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Thursday, 30 May 2013
Atsu Set For LFC
Christian Atsu has cleared the way for a move to Liverpool
this summer by turning down a new contract at Porto in favour of a 'dream move
to England'.
The 21-year-old, who was a target for the Reds last summer,
had been offered fresh terms on a new four-year-deal with the Portuguese
champions, but he has now rejected that offer.
And speaking to Abola, Atsu says he is now hopeful of
forcing through a switch to the Premier League.
"I spoke with Porto before coming to this decision and
informed them that I will not sign a new contract," he said.
"The club told me what they want to do, and hopefully
we can find a solution now.
"My dream is to play in England and it is very nice to
see my name linked with big clubs in the Premier League. For now, I'm focused
on my football, but I see my future in England.
"I hope to have some news soon."
Liverpool are now expected to step up their interest in
Atsu, who burst on to the scene on-loan at Rio Ave in 2012, before returning to
Porto for last season.
He has since enjoyed a mixed time, but the Reds are expected
to offer up to £7million to bring to him to Anfield.
The Ghana international fits with Brendan Rodgers' youth
based philosophy, and despite interest from Spurs, they remain confident of
pulling off a transfer.
Source http://metro.co.uk
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Reds Agree Aspas Fee
Liverpool
have agreed a fee with Celta Vigo to sign highly-rated striker Iago Aspas.
The
25-year-old has scored 60 goals in 130 appearances for Celta and was strongly
linked with a move to the Premier League in January.
Reading
showed an interest, but were put off by Aspas' price, while Chelsea, Tottenham
Hotspur and Swansea City had also been mooted as admirers.
However, it
is now understood that Liverpool are poised to win the chase for Aspas, who has
a €10million (£8.6m) release clause in his contract.
If
Liverpool can tie up a deal for the forward, he will become the second signing
for Brendan Rodgers since the end of the Premier League season.
On Tuesday,
the Reds confirmed that Manchester City defender Kolo Toure had agreed to move
to Anfield on a free transfer in the summer.
Aspas'
immediate priority, though, is on Celta's relegation battle, with the club
inside the relegation zone with just one game to play.
Celta are a
point adrift of fourth-bottom Deportivo La Coruna and face Espanyol at home in
the final game of the season in La Liga on Saturday.
Nike's New Hypervenom Boots
This is
Nike’s weird and wonderful new ‘Hypervenom’ boot, made from a revolutionary new
material called “Nikeskin”, which “gets as close as possible to the feeling of
playing barefoot.”
They will
be worn by the likes of Neymar, Robert Lewandowski, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan
Ibrahimovic next season, have apparently been designed with the creation of
space in a crowded penalty area in mind, as Nike Football design director Denis
Dekovic explains:
“The Nike Hypervenom is a response to the way
the game is changing. Players want to be quicker, not just in a foot race, but quicker
with the ball at their feet in small spaces.
“They want to create chances from nothing. These faster, more agile defenders need to be combatted and the Hypervenom is designed to do exactly that.”
RIP The 39
In Memoria e Amicizia, in Memory and Friendship:
Rocco Acerra
Bruno Balli
Alfons Bos
Giancarlo Bruschera
Andrea Casula
Giovanni Casula
Nino Cerullo
Willy Chielens
Giuseppina Conti
Dirk Daenecky
Dionisio Fabbro
Jacques François
Eugenio Gagliano
Francesco Galli
Giancarlo Gonnelli
Alberto Guarini
Giovacchino Landini
Roberto Lorentini
Barbara Lusci
Franco Martelli
Loris Messore
Gianni Mastrolaco
Sergio Bastino Mazzino
Luciano Rocco Papaluca
Luigi Pidone
Bento Pistolato
Patrick Radcliffe
Domenico Ragazzi
Antonio Ragnanese
Claude Robert
Mario Ronchi
Domenico Russo
Tarcisio Salvi
Gianfranco Sarto
Giuseppe Spalaore
Mario Spanu
Tarcisio Venturin
Jean Michel Walla
Claudio Zavaroni
RIP - You'll Never Walk Alone.
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
LFC Sign Kolo Toure
Liverpool Football Club can today announce they have agreed
a deal in principle with Kolo Toure to join the club on July 1.
The powerful defender will be registered as a Reds player
when his current deal with Manchester City expires.
Toure, 32, will arrive at Anfield boasting a wealth of
experience having represented both City and Arsenal in the Barclays Premier
League since switching to English football in 2002 and add depth to Brendan
Rodgers' defensive ranks ahead of 2013-14.
The Ivory Coast international, signed by Arsene Wenger from
homeland club ASEC Mimosas, made his Gunners debut in the 2002 Community Shield
against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium.
Originally deployed in midfield or at full-back, Toure was
moved to centre-back for the 2003-04 season and helped Arsenal go the entire
league season unbeaten as they swept to the title, adding to the FA Cup they'd
lifted the previous season.
He added a second FA Cup medal in 2005, while a year later
he was part of the Arsenal side that reached the Champions League final against
Barcelona having scored the only goal of the two-legged semi-final with
Villarreal.
After more than 200 appearances for the Londoners, Toure was
firmly established as one of the finest centre-backs in the league - and
Manchester City duly swooped to sign him in the summer of 2009 and immediately
appointed him club captain.
During his four years at Eastlands, he lifted another
Premier League title and FA Cup in over 100 appearances for City.
On the international stage, Toure has represented the Ivory
Coast at two African Cup of Nations tournaments and two World Cup finals. He
has more than a century of caps for his country, for whom he has also worn the
skipper's armband.
He'll become the first Ivorian to play for Liverpool when he
joins the club.
10 facts about the centre-back.
1. Toure's
trophy haul boasts 11 honours, including league titles at all three of his
previous clubs - ASEC Mimosas, Arsenal and Manchester City. His other medals
came from winning the FA Cup and Community Shield on three occasions each,
along with lifting the CAF Super Cup at the age of 18.
