Why are Liverpool so hell-bent on Aston Villa's Gareth Barry? Here's where that £18m should be spent...

Surely another top-quality striker would be a better use of the purported £18million Benitez is looking to splash on Barry you just got keane for 18mil - you want another - so you get 3 top strikers in a 4-4-2 team = one unhappy striker = one unhappy dressing room = media on rafas back = americans saking rafa = sub 4th finish barry and gerrard have proved what they can do together for england - thats why you need barry = chemistry

Maybe benititez his worried about villa taking liverpools 4th spot, and thats maybe why he wants to take Barry from Villa. You wouldnt expect Alex ferguson to sell Rooney or Ronaldo to Chelsea, as it would make the team below them better by taking there best players weakens the competition. Maybe thats why Rafa wants Barry, remember last season the Villa should have beat Liverpool at anfield and were the better side, the only reason they won at Villa park was a dodgy free kick, which shouldnt have been. Maybe thats why Rafa want Barry, maybe not to make Liverpool better, but to try and make Aston Villa worse.

O neill needs his head checking. £18mil 4 barry is a joke. Masch cost us that much and he's world class, 1st choice in a superb international squad says everything. Barry on the other hand is only just gettin played by england at 27yrs old whereas masch is younger and has been in his national team for a number of years. The money spent on masch bought a reqular international with many years left in him and the potential to get better so really i ask how can barry be worth the same at 27 and from a poor team? I think barry is a top player but being priced out of a move to lfc with a stupid unrealistic price tag. 2 examples of players moving this summer prove my point further. Bentley(also just breaking into the england team but younger and a goal threat) cost £15mil and finally a player we should have tried to sign is van der vaart. £8mil is a steal if madrid get him, looking likely though. Rafa wants a left footer in midfield(check), a creative player(check),international experience(check) and set piece taker to take the burden of Stevie G (check). He's also still very young So Mr O neill is Barry worth £10mil more than Van der vaart

Liverpool don't need another striker as much as we need Barry, we have plenty of center-mid's (Plessis and Jay Spearing to come into the first team next season along with the four first team center-mid's we already have) Barry will be a versatie player capable of playing anywhere on the left and the centeral mid area he plays well in at club and international level. For me we need some real wingers, think Maxi Rodrigez from Athletico Madrid, Joaquin Valancia, Hamsik from Napoli, Quarema from Porto, Lennon Spurs, Ashely Young Aston Villa, Diego Capal and Jesus Navas from Sevilla... Any of those players will greatly inhance the team. We have a strong spine of a Premiership winning team all we need is the finishing touches

Masch his only young but you only signed him for 4 years, he can leave for free after that, so he may have a future ahead of him but Liverpool have only signed him for 4 years. Do you think he will extend that contract? What you Liverpool fans must realise is its the signing on fee for the contract he signs, and im sure like mascherano Barry will be playing very good football for the four years that contract is for. So if Liverpool sign barry for 18 million on a 4 year deal, barry will be 31 and he can walk away for free, 31 his still a good age for a footballer. I could understand if Liverpool had signed mascharano on a 10 year contract, but no they havent they signed him for 4 years. Get over it they want to sign him for 18 million for a 4 year contract, which im sure he will be able to play for, likewise im sure mascherano will be able to play the remainder of his 4 year 18 million pound contract.

Masherano signed 4 year deal signing on fee 18 million, can leave for free in 4 years. age 28 If barry signs 4 year deal signing on fee 18million , and he can also leave for free age 31. The signing on fee is how much that player will be worth for how long he signs his contract for.

Hell yeah, lets tap up Ashley Young the same as we have tried with Barry. We could unsettle him and pick him up for 5 million easy. All we need to do is get his agent to make a press release and make out its a villa source just like before maybe on the eve of one of their Euro games so we can ruin their chances. He is bound to come to such an honourable club as ours!!!

By the way Ciaran. Marek Hamsik is not a winger. He is a central midfielder. Much like Xabi. Agree with you on the rest though ;)

Hell yeah, lets tap up Ashley Young the same as we have tried with Barry. We could unsettle him and pick him up for 5 million easy. All we need to do is get his agent to make a press release and make out its a villa source just like before maybe on the eve of one of their Euro games so we can ruin their chances. He is bound to come to such an honourable club as ours!!!

Of course Liverpool need Barry. Why isn't it plain and simple Liverpool had a perfect strike force in Torres and Gerrard last season but the purchace of Keane means Gerrard can be placed in another position. Seeing as he scored his best haul two seasons ago from the right, why try and find a Cristiano Ronaldo clone when we can play Gerrard in that position. Everyone knows that he is brilliant there. In central midfield Mascherano is brilliant playing RM but Alonso's lack of pace has seen the young left footed Plessis promoted earlier than even he imagined. Alonso is way past his best. Barry is a left footed central midfielder that plays LM better than most give him credit for. He's perfect for the role. Rafa knows that with that aquisition all he needs is another left-sided winger to put pressure on Babel, that is unless Leto raises his game.

'the not-getting-any-younger John Carew' ...he's twenty eight.

torres - keane gerrard alonso - mascherano - barry arbeloa - agger - carra - dossena Reina I woulnd't say no to this team! Buy Bary!

Liverpool are scum - a mediocre team with their glory days long behind them. Within two seasons the likes of Spurs and Villa will be leaving them in the dust.

O neill needs his head checking. £18mil 4 barry is a joke. Masch cost us that much and he's world class, 1st choice in a superb international squad says everything. Barry on the other hand is only just gettin played by england at 27yrs old whereas masch is younger and has been in his national team for a number of years. The money spent on masch bought a reqular international with many years left in him and the potential to get better so really i ask how can barry be worth the same at 27 and from a poor team? I think barry is a top player but being priced out of a move to lfc with a stupid unrealistic price tag. 2 examples of players moving this summer prove my point further. Bentley(also just breaking into the england team but younger and a goal threat) cost £15mil and finally a player we should have tried to sign is van der vaart. £8mil is a steal if madrid get him, looking likely though. Rafa wants a left footer in midfield(check), a creative player(check),international experience(check) and set piece taker to take the burden of Stevie G (check). He's also still very young So Mr O neill is Barry worth £10mil more than Van der vaart