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WEDNESDAY 24 |
Cavalieri happy to be patient
Liverpool’s new goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri has told Rafa
Benitez that he is ready anytime he is called upon this
season.
The Brazilian made his competitive debut for The Reds in the
2-1 victory over Crewe, and he admitted he felt the
significance of playing in front of The Kop.
"Even though I had already played some games, the anxiety
for playing in an official match is bigger,” Cavalieri told
Gazeta Press.
“I am happy that I played my part and helped Liverpool to
leave field with the victory."
Jose Reina has been the most consistent goalkeeper in The
Premier League this season and Cavalieri knows he faces a
challenge to oust him, but he revealed he is happy to wait
for Benitez’s nod.
"I have an excellent relationship with Reina and he has been
one of
the people who has helped me the most since I arrived at the
club.
“I always respect and accept any decision of the coach, but
I will be always ready to perform when the chance emerges.”
(Setanta Sports)
Rafa monitoring fourth Brazilian
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has been sounding out the
possibility of adding a fourth Brazilian to his first team
squad in the shape of Sao Paulo defender Aislan.
The 20-year-old centre back emerged as arguably the most
highly-rated of Sao Paolo’s recent crop of “Juniores”, and
he already carries a release clause of $20,000,000 (£10.5
million).
Aislan’s agent Paolino Oscar revealed contact was made by
Liverpool,
but the move was scuppered by the close of the summer
transfer window.
"They had revealed interest in the past one or two months,
when the window was open,” Oscar told UOL Esporte.
(Setanta Sports)
Liverpool should vent
Keane on Everton
Liverpool fans are renowned for the support they give and
patience they show to players who are giving everything for
the cause - but still struggling to really make an impact.
Where some fans are all too quick to withdraw their support
for players who can't quite find their feet, the Kop are the
opposite.
But there's no doubt just now that one or two Reds fans feel
Robbie Keane should be rested just to ease the pressure on
him.
Some others feel Torres is simply not looking the
goal-scoring force he was last season with the Irish
international around him.
But for me, I would urge everyone to stick by Keane - and
not let frustration start to get the better of them.
You can bet Robbie will be relishing the chance to play in
his first ever Merseyside derby this week and I would
definitely give him that chance, rather than remove him from
the so called 'firing line'.
(Tommy Smith - Liverpool Echo)
Pennant hungry for action
Jermaine Pennant is hopeful he gave Rafa Benitez food for
thought during Liverpool’s Carling Cup win over Crewe on
Tuesday.
Pennant has been frustrated by his lack of playing time this
term, but is hopeful he will get further chances to impress
in the weeks ahead.
"If you get your chance you have to make the most of it and
when teams come to Anfield it's their cup final so it can be
difficult," he told the club’s official website.
"We have got a lot of strength in the squad which is why it
is so hard to get in the team so I'll keep plugging away and
see what happens."
(Setanta Sports)
Hyypia aiming for Wembley
Sami Hyypia is hoping to lead Liverpool to Wembley.
Hyypia, who captained the Reds in their Carling Cup third
round tie against Crewe last night, is hoping to go all the
way in the competition.
"I haven't played at Wembley so for me personally, to go
there and get
a game would be great," the Finn told the club's official
website
after the match.
"It was a good battle and I'm happy because maybe the League
Cup is
a competition in which I will play, so I'm very happy we got
through to
the next round and hopefully it will mean another game for
me.
"They made it difficult but that's what you are always going
to get against a lower division side. They fight until the
end and that's what
happened today.
"Maybe we could have played a bit better in the second half
but it was
a tough match and in the end we have to be happy to go
through."
(LFC Online) |
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TUESDAY 23 |
Rafa hails goalscoring duo
Rafa Benitez today praised Daniel Agger and Lucas Leiva for
helping
the Reds book their place in the fourth round of the Carling
Cup.
Agger scored with a well-struck free-kick on 15 minutes
before Lucas headed in a second-half winner from close range
to edge the Reds to
a 2-1 victory over League One outfit Crewe Alexandra.
"I think we had enough chances to score the third goal, but
we scored two very good goals too. I thought Daniel Agger
was fantastic and Lucas is
a player that likes to get into the box, so he can score
more goals
like this."
(LFC Official Website)
Holland on Anfield defeat
After Liverpool narrowly went through to round four of the
Carling Cup, Steve Holland was left diappointed that his
side didn't quite have enough to force extra-time.