2. Kolo is
one of three brothers plying their trade in professional football, with his
siblings Yaya and Ibrahim playing for Manchester City and Al-Nasr respectively.
He had previously played alongside Yaya since the start of the 2010-11
campaign, when his sibling arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Barcelona.
3.
Highlighting his leadership qualities, Toure has captained Arsenal, City and
the Ivory Coast national team in his career. While accumulating 105
international caps, the defender has been a runner-up in the Africa Cup of
Nations twice and has appeared in five matches at the World Cup. Toure has also
found the net six times for his country.
4. Toure
will become the first Ivorian to join Liverpool in the club's history and
becomes the latest player from the African continent to represent the Reds.
Moroccan winger Oussama Assaidi was the last African to sign for the club. Kolo
is the eighth player Brendan Rodgers has brought to Anfield since being
appointed manager in the summer of 2012.
5. Having
played as a winger or a striker in the very early stages of his career, Toure
reverted to a defensive midfield role before eventually being deployed as a
defender. After initially being a
utility player for Arsenal, the 32-year-old consolidated his position at the
heart of their defence and has remained a centre-back ever since.
6. In a
quirky twist of fate, Toure made his first-ever Arsenal appearance against
Liverpool in the FA Community Shield in 2002 and also donned the Gunners'
armband for the first time when facing the Reds in the League Cup five years
later.
7. Toure
will become the fifth player to swap Manchester City for Liverpool, following
in the footsteps of Patrick Finnerhan, Matt Busby, Robbie Fowler and Craig
Bellamy. The centre-back's free transfer means each of the last three deals
have included no money changing hands. Eight players have travelled in the
opposite direction, with the most recent being Nigel Clough in January 1996.
8. During
his spells with former clubs, the Ivorian clashed with the Reds 21 times - he
ran out victorious on 10 occasions, drawing seven times and losing just four
matches. The defender found the net against Liverpool once, in a 3-0 defeat to
Arsenal in November 2006.
9. Kolo
should not be short of conversation with Australian goalkeeper Brad Jones when
he is introduced to the Liverpool squad - the pair share a birthday, March 19.
The Ivorian is one year older than his new teammate, however - Toure was born
in 1981, while Jones was born in 1982. The aforementioned Nigel Clough also
celebrates his birthday on that date - he was born in 1966.
10. Brendan
Rodgers will become Toure's fourth different club manager since arriving on
English shores, and the fourth different nationality the Ivorian has worked
under. Frenchman Arsene Wenger brought the defender to Arsenal, Welshman Mark
Hughes signed him for Manchester City, where Italian Roberto Mancini took the
reins shortly after. Now Toure will look forward to working with Northern
Irishman Rodgers.
Napoli Appoint Rafa
Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has been confirmed as
the new manager of Italian side Napoli.
Napoli finished second in the Italian league standings in
2012-13 and will play Champions League football next season.
Benitez recently concluded an interim spell with Barclays Premier
League rivals Chelsea, where he lifted the Europa League.
The Spaniard was at the Anfield helm for six years between
2004 and 2010, guiding the Reds to triumphs in the Champions League and FA Cup.
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Three Defenders On LFC's List
Liverpool have made a list of players they hope to land in
the summer according to reports in England, with the club chasing Tiago Ilori,
Toby Alderweireld and Kyriakos Papadopoulos as they look to add some serious
depth to the squad.
Ilori would be more of a signing for the future for the
Reds, who are continuing with their policy of bringing in players who can offer
long term potential and re-sale value as well as immediate success.
The 20-year-old has been a regular in Sporting's reserve
side in the Portuguese league, but he has also broken through to the first
team, making 12 appearances for the side this season.
The centre-back has shown potential for both club and
country in the last season, featuring for the Portugal under 20 side.
Meanwhile, Toby Alderweireld has been garnering interest
from Liverpool, as well as Tottenham, for some months now, with the Belgium
international having starred for Ajax this season.
Since moving to the Dutch club's senior line-up from the
youth team in 2008, the defender has become an integral part of their backline,
and Rodgers will be in the market for defenders after Jamie Carragher retired
at the end of last season.
He admitted last week that he would be open to a move to
Liverpool, telling reporters: "I am calm about these rumours around the
world, but for example, Liverpool has the potential to reach the top.
"I do not know when I'm going to make a decision. I
think Jan Vertonghen last season left it very late."
Alderweireld would be avaliable for around £8 million, and
though Liverpool look set to miss out on fellow Ajax target Christian Eriksen
to Borussia Dortmund, the club are front runners for this star.
Lastly, £12 million-rated Papadopoulos is also believed to
be on Rodgers' list of youngsters who can give the club long term success, but
also have an immediate impact.
At just 21, the centre back has made a big impression at
Schalke, and his efforts helped the side to qualify for Champions League
football this season.
He would also possibly be a replacement for Jamie Carragher,
and would give the side even more depth in their backline as Rodgers looks to
seriously bolster the Liverpool squad in this transfer window.
Source http://www.ibtimes.co.uk
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
LFC Launch Papadopoulos Bid
Liverpool
FC are set to launch a £12million bid to sign Schalke centre-back Kyriakos
Papadopoulos.
The Reds
have identified the 21-year-old Greek international as their No 1 target to
replace Jamie Carragher.
Papadopoulos
missed the second half of the Bundesliga season after undergoing surgery on his
left knee back in December but has now recovered and Liverpool have no concerns
over his long-term fitness.
Manchester
City, Chelsea and Atletico Madrid have also been linked with the highly-rated
6ft defender but the Reds are ready to act fast in the hope of winning the
battle for his services.
Physically
strong, comfortable in possession and dominant in the air, Papadopoulos has
jumped above Swansea City's Ashley Williams and Ajax's Toby Alderweireld on the
club's wish list of centre-backs.
