|
|
|
|
THURSDAY 9 |
|
|
Kewell We're all red-faced
Harry Kewell today delivered a brutally honest assessment of
Liverpool's latest Premiership defeat by admitting: "We
should hang our heads in shame."
He says the attacking players in the side must accept
responsibility and start delivering the goods.
"The first 40 minutes of the game is nothing if you don't
score a goal. We seem to have been doing that a lot lately,"
said Kewell.
"The manager has been telling us enough times to start
finishing. As an attacker I take it upon my shoulders and
accept part of the responsibility for scoring goals.
"The only people who can do it are those the manager selects
to play in the attack. We've all got to take a look at
ourselves and get our act together."
(Liverpool Echo)
Paletta set for Liverpool talks
Argentine club Banfield say defender Gabriel Paletta will
travel to England at the weekend to open talks about a
summer move to Liverpool.
Paletta, 20, helped Argentina win the Under-20 World Cup in
2005.
"Paletta will travel to England to discuss terms with
Liverpool club executives," it said on their website.
"He will travel on Sunday after the game against River
Plate. The English club want him to undergo a medical before
discussing personal terms."
Banfield president Carlos Portell added in Argentina
newspaper Ole: "The discussions are very advanced."
(BBC Sport Online)
Former Reds reserve passes away
Former Liverpool reserve Stuart Mason has sadly passed away
at the premature
age of 57.
Mason was signed by Bill Shankly from Wrexham with Peter
Wall in 1966 but found first team opportunities at Anfield
severely limited.
The Whitchurch-born full-back returned to the Racecourse
Ground after just two years without making a single senior
appearance.
As well as Wrexham, for whom he made over 200 appearances,
Mason also played for Chester, Rochdale and Crewe.
(LFC Official Website)
Bent: I didn't dive
Darren Bent has denied diving to earn a penalty in
Charlton's Athletic's 2-0 win over Liverpool on Wednesday
night.
The England hopeful converted the resulting spot-kick after
falling under challenge from recalled Reds keeper Jerzy
Dudek.
The Polish shot-stopper was furious with the decision, and
he was beaten by Bent's 12-yard effort as he fills in for
suspended number one Jose Reina.
"I didn't dive," Bent told Sky Sports News. "I've come round
the keeper, lost my balance and fallen over.
"The referee's given a penalty.
"It's a little bit fortunate but, luckily enough, I managed
to stick it away and put us 1-0 up."
(Sky Sports)
Curbs praise for defeated Reds
Alan Curbishley basked in the glory of Charlton's victory
over Liverpool at The Valley but had words of praise for the
Reds' impressive first half showing.
Addicks boss Curbishley was delighted to take all three
points from the game as goals just before the break from
Darren Bent (penalty) and Luke Young secured a 2-0 success.
But he admitted his side were a touch fortunate to have been
leading at half-time and insisted Liverpool are still a
class side despite this defeat.
He said: "Liverpool showed why they're Champions of Europe
in the first half. They were fantastic and they didn't just
pass the ball well - when we won it back they forced us into
errors but we ended up coming off at half time 2-0 up.
That's football sometimes, but we'll take it."
(LFC Official Website)
Rafa puzzled by Reds slump
Rafael Benitez was left perplexed after watching Liverpool
dominate large spells of the clash against Charlton, only to
lose 2-0 at The Valley.
"I cannot explain after 40 minutes of one-way traffic that
we can lose a game like that in five minutes - it is
unbelievable," said Benitez, whose side have now lost three
straight away games in the Premiership.
"We need to learn from our mistakes. In five minutes, you
lose all of the work you have done in 40 minutes, it is
crazy.
"We created chances and controlled - we need to score. It is
simple."
(TEAMtalk) |
|
|
WEDNESDAY 8 |
|
|
Addicks stun lacklustre Liverpool
Charlton Athletic registered a deserved 2-0 win over
Liverpool at The Valley on Wednesday evening.
Although the visitors dominated large chunks of the game
territorially, they struggled to create many clear-cut
openings, while Charlton battled hard to stay with The Reds
before going on to assert themselves as the superior side.
Darren Bent won a 42nd minute penalty which he converted
himself, before defender Luke Young fired home an
unstoppable thunderbolt deep into first half stoppage time.
(Sky Sports)
Charlton v Liverpool - CONFIRMED TEAMS
CHARLTON: Myhre, Young, Perry, Hreidarsson,
Spector, Smertin, Hughes, Kishishev, Marcus Bent, Darren
Bent.
SUBS: Andersen, Euell, El Karkouri, Ambrose, Bothroyd.
LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Alonso,
Sissoko, Kewell, Cisse, Crouch, Morientes.
