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FRIDAY 6 |
Teddy praise for Crouch
Teddy Sheringham has declared his admiration for Peter
Crouch and in the process made an unlikely comparison with
Chris Waddle.
The veteran West Ham United striker believes his Liverpool
counterpart is underestimated because of his 'ungainly'
manner but he insists Waddle, a player universally praised,
was not too dissimilar with an idiosyncratic style of his
own.
Crouch's metamorphosis from an England boo-boy to cult hero
status has been nothing short of meteoric, with Sheringham
of the opinion that such accolades are more than justified.
Citing Crouch's sublime scissor kick against Galatasaray as
testimony to the player's often overlooked technical
capabilities, the evergreen Sheringham is quick to praise
the Liverpool favourite.
"Peter Crouch is a fantastic player. The only problem with
him is that he looks ungainly," said Sheringham.
"Chris Waddle was also a fantastic player and full backs
couldn't get near him but because he walked a bit ungainly,
with hunched shoulders, he didn't look a natural athlete.
"But that goal Crouch scored was magic. If Robbie Fowler had
scored it, it would have been all over the newspapers for
weeks.
"If Thierry Henry had scored it, it would be goal of the
season.
"But Peter Crouch is beginning to win people over. The fans
are looking deeper into it."
(Sky Sports)
Neill plans Blackburn departure
Defender Lucas Neill is adamant that this is his final
season at Blackburn.
The 28-year-old Australian, who caught the eye at the World
Cup, wants a move to a bigger club in 2007 having missed on
a summer transfer to Liverpool.
Neill said: "That deal was not in Blackburn's best
interests, therefore I didn't have a say and didn't move on.
"But now I'm hopefully in just as good a position when
opportunities present themselves in January, or if not then,
I'll get a free transfer in June."
(BBC Sport Online)
Toshack praises Bellamy
John Toshack is confident Craig Bellamy will make an
excellent captain.
Toshack has appointed Bellamy as Wales skipper since regular
captain Ryan Giggs is missing through injury. Toshack said
he knew Bellamy was captain material after he apologised to
the entire squad for missing a couple of chances against the
Czech Republic.
"I am confident that he will not let me down. I have known
him for a while and his commitment with us has always been
first class," said the Wales boss.
"He gets annoyed with his team-mates, he gets annoyed with
himself. He felt at 0-0 in Teplice against the Czechs
recently that he missed good chances, that annoyed him.
"And as confident and bouncy a lad that he is, he still knew
he should have scored and he apologised in front of all the
lads.
"For someone like him that wasn't easy. But he was right, he
saved me from telling him about it.
"When we looked at the alternatives we came to the
conclusion Craig was the best candidate to be captain.
(LFC Online)
Fowler praises Crouch
Robbie Fowler has praised fellow Red Peter Crouch.
Crouch will again lead the line for England tomorrow and his
fellow Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler says Crouch will do
an excellent job for Steve McClaren's side.
"Every time people ask Crouch to do a job for them, he does
it perfectly. He has shown that at Liverpool, and for
England at the very highest level," said the Liverpool
legend.
(LFC Online)
Rio praises in-form Crouch
Peter Crouch has today been hailed as English football's
most clinical finisher - by Manchester United's Rio
Ferdinand.
Crouch will lead the line for England against Macedonia
tomorrow looking to extend a magnificent scoring run for his
country which has seen him net eleven goals in his last ten
internationals.
The Liverpool striker is likely to be partnered by Wayne
Rooney at Old Trafford and Ferdinand is confident it could
be an unstoppable combination.
"On paper it could be a fantastic partnership," said the
United defender. "Wayne could come off him and drop in.
"Crouchy could stay up there at the top of the pitch and, if
we get the ball in the box, there's not many better
finishers around at the moment than Crouchy. Especially in
an England shirt."
(LFC Official Website) |
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THURSDAY 5 |
Reds in Reebok court battle
Liverpool will launch their £7m lawsuit against Reebok at
the High Court tomorrow.
Proceedings of Liverpool FC versus Reebok International have
been listed for the Royal Courts of Justice, in the Strand,
London.
However, the case is likely to drag on for several months,
with tomorrow's date likely to be a preliminary hearing.
