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THURSDAY 18 |
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Second baby delight for Owen
Michael Owen's wife is pregnant with their second baby.
It might explain why the former Liverpool star is so
desperate for a return to England, possibly to Anfield.
The latest reports suggest he could come back to Anfield on
loan and be closer to the family home in north Wales.
As speculation continues about Michael's future at Real
Madrid, the family confirmed the happy news.
Michael told the ECHO: "We are both absolutely delighted
with the news."
The secret was out when Louise was spotted shopping for baby
clothes in a boutique in Chester last weekend. She admitted
to curious shoppers she was pregnant.
One also saw the 25-year-old going into a nearby pram shop.
The couple, who married last June in a private ceremony in
Chester, have a two-year-old daughter, Gemma Rose.
(Liverpool Echo)
Ex-Red ruled out of Anfield return
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Wright will miss out on a
return to Anfield with Sunderland this weekend after
suffering a training ground injury.
Wright, who was desperately looking forward to playing in
front of the Kop for the first time since his move to
Wearside three years ago, damaged the medial ligaments in
his left knee on Monday.
It was only after undergoing a scan that the extent of the
injury was discovered and the Black Cats have today
confirmed that the popular right-back will be out of action
for three months.
"It's a blow, it's not what we wanted one game into the
season," says Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy.
"It happened in a tackle in training and we immediately knew
he'd opened up his knee, we just didn't know how serious it
was."
(LFC Official Website)
Lyon's £8.5m bid for Baros
Lyon today raised the stakes in the race for Milan Baros by
tabling an astonishing £8.5m bid for the striker.
Former Anfield boss Gerard Houllier underlined his
determination to recruit the Czech international with a huge
offer for the player he brought to Anfield three years ago.
Aston Villa were in pole position to recruit Baros, who has
expressed a preference to move to the Midlands.
(Liverpool Echo)
Lyon bid for Liverpool's Cisse
Newspaper reports today claim that French outfit Lyon have
tabled an offer for Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse.
It is claimed that Lyon boss Gerard Houllier is offering us
former Arsenal striker Sylvain Wiltord plus £4million in
cash for Cisse who cost a club record £14million when signed
from Auxerre in 2004.
(Kop Talk)
International Reds round-up
Liverpoolfc.tv round-up how our players fared on a busy
night of international duty...
Denmark 4 v 1 England
Steven Gerrard - played 84 minutes before being replaced by
Jermaine Jenas.
Jamie Carragher - started on the bench but appeared as a
replacement for John Terry at the interval.
Spain 2 v 0 Uruguay
Pepe Reina - won his first full cap and marked the occasion
by keeping a clean sheet.
Fernando Morientes - played the opening half on his long
awaited return to the squad.
Luis Garcia - came on as a 60th minute substitute for
Joaquin.
Xabi Alonso - played the first half before being replaced by
Sergio in the 46th minute.
Republic of Ireland 1 v 2 Italy
Steve Finnan - played 57 minutes at Lansdowne Road before
being replaced by Stephen Carr.
Sweden 2 v 1 Czech Republic
Milan Baros - played the full 90 minutes but was unable to
get his name on the scoresheet in Gothenburg.
Macedonia 0 v 3 Finland
Sami Hyypia - played the full 90 minutes of the Finn's World
Cup qualifying win in Skopje.
Norway 0 v 2 Switzerland
John Arne Riise - played the full 90 minutes.
Holland 2 v 2 Germany
Dietmar Hamann - played 74 minutes before being substituted
in Rotterdam.
France 3 v 0 Ivory Coast
Djibril Cisse - appeared as a late substitute for Thierry
Henry in Montpellier.
Kewell to receive Hiddink help
New Australia head coach Guus Hiddink wants to work closely
with Liverpool to ensure star midfielder Harry Kewell can
play some part in helping the Socceroos qualify for only
their second World Cup finals.
Kewell, who is recovering from a hernia operation, was
included in Hiddink's first training squad which has taken
part in three days of intense practice in Hoenderloo in
Hiddink's native Holland.
Hiddink admitted that he sees Kewell as a key player in
their bid to qualify for Germany 2006.
"I realised it would be difficult (for Kewell) because he is
recovering from surgery but he told me he was very committed
and wanted to be in the (national) squad as much as
possible," Hiddink told PA Sport in a conference call to
journalists.