Right infront of the Kop, a late Tom Pope chance went
begging for
the Alex, but it was still a night to be proud. Liverpool
win 2-1 thanks to goals from Agger and Lucas with O'Connor
netting for the Railwaymen.
Steve Holland told the club's official web-site: "We pushed
them all the way and I was most proud of the way the players
concentrated and were organised throughout the game. It
wasn't until they brought Torres on that they looked like
slicing us open and we needed Steve Collis to make one or
two good saves to keep us in the tie."
(Crewe Alexandra FC - The Official Site)
Reds reserves
edge out brave Alex
Liverpool's much-changed line-up eased to a comfortable 2-1
win over plucky League One outfit Crewe in the Carling Cup
third round at Anfield.
Jermaine Pennant was a constant menace on the right flank
while Lucas and Daniel Agger produced assured performances
to give Rafael Benitez a selection poser for Saturday's game
against Everton.
Agger gave Liverpool a 15th-minute lead from a free-kick
before Michael O'Connor's equaliser 10 minutes later.
Pennant supplied Liverpool's second goal with a dangerous
cross which was headed home by Lucas in the 58th minute but
really the margin of the victory should have been greater.
While strengthening the Reds first team for a Premier League
title challenge has been Benitez's priority he is attempting
to build a squad to challenge on several fronts.
The manager included only one English player - Pennant - in
his starting line-up as he handed debuts to Brazilian
goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri and Swiss defender Philipp Degen.
Sami Hyypia, named as captain, and Agger were recalled in
central defence while there were places for Lucas, Emiliano
Insua and Damien Plessis while Nabil El Zhar, Ryan Babel and
David Ngog carried the attacking threat.
(TEAMtalk)
Degen suffers injury blow
Rafael Benitez has revealed that Philipp Degen is likely to
face a spell on the sidelines after picking up two broken
ribs in the Carling Cup win
over Crewe.
The Swiss international had to be replaced by Jamie
Carragher on
73 minutes and looked to be in some discomfort after
suffering the knock in an innocuous looking challenge.
"He has two broken ribs," said Benitez. "He is very
unlucky."
(LFC Official Website)
Torres hails magic Kun
Fernando Torres has hailed his Atletico Madrid successor
Sergio “Kun” Aguero, insisting it was obvious from the
moment he came to the club that he was going to be a star.
Argentinian goal-machine Aguero has scored an avalanche of
goals since the start of the season, and Torres is not
surprised at all by his former team-mates’ form.
“From the first training session we knew what he [Aguero]
was going to become,” Torres told Radio Marca.
The Liverpool star then committed himself to the Anfield
outfit and labelled The Premier League a ‘very interesting’
competition.
The Reds will face Torres’ old club at El Vicente Calderon
in the Champions League, and the striker reckons meeting his
fans will be
a special moment.
“This is going to be very emotional from the first training
session a day before the game, strange feelings,” he added.
The Spaniard was then asked about his chances of being voted
Ballon d’Or, and he declared Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the
prize more than anybody else.
(Setanta Sports)
Cavalieri, Ngog and Degen start v Crewe
Rafa Benitez has handed full debuts to Diego Cavalieri,
David Ngog and Philipp Degen for tonight's Carling Cup clash
with Crewe Alexandra at Anfield. Listen to the game live
online from 8pm BST.
Ryan Babel will partner the French striker up front, while
Jermaine Pennant and Nabil El Zhar will play on right and
left wing respectively.
The Reds line-up in full: Cavalieri, Insua, Hyypia (c),
Agger, Degen, El Zhar, Plessis, Lucas, Pennant, Ngog, Babel.
Subs: Gulacsi, Dossena, Keane, Torres, Alonso, Carragher,
Skrtel.
(LFC Official Website)
Rafa: Agger still part of my plans
Rafael Benitez insists that centre-back Daniel Agger is
still very much part of his first-team plans.
The Danish international, who missed the majority of last
season with a metatarsal injury, has played just once so far
this season in the Reds' first competitive fixture of the
campaign against Standard Liege in Belgium.
However, Reds boss Benitez insists that the defender is
happy at Anfield, despite press stories to the contrary, and
remains an important part of the first team set-up.