The ECHO
understands Liverpool are no longer interested in Williams with the Welsh
club's £12million price tag for a player who turns 29 in August leading to them
pursuing other options which provide better value.
As well as
making their move for Papadopoulos, the Reds will also look to tie up a deal
for Sporting Lisbon defender Tiago Ilori.
The
20-year-old Portugal youth international centre-back is viewed as one for the
future, while Papadopoulos would be able to come in and make an immediate
impact in the Premier League.
Liverpool
have been tracking Ilori for months and hoped he would be available for around
£1.5million but having established himself in Sporting's first team towards the
end of the campaign his value has increased.
It is
likely to take a bid of around £3million to convince the cash-strapped
Portuguese outfit to sell.
Liverpool
are also interested in Manchester City defender Kolo Toure.
The
32-year-old is out of contract this summer and the Reds intend hold talks with
him over a possible free transfer with Rodgers keen to add experience to his
squad.
Papadopoulos
started his career at home town club Svoronos Katerinis before signing for
Olympiacos in 2007.
When he
made his first-team debut at the age of 15 he became the youngest player to
every play in the Greek league.
He earned
rave reviews for his performances for both Olympiakos and Greece Under-21s and
in the summer of 2010 he moved to Schalke for around £2million.
During his
three years in Germany his stock has continued to rise across Europe and he
helped them reach the last 16 of this season's Champions League.
Back in
August, Zenit St Petersburg had a £16m offer for Papadopoulos accepted but the
player rejected the chance to join the wealthy Russian club and penned a new
deal until 2016.
Schalke
finished fourth in the Bundesliga last weekend to qualify for the Champions
League but once again they are willing to sell Papadopoulos and Liverpool
believe the Greece international would jump at the chance to make the switch to
Anfield.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
The Carra Banner
Video
showing the making of the Jamie Carragher banner made for his last game for
Liverpool FC against QPR. The Legendary defender made 737 appearances for the
redmen from 1996 to 2013. YNWA Carra
Thursday, 16 May 2013
Papadopoulos On LFC Radar
Liverpool
are once again being linked with a top defender, but this time they will
reportedly have to shell out €22million to land him.
The Reds
are closing in on Schalke centre back Kyriakos Papadopoulos, that is according
to chief scout and former director of football at AS Monaco Tor-Kristian
Karlsen.
Only 21,
the Greek International has become one of the top prospects in the game, and is
being courted by some of the biggest names in European football.
Papadopoulos
was once the youngest player ever, to appear in a Greek Superleague fixture,
having made his debut for Olympiakos at just 15, and since gone on to prove
himself as an immensely capable player in both the Bundesliga and UEFA
Champions League.
However, he
has had his injury problems, a knee injury has kept him out of action since
last November.
That was
enough to turn off other teams, but not Liverpool.
They are
still interested, despite his injury, as Brendan Rodgers searches for a
replacement for Jamie Carragher.
The young
Greek star could arrive at Anfied, along with the possible signing of Raul
Albiol from Real Madrid.
Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Adidas A Pocket – What, How And Why?
Adidas new 13/14 kit designs have been getting unveiled
recently and they’ve got similar themes, POCKETS. The question I would ask
German giants is WHY? Save the pockets for the ref.
Here’s AC Milan’s new Gold third kit and Olympique de
Marseilles Denim look away football shirt.
Maybe it’s for Joey Barton to put his fines in, or Mario Balotelli
to keep his fags safe?
Carra Interview
Before his final Liverpool appearance this Sunday, defender
Jamie Carragher answered questions from reporters gathered at Melwood today.
Read everything our No.23 had to say…
One game to go, how
are you feeling about retirement now?
People keep asking me, the answer will come after the game.
We just want to concentrate on the game; I'm looking forward to getting my tickets
sorted and hopefully get a win, then I can look back and give you a better
answer.
Have you, at any
time, reconsidered retirement or has Brendan asked you to reconsider?
No, not really. We've had a couple of chats about different
things over the season, not just since I made my decision. The more I've been
in the team, the more I've wanted to stick with my decision and go out playing.
I've been quite fortunate really that at the time that I announced it, I kept
myself in the side. I can go out playing, which is something I'd prefer rather
than maybe stay another year and be in the stand, on the bench or wherever it
may be.
What will be the best
memory of your Liverpool career?
Istanbul, nothing will beat that - the Champions League
final. There's no point going over the game, I think we all know what happened
that night. It's difficult to ever top that.
What was it like,
that feeling, to lift the European Cup?
We've never won the league, which is a disappointment; if
we'd have won that maybe I could have compared the two. We've won FA Cups,
Carling Cups, the UEFA Cup but nothing compared to the Champions League. It's
the biggest and best trophy that you can win as a footballer in club football.
It's what we achieved.
Given the step you're
taking after your football career, does it rule out management or is that
something you're still looking at in the future?
I've never ruled anything out or in. I've gone down this
road for a couple of years, I'll see if I enjoy it or if I'm any good at it,
and see where it takes me. I've been playing football all my life and I'm
looking forward to doing different things, and seeing where it takes me.
How emotional are you
going to be at the weekend?
I won't be crying, put it that way!
Are you somebody who
might have a 'Wish I could have...' when you retire?
I wish I'd have won the league. But you've given it
everything and done as much as you can in terms of what you put into it. It's a
team game; there are different managers and coaches who have helped you along
the way, you do your best. I've done alright.
You've been part of a
close-knit family for all of those years - that's a big part of your life
that's suddenly going to change...
People automatically think of Anfield, I think of this place
[Melwood]. This is where you come every day, this is where I've been coming
since I was nine years of age. Anfield is sort of the icing on the cake where
you go at the end of the week or every couple of weeks. It's special but this
is where you come every day, the people you see; the people on the gate, the
girls upstairs in the canteen, Ann on reception who is the only one who has
been here longer than me - she's just pipped me. It's probably coming here and
the characters and people you meet every day. You'll have to fill that void in
your life.
