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TUESDAY 24 |
Benitez: I’ll get the best from Gerrard
Rafael Benitez has launched a passionate defence of his
handling of Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and his own
managerial record at Anfield.
The Spanish coach has been criticised for his decision to
play the 26-year-old England midfielder on the right rather
than in the centre of midfield and there are noises coming
from the Gerrard camp that he is not happy with the
situation or the role he is being asked to play.
Benitez said: “I am as happy as Steve McClaren with Steven
Gerrard and where he is playing.
“Steve scored 23 goals last season, playing on the right
side of midfield. He is not being played as a right winger.
Are you seeing him making crosses from the byeline? No.
“He is always getting the ball and coming inside, that is
what the role is. And he had the best season of his career
playing that way.
“I have talked to Stevie, and he is happy. He is the captain
and must be an example for the rest and he knows that the
most important thing is the club, the team, the supporters
and after that, the players.”
(Ireland Online)
Oster hopes to extend Reds pain
Reading midfielder John Oster is hoping to extend his
unbeaten record at Anfield and put more pressure on
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez in the process.
Oster enjoyed a good run against Liverpool while he was at
Everton in the late 1990s and knows the home side's current
patchy form makes Wednesday night's Carling Cup third round
clash a tricky test for the Spanish manager.
Oster said: "Generally, I have a decent record against them.
We beat them in the first derby I ever played in. We won 1-0
at home and then drew 1-1 at their place. I don't think I
lost one when I was up at Everton.
"I might get a little bit of stick from the Liverpool fans
but I don't think they will be too bothered - they will be
more bothered about their own team."
(PA Sport)
Meningitis scare for daughter of Reds
skipper
Steven Gerrard rushed his six-month-old baby Lexie to
hospital in a meningitis scare, it was reported today.
The Reds captain and his fiancée Alex Curran parked in an
ambulance bay and ran into Whiston hospital carrying
six-month-old Lexie, a newspaper report said.
Lexie was suffering from a rash and a temperature.
Hospital sources say she and her parents stayed overnight.
Yesterday Lexie was given the all-clear and returned to the
couple's Formby home.
Reports say she had fallen ill on Saturday night while being
baby-sat by Gerrard's family and doctors now suspect she had
an allergic reaction.
A club spokesman said: "We don't have a comment, it's a
personal matter."
Whiston hospital staff said they were unable to comment.
(Liverpool Echo)
Benitez turns to Fowler
Robbie Fowler will make his Liverpool return against
Reading, manager Rafa Benitez confirmed today.
The Anfield legend hasn't featured for the senior side since
starting the Merseyside derby.
In fact, Fowler hasn't even made the bench since, but he'll
be given an opportunity to revive his and the club's
fortunes in the Carling Cup tie.
The striker sat out recent fixtures with a back problem, but
he's recovered to take his place against Steve Coppell's
side, as Benitez rings the changes after Sunday's 2-0
defeat.
"Robbie will play," said Benitez. "We will be using our
whole squad.
"We have a lot of players who need games, so maybe it will
be a combination of senior professionals and some young
players."
(Daily Post)
Analyst: Reds ripe for buyout
Liverpool are ripe to be the Premiership's next major buyout
target, according to a financial analyst.
Dubai Holdings, a state investment vehicle overseen by crown
prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Makhtoum, are reported
to have renewed their interest in bidding for the club.
Takeover rumours are rife at West Ham but Stan Lock, a stock
trader for investment management company Brewin Dolphin
Securities, believes Liverpool are a more attractive
proposition, and insists oil-rich Middle East investors
could purchase the club with "spare change".
Asked what made the Reds so appealing to investors, Lock
said: "Firstly, it is one of the top clubs in Europe, they
won the Champions League less than two years ago. How many
top clubs are there in the Premier League at the moment that
you can get hold of?"
(TEAMtalk)
Reds to put strong side out vs Reading
Rafael Benitez will field a strong team against Reading
tomorow as he hopes to win the Carling Cup this season.
