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TUESDAY 18 |
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Benitez stands by decision
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez stood by his decision to
field a weakened squad against Championship side Burnley after
the Clarets sent them crashing out of the FA Cup.
Asked whether his selection of youngsters was the problem,
Benitez said: "They tried. The problem is when you play four
competitions you need to use your squad. If you can't play
four competitions you need to focus on the next one.
"I don't think it was a mistake. I am happy with the players,
they tried. We worked hard, the squad in the Carling Cup was
the same idea and we win but not today. We now have three
competitions. All of us are disappointed with the result but
that is football."
(ITV Football)
Cotterill delighted
Burnley manager Steve Cotterill was delighted with their giant
killing act on Liverpool on Tuesday night.
The Clarets were full of spirit against a much-weakened
Liverpool side, although they never looked like scoring until
Djimi Traore bundled the ball into his own net six minutes
after half time.
"It's a fantastic win for us," beamed Cotterill. "We are
delighted with the boys."
(Planet Football/Sky Sports)
Reds dumped out by Clarets
Burnley dumped a young Liverpool side out of the FA Cup on
Tuesday with Djimi Traore's bizarre own goal putting The
Clarets through.
Rafa Benitez opted to make wholesale changes for the trip to
Turf Moor, but his decision to give the youngsters a chance
backfired as they failed to perform on the night, and were
outbattled by the Championship side.
Burnley were gifted the lead six minutes after the interval
when Traore totally lost his head inside his own six yard box
to bundle the ball into his own net.
Things got worse for Liverpool four minutes from time when
Tony Grant theatrically fell to the ground after Antonio Nunez
had stupidly waved an elbow at him, and the Spaniard was
rightly dismissed.
Cotterill's troops hung on for a famous FA Cup shock to
delight the home fans, while Reds fans will be ruing Benitez's
decision to field a weakened team.
(Planet Football/Sky Sports)
Blues sign Diao
Birmingham have completed the signing of Liverpool midfielder
Salif Diao on loan until the end of the season.
The 27-year-old Diao confirmed to Blues boss Steve Bruce that
he would be joining the club in a telephone call late on
Monday evening.
Diao is seen by Bruce as a short-term replacement for Robbie
Savage, who is expected to move to Blackburn this week.
But the option is there for a deal to become permanent in the
summer if Diao impresses Bruce during the next few months.
He moved to Anfield in the summer of 2002 for a fee in excess
of £3million after playing a big part in Senegal's run to the
World Cup quarter-finals in Japan.
(Ananova)
Benitez steps up Carson bid
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez insists Leeds goalkeeper Scott
Carson would be best served switching to Anfield instead of
Stamford Bridge.
Benitez has stepped up his bid to land the youngster although
Chelsea show no sign of relenting in their own pursuit of the
England Under-21 international.
"Carson is the first option. A week ago I was confident we
would get him, but now
I don't know."
(TEAMtalk)
Benitez on Shankly
Rafael Benitez is learning from the late, great Bill Shankly,
and his wife Montserat is also taking lessons in the history
of Liverpool Football Club.
"Bill Shankly brought fresh air to Anfield," said Benitez.
"They breathed ambition, discipline and success. So now what
my wife and I do is learn about him every day.
"My challenge is to find, teach and inspire the old Liverpool
FC spirit, the mentality, the philosophy of respect and the
original values of football that our club made famous over
generations."
(LFC Online)
Burnley boss believes muddy pitch is no
advantage
Steve Cotterill, manager of Burnley, believes that the muddy
pitch at Turf Moor will not give his side an advantage
tonight.
After another heavy downpour the Turf Moor pitch will be a
boggy playing surface. However, Cotterill believes that such
things no longer have such an influence on a game.
He said: "I think that players adjust more now but having said
that the pitches don't get into the state they did in the days
of the famous Radford goal at Hereford.
"Players are stronger, they're more athletic and they tend to
plough through the mud.
"People ask me 'Would you like a muddy pitch to play against
Liverpool?' and the answer to that is 'No'. We play better
when we haven't got a muddy pitch to play on."
(LFC Online)
Owen tips Morientes to shine
Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen believes Fernando
Morientes will be a great success at Anfield.
Morientes, who ironically lost his place in the Real Madrid
side this season after the arrival of Owen, has a great strike
record and will hopefully help maintain Liverpool's push for a
top four finish this season.
"Fernando is a great player and I'm sure he'll be a massive
success at Liverpool," said Owen. "He's strong, good in the
air and on the ground and he scores lots of goals.