Will the door still
be open for you? Do you plan on coming back?
Ask Brendan on Friday, he's the boss. Once you're done,
you're done. I'm sure I'll be welcome to come in for my lunch one day and watch
training, but I don't think it's something I'll be doing.
When did you first
realise it was time to go?
About 12 months ago, the end of the season. I was in and out
of the side with Kenny. I was thinking about it in the summer but I had a year
to go and a new manager coming in. I knew then it was always going to be my
last season.
Going back to your
debut, would have you taken then what you have achieved?
If someone had offered me to be here until the end of my
career - the trophies, the big games we've played and won, the stadiums I've
played in - I'd have bitten their hand off for that. I'm very lucky to have
played with some great players, top managers and given the opportunity to
experience those wins and sometimes losses. I've very lucky.
You mentioned the
league title...why did Liverpool fall short?
Very simple - we weren't good enough, all of us. There's no
fancy reason or excuse, other teams in that particular season were better than
us. A couple of times we went close but it was Manchester United or Arsenal.
It's not something I lose sleep over, I've been very lucky to achieve some of
the things I have. If you look at everyone, there's always something someone
hasn't done. There's always more to achieve, whatever you've done. I'm pleased
with how it's gone.
You and Steven
Gerrard always seem to be together - are there any concerns about Liverpool not
having that local heartbeat in the team when you've gone?
I'm probably more concerned about who he's going to sit next
to on the coach on the way home. I had that problem at the weekend coming back
from Fulham when he wasn't there. I was on my own! Every club will say they
want to bring players through from the Academy, that's why you have academies
and put so much time and money into it. But the players have got to be good
enough. If they're good enough, brilliant - get them in there. It's always good
to have a few local lads in the side. That's the aim of everyone.
Now that Alex
Ferguson has retired at Manchester United, does it give everyone else an
opportunity?
I think it does a little bit more, he's obviously been a top
manager - his record is there for all to see. They've got another top manager
in David Moyes, I'm sure he'll do a great job there. I'm sure everyone is
looking at it and seeing how it will go; maybe it will give other people a
chance to get in there if there is maybe a bit of uncertainty at the club. But
Manchester United are probably aware of that as well so I'm sure they'll be
doing everything to stop that.
In terms of the
Liverpool you're leaving, are you excited about the future of the club?
I am, I'm always positive about the club. The last few years
haven't been great for us, with league positions and missing out on the
Champions League. But with the new manager coming in and the run we've been on
in the second half of the season, it gives us a lot to look forward to for next
season.
How would a 'team of
Carraghers' cope in the Premier League?
A lot of 0-0s!
Paul Scholes came
back from retirement after half a year - can you see something similar for
yourself?
No, I don't think so. The manager has known for a while that
I'm retiring, so I'm sure he's got plans in place and different players that he
wants to bring in, ideas of what he wants to do.
How did if feel
physically when you were suffering cramp in Istanbul?
Not good! It was just one of those things, you've got to
play on. Plenty of players have been in that situation and done the same -
mine's highlighted because of the magnitude of the game and everyone was
watching. I'm not the only player who has had cramp in football and carried on
- there are plenty of other players who have done that. It was just part of the
game, that's what made it so special. There were lots of different incidents
and things going on, I'm just glad to have been part of it.
Who were the players
who were inspirational for you during your time here?
When I first got into the side, I'd say John Barnes, he was
the captain and a great player - one of the top players to ever play for the
club. As I came into the side a bit more I'd say Steven Gerrard, even though
he's younger than me. He's an inspiration, not just for younger players. It
doesn't matter if it's a younger player or an older player. You watch the way
he plays, what he's done for us and how he's won us a few trophies - he's added
to my medal collection! I'd say those two.
Defensively, who have
you learnt most from?
The best centre-back I played alongside was Sami Hyypia, I
thought he was a great player for the club. We've had lots of players but it
could also be a coach; we had Phil Thompson here, Benitez was brilliant at
setting up defences. He brought my game on a lot in terms of playing at
centre-back because that was his expertise - making a team solid. It's
difficult to pick one person, I've had a lot of help from a lot of different
people.
How did you feel when
your position was under pressure?
It gives you motivation, football is a fight really whether
it's opposition or sometimes it can be within your own dressing room in terms
of getting a place. We're all mates, we're a big squad but when the team goes
up, there's only one name that you look for. It's added motivation but if it
hadn't have happened I'd have still motivated myself some other way. I've
always been that type of lad. It pushed me on and made me a better player.
Have your recent
performances made you think you could carry on?
It's made me go the other way, to be honest. It's made me
think it is the right time. It's nice that I'm in the side and people are
saying I'm doing well and why not stay for another year? It's better than them
saying you should have gone a year ago. I prefer it to be like that and get out
while it's going well because it can easily change.
How has the game
changed during your era?
Anyone who has been in football the amount of time I have,
you look from day one until now. There are big changes. The sports science side
of it has come on more than anything; doctors, how to train and all this type
of stuff. I think that has been the big advance in the game during that time.
Four or five years ago, the Premier League was its best - I think it's dipped a
little bit at the moment. A few years ago, ourselves, Chelsea and Manchester
United were always close to winning the Champions League for two or three
years. I think that was the height of the Premier League - hopefully that's
something that I'll be able to talk about next season and we get the Premier
League back up there. It would be nice to see some more top players coming in
and give the league a little bit of a boost.
Rio Ferdinand has
announced his England retirement today. Do you look back and think it would be
nice to have had a few more games at that level?
I wish he'd have retired years ago, I might have got a few
more games! He's been a great player, he's retired from England. He's a similar
age to me so it was always going to come up at one time or another. Him and
John Terry were the cornerstones of the England side for 10 years and it was
just timing really - it was difficult for me to get in. They're two great
players and I wish them well.
