|
|
|
|
SATURDAY 27 |
Benitez cools Lee talk
Rafa Benitez has played down rumours he is looking to bring
Sammy Lee back to Liverpool as his assistant.
The Reds boss is currently without a No.2 after his fellow
Spaniard, Paco Ayestaran, recently left Anfield.
Following Lee's dismissal by Bolton Wanderers earlier this
month, reports have suggested the former Liverpool
midfielder will link up with Benitez.
But while Benitez admits to speaking to Lee regularly, he
has no plans to add to his coaching staff at present.
"Now, at this moment I am very pleased with my staff,"
Benitez told the club's official website.
"Sammy is a friend of mine and we have had conversations
when he was at Bolton about the league and things like that.
"But now I am really focused on my team and I have enough
people in
my staff."
Lee has previously been Liverpool's reserve-team coach and
was first-team coach under Benitez's predecessor Gerard
Houllier.
(Sky Sports)
Torres: Six years to win the title
Liverpool’s record signing Fernando Torres insists he will
dedicate at least the next six years of his career helping
The Reds win The Premier League after turning down ‘better
offers’ in the summer.
Torres arrived from Atletico Madrid during the summer in a
£20.1 million deal, and has since got off to a flyer on
Merseyside, scoring seven goals.
That run of form has, like Liverpool’s, come off the rails
recently – in Torres’ case due to a thigh injury, but the
Spaniard insists he is inspired by the challenge of ending
The Reds’ wait for a domestic league title.
"I am neither a traitor nor do I go for money,” Torres said
of his move from Atletico in Spanish daily El Mundo
Deportivo.
“If so, I would have been able to go earlier because there
were better offers and more substantial.
“I explained that I decided to leave because of the project
of Liverpool and I realised that it was time to abandon the
'Atleti'. The decision was very difficult, but right.
“I hope that one day there are circumstances when I can
return (to Atletico). But now it is to live today and it is
Liverpool, at least for the next six years.”
(Setanta Sports)
Cesc friendship on hold for Alonso
Xabi Alonso will not allow his friendship
with fellow Spaniard Cesc Fabregas to get in the way of
trying to beat runaway Arsenal on Sunday.
Liverpool midfielder Alonso is hoping to make his comeback
from a broken metatarsal in the clash which could define his
club's Premier League season.
Alonso told the Reds' official website: "He is one of their
most important players and one of the most influential in
the Premier League, no doubt about it.
"He has had a very good start to the season but hopefully
this will not be repeated at Anfield.
"I will have a chat with him before the game, but he is one
of the best around at the moment so I will not let
friendship deflect me from trying to beat him."
(TEAMtalk) |
|
FRIDAY 26 |
Wenger confident his youngsters will shine
at Anfield
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has backed his unbeaten side
to maintain their impressive start to the Premier League
season at Liverpool on Sunday.
Leaders Arsenal have reeled off 12 successive victories in
all competitions and top the standings on 25 points from
nine games. Fourth-placed Liverpool are also unbeaten with
five wins and four draws.
"At the start of the season, people said our young team
would not go far, but now they are saying we have to prove
ourselves against the big teams," Wenger told reporters on
Friday. "I feel we have the confidence and the belief now
for this challenge."
(Reuters/Guardian)
Rafa not feeling the pressure
Rafael Benitez stands in the eye of the Liverpool storm
insisting he is not under any pressure and claims he expects
patience from the Anfield hierarchy as he builds for the
future.
Manager Benitez has been forced to withstand a wave of
criticism as Liverpool have slumped to the brink of
elimination from
the Champions League.
Benitez and Liverpool are still reeling from their Champions
League defeat by Besiktas in midweek and their position at
the bottom of their group, but the Spaniard said: "We knew
we needed to win in Istanbul, so when we lost I expected the
reaction to be like this.
"Now we are back in the Premier League, and when you have
had a few problems, the motivation of the side to change the
situation is strong.
"As a manager you must keep going, doing the right things
and you know that will change things for the better."
Suggestions that he has been given "an ultimatum" over his
long-term future are swept aside by Benitez.