"He will do well at Liverpool. They have been a little bit
short of the top teams for a while now and have needed to sign
a couple of world class players. Fernando is certainly one of
them.
"He'll have no problem settling there because the fans are
really passionate and will get behind him. It's a great
signing for Liverpool."
(LFC Online) |
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MONDAY 17 |
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Boss shocked by tragic news from Valencia
Rafael Benitez today sent a message of condolence of behalf of
himself, his staff and all the players at Anfield to Valencia
defender Marco Caneira after the sudden death of his
eight-month-old daughter on Sunday.
Benitez and new signing Mauricio Pellegrino both know the
Portuguese defender well and the tragic news has upset both
manager and player. Spanish soccer federation officials
considered postponing Valencia's match at Osasuna yesterday
with the Valencia players asking for the match to be abandoned
but referee Gonzalez Vazquez decided to play despite the death
of the defender's infant daughter.
Caneira, 25, did not play in the match which ended in a 0-0
draw. The Portugal international instead flew back to Valencia
in the private aeroplane of one of the Osasuna directors to be
with his family. Spanish media reported that Caneira's
daughter was rushed to hospital at 15:35 local time with
breathing problems and passed away thirty minutes later.
Benitez wanted Caneira to know that the thoughts of everyone
at Liverpool Football Club are with the player and his family.
(LFC Official Website)
Diao set for St. Andrews
Birmingham are set to sign Liverpool midfielder Salif Diao on
loan for the rest of the season.
Blues are close to agreeing a six-month deal for the Senegal
international as a short-term replacement for Blackburn-bound
Robbie Savage.
Aston Villa boss David O'Leary is trying to sign players on
short-term contracts or on loan and Diao would have fitted the
bill. His own midfield dynamo, Gavin McCann, is sidelined for
the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury.
But Diao, 28 next month, is understood to prefer a move to St
Andrews after becoming surplus to requirements at Anfield.
(Sporting Life)
Young side to face Burnley
Rafael Benitez will again turn to his young players and give
them a chance in Tuesday's rescheduled FA Cup 3rd round tie at
Burnley and says he has a lot of faith in them.
The likes of Stephen Warnock, Neil Mellor, Darren Potter, John
Welsh and Zak Whitbread are all expected to figure in the
match, while Mark Smyth could be on the bench.
While the Liverpool manager admits the FA Cup is not the
highest on Liverpool's priorities this season he did say he
wants to win the match and take the team as far as they can in
the competition.
(LFC Official Website)
Rooney in the clear
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will not be charged
with any offence following his goal celebration at Anfield on
Saturday, the FA have confirmed.
Rooney appeared to taunt Liverpool fans after hitting the
first half match-winner by cupping his ears in a defiant
gesture in front of the Kop.
A mobile phone was hurled at the England forward as he
continued his celebrations and the FA are currently awaiting a
report on that incident from the Merseyside Police.
But Rooney has also escaped any action from the police.
Inspector George Dawson, Force Incident Manager, for the
Merseyside Police, said: "At this stage it looks like Wayne
Rooney had not committed any criminal offence. So I can
confirm that he will not be investigated."
One spectator was arrested but it had not yet been confirmed
that it was the same person who threw the mobile phone.
A police spokesman added: "We have recovered a mobile phone
from the pitch. We are not sure whether it was thrown at
anybody. We are making inquiries."
(ITV Football)
Wigan join chase for Mellor
Despite insisting he wants to stay and fight for his place at
Liverpool, Neil Mellor is being stringly linked with a move
away from Anfield this month.
Sheffield United have already expressed an interest in the
young striker, but Wigan Athletic boss Paul Jewell has added
Mellor, and Middlesbrough's Danny Graham, to the top of his
wanted list.
(LFC Online)
Clarets star hopes to shock Reds
Resurgent Burnley will be looking to cap a remarkable
transformation in the club's fortunes with an FA Cup shock
over Liverpool in their rearranged third round game at Turf
Moor on Tuesday.
A year ago, the Clarets were teetering above the First
Division drop zone, and more worryingly were on the brink of
going into administration.
The club did not have the money to see out the season but
thanks to a round of cost-cutting and fund-raising activity,
kept the wolves from the door.
Now 12 months on, they are prospering in the Championship
under a new manager, have raised their highest ever sum
through the sale of a player and are debt-free.
