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MONDAY 6 |
McClaren planning Carragher talks
England coach Steve McClaren is to renew his attempts to
persuade Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher not to retire
from international football.
Carragher has hinted he no longer wants to play a bit-part
role for England.
But with John Terry, Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate all
set to miss the forthcoming friendly with Germany, McClaren
wants Carragher
to play on.
"I've had a couple of conversations with Jamie and I'll have
another with him next week," said McClaren.
The England coach added: "Jamie Carragher is a very
important player for England and a very important member of
the squad.
"There is no way I want to lose him and keeping Jamie
involved is my main aim at present."
(BBC Sport Online)
Reds loan out starlet
Liverpool have loaned out young defender Miquel Roque to
Spanish
side Xerez.
The highly-rated stopper will spend the whole of the
forthcoming season at the Segunda Liga outfit.
Roque arrived at Liverpool in the summer of 2005 from
Spanish second tier side Lleida.
Reds boss Rafa Benitez is happy to loan out Roque so that he
can gain valuable first-team experience as he is unlikely to
feature much in Benitez's plans this term.
Roque is happy to join Xerez and he hopes the experience of
playing regularly will boost his chances of making the
breakthrough at Anfield.
(Sky Sports)
Reds confirm Toulouse date
Liverpool Football Club have today confirmed the first
leg of their Champions League third round qualifier against
Toulouse will be played in the Municipal Stadium on
Wednesday, August 15.
The match will kick off at 3.30pm GMT.
(LFC Official Website)
Heinze returns for Ferguson talks
Gabriel Heinze held discussions with Sir Alex Ferguson on
Monday to resolve the row over his proposed move from
Manchester United
to Liverpool.
Heinze had pledged to report for duty as ordered by Ferguson
and duly arrived at United's Carrington training complex on
Monday morning following a brief break after his Copa
America campaign with Argentina.
Ferguson was eager to speak with Heinze face-to-face to
establish his intentions after blaming the 29-year-old's
agent for talking up a move to Liverpool, something United
are opposed to.
Although it appears Heinze's position as a United player is
now untenable, in theory at least the full-back could be
asked to figure in one of two friendlies on Wednesday, at
Dunfermline or Glentoran.
A more likely scenario would be for the player to remain in
Manchester, while discussions continue over a resolution to
the impasse, although, with United so steadfastly against
letting Heinze become the first player to leave for
Liverpool since Phil Chisnall in 1964, it is difficult to
see much room for negotiation.
(TEAMtalk)
Crouch: The robot is dead
Peter Crouch insists his famous robot dance will never
be seen again – unless he scores in the Champions League
final.
The striker first unveiled his quirky goal celebration after
scoring for England against Hungary in May 2006.
It followed a pact with teammate Jamie Carragher, who saw
the big man strut his stuff at one of David Beckham's
parties.
But now, despite frequent requests, Crouch is keen to put
the dance
to bed.
He said: "I feel like Ricky Gervais must with everyone
going, 'Go on, do the Brent dance'.
"From now on, special occasions only. If I score a goal in
the Champions League final, then I'll pull it out again."
(LFC Official Website) |
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SUNDAY 5 |
Rafa plays down Rotterdam rumble
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez dismissed the uproar that
marred the end of the Reds' ill-tempered 1-1 draw with
Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
Benitez saw six of his players booked - there were nine
cautions in all during the 1-1 draw - and skipper Steven
Gerrard come close to being sent off for a shove in the face
of Feyenoord's Theo Lucius as the game deteriorated into a
melee involving most of the players on the pitch.
Gerrard had earlier grabbed Liverpool's equaliser but was
furious with a late tackle from young winger Royston
Drenthe, the hosts' first-half scorer.
Lucius had earlier twice pushed Daniel Agger as tempers
flared.
Benitez said: "I do not think Steven will be in trouble,
there was a lot going on out on the pitch.
"It was hard to see what was going on and I would want to
review the match before commenting - but I would need to see
the replay to decide what happened, but maybe you should
talk about everything with
the referee."
(TEAMtalk)
Liverpool end pre-season with draw
Liverpool’s pre-season campaign ended amid astonishing
scenes in Rotterdam as six of their players were booked and
skipper Steven Gerrard was fortunate not to be sent off.
The final match of the Port of Rotterdam tournament was
anything but a friendly as Liverpool fought back from a goal
down for Gerrard to grab a second-half equaliser.
But the game in a packed De Kuip stadium had been simmering
for a while, with young winger Royston Drenthe in the thick
of the trouble.
His late tackle on Gerrard in the dying minutes caused
uproar with players from both sides converging in a angry
melee, and Gerrard was seen to shove Theo Lucius.
The England midfielder could easily have seen a red card,
but the game eventually produced a surprising nine cautions
and a late penalty save by Jose Reina.
The fact that the result left Porto as the competition
winners meant little as the tempers of Feyenoord and
Liverpool players boiled over.
(Evening Echo)
Kuyt and Voronin lead line tonight
Dirk Kuyt will start up front alongside Andriy Voronin when
Liverpool take on his former club Feyenoord in the Rotterdam
Tournament this evening.
It's set to be an emotional night for the Dutchman, who's
adored in the De Kuip Stadium after scoring 71 goals in 101
league appearances.
