Liverpool Football Club in the Media (Linked Articles Only)

Twenty26Six · Apr 20, 2008

Red Bird said: ↑

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/liverpools-grand-old-duke-promises-the-soon-moon-and-stars-1353435.html
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Is that a Matt Clark article?

CCSC_STRIKER20 · Apr 20, 2008

Reds Hero Torres Set For Biggest Test Yet

Chelsea Boss Grant Admires Gerrard, Would Love To Sign Him - Chelsea need to back off, this is the reported third time they want to sign Gerrard this summer. WTF?! I am sure part of it is mind games ahead of the CL match.

Carragher: Torres Has X Factor

Rafa Benitez Not Ready To Commit To The Club - Well this doesn't sound good at all.

Kop Rallies To Help Young, Dying Supporter - This is a sad but good story, again the club is sometimes more than just results, players, and trophies.

Twenty26Six · Apr 20, 2008

CCSC_STRIKER20 said: ↑

Rafa Benitez Not Ready To Commit To The Club - Well this doesn't sound good at all.
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News

Rafa Benitez not yet ready to commit his future to Liverpool

Apr 19 2008

by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

RAFAEL BENITEZ yesterday stopped short of committing his long-term future to Liverpool after another week of turmoil behind the scenes at Anfield.

Fresh doubt has been cast on the Spaniard’s tenure after it emerged last Sunday that chief executive Rick Parry was present at meetings with Jurgen Klinsmann to discuss a proposal to become the new Liverpool manager.

Benitez was unhappy at a revelation he regards undermines his position, and has since had tentative contact with both co-owner Tom Hicks and Parry to clarify the situation.

But while the Liverpool manager yesterday reiterated his desire to “stay for a long time” – and confirmed the imminent arrival of three new signings – he refused to consider his future beyond the end of the season.

Privately, the Spaniard believes that unless Liverpool’s ownership situation is resolved during the summer, he will have no option but to listen to offers from elsewhere with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Valencia interested in his services.
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This one is crap. The quotes don't point to this.

revelationx · Apr 20, 2008

Twenty26Six said: ↑

This one is crap. The quotes don't point to this.
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It is just more media spin. Rafa has just explicitly stated that he wants to stay for a long time. The article then claims otherwise.

CCSC_STRIKER20 · Apr 20, 2008

Twenty26Six said: ↑

This one is crap. The quotes don't point to this.
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Yeah I didn't understand this, usually the Echo is better than that.

Especially since the last couple of article published on all sites says Benitez wants to stay. End of.

liverbird · Apr 20, 2008

Well the Echo has been a house organ for a long time -- again who would the "sources" be? Quo bono?

CCSC_STRIKER20 · Apr 21, 2008

Lampard and Gerrard in Champions League Boost

Zenden On Champions League

Alan Hansen on Champions League

Benitez Confident Over Having To Play Second Leg Away

Nick Webster on Champions League

Lucas: Rafa is World's Best

Rafa: Abramovich is the Key

Tomkins: Style and Substance

Aurelio: Now We Can Focus On Europe

Rafa Hails Depth

Rafa Shrugs Off Crisis Talk

el-capitano · Apr 21, 2008

Business As Usual for Benitez

Hicks, who has become public enemy number one amongst Liverpool fans, will be in the directors' box at Anfield tomorrow for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea - his first appearance there this season with the ownership battle raging.

"We will not be distracted by things 'off the pitch'. The players are focused on the football and our fans will do the same, they will only be concerned about helping us.

"I believe that from the very start we will have the supporters right behind us.

"They will not be thinking too much about who is in the directors' box, they will only be concerned about what we are doing on the pitch.

"The key, as always, will be small details. The teams are very much the same as in previous semi-finals, we all know what to expect.

"I have enjoyed being manager here from the first day, and I will try to do that for a long time. To do that I need to win games and prepare the team for winning.

"My future is to win tomorrow and then I want to stay here for a long time.

"It is massive for this club to be in a third Champions League semi-final. It means so much for our supporters, particularly fans in other countries to see their team at this level again."

And as for Grant's recorded remarks envying Gerrard's continued presence at Anfield, the Spaniard was equally dismissive.

He said: "I feel that what Avram said about Gerrard was misunderstood. If you were to say to me what did I think of Lampard or Drogba I would obviously say they were very good players.

"Everybody knows that. Gerrard is a key player for us and of course if someone asks Avram about him then he would obviously say what a good player he is.

"The same thing happened in Milan when people asked the Inter coach if he liked Gerrard, and again when we played Arsenal, the same question.

"I just hope that people will be asking the same thing of Barcelona or Manchester United for the final.

He said: "I understand Liverpool's history and what it means to win in Europe. We have to be one of the top sides in the world.
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CCSC_STRIKER20 · Apr 23, 2008

Rafa: We can halt jinx at Chelsea - I am glad we have Rafa.

BBC: Liverpool 1, Chelsea 1 - Match Report

Lampard: Blues Worthy of a Draw - cough, cough

Hicks and Gillette Brave Anfield Crowd

Cech: Our Name Is On The Cup - Really?

Benitez Set to Mediate Peace Summit Between Owners - He can do it all.