Liverpool face Reading at Anfield in the third round of the
Carling Cup tomorrow and Rafa Benitez is prepared to put a
strong team out as the Reds hope to win the competition this
season.
"I think we need to think about every competition as an
option and a target," said Benitez.
"The Carling Cup is a good competition for us. We were in
the final two years ago and we want to win for sure.
"Youngsters can be an option but we have some senior players
that are not playing a lot of games and we will see if they
can be involved. Our idea is to use a very strong team if
it's possible."
(LFC Online)
Thompson: Try Gerrard back in middle
Rafael Benitez has defended his decision to play Steven
Gerrard on the right flank - despite the growing clamour for
the Liverpool captain to be moved back into his preferred
central midfield role.
Gerrard was again on the right wing on Sunday at Old
Trafford and delivered a below-par display during the 2-0
defeat to Manchester United.
After scoring 23 goals last season, Gerrard has yet to find
the target for Liverpool this campaign and has found himself
employed in various midfield positions, even playing on the
left in the loss at Chelsea last month.
Former Liverpool player and assistant manager Phil Thompson
believes Gerrard isn't being helped by the performances of
some of his team-mates.
"I'd like to see Stevie playing in the middle alongside Momo
Sissoko, the holding enforcer. I don't think that pairing
has had a sustained partnership."
(Daily Post)
Rooney urges Gerrard swoop
Wayne Rooney has hailed England team-mate Steven Gerrard as
one of the world's best midfielders and wishes the Liverpool
star could play at Manchester United.
Gerrard's form has been questioned since Liverpool suffered
a disappointing 2-0 loss to United at Old Trafford on Sunday
but the striker has no doubts over his class.
Rooney, who turned 21 on Tuesday, said: "He's probably the
driving force at Liverpool and he is one of the best
midfielders in the world.
"I think if Liverpool lost him they wouldn't be half the
team they are with him."
The Red Devils superstar made no secret of his desire to
play alongside Gerrard at club level but admits it is
unlikely to happen.
"I can't really describe him because there isn't another
player like him.
"I'd love to see him come to United but I don't think that
will ever happen!"
(ITV Football) |
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MONDAY 23 |
Even the best get it wrong sometimes
Rafael Benitez will be unaware of the old Scouse expression
'barley.'
But perhaps somebody should put him right.
Because for much of his Anfield reign the Liverpool manager
has been barley.
That's untouchable, exempt from criticism and free from
questioning.
Sure there have been some ludicrous attempts by the more
hysterical tabloids to dress him up in glasses and a beret
and call him Benni Hill, but diehard Reds have been loathe
to point the finger.
Their loyalty is understandable. A famous Champions League
triumph, an equally dramatic FA Cup success and the
introduction of more expressive, free-flowing football to
Anfield givesany manager a certain degree of licence.
But there are rumblings of discontent beginning to emerge.
(David Prentice, Chief Sports Writer - Liverpool Echo)
Rafa: I know how much fans hurt
Rafael Benitez has admitted that yesterday's defeat to
Manchester United was one of his most disappointing days as
Liverpool manager.
Liverpool mustered few efforts on goal as they were beaten
2-0 and Benitez knows how much the defeat hurts his club's
fans.
"It is clearly one of my most disappointing days as manager
of the club," the Spaniard said.
"It is a game I know everybody at the club and the
supporters wants us to win, particularly at Old Trafford.
(Liverpool Echo)
Benitez: New Reds must deliver
Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool have to start proving his
expensively-assembled squad is better than last season's
outfit.
The Anfield chief witnessed yet another deflating defeat at
Old Trafford yesterday, with Manchester United emerging
comfortable 2-0 victors to return to the top of the Barclays
Premiership, 11 point clear of Benitez's troops.
It is a sobering time for the Spaniard, who consistently
claims his summer buys - added to last season's side that
finished third - have improved Liverpool's squad.
But he said: "I believe - I know - we are a better squad
than last season. But we have to prove that.
"The way to change things in your life is to work harder and
better. We must think about Reading in the Carling Cup and
then (Aston) Villa. If I think every day, all week, about
what went wrong, what half chances we missed we would not
change anything."
