MONDAY 31
	Gerrard shrugs off injury scare England midfielder Steven Gerrard has played down another injury scare ahead of the World Cup. Liverpool captain Gerrard sparked fears ahead of the Three Lions' South Africa campaign last week when he twice withdrew from training with a damaged calf. The midfielder then hurt his knee during England's 2-1 friendly win over Japan in Graz on Sunday, but has shrugged off the latest knock. "It's OK, it'll be all right," he told The Sun. "It won't be a problem." England manager Fabio Capello is already battling injury problems as midfield ace Gareth Barry, who has damaged ankle ligaments, continues his race for fitness. Chelsea defender John Terry also caused concern when he fell awkwardly in the second half against Japan and pulled up in pain, but was able to finish the full 90 minutes. (TEAMtalk) Spurs linked as Liverpool not ready to shut door on Torres sale Liverpool are open to cashing in on star striker Fernando Torres, it has been revealed. Sky Sports presenter Charlotte Jackson, a Reds fan, revealed to the Mail on Sunday's Live magazine that Tottenham could be a better place for Torres than Anfield. (tribalfootball.com)  Skrtel becomes a blogger Martin Skrtel is to write an online diary of his South Africa adventures this summer. The centre-back will keep fans up to date during Slovakia's first ever World Cup campaign with a blog on his official website. He explained: "I will write my blog every time it's possible. And my grammar? No problem with that! "To be honest, I am an amateur. But I must admit I like it very much. I am very happy to put the letters and words together in a way that can be interesting for people. It's quite funny but I can handle uploading to my website. "I never had problems at school with writing, though I haven't done any for a while. So yes, I have to improve a bit." (LFC Official Website) Report: Liverpool to demand £10m for Benayoun Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun plans to leave Anfield if Rafael Benitez is still the manager next season, Goal.com UK can reveal. Premier League rivals Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move for the 30-year-old in recent days, with a formal bid reportedly having been made, however Benayoun's hopes of departing could be set back by the £10 million tag that Liverpool have placed on the Israeli. The Liverpool hierarchy are reluctant to sanction a sale until Benitez’s own future is resolved. (Goal.com)   Wembley woe for Darby Stephen Darby suffered a Wembley defeat on Saturday. The reserve team captain, playing the last game of his loan spell at Swindon in the League One play-off final, entered the fray as a 67th minute subsitute with Millwall already leading 1-0. Swindon were unable to find an equaliser and that is how the game finished. (LFC Online) Liverpool FC stars shine as England win the European Under-17 Championship Liverpool's Conor Coady lifted the European Under-17 Championship trophy aloft after England beat Spain 2-1 in yesterday’s final in Liechtenstein. Coady’s Reds team-mate Andre Wisdom scored at both ends as the Three Lions won the tournament for the first time. Academy defender Wisdom, 17, gave the Spaniards the lead with an own goal on 21 minutes. However, he made amends eight minutes later by heading home the equaliser. The winner came through Ipswich Town’s promising striker Connor Wickham just before the break. It is the first men’s competition England have won since 1993 when the likes of Robbie Fowler, Paul Scholes and Sol Campbell clinched the European Under-18 Championships. (Liverpool Echo)
	SUNDAY 30
	Trio figure in England win Liverpool trio Glen Johnson, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher all figured for England in a 2-1 victory over Japan in Austria on Sunday afternoon. Johnson was handed a starting berth before being substituted at half-time in the Three Lions' final warm-up game ahead of the World Cup finals. Gerrard and Carragher, meanwhile, played the second half at the UPC Arena. Marcus Tanaka gave Japan a sixth-minute lead in Graz, but put through his own net after the break. A further own goal by Yuji Nakazawa secured an unconvincing win for England. Coach Fabio Capello will announce his final 23-man squad for South Africa on Tuesday. (LFC Official Website) Carragher tempers Liverpool targets Jamie Carragher claims Liverpool need to learn how to walk again before they can run when it comes to the Premier League title race. The Reds finished a disappointing and distant seventh last season in