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MONDAY 27 |
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Dates set for cup final
The dates have been confirmed for the FA Youth Cup final.
Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield on Thursday, April
13th kick off 7.30pm in the first leg. The return leg takes
place at the City of Manchester Stadium on Friday, April
21st kick off 7.45pm. Both games will be shown live on Sky
Sports.
(LFC Online)
Gerrard's praise for team mates
Steven Gerrard has praised the performances of his team
mates against Everton on Saturday.
Gerrard was sent off in the 18th minute to leave Liverpool
with an uphill task in the 203rd Merseyside derby. However,
the remaining Reds picked themselves up superbly to beat
Everton 3-1. After the game Gerrard hailed the performance
of his team mates.
"I'm more disappointed with the first booking than the
second. The first one was just stupid on my part. For the
second one I thought he was going to strike the ball and I
just went into the tackle. Those challenges are part and
parcel of derbies," said the Liverpool skipper.
"The lads were all heroic though - every one of them. I
didn't want to get them in trouble but they were brilliant.
You wouldn't have known we had ten men for so long. I can't
praise them enough and they certainly made me feel better
about things at the end."
(LFC Online)
Sturrock hoping to keep Liverpool's Carson
Sheffield Wednesday boss Paul Sturrock says he would like to
extend Scott Carson's loan deal at Hillsborough.
Carson joined the Owls in March on a one-month loan and
after his man-of-the-match performance at the weekend
against Wolves, Sturrock is hoping to extend his stay.
He said: "We had to wait a long time for Scott. I was after
him for three months with Liverpool's European commitments.
"But now we know he's the type of player we need to have at
Sheffield Wednesday - at the start of the season we couldn't
go for players like him.
"He's on the dreaded 24-hour recall, so I'm hoping Liverpool
have no injury problems and their keepers stay fit."
(Kop Talk)
Giannokopoulos keen on Liverpool
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Stelios Giannokopoulos says he
is still keen to move to "a bigger club", with Liverpool his
dream location.
In an interview in the Greek daily newspaper Eleftheros
Typos on Monday, Giannokopoulos is quoted as saying: "I
would give everything to go to Liverpool."
"I have become more stubborn since last season when I didn't
go to Liverpool - although their official proposal gave me
moral satisfaction," said Giannokopoulos.
"That's my dream. Not only to go to Liverpool but, in
general, to go to a bigger team. Then I would say that I
have reached the peak of my career. That's my vision and I
am working very hard every week to make Liverpool or any big
team chase my signature."
(Reuters)
Garcia happy to join goal revival
Luis Garcia is revelling in his growing reputation as a man
for the big occasion.
The Spaniard produced a deft lob over the out-rushing
Everton goalkeeper Richard Wright to put Liverpool in
command in the 203rd Merseyside derby at Anfield.
Garcia's goal - he also scored in Liverpool's 2-1 win at
Anfield last season - put the home side two up, and although
Everton pulled a goal back through Tim Cahill, a spectacular
strike from Harry Kewell sealed the outcome in the closing
minutes.
Garcia, who scored against Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and
Chelsea on the way to Liverpool's Champions League success
last year, admitted he was relieved to get on the scoresheet
again after missing out in the recent revival of the Anfield
strikeforce.
"Everyone else has been scoring recently apart from me," he
said after notching his tenth goal of the season. "I'm
pleased with that one - another goal from me in a big game."
(Daily Post)
Finnan clears skipper of red card blame
Steve Finnan believes captain Steven Gerrard doesn't need to
apologise to his Liverpool team-mates, despite him being
sent off in Saturday's Merseyside derby.
The England midfielder was shown a second yellow card in the
18th minute for a tackle on Everton winger Kevin Kilbane,
just seconds after entering referee Phil Dowd's book for
kicking the ball away.
But despite the needless nature of the sending off, Republic
of Ireland international Finnan says that his team-mates -
who dug in to win the game 3-1 - don't want him to say
sorry.
"Stevie was very quiet after the match," said Finnan..
"These games mean a lot to him and he is disappointed to
have missed out on the victory.
"But he doesn't need to apologise. The first one was for
kicking the ball away, but he looked like he got a bit of
the ball for the second one. However the referee said it was
twofooted.
"It's okay because he has got us out of trouble so many
times in the past, he was just disappointed that it happened
in a derby game."