He said: "I find this kind of talk very strange, especially
when you look at the big picture."
(PA Sport)
Gunners duo out of Anfield trip
Arsenal will be without Philippe Senderos and Robin van
Persie for the Premier League clash against Liverpool on
Sunday.
Senderos has been out with a back injury and Van Persie will
be out for at least a month with his knee complaint.
Manager Arsene Wenger is set to keep Manuel Almunia in goal
at the expense of Jens Lehmann.
Arsenal (from): Almunia, Lehmann, Sagna, Toure, Gallas,
Clichy, Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini, Diaby, Adebayor, Eduardo,
Eboue, Walcott, Gilberto, Rosicky, Bendtner, Denilson.
(TEAMtalk)
Shrews and Reds agree Ryan switch
Shrewsbury have agreed to make midfielder Jimmy Ryan's loan
move from Liverpool permanent on 1 January.
"Because Jimmy came on a temporary loan, you can only have
93 days playing for a club," Shrews manager Gary Peters told
his club's website.
"From today, he will be on loan for another month - after
that, he can play in our reserves but not the first team.
"Technically he won't be our player until 1 January, where
he can then play first-team football indefinitely."
Ryan has made four league and cup appearances since joining
the Shrews in August.
(BBC Sports Online)
Reds hit by Pennant blow
Liverpool have suffered an injury blow with the news that
Jermaine Pennant has broken his right tibia.
Pennant has been struggling with the leg injury for some
time and the injury worsened during Wednesday's Champions
League defeat
to Besiktas.
The former Birmingham man was forced to limp off against
Besiktas and Liverpool have decided to send Pennant for
surgery to resolve
the problem.
Pennant is expected to be sidelined for up to ten weeks and
he will miss this weekend's clash with former club Arsenal.
Club spokesman Ian Cotton told the club's website: "For the
last eight weeks Jermaine has undergone intensive treatment
at Melwood between matches for the injury.
"But following an acute exacerbation of the problem during
the game against Besiktas it has now been decided he
requires surgery.
"We anticipate Jermaine will be out for approximately 10
weeks."
(Sky Sports)
Rafa must challenge for title
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks says Rafa Benitez must
challenge for the Premier League title to justify his
transfer spending.
Speaking after Liverpool's loss to Besiktas in the Champions
League, Hicks said that the league is the club's priority
after Benitez based his pre-season spending on creating a
squad capable of challenging Manchester United, Arsenal and
Chelsea.
Hicks told The Guardian:
"One of the reasons we made the signings we did in the
summer was to create the depth we now have. Rafa explained
to George and me that is how you win the Prem, because you
have to play every team twice.
"We totally support Rafa, nobody wants to win more than
Rafa. But I know when we committed the resources for
signings in the summer the whole idea was to have a team
that could compete for the Premier League. We've not had the
depth previously to do that.
"This squad is good enough to win things. It should be
winning things. If it doesn't we'll have to look at the
circumstances and have a meeting at the end of the year to
understand what happened. I don't want to predict failure, I
want to predict success."
(Football 365)
Liverpool stadium costs rise to £400m
The cost of Liverpool FC’s new stadium on Stanley Park has
risen steeply, it was revealed last night.
Tom Hicks, one of the club’s new American owners, has
disclosed that the cost of the new stadium – due to open in
August, 2011 – will now be at least £400m.
This is £100m more than the previous figure for the project,
which is due to go before a special sitting of the city
council’s planning committee next month for final approval.
Hicks and fellow American George Gillett took over Liverpool
in March and have since revamped the club’s plans for a new
stadium.
Hicks, who was attending a global sports industry forum in
London ahead of Sunday’s NFL game between the New York
Giants and the Miami Dolphins, admitted the projected cost
had risen to “at least £400m.”
But he added: “I'm so excited about the new stadium because
we'll be able to go do things for the fans we’ve never been
able to do for them.”
The stadium will have a capacity of 60,000 – 15,000 more
than Anfield – when it opens but that could increase to
75,000 in the future.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Torres set for Anfield comeback
Fernando Torres is set to give Liverpool a timely boost by
declaring himself fit for Sunday’s visit of Premiership
leaders Arsenal.
