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TUESDAY 6 |
Berger given the boot at Villa
Martin O'Neill has told Patrick Berger his Aston Villa
career is over after the Czech midfielder urged Gareth Barry
to join Liverpool.
Berger, 34, is out of contract in the summer, but following
his remarks on the future of Barry he is no longer part of
the manager's plans.
On Monday, Berger encouraged the Villa skipper to quit the
club in favour of a "once in a lifetime" opportunity at his
former side Liverpool.
O'Neill is doing all he can to persuade his captain to
reject the overtures
of the Reds and, despite receiving an apology from Berger,
is livid that his attempts have been put in jeopardy by one
of his own players.
"I was really disappointed and surprised that Patrick, with
all his experience of dealing with the press, would make
such an inappropriate comment," the Villa boss told the
club's official website.
"The sad aspect of it is that we are paying Patrick's wages
for him
to recommend one of our players to another football club.
It's ludicrous.
"I think Pat realises that now and he's apologised. He said
the didn't mean a great deal of harm but the harm's been
done and he won't be playing any part in proceedings from
here on in."
(TEAMtalk)
Liverpool FC's new stadium approved
Liverpool FC’s third stadium plan was approved today.
Councillors gave the go-ahead to the £350m proposal for a
60,000-seater ground in Stanley Park at Liverpool town hall.
It is the third time in five years the council has backed a
stadium scheme from the Reds, but it is still unclear when
work will start.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Lucas eyes Olympic spot
Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has signalled his
intention to play for Brazil at the Olympics.
Reds boss Rafa Benitez is set to be without Argentine Javier
Mascherano for the duration of the Olympics and his midfield
options are likely to be trimmed further with Lucas keen to
play in Beijing this August.
“Hopefully I will be picked,” he said. “That would mean I
would start
the pre-season here with Liverpool and then later on I would
go to
the Olympics.
“I need to wait for the squad to be picked but hopefully I
will go.”
Lucas is aware his club chances could be hit by heading to
China, but says he cannot ignore the lure of playing for his
country.
He added: “I know that would mean me missing some games for
Liverpool and that is not good, but when you talk about your
country you always want to play for them."
(Setanta Sports)
Crouch to Pompey link grows
Portsmouth are expected to land Liverpool striker Peter
Crouch and Southampton's highly-rated winger Nathan Dyer
this summer.
(Football UK)
Riise wants answers from Rafa
John Arne Riise has asked Rafa Benitez to clarify his future
at Anfield with his contract set to expire in 12 months'
time.
The Norway international has made nearly 350 appearances for
The Reds since joining from Monaco in 2001 but speculation
continues to surround him with Benitez ready to make changes
in the summer.
Riise has been linked with both Aston Villa and Newcastle in
recent weeks and with his contract now approaching its final
year, the left back has asked to be informed of what the
future holds for him.
He has also suggested that as an FA Cup, League Cup and
Champions League winner with the club, he deserves more
consideration from
his manager.
“What the manager thinks, you never know,” said Riise in the
Daily Mirror.
“I feel that I could have heard something since I’ve been
here for seven years, won everything we have won and played
all the time.”
(Setanta Sports)
Reds close in on deals for Barry and Taylor
Liverpool are winning the battle to sign Gareth Barry, with
the player himself having already decided to sign for Rafael
Benitez's club this summer rather than agree a new contract
at Aston Villa.
Benitez is also close to signing Birmingham City goal-keeper
Maik Taylor as a back-up to Jose Reina for next season,
while Borussia Dortmund
full-back Philip Degen will move to Anfield on a free
transfer.
Liverpool and Villa are still at loggerheads over a fee for
the England midfielder, but Barry's wishes will almost
certainly force Villa into doing
a deal. Liverpool's offer for Barry has been valued at £10m
although it is not an exclusively cash deal.
In exchange for Barry, Liverpool are offering a choice of
John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant or Scott Carson, who is
currently on loan at Villa, plus an unspecified cash deal to
make the value up to £10m.
(Irish Independent)
DIC to get the fans into the boardroom
DIC are promising to appoint a supporter to the board of
directors should they obtain ownership of Liverpool Football
Club.
They have been in talks with Spirit of Shankly, the
Liverpool supporters' union, about the idea and insist its
not jut a PR stunt to win trust from
the fans.
"We are not a pro-Dubai lobby," said Spirit Of shankly
chairman, Neil Atkinson. "However, we take their commitment
to supporter representation on the board at face value.
"They have seemed thoroughly decent so far and we expect
them to follow through. It is an opportunity we take very
seriously.
"The process of working out how to elect a representative is
something that will take a great deal of care and
consideration and SOS would want to consult as many
supporters and agencies as possible to ensure everything is
done correctly and above board."
