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TUESDAY 3 |
Liverpool to increase
offer for Barry
Liverpool will respond to Gareth Barry’s thinly veiled “come
and get me” plea by upping their offer for the Aston Villa
midfielder.
With Juventus edging closer to matching the Reds' valuation
of Xabi Alonso, Rafa Benitez will move quickly to try and
tie up a deal for Barry as a direct replacement for the
Spaniard.
Liverpool have already tabled a £10m players plus cash bid
for the 27-year-old England man but that has been rejected
by Villa boss Martin O’Neill who dismissed it out of hand.
But with Barry now having revealed he wants his future
sorting out quickly and Benitez keen for a deal to be
thrashed out at the earliest possible opportunity, Liverpool
will now go back to Villa with an improved offer.
(Liverpool Echo)
Alonso to Juve - latest
Juventus are looking to tie up their own deal for Alonso in
the coming days.
Personal terms are close to being agreed following talks
between the Serie A club and Alonso’s agent in Italy
yesterday.
Juve have offered Alonso a five-year contract which he will
reluctantly accept should Juve manage to agree a fee with
Liverpool.
After having an opening offer of £12m turned down by the
Reds,
the Italians are now prepared to up their offer and should
they match Benitez’s valuation of a player who has made 162
appearances for Liverpool since joining from Real Sociedad
in 2004 a deal will be done.
(Liverpool Echo)
Arbeloa: Torres is Europe's best
Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa hopes Reds team-mate
Fernando Torres can fire Spain to glory in the European
Championships.
The full-back, who made his international debut against
world champions Italy in March, thinks Torres is the best in
striker in the business.
"I believe Fernando has had no rival in Europe this season,"
he told Spanish newspaper Marca.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is more of a midfielder than anything
else, but there is no striker who can get near Fernando.
"He has been the best in Europe and I am not saying that
just because of his numbers; I say it because of his
importance to the team.
"He took Liverpool to the semi-finals of the Champions
League, scoring against Inter, Arsenal and Chelsea. He is
always there," he added.
(Sporting Life)
Parry predicts Lee impact
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry believes Sammy Lee’s
return to Anfield will give the club a timely boost ahead of
next season’s
title charge.
Lee was appointed as boss Rafa Benitez’s assistant after
first-team coach Alex Miller’s departure for Japan left the
manager without
a right-hand man.
And Parry insists the former Reds player and coach was
Benitez’s number one choice to be his assistant at Anfield.
Parry told the official club website: “The main thing is
that he (Lee) is back at Anfield in the important role of
assistant manager and that is a step up from his previous
role with us as a senior coach. He comes back at an
important time.
“Hopefully he will play a real part in giving everyone a
lift at the start of
the season. He is Liverpool through and through and is
respected as
a coach at the highest levels of the game."
He added: “Rafa has been keen on bringing in a new
assistant. It's fair to say that Sammy was his number one
choice. Rafa will be guaranteed absolute loyalty.
“Sammy understands what is required here. He was part of a
winning era at the club and his roots go right back to the
great Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley. He has worked with a
string of top class Liverpool managers and I'm sure the fans
will give him a tremendous welcome back to Anfield.”
(Setanta Sports)
Torres to shake off ankle strain
Fernando Torres could still feature in Spain's final Euro
2008 warm up against USA on Wednesday night despite picking
up a slight ankle strain.
The striker was forced out of pitch training and into the
gym yesterday after sustaining a knock on his right leg.
Despite this, Torres will travel to Santander for the USA
game and is expected to be ready for action when Spain's
quest for continental glory begins against Russia next
Tuesday.
(LFC Official Website) |
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MONDAY 2 |
Barry tempted by Liverpool move
Gareth Barry has given the strongest indication yet that he
wants to leave Aston Villa for Liverpool by emphasising his
desire to play in
the Champions League.
The England midfield player described the choice he is
facing over the coming weeks as the most difficult of his
career, but it is one that is likely to end with him leaving
Villa Park after 11 years at the club.
“Just to think about it makes it a tough decision,” Barry
said yesterday. “There's so much to lose at Aston Villa.
I've been there more than ten years, got a good rapport with
the fans, I'm captain there and have a great relationship
with the manager.
“But Champions League football helps any player. You only
have to look at the England squad to see the amount of
players who get in the squad and start the games - the
majority play in the Champions League. That's all about the
decision that will have to be made. Liverpool are in the
Champions League and Villa are trying to push for that.
That's all part of my decision if a bid gets accepted.”
(The Times)
Babel targeting July return
Dutch national team boss Marco van Basten is confident that
Liverpool winger Ryan Babel will be fully fit again in time
for the start of
the Premiership season.
