Reds chief refuses to panic buy

Liverpool's co-owner George Gillett insists he will sanction the level of spending that boss Rafa Benitez has demanded - but not for the sake of it.
Reds fans have become frustrated with the club's lack of action in the transfer market so far this summer.

Gillett told The Times: "I sense that kind of pressure building from the media - but we are working on things.

"Rafa has a programme under way and, as that unfolds, that will be the time for us to be judged, not now."

Following Liverpool's defeat by AC Milan in the Champions League on 23 May, Benitez said Liverpool must "spend big and spend now" to close the gap on Manchester United and Chelsea at the top of the Premiership.

He has brought in Andrey Voronin on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen and signed Hungarian teenagers Kristian Nemeth and Andras Simon.

The Reds are also close to wrapping up a £6m deal for Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva.

But the established world-class signings expected by supporters after the arrival of Gillett and co-owner Tom Hicks have not yet materialised.

"We're not going to do something just to try to prove something," Gillett explained.

"What we've said and what Rafa has said was that we had a programme and he would share that with us and that we would support it.

"The first part was that we identified a number of our existing star players (Jose Reina, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso) whom Rafa wanted to sign on long-term contracts.

"That was the first step and it has been done. Now we're moving on to phase two, which is bringing players in."


At last the first meaning and truthful assessment on the transfer front regarding Liverpool.
This is taken from BBC Sport   Link - http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/6759507.stm

Let's hope this will stop the meaningless panic posts stating that we haven't signed big yet.

About time they came out and put the media and the fans straight, it was the fact that nothing was getting said that was frustrating, feel a lot better now though.    There had to be good reason for Xabi, Stevie, Pepe and Jamie to sign new contracts.....watch this space !!     

Rafa's favored formation next season will be 1-3-6-1. All the midfielders will be colliding with each other every few minutes and our lone striker will be beating a lonely path up front, or so it seems.

Unless I'm completely missing the point can someone please explain to me why we need yet another midfielder. We need another world class striker, to score goals, and win things!

I really do hope Rafa has a rabbit in a hat somewhere because if all the speculation about this player and that player being linked with Liverpool is true nothing I've seen / heard yet has wet my appetite. Like I've said before what is going on behind closed doors at Anfield is anyones guess and until something is set in stone we'll just have to wait with baited breath... but not too long please Rafa, my lungs aren't that big!   

Check out this impression / interview with 'Rafa Benitez' - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdKzmAugiUs
Pretty good!   

The new Liverpool owners are stupid.
At first when they came they said that they would back Rafa completely in the transfer market
So far they have done nothing and its really annoying
We need world class players if we want to win things
The owners are now saying that they will not splash out a lot of cash
Which i think is stupid because in in order for Liverpool to become a premiership contender
That is what were gona have to do

The new Liverpool owners are stupid.

Of course they are! They haven't got a clue! They are not successful businessmen. Rafa is not one of the best managers in Europe!  
Perhaps they should get their cheque books out and start buying anyone and everyone just to satisfy those Liverpool fans who want a team of all stars. The Chavs tried that approach with Chavshenko and Bollock but that back-fired to the tune of £50m 
Patience is a virtue, Rome was not built in a day etc etc,
Any decent player worth his salt will see that things are moving forward at Liverpool, slowly at the moment it has to be said. If any player is in it for the money they know where the revolving door is and personally I don't think the " stupid owners  " would even entertain them. Rafa is not a man of too much sentiment either, Dudek and Fowler have left the building, if you see what I mean.
Liverpool is about passion and desire which result in victory and honours

yea

Of course they are! They haven't got a clue! They are not successful businessmen. Rafa is not one of the best managers in Europe!  
Perhaps they should get their cheque books out and start buying anyone and everyone just to satisfy those Liverpool fans who want a team of all stars. The Chavs tried that approach with Chavshenko and Bollock but that back-fired to the tune of £50m 
Patience is a virtue, Rome was not built in a day etc etc,
Any decent player worth his salt will see that things are moving forward at Liverpool, slowly at the moment it has to be said. If any player is in it for the money they know where the revolving door is and personally I don't think the " stupid owners  " would even entertain them. Rafa is not a man of too much sentiment either, Dudek and Fowler have left the building, if you see what I mean.
Liverpool is about passion and desire which result in victory and honours

ye i no wat you mean its just dey really need big name players aswell

yeaye I no wat you mean its just dey really need big name players aswell

Its not about how big their name is! Its what there going to produce! We could bring in Trezeguet because hes a big name player but i doubt he would do much!

I doubt he would do much either
but the likes of drogba and tevez
there class and have already proven themselves in the premiership





edited due to illiteracy.
now we can all understand it.

The new Liverpool owners are stupid.
At first when they came they said that they would back Rafa completely in the transfer market
So far they have done nothing and its really annoying

Who says they've done nothing ??
Believing the british media are you ?
Name me a player who they've refused Rafa to buy ?
I don't think it's the Liverpool owners who are stupid.

i never said they refused rafa 2 buy any1
all i said is that we need more big names in our squad
if we want to win things

Some idiot posts in this thread.

