Kewell Shows Signs of Wanting to Stay

Is time running out?

With a number of players coming and going at LFC, Harry Kewell has been an interesting one. He being allowed to stay on in his final year, there is no desire to sell and there is no contract extension being discussed. At 28 he's should be at about the peak of his game. A series of long-term injuries, however, have make it difficult to assess if this is in fact true as regards the Aussie.

An encouraging development from an LFC point of view is that this year , the left winger has decided to for go a family holiday/vacation to join up with his LFC teammates as they continue to tour the Far East. Admittedly he's pretty much just around the corner, having just competed in the Asian Cup with Australia.

He's claimed that because of all of the extra competition for places on the starting 11, he wants to get in there and show he can be part of Rafa's plans, but I've got to wonder if he's hoping that he can convince the Benitez to extend his deal. I get the impression that LFC want to see him do the same and see if he can stay injury free. If he can show that he's still the same player that impressed at Leeds, it can only help LFC's push for the Premiership this year.

Here's hoping that if he stay fit and that LFC see something of what we expect someone who wears the #7 shirt to produce.

More here.

Time to "Conquer the Bloody World!"

Shanks said it best and now Parry is intent to make it happen, as LFC go to Asia.

Lucrative pre-season tours may help but only winning trophies will truly boost a club's worldwide appeal, according to Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry.

The Reds arrived in Hong Kong over the weekend ahead of the Premier League Asia Cup, which also features Portsmouth, Fulham and South China.

The mini-tournament represents the latest attempt by English clubs to cash in on the seemingly insatiable appetite for Premier League football in Asia.

Manchester United are currently in the midst of their own Asian tour which has taken in Japan, South Korea and China - with a frenzied reception greeting Sir Alex Ferguson's side wherever they have landed.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa are in north America and Tottenham are the star attraction in South Africa.

And while Parry is a confirmed advocate of his club's globe-trotting, he is adamant it must be supplemented by trophies to have any lasting effect.

"Nothing boosts your fan-base like success," Parry told the club's official website.

"We saw that in the 70s and 80s, then to a much greater extent in 2005 after we last won the Champions League.

"Had we been successful in Athens (in last season's final) then no doubt our fan-base would have been swelled even further."

He added: "Of course, we are extremely conscious of the huge following we have in this part of the world and it's good for us to repay their loyalty by visiting from time to time."

Licking Wounds

Well I shut down for a while after the Greek Tragedy that was the Champions League Final, and am now looking forward to the new season, with Rafa bringing in some interesting players, I'm just hoping that we can get off to at a flying start this time around.

It would be nice to win a cup trophy this year - the Champions League in particular (I still believe we will surpass Milan's hauls inside 5-7 years - which means at least three wins in that period), but to get the league back and then keep it for a bit would be heaven. Let's hope that it starts this year.