Is there anything you
won't miss about being a professional player?
The feeling when you get beat, but I suppose I'll have that
as a fan - watching and I won't be able to do anything about it if results
aren't going well for Liverpool. So that feeling after a defeat, you're pretty
low for a few days.
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Reina And Tello Swap
Liverpool will demand exciting young striker Christian Tello
in exchange for Barcelona target Pepe Reina.
The Spanish giants believe the knowledge and experience of
former Nou Camp starlet Reina make him the perfect candidate to replace their
first-choice goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who is expected to leave the club in the
summer.
Anfield boss Brendan Rodgers has consistently maintained he
doesn't want to lose the Spanish international, but he would be prepared to
listen if Barca throw Spain Under-21 forward Tello into the mix.
Tello, regarded as a coming man in Spanish football, can
operate both as a central striker or wide attacking player - exactly the
versatile sort of forward Rodgers is looking to recruit for the Reds this
summer.
The 21-year-old has a release clause in his contract priced
at around £8.5million, and, after failing to force his way into the starting
line-up at Barca on a regular basis this season, will seriously consider his
options in the summer.
Barcelona have indicated they are ready to spend as much as
£10m to ensure they bring Reina back to a club he graced as a youngster.
The experienced Anfield number one made his debut at the Nou
Camp aged 18, after graduating through the youth academy, and it is his
knowledge of the way the club operates which is so attractive to coach Tito
Vilanova.
The deal will hinge on how Tello, views his future after
making just 11 starts in La Liga this season.
For Rodgers, Tello fits Liverpool's profile perfectly, and
even though he is inclined to keep Reina, he would be sorely tempted to pull
the trigger if a deal could be struck.
Rodgers is keen to build on this season's experience, and
has been massively encouraged by the impact made by exciting young signings
Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge in January.
Meanwhile, Reds' boss Rodgers has admitted his first year at
Anfield has been a struggle at times - but he has been encouraged by the
mentality of his new players, who are in the same mould as Tello, and insisted
he needs more of the same in the summer.
"This year has provided a great learning curve for me
and I look back and see that it was learning that I needed," he explained.
"If we improve our mentality in the summer - by signing
players who have that consistent, winning mentality - we can improve again.
"That's the job of the recruitment team and the club to
identify those types of players. They
might not always be the best players but what we need in the second year of
this project is to find a great level of consistency.
"You build a mentality in your group and you get the
types of players who can be on it every single game.
"I've loved every minute of being here and the small
steps of where we want to go. But now I want to make bigger steps."
Carra Leaves Team Bus To Thank Fans
Jamie
Carragher proved he was a true 'working class hero' on Sunday when he got off
the team bus to thank a group of fans for making a banner in his honour.
Banner-maker
Andrew Jones and his mates got a shock when the bus transporting Carra and the
squad after the 3-1 win at Fulham pulled up and the 35-year-old stepped off.
Carra posed
for photos with the lads, who first displayed the banner at St Mary's a few
months back.
The photo
above was posted by Andrew on his @L9Red Twitter account alongside the caption:
"Carraghers jumping off the ellisons to get a photo with our banner just
shows how much of a legend he is 23CARRAGOLD."
'Let's Give Carra Perfect Farewell'
Anfield will pay tribute to a true Liverpool legend when
Jamie Carragher brings the curtain down on his career this Sunday, writes John
Aldridge.
Carra will get the send-off he deserves and it promises to
be an emotional afternoon.
Brendan Rodgers' team talk before the game against Queens
Park Rangers should be short and sweet: 'We have to win the game for Carra'.
Every one of his team-mates should be desperate to ensure he
goes out on a higher rather than a whimper.
What Carra has done for Liverpool for the past 16 years is
difficult to sum up. Sunday will be his 737th appearance - putting him second
in the club's all-time appearance list behind the great Ian Callaghan.
In every one of those games he has given everything for the
shirt.
Carra epitomises everything that's best about Liverpool
Football Club.
At the former players association gala dinner at the Hilton
next Monday night he will receive a special award off us to mark his fantastic
achievements. It's fully deserved.
Carra has been a stalwart. A one-club man who has shown
remarkable consistency over so many years. It's a pity he didn't win the
Premier League title as that's the only major accolade to have eluded him but
he still boasts a medal collection to cherish.
Of course he lifted the big one - the European Cup - and
I'll always remember his great performances en-route to Istanbul in 2005
against the likes of Juventus and Chelsea.
Then who could forget the way he performed in the second and
in extra time in the final? He was so important in that amazing fightback
against Milan - fighting off cramp and putting his body on the line.
Any aspiring centre-back should get the DVD of that game and
study the way Carra played.
On the international stage, he never really got the
recognition he deserved in terms of England but I don't think that really
bothered him.
Club always came before country for Carra with Liverpool
meaning more to him than England.
He has always stayed close to his roots and that close bond
with the fans will be evident at Anfield on Sunday.
As fans we're selfish and I'm gutted he's calling it a day.
I want him to stick around and play another year as I believe he still has a
lot to offer.
But I fully understand why he's retiring. He wants to go out
on a high and he's got himself a great new job with Sky Sports.
He was an excellent pundit at the Euros last summer and I've
got no doubt he will do really well at Sky.
That will be his focus for the next few years but I'm sure
he will be back involved at the club one day.
I wouldn't write him off as a future Liverpool manager.
Hopefully that won't be for a long time as we want Rodgers to be successful.
But football is in Carra's blood. He lives the game 24/7 and he's the type I
want to see coaching and managing.
It's the end of an era on Sunday and Carra will leave some
huge boots to fill.
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Strootman Linked With Reds
PSV Eindhoven boss Dick Advocaat believes Kevin Strootman
needs to leave Holland this summer to progress his career.
