Rafa Benitez has revealed that winning the Premiership title with Liverpool would be his greatest achievement as a football manager.
Speaking to the club website, Benitez admitted that despite winning two La Liga titles during his time at Valencia and the Champions League in his first season at Anfield, winning the league in England is a bigger and more difficult challenge than any other.
He said: "Winning the title would be the biggest achievement of my career. It's more difficult than in Spain because teams here spend big money.
"We will do our best. The key is not to talk about winning the title but to talk about doing a good job so we can be close, so we can be contenders. If we are close I think that we can win the title."
"The key is to sign the right players with the right mentality - a winning mentality - competitive players, players who are desperate to come here to win something.
"That is the key for me. We have been analysing a lot of things this summer. For example, we were conceding a lot of goals last season from set pieces. We need to know why because the previous season we only conceded six, but this year it has been 16. We need to know why so we can improve in these areas, but keep the team scoring goals in open play.
"We have been really good in defence for three or four years but we need to improve a little bit if we want to be in contention."
But what do you think? Can next season be the year that the title finally comes back to Merseyside after almost two decades of watching the Mancs and the capital clubs' hauding domestic glory? Let us know your opinion below and who you think Rafa will sign to make the difference next season.
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Hello there all our faithful Pie-eaters. Firstly, I'd like to issue a heartfelt apology to the legions of faithful Pies readers out there who must have been wondering where on earth we'd gone, and if we'd ever be returning.
Well the answer is, Austria and Switzerland for a week with no internet then back to L3 (Liverpool for all non-residents of our great city) and again no internet connection thanks to our great provider BT.
But now we're back, well in the Lloyds Bar in central Liverpool at least, until BT get their act together, ready and extremely excited about our club's prospects ahead of the 2008/09 season. Are you excited? Personally I can't wait! 50 days and counting! Come on!
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With Rafa Benitez reportedly on the look out for a foil to play alongside Fernando Torres next season, and names such as David Villa being bandied about by the press, one striker who could be available for the right price has confirmed he is thinking about a move from his present club.
Lukas Podolski, Bayern Munich's free-scoring German international has admitted that he may have to find himself a new club once the European Championships are over, after a season playing second fiddle to Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni at the Allianz Arena. Podolski told German newspaper Sport Bild:
"I will tackle this subject after the European championships. I will have enough time on holiday to think about my situation and I will make a decision on my future then.
"I have made it clear to him (new Bayern manager Jurgen Klinsmann) that I am unhappy with my situation in Munich. He knows what he has in me. He has even said that he understands my problems. We shall sit down together after the Euro and see what happens."
With the ever-popular (yeh right!) Tom Hicks and George Gillett understood to be close friends with Herr Klinsmann, maybe there's a chance that if Rafa does express an interest in Podolski they could help broker a deal. But maybe this time they could talk to Rafa before making contact with the German...
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They're at it again apparently. After announcing the appointment of Portugal manager 'Big' Luiz Felipe Scolari, Chelsea have now, according to today's Independent newspaper, told the former World Cup-winning manager that our own Fernando Torres will be lining up in attack at the Bridge next season. Yeh right! How many times have we heard it before? Too many.
You can't really blame them though for wanting the best striker in the Premiership and maybe the world can you? But will they get him? I doubt it very much. It would be a suicidal move to sell probably the best and most popular player that Rafa Benitez has signed since his arrival four years ago. What price can you put on a player who was able to ram home 33 goals in his debut season in England? The answer is none. He is quite simply priceless.
Chelsea's hierarchy may think that the seemingly never-ending boardroom struggles at Anfield could allow them to take advantage of us by placing a massive offer on the table for the new Kop idol. But can you imagine the consequences if old 'leatherfaced' Tom Hicks and his warring partner George Gillett sanctioned a transfer?
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With the news that Aston Villa have turned down Liverpool's latest bid for Gareth Barry, and rumours the Villans are holding out for £20 million for their skipper, we want to know how much you would pay for the England international.
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So finally it looks as if Gareth Barry or Garry Barry as my mates like to call him will, after all the conjecture of the last few weeks, be making the move to Anfield this summer.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez looks to have got his man after Barry's agent, Alex Black confirmed on Tuesday his client's desire to play Champions League football next season, and then Villa themselves followed it up with the following statement:
"Gareth Barry has stated in discussions with our manager he would like to leave Aston Villa to join Liverpool. But Liverpool's bid for the player has been rejected and they have been informed of Villa's continued position in this matter."
With Benitez determined to improve Liverpool's performance in the Premiership with a long-overdue title challenge, Barry is likely to replace the popular Basque, Xabi Alonso who could be heading to Juventus and a reunion with former Red Momo Sissoko.
Although I'd be sad to see Xabi leave I think possibly his game is more suited to Champions League football and with the fans desperate for a tilt at the title Barry could provide invaluable with his experience of playing and scoring important goals in the Premiership.
Will you be happy to see Barry come in? Would you like to see Alonso stay even if Barry arrives? Let us know your thoughts on our potential big summer transfer.
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Next season, Rafael Benitez is going to have a very tough choice to make. It's a great dilemma to be faced with in all honesty, but nevertheless our Spanish master tactician is going to have some difficult choices to make which will ultimately leave somebody disappointed.
Of course, I'm talking about who Rafa is going to choose to play in the centre of our defence. With the acquisition of the fearsome Slovak Martin Skrtel last January to relieve the burden of Daniel Agger's continued absence on 34-year-old Sami Hyypia's shoulders, Benitez has presented himself with a welcome headache ahead of the new campaign.
And although Jamie Carragher didn't enjoy his greatest campaign last time out, the wholehearted Scouser, who never gives less than 100 percent for the cause, is likely to retain his position as Rafa's first choice centre-back. Which leads to the problem. Who will play alongside him? Agger or Skrtel.
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