(Daily Post) |
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SUNDAY 26 |
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Broken Cisse offered escape route
Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse is reportedly attracting
interest from Glasgow Rangers.
A source close to the player is quoted as saying: "Djibril
does not know what to do any more.
"He is half the man he once was, everybody can see that. He
seems broken
at Liverpool."
(Kop Talk)
Special 08 shirts at Mersey derby
Two top footballers have made history by having their shirt
numbers changed for an all-important Merseyside derby.
Everton's James Beattie and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
both wore an "08" shirt on Saturday - marking the city's
year as Capital of Culture.
The numbers got special permission from the FA Premier
League to promote the 08 Ambassadors Programme.
After the match, at Anfield, the two shirts were being
auctioned for charity by the Liverpool Culture Company.
(BBC Sport Online)
Transfer link returns
Newspaper reports today claim that Liverpool have a fresh
interest in Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque.
(Kop Talk)
Everton face fine
Everton will be fined a mandatory £25,000 (€36,200) after
eight of their players were shown cards in their Barclays
Premiership defeat at Liverpool.
Seven of David Moyes’ side were booked and Andy Van der
Meyde was sent off in an eventful Merseyside derby at
Anfield yesterday.
Any team who has six or more individual players cautioned or
dismissed is automatically punished under the Football
Association’s disciplinary procedures.
It made for a busy afternoon for referee Phil Dowd, who also
sent Liverpool’s Steven Gerard off for two bookable offences
and also showed yellow cards to two of his
team-mates.
(BreakingNews.ie)
Parry: Defoe a no-go
Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry has
dismissed talk of a move by the Reds to sign Spurs' England
striker Jermain Defoe in the summer.
A storm erupted on Friday after Rafa Benitez suggested that
Spurs were desperate to offload Defoe, with Djibril Cisse
eyed as part of a swap deal.
The Spaniard commented: "They are desperate to sell Defoe.
They are trying to sell the player.
"They try to use Cisse in the middle. I don't know why, it
is not our problem. They always talk about Cisse and Defoe."
That prompted stern words from White Hart Lane chairman
Daniel Levy, who said: "I find the reported comments by
Rafael Benitez beyond belief.
"There is absolutely no basis, let alone any element of
truth whatsoever, in Benitez's claim that we are looking to
sell Jermain.
"We have not had a single conversation on this point with
Liverpool or any other club, so I fail to see how he can
make this statement."
Parry has now tried to put a lid on the whole affair,
telling BBC Radio Five Live's Sportsweek: "We are in
dialogue with Spurs and it is an episode we want to put
behind us and move on. I am sure we will do that.
"They are making the point they are not interested in our
player and we not interested in their player, so I think
we'll resolve that one."
(Football UK - Home)
Nando vows to fight on
Fernando Morientes is ready to snub any summer approach from
a Turkish club in order to prove his class at Liverpool.
The Spain international has failed to scale the heights
since arriving at Anfield from Real Madrid in January of
2005.
His form has been patchy this term, along with Liverpool's
other forwards, and reports have linked him with a summer
switch to Turkey.
The 29-year-old is aware of the speculation, but is
determined to silence his critics and prove his class on
Merseyside.
"I'm not thinking about leaving," said the powerful centre
forward. "I've heard the rumours about Turkey but they don't
interest me.
"People here have yet to see the true Fernando Morientes."
(Sky Sports)
Juan Villalonga linked with Liverpool
investment
Wealthy Spanish businessman Juan Villalonga (52)
is believed to be holding talks with Liverpool regarding a
possible investment.
The flamboyant former president of Spanish telecoms giant
Telefonica is reportedly seeking a "substantial stake" in
the Reds.
Reports originating from Spain claim that Villalonga plans
'to increase the value of the club, modernise management and
improve its domestic and global focus'.
(Kop Talk) |
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SATURDAY 25 |
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Premier League enter Defoe row
The Anfield coach's comments, made to the media during the
club's pre-match press conference for the clash with
Everton, have incensed Spurs.
Chairman Daniel Levy called on Benitez to withdraw his
remarks and apologise while coach Martin Jol claimed the
Liverpool coach was trying to unsettle his player.
But after watching his side overcome Everton 3-1 in the
Merseyside derby Benitez was unrepentant and accused the
Spurs chairman of being 'unprofessional'.
Now Spurs have contacted the Premier League over the affair
but it is understood they have stopped short of registering
an official complaint at this stage.