Jolly on Champions League - ESPN Soccernet

Gerrard, Others in Support For Riise

"He's been here a long time and he's a good boy so now we will support him," Gerrard told Dagbladet.no.

Alvaro Arbeloa has echoed Gerrard's sentiment and stressed that Liverpool will stand by Riise.

"John is very, very disappointed and we will support him."
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Kuyt: This Team Can Score ANYWHERE

"We scored in Milan, we scored at the Emirates. We know we can score next week."
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Gerrard: We can win at the Bridge, and 'Nando can score

CCSC_STRIKER20 · Apr 24, 2008

Fabio's Season Is Over

Aurelio was diagnosed with a torn abductor muscle
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Gerrard: Spirit of Istanbul Will See Us to Moscow

“We seemed to be in this sort of situation virtually every step of the way in 2005,” said the Liverpool skipper. “Time after time, we came back to win it.
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Riise Unable to Talk

And Riise’s brother Bjorn Helge, who plays in the Norwegian league for Lillestrom, has revealed the depths of the left-back’s despair.

“I tried getting in contact with John Arne after the game,” he said. “Eventually he sent me back a text message saying, ‘I don’t want to speak. I’m so disappointed. Give me a call back in a couple of days and we’ll speak then’.”
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Hicks and Benitez Meet For Positive Talks

“I visited the manager at the training ground and we have a great meeting. We talked about a lot of things, and it was a very positive, encouraging meeting.

“We have agreed to meet again to discuss the future, and it is a very healthy situation. Rafa is happy and he wants to talk about where he is taking the club in the future.
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Reina: We Can Bounce Back

But goalkeeper Pepe Reina is confident the Anfield outfit can keep up their record of having scored in every away game in Europe this season.
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Liam: Thank You So Much

The Darlington youngster's mum, Tracey, said: "Thankfully he managed to stay awake to watch the game with us and seeing the banner on the Kop was quite a moment. It is something we will never forget.

"Liverpool as a club and the fans have been absolutely fantastic. Liam has been in absolute awe. He couldn't believe that people who don't know him are doing this.

"The gifts, the banners, everything, it just shows there are some good people left in the world.

"I'd just like to say that Liam and his family appreciate everything that they have done.

"They have given us some precious messages over the last few weeks and it has been so good for us. Thanks to absolutely everyone involved."

While Chelsea grabbed a valuable away goal in the game on Tuesday, Liam for one is still sure Liverpool will progress.

Tracey added: "He is still convinced they are going through."
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el-capitano · Apr 29, 2008

CROUCH: PENNANT'S A STRIKER'S DREAM

"Jermaine Pennant was excellent, absolutely fantastic," said Crouch. "Every time he got the ball he created something.

"It makes a centre forward's job much easier when the likes of Jermaine is playing so well because you know he his going to get at the full back and invariably get his cross in.

"That's what I love. It's great when wingers do that."
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BENAYOUN: I'M NO GARCIA

I know that Luis is a very good player who also scored a lot of important goals for Liverpool," Benayoun told LFC Magazine.

"He did very well for the club but I am a different player.

"I am lucky that I have also scored quite a few goals this season but I wouldn't like to say that I have come in to replace Luis and the job that he did for Liverpool.
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Red Bird · Apr 29, 2008

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4c8f5fea-154f-11dd-996c-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

Dubai ruler pulls the strings in Liverpool deal
By Roger Blitz, Leisure Industries Correspondent

Published: April 28 2008 19:22 | Last updated: April 28 2008 19:23

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, is playing an active role in negotiations over Liverpool Football Club, underlining the prospect of a Premier League club being wholly owned and guaranteed for the first time by a sovereign state.

Dubai’s attempt to buy Liverpool has for months been channelled through Dubai International Capital, Sheikh Mohammed’s investment arm.

Sameer al-Ansari, DIC’s chief executive and a longstanding Liverpool fan, was regarded as the prime mover of the attempt to prise the club from its warring US owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

However, people close to the situation say the Liverpool takeover bid has become one in which Sheikh Mohammed has taken a close personal interest. He receives personal regular updates on developments by PCP Capital Partners, Dubai’s UK-based advisers, which co-invests with Dubai and its investment vehicles.

In spite of Mr Hicks’s determination to block Dubai, Mr Gillett is equally adamant he will not sell his half share to his estranged business partner. But the club’s future may become clearer tomorrow night if the team fails to win the second leg of its Champions League semi-final at Chelsea.

Though his sport of choice is horseracing, Sheikh Mohammed is a Liverpool supporter dating back to the early 1980s. Hamdan bin Mohammed, his 25-year-old son, who in February was named crown prince, is a fanatical supporter.

Should the club be sold, Liverpool would end up being owned by a vehicle of the Dubai government – partly via PCP – rather than DIC.

The upshot would be that Liverpool, in the hands of a sovereign state, would not be bound by the level of returns DIC, as a private equity business, would require.