Strootman is regarded as one of the best midfielders in
Europe after impressing for PSV in the Eredivisie in the last few seasons.
The likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have
been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old and Advocaat believes the
Holland international would be a success in the Premier League.
"For PSV it would be good if he stays, but for
Strootman himself it's better to leave," Advocaat told De Telegraaf.
"He's the reserve captain of the Dutch national squad
and PSV will make another step next season. This guy fits everywhere. He's a
fantastic player because he knows exactly what his qualities are.
"[He would be good for] Liverpool and Tottenham, but I
think he's also good enough for Manchester City and Manchester United.
"Strootman is as good as Gareth Barry. He's a very
useful player for every team. Especially when he's surrounded by better
players."
Source http://www.skysports.com
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Abdennour On Reds' Radar
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is chasing Toulouse's
Tunisian centre-half Aymen Abdennour.
The Kop chief's spies will look at the £5million-rated
23-year-old when he faces Marseille this weekend.
Rodgers is looking to land a couple of new centre-backs for
the Reds, with Jamie Carragher retiring at the end of this season, and
Abdennour has made the short-list.
Abdennour is left-sided and can also play full-back, but it
is as a centre-half that he has been a major figure for club and country in the
past couple of years.
Barcelona have also looked at Abdennour to help shore up
their leaky defence, but he is interested in the Premier League and hopes to
convince Liverpool he is their man this weekend.
Carragher will skipper the final two games of his career, as
Steven Gerrard begins his recuperation from shoulder surgery.
Friday, 10 May 2013
Kamp Seedorf - Latest Editions
Kamp Seedorf those crazy cat Dutch urban artists have been adding
more colourful footballers in and around the streets, check out their latest
editions http://www.kampseedorf.com/
Claudio Caniggia
Diego Maradona
Marco van Basten
Kenneth Vermeer
LFC Ready To Make Tello Move
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to make Barcelona's
promising forward Cristian Tello his first summer signing.
The Reds appear to be locked in a three-way battle for
Tello's signature with Spurs also in the frame.
The Reds tried to sign Tello last summer, but they failed to
broker a deal.
Though they moved quickly for Daniel Sturridge and Philippe
Coutinho in January, Rodgers needs cover for Luis Suarez, who was banned for 10
matches for biting Branislav Ivanovic.
Spanish paper Marca suggests Liverpool should have no
problem meeting his £8.4m release clause.
The only potential obstacle to a deal, they note is if Isaac
Cuenca decides to stay at Ajax where he is currently on loan.
Tello who has been on the fringes of the La Liga
champions-in-waiting has still contributed eight goals this campaign.
Source http://www.express.co.uk
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Anfield: The Victims, The Anger And Liverpool's Shameful Truth
In the blighted streets around Liverpool's Anfield stadium,
residents are packing up and leaving their family homes, so the football club
can have them demolished and expand their Main Stand. In the six months since
the club scrapped their decade-long plan to build a new stadium on Stanley
Park, and reverted to expanding Anfield instead, Liverpool city council has
been seeking to buy these neighbours' homes, backed by the legal threat of
compulsory purchase.
People's farewells are bitter, filled with anger and
heartbreak at the area's dreadful decline and at the club for deepening the
blight by buying up houses since the mid-1990s then leaving them empty. A few
residents are refusing to move, holding out against the council, which begins
negotiations with low offers. These homeowners believe they should be paid
enough not only to buy a new house but to compensate for the years of
dereliction, stagnation and decline, and crime, fires, vandalism, even murders
which have despoiled the area. Their resentment is compounded by the fact that
they are being forced to move so that Liverpool, and their relatively new US
owner, Fenway Sports Group, can make more money.
On Lothair Road, which backs on to the Anfield Main Stand,
one man who lived next door to a house Liverpool own and have left empty,
shuttered – "tinned up" as the locals call it – shook his head.
"I'm not moving out," he told the Guardian, "I've been driven
out."
Residents' bitterness derives from when the club started
buying houses in Lothair Road, without saying they were doing so or making
their intentions clear. The club used an agency to approach some residents,
while some houses were bought by third parties then sold on quickly to the
club. That left residents with the belief, which has endured ever since, that Liverpool
were buying up houses by stealth, to keep prices low.
The club have never publicly explained in detail what they
did, and declined to answer the Guardian's questions about their historic
behaviour and current plans. Neighbours, many of whom have lived in Anfield for
decades, remembering a vibrant, flourishing area, believe Liverpool bought and
left houses empty to deliberately blight the area, intending it would prompt
people to leave and drive house prices down.
Howard Macpherson, now 52, was the first to sell his house
on Lothair Road to the club, in 1996. He had lived there, at No 39, a
four-bedroom end terrace, for 10 years. Macpherson says it was a fine home,
which he had spent money refurbishing, but after Liverpool bought it they
always left it empty – now for 17 years.
"Anfield was a good area, all the houses occupied,
nothing like it is today," says Macpherson, who runs a garage, Aintree
Motors. "The area started to decline in the early 1990s with the city's
economic problems. But Liverpool football club accelerated the decline, by
leaving good houses empty and boarded up. It wasn't a natural decline; it was
engineered."
The involvement in the process of a notorious solicitor,
Kevin Dooley, acting for the club, did not encourage confidence. Dooley, who
acted for several Liverpool players and the convicted drug baron Curtis Warren
as well as the club before he died in 2004, was struck off by the Law Society
in 2002 after it found him guilty of being involved in fraudulent purported
bank schemes.
Liverpool were motivated to buy neighbouring houses by a
fear of losing pre-eminence in English football after their mighty playing
success and financial dominance of the 1970s and 80s. The club felt bruised by
having been delayed in building the new Centenary Stand because of two elderly
sisters, Joan and Nora Mason, who refused to leave their house at No 26 Kemlyn
Road, until November 1990. Manchester United entered the super-commercialised
Premier League era by floating on the stock market in 1991, raising £6.7m to
seat the Stretford End, and with Old Trafford's ceaseless, lucrative expansion
and Sir Alex Ferguson's team-building, Liverpool fell behind United's
money-making capacity.