"I told him I would be thinking how we can help to get him
into shape for the qualifiers.
"I had a lot of time to express my thoughts during the
training camp.
"I said I would help him (Kewell) with his club."
(Sporting Life)
Villa: Solano not for sale
Liverpool have been told by David O'Leary that Aston Villa
winger Nolberto Solano is not for sale.
The Peruvian is 18 months into his Villa career but has been
linked with an exchange deal involving Liverpool striker
Milan Baros.
Villa have agreed personal terms with Baros and are looking
towards reaching a compromise with Liverpool on a fee.
However Villa manager O'Leary has warned Reds counterpart
Rafael Benitez off the 30-year-old former Newcastle player.
O'Leary told club website: "I admire Liverpool's taste, but
Nobby is an important part of our plans and will not be
going anywhere."
(TEAMtalk)
Henchoz wanted Reds stay
Swiss defender Stephane Henchoz has revealed he wanted to
finish his career with Liverpool.
The former Blackburn man fell out of favour under Rafa
Benitez last term and he joined Celtic during the January
transfer window.
Henchoz is now on a one-year deal with newly-promoted Wigan,
but the 30-year-old wishes he could have remained at
Anfield.
"Liverpool is not a club that you want to leave, it's a club
that you have to leave," explained Henchoz.
"If I could have finished my career at Liverpool, I would
have. It was a big disappointment but you have to live with
it.
"Sometimes you think you have made the wrong decision. Maybe
I should have stayed and not left in January and things
could have turned out differently."
(Planet Football/Sky Sports) |
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WEDNESDAY 17 |
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Crouch targets capital comeback
Peter Crouch is on target to make his return from injury in
time to face Spurs on September 10.
The £7m striker is currently sidelined with a ham-string
problem, but would still have been suspended for Saturday's
visit of Sunderland anyway.
He won't be available for the return leg of the Champions
League qualifier with CSKA Sofia on Tuesday, but has an
outside chance of featuring in the Super Cup Final.
The trip to White Hart Lane is a more realistic target,
however.
Manager Rafa Benitez is also confident Harry Kewell will
soon return to training after recovering from a hernia
operation.
"I hope in three or four weeks we will have most of the
squad available again,"
said the manager.
(Liverpool Echo)
Carson keeps clean sheet for England
Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson kept a clean sheet for
England Under-21s in their friendly 1-0 win in Denmark.
Carson played for the first 45 minutes before being
substituted at half-time.
Reds midfielder John Welsh was not named in the match squad.
(LFC Official Website)
Dunn targets Reds comeback
Birmingham midfielder David Dunn has targeted the clash with
Liverpool at St Andrews on September 24 to make his
long-awaited comeback from injury.
Dunn has not featured for Blues since Boxing Day and had to
undergo back surgery in February in the hope of clearing up
a persistent hamstring problem.
The 25-year-old said: "I feel fine and it is just a case of
waiting for the surgeon to say I can play again."
Dunn was unable to participate in pre-season training and
manager Steve Bruce will hope that the surgeon will give the
go-ahead for the former Blackburn Rovers trainee to resume
light training.
Great Harwood born Dunn has made only 29 league starts for
Birmingham after signing from Blackburn in July 2003.
(Planet Football/Sky Sports)
Liverpool linked with Premiership winger
Liverpool have reportedly registered an interest in Aston
Villa winger
Nolberto Solano (30).
Newspaper reports today claim that Liverpool could include
him in the proposed Milan Baros deal.
(Kop Talk)
Hasan flattered by Reds link
Bayern Munich midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic has admitted he
is flattered to be linked with a move to Liverpool.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international has emerged as a
transfer target for Liverpool, as they continue their search
for more players before the close of the transfer window.
Salihamidzic admitted he would be interested in a move to
Anfield and is waiting to see if they follow up their
interest.
"I have heard about interest from Liverpool and it is a
great honour for me," said Salihamidzic.
"But, of course, it is not up to me. It is up to the two
clubs to decide."
(Planet Football/Sky Sports) |
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TUESDAY 16 |
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Pongolle on target but reserves lose
mini-derby
Liverpool reserves lost their first match of the new season
against Everton tonight.
Florent Sinama Pongolle, on as a second half substitute, and
Danny Guthrie scored Liverpool's goals in a 3-2 defeat.
