LFC bid for Neill

[marley1]

He will get my support. 100%

hes older and wiser now(hopefully).

[kurtangle01]

hes older and wiser now(hopefully).

Yeah hopefully. I'm sure Rafa would sort him out if he isn't.

[marley1]

Yeah hopefully. I'm sure Rafa would sort him out if he isn't.

poor rafa's running a halfway house.

[rodo]

mr oldham is now quoting another exclusive on newsnow that we are closing in on neill **** me that i didn`t know

[Maestro]

I think there are several reasons we are after Neill, chiefly -

* we're in the market for a back-up centre back
* we're in the market for a back-up right back
* We don't have much money to spend

Neill can play anywhere in the back four, and will probably cost 2 Mill.

He is available, experienced, versatile and has Premiership and World Cup experience.He's also got a few years on Stevie Finnan - who was the only member of the squad thusfar not to have serious competition for his starting place, which is, in itself, a dangerous thing, IMO.

Finnan is definitely the better player of the two, but we need to have adequate cover for him, and we need to keep him on his toes.
We also need to have adequate - and experienced - cover for CB. If Sami had gotten injured in the 1st minute at W.Ham, we would
have been royally ****ed.

FWIW, I heard that yesterday's bid was only 1.5 Mill….we were trying to be cheeky. The bid should be raised today to 2Million, which I think Blackburn will have to accept.

[univofchicago]

I like Finnan as he is - the best right back in the country.

[Rich]

All talk of the delightful Mr Neill I've lumped together in this one....

[lfc4ever]

Benitez back in for Neill transfer

Aug 31 2006

By Nick Smith, Daily Post

Lucas Neill

LIVERPOOL are ready to go back in with an improved offer to land Lucas Neill before the transfer window closes today.

A bid believed to be in the region of £2million has already been rejected by the Australian defender's club, Blackburn Rovers.

But Neill is keen on a move to Anfield despite the best efforts that Rovers will make today to persuade him to stay.

The Lancashire club have made a stuttering start to the season, with the draw against Everton last Wednesday being their only point in three Premiership games, and are reluctant to lose their influential defender.

But they anticipated Liverpool's interest by signing Dutch centre-half Andre Ooijer from PSV Eindhoven last week.

However, Blackburn manager Mark Hughes led his team to Europe last season on the back of a solid defensive unit so is keen to avoid Neill going the same way as Craig Bellamy did earlier in the summer, when the lure of Anfield proved too much to resist.

It is also understood that Rovers are not particularly anxious to cash in on Neill - who will be a free agent at the end of the season - before the end of the August deadline.

The 28-year-old, who first came to England 11 years ago to play for Millwall, can technically buy himself out of his current contract if he insists on making the move. But the negotiations that this would involve are unlikley to be completed before the end of today anyway.

Should Liverpool land their man, the right-sided defensive cover this will give

manager Rafael Benitez is likely to seal Jan Kromkamp's protracted move back to Holland and PSV Eindhoven.

Neill's trademark tough tackling is well known to Liverpool supporters after his reckless lunge at Jamie Carragher in September 2003 broke the Liverpool defender's leg and kept him out for most of that season.

He was shown the red card for the two-footed tackle in that game at Ewood Park and has already been dismissed once this season, on the opening day of the campaign against Portsmouth.

Although most of his time at Rovers has been spent at right-back, he can play in central defence, where he excelled in the World Cup for Australia.

His performances in helping the Aussies reach the knock-out stages have convinced Benitez that he has the quality to improve his options in the back four.

Meanwhile, two Liverpool strikers who played a major part in the club's Champions League triumph left Anfield yesterday.

Neil Mellor and Florent Sinama-Pongolle both scored in the famous 3-1 win over Olympiakos in December 2004, that secured Liverpool's progress to the knock-out stages before they eventually went on to lift the trophy the following May. But with only 50 Premiership appearances between them, they signed deals with other clubs before the end of the transfer window.

Mellor went to Preston North End on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old has been dogged by knee injuries and spent a brief spell on loan at Wigan last season.

North End manager Paul Simpson said: "Neil is a goalscorer and hopefully that will continue to be the case for us. He is a tremendous signing for the club. We accept that he has had his injury problems but we are happy that he is over those and it's just a case now of building up his fitness levels."

Mellor made just 12 Premiership appearances at Liverpool, scoring twice, most famously the superb winner against Arsenal two years ago.

French striker

Sinama-Pongolle has agreed to sign a one-year deal with Primera Liga Recreativo Huelvaside.

The under-21 international, who joined Liverpool from Le Havre in 2003, played on loan at Blackburn Rovers for the second half of last season.

Recreativo, who are also poised to take Salif Diao from Anfield, were promoted to the top flight for only the third time in their history when they topped the standings in the second division last season.

[baronvonskidmark]

"Neill on brinkAug 31 2006




By Chris Bascombe , Liverpool Echo


LUCAS NEILL today expected the go-ahead to complete his transfer to Liverpool - as Rafa Benitez considered whether to allow Stephen Warnock to move in the opposite direction.