It would also suggest Dubai would hang on to the club for an indefinite period whereas DIC would have been expected to sell the club when it felt it had made a sufficient return from its investment.
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Red Bird · May 5, 2008

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-liverpool5-2008may05,0,2217862.story

Disgruntled Liverpool soccer fans have called for the ouster of American owners Tom Hicks, left, and George Gilliett.
Soccer club's fans dislike owners Gillett and Hicks, who have brought infighting and money issues to the fore in their tenure.
By Chuck Culpepper, Special to The Times

May 5, 2008
LONDON -- A mere 15 months ago, NHL owners George Gillett (Montreal Canadiens) and Tom Hicks (Dallas Stars, plus Texas Rangers) bought the Liverpool soccer club for a widely reported $435 million and won hosannas for their greet-the-people friendliness. They shook fans' hands at Liverpool's Anfield stadium and proclaimed its stunning din "like nothing I've ever heard or felt," in Gillett's words.

Since then the new owners have left skid marks in four directions. Georgey got peeved at Tommy. Georgey said he wanted to sell his half to those people from Dubai, but Tommy said Georgey couldn't sell without Tommy. Tommy said he'd buy from Georgey, but Georgey said he wouldn't sell to Tommy.

This could seem just another laugh-it-off case of high school never ending but for the setting and the heartsickness and the stratospheric finances. The 15-month saga of two American owners has beset venerable Liverpool soccer, the most successful club in English history and one of the foremost clubs on the planet, and it has aggrieved a fan base that may know no earthly peer in feeling a team in its very bloodstream.

"People are actually cracking up about this," said Liverpool playwright Nicky Alt, soon adding, "They just don't know who's who and what's going on."

With Liverpool's exiting the European Champions League semifinals Wednesday night at Chelsea in London, a dying season's focus for many now turns to a new and wider grievance: shooing the Americans.

So it's almost whiplash-worthy that fans have mounted a new supporters' union in crisis, circulated petitions imploring Hicks to sell, heckled Hicks' son at a pub in January, allegedly phoned in death threats on Gillett and made statements such as, "There's no coming back for them now," as stated Nick Atkinson from the newfound supporters' union.

One fan, senior lecturer Dr. Rogan Taylor of the University of Liverpool's school of management, heads a bid to buy the club in a mass-fan formation similar to Barcelona (soccer) and Green Bay (NFL). Another fan, Alt, plans to fly to Dallas, hoping to stand outside Hicks' office with questions and some TV coverage.

How did things get from there to here?

At heart is the English -- and especially Liverpudlian -- resistance to the notion of sports clubs as "franchises," rather than integral, organic parts of communities.

Then come four prominent words concerning Hicks and Gillett that hit unexpectedly in January: $700-million refinancing plan.

That revelation trumped all previous misgivings and sent the tide heading toward spite, Alt said, what with Hicks and Gillett having touted their relative debt-freedom just one year prior. Debt often makes English soccer fans conjure Leeds, which clambered near the top of Europe earlier this century only to free-fall with an anvil of debt from the English first tier all the way to the third. Debt also plunged Manchester United fans into a tizzy when it factored into the Tampa Bay Buccaneer Glazer family's purchase of their club in 2005.

And then, Gillett and Hicks irritated beloved manager Rafael Benitez in November concerning the signing of players. And then, Gillett and Hicks met with German great Jurgen Klinsmann in January about possibly replacing the 2005 European champion Benitez. And then, they said they'd start a new stadium within 60 days but haven't done so within 450.

And then, the gory intrigue of the owners' seating area, which for an April home match with Chelsea included representatives of the Dubai International Capital, who have hoped to buy the club, gaining savior status in some quarters.

"Why people turned against the Americans is that all of a sudden, all this stuff is getting aired out in public," Alt said. " . . . It's like the whole tradition has sort of been wiped out in a year, what we stood for."

To understand "the Liverpool way," it helps to understand Bill Shankly, the iconic Liverpool manager from 1959 to 1974. Shankly's belief in football as communal treasure moved him such that he typewrote personal responses to fan letters. He returned fans' calls. He bought tickets for needy fans. He believed a "holy trinity" of the game that included fans and players and managers but not owners, whom he saw as custodians. Then, Alt said, factor in Liverpool itself, a port town long ago flush with immigration and internationalism, but whose severe economic distress of the 1980s helped churn a general distrust for politics and business and media and the United Kingdom government.

Pile on top of that the world's general distrust of most things American at the moment, and you get stadium banners such as, "U messed up Vietnam/U messed up Iraq/Don't mess up Scousers (Liverpudlians)/By giving Rafa the sack."

It's just the tawdriness that chafes, the "dragging the club's name through the mud," Atkinson said. Said Alt, "The Liverpool way has gone." And in its place, a howling that includes even health-advice columnist Dr. Miriam Stoppard in the Daily Mirror writing, "Hicks and Gillett have mistaken one of the country's top four clubs for a business venture."
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Red Bird · May 5, 2008

Liverpool FC owner turns to Malcolm Glazer's Manchester United backers

Liverpool FC owner turns to Malcolm Glazer's Manchester United backers

By Ben Harrington
Last Updated: 2:19am BST 05/05/2008

American sports tycoon Tom Hicks has approached some of the hedge funds that backed Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United to help finance his buyout plans for Liverpool Football Club.