The match kicks off at 7pm.
The Liverpool team in full is: Reina, Arbeloa, Riise,
Carragher, Agger, Gerrard, Alonso, Kewell, Pennant, Kuyt,
Voronin.
(LFC Official Website)
Dalglish tips Yossi to shine for Reds
Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool's greatest ever player, has tipped
Yossi Benayoun to be the man to inspire a serious title
challenge from the Reds this season.
Fernando Torres and Ryan Babel may have cost more money and
created greater headlines on arrival than the former West
Ham midfielder but Anfield's most famous No.7 believes that
the Israeli international could prove one of Rafael
Benitez's most inspired buys.
"My old club Liverpool have had a busy summer and boss Rafa
Benitez has pulled off some big transfers," claimed Dalglish
today. "Fernando Torres has come for a big fee and Ryan
Babel looks full of promise but I believe their most
impressive signing could turn out to be Yossi Benayoun, who
gives them a dimension they have not had in midfield.
"If he can work his magic in midfield then the Liverpool
punters will take him to their hearts. There was a question
or two about how big an investment the new American owners
at Anfield were willing to make but they have now put their
money where their mouths are."
(LFC Official website)
Flo: Reds didn't want me enough
French winger Florent Malouda claims he opted for a move to
Chelsea instead of Liverpool because not everyone at Anfield
wanted him.
Malouda arrived from Lyon for £13.5 million and has already
made it clear he fully intends to play a major part in the
club's season.
"I didn't meet Rafa. I spoke with him many times. I hesitate
because I have a lot of respect for Rafa Benitez, the way he
speaks to me I know he appreciates me. He knows me from all
my career not only for what I did in Lyon. He knows what I
have done.
"But in Liverpool I didn't feel everyone in the club was
like Rafa Benitez and wanted me. That's why I chose
Chelsea."
(PA Sport)
Under 18's win again
Liverpool under 18's continued their excellent pre-season
form yesterday.
The under 18's beat Birmingham City 4-2 at the Academy in
Kirkby yesterday. Gary MacKay Steven scored twice, Michael
Collins scored one and Marvin Pouriez got the other. Pouriez
has now scored four times in three games.
"We have players who can score goals and it is good to see
them going into the back of the opposition net," under 18's
coach Hugh McAulley told the club's official website.
"The Under-18s will be a very attacking team this year and
there are some very talented youngsters with a lot of
promise.
"The attitude of the players has been first class so far but
we need to improve the defensive side of our game.
Birmingham scored two goals in the final 20 minutes of the
game and could have scored another one.
"You will certainly see goals going in at both ends of the
pitch in the coming season and it will be entertaining to
watch."
(LFC Online)
Reserves beaten
The reserves were beaten 1-0 by Ajax last night.
The Reds dominated the game but couldn't convert the many
chances they created as they went down 1-0 to Ajax in the
final of the Brucon Talents Cup last night.
Jordy Brouwer and Besian Idrizaj both spurned good chances
while Nabil El Zhar hit the woodwork and the misses proved
costly when the Dutch side scored from a set piece.
"It is disappointing to lose the game because I felt we were
the better side," reserve team boss Gary Ablett told the
club's official website.
"We felt we should have had a penalty when Bes was fouled
but the referee turned it down. The winning goal for Ajax
came from a set piece that we defended badly and we will
need to work on that in the next training session.
(LFC Online) |
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SATURDAY 4 |
Fowler injury scare hits Cardiff
Robbie Fowler could be a doubt for Cardiff's season opener
against Stoke in seven days after limping out of his debut
on Saturday with a thigh strain.
The former Liverpool striker looked bright and eager in the
1-0 win over FC Twente but limped off after 25 minutes.
(BBC Sport Online)
Torres: I hope that's the first of many
Fernando Torres reflected on his first goal for the Reds
on Friday night and declared: "I hope that's the first of
many."
The club's record signing got off the mark in Liverpool
colours after just 12 minutes of the 2-0 victory over
Shanghai Shenhua as Rafael Benitez's side put themselves in
pole position to win the Port of Rotterdam tournament.
"Right now I'm going to enjoy this moment. I intend to score
lots of goals and when the league starts that's where they
will be the most important."
(LFC Official Website)
Fulham told to increase Liverpool defender bid
Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez has been told to up his £1million
offer for Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia.
(fulhamweb.com)
Kuyt set for warm welcome
Dirk Kuyt can expect a hero's welcome from his old Feyenoord
fans in Rotterdam on Sunday if the reception he got in front
of a quarter-full De Kuip stadium on Friday night is
anything to go by.
The Dutch striker, a Feyenoord favourite, got on for the
last 27 minutes of the 2-0 victory over Shanghai Shenhua in
the first match of the Rotterdam tournament.
His every touch was greeted with loud cheers and there were
banners carrying his name draped all around the stadium.
It will be full on Sunday for the match against Feyenoord
and it is expected manager Rafael Benitez will use last
summer's £9million signing from the start.
"I have been looking forward to this, I loved my time at
Feyenoord and have great affection for the fans. I would
like to show them that I have become a better player," said
Kuyt, who can expect to be paired with record signing
Fernando Torres after he scored his first goal for the club
in the opening half.
(Football 365)
Thor Zakariassen
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