Benitez said: "I have been talking to Daniel and he is
ready, focused and really happy here.
"I was on the flight to Marseille and I was thinking about
we need to offer him a new contract. I was surprised when we
landed and read some comments in the press.
"I spoke to him and he said, 'no problem, I am really happy
here'.
"I am really pleased with him and I have a lot of confidence
in him. He knows that we are playing well, that Carra and
Skrtel are playing well and that maybe he needs to wait. The
understanding between Carra and Skrtel has been good.
"I said that Daniel is one of the best centre-backs we have
when he is fit and if he is fit it will be difficult for me.
He needs games. He is a very good offensive centre-back when
we are playing at Anfield.
"Clearly we missed Daniel Agger last season. He is a
centre-back but good on the ball and a threat for the other
team too."
(Shanklygates)
Lucas looking to catch Rafa's eye
Lucas Leiva has found the competition for places at
Liverpool difficult to deal with - and has spelt out his
desire to play in every game.
The Brazil international has returned to Rafael Benitez's
first-team plans after representing his country at the 2008
Olympic Games, and played in the recent matches with Aston
Villa and Marseille.
Lucas faces a challenge to force his way into the regular
thoughts of Benitez, with captain Steven Gerrard, Javier
Mascherano and Xabi Alonso ahead of him in the pecking order
on Merseyside.
"It has been difficult but the good thing now is that I will
be here for
a month before Brazil play again," Lucas told the Liverpool
Echo.
"It will be good for me because it means I do not have to
travel and I can spend more time here and recover more.
"I already feel confident, though, because the manager
picked me to play against Marseille in the Champions League
and I also played against Aston Villa in the Premier League
so hopefully now I will be able to play in more games.
"If you look at our midfield there is a lot of competition
for places because there is Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso,
Javier Mascherano and myself so it will always be tough to
get into the team.
"But this has to be good for the club because it means Rafa
has options and he can choose the players he feels are best
suited for
a particular game."
(TEAMtalk)
Middlesbrough plan
£6million Anfield swoop
Middlesbrough Football Club are in the running to sign
Jermaine Pennant.
Liverpool are willing to let the winger leave Anfield during
the January transfer window, to raise funds for their own
venture into
the mid-season market.
(Fans FC) |
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MONDAY 22 |
Young guns to lead charge
for Liverpool in Carling Cup
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is ready to unleash some of
the club’s promising youngsters against Crewe in the Carling
Cup - but not at
the expense of a place in the next round of the competition.
While strengthening the Reds first team for a Barclays
Premier League title challenge has been Benitez’s priority
he is also building for the future and bolstered the reserve
side with an array of talented youth players.
The policy has begun to reap its reward as Liverpool won the
Premier Reserve League title last season in addition to
their back-to-back FA Youth Cup wins in 2006 and 2007.
Emiliano Insua, Damien Plessis and Daniel Pacheco in
particular are three players who have received encouraging
reports from reserve-team coach Gary Ablett.
All three will hope to be involved in the third-round clash
against the Coca-Cola League One side but Benitez is wary of
fielding below-strength teams in the competition.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Rafa backing for strike duo
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez insists he is not concerned
by the lack of goals from strikers Fernando Torres and
Robbie Keane.
"Confidence becomes an issue with any striker when he is not
scoring and it is clear Torres and Keane both need a goal.
"When it happens you will see a real difference."
(Sky Sports)
Torres torment will prove
a temporary loss
It’s difficult to work out what was the bigger shock at
Anfield on Saturday – Stoke gaining a point or the strange
feeling that certain sections among the Liverpool faithful
are not happy with Fernando Torres’s form.
It’s not long since ‘El Nino’ could do no wrong it seemed.
It would still be a brave, or indeed a foolish man, to back
against a fully fit Torres breaking the 20-goal barrier
again this season but just at this moment, the fact that the
24 years-old is a mere mortal is evident.
It’s highly unlikely that Torres will figure against Crewe
Alexandra in Liverpool’s Carling Cup third round tie at
Anfield tomorrow night so he has a week to get Saturday’s
misses out of his system and work on his fitness in
training.
After all, those dissenting voices among Liverpool’s
supporters will soon be silenced if the Spaniard repeats his
feat of six months ago and nets
a winner in the Merseyside derby.
(Chris Beesley - Liverpool Daily Post)
Thor Zakariassen
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