Babel, 21, is still reeling from having been ruled out Euro
2008 after tearing ankle ligaments during training on
Saturday, but by the sounds of it thing could have been
considerably worse.
"He needs five to seven weeks to recover," said Van Basten.
"He was on the other end of the field when he turned around.
He told me that he heard something snap, and others heard it
too.
"He went to a hospital and there it became clear he had torn
a muscle."
Dutch olympic coach Foppe de Haan is also optimistic of the
former Ajax star's recovery, and has even opened the door to
the possibility of Babel representing his country in China
in July.
“If Ryan recovers, he’s a sure candidate for a place in the
team. With his qualities, he could be a very important
player for us,” de Haan had declared yesterday.
“We must wait and see how long his convalescence will last."
(Goal.com)
Kewell on target for Australia
Harry Kewell scored the only goal of the game as Australia
beat Iraq 1-0
in a World Cup qualifier in Brisbane.
The player, whose contract at Liverpool expires this summer
headed home from a Brett Emerton cross to give the Socceroos
a vital win.
The former Leeds United winger was in excellent form for his
country until he was substituted with 13 minutes to go.
(LFC Official Website)
Gerrard: We're on the right track
Steven Gerrard insists England are "heading in the right
direction" but has called for patience as the players adapt
to Fabio Capello's plans.
Gerrard and the other England players are now preparing for
an unwanted break as a result of the failure to qualify for
the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.
The first part of Capello's spell in charge came to an end
with the 3-0 friendly international win against Trinidad and
Tobago in Port of Spain
on Sunday.
Gerrard said: "A team doesn't go from under-achieving and
missing out on a big tournament like Euro 2008 to being
World Cup winners overnight.
"It is going to take time. We need to get used to the
manager's ideas and what he wants - but the right steps are
going to happen. What we need to do, step by step, is build
ourselves up to being a better team.
"Training has been intense at times during this spell
together with some double sessions.
"The lads are learning how the manager wants us to play, how
he wants the team set up, different formations and tactics,
and he is also telling people individually what he expects
from them."
(TEAMtalk) |
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SUNDAY 1 |
Kewell header leaves Iraq in trouble
Harry Kewell's second-half header gave Australia a 1-0 World
Cup qualifying win on Sunday, wrecking Iraq's hopes for a
positive end to
a tumultuous week.
Kewell led from the front with the vital goal in Brisbane
against Iraq.
The ex-Liverpool winger, without a club as he leads
Australia in back-to-back matches against the Asian Cup
champions, nodded the winner past Iraq goalkeeper Noor Sabri
two minutes into the second half after missing with two
headed chances before the break.
The win increased Australia's lead atop Group One, with
seven points from three games.
(AP/CNN Sport)
Reds in international friendlies
5 Liverpool players had international duty this Saturday as
both Spain and Hungary scheduled friendlies.
Spain started the match with Fernando Torres partnering
David Villa up top and Xabi Alonso anchoring the midfield.
It was Villa, not the Liverpool goal machine, who opened the
scoring but the promisings of a fruitful partnership were
there. At half, both Liverpool players were taken off.
Alonso was replaced by Marcos Senna. Those two are both in
the running for Spain’s defensive midfield position, with
Alonso gaining ground over the last couple weeks.
Pepe Reina did not make it off the bench.
Krisztia Nemeth and ‘keeper Peter Gulacsi too were left on
the bench as Hungary drew 1-1 with Croatia. Neither have
been involved with the full international squad, though both
have represented Hungary at the youth levels.
(Kop TV)
Hyypia pleads for peace at Anfield
Veteran defender Sami Hyypia has pleaded with Liverpool
co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks to end their
boardroom bickering.
Gillett and Hicks - who took control at Anfield in February
2007 - suffered a much publicised difference of opinion last
term, which saw Merseyside swamped in speculation about the
future of the American duo.
Liverpool, who had been tipped to challenge for the Premier
League, ended the last campaign without a trophy and failed
to reach a cup final for
the first time in manager Rafa Benitez's four-year reign.
And veteran centre-back Hyypia has demanded Gillett and
Hicks settle their differences in the summer in order to
allow Liverpool
to land silverware.
"I think Liverpool fans and the club expect success in a
season and we didn't win anything, so I can't be satisfied,"
Hyypia said in The People.
"With what has gone on off the pitch I think everyone is
professional enough to just concentrate on doing what they
do on it and not get
too distracted.
"But it doesn't help the football club to be successful and
hopefully soon they can get things sorted so we can push on.
"I don't know the whole truth but I know everything is not
right with
the owners."
(TEAMtalk)
Thor Zakariassen
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