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SUNDAY 27 |
Torres lauds team effort
Fernando Torres insists the 6-1 win over Hull City was a
team effort despite the Spaniard helping himself to a
hat-trick.
The 26-year-old added to his two goals against West Ham last
week by producing another match winning display against the
Tigers at Anfield
on Saturday.
The former Atletico Madrid man now has eight for the season
after some had suggested he was struggling for form just a
few weeks ago.
Torres almost single-handedly took the Tigers backline apart
as he fired the Reds into a 3-1 lead but the striker accepts
that the whole team played a part.
"When you score a hat-trick it is always an amazing day and
when the team scores six it is fantastic for us and we have
more confidence now," he said.
(Sky Sports)
Pennant questions Rafa rule
Jermaine Pennant claims Rafa Benitez attempted to turn him
into a 'robot' during his days at Liverpool.
The tricky winger spent three years working under the
Spaniard at Anfield before making a switch to Spanish outfit
Real Zaragoza this summer.
Pennnant struggled to hold down regular first-team football
while on Merseyside, with Benitez renowned for his rotation
policy.
The 26-year-old admits he grew tired of being prevented from
playing his natural game while with the Reds, claiming he
was unable to perform to the best of his ability due to the
incessant demands placed upon him by his manager.
"When I was on the touchline all I could hear was Benitez
giving me directions," Pennant told the News of the World.
"At times I'd think 'why don't you just put the batteries in
and turn me into a robot'.
"Sometimes I just wanted to play my natural game, but there
were so many instructions: how to go forward, how to defend.
"He has been through so many players, so many strikers, so
many midfielders that he takes the best attributes out of
them."
Pennant has also revealed that he endured a distant
relationship with Benitez, meaning that he was never able to
fully understand why he was overlooked on so many occasions.
He added: "I didn't understand it. There are players at
Liverpool and you think 'how is he getting a game?', but
Rafa has faith in them. He thinks some of the players are
the best thing since sliced bread.
"Rafa didn't have confidence in me. I'd play one week, then
I'd be out of the team and think 'hold on a minute - last
week I scored one and made two. How does that work?"
(Sky Sports)
Benitez warns Viola about Torres
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has warned Champions League
opponents Fiorentina they should be wary of striker Fernando
Torres.
The Spain international was criticised in the opening
Champions League match at home to Debrecen of being
lethargic and off the pace.
Torres immediately responded with two goals in the 3-2
Barclays Premier League victory at West Ham last week before
blasting a hat-trick against Hull and Benitez said the
club's record signing would only get better.
(TEAMtalk)
Saudi prince set to invest
A Saudi prince has revealed that he is set to make a
significant investment in an English club.
Reports suggest that the side in question is Premier League
giants Liverpool, who are currently experiencing financial
difficulties under the ownership of Tom Hicks and George
Gillett.
It is believed that the American duo are prepared to sell a
50 per cent stake to Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah in
order to help balance the books at Anfield.
"We are currently seeking to buy 50 per cent of the shares
in the club which is now suffering with debts worth
£245million," Fahd bin Abdullah, who chairs private firm F6
and a Saudi-based holding firm called Fama Group, was quoted
as saying in Al-Riyadh.
(Sky Sports)
Wenger will stand by kids
for Liverpool Cup draw
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he'll stick with his kids
despite drawing Liverpool in the next round of the Carling
Cup.
He said: "It doesn't change my approach. I always try and
play a team who has a good chance of winning.
"We are happy to be playing at home, of course, today I is
very difficult to predict who we will play because next week
is an international break and the Carling Cup game is
between two Champions League games. We will have to see who
is available."
(tribalfootball.com) |
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SATURDAY 26 |
Brown rips into Tigers' defending
Hull City boss Phil Brown labelled his team's defending as
'disgusting' following the 6-1 thrashing at title contenders
Liverpool.
Brown is reportedly under pressure following a disappointing
run of form which has left his side second from bottom in
the Premier League.
Brown was bitterly disappointed with the result and was
unhappy with the attitude displayed by some of his players
at Anfield.
"I was disgusted with some of the defending, individually
and collectively," said Brown.
"For me it was demoralising and I hope it was for the
players as well.
"People will say Torres was the difference between the two
sides, but I thought we gifted them the goals."
(Sky Sports)
Benitez: Torres can get better
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes Fernando Torres
has yet to reach his peak despite witnessing a brilliant
hat-trick in the 6-1 demolition of Hull at Anfield.
The Spain striker hit three goals in the opening 47 minutes
- after Geovanni had briefly equalised - and terrorised the
Tigers defence all afternoon.
"In the last three games he was really good, he is improving
his mentality, work-rate and movement and he is now showing
his ability but I think he can do it better," said the
Liverpool boss.
