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TUESDAY 9 |
Xabi could be back for derby
Rafael Benitez hasn't ruled out welcoming Xabi Alonso back
to his squad for the Merseyside derby.
The Spanish midfielder is still recovering from a broken
metatarsal but could make his return for the Goodison clash
with Everton next weekend.
"We've got to be careful and we'll have to wait and see
about Xabi," said Benitez. "I think he has a better chance
than Agger of being back next week.
"It's too early to say anything at the moment. They are both
progressing well but I'll need to speak with the physio and
the doctors next week before we know what the situation is."
(LFC Official Website)
Rafa asks Kopites to calm down
Rafa Benitez has told Liverpool fans now is not the time to
panic, although he admits The Reds have lost their
confidence in pursuit of The Premier League title.
Benitez is keen to compare the current season’s statistics
to last year though, insisting his team can be buoyed by the
fact they are doing better than last year despite going
through a rough patch.
"This isn't a time for being negative, it's a time for being
positive," the Spaniard told Liverpool’s official website.
"We're still unbeaten, qualification for the Champions
League depends on us and we're still in the Carling Cup.
"We are in a better position than last year. In the Premier
League we have five more points than at this stage last
season, we're closer to the top of the table and with one
game in hand.
"We just have to get our confidence back because we have
lost it at the moment."
(Setanta Sports)
Crouch in call for England chance
Liverpool striker Peter Crouch is adamant he has what it
takes to fire England to Euro 2008 qualification - if he is
given the chance.
The striker is a member of England manager Steve McClaren's
squad for the crucial Group E qualifiers with Estonia on
Saturday and Russia four days later.
The giant forward has netted 12 times in 21 appearances for
his country and Crouch feels that should see him start in
the Wembley meeting with Estonia and the trip to Russia,
despite the return to fitness of Michael Owen and Wayne
Rooney.
England are without injured front-men Emile Heskey, Andy
Johnson and Dean Ashton - and Crouch is therefore expecting
his chance.
"I'm looking forward to the games," Crouch told the Sky
Sports website. "There have been a few injuries and
hopefully I will get a chance to play
in one if not both.
"There are a lot of top strikers and we will all be working
hard and trying our best to get in the team.
"It is up to the manager who he decides to pick, but in
previous games for England I've felt that I've done well and
I hope to continue doing that if selected."
(TEAMtalk)
Reds fears over Kuyt injury
Dirk Kuyt has handed Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez an injury
worry.
The Dutch striker has pulled out of his country’s Euro 2008
qualifiers against Romania and Slovenia with a hamstring
injury.
The Dutch FA has confirmed the injury, but Liverpool have
not yet revealed the extent of the problem.
Kuyt came on as a substitute 20 minutes from the end of
Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham and completed the game.
He will be replaced in the Dutch squad by PSV Eindhoven
striker
Danny Koevermans.
Liverpool will be anxiously monitoring the fitness of their
three remaining senior strikers who are all away on
international duty this week.
(Liverpool Echo)
Normal service will be resumed soon
Steven Gerrard is spot-on with his remarks in the wake of
Sunday’s draw with Tottenham.
Liverpool may have been struggling for form in recent weeks,
but it is hardly a crisis right now at Anfield.
And the only way the side will recapture their best form is
by sticking together as a team and a squad and working
harder than ever to turn things around.
It was only a few weeks ago that Manchester United were
supposed to be in something of a crisis after a poor start
to the season by their standards.
Now they’ve addressed things at Old Trafford and suddenly
everyone is saying they’re going to win the title again.
Of course there is a lot of media attention on a club of
Liverpool’s size and expectations are rightly very high.
But we are only a few points behind leaders Arsenal and we
have still made our best start to a season in years, despite
the recent drop-off in performances and results.
I’m a great believer in judging everything at the end of the
season – not now – and that is still an awfully long way
off.
(Ian Rush - Liverpool Echo)
Carra calls for improvement
Jamie Carragher says Liverpool need to improve their home
form.
This season Liverpool have improved their performances away
from home but their displays at Anfield have been
disappointing, something that needs immediate improvement
according to legend Jamie Carragher.