A spokesman for Spurs said: "We have contacted the Premier
League and are discussing the matter. We have nothing
further to say.''
(TEAMtalk)
Moyes: Not a good day
David Moyes admits Everton wasted a golden
opportunity to close on the European places after losing 3-1
to Liverpool.
The Toffees delivered a lacklustre show in the Merseyside
derby, despite seeing Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard sent
off after just 18 minutes.
Moyes was frustrated with the outcome at Anfield and pointed
to some key moments in the game when Everton let themselves
down.
"We didn't play as well as we should have done, we had a
great opportunity today," Moyes told Sky Sports.
"We had a mad five minutes either side of half time, really
we should have been controlling the game, but found
ourselves 2-0 down.
"It wasn't a good day.
"That period after Steven was sent off was probably our
worst part of the game."
(Sky Sports)
Benitez defiant despite Spurs anger
Rafael Benitez has declined to apologise to Tottenham
chairman Daniel Levy in the worsening row between Liverpool
and the London club over the Djibril Cisse-Jermain Defoe
saga.
The Liverpool boss claimed on Friday Spurs were “desperate”
to sell Defoe, an accusation Levy immediately refuted,
claiming he found Benitez’s comments “beyond belief.”
Levy added: “Not only are they completely untrue but it is
unprecedented that any manager should comment in this way on
another team’s player. It could be interpreted as a direct
and blatant attempt to unsettle Jermain.”
But after watching Liverpool’s 3-1 Mersey derby victory over
Everton, Benitez was unrepentant and accused Levy of being
“unprofessional.”
The row has erupted because Liverpool claim Defoe has been
offered to them and that Cisse has been linked in a swap
deal, as well as a similar situation involving Manchester
United’s Louis Saha.
Now Benitez has declined to apologise and said: “The problem
is that the Tottenham chairman is not professional, but I am
professional."
(Ireland On-Line)
Rafa thanks fans after Derby win
Rafael Benitez reserved special praise for the Liverpool
supporters for helping lift his 10 man team to a 3-1 derby
win over Everton and dedicated the victory to them.
"I must say thank you to our supporters and I am really
happy for them because this was a massive win," enthused
Benitez.
"To play with 10 men for most of the game at this intensity
is difficult but the players worked so hard and deserved
this win. We showed a lot of passion and Luis Garcia and
Harry Kewell scored fantastic goals."
(LFC Official Website)
Kewell hails 'massive' victory
The hosts overcame the early dismissal of captain Steven
Gerrard to take the lead through an own goal from Phil
Neville on the stroke of half-time.
Luis Garcia doubled the advantage just after the interval
before Tim Cahill pulled one back with a header from a
corner.
Everton had Andy van der Meyde sent off on a busy day for
referee Phil Dowd, with Kewell completing the scoring with a
spectacular strike.
Kewell told PremPlus: "It was a massive achievement for us
and the fans. We knew we were up against it from day one
with 11 men before the sending off.
"We knew it would be tough but we pulled though."
(TEAMtalk)
Reds keep up derby dominance
Liverpool battled to a 3-1 victory over Everton in an
ill-tempered Merseyside derby at Anfield.
The Reds had captain Steven Gerrard sent off early in the
first half, but were in front at the break following a Phil
Neville own-goal and quickly made it 2-0 through Luis
Garcia.
Tim Cahill headed in a reply for The Toffees, who then had
substitute Andy van der Meyde dismissed, before Harry
Kewell's stunning strike settled a bitty encounter,
punctuated by a plethora of yellow cards.
(Sky Sports)
Crouch starts in todays Derby
Peter Crouch will spearhead the Liverpool attack and hope to
continue his rich vein of form in today's 203rd Merseyside
Derby against Everton at Anfield.
Rafa Benitez has recalled Xabi Alonso, Harry Kewell and John
Arne Riise to his starting line up for today's big match.
And the speedy return to fitness of Momo Sissoko means he
plays and allows Rafa to deploy Captain Steven Gerrard on
the right of midfield.
Liverpool - Reina, Finnan, Riise, Carragher, Hyypia, Alonso,
Gerrard, Sissoko, Kewell, Crouch, Garcia. Subs - Dudek,
Kromkamp, Morientes, Fowler, Warnock.
(LFC Official Website)
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Thor Zakariassen
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