Home of the Kop

We want to stay top

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:01:00 +0000

Rafa Benitez feels Liverpool have what it takes to stay top of the Premier League after their 1-0 win against Portsmouth. A late Steven Gerrard penalty proved enough to seal all three points for Rafa's men on a night when they maintained their three point lead at the summit of England's elite division.

In the wake of Sunday's high-octane win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Benitez made four changes to his starting eleven for the Pompey clash, a rotating of personnel that had little effect on Liverpool's stunning start to the season. Not surprisingly, a delighted Benitez was quick to fire a warning to the Anfield club's title rivals.

Often criticised for tinkering with his starting eleven on a far too regular basis, Benitez also admitted that given Liverpool's search for glory on several fronts, he would not be altering his managerial ways.

Kuyt Nicks it for Liverpool

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:46:00 +0000

Dirk Kuyt scored a late winner as Liverpool fought back from 2-0 down to beat Manchester City 3-2 in an entertaining clash at the City of Manchester Stadium. The Reds needed two second-half golas from Torres to get back on level terms after a goal from Stephen Ireland and a Javier Garrido free-kick had given City a two-goal cushion at the break.

The home side had full-back Zabaleta sent off for a lunging tackle on Xabi Alonso and were hanging on at the death as Liverpool pushed hard for a late winner - with Kuyt firing home from close range in extra-time to maintain Liverpool's impressive start to the season. It was Kuyt's first league goal of the season. The Dutch international had a golden chance to open the scoring for Liverpool when Alberto Reira - Liverpool's chief attacking threat - pulled the ball back to him, only for the Dutchman to balloon his shot on the spin over the bar from eight yards out.

Torres bags brace in derby win

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:25:00 +0000

Fernando Torres returned to goalscoring form with 2 goals as Liverpool beat Merseyside rivals Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park. The striker's first goals for over a month were enough to down an Everton side still looking for their first home win of the season, and continue Liverpool's impressive start to the season. Torres and Keane combined well to open the scoring on 59 minutes when the Irishman latched onto Alonso's ball to pull a cross back from the byline that was bound for Torres. Dirk Kuyt's run towards the near post took the defender with him and Torres had more than enough space to fire a low volley under American goalkeeper Tim Howard for his first goal since the winner at Sunderland on August 16.

After waiting 42 days for his second goal of the season, Torres would wait just three minutes for his third. With Everton clearly rattled by the opening goal Nigerian Yobo slid in to tackle Kuyt well but saw the ball roll to Torres, and Howard could only palm the Spaniard's solid shot into the roof of the net.

The introduction of Louis Saha just after that goal sparked a half-hearted comeback for Everton, but their hopes were all but extinguished when Aussie Tim Cahill received a red card - perhaps harshly - for his scissor-tackle on Alonso.

League Cup Win

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:51:00 +0000

Rafael Benitez was satisfied with Liverpool's display after they secured beat Crewe 2-1 to progress. Jermaine Pennant was a constant menace on the right flank while Lucas and Daniel Agger produced assured performances to give Benitez a selection poser for the Merseyside derby at the weekend. Agger gave Liverpool a 15th-minute lead from a free-kick before Michael O'Connor's equaliser 10 minutes later after goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri blocked Calvin Zola's header from Billy Jones' corner.

Pennant supplied the cross for Liverpool's second goal, headed home by Lucas in the 58th minute, but the margin of the victory over the Coca-Cola League One side should have been greater. Benitez explained the decision to introduce Fernando Torres in the second half despite the Merseyside derby at the weekend was because they needed to secure a win with a third goal. The Spain international had an immediate impact and was twice denied by Crewe goalkeeper Steve Collis.

Champions League - Liverpool through but leave it late

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:31:00 +0000

Penalties loomed after the tie went into extra-time deadlocked at 0-0 on aggregate after 180 fruitless minutes. But with just three minutes remaining, Kuyt stole in at the back post to knee home Ryan Babel's cross to ensure Liverpool would take their place in the draw for the group stages on Thursday afternoon.

With an estimated £25million jackpot on the line, the winner was met with absolute delirium from the Anfield crowd and a look of enormous relief from manager Rafael Benitez.

