Some News
Benitez to City: Crouch is not for sale
LONDON: Rafael Benitez has told today’s opponents Manchester City to forget about signing Peter Crouch next month.
The 6’ 7” in striker and his Liverpool team-mate Momo Sissoko are both known to be unhappy at Anfield with the transfer window about to open.
Boss Benitez is no stranger to wheeling and dealing but rarely lets his big players go in mid-season when replacements are hard to come by.
And he insists the same will apply this year – unless a club weighs in with an offer of around £40mil for one of his stars.
Benitez believes the rest of Liverpool’s league campaign will have to be almost perfect if they are to win the title so needs all his options open.
City are one of the clubs who have been linked with Crouch but Benitez said: “We are not thinking about selling any player because we will play in the FA Cup, Champions League and Premier League and we want to be close to the top of the table.
“You don’t know if you will have more injuries so you must try to keep the players that you have – we are happy with them.
“If someone comes in and makes an offer of £40mil then maybe we need to consider it.
“But the problem is when you sell a player you need to have another one if you want to keep your squad strong.
“It’s not easy to say we will do this or we will do that. But right now we don’t want to sell anyone.”
The likes of Djibril Cisse, Fernando Morientes and Craig Bellamy have been forced to bide their time and wait for a summer move in the past.
And it appears Crouch and midfielder Sissoko may have to do likewise and be patient as the Reds are still chasing glory on three fronts.
Benitez, 47, said: “They are professionals and they need to understand they are at a top side fighting for trophies.
“If someone wanted to go they need to understand we need all the players now.
“Every situation is different but summer would be easier because you have more time.
“Right now we will try to say no. I like to be calm and analyse the big picture.
“There is no need for me to put myself or my players under pressure if we have made a mistake in a game.” Benitez knows there is little room for error if his team are to win the league and they face a stiff task at Eastlands.
City dropped home points for the first time against Blackburn on Thursday.
But the Reds boss has been delighted with the response to the 1-0 defeat against United this month and still feels the title is a possibility.
He added: “Everybody was saying we were out of the race after that defeat yet two games later we are closer.
“We need to use all the experience we have, say every game will be different and see again after another two, three or four games if we are closer still. You know you must do almost everything perfect.”
Liverpool have relied heavily on goals from skipper Steven Gerrard and record £21.5mil signing Fernando Torres in recent weeks.
Yet Benitez is confident the rest of his team will start chipping in soon enough.
He said: “It’s not that long ago Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin and Dirk Kuyt were all scoring.
“Hopefully we will see Xabi Alonso score some goals. We have enough quality players to score goals regularly.
“I’m sure they will do it in the not too distant future. But if you say Torres or Gerrard will score the winner in every game, I won’t complain.” | 
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! Everton f.c till i die 
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