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SUNDAY 3 |
Reds 'pleased' with Alonso
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez insists he is not looking to
sell Xabi Alonso in order to raise the necessary funds to
sign Gareth Barry.
Benitez has conducted a summer-long hunt of £18million-rated
Villa midfielder Barry, but it was believed the pursuit had
come to an end when the Reds failed to meet a recent
deadline for the deal.
However, Villa boss Martin O'Neill has confessed Barry could
still leave and that it is up to Liverpool to meet the set
asking price.
It has been suggested Benitez is considering off-loading
Alonso to Juventus in a fundraising exercise, but the
Anfield boss is not keen to see the Spanish midfielder
leave.
When asked if he is looking to sell Alonso, Benitez said:
"It's simple. He is a very good player who is playing for us
and I am really pleased with that."
It appears even more unlikely that Alonso will be moving to
Juventus after the Serie A club's manager Claudio Ranieri
ruled out interest in
the 26-year-old.
"No," Ranieri replied when asked if he was looking to sign
Alonso.
"Not at all."
(Sky Sports)
Gerrard must adapt, says Benitez
Rafael Benitez has reportedly admitted he will continue to
play captain Steven Gerrard in a variety of positions ahead
of the start of
the new season.
The subject of the Liverpool skipper’s best position is one
of much debate especially as Benitez played Gerrard in a
number of different positions last season, a move which is
unlikely to have impressed his skipper.
Yet despite this, the Liverpool manager has admitted that he
will continue to play Gerrard where he thinks is best and
that his captain must learn
to adapt.
According to the Mirror, Benitez said: “I think Steven is
clever enough to do that. If he needs to adapt then he will
adapt because he is a player of quality who can play in
different positions.”
(Goal.com)
Leto's Liverpool future in doubt
The future of Liverpool winger Sebastian Leto is shrouded in
doubt after the Argentine’s application for a work permit
was refused.
21-year-old Leto joined the Reds in 2007 from Buenos Aires
side Lanus, but has only played in a handful of
non-competitive games during his time at Anfield.
Reportedly his work permit application was rejected on
Friday due to
the Italian authorities carrying out investigations on the
validity of certain citizenship decisions, according to The
Mirror.
Leto, who is currently on loan with Greek club Olympiakos
holds an Italian passport which enables him to play in the
Premier League, but could find himself back in South America
should it be withdrawn.
(Premiership Latest)
Gerrard delighted by Keane signing
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed his delight at
the signing of Robbie Keane after the striker's first two
games for the club.
The former Wolves, Coventry, Leeds and Inter Milan forward
joined
the Reds from Tottenham in a £20million deal last week.
"As soon as we heard of the interest in Robbie, those of us
who know him wanted the deal to happen," Gerrard told the
News of the World.
"We know what he can add to the side and, alongside Fernando
Torres, we feel we've a strikeforce to rival any in the
Premier League."
(Sporting Life)
Plessis eager to shine
Damien Plessis has targeted more first-team action with
Liverpool next season after making a highly promising start
to his career at Anfield.
The French youngster earned rave reviews for his performance
in the 1-1 league draw at Arsenal at the back end of last
season and while he was delighted to get the opportunity to
step up from the reserves, he is now keen to make a bigger
impact in the 2008-09 campaign.
"This year, I hope I will be given the chance to show myself
a bit more," said Plessis.
"Monsieur Benitez offered me my first Premier League
experience last year with the game against Arsenal. I thank
him for that.
"I understand he is a good coach who likes tactics. To be
honest, I'd like to have more time of play, but you have to
deserve it.
"I feel good at Liverpool. The coach is nice, well, I say he
is a nice guy because he plays me for the moment (laughs)."
(LFC Official Website)
Smith: Reds set for title assault
Rangers boss Walter Smith is tipping Robbie Keane and
Fernando Torres to form a strike partnership that can fire
Liverpool to Premier League
title glory.
The former Scotland manager watched on in awe as the Reds
tore the Glasgow giants to bits in a 4-0 mauling at Ibrox
yesterday and feels that on that showing, the Reds could now
have the forward line in place to end their long wait for
title number 19.
"Torres and Keane are two very good players," he said.
"Liverpool will obviously benefit from that. It'll maybe
mean a change of emphasis in the way they play, but they
have great players overall and looking at them now, you'd
say they have an opportunity next season
to challenge for the title.
"I think they can push forward and improve on their top four
finishes in recent seasons and Torres and Keane could give
them that little edge."
(LFC Official Website) |
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SATURDAY 2 |
Reds get all-clear to do Barry deal
Liverpool look set to sign Gareth Barry after all as Aston
Villa have agreed to give them until the end of August to
finally wrap up the deal.
Villa had hoped the Barry saga was over on Wednesday when
Liverpool missed an agreed deadline to make an acceptable
offer for
the England midfielder.