When Mr Glazer bought Manchester United for £790m, US hedge funds Perry Capital, Och-Ziff Capital Management and Citadel provided £275m in financing to the entrepreneur for the deal. Advisers are understood to have approached some of these funds recently to raise financing that would help him acquire George Gillett's 50pc stake in Liverpool and build a new 70,000-seat stadium at Stanley Park.

Hedge funds are playing an increasingly important in role in private equity financing, especially as the credit crunch has made it harder to raise debt from blue-chip banks.

Discount retailer Peacocks, for example, was taken private for £404m by its chief executive Richard Kirk with the backing of Perry Capital and Och-Ziff, while hedge fund Polygon held talks to buy Newcastle United before it was acquired by retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley.

However, Mr Hicks may find it harder than others to raise the money from this mysterious world of capital. At least one leading fund involved in these types of deals is understood to have rejected the opportunity to finance Mr Hicks' plans for Liverpool.

"There was an approach. It was turned down because the investment case for Liverpool is not the same as Manchester United," said a source. But other hedge funds are understood to still be in discussions to provide financing for the deal.

Last year, Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett snapped up Liverpool for £219m from under the nose of private equity firm Dubai International Capital (DIC), which had been in negotiations to buy the club for several months. Since then the two entrepreneurs have fallen out.
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The Dubai-based fund, which is run by Sameer al-Ansari, recently made an offer to buy Mr Gillett's stake.

Mr Hicks blocked the deal as he has a pre-emption right that allows either man to acquire the other's stake before it is sold to an external investor. It is said the right runs out towards the end of May, although banking sources say it is not clear whether this is in fact the case.
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Looks as if Tommy boy is getting desperate. Looks as is a denouement is in sight; the joke here is that Och-Ziff is part-owned by DIC.

liverbird · May 5, 2008

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N159833080505-2300.htm

News about Liam immediately touched a nerve with Reds fans everywhere and a plan was put into action to try and create a number of flags bearing Liam's name to showcase at the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea at Anfield.

The hope was that TV cameras would pick out the flags and Liam, if he was still alive, would see them at home on TV. Liam was alive and the TV cameras did show the flags. It was an incredibly moving moment for Liam, his family and friends and Reds fans everywhere who had taken the 17-year-old to their heart.

The flags were then sent to Liam and adorned the walls of his room in time for the second leg of the semi-final at Stamford Bridge (see above). Liverpool lost that match but for Liam's family, a far greater loss occurred today (Monday). Liam's suffering is now over however and our thoughts - and those of Liverpool supporters everywhere - go out to his family and those who really knew this remarkable young man.

In his final dying days, Liam Harker didn't walk alone.
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el-capitano · May 5, 2008

INSUA: MY KOP DREAM

Fans' favourite Javier Mascherano is currently blazing a trail for Argentineans in the Liverpool side and Insua believes his compatriot's all-action style is typical of the South American country.

"We have a very determined way of approaching football and go into every tackle as if it's the last one we'll ever make," he said. "We really live for the game and give our all. It's total commitment and we absolutely hate losing.

"It's the way we are brought up – football in Argentina is viewed in a different way to most other countries.

"Both the players and the fans have that special feeling for it, an intensity I suppose you'd call it, and that shows when we take to the field."

Now Insua wants to live up to the high standards set by Mascherano by taking his chance at Anfield.

He said: "Signing for Liverpool was a fantastic moment and one I didn't expect at such a young age.

"Every Argentinean footballer sets out to play in Europe.

"I just want to make the most of the opportunity. I know how fortunate I am to be at one of the biggest clubs in the world."
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MASCH: HAMANN IS A LEGEND

The Argentina international replaced the 'Kaiser' in Rafael Benitez's squad two years ago and although he has been a revelation at the heart of the Reds midfield ever since, the 23-year-old admits he has great respect for the veteran German and believes he can still learn from such a magnificent exponent of the holding midfield role.

"He is a legend here and a fantastic player," Mascherano told Liverpoolfc.tv.

"I am always looking to improve and try to learn from such a great player all the time. I know he was successful here and although I don't know him personally, I know he is a great player and a good guy."
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LUCAS IN AWE OVER RED HOT TORRES

Torres' strike was enough to secure all three points from the last home game of the season and it puts him level with Ruud van Nistelrooy as being the foreign player to score the most league goals in their first season in English football. It also equals Roger Hunt's 46 year old record of scoring in eight consecutive league home games.

The curtain comes down on Liverpool's season at Tottenham next week, but Lucas is already looking ahead to next season. We're already running out of superlatives to describe Torres' scoring feats, and the Brazilian midfielder believes that we could be looking for some more next season.

"Torres is improving all of the time," he said. "He's getting better and better and he's very important to the team.

"With Torres on the pitch you know you've always got a good chance to score a goal and that's important for the confidence of the team, to know that he is there. He doesn't miss many chances and he's had a great season. Hopefully we will score as many or more goals next season and we can get closer to the title."
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And to Liam Harker's family- our thoughts are with you- YNWA!

Red Bird · May 8, 2008

Translated musings of Herr Agger. Credit to the translators.

Magazine: Tipsbladet
Date: 8th of April 2008
Title: My right foot

A break at Portsmouth and two in Porto ruined Daniel Agger’s season, but the football player does not pity himself. He uses his mental strength to move on, do other meaningful things and strengthen what he can without using his foot –even though it obviously has been frustrating and there have been times he’s felt like screaming out loud.