"The main thing is the mentality of the player. He is keen
to learn and he will improve but how much depends on him."
(Football 365)
Rampant Reds hit Hull for six
Liverpool thumped Hull City 6-1 at Anfield to pile the
pressure on Tigers boss Phil Brown with Fernando Torres
helping himself to a hat-trick.
The Reds were in superb form as Torres brought his season's
tally to eight goals with substitute Ryan Babel netting two
and Steven Gerrard grabbing a sublime effort with Geovanni's
strike bringing Hull back into the game at 1-1 in the
opening quarter.
Torres gave the Hull defence a day to forget with an
electrifying performance before being substituted midway
through the second half.
Gerrard added a fourth just before the hour mark with a
superb curling effort from wide on the left and Babel added
two late strikes to set Liverpool up nicely for their
midweek Champions League trip to Fiorentina.
(Sky Sports)
Insua wins first Argentina call-up
Emiliano Insua is celebrating today after receiving his
first call-up to the Argentina national team.
The Liverpool defender, who has been in impressive form for
the Reds this season, has been named in Diego Maradona's
squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Peru
and Uruguay.
(LFC Official Website)
Big guns return versus Hull
Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva will anchor Liverpool's
midfield against Hull City this afternoon.
Javier Mascherano drops to the bench for the Barclays
Premier League clash.
The Reds XI in full is: Reina, Insua, Johnson, Carragher,
Skrtel, Lucas, Gerrard, Riera, Benayoun, Kuyt, Torres.
Subs: Cavalieri, Voronin, Aurelio, Kyrgiakos, Babel,
Mascherano, Ngog.
(LFC Official Website)
Reds face Emirates test
Liverpool will play Arsenal in the fourth round of the
Carling Cup at the Emirates Stadium.
After disposing of Leeds Utd 1-0 in the third round earlier
this week thanks to a second half David Ngog strike, the
Reds go down to North London to face Arsene Wenger’s men who
beat West Brom 2-0 on Tuesday.
The two teams will meet again just over a month later in the
Premier League at Anfield on December 12th.
The tie is the pick of the fourth round draw, with Everton
also in North London to face Tottenham and the all-Premier
League tie of Chelsea vs Bolton at Stamford Bridge.
The ties will be played on the 27th or 28th of October.
Full Carling Cup
fourth round draw
Blackburn Rovers v Peterborough United
Manchester City v Scunthorpe United
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton
Barnsley v Manchester United
Chelsea v Bolton Wanderers
Sunderland v Aston Villa
Arsenal v Liverpool
Portsmouth v Stoke City
(This is Anfield)
Gerrard: Trial made me better man
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he is a
changed man after his recent court case, which he found
"frightening and intimidating".
The England midfielder found himself charged with affray
following an altercation in a Southport bar after the Reds'
5-1 victory over Newcastle
in December last year.
Gerrard, who insisted he was acting in self-defence during
the incident, was found not guilty at Liverpool Crown Court
and the judge told him he could walk away with his
reputation intact.
But the events of that night and the following police
investigation and court case have clearly left their mark on
the talismanic midfielder.
"The trial changed me. I had to learn from it, learn from
being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What hour I am
out, where I go out, I will be more careful in future," he
told the Daily Mail.
(TEAMtalk)
Ian rushes in to help Accrington
Once again the names of Liverpool legend Ian Rush and
Football League club Accrington Stanley have been brought
together, but this time it's not for a milk advert but to
help the Lancashire team raise money to avoid going bust.
The former Reds striker has put his support behind the
League Two side, who face crippling debts of over £300,000
from their previous regime.
"It would be a disaster if Accrington go out of the league
for the local community and for everyone," Rush said.
"We have got to try and do everything to help them in
whatever way we can. It looks to me like they are doing
something on the pitch and we have got to help them off the
pitch as well."
Ahead of Liverpool's game with Hull City today 25 Accrington
Stanley fans will be collecting money outside Anfield and
Rush is hopeful the money can be raised before the 24th
October deadline.
"Liverpool as a city is very generous and if they can help
it will go a long way to helping raise what is needed," he
added.
Accrington Stanley has a number of connections with
Liverpool Football Club, with manager John Coleman an avid
red and their team also including plenty of other Liverpool
born lads.
Rush added: "There are some scousers there so let's hope we
can be generous and try to help them out.
"It will be a big blow for their supporters, it's their life
for some of them and we don't want to see that go down the
drain."
(LFC Official Website)
Reds welcome removal of fencing
Liverpool have welcomed Fiorentina's decision to remove the
cage surrounding the away section of the Stadio Artemio
Franchi ahead of their Champions League clash on Tuesday.