But after a further meeting with the player and his agent,
Martin O'Neill has reluctantly accepted that Barry's
proposed switch to Anfield could now
go ahead.
"There will be no deadline and Liverpool have all the time
in the world now to sign Gareth Barry. They've got up to the
normal window, which is the 31st of this month."
"I have a football club to run and I really do want people
who want to play for us," O'Neill told Villa's official
website.
"Really it is up to them, Gareth and his agent to sort it
out. I've decided this is the only way forward for us
really.
"If Liverpool at their end of it all do not come up with the
money, that's
no-one else's fault but their own.
"I'd be delighted if that was the case and Gareth stayed.
But I would doubt that very much. The ball is very much in
their court."
(TEAMtalk)
Rafa salutes strike duo
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez praised fledgling strike
partnership Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane after the pair
started their first game together in a 4-0 win over Rangers.
The Reds dominated from start to finish with Torres grabbing
the first in
a four-goal rout of the Glasgow side.
And Kop boss Benitez declared himself satisfied with the
movement of his £40 million strikeforce, who he described as
key to The Reds retaining possession at Ibrox.
"Both players showed good movement and so did (Steven)
Gerrard,"
he said.
"Dirk Kuyt and Yossi Benayoun were coming inside so I felt
we had five offensive players, very clever and with quality
so we were a threat all
the time.
"Keane is very clever and he worked hard. He is very happy
here and hopefully we will see a lot of good movement and
also goals from him.
(Setanta Sports)
Ngog and Torres
score in 4-0 ibrox win
A first goal for David Ngog helped Liverpool to a 4-0 win
over a strong Rangers side at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon.
Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Yossi Benayoun also found
the net in
a thrilling encounter which saw our pre-season campaign
burst into life.
(LFC Official Website)
Koeman in Nemeth hope
Hungary's national team coach Erwin Koeman feels Liverpool
youngster Krisztian Nemeth needs to play first-team football
this season.
Nemeth has impressed in the reserves for Liverpool in the
past couple of years and is now trying to force his way into
Rafa Benitez's plans.
He has been linked with a loan move to Leeds United and the
striker's international boss feels another campaign of
second-string football will harm Nemeth's progress.
"I think Krisztian Nemeth is an exceptional talent," Koeman
told a press conference. "But I think he can't improve
enough in the Liverpool
reserve team.
"He should play in the first division week by week.
"Of course, it's not a problem if he plays in the reserve
team for one or two years, but doing it for a longer period
is just not good for his development.
"I don't think that, at Liverpool, he has a real chance to
play besides Torres, Keane, Voronin or Kuyt,
"If he could get into the senior team then it would be a
fantastic success, but I think it's more likely that he'd be
loaned to another team or - it's worse - he may stay with
the reserves."
(Sky Sports)
Keane and Torres start at Ibrox
Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres will play together for the
first time after being named in the starting XI to face
Rangers at Ibrox this afternoon in
a game you can only watch here on Liverpoolfc.tv.
Steven Gerrard will skipper a strong side in the 3pm kick
off.
The Liverpool team in full is: Cavalieri, Dossena, Arbeloa,
Skrtel, Carragher, Plessis, Gerrard, Benayoun, Kuyt, Keane,
Torres. Subs: Reina, Hyypia, Agger, Alonso, Pennant, Insua,
Darby, Spearing, Nemeth, Ngog.
(LFC Official Wesite)
Sevilla chief: Spurs are 'hypocrites'
Tottenham have been branded hypocrites by La Liga side
Sevilla for making 'tapping-up' claims against Manchester
United and Liverpool.
Spurs made official complaints last month over the conduct
of Manchester United and Liverpool in their respective
pursuits of players Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane.
Yet the president of Spanish club Sevilla, Jose Maria Del
Nido, claims Spurs' actions amount to "hypocrisy".
Sevilla were unhappy about the manner of manager Juande
Ramos' departure for White Hart Lane last season.
Del Nido said: "It is hypocrisy personified Tottenham are
complaining about things they have done themselves.
"They took away our manager and now they are complaining
that others are trying to take their players.
"Their style is demonstrated by the way they contracted
Ramos."
(TEAMtalk) |
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FRIDAY 1 |
Rafa happy with Euro draw
Rafael Benitez has declared himself satisfied following his
side's pairing with Standard Liege in the Champions League
third qualifying round.
The Reds will travel to Belgium for the first leg of the
qualifier in two weeks time before the return clash at
Anfield when they will be looking to book their place in the
group stages of the competition.
"I think there are two very important things about this
draw," Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv. "Firstly, the second
game is at home which is really, really important. Clearly
that makes a massive difference to play the deciding game in
front of our own fans.
"I'm also pleased because the travelling isn't a problem. We
don't have to go too far which is good news, especially when
you look at some of the teams we could have drawn.