Reds close to signing David Silva

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:57:00 +0000

Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett have reportedly authorized a US$36 million deal to buy Valencia’s David Silva. Kop boss Rafa Benitez is raging after the Americans opposed the US$36 million move for Aston Villa skipper Barry, and the Spaniard’s angst has been compounded by the fact that the duo’s refusal to sanction the Barry transfer was not due to a lack of cash.

For once, the Anfield faithful have sided with the much hated Americans, with both parties stating that Barry’s arrival is unnecessary as the club already has Xabi Alonso in their ranks. Therefore, reports of being given the green light to sign the much vaunted Silva, who can play anywhere in the attacking third, would be music to the ears of Rafa, who will have no qualms about raiding his former club.

Reds set to sign Downing

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:37:00 +0000

Liverpool look set to sign Boro winger Stewart Downing after Espanyol demanded £16million for Albert Riera.Having failed to raise the funds to buy Gareth Barry, the Reds were hoping to buy Riera for around £9m, but the Spanish club have reportedly invoked a £16m release clause for the winger.

That means that Liverpool are instead likely to turn back to Downing, who could be available for £12million.

Terrific Torres nets winner

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:52:00 +0000

Fernando Torres fired Liverpool to victory over Sunderland in their Premier League opener at the Stadium of Light. Torres fired Liverpool to a scarcely deserved victory over Sunderland in their Premier League opener at the Stadium of Light. The striker, scorer of the winning goal in this year's European Championships final, was anonymous for much of the evening as his partnership with £20m new boy Robbie Keane continued to stutter, but he produced a vicious drive eight minutes from time to claim the points.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for a Sunderland side who had enjoyed the best of the play and all but negated the return of the Reds' fit-again skipper Steven Gerrard.

It's the start of the season! Are we ready for Sunderland?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:50:00 +0000

The Reds travel to the Stadium of Light after a disappointing midweek Champions League stalemate against Standard Liege, a result that could have been worse had Liverpool's Belgian hosts not missed a penalty. With the continental campaign well and truly in the balance, Liverpool simply must step up to the mark against Roy Keane's men.

Keane meanwhile, is relishing the Liverpool clash, despite the massive financial gulf that divides the two sides.

Home of the Kop score prediction - Sunderland 0 Liverpool 2

Keane joins Liverpool from Spurs

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:30:00 +0000

Robbie Keane has joined Liverpool from Tottenham for £19 million on a four-year deal after passing a medical at Melwood. The deal could rise to £20.3m in total. Spurs withdrew their official complaint to the Premier League after Liverpool acknowledged their public interest in Keane was inappropriate, however, and it is understood the Merseyside club made a donation to one of Tottenham's preferred charities.

The 28-year-old Republic of Ireland striker had been linked with the Reds since the beginning of July and replaces Crouch, who was sold to Pompey for £11m earlier in the pre-season. Keane spent six years at Spurs, scoring over 100 goals for the North London club since joining from Leeds in 2002. The Ireland captain - who holds his country's record for international goals - started his professional career at Wolves before spending a season at Coventry and six months at Internazionale.

Keane is the fifth signing this summer for Rafa, joining David Ngog, Diego Cavalieri, Philipp Degen and Andrea Dossena at Anfield. A good buy for Liverpool!

Ngog Joins Liverpool

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:30:00 +0000

Liverpool have signed highly-rated teenage striker David Ngog from Paris St Germain. The 19-year-old has repeatedly been linked to the Reds in recent weeks and has signed a four-year contract with the Barclays Premier League club.

He will go straight into the Merseysiders' first-team squad, joining fellow summer arrivals Dossena, Diego Cavalieri and Degen. Ngog, who is the cousin of former Rangers and Newcastle defender Boumsong, struggled in an under-performing Paris St Germain team last season as the French club barely maintained their Ligue 1 status.

He scored just once in 18 appearances but has been far more effective at various levels for France. The pacy forward has scored at every youth level for his country, including a brace against England Under-19s last season. His exit from the Parc des Princes seemed inevitable from the moment he refused to sign a new contract with Paul le Guen's side as he entered the final year of his deal, and Liverpool soon stepped in with a bid thought to be around the £1.5million mark.