SUBS: Carson, Riise, Hamann, Kromkamp, Fowler.
(Kop Talk)
Reds agree African link-up
Liverpool have agreed a link-up with Ghanaian side Ashgold
as they look to explore the African market.
The European Cup holders came to the arrangement after
holding talks with Ashgold officials last week.
The agreement could see Ashgold becoming a feeder club for
Liverpool allowing them first refusal on signing any young
talent that comes through the ranks at the Ghanaian outfit.
The partnership could be similar to the deals Manchester
United have with Royal Antwerp and Arsenal with Beveren.
Ashgold chief executive Kudjoe Fianoo was delighted with the
partnership with the Premiership titans.
"We are thrilled by the offer Liverpool have made us and we
hope that opportunities can be explored to the benefit of
both clubs and also Ghanaian footballers," Fianoo told
Ghanaweb.
"We are in this relationship for as long haul as possible.
"We will strive to tap the enormous knowledge and networking
at the disposal of Proton for the benefit of not only
Ashgold but also Ghanaian and African football at large,"
Fianoo said.
(Sky Sports)
Rafa: We need to be patient with Robbie
Rafael Benitez has called for patience from Liverpool fans
desperate to see Robbie Fowler start in the Reds' attack.
Fowler could be involved against Charlton tonight as the
Reds look to bounce back from defeat at Chelsea, but Benitez
insists the playsr's fitness levels still need to be
improved before he can be considered on a regular basis.
"If I decide to use him, Robbie could start the game. He has
the game intelligence needed," said Benitez. "He must be fit
to play really well for us. At the moment we have other
strikers who are fitter."
(LFC Official Website)
Pongo not giving up on Reds place
Florent Sinama-Pongolle believes he can still earn a place
in Rafael Benitez' Liverpool team.
Pongolle has been loaned out to Blackburn for the rest of
the season. While the French striker is glad to be playing
first team football at Rovers, he is still hoping he can
convince Rafa Benitez he is worthy of a place in the
Liverpool starting line-up.
"It has been a little bit frustrating. When you are a player
you just want to play some games, and when you are not doing
that, it becomes even more difficult to get your place,"
said Pongolle.
"That's why Benitez let me come here and I just want to show
what I can do, and what I can do for the team.
"There were clubs in France and England who were interested
in me, but I decided to come here because I thought it would
be good for me. Hopefully, it's good for the club too.
"Benitez wanted me to stay in England so he could see me,
and this is a really good challenge for me."
(LFC Online)
Rafa: Curbishley best choice for England
Rafael Benítez says that his opposite number in tonight’s
league meeting with Charlton would be his personal choice as
the next England boss, but finds it astonishing that the
subject is even being discussed. Charlton’s Alan Curbishley
has all the right attributes according to Rafa: “People talk
about who will be the next national manager and for me he is
a very good option. You try to teach your players the right
things. He is a good manager and his team play good
attacking football.”
Rafa is no stranger to long hours – he spends as much time
coaching the team as he would have done in Spain, but in
Spain he’d not have to then spend time on the actual
management side of things – contracts, transfers and so on.
He looks at Curbishley and sees a man that works just as
hard: “Curbishley is what I call a 'normal' manager of a
club - he works hard all the time. He is clever and prepares
his players very well.”
Rafa says that the talk is not very respectful to the man
currently in the hot-seat, and says it would not happen back
in Spain: “I do not like to talk a lot about the England
position because I have respect for the man who is doing the
job. Some people talk and promote themselves. But for me,
England have a very good team and it is the decision of the
FA now. In Spain it would depend on who was available. But
we would not talk three or four months ahead of a major
competition about such things.”
(Anfield Road.com)
Curbishley admits he's a Crouch fan
Charlton boss Alan Curbishley has revealed that
he's a big fan of Peter Crouch.
Had Curbishley had the money to sign Crouch before Liverpool
did, he confesses that he would have been in for him.
Curbishley said: "I have always liked Peter Crouch and
timing is a great thing in football. Sometimes when play-ers
are available you are not in a position to do anything and
when you are you can't do it.
"Since he started off at Tottenham we have followed him
closely and when you get closer you see there is a lot more
to him. Graham Taylor took him for big money to Aston Villa
and it didn't quite work. Graham took a bit of stick for
that but he has since been proved right.
"Whether he is good enough for England that is for someone
else to say but I think his main aim is to stay in that
Liverpool side.
"It has been a while (since Crouch scored) but he is a team
player. He showed that last season trying to keep
Southampton up."
(Kop Talk) |
|
|
TUESDAY 7 |
|
|
Liverpool suffer Gerrard blow
Liverpool have been dealt a blow with the news Steven
Gerrard could miss their next two games.