"The results away from home have been fantastic but it's at
home where we've had a few problems. It's something we have
to put right. I don't know the reason for it, but we can't
go on giving points away at Anfield," said our vice-captain.
(LFC Online)
Marvin Pourie sent-off but Liverpool win
Liverpool under-18s scored an excellent 2-0 victory over
Blackburn Rovers at the Kirkby Academy on Saturday, but the
victory came at a price with German striker Marvin Pourie
being sent-off for retaliation.
First-half goals from Astrit Ajdarevic and Nathan Eccleston
made it three wins from their last four Premier Academy
League matches for Hugh McAuley’s side.
But they will now be without their top scorer Pourie for
three matches after he retaliated to a bad challenge in the
second half and was sent off.
Liverpool under-18s: Bouzanis; Irwin, Kennedy, Threlfall,
Kelly, Amoo, Highdale, Adjarevic, Kacaniklic (Wilson 70),
Eccleston, Pourie.
Subs: MacKay, Steven, McDonald, Taylor, McGiveron.
(Liverpool Daily Post)
Tosh worried by Rafa's rotation
Wales manager John Toshack is concerned Rafael Benitez's
rotation policy is having a detrimental effect at Liverpool
and causing "confusion" within the club.
The Reds are still unbeaten in the Premier League but have
won only one of their last six league and European games.
Former Liverpool striker Toshack fears the constant chopping
and changing of line-up at Liverpool may be behind the
lacklustre run and told The Sun: "I really hope Rafa knows
what he's doing, as it's clear people at Liverpool are
starting to get a bit nervous.
"His constant choice of rotating his squad is really
angering the fans, and within the club, I think there is a
good deal of confusion right now.
"Having spent a very significant amount of money on around
40 players in just over three years, I hope Rafa hasn't
bitten off more than he can chew.
"It's the case that if you change the team so regularly then
the players simply don't have time to gel together on the
pitch."
(Sporting Life) |
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MONDAY 8 |
Finnan baffled by Reds form
Defender Steve Finnan admits he is baffled by the Reds’
recent poor form.
But the Irish international believes Liverpool can use the
looming Goodison derby match as a platform to bounce back.
After yesterday's 2-2 draw against Spurs at Anfield, the
Reds now face a fortnight's inactivity until they take on
Everton in another lunchtime kick-off, and Finnan said:
"It's half a dozen games now where we've produced poor
performances, but we've got some big games coming up and
we've got to get back to the form we were showing earlier in
the season.
"There's a feeling of overall disappointment because we
didn't play well again and conceding two goals either side
of half-time made it difficult
for us.
"But it's still early days and we're still unbeaten in the
league."
(Liverpool Echo)
Defensive blunders like knife through Reds' heart
Lies, damn lies and soccer statistics. Or, if you like,
pride comes before
a fall.
Last week, ahead of that wretched Champions League
performance against Marseille and as Liverpool's Premier
league form hit the wall, it was being pointed out by those
who preferred to see the glass as half full, that the Reds
were in the middle of their best defensive run for 30 years.
French league flops Marseille may have punched well above
their weight to put a dent in it last Wednesday, but that at
least was via a sweet piece of footwork and an unstoppable
strike from outside the box.
But yesterday, Liverpool surrendered their supremacy and
then almost all three points, too, with defensive lapses
which unfortunately will have set alarm bells ringing at
Anfield today.
Sami Hyypia deserves to go down in Anfield history as a
Liverpool great. For the best part of a decade now he has
been a tower of strength on the field, a scorer of some
vital goals, a model professional and, as an ambassador for
the club, has done it proud.
Never blessed with outstanding pace – though never the
slouch such a cruel and thinly disguised observation seemed
to suggest – if there was one thing you could always rely
upon big Sami for was his sheer dominance in the air.
But yesterday, perhaps as the rigours of a run of
appearances caught up with him, Hyypia's aerial
invincibility went briefly but crucially missing.