"People may say it's a kind draw for us but we will treat
them with respect. We know some things about their team
already but we will now watch more videos and get reports
from our scouts before the first game.
"Of course we know about Oguchi Onyewu because he spent some
time with Newcastle. Axel Witsel is a good young player and
Wilfried Dalmat is probably the best player in their team.
Alexandre Da Silva is a good defender as well, so we know
they won't be easy opposition for us.
"Overall though it is a good draw and we are happy."
(LFC Official Website)
Torres and Keane to face Gers
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is set to field his £40million
strikeforce of Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane for the
first time against Rangers.
Torres and Keane are expected to start in Glasgow as
Liverpool start a run of three games in a week before their
Champions League third qualifying round tie first leg away
to Standard Liege.
Liverpool follow the Rangers trip with a game in Norway
against Valerenga on Tuesday and then a home match with
Lazio on the following Friday.
So far this summer Liverpool are unbeaten in five pre-season
friendlies, but they have only scored four goals and managed
goalless draws in the last two games.
But Benitez reckons all that will change once Torres and
Keane start to hit it off.
He said: "In the last two games we have created several
chances but either the opposition keeper has played really
well to stop us from scoring or we have just missed the
target.
"There is no problem. I am sure the goals will come and the
important thing is that the players are creating chances."
(TEAMtalk)
Reds draw Standard Liege
Liverpool will play Belgian champions Standard Liege in the
third qualifying round of the Champions League.
The two clubs have met only once before, in the European Cup
Winners' Cup in 1966. Liverpool won 5-2 on aggregate (3-1 at
home and 2-1 away), before going on to lose to Borussia
Dortmund in the final.
Full Draw
Anorthosis/Rapid Vienna v Olympiakos
Vitoria Guimaraes v IFK Gothenburg/Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk v Domzale/Dinamo Zagreb
Schalke 04 v Atletico Madrid
Aalborg/Modrica v Rangers/Kaunas
Barcelona v Beitar Jerusalem/Wisla Krakow
Levski Sofia v Anderlecht/BATE
Standard Liege v Liverpool
Inter Baku/Partizan v Fenerbahce/MTK Budapest
FC Twente v Arsenal
Spartak Moscow v Drogheda/Dinamo Kiev
Juventus v Tampere/Artmedia
SK Brann/Ventspils v Marseille
Fiorentina v Slavia Prague
Galatasaray v Steaua Bucharest
Panathinaikos/Dinamo Tbilisi v Sheriff Tiraspol/Sparta
Prague
First legs to be played on 12/13 August, second legs on
26/27 August.
(LFC Online)
Reds keeper rejects move
Liverpool goalkeeper Charles Itandje has revealed he has
turned down
a move to Galatasaray and is holding out for a switch
to Paris Saint Germain.
The Frenchman has been made available for transfer after
just one season at Anfield.
The 25-year-old has failed to impress on Merseyside and Reds
boss Rafa Benitez is willing to offload him having brought
in Brazilian Diego Cavalieri earlier this summer.
Galatasaray agreed a fee with Liverpool for Itandje, but the
former Lens custodian has rejected their overtures.
Itandje also claims three Premier League clubs are keen on
signing him, but he is hoping to win a move to PSG.
"I refused to join Galatasaray, even if I was very close to
leave, because the Champions League challenge was
appealing,"
Itandje told France Football.
"We reached a very advanced stage during the talks, I even
terminated my phone lines.
"But I have other interest in England. Three Premier League
clubs
are attracted.
"I explained to my coach I wanted to leave to get more first
team opportunities. So the club has prepared my departure.
We will see what will happens in August."
(Sky Sports)
Barry will be a Liverpool
player at the weekend
Gareth Barry believes his £19million move to Anfield will be
finalised over the weekend once Aston Villa accept a
re-structured offer.
Barry, thought to have already found a house to rent in
Cheshire to be close to Liverpool's Melwood training ground,
trained with Villa yesterday but did not figure in a behind
closed doors friendly against Notts County.
However, despite Villa's public insistence that he will be
staying,
the England international is confident his protracted move
is imminent.
(Daily Mail)
Torres confident for new season
Fernando Torres is ready to shrug off fears of a ‘second
season syndrome’ – by continuing to be a winner.
The 24-year-old came back to pre-season training with
Liverpool this week as a European champion following Spain’s
triumph in Austria and Switzerland earlier in the summer.
His 24 Premier League goals made him the foreign player with
the most strikes in a first season in England’s top flight,
beating Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 2002 mark of 23.
But he has no qualms about living up to the expectation,
saying: "My aim is to score more than last season, that is
what I am working towards.
"I, at least, have to aim to equal last year’s figure
because it is very important to bring goals to the team."
(Daily Post)
Thor Zakariassen
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