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SATURDAY 12 |
Hammers have issues with Liverpool
West Ham boss Alan Curbishley says Man Utd's team selection
will not be as disrespectful to the league as Liverpool's
was last week.
The Hammers boss admitted his dismay at the line-up fielded
by Rafael Benitez at Fulham last week, which enabled Lawrie
Sanchez's side to virtually assure their Premiership safety
with a 1-0 win.
West Ham need a point at Old Trafford on Sunday to ensure
their own survival but, even though United have nothing to
play, Curbishley says he expects Sir Alex Ferguson would be
true to his word and pick a strong side.
"I am sure there will be a lot of familiar names on the
team-sheet," he said. "Whatever side they put out they will
be going out to win and I am sure it will be packed with
familiar names. Not as unfamiliar as the Liverpool team last
week.
"Sir Alex Ferguson has already come out and said he won't
disrespect the league and he will be putting out a
full-strength team.
(Clubcall Sports)
Kaka: I'll face Kop not Copa
Kaka has written a letter to the Brazilian
Football Federation (CBF) asking to be excused from this
year's Copa America because he is tired, his club AC Milan
said on Saturday.
"In view of a possible call up for the Copa America, I
believe that I would not be in the ideal condition to offer
the performance expected of me at international level," Kaka
wrote in a letter published on Milan's Web site
(www.acmilan.com).
"I have not rested for three seasons. With this letter I
formally request to be left out of the Copa America."
Playmaker Kaka has been in outstanding form for Milan this
season, leading them to the final of the Champions League on
May 23 against Liverpool.
He spent last year's off-season playing for Brazil at the
2006 World Cup.
The Copa America will be staged in Venezuela this year and
runs from
June 26 to July 15.
(Daily Mail)
No smoking at Anfield next season
In line with legislation which is due to come into force on
1st July 2007 Liverpool Football Club has issued the
following statement:
We would like to take this opportunity to advise all of our
supporters and customers that when you visit the Stadium
next season, 2007/08, the whole of the Stadium, including
lounges, concourses and the seating bowl will be 'Smoke
Free'.
(LFC Official Website)
Young Reds return home unbeaten
Liverpool's youth team will return home from their
end-of-season tour to America this weekend boasting a proud
unbeaten record.
The young Reds played three games on the 10-day tour,
winning two and drawing one.
Tennessee Select State Team (Memphis Tennessee): 3-1
Georgia Olympic Development Group (Atlanta): 1-1
North Carolina Olympic Development Group (North Carolina
Greensboro): 2-0
(LFC Official Website) |
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FRIDAY 11 |
Injury could ruin Dudek farewell
Injury appears to have robbed Jerzy Dudek of his last chance
to play in front of the Kop.
With his contract up in the summer and rival Pepe Reina
injured, the stage looked set for the Pole to bid an
emotional farewell against Charlton on Sunday.
However, Rafa Benitez today confirmed the 34-year-old has
failed to recover from a problem which kept him out of last
week's visit to Fulham.
The Spaniard told a Melwood press conference: "Sissoko is
not available, Reina is injured and maybe also Dudek. It
will be difficult for Jerzy to play."
Italian under-21 stopper Daniele Padelli is likely to
deputise in goal.
(LFC Official Website)
Kewell: I'm feeling fitter than ever
Harry Kewell has declared himself fit and ready to aid
Liverpool's quest for Champions League glory.
The Australian midfielder kicked his first ball of the
season as a substitute against Fulham last week and could
play a part in the Reds' final league game of the season
against Charlton on Sunday.
With the Champions League final now less than two weeks
away, Kewell is hoping his return to full fitness will be
rewarded with a place in the squad for Athens.
"I've been working hard over the last eight weeks," Kewell
said. "We did testing the other day, everything went well.
The manager's happy, the assistant manager's happy, the
fitness coaches are happy, so it's literally down to the
manager.
"I'm feeling as close to 100 per cent as I've ever felt
before in my life, the only thing I'm missing is competitive
games."
(LFC Official Website)
Fowler's message to the Kop
Robbie Fowler today thanked The Kop for making his second
spell at Anfield even more memorable than his first, but
vowed: “I haven’t finished at Liverpool yet.”
The striker has been told his contract won’t be renewed at
the end of the season, which means his appearance at Anfield
on Sunday will be his last in a red shirt.
Rafa Benitez has promised Fowler a start in the game, and
it’s an opportunity he fully intends making the most of.