Clack...clack...clack. It sounds like football, like boots colliding with tiles, but of course it isn’t. Because the sound is coming from the lobby of Liverpool’s training ground Melwood’s lobby, where football boots probably are prohibited , and also the sound is coming from the club’s Danish defender Daniel Agger, who hasn’t worn boots for a couple of weeks. It’s the two supporting plastic splints around the right foot you can hear, and the tempo of the clacks are a whole lot different from a healthy footballer. But the twenty three year old Dane is not healthy. He enters the pressroom with blue crutches under the arms and a white wrapping that goes right up to the knee. But it is the foot that’s gone wrong and it has been since an innocent training session in the middle of September in Porto.

“It’s an injury that has been building in some time, some months, but I felt the break in the foot for the first time at a Premier League match against Portsmouth. I was able to play on though, and I was training fine the day after so I went to Porto on Monday where we were playing Porto for Champions League. I trained in the evening and that’s where the break came and it really hurt. I stumbled on and eventually it was alright for some time, but then there was another break two minutes before training was over, and I knew there was only one thing to do. So I went to the coach and told them something was wrong.”

Daniel Agger is speaking with a calm voice which doesn’t match the focused expression in his eyes, the wide shoulders and the colourful tattoos that are peeking from under the sleeves of his t-shirt. But he is calm. Calm and clear in his mind about his broken foot which has ruined his season at Liverpool.

Hard mornings

It should have been great. Last season ended with a Champion’s League final and Agger had really established himself as a horribly strong defender at the highest European level. It seemed that he was about to shoot for the stars when suddenly he broke his foot. In the beginning the doctors didn’t seem to think he needed surgery and even though the comeback seemed further and further away it didn’t make them that concerned. But after a couple of half matches for the reserves in February and March there was no doubt. The foot just wasn’t working out so Agger had a surgery and a small piece of bone was removed. That was what had been disturbing the process of healing.

“I know myself and my body so well, I’m no bloody sissy. I play with what I have and I know whether or not I can continue playing when I’ve suffered a blow. This time I knew from the beginning it wasn’t good, but I gave it a chance. Maybe too long, but I cannot change that now. I have felt it all along even though I returned to the training grounds. If I made a wrong movement there was pain as though someone had stuck a knife in my foot. But you take in the pain, although it is rather disappointing to wake up every morning and hope it is better, but then when you step out of bed you feel it is still bad, and your foot is all stiff and it takes some minutes before you can walk properly. “

“So I knew it was not good and even in the games I played I felt it was all shit. I was probably only working about 60-70 percent and from that it’s a long way to go to a comeback on the premier league team. But I gave it some time, which I’ve learnt after the leg injury I suffered in the spring of 2006 when I’d just been transferred. Back then I forced myself to constantly play while it only got worse and worse. I also went further with the painkillers than usual, but this time I wanted to give it a chance to heal on a longer period. It had to be calm and it was, but in the end there was nothing we could do so we found the fault and removed it. There’s not much I can do about it. You just have to go along with it. I have told myself it is part of the game to suffer injuries and sit out and you just have to learn to live with that. Despite the fact that I deep down mostly wanted to shout “********ing shit” and ruin everything you get close to. But that won’t help anything” Daniel Agger says with a crooked smile.

So there has been no self pity from this boy. His mental strength has carried the defender through a tough period of time the same way his mentality helps him to overcome it when Didier Drogba tricks him in a semi final at Stamford Bridge; because Agger will just score in return. And even though he’s been out of the game, the defender does not feel excluded from the club.

“No, I am out here every day and I walk amongst it all so I feel very close. It’s all about how you yourself handle the situation. If you keep to yourself and is pissed off all the time things will get hard, but if you’re open, smiling and deal with the situation as it is, you are in.”

“Considering everything I have been well. Obviously I haven’t exactly been having fun, but I’ve made the best of what I had. I have improved on other areas that I’ve had time to work on. It’s about getting something positive from the situation, and to raise some points of yourself to a level they haven’t been before, but you’d like them to” says Daniel Agger.

The listening defender

But there had to be something else to do, now that the foot wouldn’t work as he and the doctors wanted it to and the main purpose of him being in Liverpool could not be fulfilled. The defender has therefore been engaged with working with his two restaurants, one Mexican and one Italian, which he bought a short time before the foot broke.

“That’s how it works. If you can’t do what you love, then you have to find something else. It’s no use to just wander around and do nothing. You’ve got to open your eyes and find out what else you can do, and that’s how I found the restaurants, which I’m having a great time running. There is more than enough to do. I am an eternal perfectionist. If I do something it has to be done properly and I keep an eye on it all the time. If you don’t control your business it simply won’t work” Agger says about his restaurants located at Lark Lane near his own home.

That way life in Liverpool is about more than just football and that is how it is supposed to be. “It’s a good foundation. If I’m to work on the pitch I also have to do so off it. We have a wonderful place to live, we have things to do and good friends to hang out with,” he says about life with his Danish girlfriend. Daniel is open to new people and things and that is always good.