Ngog's arrival adds welcome reinforcement to manager Rafael Benitez's strikeforce following the departure of Crouch for Pompey.

Crouch off to Portsmouth

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:45:00 +0000

Liverpool have finally accepted a bid from Portsmouth. The English international has been the subject of several offers from his former club Pompey, who have finally struck a deal believed to be worth around £11m. Crouch made just nine EPL starts for the Reds last season, with Torres and Kuyt dominating as the first choice pairing. Despite using the six-foot-seven forward sparingly, Liverpool tagged a £15m price tag before settling for a reduced amount. Pompey manager, Redknapp has sold Crouch twice - first from Portsmouth to Villa and then from Southampton to Liverpool in 2005.

Udinese's Dossena landing at Anfield next week

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:50:00 +0000

The Reds are expecting to complete the signing of Italian left back Andrea Dossena next week. The deal to take the 26 year old Udinese player to Anfield is close to being completed. Dossena has been capped once at senior level by Italy and has been targeted as a replacement for John Arne Riise who left for Roma earlier this month.

£50 Million to Fund Transfers

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:32:00 +0000

Rafa is ready to ask the Liverpool board for £50 million to fund transfers for David Villa, Gareth Barry, David Silva and Dani Alves.

That last name will make interesting reading for Barcelona, who to all intents and purposes own the full-back after agreeing a monster £30 million fee with Sevilla, and the Brazilian himself has said: "I am immensely happy because it is a dream for me to become part of a great team and of a great club. It is such an important step in my professional career and in my life. It is difficult to express in words the feeling, but joining Barça is such a personal triumph."

One person whose dealings with Liverpool are very real is Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp. The first English boss to win a trophy since Alf Ramsey saw his £8 million bid for Peter Crouch laughed out of the Kop by Liverpool, who want close to double that amount, perhaps in reaction to UEFA's request for them to take a smaller slice of the Champions League revenue pie next season.

Reds look to Milner

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Newcastle winger James Milner is a reported target for Rafa, with the Liverpool boss keen to offload Pennant in part-exchange. Milner, has already racked up almost 100 appearances for the Magpies since his £5million switch from Leeds in July 2004. The hard-working midfielder, who is also interesting the Villans, has also been a key member of England's Under-21 side and is understood to be keen on a move to Anfield. Newcastle are desperate to keep hold of Milner, who netted three times for the Magpies last season, and boss Kevin Keegan has already rejected out-of-hand a swap deal involving former Birmingham winger Pennant. Midfielder Danny Guthrie, 21, has also been offered to Keegan, but the former England manager has set his sights on striker Peter Crouch.

Crouch, who is high on the hit-list of former club Portsmouth, has numerous admirers, but the £15million price tag is so far proving prohibitive.

First test up against the Black Cats

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:59:00 +0000

The Reds will begin the new season with an away game against the Black Cats at the Stadium of Light on Saturday August 16.

Liverpool to sell Alonso?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Juventus have revealed they are in talks to sign midfielder Xabi Alonso, and will meet the player's agent on Wednesday afternoon. Juventus club president Gigli warned, however, that Juve have not agreed a fee, and they are known to be reluctant to match Liverpool's £16 million valuation of the player. The Serie A side signed fellow Liverpool midfielder Mohamed Sissoko in January and have now set their sights on the 26-year-old Alonso, who was one of Rafa Benitez's first signings when he arrived at Anfield in 2004.

Degen first to arrive

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:41:00 +0000

Rafa Benitez started his summer of change with the acquisition of defender Philipp Degen as new assistant boss Sammy Lee insisted the Reds are already "close" to a title-challenging team. The Anfield chief confirmed the Switzerland right-back will sign for the club on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund when his contract with the Bundesliga club expires on July 1.

Benitez's next move would be to try to bring Udinese defender Andrea Dossena to the club for a fee of around £8million. Dossena, a left-back, was omitted from Italy's squad for the European Championship finals next month, having made his debut for his country last November against South Africa.

Benitez is still awaiting progress on his bid to sign Villan's skipper Gareth Barry. It seems likely Degen, 25, will be the first of a handful of significant new additions to the Anfield squad, rather than any wholesale changes.

Kewell to Pompey?