The dispute between the Reds and their former shirt
manufacturer began following a delay in the release of the
Liverpool away jersey for the start of the 2005/06 season.
This was caused by Liverpool's ongoing shirt sponsorship
talks with Carlsberg.
Reebok claimed they lost revenue worth £7m and refused to
abide by the terms of the contract.
Liverpool insists the delay of two months didn't cost Reebok
revenue, it merely delayed the inevitable vast sale of
shirts.
Now the Reds want back what they insist they are entitled
to.
Reebok UK were taken over by Adidas last year, who
subsequently inherited the terms of the Reds' existing shirt
contract.
However, Liverpool's dispute remains with the Reebok branch
of the company, not their new partners.
(Liverpool Echo)
Cisse to miss Lyon clash
Marseille boss Albert Emon says injured on-loan striker
Djibril Cisse will not be available for this month's big
clash with Lyon.
The former Auxerre hit-man is continuing to recover from a
double leg fracture he suffered in France's World Cup
warm-up friendly with China in St Etienne back in June.
Despite the injury, Cisse joined l'OM on loan from parent
club Liverpool in July, with the 24-year-old continuing his
recovery at Stade Velodrome.
Cisse had aimed to be fit to face Ligue 1 champions Lyon on
October 22, but his recovery looks to be taking more time
than anticipated.
Emon says the striker is unlikely to resume full training
until the end of the month.
"When he starts training with us, we can set his comeback
more clearly," Emon said.
"He could play again in a month-and-a-half or two months."
(Sky Sports)
Evans: Bellamy deserves Welsh captaincy
Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy was awarded the captaincy of
Wales by coach Mark Hughes earlier in the week and according
to Roy Evans he thoroughly deserves it.
Roy is now the Welsh number two but still has close ties to
Anfield after serving for so many years at the club,
literally as “man and boy”, ending up as manager. He now
wants people to stop harping back to Craig's younger days
and the trouble he tended to find himself in, particularly
at Newcastle:
“Let's not dwell on things from the past. Craig should be
remembered as a great player, so it's a little sad that we
have to talk about this other business. There is no doubt he
did get into some trouble, that's well known, but you cannot
hold that against him for the rest of his career.”
“He has started to do the right things and we believe he
will be a good captain for us. Mark Hughes had no problem
with him, and neither has John Toshack. If people can't
handle a fiery character, then you have a problem. The only
thing you must do is make sure they are not disruptive to
the squad. But in my time with Wales he has never been
a problem.”
(Anfield Road.com)
Club rotation leaves Crouch dazed and
confused
Peter Crouch is far too indebted to Rafael Benítez to
criticise him with any vengeance but there was a definite
hint of frustration in his voice last night as the Liverpool
striker reflected on the bittersweet irony of becoming an
England regular at the first stage of his Liverpool career
when he has found himself pushed to the edges.
One of the few players to emerge from the World Cup with any
credit, Crouch can boast that his 11 goals for England in
2006 is better than any striker has ever managed in a
calendar year. These, however, are uncertain times at club
level for the 25-year-old and he grimaced when he was asked
how he found it easier getting in the England team than the
Liverpool one.
"I am frustrated," he said. "I just have to put up with it,
I suppose. I want to play every game and I feel like I could
play every game.
"I feel I've done well for Liverpool and that I've played
well for them. So it's frustrating. I want to carry on my
good form but if the manager wants to rotate there's not
much I can do about it."
It is not Crouch's way to kick up a fuss through the media
and he made a point of praising Benítez's record as well as
pointing out, more than once, that he always felt the
Spaniard had appreciated him when others had written him
off.
(The Guardian) |
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WEDNESDAY 4 |
Kuyt unhappy with Ruud comments
Holland striker Dirk Kuyt believes Ruud van Nistelrooy
should not have spoken out in the media against national
coach Marco van Basten.
Real Madrid hitman van Nistelrooy has been in the
international wilderness since losing his spot during the
World Cup in Germany this summer, and has admitted he does
not expect to ever feature again under van Basten.
Van Nistelrooy went on to criticise the selection methods
used by the Dutch coach, and the way in which he handled his
players in Germany.
