Liverpool FC - Five Star Champions ;-)
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| Джеймс, последни новини (ако не си ги чул вече): Вече на пети футболист от Л'пул (на Стивън) му ограбват къщата. Полицията организира специална охрана за целия отбор Фабио Капело вероятно ще е новия тренер на Англия  Редактирано от - Meto ot Interneto на 12/12/2007 г/ 21:02:00 |
| Натиснете тук след като мето си е затворил темата да пусна нещо тематично тука.. |
| James аре ше видиме утре. М/у другото Тотнъм бият помпейците у дома им с един гол на Бербатов. Аз си мисля, че е време Бербатов да се ориентира към Л'пул - нема кво да прави повече в лондонската Славия. |
Не сум на т'ва мнение Мето. Така или иначе няма как да го сменяме по средата на сезона. Да изчакат да свърши и тогава да говорят с Мауриньо..  |
| Bení tez and his paymasters have plenty to talk about after hitting the United wall Andy Hunter at Anfield Monday December 17, 2007 The Guardian Accents have changed in the corridors of power at Anfield but its anguish sounds the same. On Saturday Alex Hicks, son of the Texan millionaire and Liverpool co-chairman, Tom, proposed to his girlfriend Portia Tuma (yes, really) when he reached the centre circle during a private tour of the stadium. Twenty-four hours later Liverpool's players were also on their knees posing serious questions, none of them related to love. From Rafael Bení tez came the familiar complaint yesterday about the small details that undermine Liverpool's title credentials whenever examined alongside Manchester United. Familiarity flowed from Sir Alex Ferguson's champions too but that came in an exuberant response to their second successive 1-0 victory here and a performance so far removed from last season's heist it bodes ominously for those with designs on their crown. The overwhelming evidence from the latest duel between the great north-west rivals is that both have made genuine strides since they last met. Liverpool's despair and deflation on the final whistle bore that out after Carlos Tevez, and not Fernando Torres, had proved the more decisive of the exotic strikers signed amid great fanfare in the summer. This, Bení tez had hoped, was the afternoon when the Spain international would reproduce the exhilarating form that has kept Liverpool's title aspirations alive thus far. Instead his team were unable to engineer the openings that Torres has thrived on this term and, as in Bení tez's six previous league meetings against United, they could not pierce a defence marshalled imperiously by Rio Ferdinand and bullishly protected by Owen Hargreaves. The full extent of the strides Liverpool have to take before claiming the 19th title they so covet was again made apparent before their own suffering support. This was not the backdrop Bení tez required to his long-awaited meeting with Liverpool's owners, Hicks and George Gillett. Whereas constant support has echoed around Anfield for the Spaniard since his rift with the Americans became evident, here there were only cries of frustration as United forced their hosts into countless errors and absorbed second-half pressure with ease. Having met their manager's financial demands in the summer only to witness a second Anfield reverse that offered less encouragement than their first exposure to United, Gillett and Hicks would have had their own questions to present to Bení tez when they met for more than three hours after the game. Gillett has been the less vocal of the Liverpool co-chairmen during the manager's attack on their transfer restrictions but was the more expressive here. On an impromptu walk around the Anfield perimeter before kick-off he greeted supporters who wanted answers more than his handshake and, unfortunately for Liverpool, their team's performance also lacked a convincing delivery. United were tentative starters as the exemplary running of Torres and Dirk Kuyt denied their defenders time and space to construct from the back. This was an occasion, however, that demanded ingenuity as well as enthusiasm in attack and Liverpool's reliance on the quick, long ball forward would not have been so self-defeating had it not been their only route to Edwin van der Sar's goal. That said, the Dutchman provided the home side with more optimism in front of goal than the forward line and formation that destroyed Marseille on Tuesday. Twice Van der Sar careered into his own defenders in the space of four first-half minutes. His first collision dropped a Steven Gerrard corner at the feet of Harry Kewell, whose shot was cleared off the line by Anderson and looped kindly for Torres. Anfield held its breath at a first league goal against United in four seasons but the Spaniard headed wastefully wide. The United goalkeeper then struck Nemanja Vidic as they chased a Gerrard free-kick and was indebted to Patrice Evra for beating Kuyt to the goal-bound deflection. Save for a late shot wide from the substitute Ryan Babel, those openings were as close as Liverpool came. They needed greater invention, only United showed it and the result turned on the one well-executed move of a compelling rather than entertaining match. The moment arrived in the 43rd minute when Ryan Giggs played a low corner out to the lurking Wayne Rooney and his driven shot was flicked into the roof of the net by Tevez. It was a soft goal to concede, especially as Rooney had served notice of the plan at an earlier set piece, but one fitting for a game decided on the slimmest of margins. The personal duel between Gerrard and Anderson gripped