NOVEMBER 26
Kuyt's relief
By Al Campbell - LFC Online
Dirk Kuyt has spoken of his relief in
scoring
on Saturday.
Kuyt scored his first goal since the Merseyside derby during
Saturday's 3-0 win over Newcastle which was a relief to him
after his bad misses against Blackburn at the start of the
month.
"I know that I scored, but Sami Hyypia touched the ball and
the only thing I could touch it with was my knee so it was a
bit lucky," said the striker.
"I tried for that, but it was important to get the goal
because that made it 2-0. I haven't scored too many goals in
the Premier League this season, and in my last game at
Blackburn I missed three really good chances.
"I wasn't happy with that, and I know that I have to do
better and start taking more of my chances. I was looking to
score, and hopefully that can give me more confidence going
into the next game.
"We know that if we want to compete for four trophies, we'll
need more than just two strikers. That makes it hard to play
up front, but we know the way it works."
NOVEMBER 24
Big
Sam: We're at rock-bottom
Sky Sports
Sam Allardyce says Newcastle United have
hit 'rock-bottom' after a 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool.
The Magpies conceded four against Portsmouth in their
previous game at St James' Park and were again woeful in
front of their own supporters.
Once Steven Gerrard fired Liverpool into a 28th minute lead,
Newcastle wilted and could have conceded more but for the
profligate finishing of Fernando Torres.
The home fans jeered the team at half-time, and again at the
final whistle, to put the pressure on Allardyce in his first
season on Tyneside.
The former Bolton boss concedes he is in an unusual
situation and has called on his players to 'stick together'.
"I have never quite found myself in this predicament before
to be honest with you," admitted Allardyce.
"But I have dealt with some difficult situations and this
one is a good challenge.
"You roll your sleeves up and you get on with your job. You
know what's right and you know what's wrong and you get it
put right.
"Hopefully, that starts at Blackburn Rovers next week.
"We have hit rock-bottom at the minute and we have got to
get ourselves out of it.
"There's only us who can do it by sticking together and
trying to get as many players fit as we possibly can and
showing a lot more grit and determination to acquire that
result."
NOVEMBER 24
Rafa:
Chairmen don’t
understand transfers
By John Davies - Anfield Online
Following the reds 3-0 victory over
Newcastle earlier today both Benitez and the Club Captain
have spoken to the press about the game.
Benitez had this to say:
“We must be pleased to win 3-0 away, playing as well as we
did today it could have been more but we must be pleased.
“I was pleased with the mentality of the players, the
commitment, the passing, the chances that we are creating -
a lot of things.
“I think we try to play the same home and away. The
difference is that the other team pay higher when we are
away and there is more space but at home they sit deep and
it is more difficult.
“It’s important for us to keep the team at the top of the
table. We are unbeaten so we are in a very good position.”
When asked about the rift with the Chairmen Rafa said:
“They don’t understand the transfer window in Europe. When
you sign a player he needs to settle down so they need to
understand how difficult it is to sign players and when you
have possibilities now you must do it now or you will lose
the players so I was trying to explain.
“They said ok, keep calm, and I will try to continue winning
games for my supporters. I’m sure it’s not serious. If they
understand the football here in Europe they will understand
that we are trying to do the best for the club.”
Meanwhile Gerrard said:
“We started the game bright, scored quite early and
controlled the 90 minutes,. We’re a bit disappointed not to
win more convincingly.”
Gerrard was booed throughout the game by the Newcastle
United fans.
“Me and all the England lads have to take the criticism.
We’ve let the country down by not qualifying so from now
until we get it right we’re going ot take the criticism, but
I’m old enough and experienced enough to know that I’ve got
to get on with it and play through.
“Now with Liverpool I’m going ot give it everything I’ve
got. We’ve got some big games coming up and I’ve got to try
to put the England stuff under the carpet for the time being
and try to play well for Liverpool. When we join back up for
England the players have to give the country a reaction and
hopefully I’ll be part of that.”