(PA Sport)
Boss rues loss of Bellamy
Rafa Benitez believes the last-minute loss of Craig Bellamy
was a decisive factor in his side's 2-0 defeat to Man
United.
The striker looked set to start at Old Trafford on Sunday
but sustained a calf injury in the final training session.
Benitez said: "We lost Craig Bellamy this time with a calf
injury in the final training session, and his pace and
running would have been a major influence on what we were
doing.
"We played well on the wings and between the lines but we
did not make enough chances. That is where we must improve.
"Away from home we need to win to improve confidence. We are
controlling long spells of games, getting the ball into
danger areas but not causing defences problems."
(LFC Official Website)
Fergie refuses to rule Reds out
Alex Ferguson is not prepared to write off Liverpool's title
challenge just yet.
With 11 points separating the two sides after Sunday's game,
the United boss still believes that Rafa's men pose a
threat.
"I would not dismiss Liverpool," he said. "They have a good
run-in and there will be a freshness about them in the
second half of the season because of the way Rafa has been
ringing the changes."
(LFC Online)
Reds back on Italian trail
Palermo forward Andrea Caracciolo is again being scouted by
Liverpool.
Rafa Benitez's scouting network first checked on the Italian
international back in 2004 when he was still with Brescia.
A host of clubs have now been alerted to Caracciolo's
possible availability and Italian sources insist Liverpool
had the player watch during last week's Uefa Cup clash at
Eintracht Frankfurt.
It is believed that Caracciolo could be allowed to leave in
January's transfer window.
(Sky Sports)
Benitez must act to halt alarming fall
from grace
Eleven points off the pace and with the big three slipping
ever further away, it looks all over as early as October for
Liverpool's pursuit of the Premiership. And when you think
that the season began with many tipping them to run Chelsea
closest, that is a truly sobering thought.
They may yet produce the kind of unbeaten run that they put
together towards the end of last season but those kinds of
statistics are a long way from the reality Liverpool face
now. After five away games in which they have gained one
point and scored one goal, they look badly in need of a
strategy.
If you want to consider yourself one of the country's top
clubs, you cannot continue to keep looking to a single
player for inspiration. However great a footballer Steven
Gerrard is, that is too much pressure to heap on one man's
shoulders, especially when he is not performing well.
(By Alan Hansen - Daily Telegraph) |
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SUNDAY 22 |
Rafa blames lapses
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez believes a lack of concentration
at vital moments cost his side against Manchester United.
Benitez was happy with the overall performance of his side
at Old Trafford but says mistakes cost them the chance of
taking something from the game.
"In the first half we didn't have a lot of problems and then
we conceded a goal. Against a good team like United that is
always a big problem," Benitez told Sky Sports.
(Sky Sports)
Fergie praises players
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to
see his side claim maximum points from rivals Liverpool at
Old Trafford.
Ferguson was pleased to see his side not falter again after
going down to Arsenal in the battle of the big boys at Old
Trafford last month.
"Well we're pleased, after losing the game to Arsenal, you
can't afford to lose a big one again so the players
responded to that," Ferguson told Sky Sports.
(Sky Sports)
Red Devils rule over Liverpool
Paul Scholes marked his 500th appearance for the club with a
goal as Manchester United ran out 2-0 winners over Liverpool
in front of a record Premiership crowd at Old Trafford.
Scholes put United ahead on 39 minutes as he poked Ryan
Giggs' ball across the face of goal home at the second
attempt.
United were dominant for much of the game, with Liverpool
very rarely troubling Edwin Van der Sar, and Rio Ferdinand
scored a superb second mid-way through the second half.
The England defender took advantage of a poor Jamie
Carragher clearance to fire a first-time shot into the top
corner from 12 yards and give Sir Alex Ferguson's men a lead
they did not relinquish.
(Sky Sports)
Man Utd vs LFC: Confirmed line-up
Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Riise, Gerrard, Alonso,
Sissoko, Gonzalez,
Garcia, Kuyt
Subs: Dudek, Paletta, Pennant, Warnock, Crouch
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Thor Zakariassen
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