“Obviously it will be an emotional day for me, but I want
everyone to know I’m still completely focused on what I see
as two very important games,” said Fowler.
“ I also want people to know I’ve not even thought about the
future beyond Liverpool. The manager explained the situation
to me this week and it wasn’t a big surprise, to be honest.
“But everyone knows I’ve treated every game back at
Liverpool in exactly the same way and given all I could for
the team, and that’s going to be the case in the last two
games
as well.”
(Liverpool Echo)
Kop are set to say farewell to a genuine
Anfield legend
To say farewell to Liverpool once was painful. To have the
opportunity to do so for a second time was more than Robbie
Fowler could have wished for 18 months ago.
The striking legend will say goodbye to he Kop on Sunday
after bringing the most romantic cameo in the history of the
club to an end.
Where his last departure in 2001 was swift to the point of
indecency, this time he’ll have an opportunity to savour the
moment and soak up the applause of his adoring public.
There may yet be a final twist in the tale of his emotional
return if his services are required in Athens, but he now
knows he’ll wear the Liverpool number nine jersey at Anfield
for the last time.
Fowler was informed of Rafa Benitez’s decision not to renew
his contract on Wednesday afternoon.
The Liverpool manager had been pondering whether to make the
decision public ahead of the final home game of the season,
uncertain of how fans will react to the departure of
the local hero.
(Liverpool Echo)
Thatcher returns to face Liverpool
Charlton will welcome back Ben Thatcher at Liverpool on
Sunday, while young Irishman Darren Randolph looks set to
make his debut in goal.
On-loan goalkeeper Scott Carson is ineligible to play
against his parent club, so Randolph, 20 on Saturday, is
expected to be preferred ahead of veteran Norwegian Thomas
Myhre, who will join Viking FK this summer.
Thatcher is available again at Liverpool following his
one-match suspension.
Charlton (from): Randolph, Young, El Karkouri, Diawara,
Hreidarsson, Zheng Zhi, Holland, Song, Sam, Ambrose, M Bent,
D Bent, Myhre, Bougherra, Hughes, Thatcher, Hasselbaink,
Rommedahl.
(TEAMtalk)
Reds sign Brazilian star
Liverpool today made their first significant transfer move
of the summer with a swoop for 20-year-old Brazilian Lucas
Leiva.
The youngster, rated one of the most exciting emerging
talents in South America, has signed from Brazilian club
Gremio.
Leiva was recently called up to his national team, and Rafa
Benitez believes the central midfielder will be challenging
for a first team place at the beginning of next season.
Leiva will join the Reds in the summer after Benitez beat a
host of top clubs to his signature.
The fee has remained undisclosed at this stage, but is
believed to be around £5m.
(Liverpool Echo)
Carson admits future doubt
Scott Carson admits a season on Liverpool's bench is an
unappetising prospect.
The England squad man has impressed whilst on loan at
Charlton this term, where despite the club's relegation he
was voted as Player of the Year at The Valley.
Carson is set to return to Anfield for pre-season training
but with Jose Reina firmly lodged as Rafa Benitez's first
choice, he is not enamoured by the likelihood of playing
second fiddle.
There would be no shortage of takers should Carson decide
that another season away from Merseyside would aid his
development, but whether Benitez would agree remains subject
to conjecture.
Carson, though, is very much of the mindset that at this
stage in his career he wants to be playing week in-week out.
"If I end up at Liverpool and sit on the bench, then I would
have taken one step forward and one back straightaway," he
told The Sun.
(Sky Sports)
LFC chief Parry condemns UEFA
Liverpool FC last night attempted to deflect furious fans’
criticism of its Champions League ticketing arrangements by
launching an unprecedented attack on UEFA.
The club described the offer from European football’s
governing body of 17,000 tickets to LFC fans for Athens as
“completely inadequate”.
Chief executive Rick Parry addressed supporters and called
on UEFA to look again at how it hands out tickets for future
finals, as the row between the club and the governing body
escalated. Fans’ disappointment at the ticket distribution
for the final against AC Milan on May 23 went on, as
supporters debated ways of protesting at their treatment.
He said: “The club shares the fans' frustration at this
situation.
“From the first moment we sat down with UEFA last Friday in
Athens we asked if more tickets could be made available. The
answer was no.
“We then asked if Milan were to return any tickets, could we
have these to distribute to our fans. Again, the answer was
a resounding no.
“I can only apologise that we are unable to supply more
tickets to our fans.”