Blackburn rejected Liverpool's first bid for the 28-year-old Aussie, but negotiations continued overnight with Mark Hughes demanding a fee plus Warnock.

Benitez instantly dismissed that proposal. Warnock is just 24 and a recent England international.

However, as talks progressed today, if a cash deal couldn't be agreed there was a possibility Liverpool would sanction a straight swop for Warnock.

Despite Rovers' reluctance to sell Neill, the mood at Anfield today was optimistic a deal would be thrashed out before midnight.




Story continues

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The Aussie defender has made it clear to his club he's desperate to move.


And despite Blackburn trying to claim as much as £4m for Neill's signature - way beyond Liverpool's valuation - they know they risk receiving nothing if the day passes without agreement.


Neill is entering the last year of his contract and is sure to leave on a Bosman next summer if his move to Liverpool is blocked.


Alternatively, having turned 28, Neill could activate a new FIFA ruling and leave by buying out the remainder of his Ewood Park contract at a cost of £1.2m.


Although that would be a lengthy process, from Blackburn's point of view the final outcome would be the same. They would lose the player for less than Liverpool are prepared to offer now.


Clearly another hectic days was in store for Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry as they tried to overcome the final hurdles.


The club managed to offload two youngsters as Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Neil Mellor joined Recreativo and Preston, respectively. Sinama moved on loan, Mellor signed a three-year-contract.


But there was a setback as Salif Diao's move to Spain collapsed because he couldn't agree personal terms.


Diao was handed a staggeringly lucrative contract when he joined Liverpool in 2002 and would rather earn his money on Merseyside than leave for regular football.


It's highly unlikely he'll move before the end of the day.


Jan Kromkamp, however, is leaving Liverpool to join PSV Eindhoven foraround £2m."

You just knew that something would happen with the Diao deal and that we'd be stuck with him for another year.

[Mumsafan]

I hate Diao - the robbin *******!

[rodo]

"Neill on brinkAug 31 2006




By Chris Bascombe , Liverpool Echo


LUCAS NEILL today expected the go-ahead to complete his transfer to Liverpool - as Rafa Benitez considered whether to allow Stephen Warnock to move in the opposite direction.

Blackburn rejected Liverpool's first bid for the 28-year-old Aussie, but negotiations continued overnight with Mark Hughes demanding a fee plus Warnock.

Benitez instantly dismissed that proposal. Warnock is just 24 and a recent England international.

However, as talks progressed today, if a cash deal couldn't be agreed there was a possibility Liverpool would sanction a straight swop for Warnock.

Despite Rovers' reluctance to sell Neill, the mood at Anfield today was optimistic a deal would be thrashed out before midnight.




Story continues

ADVERTISEMENT

The Aussie defender has made it clear to his club he's desperate to move.


And despite Blackburn trying to claim as much as £4m for Neill's signature - way beyond Liverpool's valuation - they know they risk receiving nothing if the day passes without agreement.


Neill is entering the last year of his contract and is sure to leave on a Bosman next summer if his move to Liverpool is blocked.


Alternatively, having turned 28, Neill could activate a new FIFA ruling and leave by buying out the remainder of his Ewood Park contract at a cost of £1.2m.


Although that would be a lengthy process, from Blackburn's point of view the final outcome would be the same. They would lose the player for less than Liverpool are prepared to offer now.


Clearly another hectic days was in store for Benitez and chief executive Rick Parry as they tried to overcome the final hurdles.


The club managed to offload two youngsters as Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Neil Mellor joined Recreativo and Preston, respectively. Sinama moved on loan, Mellor signed a three-year-contract.


But there was a setback as Salif Diao's move to Spain collapsed because he couldn't agree personal terms.


Diao was handed a staggeringly lucrative contract when he joined Liverpool in 2002 and would rather earn his money on Merseyside than leave for regular football.


It's highly unlikely he'll move before the end of the day.


Jan Kromkamp, however, is leaving Liverpool to join PSV Eindhoven foraround £2m."

You just knew that something would happen with the Diao deal and that we'd be stuck with him for another year.

diao is takin the piss now and hope rafa doesn`t let warnock go

[Rich]

End of the day, Diao was offered that contract by Parry and Moores, just because it was utterly ridiculous isn't his fault.

Somebody offers me £50k+ a week, for 5 years - my god, I'll be there in a shot!

He'll be lucky to get a contract for a tenth of that value next time.

[red g]

kraptalk get all their snippets from newsnow LOL
OH AND THE GATEMAN AT MELWOOD

and whitters

[Shaggy]

**** OFF DIAO!!!!

Don't want to see Warnock shipped out either, certainly not for Neill.

[zimbo]

Diao was handed a staggeringly lucrative contract when he joined Liverpool in 2002 and would rather earn his money on Merseyside than leave for regular football.

Clearly a definition of the word 'earn' that I've not previously been aware of.