And long-serving striker Ian Moore is delighted to see light
at the end of the tunnel.
"Hopefully the good times are coming back. The type of feeling
I've got at the moment is that this team is as good, if not
better, than when we were top of the league."
(BBC Sport Online)
Real reject Owen Toon talk
Real Madrid chief Arrigo Sacchi has exclusively revealed to
skysports.com that they have received no approach from
Newcastle for Michael Owen and have no plans to sell the
England ace.
Reports in England on Sunday had claimed that Newcastle had
made a loan enquiry for the England international which was
rejected by Real Madrid.
It was also suggested that Newcastle may come in with a firm
offer for Owen in the summer as speculation continues to
surround his future in Spain.
(Planet Football/Sky Sports)
Mellor snubs Reds exit talk
Liverpool ace Neil Mellor has brushed off speculation linking
him with a move to Sheffield United, insisting he wants to
fight for his place
The Blades are known to be keen on the 22-year-old but Mellor
has vowed that he is staying put.
He told the club's website: "I don't want to leave. The first
I heard of interest from Sheffield United was when I saw it on
Sky but I won't be going there.
"I know my form hasn't been good since my illness, but I know
that and I am the first person to say when I'm not playing
well. I'm not even thinking of leaving. This has been a
brilliant season for me so far getting into the Liverpool
first team.
"I want to stay and keep improving and show the manager I can
do a job when
I get the chance."
(TEAMtalk)
Anfield haunted by the ghost of Everton past
. . .
It was just like old times with the rapturous cries of Rooney,
Rooney, Rooney, echoing across the fringes of Stanley Park.
Sadly for Liverpool, the ecstatic chants came not from the
arena across the lake, but from the throats of the 4,000 or so
Manchester United fans crammed into a packed Anfield.
They'd just seen their new hero slay the arch-enemy - emptying
the stadium's seats quicker than an encore from Cilla Black -
and they wanted everyone to know how happy that made them.
For enraged Liverpool supporters that was the final insult on
an afternoon of deepest despair.
(Len Capeling - Daily Post)
I'm not to blame for defeat, insists Dudek
Jerzy Dudek came out fighting after another crucial error
against Manchester United on Saturday - insisting he had been
"unlucky".
Dudek said: "The ball was swerving a bit, and it was unlucky
for me because it was his first shot on goal. I knew he was
lining up the shot - I saw it all the way.. I had a good view
of it, I don't know what happened, but I believed it moved at
the end."
Dudek added: "We played very well at the beginning but we
couldn't get the same tempo after that. I knew that there was
still plenty of time to bounce back. I had to stay on my toes
and maintain my level of concentration. There was plenty of
time to change the scoreline in our favour."
(Daily Post) |
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SUNDAY 16 |
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Morientes and Gerrard out of Burnley tie
Liverpool are set to be without the services of Steven Gerrard
and Fernando Morientes for Tuesday nights rescheduled FA Cup
tie with Championship side Burnley at Turf Moor.
Skipper Gerrard will be out due to a groin injury he sustained
in training on Friday afternoon. He was given an injection on
Saturday so that he could play in the match against Manchester
United but he is expected to be ruled out on Tuesday evening.
Gerard is also a major doubt for Saturday's Premiership
encounter with Southampton at Saint Mary's stadium.
The Reds will also be without £6.3m new signing Morientes due
to FA laws. The Spanish international was not registered as a
Liverpool player when the tie was originally scheduled to take
play hence he will not be involved.
Rafael Benitez is likely to use the game as a chance to give
fringe and youth
players a run out.
(Shankly Gates)
Riise keen on new Reds contract
John Arne Riise has admitted he wants a new contract with
Liverpool.
The 24-year-old Norway international, whose current deal
expires at the end of next season, has impressed this season
and scored five goals.
"I am hoping for a new contract, and if they give me an offer
it won't take long for me to sign it," Riise told Liverpool's
official website.
"Rafael Benitez has told me to shoot, shoot, shoot. The boss
has confidence in me, and that's a fantastic feeling."
(BBC Sport Online)
Mori handed Benitez backing
Rafael Benitez praised Fernando Morientes after his Liverpool
debut and has tipped the Spanish ace for great things at
Anfield.
Benitez told the club's website: "It was difficult in his
first game but he never stopped trying.
"It was his first game and he needs to get fit. He said he was
very tired when he came off but he knows now how he must play
in the Premiership and will get better
with more training."
(TEAMtalk)
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Thor Zakariassen
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