(LFC Online) |
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MONDAY 5 |
Rafa: Expect signings this month
After another trophyless season for Liverpool - the height
of disappointment being another fourth place finish and
elimination from the FA Cup at the hands of Barnsley - Rafa
Benitez is once again looking
to strengthen his squad.
Areas that may be strengthened are the the wings and
full-backs, Gareth Barry, David Bentley and Schalke's
Rafinha and Eric Abidal are just some of the names recently
linked with the Reds.
An offer has been made for Barry - Aston Villa manager
Martin O'Neill was far from impressed with it - and while
Benitez is not naming names just yet, he is confident that,
after positive talks with under-fire chief executive Rick
Parry, some signings will be made soon - very soon.
"We aren’t working on signing new players in June or July -
but to sign them in May if that is possible," revealed the
Spaniard.
“We will not be waiting until August to sign players. I
think we will do things well before. Perhaps you will see
some evidence in a few weeks.”
(Goal.com)
Juventus linked with Alonso
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is on his way to Italy and
Juventus have been mentioned as the likely destination,
according
to Corriere Dello Sport.
The Spanish international has had a poor season at Anfield
during which he spent a lot of time out of action due to
metatarsal problem and on his comeback failed to deliver the
goods.
(Premiership Latest)
Benitez warning for Torres
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has warned striker Fernando
Torres that he is unlikely to have it all his own way next
season.
The Spain international has been in blistering form in his
debut campaign in the Premier League with his winner against
Manchester City on Sunday taking his tally to 23 league
goals.
Benitez believes Torres' strike rate has been all the more
impressive as he achieved it without any penalties, although
he thinks it could be tougher for the striker next time
around.
"Fernando has been amazing, and he has reached that total
without any penalties," said Benitez.
"Clearly it will be more difficult for Torres next season;
defenders will have watched him and will work on stopping
him.
"But he can improve even from this. He has a strong
mentality and he can cope with what defenders do.
"It will not be easy to score this many goals again,
obviously it will be more difficult for him.
"But if he scores a good number of goals and his team-mates,
five of whom have scored 10 or more this season, also
improve and increase their number of goals, it will be okay
for us."
(Sky Sports)
Torres filled with pride
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has spoken of his delight
after equalling Roger Hunt’s 46-year record of scoring in
eight consecutive home
league games.
The Spaniard has had a blistering campaign for Liverpool and
netted
the winner against Manchester City to equal Hunt’s record
from
the 1961-62 season.
Torres has lamented missing out on silverware in his first
season in Liverpool colours, but was happy to write his name
into
the Anfield history books.
"I'm very proud," said the Spanish star. "I knew about the
record before
the game and I am pleased to have scored again. Now I will
try to do even better next season.
"The first season is normally always difficult but it has
been made easy for me by my team-mates. It's thanks to them
that I can keep scoring and keep improving."
Reflecting on a trophy-less season, Torres added on the
club’s official website: "We want to win trophies every
season.
"Maybe next season - we will have to keep improving.
"For the fans the most important is the league because this
club has gone too many years without it. Maybe next season.
We are a strong team and we can win every game."
(Setanta Sports)
Report: Hicks in talks with hedge funds
Liverpool FC's co-owner Tom Hicks is talking to hedge funds
to help him raise funds to buy the British soccer club and
start building a new stadium, the Daily Telegraph reported
on Monday.
The U.S. billionaire, who wants to buy out the 50 percent of
the club controlled by co-owner George Gillett, is talking
to some of the hedge funds that helped finance the Glazer
family's purchase of Manchester United, such as Perry
Capital, Och-Ziff Capital Management and Citadel, the
newspaper reported.
While one hedge fund rejected the approach, others are still
in talks with Hicks' advisors, the newspaper said.
Hicks could not immediately be reached for comment.
(Reuters)
Ex-Red urges Barry move
Former Liverpool midfielder Patrik Berger has warned Aston
Villa team-mate Gareth Barry he would waste the "opportunity
of a lifetime" if he chooses not to move to Anfield this
summer.
Reds manager Rafa Benitez has tabled a transfer package
believed to be worth £20million in a bid to prise Barry away
from Villa Park.
"It's Liverpool and if I was in Gareth's position I would go
there tomorrow," said the former Czech international.
"It is the opportunity of a lifetime in my opinion. I would
go to Liverpool
and experience it.
"Gareth is the heart of our team but Liverpool would be a
massive challenge for him. It would be Champions League
every year and he would be challenging to win trophies every
year.
"Liverpool don't come after you every year. They want him
because he has had a fantastic season and has been our main
player from the beginning to the end. He has also played
very well for the national team.
