Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson’s baptism of fire at Anfield continued as his side narrowly secured vital qualification for the group stages of the UEFA Europa League.

Liverpool also concluded the acrimonious transfer of Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano to Barcelona, while bringing in Portuguese international midfielder Raul Meireles and full-back Paul Konchesky - one of Hodgson’s leading players at Fulham.

However, they failed to sign England international striker Carlton Cole from West Ham.

And the long-awaited ownership change looks no nearer, which has led star Spanish striker Fernando Torres to claim that finding new owners quickly is an “imperative.”

Liverpool also named their EPL squad this week, in accordance with the league’s new regulations governing “home-grown players.”

  

In common with other EPL sides, Liverpool have left vacancies in their line-up, naming only 21 players but adding numerous under-21 players, including the currently prolific French striker David Ngog.

Mascherano’s departure to Catalonia for £17.25m came after the 26-year-old had been publicly angling for a move for over a month.

And he has reportedly taken a pay cut to facilitate the transfer, blaming Liverpool’s “broken promises” for his desire to move.

He brandished as “lies” allegations that he had refused to play in Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at big-spending Manchester City last week and that his family hadn’t settled in England.

And he added: “They promised me something for a whole year and never fulfilled that promise,” referring to Liverpool’s “promise” that Mascherano could leave the club whenever they received an “acceptable” offer.

“When you read or hear lies, obviously you get angry,” he concluded, angrily.

Hodgson maintained that Mascherano would be allowed to leave when Barcelona upped their reported offer of £12m, two-thirds of Liverpool’s valuation and the fee for which they bought him.

And the normally mild-mannered boss hit back, branding his actions as a “selfish situation.” He also branded as “a joke” a faxed offer from Inter manager and former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez.

In happier transfer news, Liverpool signed Porto’s Meireles for £11.5m on a four-year deal and Fulham’s Konchesky has signed for the same period in a deal which saw fringe players Lauri Dalla Valle and Alex Kacaniklic make the return journey.

Konchesky’s arrival has allowed unsettled full-back Emilio Insua to move to Turkish side Galatasary on a year-long loan with a view to a permanent transfer and misfit Alberto Aquilani has been loaned to Italians Juventus for the season.

Two goals in the last ten minutes, an own goal and a Dirk Kuyt tap-in, saw Liverpool past Trabzonspor in the Europa League last week. While they edged out West Brom in the EPL last Sunday, with Torres’ 18-yard strike.

Torres has hit out at the stasis over Liverpool’s ownership, telling a Spanish radio station: “It is imperative new owners arrive who can make us a competitive side.” But he added, carefully, that “to play at Anfield every week is a privilege.”

Liverpool restart their EPL campaign after the international break at Birmingham City at 4pm on September 12^th.