“I might not be the person who expresses a lot of myself, but I am happy to listen and that gives me many friends. Of course you meet a lot of people when you play football but that doesn’t necessarily mean a lot of bad things happen. Most people are welcoming and kind and the few bad experiences there have been I deal with. I will not have that. But even though I know a lot of people I also know who my friends are. I know who to trust and who’s there for me when I need it. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t trust a lot of people in this world. I cannot. There is my family and a couple of friends back in Denmark from before I began thinking about all this football. We are very close and they mean a lot to me” Agger says with a consistent voice.

Consistency is one of the keywords when you have to describe the Danish national team player, that goes for his behaviour on the pitch as well as off it. He is not the kind of man who lingers by previous doings or future dreams. Like most of his fellow football players he lives in the present, even though he’s now on the sideline with a wrapped up right foot.

“I’m still at the centre of everything. I come here every day, follow the matches and so on. It’s hard to step out and look back at everything which has happened. It’s easier to look ahead when you’re injured. You have to plan things out, and by that I’m looking at the beginning of next season. By now I’ve been on crutches for three weeks so I’m taking one day at the time. It’ll take some time to make the swelling from the surgery disappear and the wound has to be closed properly. But of course I miss football. Just being able to kick a ball.

In the meantime Liverpool has bought the Slovakian defender Martin Skrtel for an amount of money that is near what they paid for Agger. The older Sami Hyypia has also just signed a new 1 year contract. And of course there is also Jamie Carragher. In total four defenders to fill out two spots when the new season begins. Is that something which worries Daniel Agger?

“I think it is perfectly normal that Liverpool purchase another defender, it is part of being a big and ambitious club. But I also believe in myself enough to be sure that when I come back I will also be playing. I’m not really an insecure sort of person.”
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CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 8, 2008

Benitez Puts 15 Million Pound Price Tag on Crouch

"Crouch wants to play every week but knows he must fight it out with Fernando Torres," Benitez said.

"We keep seeing Portsmouth linked with the player but we have had no offer as yet. A £15m price tag for Crouch would not be unreasonable."
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Ablett Wants Reserves In First Team

Ablett told BBC Radio Merseyside: "Plessis and Insua have had a go [in the first team] and Nabil El Zhar has played in the Carling Cup.

"We just hope we can get one or two in on a more consistent or regular basis."
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Gerrard Makes Plea to Owners

"We are a young team with a lot of promise and if the manager can get the right support then we could take an important step forward."
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Rafa Confirms Miller Departure

Rafa Benitez has confirmed first-team coach Alex Miller will leave Anfield to become manager of J League side JEF United Chiba.
The Scot leaves for Japan after nearly a decade at Liverpool both as chief scout and, since 2004, as part of the coaching staff.

Benitez confirmed Miller would be replaced over the summer.

He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It is very positive news for Alex. This is a very good opportunity for him to coach in Japan.

"It means we will be promoting some of the existing coaching staff and also over the summer we will be looking to bring in a replacement.

"We have some names and options but need more discussion first.

"I want to wish Alex all the best in his new job."

Chiba are bottom of the J League standings after collecting two points from 11 games so far this season - a run which led to Croatian coach Josip Kuze being sacked on Wednesday.

Miller enjoyed a 15-year playing career with Rangers before earning his European coaching licence.

His managerial CV includes South China AA, St Mirren and Hibernian, who he led to the Scottish League Cup.
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Insua Targets First-Team Spot

"It was really good to be part of a young team which won something at Anfield because we all know what a special place this is," said Insua.

"I was lucky enough to play there for the first team against Manchester City and that has made me hungry for more.

"There are a lot of good young players at Liverpool and we all want the same thing – to play for the first team.

"I have done that but I want to do it more and more. The challenge for me now is to become a regular in the first team squad."
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Capello: Torres is Prem's Best

"It would be a tough decision between Ronaldo and Torres, and to these two players I would add another player who has had a fantastic season, even though he is tired now, and that is Cesc Fabregas."
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Kuyt: I Was Affected By Personal Problems

“I had a lesser period, because of personal things,” he said. “But I have put that behind me and it’s going fine again now.”

Kuyt did hit seven goals in Liverpool’s run to the Champions Legaue semi-final and he is aiming to continue his recent good run of form to cement a place in Holland coach Marco van Basten’s Euro 2008 squad.

The 27-year-old is in van Basten’s provisional 30-man group, which will be trimmed down to 26 players on May 16 and then cut to 23 by May 28.

“I first hoped to be part of the first 30. Now I of course want to go to Euro 2008,” he added. “I hope Marco van Basten will keep on thinking about me now. I must show it on the field.”
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el-capitano · May 9, 2008

Reinvention only way Harry can play on

It seems like only yesterday that Harry Kewell took the Premier League by storm, popping up on Leeds' left wing and driving defences to despair with his pace.

The question now is whether Kewell can reinvent himself and prolong his career by several years.

Shorn of the explosive speed that underpinned his game, he needs to adapt to a more possession-based game. A perfect example comes from one of his predecessors on Liverpool's left wing, a man who segued from a flying winger into a calm and cultured inside left.