I am not surprised they would like to sign him."
(Sky Sports) |
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SUNDAY 4 |
Perfectionist Benitez
ready to apply final touches
If you had taken any of the 43,074 Liverpool fans inside
Anfield on Sunday and asked them to script one match that
encapsulates The Reds’ season, the 1-0 triumph over
Manchester City would have been pretty accurate.
Liverpool 1-0 up, at home, Fernando Torres the goalscorer,
Liverpool creating and wasting a plethora of chances. The
only thing missing was
a late equaliser for the visitors.
The Reds have dropped 15 points at home this season, eight
of which came against sides outside the ‘Big Four’, points
that would have put Liverpool three behind Manchester United
going into the final day of
the season.
Of course football is a game of ‘ifs’, but it shows how
close The Reds are and how gigantic this summer is for Rafa
Benitez, a summer that - in my opinion - will see a bigger
change in Liverpool than any of the previous three close
seasons Benitez has overseen.
(Ben Blackmore - Setanta Sports)
Rafa hails 'fantastic' Torres
Rafael Benitez paid tribute to the finishing qualities of
Fernando Torres after the Spaniard fired Liverpool to a 1-0
victory over Manchester City in our final home match of the
season.
The Reds boss was delighted to finish the club's Anfield
campaign with
a win and was full of praise for the man nicknamed El Nino,
after he equalled Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record of 23, for
the most goals scored by a foreigner in their first season
in the Premier League.
"It was another good goal and all without penalties," said
Benitez.
"It's an amazing number of goals, fantastic for him,
fantastic for our supporters - for now and in the future."
(LFC Official Website)
Sven: We handed Reds win
Sven Goran Eriksson believes that Manchester City's
inability to keep
the ball cost them dear at Anfield.
Eriksson acknowledged that his side had not been good enough
on
the day, but was pleased by the attitude on show from his
players.
"I think we were very much in the game first-half," he told
Sky Sports.
"Then during 10-15 minutes in the second-half Liverpool
became very good and we gave away too many balls, and then
we came back.
"We are not on holidays yet and at least we tried for 90
minutes to create chances and equalise, which is good.
"Of course we gave it away and I think if you take away
corners and free-kicks every time they created a chance we
gave the ball away some seconds before.
"It's something we should avoid, but when you play Liverpool
away it's
not easy."
(Sky Sports)
Torres writes another bit of history
Fernando Torres wrote another piece of history for himself
with his 32nd goal of a stunning first season in English
football.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo has stood between Torres and the PFA
and Writers’ Footballer of the Year awards this week, and
yet another fine strike here underlined why.
The Spaniard has now scored in eight successive home league
games which equals Roger Hunt’s club record.
His 15th in his last 17 games shows the remarkable
consistency of
the front-man.
The winner came in the 58th minute when he cruised past
Richard Dunne to beat Joe Hart with an angled drive.
Much of the game had been dominated by City fans venting
their anger at the likely sacking of their manager
Sven-Goran Eriksson, but it was Torres who again stole the
show.
Liverpool’s final home match of the campaign ended with a
lap of honour, and Torres took much of the acclaim.
Boss Rafael Benitez also received his ovation. There will be
no Champions League final this season, but the Kop made it
clear that they don’t want to see their manager go the same
way as Eriksson.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Insua starts against City
Emiliano Insua makes his first start of the season as the
Reds look to mark their final home match of the campaign
with victory against Manchester City.
Steve Finnan comes in for Alvaro Arbeloa at right-back while
Fernando Torres has been passed fit to lead the line on an
afternoon that will see the Reds play in their brand new kit
for the first time.
The Liverpool team in full: Reina, Finnan, Insua, Carragher,
Hyypia, Lucas, Mascherano, Babel, Kuyt, Gerrard, Torres.
Subs: Itandje, Voronin, Benayoun, Alonso, Skrtel.
(LFC Official Website)
Masch is Beijing bound
Javier Mascherano has been named in Argentina's Olympic
squad.
The Liverpool midfielder has again been named in Argentina's
Olympic football team and is eager to go to Beijing and win
another gold medal.
"I know that Liverpool will have big games when the Olympics
are on and
I have to speak to the manager about it," said Mascherano.
"But I want to go to Beijing because playing for my country
is the most important thing for me.
"I want to go to the Olympics and play for my country. I am
in the squad again so I think I will be going - it's what I
want to do. I won a gold medal in Athens and the Olympic
Games are very important in Argentina because we have the
title.
"It would be important to any athlete to defend the gold
medal.
"I haven't spoken to Rafa yet because we have had some big
games in the past few weeks, but now is the time to tell
him."
(LFC Online)
Thor Zakariassen
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