(John Thompson - Liverpool Echo)
Gerrard: Dip in form no crisis
Steven Gerrard admits Liverpool have been below par in
recent matches but baulked at suggestions that Rafa
Benitez’s team are experiencing a crisis of confidence.
After a bright start to the campaign that culminated with
The Reds routing Derby 6-0, Benitez’s team have been
decidedly less impressive, winning just two of their next
seven matches.
Gerrard admits Liverpool’s loss of form has given Benitez
much to ponder over the two-week international break.
"I'm asking the fans to trust me when I say there's no
crisis here. We have fantastic players and a world class
manager and we will get things right again, there's no doubt
about that."
(Setanta Sports)
Rafa looks to transfer kitty
Rafa Benitez has indicated that Liverpool will be looking to
spend big again during January's transfer window, with a
£20m kitty.
After splashing the cash in the summer on the likes of
Fernando Torres, Ryan Babbel and Yossi Benayoun, the Reds
boss is keen to look for further new additions in the new
year.
Benitez admitted to being 'angry' with his players after the
shock Champions League defeat to Marseille and is demanding
an improvement over the coming months.
When asked about his transfer kitty, the Spaniard said:
"We've been working on buying new players since the
beginning of September. We do not have problems in the
financial area because we have sold a lot of players. We
have around 35m euros (£20.5m)."
Talking about the poor European display, he added: "We were
really bad as a team so the staff and I and the players had
to be together. I was really disappointed and I was angry.
But you cannot change anything by being angry. You need to
analyse."
(Clubcall Sports)
Villa keen to keep Carson
Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill has revealed he could be
interested in signing goalkeeper Scott Carson on a permanent
basis.
The 22-year-old Carson joined Villa on loan in the summer
and has taken over the number one jersey from Thomas
Sorensen.
The young player, who has been replaced at Liverpool by
Frenchman Charles Itandje, could be offered a permanent move
to Villa Park after his loan, according to O’Neill.
“A loan can always be with a view to a permanent deal,” the
Ulsterman told The Sun.
“If he does very well, there is the possibility of the deal
becoming permanent.
“But Liverpool might say “excuse me” because he is their
goalkeeper.”
Carson has enjoyed a nice start at his new club, as the
keeper kept four clean sheets in eight matches played.
(Setanta Sports) |
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SUNDAY 7 |
Jol still in dark over Spurs future
Martin Jol admitted he does not know what his future holds
after Tottenham made it six games undefeated with a deserved
point
t Liverpool.
A Robbie Keane double had put Spurs in control, but Jol
insisted: "I do not know about the future, I do not pull the
strings and I do not have any control over the scenario. If
I did, everything would be quiet.
"It has been a difficult time for us. But we took a lot of
confidence
from this."
(TEAMtalk)
Benitez baffled by defending
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was at a loss to explain his
side's defensive display in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham.
"We were really poor in defence," Benitez told Sky Sports
News.
"It is difficult to explain because we have a very good
record, but there were two big mistakes today."
(Sky Sports)
Last-gasp Torres saves Reds
Fernando Torres scored a late goal to salvage a point for
Liverpool as Rafa Benitez’s side rescued a draw from the
jaws of defeat at Anfield on Sunday with a 2-2 result
against Tottenham.
Andriy Voronin gave Liverpool the lead in the 12th minute
before Robbie Keane struck either side of half time to give
Spurs the lead.
Martin Jol’s side looked to have held out for a momentous
victory, but Torres rose at the far post in the dying
moments to snatch a point for
The Reds.
(Setanta Sports)
Pennant returns v Spurs
Jermaine Pennant will return to the Liverpool side for
today's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur at
Anfield after missing Wednesday's Champions League defeat to
Marseille through suspension.
Rafa Benitez has also recalled John Arne Riise, Alvaro
Arbeloa, Javier Mascherano and Andriy Voronin as the Reds
look to keep up the pressure on Arsenal at the top of the
table.
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Arbeloa,
Pennant, Riise, Gerrard, Mascherano, Torres, Voronin. Subs -
Itandje, Benayoun, Kuyt, Babel, Lucas.
(LFC Official Website)
Thor Zakariassen
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