Sound judgement so far by the board.  They have given extended contracts to a key nucleus of our best players. Sound idea!

As for the transfers - not one player has yet been transferred to another club that we have 'missed out on'.

I doubt he would do much either
but the likes of drogba and tevez
there class and have already proven themselves in the premiership

edited due to illiteracy.
now we can all understand it.

Have people forgotten how to spell? There is a spell checker!
Even if there is a spell checker I don't think I could possibly understand some of the recent posts Jabba!

The British press is only there for one reason, it's like a big soap opera and some people get sucked into it big time. They buy into it and gossip and play Chinese whispers until it turns into a great big rumor mill. Only when it comes straight from the horses mouth will it hold any water and until then there's a hole in my bucket dear Liza!

Have people forgotten how to spell? There is a spell checker!
Even if there is a spell checker I don't think I could possibly understand some of the recent posts Jabba!

The British press is only there for one reason, it's like a big soap opera and some people get sucked into it big time. They buy into it and gossip and play Chinese whispers until it turns into a great big rumor mill. Only when it comes straight from the horses mouth will it hold any water and until then there's a hole in my bucket dear Liza!

I have no excuse even more, Firefox 2 has an auto spell checker as default!

But hey, Gillet is right, we have resigned our best players, and now can look forward to some rubbing of financial muscle.

Just be patient.The Spanish season ends tomorrow,expect a few from there,we now most of our buys will come from here.Just wait and see.

Just be patient.The Spanish season ends tomorrow,expect a few from there,we now most of our buys will come from here.Just wait and see.

ye i agree with you on that

I never said they refused rafa 2 buy any1
all I said is that we need more big names in our squad
if we want to win things

It's not about buying big name players it's about getting the top quality players we need to push on for the league title.
On the article it appears that there is more going on behind the scenes than most of the media realise and I'm hoping that in the next couple of weeks the signings will begin to happen. There seems to be a focus from the club to get the players to sign new contracts first and then concentrate on getting the right players into the club.

It's not about buying big name players it's about getting the top quality players we need to push on for the league title.
On the article it appears that there is more going on behind the scenes than most of the media realise and I'm hoping that in the next couple of weeks the signings will begin to happen. There seems to be a focus from the club to get the players to sign new contracts first and then concentrate on getting the right players into the club.

Totally agree mate. It seems to me that there's a plan of action in place to do things sensible and careful. Now the key players are signed up for longer, then we can concentrate on getting who we really need to progress, in the next few weeks. And not just going crazy for "big name players"....

Totally agree mate. It seems to me that there's a plan of action in place to do things sensible and careful. Now the key players are signed up for longer, then we can concentrate on getting who we really need to progress, in the next few weeks. And not just going crazy for "big name players"....

I have to admit kenny I was getting a bit concerned after all the recent speculation, but that interview has made me feel a lot better. I like the sound of how the new owners seem to be operating and will be wating to see some action over the next few weeks. As I said before I want to see 3-4 top quality players brought to the club regardless of how big a 'name' they are.

I have to admit kenny I was getting a bit concerned after all the recent speculation, but that interview has made me feel a lot better. I like the sound of how the new owners seem to be operating and will be wating to see some action over the next few weeks. As I said before I want to see 3-4 top quality players brought to the club regardless of how big a 'name' they are.

And you're not on your own there mate! I've been suffering from "accute impatience" 
And it's tough when there's no signals or signs and you have to put up with media driven hype. But it's certainly good to hear from the club and to acknowledge we're not in the business of being reckless. If that was the case, I'd be a lot more concerned for the future of the club than being impatient of who we're gonna buy.
Looking forward to the coming weeks!

I sense a few deals coming on next week..

Some people are getting seriously worried on this forum aren't they, most deals that have been done by clubs are just agreements, officially transfer window doesn't actually open until July 1st.

Plus SSN is seriously getting on my nerves, its like a tabloid newspaper on the tv. Being honest here but when rafa makes some signings, first time I want to see them is when rafa is introducing THEM to the press at anfield or melwood.

And I'm actually glad Tom and George won't tell the press and TV how much Rafa has got to spend, tell them nothing - ah getting back to the good old days - love it!

I must admit im a bit dismayed at the lack of transfer activity hopefully something will happen soon.

Post from Kelv78 "I must admit I'm a bit dismayed at the lack of transfer activity hopefully something will happen soon"

Dont be dismayed fella, just be patient, for it is almost certain that when Raffa spends he will spend in Spain, and seens how there season does not finish until today, it is from here on in that the Transfer free for all will begin.

Just on that note lets hope that Athletico De Madrid get beat today and don't qualify for Europe next season, Surely if that is the case Torres will be ours within the week.