more than the flair of the anonymous Cristiano Ronaldo or Kewell, while the pace of the contest exposed the slightest limitations of a player in possession. Credit must go to the referee, Mark Halsey. A lesser official would have spoiled the spectacle of thunderous challenges and occasional head-to-heads but Halsey turned a welcome blind eye whenever necessary. With Ferdinand meeting almost every Liverpool delivery from the left United more than handled the limited options thrown their way, with Peter Crouch and Babel overdue replacements for the disappointing Kewell and Kuyt. In doing so United became the first opposing team since Everton in 1910 to keep four consecutive clean sheets on this ground. United would have toasted victory 12 minutes from time had Rooney converted a straightforward finish from Ronaldo's cross but, like the Liverpool supporter who threw a golf ball at the United striker moments earlier, he missed. Halsey is expected to mention the incident in his report, meaning the misery of this defeat for Liverpool is not over yet. |
rafa go home  ------------------------------------------ -------------- Felix qui potuit rerum conoscere causas! (Virgilio) |
| Shevchenko has the last word as Crouch sees red David Hytner at Stamford Bridge Thursday December 20, 2007 The Guardian In his youth, Peter Crouch would dream of pulling on the blue shirt of his heroes Chelsea and taking centre stage at Stamford Bridge. When the Liverpool striker returned to the club last night, he claimed the headlines for the wrong reasons. As Frank Lampard and Andriy Shevchenko conjured the goals that sent Chelsea through to the Carling Cup semi-finals and a two-legged meeting with Everton, Crouch was dragged down by a costly rush of blood. The Londoner had battled on his own up front and squandered two presentable chances when he lashed out by the touchline in a challenge with Mikel John Obi. Crouch leapt in with both feet off the ground and although he made little damaging contact with the Chelsea midfielder, the referee, Martin Atkinson, had seen enough intent to reach for the red card. Mikel was sent into the advertising boards and Crouch, rather than exit immediately, went back to offer him a less than polite pointer. When he did leave the field, it was with a volley of abuse for the Chelsea fans who had goaded him all evening. Rafael Bení tez, the Liverpool manager, argued that Mikel had fouled Crouch twice in the build-up and if Atkinson had intervened then, the ugliness could have been prevented. Yet even he could not excuse Crouch's assault. Chelsea's manager Avram Grant did not pull his punches. "He didn't need to do it," he said. "It was on the line and in the middle of the pitch. It was far away [from anywhere meaningful]. "I respect Rafa Bení tez a lot but firstly, it was a bad tackle and secondly, there were so many fouls made on Mikel, I think there were seven or eight in the first half. The priority of the game is to protect people from bad tackles. You saw what happened to John Terry [who was injured at Arsenal], he is out for six weeks." This was the 17th meeting of the Bení tez era and spite has crackled throughout most of them. Another staple of the matches has been their tightness and even with a weakened Liverpool line-up, it appeared that something abnormal, something freakish, would be required to prise the teams apart. So it proved. Lampard's goal was the pivotal moment and it went in thanks to a cruel deflection off Jamie Carragher. Lampard had burst on to a flick from Shevchenko; Carragher seemed to have him tracked. But when Lampard shot, the ball looped up off Carragher's outstretched boot, deceived Charles Itandje, the stand-in Liverpool goalkeeper, and landed in the far corner. Shevchenko wrapped up the victory when he rammed home a low shot in injury time, beating the otherwise impressive Itandje at his near post, following good work by Michael Ballack. Shevchenko's delight at his fifth goal of the season was matched by Ballack. The Germany captain had not played since April and two ankle operations, a dark period during which he feared he might never play again. "Sometimes I thought, 'I'm 31, I've had 14 good years as a pro, maybe it's over'," he said on the eve of the game. "There have been moments of real despair." A weight was lifted when he appeared as a substitute. Liverpool have still to score in seven matches under Bení tez at Stamford Bridge but they had the chances here. Crouch was played in early on by Lucas Leiva but he dragged his shot well wide and, shortly after, a slick move had Chelsea chasing shadows and Lucas bearing down on Petr Cech. This time the shot speared towards the far corner, but Cech's reflexes stood the test. Lucas wheeled away in frustration. Chelsea had several excellent chances. Salomon Kalou forced Itandje to tip over his bar and Lampard, clean through after a defensive mix-up, could not lift the ball over the keeper. Bení tez left a host of star names at home but his hopes surged in the 56th minute when Crouch seized on an awful back-header by Ricardo Carvalho, back after six weeks out with a back injury. Yet Crouch could not find a way past the alert Cech. Moments later, Lampard's goal was followed by Crouch's red mist. Game over. |
| ops Liverpool са били сос second squad Liverpool Charles Itandje, Alvaro Arbeloa, Fabio Aurelio, Jamie Carragher, Jack Hobbs, Xabi Alonso (Nabil El Zhar), Lucas Leiva, Mohamed Sissoko, Ryan Babel (Yossi Benayoun), Peter Crouch, Andriy Voronin а челски с първия им (без контузените)  |