(Liverpool Daily Post) |
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THURSDAY 10 |
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Riise: Agger's been our best player
John Arne Riise today hailed Daniel Agger's full debut
season at Anfield and declared: "He's been our best player
this year."
Agger has impressed with a series of outstanding displays
alongside Jamie Carragher at the heart of the defence and
won the man of the match award during the Reds' glorious
Champions League semi-final victory over Chelsea.
"I think Dan has been brilliant for us this year," he said.
"He's come in, found a place for himself in the team and
played well enough to stay there.
"Pepe Reina has also had a great season and been absolutely
brilliant for us but if I had to pick our Player of the Year
then it would be Daniel.
"I can't believe he got some stick after the first Chelsea
match because I thought he had a good game, but then he
proved at Anfield what a quality player he is.
"He's still only young and he's going to be a big player for
us for many years to come."
(LFC Official Website)
Dudek backs Rafa
Jerzy Dudek has backed Rafael Benitez to lead Liverpool to
the Premiership title.
Dudek believes Rafa Benitez will soon end the Reds' long
wait for a nineteenth league title.
"We are all happy with the way we have played in the
Premiership in the second half of the season and I feel we
are not too far away from winning it," the departing
goalkeeper told LFC Magazine.
"Rafa knows what he has to do to take the club across the
finishing line. If he is able to bring in quality players in
the summer in one or two key positions, then we will be very
close next season.
"If it doesn't happen next year, then the Premiership will
be at Liverpool soon."
(LFC Online)
Reds fans slam club and UEFA chiefs
Liverpool fans leader Les Lawson has criticised both the
club and UEFA over the ticket allocation for the Champions
League final.
Liverpool and AC Milan have both been allocated almost
17,000 tickets each for the 63,000-capacity Olympic Stadium
in Athens for the May 23 showpiece.
UEFA have kept 20,000 tickets for their own distribution
while 9,000 were held for a UEFA ballot.
Lawson, spokesman for the Official Liverpool Supporters
Club, said: "There has been failures on all sides, the
allocation is too small.
"But the crux of the matter is the way Liverpool have
distributed their tickets.
"Fancard holders who may have only attended six Champions
League qualifiers, but no other games, have gone into the
same ballot as season-ticket holders.
"I have never seen anything this bad and I have never seen
so many people down in the dumps as there are this year.
"Fans are very downbeat, I have heard of groups of 30 or 40
people where only three have been successful in getting
tickets.
"People have been really upset, nearly in tears. It has
taken a lot of the gloss off Liverpool getting to the
final."
(TEAMtalk)
Reds to play in Asia Trophy
Liverpool have announced plans to take part in this summer's
Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong as part of their
pre-season preparations.
The Reds will take on the Hong Kong FA Cup winners on July
24 and then either Portsmouth or Fulham on July 27.
"We know that we have a lot of fans in Hong Kong and are
looking forward to playing in front of them again," said
boss Rafael Benitez.
"I'm sure they will give us wonderful support and we will do
our best to win the Barclays Asia Trophy for them."
The games will be played in the 40,000 Hong Kong Stadium and
all matches will be screened live by SKY Sports.
The full schedule of games is as follows:
July 24 2007
Portsmouth v Fulham 6pm (11am UK time)
Liverpool v Hong Kong FA Cup winners 8.15pm (1.15pm UK time)
July 27 2007
3rd/4th place play off 6pm (11am UK time)
Final 8.15pm (1.15pm UK time)
(LFC Official Website)
Voronin revved up for Reds move
Andrei Voronin says he is excited by the prospect of making
a summer move to Liverpool and has started English lessons
to ease his transition.
The Ukraine forward will leave Bayer Leverkusen on a free
transfer in the summer, having put his name to a four-year
deal with The Reds.
"It will be difficult coming to England, and so I will study
English intensively, so that I am ready for the challenge,"
he told the Daily Mirror.
"I had thought about changing leagues for quite a long time.
I wanted a change of environment, to discover something new,
so with my Leverkusen deal coming to an end my agent began
to look for options in Italy, Spain or England.
"There were some interesting offers even before the 2006
World Cup but we decided not to hurry. When we started
talking about Liverpool, who I could join on a free
transfer, everything clicked into place.
"I am excited about England, the football there is very
exciting, and it is a challenge that suits me.
"I am ready to give everything to be a success at
Liverpool."
(Sky Sports)
Thor Zakariassen
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