The Reds starting line-up was as follows:
Willis, Barragan, Peltier, O'Donnell, Whitbread, Hobbs,
Wilkie, Guthrie, Godwin, Mannix, Hammill
Subs: Sinama-Pongolle, Roberts, Josemi, Woods, Frayne, Foy.
(Walk On LFC)
Morientes hoping to renew strike partnership
with Raul
Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes says he is delighted at
his recall to the Spanish side and is looking forward to the
chance to renew his partnership with former club colleague
Raul.
"I don't know yet if I will be in the starting line-up, but
if I am I will be really proud to be wearing the Spanish
shirt again," the 29-year-old former Real Madrid striker
said on the eve of his side's friendly international against
Uruguay.
"It is a reward to be selected for the national team and I'm
going to make sure I make the most of it. It may be just a
friendly but we are all going to be taking the match very
seriously."
"It will be very important to play alongside Raul because I
know him so well," said Morientes. "There will be more of an
understanding with him than with someone I don't know and I
will be more relaxed."
He said the fact that he had now settled in at Liverpool and
adapted to English football was one of the main reasons for
his return to the Spain squad.
"In the 11 months since I was last called up there have been
some important changes in my career," he said.
"When I was at Real Madrid I hardly played and it was
difficult to play for the national team and when I arrived
at Liverpool I had some initial problems with my fitness and
in adapting to the training.
"Now everything is going as I had hoped it would."
(Reuters)
Reina handed Spain chance
The thigh injury suffered by Iker Casillas gives new
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina the chance to make his Spain
debut in Wednesday's friendly against Uruguay.
However, the former Villarreal stopper is under no illusions
that any appearance will only afford him a brief moment in
the spotlight before Casillas returns next month.
Along with Fernando Morientes, Luis Garcia and Xabi Alonso,
Reina is one of four Liverpool players in the squad as the
European champions contribute more players than any other
side.
"That is just a statistic, we had all been called up
previously when we were playing for Spanish clubs and now we
are all together in a foreign club because Europe is opening
the door for Spanish players," Reina said.
He also looked ahead to Spain's vital World Cup qualifying
game against Serbia & Montenegro on 7 September.
With Spain only a point ahead of the Serbo-Montenegrins, who
have a game in hand, a win may prove crucial for their World
Cup ambitions.
"It is logical for us to want to go to the World Cup and
that all passes through winning that game," Reina said.
"If we can play well then so much the better, but the most
important thing is to win."
(TEAMtalk)
Real Madrid in debt to Liverpool
Spanish outfit Real Madrid still owe Liverpool half of the
£8million transfer fee that they agreed to pay for Michael
Owen.
Liverpool are closing in on the former Liverpool striker
despite Real's demands for a transfer fee in the region of
£14million. With them still owing £4million on Owen you can
now see why they're holding out for more cash.
If Liverpool table an offer of £11million or more, Real have
to inform Owen of the interest but technically speaking, it
would appear that they can set whatever transfer fee that
they want without breaking any clauses.
An £11million fee would be ideal as Liverpool then only need
to find £7million which just happens to be what Rick Parry
is demanding from Aston Villa for Milan Baros.
It is evident to us - from news in the public domain and
www.koptalkinsider.com - that the club are currently making
significant progress in the transfer market not only
relating to Owen and Baros but other targets.
The next fortnight should be a busy one for the club.
(Kop Talk)
Baros says Villa move is close
Liverpool striker Milan Baros claims he is on the verge of
joining Aston Villa.
The Czech forward will continue talks when he returns from
international duty - but it's thought that the two clubs
have agreed to compromise on a £6.5m fee.
Baros said: "Villa increased their offer and we've come to
an agreement on the financial front. But that doesn't mean
that it's already a done deal.
"Villa are a quality club, and I don't consider this a
backward step at all. My situation will be better there."
"Everything leads me to believe that there's nothing for it
but to say my goodbyes to Liverpool," he said.
"The manager has his own view of things and intends to focus
on other players. Me, I have no intention of keeping the
stands warm.
"It happens, that's football. I'm not bitter."
Speculation will now inevitably increase that Liverpool will
use the money from Baros' sale to help purchase Michael Owen
back from Real Madrid.
(Football 365)
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Thor Zakariassen
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