TUESDAY 15
	Skrtel denied historic win Martin Skrtel's Slovakia were denied a first ever win at the World Cup finals after New Zealand snatched a last-gasp equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw on Tuesday afternoon. Vladimir Weiss's men had looked on course to take all three points when Robert Vittek gave them the lead with a superb second-half header until Winston Reid powered home to ensure the match finished all-square. It means that there is still everything to play for in Group F with all four teams level on a point apiece ahead of Slovakia's second game against Paraguay on Sunday. (LFC Official Website) Rafa saddened by Anfield exit New Inter Milan boss Rafael Benitez admits it was hard for him to leave Liverpool but insists he had to do it. Benitez parted company with the Reds by mutual consent at the beginning of the month after six years at Anfield, with the Spaniard paying the price for a disappointing season. "It was difficult to leave Liverpool after six years working there, I had amazing times there," said Benitez as he was presented to the press today. "Also my daughter is seven, she lived most of her life there. "It's not easy but things changed so I needed to move and I had the perfect opportunity to come to Inter. Benitez refused to comment on his relationship with Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, adding: "The owners are the owners. Now I'm in a different club and I'm very happy to be here." (TEAMtalk)    Fowler to take legal action in Australia Perth Glory striker Robbie Fowler has launched legal action against his former club North Queensland and Football Federation Australia after his contract with the Fury was terminated at the start of the year. Liverpool legend Fowler, the Fury’s marquee signing for their first A-League season, and five other North Queensland players were left without contracts after previous Fury chairman Don Matheson withdrew his financial support for the club, leaving the side in FFA administration. According to Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Brendan Schwab, the FFA reneged on a promise to North Queensland players that all player contracts would be assigned if the Fury survived. Schwab said the PFA re-negotiated contracts for all the Fury players except Fowler, the organisation saying they opted for legal action in this instance as the FFA had terminated the 35-year-old’s contract without ‘just cause’ and without negotiating any outside settlement. Fowler will be seeking compensation for damages and a declaration of his rights. (Liverpool Echo) Report: Chelsea make £50m bid for Torres Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has given the green light to what would be the biggest domestic transfer in Premier League history, but will have to out bid Manchester City. An insider close to the negotiations told Soccernet: "There have been two verbal offers for Torres, Chelsea are willing to pay £50 million, but Manchester City offered verbally £25 million more! "Liverpool would naturally want the bigger sum, but Torres as made it perfectly clear that he won't be joining Manchester City, even though City would go as high as £200,000-a-week wages." (ESPN Soccernet)    Report: Rosell eyes Gerrard as Fabregas Plan B Barcelona president-elect Sandro Rosell has reportedly asked Pep Guardiola to draw up a list of possible midfield targets should the club fail to land Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas with reports in the Spanish newspaper AS claiming that Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard is a top priority. (sport.co.uk)    Carragher wants Reds resolution Jamie Carragher has passed on his best wishes to Rafael Benitez - and urged the Liverpool hierarchy to find a replacement quickly. Otherwise engaged at the World Cup, Carragher has been detached from events at Anfield. Kenny Dalglish is believed to be interested in replacing Benitez, who has left Merseyside and taken up the challenge of succeeding treble-winning coach Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. Roy Hodgson's name is also in the frame to replace the Spaniard, who failed to end Liverpool's 20-year wait for a title despite lifting the Champions League in his first season at the club. Hodgson though is thought to want some kind of clarity before he heads out to South Africa to honour broadcasting commitments, a state of affairs Carragher would doubtless relish given his belief that the continued uncertainty is not helping his club. "I would like to thank Rafael Benitez for what he did for me and wish him luck at Inter Milan," said Carragher. "Hopefully we can get a manager as quickly as we can, then we can start to look to the future." (ITV Football)
	MONDAY 14