| 29.12.2007 TOTTENHAM - READING 6-4 1-0 (7)BERBATOV 1-1 CISSE(16) 1-2 INGIMARSSON(53) 2-2 (63)BERBATOV 2-3 KITSON(69) 3-3 (73)BERBATOV 3-4 KITSON(74) 4-4 (76)MALBRANQUE 5-4 (79)DEFOE 6-4 (83)BERBATOV |
| Liverpool fire blanks as title challenge fades Daniel Taylor at the City of Manchester Stadium Monday December 31, 2007 The Guardian One day to go before the transfer window swings open and it is easy to understand why Sven-Goran Eriksson and Rafael Bení tez are eager to get down to business. Manchester City and Liverpool would like to believe it will be a productive 2008 but the only logical conclusion from a prosaic scoreless draw here was that there is an awful lot of work to be done first - and that both managers may need to pull a couple of rabbits out of the hat in the mid- season sale. For City the focus must be on bringing in an accomplished forward, or maybe a couple, because Darius Vassell playing on his own in attack is not going to get them into the Champions League and nor is Rolando Bianchi, the £ 9m Italian who seems destined to be remembered as one of Eriksson's few mistakes in his time in Manchester. Liverpool, on the other hand, cannot go on relying on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to win them matches. The shortcomings of both sides were apparent to all on a disappointing afternoon and, until they are remedied, City can forget about making up the fifth component of a new "Big Five" while Liverpool, once again, will have to grit their teeth and accept that the league title is not coming back to Anfield. Bení tez will certainly be frustrated that his players could not see off a team who have suddenly started to look jaded and at times, going forward, bankrupt of ideas. For long spells Liverpool were comfortably the better side, driving forward with great purpose and desire, and it needed a splendid save from Joe Hart, followed by a goalline clearance from Richard Dunne, to stop Dirk Kuyt winning the game with a header four minutes from the end of normal time. For all that, it was a laboured performance lacking any real fluency and, even on a weekend when Manchester United lost to West Ham United at Upton Park, it was difficult to believe that this methodical, often predictable Liverpool side have serious aspirations to depose the reigning champions. The result leaves Liverpool 10 points behind Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand, and Bení tez may come to regret his side's failure to make their domination count, even if he did declare himself reasonably satisfied. "We had 17 attempts against a side that has a fantastic record at home, so I can't say anything [critical]," he said. "We may be 10 points behind but if we continue to play like that we will win a lot of our future games. The players worked really hard, they had plenty of possession, controlled the game and created a lot of chances. We must find the positives, which are that we deserved to win. We cannot think about the negatives." His team certainly highlighted the fact that Eriksson may need several more of Thaksin Shinawatra's bags of gold before City get their wish to expand the Premier League's Big Four. This was not a good day for Eriksson's more creative players and, with Stephen Ireland and Elano both subdued, it does not reflect well on Eriksson's team that they went through the whole game without managing a shot on target. José Reina, the Liverpool goalkeeper, left the pitch with barely a scrape of mud on his kit. At the other end Hart's reflex save to deny Kuyt at the end demonstrated why Eriksson has installed him as his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of the Sweden international Andreas Isaksson. Yet Hart, from a Liverpool perspective, had little to do otherwise, with Dunne and Micah Richards immovable figures at the heart of City's defence. Dunne, in particular, nullified the threat of Torres. "He was everywhere," enthused Eriksson, who also paid tribute to the 34-year-old Dietmar Hamann's expertise in the holding midfield role. "I just wish I had him when he was 20 years old," said the Swede. Eriksson could reflect on two headed opportunities inside the opening quarter-hour for Vassell and Dunne but the game thereafter became a story of Liverpool pressure. Even then, however, the visitors often lacked fluency in attack, with neither Gerrard nor Torres anywhere close to his best. Yossi Benayoun was lively on the right but it is bewildering that Bení tez persists with Harry Kewell on the left when he has Ryan Babel on the bench. Kuyt is a willing runner but is this really a striker to win the league? The evidence points towards another season of what-ifs at Anfield but at least Bení tez seems to have been given permission by the club's American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window. "We are getting close to some players," the Liverpool manager reported. Eriksson also has the backing to bring in "two or three new players" although the depressing news for City is that Chelsea appear to have overtaken them in the chase for Nicolas Anelka of Bolton Wanderers. Anelka, undoubtedly, would fit perfectly into this City side and until Eriksson brings in a striker of that order they may have to continue looking at the top four through envious eyes. "It would be nice if there was a Big Five like in the jungle," the City manager mused. "But fifth doesn't get you a Champions League place." Man of the match Richard Dunne (Manchester City) |
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