The Spanish striker has now fully recovered from the
abductor muscle injury which kept him out of both the
Merseyside derby and this week’s trip to Besiktas and is
likely to be thrust straight back into Rafa Benitez’s
starting line up.
Torres trained with the club’s reserve squad while the first
team were in Istanbul and having come through those sessions
with no ill effects he is expected to be named in the squad
to face Arsenal later today.
Benitez said: “Torres has a chance of playing on Sunday. He
has made progress this week and we will look at him in
training to see if he is ready.”
(Liverpool Echo) |
|
THURSDAY 25 |
Kewell stars as Reserves win
Harry Kewell made a triumphant return to action as Liverpool
Reserves defeated Newcastle United in front of a bumper
crowd at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The Australia international, who has been out of action
since August, scored a stunning first-half header as he
played 45 minutes of the 2-1 win for Gary Ablett's side.
Jordy Brouwer was the other Reds marksman as the Reserves
produced a solid display to secure their second victory of
their Barclays Premier Reserve League North campaign.
Teams: Liverpool Reserves: Martin, Darby, Insua, Kelly,
Huth, Spearing, Plessis, Lindfield (Pacheco 82), El Zhar,
Kewell (Brouwer 46 (Putterill 89)), Leto
(LFC Official Website)
Babel: We still have hope
Ryan Babel shrugged off the disappointment of the defeat to
Besiktas and insisted there is still a good chance that
Liverpool can qualify for the next phase of the Champions
League.
The Dutch ace was one of Liverpool's better performers in
Istanbul and he said the team has to remain positive that
qualification can still
be achieved.
"Everyone is disappointed because if you look at this game
and the other two games we have played in the Champions
League then we have played pretty well," said Babel.
"But we definitely have a chance of going through,
especially because the game between Marseille and Porto
ended in a draw so we still have hope."
(LFC Official Website)
Carra ready for Arsenal test
Jamie Carragher is backing Liverpool to bounce back from
their defeat at Besiktas when they take on Arsenal in The
Premier League at
the weekend.
The two sides hold the only unbeaten records in the league
and Sunday’s clash could establish an early pecking order in
the race for the title.
But while Arsenal will head into the game on a high after a
mauling of Slavia Prague, Liverpool will be licking their
wounds following a shock defeat at Besiktas in the Champions
League.
"It's another big game against Arsenal at the weekend and we
have to make sure we are up for it,” said the defensive
star.
(Setanta Sports)
Hicks backing Benitez
Liverpool co-owner Tom Hicks has given his support to
manager Rafa Benitez following The Reds' disappointing UEFA
Champions League campaign.
Wednesday's surprise 2-1 defeat to Besiktas means the
Merseysiders are likely to need to win all three of their
remaining group games to qualify for the knock-out stage.
"We back Rafa. He's the right manager. Rafa's rotation has
been his policy for three years," the American businessman
told Sky Sports News.
"Rafa's ability to coach and manage in the Champions League
should
be unquestioned."
(Sky Sports)
Pepe: We were unlucky
Pepe Reina feels he and his teammates are unlucky not to be
flying back to England this morning with three more
Champions League points.
The Spanish stopper believes they created enough chances to
beat Besiktas but admits the 2-1 defeat means it's going to
be tough to qualify from Group A.
"To be honest I think we played a good game. We were unlucky
in front of the goal, that's why we lost," Reina told
Liverpoolfc.tv.
(LFC Official Website)
Pepe: "We are optimistic"
Reina is adamant Wednesday night's result won't affect
confidence going into this weekend's crucial game against
league leaders Arsenal.
He said: "That is another competition. With all due respect
to Besiktas, we are playing an even better side on Sunday,
so we have to forget this result because we have an
important game this weekend.
"We are excited about this. It is a top, top game in the
Premier League and we are optimistic.
"We are at Anfield and the fans are always behind us. They
shouldn't be too down. We played well, but just weren't
right in front of the goal."
(LFC Official Website)
Thor Zakariassen
© |
|