The club turned their attention to expanding the Main and
Anfield Road stands, although they did not announce this intention or discuss
it openly with residents. The Main Stand backs tightly on to the terraced row
of odd numbers on Lothair Road. Liverpool began buying houses in 1996, mostly
leaving them empty. Land Registry records reveal that between January 1996 and
March 2000, Liverpool bought 10 houses on Lothair Road.
Most were on the odd side, closest to the Main Stand: Nos 1,
3, 7, 9, 15, 33, 35 and Macpherson's No 39. In March 1999 Liverpool made their
first purchase across the road, on the even side, No 16. That row is not needed
for a bigger Main Stand itself, but the residents, and those in the row behind
on Alroy Road, would have their right to light blocked by it, a major obstacle
to planning permission. In March 2000 Liverpool bought No 10 Lothair Road. That
house, like most Liverpool bought, was never again occupied, has been empty for
13 years and is "tinned up".
Liverpool also bought houses on Anfield Road: grander
Victorian piles with front gardens, backing on to Stanley Park; almost the
whole row opposite the stand, Shankly gates and Hillsborough memorial: 51, 53,
55, 61, 63, 69 and 71. These houses were also left mostly empty and allowed to
fall into disrepair.
With houses empty and demand for them falling in a city
struggling to recover from its 1980s economic decimation, the Anfield area
collapsed into dramatic decline. Alongside Liverpool football club, family
homes and private landlords, the main other property owner was Your Housing, a
large group of housing associations, then called Arena. It also began to leave
properties "tinned up" – 265 were empty in the wider Anfield area by
2011. Residents complain that as the area was blighted, problem tenants moved
in, bringing crime and antisocial behaviour.
Liverpool's secret plan to get houses knocked down and
expand the stadium, which the residents had suspected from the beginning, was
exposed by a local free newspaper in September 1999. The club, with the council
and Arena, had produced Anfield Plus, a plan to demolish both rows of houses on
Lothair Road, the one on Alroy Road backing on to Lothair, and those on Anfield
Road, for two enlarged stands. In the wider area, 1,800 properties were
designated for demolition. A food, drink and retail area was planned on a
cleared corner across from the Kop and Centenary Stand. New social housing,
shops, a supermarket and community centre were also envisaged.
Shock at such a plan being conceived without discussion with
residents produced an outcry. The council did not support the plan with
compulsory purchase threats but instead embarked on a consultation process.
Rick Parry, Liverpool's then chief executive, acknowledged the club were
seeking a bigger Anfield to compete financially with Manchester United, but
said nevertheless: "I believe we can also work much better with the
community, be a good neighbour."
In the intense, often fraught discussions with residents,
some progress was slowly made. New homes were built or renovated, including the
Skerries Road terrace, behind Kemlyn Road, which Liverpool had previously
bought up and left blighted. Two health centres have been built and the new
Four Oaks primary school and North Liverpool Academy. Yet Lothair Road, Alroy
and Anfield Road, on which the club had set their sights, were left to rot.
While the Premier League, its club owners, players, managers
and agents were growing rich on pay-TV millions, right around one of its most
revered clubs there was squalor and horror. The many empty houses were
vandalised, robbed, stripped, set on fire. People living next door to
Liverpool's tinned-up houses told the club they feared waking up in the night
to find them ablaze. Still, the club did not put tenants in them. Some people
began to move out, their houses' value having tumbled, but many good people
stayed, determined not to be forced out.
Liverpool's switch to a plan for a wholly new stadium on
Stanley Park came partly out of the post-Anfield Plus community consultation.
In one meeting, Parry looked at a map and was struck by how hemmed in by houses
the ground would still be, even if expanded. Yet even as the plans developed
over years, many residents did not believe Liverpool would ever build a new
stadium. Partly this was because even after all the outcry over Anfield Plus,
Liverpool still bought houses on Lothair Road, including No10.
In October 1999, 33 Lothair Road, owned by Liverpool and
unoccupied, was set on fire, filling the house of the elderly couple who lived
next door with smoke and soot. Residents say that three people were killed, set
alight, in a horrific incident, in a house further along Lothair Road. A woman
reported to be renting on Lothair Road who worked as a prostitute was murdered,
in 2001.
A Lothair Road resident, who did not want to be named
because he is in negotiations with the council to finally leave, recalled his
elderly father going out to fill a coal bucket from the old-fashioned scuttle
under the front steps. Two tenants who had moved in across the road threw a
brick at his father's head. The resident went across the road, banged on both
doors, and roared at them to come out, which they did not.
"These are some of the drastic things we've had to
do," he said, talking on his doorstep. "I brought three children up
here. If Liverpool had been honest from the beginning, said they wanted our
houses to expand their ground, we're realistic, we know they're a huge football
club, most of us support them, deals could have been done. Instead they were
underhand, blighted the area and we've had to live like this for years."
The sorry saga of how the new stadium plans turned to dust
was played out in public, while residents suffered stagnation and wreckage. The
club had continued to buy houses on Anfield Road: No 65 in 2001, 47, 49 and 67
in 2007. Parry and the then majority shareholder, David Moores, believed they
needed rich owners to stand behind the borrowing required for a new stadium,
which could have been built in the early 2000s for perhaps £140m. It took years
before finally in 2007 they sold the club for £179m to the Americans Tom Hicks
and George Gillett. Moores personally made £89m.
Hicks famously promised "a spade in the ground"
and work to begin on the new stadium in 60 days, but he and Gillett had
borrowed the money to buy the club and were planning to borrow for the stadium
too, then could not. Under pressure from Royal Bank of Scotland, in October
2010 Hicks and Gillett were forced by court order to sell the club, John
Henry's FSG paying the £200m price of the RBS debt.