Kewell's technique is every bit as good as John Barnes's was - now he just has to make the mental switch as effectively.
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CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 9, 2008

Comparing Barnes to Kewell? Hmmmm...no!

Rafa Wants Sammy Lee as Second in Command

RAFA BENITEZ wants to make Sammy Lee his new assistant manager.

The Reds boss is looking to move quickly to add to his backroom staff after first team coach Alex Miller quit the club to take the manager’s job at Japanese side JEF United Chiba.

Lee, who served Liverpool with distinction as a player and a coach, is at the top of Benitez’s wish list and an approach could be imminent if approved by both Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Publicly, Benitez says there are several names under consideration for the role but privately he has already decided Lee is his best man.

And having not had an assistant since Pako Ayesteran left Anfield under a cloud earlier this season, he will take the opportunity to fill that position rather than making a direct replacement for Miller.

Should Lee be appointed it will go down well with senior members of the Liverpool playing staff who are known to have enjoyed working with him in his spell as a coach during Gerard Houllier’s tenure.

In an eight-year playing career at Anfield Lee amassed a glittering array of honours that included three League titles, two European Cups and four League Cups.
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This would be a good move, but there are no direct quotes from Benitez, so I don't know how true this story is.

CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 9, 2008

O'Neill Furious With Benitez - Read the whole interview, he is really pissed off.

"Rafa said he was going to respect my wishes. I am not sure he respects anything."
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ESPN's Jason Dasey Interviews Craig Johnston

"When I am coaching kids now, 20 years later, I say to them I was the worst player in the world's best team, which was good enough for me. And my job was to be the workhorse: to get the ball to players who could play and give them an option that made them look good. One day we were playing in the Merseyside derby against Everton and I was really nervous.

Before the game, I sat down and took a deep breathe and Graeme Souness said something to me. I thought to myself 'Graeme is to the left of me, Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush are in front of me and Alan Hansen is behind me. What can I possibly be nervous about?' I never got over the fact that I was playing with these guys and was worthy of a shirt of the same colour."
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Babel Pleased With Debut Campaign

While many of the players on duty at White Hart Lane will be planning their end of season holidays after Sunday's match, Babel and several of his teammates will be looking forward to a summer of international football at the European Championships.

Babel is almost certainly going to feature in Holland's plans for the competition as they look to qualify from the 'Group of Death' along with France and Italy, and so he has no intention of slipping into 'end of season' mode at the climax of the Premier League year.

"My season isn't finished after Sunday," he says. "I have to keep my form and fitness and so I'm really hoping to be involved and in the team.

"I'm looking forward to the summer and playing for my country but first we have a match to play with Liverpool and it's important we end the season with a win. We want to give the supporters something to cheer and give them a feeling of joy on the last day.

"We're disappointed not to have gone closer in the title race but I think we can learn from the mistakes we have made this season and make sure we don't repeat them next year."

Babel's form during his debut season on Merseyside has been one of many positives manager Rafa Benitez can look to when he analyses the campaign - but the Dutchman insists there's still much more to come.

"I definitely feel as though I've got better and I'm much happier with my form in the second half of the season than in the first part," he added.

"The season has gone really quickly but I am satisfied and it has been very enjoyable. There have been good moments and bad moments, happy times and sad times, but that's football.

"Next season I want to develop more, train even better, work even harder and look to improve more. I set myself a target of ten goals at the start of the season and I've reached that which is very pleasing.

"There is still much more to come from me though. I think I will be a lot more settled next year because it's normal that you have to get used to things in your first season. For example, I have only just moved into my new house so that's something I don't need to think about anymore. I can be completely settled next season and concentrate solely on football."
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Stats Show Full Story of Gerrard Influence

In all competitions this season, Liverpool's captain has directly created 23 goals. That's twice as many as anyone else at Anfield. And added to the goals he has scored, that makes him responsible for more than half his side's goals output in 2007/08.
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Reina In Line for Third Consecutive Golden Gloves Award

"It is a collective thing. There is no point in three or four players doing well if we do not all do well.

You win as a team and you lose as a team, so it is all about making progress as a team."
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CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 10, 2008

Gerrard Wants Title Bid Next Year

"I cannot see myself ever leaving Liverpool now, and what I would dearly love is to lead this club to the next level that I believe we are capable of reaching,"
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Liverpool and Gerrard Laugh Off Inter Bid

The idea is complete rubbish, fantasy, there has been no approach and no bid.'
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Keita Open to Prem Switch

Keita has now confirmed one of England's giants have enquired about his services and should a fee be agreed he would be interested in a move to the Premier League.
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Benitez Amazed by Torres Impact

"We analysed the age, condition, quality and mentality of the player before he arrived, so we knew he was a good player," says the Anfield manager. "That is why we signed him.

"But to score more than 30 goals in a first season is a fantastic achievement. It's a surprise for everyone, not because we didn't have confidence in him, but because it's his first year in the Premier League."
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Liverpool Ladies Looking For Record-Breaking Crowd

Liverpool Ladies are hoping to attract a record-breaking crowd today when they take on Northern Ireland for the Roy Castle Ladies Cup at Anfield.
The Reds' Ladies have teamed up with the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in a bid to raise awareness of the killer disease and are appealing for as many supporters as possible to support the cause by watching the high-profile clash.

