Anfield Red

Yossi Benayoun’s time with Liverpool appears to be up, after a number of websites confirmed that the Israeli midfielder had agreed to terms on a four-year contract with Chelsea.

Whilst Liverpool have gone into damage control by denying the transfer rumour, it would appear that things are most likely nearing a conclusion.

Benayoun will move into the wing left vacant by Joe Cole. Whilst I’d love to sit here and say we won’t miss Benayoun, I’d be lying through my teeth. He was a spark off the bench when we needed him, as well as bringing a bit of pace and creativity that we lacked.

He cast doubt on his future when he said “he couldn’t say for sure” if he’d be at the club at the start of next season. He’s been one of the first names to go this summer after Benitez left, so nobody should be shocked to see him being linked with another club.

Whilst Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard remain mum on their future with the club, as well as the new manager prospects, Daniel Agger has gone against the grain by commenting on his future with the club.

“I’m a little surprised because I didn’t see it coming,” Agger said in the Liverpool Echo. “Of course there has been a lot of talk about it but I didn’t see it happening right now. The time with him was good.

“He is a good manager, he knows his stuff and he knows what football is about. When I return from my summer holiday, I’ll see what is new, but his exit has no bearing on my future. I’m committed to Liverpool.”

Agger is the first Liverpool player to fully commit himself to the club amidst all the turmoil. It’s good to see someone come out and speak up during what is obviously a difficult period for all the players at the club.

The World Cup may have started earlier today but that doesn’t mean the news at Liverpool takes a break. We’ve got a number of news items coming across the wire that piqued our interest on this glorious Friday evening.

Whilst you wait for Ireland France to play Uruguay, take a peek at what and who is talking about the club:

No comment, thank you very much – Steven Gerrard was asked to comment on the managerial situation ahead of our massive match tomorrow against the Yanks, and he was less than amused to have to rebuff another reporter asking the same bloody question after he already made it clear that he’s not commenting during the World Cup.

The transfer wires are buzzing this morning with the rumour that Liverpool are set to ramp-up their chase for Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. That seems pretty standard when you consider he was the front-runner for the open post all along. Whilst other names have been thrown into the mix, Hogdson’s name has been the name most commonly linked with the club.

I’d love to sit here and tell you Hogdson’s the man for the job, but I’d be lying through my teeth. Truth be told, there are better names out there to take over; although I’m not sure any of them could keep Fernando Torres and/or Steven Gerrard from leaving this summer, save for one name: Kenny Dalglish.

Well this should go over well with season ticket holders. This coming from The Guardian:

“Liverpool have announced the ticket prices for next season, with an increase of 7% hitting supporters who are already incensed with the club’s American owners. Part of the rise is due to the return of VAT to 17.5% from its temporary level of 15% introduced by the government during the recession, but most of the extra cash will go to the club.

“There had been fears the new ticket prices would be higher as the announcement was late but even so an increase is not going to be well-received with the team finishing seventh in the league and missing out on Champions League football.”

The Rafa Benitez era ended last week when the club came to a £6m buyout agreement with the manager, but today officially put a close to his reign with the announcement that he’ll be taking over for Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan in the coming year.

The Guardian, among others, is reporting that Benitez and Inter president Massimo Moratti have agreed to term on a three-year £4.1m deal that should be finalised by tomorrow with his introduction as the new manager of the club.

“We have worked out the final details, which weren’t important issues in any case,” Moratti said. “We will let you know when his official presentation will be tomorrow.”

I’ve never put a lot of weight in betting odds when it comes to figuring out a player or coach’s next move, but a story that came out today gave me a pretty good idea of what Liverpool is up against this summer with Benitez no longer in place.

Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are the biggest names being linked with moves away this summer, and while I’d be completely shocked to see both leave the club after the World Cup, there’s still a pretty good chance that both will be linked with a number of clubs in the coming months.

Gerrard’s odds have already been slashed, and we haven’t even reached the first day of the World Cup. Sky Bet has already slashed his odds of moving to Real Madrid this summer from 6/5 to 8/11, making it clear that Gerrard is the more likely of the two to walk away from the club.

First off, an apology to everyone here on the site for going MIA for the last month. I’ve been working away and taking a break from the mess going on with the club. You can talk all you want about it, but sometimes it just makes sense to step away, take a breath and then pick yourself up and continue. The break was much needed – although it still looks like there’s plenty to talk about after yesterday’s announcement.

There are very few people I trust when it comes to real, legitimate news on our club. One look at the tripe that’s plastered across every rag in the country is more than enough reason for any sane person to treat every story and rumour surrounding the goings-on at Liverpool as false from the start.

But if there is one person I actually do trust more than most, it’s Tony Barrett. Say what you will about the Times journalist, but he’s usually one with real news and answers when it comes to the pulse of the club. I’d implore all of you with questions to read Barrett’s recent live chat, where he took the time to answer a host of questions.

While I’ll leave the transcript reading up to you, I did want to point out some of the more interesting questions and responses, and also give my take on what I think about his response:

Rafa Benitez today left Liverpool Football Club by “Mutual Consent” (forced out of the club), and has released a small statement to the club and the fans.

In April 2010, Liverpool Chairman Martin Broughton came out and said “we want him to stay” at Anfield, yet today he was forced out of the club, with Broughton releasing a statement saying the club needed a change.