“It was a good strike (his goal), I’ve had a lot of shots
today but I caught that one nice and it’s gone in. I knew
quite early it was going in but the most important thing
today was the three points to stay in touch with the top.
“It was a good team performance today and wasn’t about
individual performances and we could have had a lot more.
“If people want to write us off that’s up to them, that’s
beyond out control. What we know is that we’ve got to keep
winning.
“There’s some very good teams in this league and to stay in
touch with them you’ve got to go on runs, especially over
the Christmas period you’ve got to stay really consistent if
you want to stay in it and we’re aware of that.”
NOVEMBER 24
Reds
heap misery on Magpies
Sky Sports
Liverpool punished a woeful Newcastle
United display by easing to a 3-0 victory at St James' Park.
Sam Allardyce's defensive approach was ripped to shreds in
front of a disgruntled home crowd after Steven Gerrard's
thunderbolt gave the visitors a 28nd minute lead.
The advantage was increased within 60 seconds of the start
of the second half when Gerrard's corner was flicked on by
Sami Hyypia and ricocheted in off Dirk Kuyt.
Substitute Ryan Babel completed the scoring just minutes
after coming on, steering a low shot past Shay Given after a
slick Liverpool move.
And, if Fernando Torres had not left his shooting boots on
Merseyside, the scoreline could have been much worse for
Allardyce, whose every decision was jeered by the home
faithful.
Desperately poor
Allardyce rose this morning to read of apparent unrest in
his dressing room, but that was nothing compared to the boos
which greeted his players as they left the field after a
desperately poor opening 45 minutes.
In truth, it could have been much worse with Torres having
squandered the chance to double the Reds' lead in the final
minute of the half after Kuyt had turned Charles N'Zogbia's
kamikaze header into his path.
Given looked to have misjudged his sprint towards the ball,
but managed to make a vital block, and he got his reward
when the Spaniard picked up the loose ball and fired against
the foot of the post with the goal at his mercy.
Newcastle were able to offer next to nothing in reply with
Alan Smith's dipping 38th-minute volley, which dropped just
wide, their only effort of any note.
More worryingly, the 3-5-2 system adopted by Allardyce in
the face of a defensive injury crisis looked alien to his
players, who found themselves repeatedly out-numbered as
Liverpool simply passed the ball around them.
Strikers Mark Viduka and Obafemi Martins were painfully
isolated with nominal wide men Geremi and N'Zogbia
struggling to make anything of the sporadic possession they
received.
If the Magpies had escaped at the end of the first half,
they were not to be so fortunate at the beginning of the
second after Habib Beye was forced to concede a 46th-minute
corner.
Hyypia managed to get a flick on Gerrard's ball in at the
near post and Kuyt bundled it home from close range to make
it 2-0.
Allardyce did little to improve the mood at St James' when
he replaced Emre with Joey Barton after 51 minutes with his
side labouring.
Beye had to get in a block to deny Harry Kewell after 54
minutes after Torres had found space on the right and,
although Smith volleyed high over at the end of a rare
Magpies attack a minute later, there were cheers when James
Milner emerged from the dug-out to warm up.
Incredulity
Milner duly arrived with 59 minutes gone, but Allardyce's
decision to replace N'Zogbia was greeted with incredulity.
Newcastle were in complete disarray and after Torres had
twice gone close, substitute Babel finally made them pay
when he exchanged passes with Gerrard to fire home a third
goal after 66 minutes.
Torres was tormenting the home defence and should really
have added his name to the scoresheet, firing wide after 68
minutes with just the helpless Given to beat and then seeing
another effort blocked by the Irishman seconds later.
Babel sent a stinging shot across Given's goal after 73
minutes and then laid a fourth on a plate for Kuyt, only to
see the Dutchman scuff his effort straight at the
goalkeeper, and the final whistle came as a merciful
release.
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