their worst-ever showing in the Premier League era. Boardroom unrest and uncertainty surrounding the future of manager Rafael Benitez and key players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have all been blamed for a miserable campaign, which also saw them fail to progress from the group stages of the Champions League. Liverpool were second in the league the previous season but Carragher doesn't believe they can be considered serious title contenders for the 2010/11 season just yet. "Clubs like Real Madrid and Inter Milan can just throw £100million at new players if they don't win the title," he told the Sunday People. "But Liverpool can't do that. We have to build. We can't just raid the transfer market. "Next season, rather than thinking too much about the title, we have to concentrate on getting back in the top four." (Sport.co.uk) Rangers waiting for Liverpool to improve £2m offer for Wilson Rangers boss Walter Smith has confirmed that the Glasgow giants rejected an offer from Liverpool for Danny Wilson and are holding out for an improved bid. Liverpool have pursued 18-year-old Wilson for some time and it had been thought that they would tie up a deal to bring him to Anfield. Cash-strapped Rangers are thought to have been prepared to sell the young starlet rather than see Wilson’s contract run out at the end of next season and face the prospect of losing the centre-back for nothing. Smith has now confirmed that Rangers are waiting on an improved offer and will not see their young star leave on the cheap. He told the Sunday Post, "We are currently waiting to hear back from Liverpool after we rejected their original £2million offer." The push to sign Wilson is in line with the current transfer policy of Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez who recently signed Raheem Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey , two of the hottest prospects in England. Danny Wilson played sixteen games for Rangers last season and was named as an IMScouting Player to Watch earlier this month, a full scouting report can be seen here. (IMScouting.com) Skrtel World Cup boost Martin Skrtel handed Slovakia a major boost ahead of the World Cup finals after the Liverpool centre-back completed 90 minutes in an international friendly draw with Cameroon on Saturday evening. The Reds star turned in a commanding display for the Slovaks as the two teams played out a 1-1 draw in Austria - but he did receive a 64th minute yellow card. Skrtel saw his domestic season with the Reds ended when he sustained a broken metatarsal against Unirea Urziceni in late February. Slovakia begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 15. Elsewhere, Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina did not figure for Spain in their 3-2 win over Saudi Arabia while Krisztian Nemeth was introduced as a second-half substitute for Hungary in a 3-0 defeat to Germany. (LFC Official Website) Torres: Stevie as good as Messi Fernando Torres today warned his Spanish teammates of the threat Steven Gerrard poses to their World Cup hopes - insisting the Liverpool captain is every bit as good as the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Having forged a prolific strike partnership with Gerrard at Anfield, Torres is well acquainted with the mercurial talent of the England international. "There are maybe five players at the World Cup who can win a big game on their own - Stevie is one of them," said El Nino. "He's in the same league as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, that's how good he is." England will begin their World Cup campaign against the USA on June 12, with many still discussing in which position Gerrard will be best utilised by coach Fabio Capello. Torres, however, is in no doubt where he believes the Reds' No.8 should be deployed by the Three Lions. He said: "I prefer it when he plays further forward for England and supports Rooney. That is when England look at their most dangerous. "Rooney and Stevie must have big tournaments. If they do then England should be very much feared." (LFC Official Website)
	SATURDAY 29