But Rafael Benitez has challenged his wilting outfit to
prove they can win without their skipper.
Manager Benitez has lost his leader, inspiration and top
scorer for the Barclays Premiership clash at Charlton on
Wednesday, with Gerrard missing The Valley match with a knee
injury that after needing a scan this week, could also rule
him out of the trip to Wigan on Saturday.
It is the worst possible time for Liverpool to lose the one
player who drives them forward. Defeats at Manchester United
and Chelsea have finally ended any fleeting hope of the
title and put into context what Benitez now accepts is a
chase "to reach
the Champions League."
(PA Sport)
Kuyt to turn down Spurs move
Feynoored striker Dirk Kuyt could turn down a move to
Tottenham Hotspur this summer as he is happy at the club.
The Dutch striker has always talked of leaving the Dutch
club for a big european club with Liverpool also keen
admirers but Kuyt insists he may stay at Feynoored.
"I want to grow and this could be with Feyenoord. Everyone
thought I would leave at the end of the season, but that was
never definite," said Kuyt to Algemeen Dagblad.
"The big European clubs, the clubs of my 'dreams', they
already have good strikers. Over the past few months I
didn't receive one firm offer.
"I won't play for a mid-table team in a bigger league than
playing in the Eredivisie
for Feyenoord."
(Talk Soccer)
Benitez bags top honour at awards ceremony
Rafael Benitez paid tribute to the Liverpool fans, players
and staff after being voted Merseyside's Sport Personality
of the Year by ECHO readers last night.
Then he revealed that speaking to the star-studded audience
at the city's Crowne Plaza Hotel was more difficult than his
half-time team talk in Istanbul!
Benitez collected the evening's top award - from a shortlist
which included footballers Tim Cahill and Steven Gerrard,
Britain's top gymnast Beth Tweddle, rugby league's Man of
Steel Jamie Lyon and golfing sensation Nick Dougherty.
Receiving the prize from ECHO sports editor John Thompson,
he said: "I'm very proud to be here collecting this award.
"But speaking to this room is even more difficult for me
than my half-time team-talk in Istanbul!
"I share this trophy with my wife, Montse, my staff and my
players. Without them, I would not be here."
(Liverpool Echo)
Dudek in line for first start since
Istanbul heroics
Outcast Jerzy Dudek is ready to step back into
the Liverpool starting line-up tomorrow for the first time
since his Champions League-winning exploits last May.
The Poland goalkeeper is favourite to replace Pepe Reina
after the Anfield side chose not to appeal against the
three-match ban handed to the Spaniard following his
sending-off at Chelsea on Sunday.
(Sky Sports)
Duo tipped for Liverpool exit
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is reportedly set to offload
misfiring strike duo Djibril Cisse and Fernando Morientes at
the end of the season.
The Reds have scored just 30 goals in 23 league games this
term, a statistic which has hindered their hopes of keeping
pace with Chelsea at the top of the Premiership.
And Benitez knows he needs more from his frontmen if he is
to mount a serious title challenge next season.
(TEAMtalk)
Essien: I could easily have been a
Liverpool player
Chelsea's Ghana international Michael Essien has revealed he
could have been a Liverpool player had it not been for work
permit problems three years ago.
Essien, then with Corsican side Bastia, said: "It is true. I
could have joined Liverpool when Gerard Houllier was there.
I went to see their training ground and to watch their games
but obviously I didn't go there.
"At that point it was difficult for me to get my work
permit, so I preferred to stay in France."
Essien moved on to Lyon and in another strange twist
Houllier took over as manager of the French side in the
summer of 2005.
(Daily Post)
Holland doubtful
Midfielder Matt Holland is rated as 50-50 to shrug off a
thigh problem and return to the Charlton line-up for their
home clash with Liverpool.
Winger Dennis Rommedahl is still recovering from a broken
rib and will therefore require another week on the
sidelines.
Manager Alan Curbishley will also wait on the fitness of a
number of unnamed players who took knocks in Sunday's 3-1
defeat at Spurs.
(Sports.ie)
Reina: Arjen deserves Oscar
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina has branded
Chelsea winger Arjen Robben an actor who deserves an Oscar
for his performance at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
"I am furious with Robben for what happened. My red card was
unjust, which makes it so sad for me," Reina told the Daily
Star.
"Robben is a big actor and he did well enough to win an
Oscar. I would never hit out at another player and hurt them
in the way Robben suggested by collapsing.
"Robben is an excellent player but he was deceitful with the
way he behaved."
(TEAMtalk)
|
|
Thor Zakariassen
© |
|