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:31:00 +0000

Outgoing winger Harry Kewell has been reported to accept an offer from Portsmouth. The FA Cup winners have reportedly offered a lucrative contract to the winger, who has been released by the Reds after five injury-blighted years on Merseyside. A move to the south coast and a chance of UEFA Cup football next season would appeal the Aussie internation.

Kewell is in his homeland to play for the Socceroos in Friday night's friendly against Ghana before Australia embark on a run of World Cup qualifiers.

Liverpool line up bid for Abidal

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:43:00 +0000

Rafa, always keen to add big name signings, has added another to his wish-list and this is one superstar who could prove very useful indeed at The Kop.

Liverpool have set their sights on Barcelona’s £12m rated French left-back Frank Abidal. Eric Abidal is a quality player who has been a regular at the Nou Camp since signing in the summer, however he (like many other players at the beleaguered club) seems to be on his way out of the La Liga club. The 28 year old is a international fixture for the French team and is at his peak and would surely be quite a coup if Rafa could snare him. What do Liverpool fans think of this potential signing?

Incoming Players for 2008/2009 Season

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:32:00 +0000

Here's a list of incoming players for next season:

Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)
Rafinha (Schalke)
David Bentley (Blackburn)
Stephane Mbia (Rennes)
Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid)
Mancini (Roma)
Philipp Deggen (B. Dortmund)

Torres Sees of City

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Mon, 05 May 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Fernando Torres scored his 32nd goal of the season as Liverpool secured a thoroughly deserved 1-0 win against Manchester City at Anfield. In what was ultimately a match without consequence for either side, City were hopelessly bereft of attacking ambition and created little of note all afternoon. Sven-Goran Erikkson's team did little to further the cause of their manager.

Rush tips Reds to tunr the tide

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:54:00 +0000

Former Liverpool FC striker Ian Rush insists Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard can produce the goal they need to turn the UEFA Champions League semi-final against Chelsea FC back in their favour. If John Arne Riise's stoppage-time own goal in the 1-1 draw at Anfield tipped the balance towards the Londoners, Rush, who scored 346 goals in 660 games for Liverpool and won the 1984 European Champion Clubs' Cup, believes the tie is far from over.

Riise OG gives Blues edge

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:01:00 +0000

John Arne Riise's dramatic injury-time own goal secured Chelsea a 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Anfield. Liverpool had been on course for a well-earned victory after Dirk Kuyt's first-half opener, but Riise's inadvertent last-gasp intervention now tips the tie firmly in Chelsea's favour.

Kuyt put Liverpool ahead towards the end of a first half in which Fernando Torres had spurned a good chance to put his side in front and Didier Drogba had seen a penalty appeal turned down after an unconvincing last-ditch challenge by Jamie Carragher.

Chelsea rallied briefly in the second half but were unable to really extend Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina until Riise - on as a second-half substitute for Fabio Aurelio - stunned the home fans by heading Salomon Kalou's cross into his own net right in front of the Kop in the dying seconds of the game.

Gillett Demands DIC Get Box Seats

noreply@blogger.com (Admin) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:59:00 +0000

Co-owner George Gillett is so determined to make a statement of intent at Anfield on Tuesday night that he has insisted that his Dubai International Capital guests sit in the directors' box. Colorado-based Gillett will not be at the Champions League semi-final first leg with Chelsea due to ill health, but his entourage - including son and fellow director Foster - will be entertaining the DIC officials.

Senior negotiator Amanda Staveley and DIC chief executive Samir Al-Ansari are expected to attend. Initially there were concerns that their presence would be seen as a provocative move and plans were put in place for the DIC contingent to be housed in an executive box away from the view of fans and cameras. But Gillett, when he heard of the move, is believed to have insisted that DIC were his guests and they were entitled to be seated in the directors' box.

That could be confrontational if Gillett's estranged business partner Tom Hicks does, as expected, also attend the European tie with his own son Tom Jnr, also a director. All the warring parties in the drawn-out saga would then be seated in close proximity. Chief executive Rick Parry, who Hicks wants to remove from the club, and former owner and now director David Moores, will also be in their usual front-row seats.

Security will be high at the stadium and Hicks can expect anything but a friendly reception from the Kop, who have been chanting for the Americans to "get out of our club" for months.