It should be to Manchester United's credit that they could be relaxed about last night's match in Istanbul. With the result making no difference to United's progress or position, Sir Alex Ferguson left almost all of his senior players at home.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish insists it will be "disrespectful" to his current squad not to make top-quality signings in the summer but also did not rule out a return for some familiar faces.

Liverpool have paid out more than £9m – the price of the second striker they could not afford last summer – on agents' fees in the past year, a figure eclipsed only by Chelsea, as the Anfield club tackled the legacy of previous manager Rafael Benitez.

Rio Ferdinand is not thinking about the Manchester United captaincy at present – he is more concerned about getting his regular place back. After three-and-a-half months out with the ankle injury he suffered in a freak collision with Emile Heskey on the first full day of training at the World Cup, Ferdinand finally made his United comeback on Tuesday night.

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has warned players if they have nothing to offer either the current first team or the future of the club then they will be shipped out of Anfield.

Former Liverpool winger Albert Riera has written a personal letter thanking the club and fans, whom he urged to forget the past.

Liverpool head to Macedonia to start their Europa League campaign against Rabotnicki on Thursday. The last time the Anfield club had to stoop so low was qualifying for the Champions' League in 2005 with matches against TNS, Kaunas and CSKA Sofia but even those games were played amidst the warm glow of having just won the competition in Istanbul.

Yossi Benayoun has singled out Rafael Benitez as the reason he left Liverpool for their Premier League rivals Chelsea, accusing the Spaniard of trying to break him and treating him with a lack of respect.

For the scale of the task facing Roy Hodgson, you need only look back a few months to the miserable ending to Liverpool's Europa League campaign that followed their miserable Champions' League campaign.

Liverpool winger Albert Riera has back-tracked on his "sinking ship" comments about the club after admitting his plans for a move to Spartak Moscow have ground to a halt.