"Ruud has an opinion and we must respect that opinion,"
Liverpool forward Kuyt said.
"But I do find that you should always keep your criticism
private. This is not an attack on Ruud because I really rate
him highly both as a person and as a footballer."
(TEAMtalk)
Agger's award
Daniel Agger has been named PFA Fans Player of the Month for
September.
The Liverpool defender has kept Sami Hyypia out of the side
recently and his excellent form has been recognised by
opposition supporters as well as Reds.
(LFC Online)
Judge us in May says Xabi
Xabi Alonso says Liverpool's critics should wait until the
end of the season before criticising the Reds.
"In England I have found that the media are not interested
in the bigger picture. As far as they are concerned you are
only as good, or as bad, as your last result. If you have
won comfortably then you are a great team and you are going
to be challenging for the title at the top of the league,"
said the Basque.
"Yet, if you have lost, then you have big problems and
something has to be done to change things. All week they
will talk about it but then if you win the next week you are
a much better team again.
"That is one of the main reasons why I do not read English
papers. I choose to read only papers from back home, but it
is the same in Spain and all of the big football countries
and seems to be more and more a part of the modern game.
"People have to try and analyse football with a little more
distance and perspective if they want to do it properly.
"I would say that none of the so-called giant teams have
started the season the way they ended last season but not
every club receives the same level of criticism. Some get it
and others are spared but that's okay because we are only
interested in ourselves. We have just started the season and
we will see where we are in May."
(LFC Online)
Four held over Reds stars burglaries
Four men are under arrest after a string of burglaries at
the homes of Liverpool football players, police said.
Officers raided a house in Liverpool early on Wednesday
after a series of burglaries on the homes of England star
Peter Crouch, Danish defender Daniel Agger, Polish
goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek and French striker Florent Sinama
Pongolle, who has left the club to join Spanish side
Recreativo Huelva on loan.
Medals, shirts and "high value home entertainment equipment"
was recovered from a house in the Tuebrook area of the city
on Wednesday morning, Merseyside Police said.
Four men, all in their 20s and from Liverpool, are now under
arrest on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy to commit
burglary and handling stolen goods.
Det Sgt Peter Cain said: "This has been the result of hard
work and persistence in partnership with our colleagues in
Cheshire and while working closely with Liverpool FC.
"I would like to remind the public that handling stolen
goods is a crime and one that Merseyside Police takes very
seriously."
Anyone with further information about the burglaries, or who
has been offered football memorabilia, is asked to contact
police.
(PA Sport)
Now star's foot is in another boot
Liverpool FC star Harry Kewell has turned his back on a
mega-money boot deal with Adidas to join relative newcomer
Nomis, which has its UK base in Chester.
Kewell, who is currently recuperating in Australia following
surgery, has walked away from his contract with Adidas,
worth more than £500,000, to join Nomis in a bid to get his
fitness back on track.
Simon Skirrow, founder of Nomis, said: "It's a huge coup for
Nomis to sign someone of Harry Kewell's status.
"He's a huge star both in Australia and the UK and to have
him on board wearing our boots is a fantastic endorsement of
our products."
He added: "It's a lot of money for Harry to walk away from,
but you can't put a value on your career and the simple fact
was that he really liked the way the boots felt and our
commitment to making boots that address health, comfort and
safety issues rather than just looking good."
Having overseen the development of the now-legendary
Predator football boot - initially created by another
Australian Liverpool player, Craig Johnston - Skirrow left
Adidas four years ago to create Nomis and set up its
headquarters in Australia.
Adidas refused to comment last night.
(Daily Post)
Moroccan forward signs in at Anfield
Moroccan forward Nabil El Zhar was last night
unveiled as Liverpool's latest signing.
The Anfield side were given clearance by FIFA to play the
20-year-old in the reserves' clash with Newcastle United at
Wrexham, despite the players's ongoing dispute with former
club St Etienne.
The French club are pressing the international governing
body for compensation after the Moroccan left to sign a
four-year contract at Liverpool in late August.
El Zhar believes he was a free agent but St Etienne insist
that, under French regulations, they are due a fee.
(Daily Post)
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Thor Zakariassen
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