	Agger remains committed to Liverpool Daniel Agger insists he wants to stay at Liverpool despite the turmoil currently surrounding the club. Liverpool remain up for sale, but there is little evidence to suggest a takeover deal is close and there are widespread reports they could cash in on their star players this summer. Agger, currently on international duty with Denmark, says he is shocked that Rafael Benitez has left the club but insists he wants to stay at Anfield. "I'm a little surprised because I didn't see it coming," Agger said in the Liverpool Echo. "Of course there has been a lot of talk about it but I didn't see it happening right now. The time with him was good. "He is a good manager, he knows his stuff and he knows what football is about. When I return from my summer holiday, I'll see what is new, but his exit has no bearing on my future. I'm committed to Liverpool." (ESPN Soccernet) Report: Benayoun agrees Chelsea switch Yossi Benayoun has agreed a four-year contract with Chelsea. Reports in Israel say that Chelsea and Liverpool reached a compromise transfer fee today clearing the way for Israel’s captain to move to Stamford Bridge. (Jewish Chronicle)    Contrasting fortunes for Liverpool pair as Holland dispatch Denmark An own goal by Daniel Agger and a late Dirk Kuyt effort helped Holland begin their World Cup campaign with a comfortable victory over Denmark at Soccer City. (BreakingNews.ie)   Mascherano reveals he's learning Italian Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has revealed that he is learning to speak Italian, as speculation grows that he could be set to join manager Rafael Benitez at Inter. Reports in Italy have suggested that the Argentine, currently away at the World Cup in South Africa, has become one of Benitez's main transfer targets for next season, with Liverpool's financial situation making player sales at Anfield more likely. Mascherano has not given any direct indication that he is set to leave Anfield, though he expects his future to be resolved after the World Cup. "I am learning Italian while I'm here in South Africa," he told reporters. "I don't know what I will do after the tournament. We shall see." (Goal.com)
	SUNDAY 13
	Jovanovic features in loss Milan Jovanovic featured for Serbia as they opened their World Cup Group D campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Ghana on Sunday. Jovanovic - who will reportedly sign for Liverpool from Standard Liege this summer - showed some neat touches including a cheeky nutmeg during a 76-minute outing on the left of midfield. The game was eventually decided with a late penalty converted by Asamoah Gyan. Serbia had to play the final 16 minutes with 10 men after Aleksandar Lukovic was sent off for a second yellow card. The dismissal meant Jovanovic was sacrificed as Radomir Antic looked to secure a point. (LFC Official Website) Torres still hurting Fernando Torres admits all of Liverpool's players are still nursing the pain of a disastrous 2009/10 season. All of those connected with the club suffered over the course of the campaign, with players, coaches and supporters unable to stop the rot. Star striker Torres admits he was left bitterly disappointed by Liverpool's failings, but insists all of the squad know they must do much better. "This season Liverpool have been written and talked about a lot," Torres told the Daily Star. "But what people forget is that fundamentally last season hurt the players and the boss. "The club means a lot to us and the fans mean a lot to us. We didn't want to give them a season like that." (Sky Sports)   Carragher: Draw not a disaster Jamie Carragher admits England will be under pressure for the finale of their World Cup group against Slovenia in 10 days time if they fail to overcome Algeria on Friday. The Liverpool defender insists sharing the spoils with the United States in their opening clash on Saturday night in Rustenburg was "not a disaster." But Carragher, a half-time substitution for the injured Ledley King, knows the importance of not suffering a similar slip-up in Cape Town when they tackle the Algerians. (ITV Football)   Agger: My chance to shine Daniel Agger cannot wait to show the world what he can do at his first major international tournament. Despite breaking into the Danish side in 2005, Agger has yet to feature in a big competition due to his country's failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup and the Euros two years later. "Yes, there is a lot of excitement," he admitted, ahead of Monday's opener against Holland. "I think Denmark was a bit spoiled a few years ago and played in almost every tournament, even though we are a small country. So yes, the excitement is there." (LFC Official Website)   Fulham chairman Al Fayed confident Hodgson will resist Liverpool Fulham chairman Mohamed Al Fayed has no concerns over Liverpool's pursuit of manager Roy Hodgson. Liverpool are on the brink of making an official approach for the Fulham boss. But Al Fayed said: “I don’t think he’ll leave me. I’m sure he’ll have lots of approaches from other clubs, but I give him anything he wants to reach results and we have a very good relationship.” (tribalfootball.com)     Thor Zakariassen ©