Liverpool's Gareth Barry swoop on the rocks
LIVERPOOL'S move for Gareth Barry was today in major doubt with Tom Hicks and George Gillett still to give the proposed deal the go-ahead.
Rafa Benitez had hoped Barry would already be a Liverpool player by now after Aston Villa gave the Reds the nod to bring the long running saga to an end last Saturday, when Martin O'Neill said he would no longer stand in the way of a deal.
But six days later the transfer is still to be done, leaving Barry in limbo and Benitez furious at the lack of progress.
It now seems increasingly likely that Hicks and Gillett will refuse to back their manager's judgement on this occasion, and the chances of the proposed £18m transfer taking place are receding by the hour.
Benitez identified the 27-year-old England man as a key signing for this summer and was even willing to sacrifice Xabi Alonso to get the deal done.
But, after months of haggling with Villa, Liverpool are still no nearer to concluding the transfer and Benitez is becoming increasingly resigned to the belief that Barry is unlikely to join the club during this transfer window.
The ECHO understands that Liverpool's American owners have major concerns about how much value the signing of Barry would give the Reds.
A proposed four-year contract would take Barry to 31 years old and Hicks and Gillett doubt he would have a significant sell-on value at that stage of his career.
They also believe the figure Villa are demanding for the England man is inflated and do not want to be held to ransom, particularly with Liverpool able to call on the services of Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Damien Plessis and Lucas in central midfield.
But Benitez remains adamant that Barry would improve his squad and believes that even at a cost of £18m the deal is still worth doing as he can play in several positions and would bring vast experience of the Premiership and English football in general.
After working so hard to get a deal in place, Benitez will be devastated if it is called off at the eleventh hour, and would inevitably demand answers from Hicks and Gillett.
The situation is made even more delicate by the fact that Liverpool's pursuit of Barry has been so public and a withdrawal from the proposed transfer at such a late stage would cause severe embarrassment.
Villa had finally agreed to do business and, with Barry desperate to move to Anfield, Benitez had hoped the deal was a formality.He will not take kindly to the club failing to bring in another of his top targets.
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The Yanks should sell up to DIC AS THEY DONT HAVE THE FINANCIAL MUSCLE REQUIRED TO COMPETE WITH UTD and CHELSEA.
As supporters we must make it clear to them that they are not welcome and we don't have any confidence in them and they are making a mockery of our prestigious Club. THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND what this club means to the fans and Rick Parry and Mr Moores should tell them that they should pack up and go.
Totally agree-every transfer window we are told that the owners dont back Rafa's judgement and then block his targets-have you ever heard the Glazer's tell Ferguson that they dont trust him? Our 2 Yanks are like friends invited to a party where they wont leave-PLEASE sell up and give us at least a chance to compete with the top two
cant blame 'em for not backing rafa he's made so many blunders in the transfer market. sick of him signing players that wouldn't get into any of the big 3's teams. only reason we got torres is cos he's a life long fan of the club. i'd be happy with 5th place and a league cup final appearance this season. cant see us doing any better unless we can start to play decnet football. most games last season were painfully boring to watch. another season of failure is ahead i can feel it already.
Rafa has built the best squad weve had for years,no matter which mamager you look at they cant be right every time,the yanks should back him or get out,its plain they have no interest in the club itself only what money they can get out of it.
ultimately the people to blame are rick parry and david moores who sold liverpool to these americans ! its a disgrace for liverpool football club to be soo shoddy and what about gareth barry left high and dry
dont bother coming back with pathetic offers you know the price benitez sly underhand tactics have backfired on you randy learner wouldnt get out of bed for 18 mill as for barry dont worry about him arsenal can afford him or he can go in the reserves up to him you will eventually realise doug ellis is no longer running villa its you with mickey mouse ownersyour attitude to villa would shame a cockney man utd fan see you at villa park