Jane Campbell, secretary of the Liverpool Ladies is hoping for a bumper turn out from the Merseyside public.

"Roy Castle was well known as a presenter of 'Record Breakers' on the television and so we're looking to set a record breaking crowd for this game," she said. "We're aiming for somewhere in the region of 10,000 which would be brilliant.

"If you come to watch the game then you'll have a good standard of football to enjoy and you'll also be supporting a great cause.

"We've had fantastic backing from Liverpool FC who have very kindly offered to print the tickets for us for the game and offer corporate hospitality facilities.

"It's going to be a great occasion and I'd appeal for everyone reading this who can get to Anfield to please do so."

The game kicks off at 11am today and tickets will be available from the turnstyles.
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Axe Hangs Over More Liverpool Players

And half-a-dozen players also have uncertain futures. Peter Crouch, John Arne Riise, Jermaine Pennant and Xabi Alonso could all follow axed Harry Kewell out of the Anfield door.

Benitez’s patience could well depend on how quickly Liverpool’s hierarchy act in the transfer market.
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CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 11, 2008

Ex-Red Coach Introduced To His New Team

"It's a very exciting challenge at this stage in my career," Miller said at a new conference. "I hope that I can bring success to this club."

Miller joins Chiba after nearly 10 years at Liverpool, where he had been working as a scout under manager Gerard Houllier and as first team coach under current manager Rafa Benitez.
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Departing Miller Praises Rafa

"Rafa understood that I wanted to manage a club again. The players understand fully why I've left and they were very supportive on Thursday, my last day," Miller told Sky Sports.

"I've really enjoyed working with Rafa. He's a very good coach and we had great success in the last four years, when you look at what we've achieved.

"[First team coach at Liverpool] was a fantastic position to be in at such a top club. I worked exceptionally hard for years with numerous clubs to try to get to the top and he gave me that chance.

"I will always be indebted to him."
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Ramos: Rafa Is Happy At Liverpool

"There are always things that crop up that get in the way of the normal running of a club, but I think Rafa is very happy there.

"It's been a long time since I've seen him. I have a very good relationship with him and we get on very well. I always look forward to seeing Spanish people, especially friends of mine."
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Rafa Eyes Grandstand Finish

"It could be an end to end game," said the Spaniard, who will go head to head with compatriot Juande Ramos for the first time. "They have quality players and will be looking to win their last game in front of their own supporters so we know what to expect.

"From our point of view it's important to end the season with a win. With us playing one game a week of late it's easy for me to pick a strong side and that will be the idea this weekend as well. We can reach 76 points with a victory and that's not a bad total, although clearly we need more in the future if we want to win the title.

"It's important the players show the right mentality on Sunday, to show that we have quality and, thinking about the future, to show we have winners. We try to win every game and it will be no different this weekend.

"To have scored 117 goals this season is a massive total and clearly that's a positive from us. People have said we're a defensive side but that number shows the quality we have. Hopefully we can add a few more on Sunday."
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Woodgate Wary of Torres

"He's an exceptional player, he's scored 32 goals and that's incredible for a first season," said the former Real Madrid stopper.

"He's got everything you want in a centre forward. He's good in the air, quick, scores goals - a top player.

"He's showed in this league that he's a natural goalscorer whereas in La Liga he didn't score as many goals. There was a lot of pressure on him because he was a local hero at Atletico Madrid but he's come to Liverpool and there is pressure off him because they have the likes of Gerrard. He's done superbly."
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CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 11, 2008

Liverpool v. Tottenham Match Report

Hicks In Stadium Vow

"Site work will start in September and actual construction in late October/early November, with completion in time for the season starting in August 2011," Hicks told the Sunday Mirror.
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Benitez Positive Over Four Year Progress

Just Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher Sami Hyypia, Harry Kewell, Steve Finnan and John Arne Riise remain from the 16-man squad that drew 1-1 at White Hart Lane courtesy of the now departed Djibril Cisse's first-half opener and Benitez feels the Reds have shown gradual improvement on an annual basis since that August day back in 2004.

He said: "I think if you look at it we have improved every year since then.

"The squad is stronger and we now have more experience so it is clear that we are better now than we were then.

"This season has not been bad. It has not been perfect either because we have not won trophies and that is always what we set out to do at the start of every season.

"But if you look at the depth of the squad it is clear that we are going in the right direction.

"Now we must look to improve again by doing the right things and by signing the right players."
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"So I am trying to find things to help motivate the players but what I will also tell them is that our fans will be with us as well – like they always are – so we must play for them."
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Pepe=Golden Glove Winner

CCSC_STRIKER20 · May 11, 2008

Rafa: New Signings Will Be Hungry

"We need players who are hungry, people who want to win trophies," he told the club's official website.

"We are only interested in signing the players that we need. For example if we need a right-back, we'll try and sign one. Why do we need to sign the best striker in the world, when we have one of the best here already? We just need to do the right things in the right moment."
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Capello: Scholes and Carragher are Welcomed Back

“If they want to come back, we will certainly have them back.”
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"...but we won’t and can’t force anybody to play for England."
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