THE football season is finally upon us – but you could be forgiven for thinking that it was the hunting season, there’s been so much fur flying over Anfield this last week.

‘Behind closed doors’ seems to be just an old Charlie Rich song as far as our senior staff are concerned, as the Rick and Rafa double act picks up where it left off last season, shorn for the moment of its supporting sideshow from across the pond.

As soon as one leaps to the defence of the club’s (and, we therefore presume, to the owners’) defence over the Gareth Barry saga, the other piles in with a public defence of his own (non) role in the debacle.

I didn’t do it, it was him. Let’s pick sides, and battle it out in the full glare of the media. Brilliant.

Apparently the stumbling block at present is still Villa’s valuation of Barry. Parry states that £18m is too high; and he’s probably right.

So why are we still haggling four months after submitting our original offer?

If Villa aren’t budging, even after several apparent improvements on our original offer, so vividly ridiculed by Martin O’Neill, then why haven’t we walked away, with the usual rider of ‘asking to be kept informed of developments’?

Then Villa would be the ones sweating, with a disgruntled player on their hands and a sizeable overdraft having spent the money already on a pile of second-rate replacements. Instead we have had to put our own plans on hold, while shabbily touting one of our own players around Europe with the rider that ‘we really don’t want to sell him but...’ ringing hollowly in his ears.

So now we have the disgruntled player, and a gaping hole down the left wing.

It would have been far preferable to bring this matter to a swift, if unsatisfactory, conclusion and move onto Plan B (assuming there is one).

While the delay carries the sticky print of Rick Parry all over it, Rafa’s bleatings over the failure to spend the money just because we have it doesn’t do him any credit either.

I’ve got the money to pay £8.50 for a Wembley hamburger, but that doesn’t mean I should pay it because they ask me to. Rafa wouldn’t be the first Liverpool manager to have his wishes turned down by the board because they didn’t make financial sense; it’s not an issue of questioning his judgement, it’s about ensuring value-for-money, something we’re all concerned with.

We shouldn’t go paying over the odds because we’re flush; leave that to Chelsea (would you pay £16m for a right-back?)

So, if Rafa’s convinced this is the player we need, let’s make a final offer in line with our valuation and, if it’s rejected, move on. Sorry Gareth, we’ve got a Premier League to win.

Euro ticket puzzle

TO BE FAIR, articles beginning ‘to be fair’, generally precede an insulting tirade, and this is no exception.

The efficiency of the Liverpool ticket office has vastly improved in the last year or so, particularly in terms of dealing with telephone bookings for away games.

However, the proposed arrangements for season ticket holders attending home European games beggar belief. Apparently if you’re allocated your own seat, you won’t be sent a ticket but just need to use your fan card.

You will be sent a ticket if your seat is moved, as are many to accommodate Champions’ League ‘Partners’ i.e. corporate guests who can’t tell their Barca from their Spartak Moscow.

Confused? Don’t worry, there’ll be thousands like you outside the gates next Wednesday night.