The Reds' stadium and operations manager, Ged Poynton sent a
report to UEFA detailing their concerns over the poor
facilities following a visit to Tuscany earlier this month.
Fiorentina's response was to remove part of the metal
fencing where the 2,400 travelling Reds are to be housed,
prompting Poynton to praise
their decision.
"When we did our recce a fortnight ago I had real concerns
about the safety and welfare of our fans in that away end,"
said Poynton.
"The fencing was so high and so deep that a lot of fans
wouldn't have been able to even see half of the pitch.
"It would also have encouraged fans to all head for the top
of the section where there is only a small railing and then
a big drop.
"Our report was submitted to UEFA and we’re very pleased to
hear action is now being taken.
"Taking away some of the fencing is positive and we will see
when we get there how far they have gone."
(LFC Official Website) |
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FRIDAY 25 |
Benitez defends Carragher
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has put his faith in defender
Jamie Carragher, after the Scouser was widely criticised for
a string of displays well below his usual standard.
The Reds have allowed nine goals in six Premier League
matches so far and Carragher has borne the brunt of the
blame.
The spotlight on his performance has only intensified after
a patchy game against West Ham United last weekend. In the
second minute, Carra appeared to lose concentration and was
caught in possession by Zavon Hines, who spared the
31-year-old's blushes by hitting the post.
Benitez has moved to take the pressure off his beleaguered
star by stressing the importance of the entire team in
preventing goals.
"We have conceded some goals and he has made some mistakes
but Carra is okay," said the ex-Valencia boss."It is a
question of the team defending better, not just one or two
players."
(Goal.com)
Benitez: No change in system
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insists it is belief among
his players and not a change in tactics which has made his
side more attacking
this season.
The Spaniard has a reputation for being a defensively-minded
coach and certainly his teams in recent years have been well
organised and difficult to score against.
They have already had two 4-0 victories - against Stoke and
Burnley - and have beaten Bolton and West Ham 3-2.
"It is similar to last season - we are creating more or less
the same situations but now we are scoring more goals
because the accuracy is better," said Benitez, who believes
his players are better for their title run-in with United.
"It is true we score a lot of goals. It's funny because
people were talking before about us needing to score more
goals because we were
good in defence.
"Now they are saying we are scoring goals but conceding
goals - so we can never win.
"Maybe it is because we are more offensive - but it is not
because we are changing the system."
(PA Sport)
Tigers duo eye Reds return
Defensive duo Anthony Gardner and Ibrahima Sonko could
return for struggling Hull City's daunting trip to Liverpool
on Saturday.
Former Tottenham and England international stopper Gardner
has been out for the past month with a knee injury but will
travel to Anfield with the rest of the squad, while loan man
Sonko is available after being cup-tied for the 4-0 midweek
Carling Cup defeat to Everton at the KC Stadium.
Influential midfielder Jimmy Bullard is making good progress
on his long-term knee injury but the match will come too
soon, while Steven Mouyokolo is still sidelined with
hamstring trouble.
Under-fire Tigers boss Phil Brown could be tempted to stick
with youngsters Tom Cairney and Liam Cooper who impressed in
the cup on Wednesday against the Toffees.
(Clubcall.com)
Italian pair sit out Tigers test
Andrea Dossena and Alberto Aquilani are the only two
absentees from Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez's squad to
face Hull at Anfield
on Saturday.
Dossena injured a groin in the midweek Carling Cup victory
at Leeds while Aquilani, who has yet to make his debut since
a £20million move from Roma in August, has stepped up his
rehabiltation and has started
running again.
Benitez will revert to his strongest line-up on Saturday,
having fielded a second-string side at Elland Road.
Liverpool (from): Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher,
Kyrgiakos, Insua, Aurelio, Benayoun, Mascherano, Gerrard,
Lucas, Babel, Kuyt, Torres, Riera, Cavalieri, Agger, Ngog,
Voronin, Spearing.
(TEAMtalk)
Threlfall returns to Anfield
Defender Robbie Threlfall has completed his one month loan
period at Northampton Town and has returned to Liverpool.
Despite a vacancy in the left-back position, Threlfall never
really broke into the Cobblers side, making just 4
appearances and only starting
one match.
(Vital Football)
Aquilani planning October return
With Liverpool’s crunch clash against Manchester United
towards the second half of October, the reds will be looking
for the perfect morale booster and the long awaited debut of
Alberto Aquilani looks on the cards in the next month.
Aquilani picked up his ankle injury in March whilst with
Roma, and the reds expect him to take a step up in training
in just over a weeks time.
The reds have pencilled in the Sunderland clash, a week
before the United game to hopefully see him play some part
and make his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt.
Liverpool’s doctors are said to be very confident they have
cured a recurrent problem with the player’s ankle.
(Anfield Online)
Thor Zakariassen
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