Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks says Rafa Benitez must challenge for the Premier League title to justify his transfer spending.
Speaking after Liverpool's loss to Besiktas in the Champions League, Hicks said that the league is the club's priority after Benitez based his pre-season spending on creating a squad capable of challenging Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Hicks and partner George Gillet sanctioned the purchase of Fernando Torres for £26.5million and Ryan Babel for £11.5million - among others - and are expecting a quick return on their investment.
Hicks told The Guardian: "One of the reasons we made the signings we did in the summer was to create the depth we now have. Rafa explained to George and me that is how you win the Prem, because you have to play every team twice. We totally support Rafa, nobody wants to win more than Rafa. But I know when we committed the resources for signings in the summer the whole idea was to have a team that could compete for the Premier League. We've not had the depth previously to do that. This squad is good enough to win things. It should be winning things. If it doesn't we'll have to look at the circumstances and have a meeting at the end of the year to understand what happened. I don't want to predict failure, I want to predict success."
Liverpool face unbeaten league leaders Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.
16 10 2007
Ajax defender Urby Emanuelson has admitted he would welcome a January switch to Italian side Roma.
The 21-year-old was linked with a summer move to Serie A, but the transfer was blocked by the Amsterdam giants.
He told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: "It doesn't surprise me that they have come in for me again. They did approach my agent Brian Berkleef in the summer and told him that they would offer Ajax eight million euros. That did not happen because (Ajax technical director) Martin van Geel had said that no-one could leave Ajax following the departures of Ryan Babel and Wesley Sneijder. Roma is a nice club, where I certainly would like to play."
14 10 2007
Ryan Babel was left out of Holland's team for Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier with Romania because the Liverpool star overslept.
Dutch boss Marco van Basten admitted he dropped Babel and named Real Madrid's Arjen Robben in his line-up for the 1-0 defeat in Bucharest as a punishment for the Reds striker missing two team meetings.
Van Basten said: "It was the second time that Babel overslept on a match day. That should never happen. That's why I left him out of the team. Robben trained hard and he is fit, so he played instead. It is very well possible that Babel feels disappointed," added van Basten.
"It is also not my style to handle these kinds of things this way. But we also expect that players obey rules during a match."
12 10 2007
Harry Kewell is expected to return to full training at Liverpool next week.
The Australia midfielder has not kicked a ball for the Anfield club this season after picking up a groin injury while playing for his country in the Asian Cup in the summer.
It was the latest in a series of injury setbacks for the former Leeds player, but manager Rafael Benitez is now hoping Kewell can prove his fitness and press for a place in the first team squad.
Benitez told Liverpool's official website: "Harry has been working really hard with the physios and next week he could be training or running with the rest of the first team. Harry is very important for us. A player with pace and ability who can score goals is always going to be important."
This could well be the last chance Kewell gets to extend his stay at Liverpool. Several teams were interested in his services during the summer, but Benitez wanted to give the former Leeds winger every chance to prove his value to the club.
But if Kewell fails to establish himself in the squad this time, he is likely to be surplus to requirements at the end of the season.
Despite heavy spending on bringing new wide midfielders to the club in Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun, Benitez insists Kewell still has a role to play at Anfield.
He said: "It's clear he's someone with great quality and experience and we need these kind of players for the rest of the season."
Meanwhile, Benitez is keeping his fingers crossed that Fernando Torres does not aggravate an ankle injury when he plays for Spain this weekend.
The Liverpool striker was restricted to just a light training session with his international team-mates earlier in the week, but he is expected to figure in Spain's crucial clash with Denmark on Saturday.
Benitez, who wants the player fit for his first Mersey derby at Everton on Saturday week, added: "It is a risk but I know he wants to play because they have such an important game for Spain."
06 10 2007
New boy Ryan Babel insists Rafael Benitez's rotation policy at Liverpool is "not an issue" as far as he is concerned.
The Dutch youngster could well find himself the beneficiary of the ever-changing Benitez team selection on Sunday when he is expected to get a starting place against Tottenham at Anfield.
It is fair to say that being openly critical of your manager over such a touchy subject is not good for your health, but Babel insists he is more than satisfied with the way he is being treated by Benitez, who he describes as "a really nice guy".
On reflection though, more is made of Benitez's selection ideas outside the Liverpool camp than inside, where the likes of Jamie Carragher, Sami Hyypia, Fernando Torres and even Peter Crouch - the main man to suffer - have all backed their manager in recent weeks.
Crouch, despite some murmuring of complaint via his advisors earlier in the season, now says: "If you play for a big club you have to accept it."
Babel, the £11.5million winger from Ajax, has only started five matches this season but he said: "It's something different for me but it is not an issue. Everyone knows the boss likes to change line-ups and tactics depending on who we are playing. But I understand why he does it. You cannot play the same way in every match and you can't use the same players all the time. Flexibility is vital. It is an important part of the game and even more so here in England where teams play in four competitions. It is unrealistic to expect every player to play week in week out. It is similar to when the boss switches the wingers in games. Sometimes I play on the left and it doesn't work, so making changes can help both wingers. It gives the team an unpredictability and that has to be good. It means the opposition are not quite sure about what you are going to do and that gives them problems because they're left guessing."
Now the 20 year-old aims to make his mark in Benitez's plans, while insisting he knows he can do better.
Babel said: "I know I am capable of better. I know I still have not reached my real level, I can produce a lot more and hopefully the fans will see that as the season progresses. I am still learning how to play alongside my team-mates, and that will take time. I am still working out how to fit into the new formations the boss uses, and the way he wants me to play. It is very different from Ajax, I knew this move would not be easy but generally I am pleased with how my first season in England has started. But it is different. In the Eredivisie the ball spends a lot more time on the grass so that is also something I'm still adapting to.
He added: "Over here you come up against more teams that do not play that way, they prefer the ball in the air. That is new to me but again is something I must get used to."
Babel stands a good chance of starting on the left flank against Spurs following the patchy display of Sebastian Leto against Marseille in midweek, while Benitez will have to do without full-back Fabio Aurelio due to a calf injury.
But it is likely that he will recall Javier Mascherano, John Arne Riise, Alvaro Arbeloa and Andriy Voronin for this game where three points are vital for Liverpool if they are to get the critics off their backs.
05 10 2007
Hedwiges Maduro, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Arjen Robben have returned to the Netherlands squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia.
The three players have been out of the picture in recent months. Huntelaar has not played for the national team since June, Maduro not since the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, while a knee injury has kept Robben out of the squad since his last appearance in March.
Mario Melchiot, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder are included despite being suspended for the game against Group G leaders Romania in Constanta.
The two countries are level on 20 points and are battling with Bulgaria, two points back but having played a game more, for the top two places.
Henk Timmer provides extra cover for goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who is doubtful with a toe injury, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink misses out with a hamstring injury.
Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United FC), Maarten Stekelenburg (AFC Ajax), Henk Timmer (Feyenoord).
Defenders: Khalid Boulahrouz (Sevilla FC), Wilfred Bouma (Aston Villa FC), Urby Emanuelson (AFC Ajax), John Heitinga (AFC Ajax), Kew Jaliens (AZ Alkmaar), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburger SV), Mario Melchiot (Wigan Athletic FC), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn Rovers FC).
Midfielders: Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Nigel de Jong (Hamburger SV), Hedwiges Maduro (AFC Ajax), Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid CF), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburger SV), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar).
Forwards: Ryan Babel (Liverpool FC), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AFC Ajax), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool FC), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid CF), Robin van Persie (Arsenal FC), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid CF).
