold lonely winter a bit warmer for Liverpool fans around the globe.

I dig a pony
Well you can celebrate anything you want
Yes you celebrate anything you want
Ooh.

I do a road hog
Well you can penetrate any place you go,
Yes you can penetrate any place you go
I told you so, all I want is you.
Everything has got to be just like you want it to.
Because.

Dig a Pony (28 January 2010): With the transfer window closing on Monday the 31st, Liverpool F.C. had all but locked up the acquisition of Ajax stud and Uruguayan World Cup hero Luis Suarez on Friday the 28th. Like 96.7% of all John Lennon songs from 1968 and on, “Dig a Pony” revolved around Lennon’s obsession with a certain woman of Asian descent who will remain nameless because I don’t like her and I assume without any proper knowledge that she played more than a bit part in breaking up one of the greatest bands ever.

So now that I’ve gotten that off my chest…what were we talking about…right, Suarez! So yeah, he’s awesome and stuff and signing him was really cool, and we all really desired him like Lennon coveted that Asian chick. Surely, signing a player of his quality would indicate to the dissatisfied Spaniards remaining on our squad that staying at Anfield would be an option. Right Pepe? Cool, glad you’re staying, bro. Fernando? Nando?

Father snores as his wife gets into her dressing gown
Picks up the letter that’s lying there
Standing alone at the top of stairs
She breaks down and cries to her husband
Daddy our baby’s gone.
Why would she treat us so thoughtlessly
How could she do this to me.

She (We never thought of ourselves)
Is leaving (Never a thought for ourselves)
Home (We struggled hard all our lives to get by)
She’s leaving home after living alone
For so many years. Bye, bye.

She’s Leaving Home (31 January 2011): So this is the part where I talk about how our Spanish Iscariot pulled a LeBron and took his talents to West London. This resulted in Henry, Comolli et al. netting a cool £50 million from some crazy Russian guy. Meanwhile, Torres went on to score like 50 goals as Chelsea went on win the Premiership and the FA Cup, and they’re almost certain to win Europe as well! Or not.

You never give me your money
Your only give me your funny paper
And in the middle of negotiations you break down

You Never Give Me Your Money (31 January 2011): The last second treachery of our Spanish Iscariot led to the quick yet pricy signing of promising young English talent Andy Carroll. The signing went down at £35 million, which initially seems absurd for a player of young Carroll’s pedigree, but really isn’t when one considers the market for English players of half-decent repute, not to mention the whole window-closing-shut-rapidly thing at the time. There was certainly anxiety on the last day of the window around the negotiations, and whispers following the completion of the sale that young Andy wasn’t thrilled about leaving and wanted to stay with his boyhood club.

One sweet dream
Pick up the bags, get in the limousine.
Soon we’ll be away from here.
Step on the gas and wipe that tear away,
One sweet dream came true today, came true today.
Came true today, yes, it did

Yet it appears Mr. Carroll is quite alright with his move to Anfield so far, and he looked mighty fine on 11 April when he had a brace against Man City. A mixture of injuries and other factors has prevented Andy from debuting as nicely as Suarez has, but the future is promising nonetheless.

I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in
And stops my mind from wandering
Where it will go.
I’m filling in the cracks that ran through the door
And kept my mind from wandering
Where it will go.

Fixing a Hole (January-March 2011): It was always apparent, even with the promising acquisitions of Suarez and Carroll and the excitement around the return of the King, that there was work to be done to repair the proverbial leaks dragging down the Liverpool Football Club. Results were not instantaneous, but it became apparent on the 2nd and 6th of February that Dalglish and his tactical consigliere Steve Clarke were capable of making the necessary tactical decisions to win. The dates above were of course a reference to the 2-0 victory over Stoke and 1-0 triumph over Chelsea, wins each reliant upon a rare three-man defense that allowed Liverpool to control the midfield against each opponent while playing wide with wingbacks Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson. Liverpool would crash out of the Europa League in March after two disappointing matches against Braga, indicative of the lack of depth at the club that remains an issue, yet this period also saw an encouraging 3-1 defeat of Manchester United, thanks to a Dirk Kuyt hat-trick inspired by the ingenuity of a Uruguayan that we all just can’t seem to get enough of.

Me used to be angry young man
Me hiding me head in the sand
You gave me the word
I finally heard
I’m doing the best that I can.

I admit it’s getting better
It’s a little better all the time yes
I admit it’s getting better
It’s getting better since you’ve been mine.

Getting Better (April-May 2011): After a regrettable loss to Roy Hodgson and West Brom on the 2nd of April, the squad began an excellent run of form that, for just a moment, made Champions League a slim possibility for next season. Convincing wins over Manchester City, Birmingham, Newcastle, and Fulham were accompanied with a thrilling draw at the Emirates, which included not one but two questionable penalties in added time, followed by the always beautiful sight of a heroic Scotsman telling a cowardly Frenchman to piss off, AND then to fuck off. Good stuff. Disappointing losses to Tottenham and Villa to close the season served as reminders of the lack of depth at the club.

That about wraps up the season review with Beatles tracks, hope you enjoyed it. Let’s all hope for solid acquisitions in the summer, so we don’t have a Long and Winding Road to Get Back to where we once belonged (and still belong). But while I’m at it, I would like to make suggestions for two player songs: Reina and Lucas. Both deserve songs, and if Alonso could have a Beatles song (and Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da of all songs, which manages to be the only horrible song on the White Album. Except for Revolution 9, which has no use whatsoever I’m fairly certain), then Reina and Lucas could get something similar.

Reina (Across the Universe): “Jai guru deva om/Nothing’s gonna change my world” can easily be “Hey it’s Pepe Reina (Oh)/Nothing ever gets past you.” Or so I think. Not sure what the other words to the song would be, but figured I’d throw it out there, with Reina not having a proper song and all.

Lucas (Something):

Something in the way he passes
Cannot be done by other holders
Something in the way, he covers
Its Lucas Leiva, well
Brazil’s gift to the EPL
Du-du du, du, du

Something along those lines might be solid. I’m no lyrical wordsmith, so someone else with talent can feel free to contribute in the comments section. I will be insulted, though, if one of these songs doesn’t catch on at some point or another in the Kop.

Felipe Melo is unhappy at reports Juventus have offered him as part of a bid to sign Raul Meireles.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard faces a race to be fit in time for the start of the new season.