	Hicks denies he made promises to Moores about plunging Liverpool FC into debt Tom Hicks has denied promising previous Liverpool owner David Moores that he wouldn’t plunge the club into debt. The extensive borrowing of Hicks and co-owner George Gillett have sent Liverpool £351million into the red and burdened them with crippling annual interest payments. Moores says that went against what was agreed when he sold them the club in 2007. The former chairman insists the terms of the deal were “unambiguous” and that investment bank Rothschild & Sons had guaranteed that the pair were “good for the money”. However, Hicks denies that anyone was misled. “In our agreement with the seller, no representation was made that the new ownership group would be debt-free,” Hicks said. Hicks described Moores' criticism of their reign and his plea for them to sell up as a “weak attempt to deflect attention from the prior owner”. (Liverpool Echo)
	FRIDAY 28
	Thommo: No-one would blame Gerrard Former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson believes no-one could blame captain Steven Gerrard if he chose to leave the club this summer. After a disappointing domestic season, the England midfielder has already been linked with Real Madrid, with their expected new manager Jose Mourinho already speaking highly of his talents. Gerrard has been in this position before, having twice been on the verge of joining Chelsea - then led by Mourinho - only to turn down the Londoners. But with the Liverpool captain about to turn 30 on Sunday, Thompson feels it should not be held against Gerrard if he seeks a new challenge elsewhere. "I think it is an extremely difficult one. I hope he stays and I would love him to stay," the three-time European Cup winner and former assistant manager said. "He's 30 this week and it has been an extremely difficult time. Stevie Gerrard has done his utmost for Liverpool and if players want to leave Liverpool, the club will go on. "Steven Gerrard has carried Liverpool on his shoulders for years, [he did it] when I was there with Gerard Houllier, he's carried them with Rafael Benitez. "I think it would be difficult to begrudge him if he wants to move away with the way things have gone." "We've gone from second to seventh. The team has gone down, the quality of the squad is not there," Thompson, 56, added. "If he (Gerrard) was to see there was a move forwards in the signing of players - and I think Torres has come out and said a similar thing - I think we might see both committing their foreseeable future to Liverpool." (TEAMtalk) Gerrard back in training after injury scare in Austria Steven Gerrard is back in training after giving England a World Cup injury scare yesterday. The Liverpool midfielder was playing in an 11-a-side practice match in Irdning, Austria, but after less than one minute he pulled up sharply and then required treatment on his right calf, lasting 20 minutes, before informing manager Fabio Capello that he could not continue. He played no further part in the match but did return to the field to do some stretching exercices. Liverpool team-mate Glen Johnson missed Thursday's training session as a precaution after picking up a slight groin injury during the 3-1 victory over Mexico on Monday at Wembley. (Telegraph.co.uk) Real Madrid to make opening £30m bid for Gerrard Jose Mourinho will test Steven Gerrard's resolve with a £30 million Real Madrid bid for the Liverpool captain. The Mirror says Mourinho had still to be officially confirmed as Real Madrid's new coach when he admitted he wants to make Gerrard a Galactico. (tribalfootball.com)   Babel makes World Cup cut Ryan Babel has won his battle to be fit for the World Cup after being named in Holland's 23-man squad for the tournament. Babel is joined by Anfield teammate Dirk Kuyt in the Dutch party, despite fears he would miss out after injuring his hamstring last week. Initial reports suggested the Liverpool midfielder would be "touch and go" for the big kick-off next month, but coach Bert van Marjiwk has preferred the 23-year old to AZ Alkmaar forward Jeremain Lens. Holland will play in Group E along with Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. (LFC Official Website) Tom Hicks’ stock is bankrupt amongst Liverpool fans “Trust me,” said Tom this week, with all the sincerity of a used car salesman, before adding: “They should trust people’s intent.” The problem is, Tom, Liverpool fans already did. Which is why their trust has been exhausted. Utterly. Tom Hicks and George Gillett have made their intentions for Liverpool Football Club perfectly clear during their three year tenure as Reds’ co-owners. That is, to make money. Lots of it. To squeeze Liverpool dry. It’s an intention Hicks bragged about to the Wall Street Journal only two weeks ago when he crowed: “Liverpool will be the most profitable investment I have ever made.” Which is why, forgive us Tom, Liverpool fans find it so hard to trust you. (David Prentice - Liverpool Echo)   Thor Zakariassen ©