FSG, which renovated the Boston Red Sox stadium, Fenway
Park, rather than build a new one, suggested from the beginning it might scrap
the new stadium plan as too expensive. In October, Liverpool's managing
director, Ian Ayre, confirmed that, describing the intention to go back to
expanding Anfield as "a great leap forward".
FSG's current plan envisages expanding the Main and Anfield
Road stands, with both sides of Lothair Road, and one side of Alroy Road,
demolished. A hotel is proposed behind the enlarged Main Stand on the footprint
of Lothair Road's even side and Alroy, because a commercial property does not
have the same right to light as homes. A development, probably bars and
restaurants, with training promised for young people, is proposed opposite the
corner of the Kop and Centenary Stand. With Liverpool having purchased a whole
row on Anfield Road, they have already knocked those houses down, so there is
no obstacle to enlarging that stand.
This FSG plan, then, is strikingly similar to Anfield Plus,
which was worked up in 1999, then put on hold for 13 years in favour of the new
stadium proposal.
Ruth Little, of the Anfield and Breckfield community
council, says: "After people suffered so much, from the football club and
Your Housing leaving properties empty and blighting the area, when they went
back to the original plan I did wonder what the last 12 years of consultation
have been for.
"A lot of good work has been done, though, much of it
by local people volunteering. At least we have some certainty now, and we have to
make sure that the people who are left are treated with respect."
Reports on that are mixed. While many homeowners have sold
their houses over the years for little, the council's final offers now are more
generous. Some residents have settled for around £80,000, more than the houses
would have fetched on the market in such blighted conditions, and the council
is also providing interest-free loans. This enables those who own their own
homes to buy another similar house without taking on a new mortgage.
However, several people accuse the council, which is
negotiating via agents, of starting with low offers, forcing people in
difficult circumstances to negotiate hard or be seriously disadvantaged.
Bill Higham, who owns 25 Alroy Road, says he was offered
£55,000, which he refused outright, for a house he has had to refurbish twice
after it was seriously vandalised.
"I find it disgraceful," he says. "After the
way the area has been run down, I'm being forced out and they want the
properties for a song. They could pay everybody up, properly, for less than one
Liverpool player's wage."
Bill McGarry, vice-chair of the Anfield Rockfield Triangle
residents' association, a qualified town planner, has helped some residents
negotiate with the council. Patrick Duggan, chair of Artra, is an ardent critic
of the club, whom he vehemently accuses of running the area down. Duggan runs
Epstein House, a refurbished hotel in the old Anfield Road family home of the
Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. Duggan bought it for £450,000, partly, he
says, because Liverpool were building a new stadium which would regenerate the
area. He has been shocked instead to find the area's degradation, then felt
betrayed when FSG scrapped the new stadium plan.
"I have always been a Liverpool fan," says Duggan,
who has mounted a campaign targeting Ayre. "They play 'You'll Never Walk
Alone' but they have left their neighbours to walk alone for years."
Paddy McKay, 58, a builder who has lived for 37 years on
Walton Breck Road, is refusing to accept the council's offer. He and his wife
Carol brought up three daughters there; he has paid his mortgage off in full
and argues that, if he is forced to move, he should be paid enough to buy a
similar house somewhere decent and compensation for the years of blight. Even
now, antisocial behaviour is continuing on those streets, including house
fires.
"Liverpool FC have said they want to be good
neighbours? They're the world's worst neighbours; they couldn't care
less," McKay says. "After all the damage they have done to the area,
they should do the decent thing by the residents."
James McKenna, chair of the Spirit of Shankly supporters'
union, says the fans have sympathy for the club's neighbours. "The stadium
expansion is all about the club making more money, and fans will have to pay
more for tickets," McKenna says. "To do that, Liverpool have played a
part in derelict houses, streets boarded up. It's a blot on LFC's record."
A council spokesman declined to discuss details of the
house-buying process. "Since last autumn we have been developing a robust
set of plans for the area which are absolutely on track," he said.
"This will include working with the local community on a blueprint for the
wider regeneration of Anfield."
Brian Cronin, chief executive of Your Housing, defended his
organisation's property stewardship in the area and said the group has invested
more than £23m in refurbishments or new homes around Anfield since 2009. Your
Housing has 22 properties on Lothair, Alroy and Sybil Roads behind the Main
Stand, of which 12 "are long-term vacant". Cronin said: "We are
currently working very closely with Liverpool city council and other partners
in Anfield to establish the best long-term future for these properties as part
of the wider regeneration of the area."
Liverpool declined to comment but last month Ayre updated
the Liverpool Daily Post, saying: "To extend Anfield, we need to acquire a
bunch of privately owned property around the stadium. We're making really good
progress with that. We said some months back it would take several months to
improve that property acquisition situation. We're definitely on target so
far."
Once the properties are bought, Ayre said, the club will
apply for planning permission. After that, the third challenge is to
"build the thing".
He told the Guardian in October that an expanded Anfield with
a 60,000 capacity will not allow cheaper tickets; its aim is to make more
money. Liverpool have employed PricewaterhouseCoopers to survey fans, and
corporate customers, to help plan price brackets for the new facilities.
Some fans wonder if FSG, which is quite remote as owner,
with Henry hardly in Liverpool and progress slow and costly, may sell the club,
particularly once planning permission has been secured. FSG and Henry have not
said that is a possibility. The stated plan is to expand the ground and enable
Liverpool to compete again by making more money, so attracting better players
by offering them huge wages on a par with the other top clubs.
Liverpool's remaining neighbours, suffering some of
Britain's worst living conditions, are grappling with hardball offers, to have
their houses knocked down and make way for it all. In the Premier League of the
21st century, this is Anfield.
By David Conn http://www.guardian.co.uk
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