Results tagged “liverpool” from Liverpool FC News, Discussion & Debate | Liverpool Banter
The aftermath of what went on at White Hart Lane is still ongoing, just how Liverpool contrived to lose that game is anyone's guess, never this season has there been such a one sided game of football, yet we are counting the cost of 3 dropped points, which was daylight robbery!
Its a big test now as to how the players react to they're first defeat of the campaign, our next 6 Premier League games are all very winnable. We face West Brom at Anfield, then an away trip to the Reebok stadium to face lowly Bolton, we follow that up with 2 home games against Fulham and West Ham, then travel to Ewood Park to play Blackburn, then finally in this 6 league game cycle we face Premier League pretenders Hull City at Anfield...6 games, 18 points very obtainable and if we are serious about being genuine title contenders, then 18 points is what we shall get.
After our tremendous performance over Chelsea on Sunday and the just as important 3 points Wednesday night against Pompey, we now face a rejuvenated Tottenham side who are on the back of a home victory and a great comeback derby draw at the Emirates. Not to mention the dramatic turn of events that unfolded last Saturday night, when Juande Ramos was relieved of his duties and replaced by Harry Redknapp.
So this game at White Hart Lane could pose a bigger test than expected, as they're tails may well be up and players will be trying to impress the new man in charge. But lets get one thing straight here, these players are the same players that have started the season so poorly, they are much weakened from the side we faced last season when they had such stars as Berbatov and Keane, they still have the same weak centre, in particular the midfield area and defensively they have been a shambles!...oh and the keeper isn't much cop either...
On Sunday we face our biggest test of the season so far when we make the journey to South West London to face a side that have gone 4 seasons unbeaten at home in the Premier League. Stamford Bridge has become a fortress for Chelsea and Liverpool have failed to even register a goal there during that time, a statistic that must change on Sunday afternoon.
We go into the game with niggles to key players in the form of Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso, Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres, of the 4 only Torres looks likely to miss the trip to the Bridge, although Keane is also touch and go for the game, Chelsea though have they're own problems with injuries to key players such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and Ashley Cole. Ashley Cole may possibly return but this could be a good time to face Chelsea with such quality personnel missing. Ok they do have a huge squad full of stars but the proposition of facing Anelka instead of Drogba, Kalou instead of Joe Cole, Mikel instead of Essien and Malouda instead of Ballack has to be a bonus for Liverpool.
After some tremendous comebacks in the Premier League in recent matches, we now switch our attentions to the Champions League, we have maxiumum points from our first couple of games in the group stage and we now face a double header with a side that also boasts the same amount of points in the shape of Spanish club Atletico Madrid.
Last week Uefa had tried to move this game to a different venue 300km from the Vicente Calderon stadium, after crowd trouble marred the Spanish clubs recent victory over French side Marseille. This caused uproar amongst Liverpool fans who were travelling to the Spanish capital for the game, eventually the powers that be at Uefa seen sense and the game now goes ahead at its correct venue.
Atletico Madrid will be a tough test for the reds tonight, they are the toughest opposition possible coming out of pot 4 from the draw when it was originally made and so its proved, as they have taken the Champions League by storm so far with a convincing 3-0 away success at Psv Eindhoven and then they followed it up with a victory over Marseille 2-1 at home.
With the Atletico Madrid furor finally put to bed, and common sense having prevailed, Liverpool fans can once again concentrate on football and today's visit of Wigan Athletic. Three points today are every bit as important as the thrilling wins over Man Utd, Everton and Man City we've witnessed so far this season.
After the International break, we now return to what most Liverpool fans call the "real" football, during the last 24 hours the injury news hasn't been great with the dreadful news that Fernando Torres has picked up another injury whilst being away with Spain, he is likely to be out for up to 15 days, which means he could miss our next 3 matches.
Dutchman Ryan Babel also picked up an ankle injury whilst playing in Norway with Holland and he too is expected to be set for a spell on the sidelines, although its not conclusive yet as to how bad his injury is.
So we go into our next Premier League game against Wigan Athletic minus 2 important attacking players, add to that the loss of defender Martin Skrtel and its now time for Rafa to give others opportunities to prove their worth. I think Daniel Agger will return to the defence to partner Jamie Carragher, I've also got a feeling Dirk Kuyt may be employed up front alongside Robbie Keane, to allow Yossi Benayoun to get a rare start on the right side of midfield, Albert Riera should continue on the left of midfield with Gerrard and Alonso centrally.
PHIL THOMPSON believes Liverpool are finally exorcising the ghosts that have stopped them launching a serious title challenge in previous years.
The former Anfield captain tipped Manchester United for a third successive championship at the start of the season - but also had a feeling this would be the year Liverpool finally ended their long wait to add to their record haul of 18 titles.
And manager Rafael Benitez's first win over United in September, coupled with the thrilling fightback against the other team from Manchester on Sunday, has convinced Thompson that his former club is finally ready to shake off the limitations that have hindered their ambitions in the past.
The 3-2 victory at City, secured after a fightback from 2-0 down, kept Liverpool level on points at the top of the league with Chelsea going into the international break and still unbeaten after seven games.
FERNANDO TORRES is determined that his recent barren spell in front of goal will be his last in a Liverpool shirt.
The Spaniard has suddenly shot to the top of the Premier League goal charts with two in each of the his last two league games, having not previously scored since the opening day winner at Sunderland.
That run of six games without a goal was double the length of his previous longest drought since he left Atletico Madrid for Anfield in the summer of 2007.
But after his double strikes inspired victories against Everton and Manchester City to keep Liverpool joint top of the league with Chelsea, the striker is confident he is close to being back to his best.
What an amazing comeback yesterday at the City of Manchester Stadium, 2-0 down at half time and who would have thought we would come back and win the game 3-2?
Now i'm not going to start getting carried away, after all were only 7 games into the new season, but already so far this season weve shown great character to come from behind on numerous occasions, 4 to be precise, and there seems to be a growing belief in that Liverpool dressing room that we can seriously mount a genuine title challenge this season.
Its obviously a great help when you've got players in the calibre of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, who in my opinion are 2 of the world's best footballers, not just in England, but the work ethic of the team to fight they're way back from the brink is very pleasing indeed. A special mention must go out to Dirk Kuyt so far this season, he is much maligned as a Liverpool player and i'll admit, he isn't my favourite player either
Our Captain Steven Gerrard celebrated his 100th goal for the club last night with a trademark blockbuster free kick in front of the Kop, you couldn't have written a better script.
Or i suppose you could have of course, as on Saturday in the Merseyside derby, strong rumours circulated that underneath Gerrard's Liverpool shirt was a vest that had the words "100 up I'm the Daddy"...which would have been also quite fitting, as this modern day legend has had to endure the vile chants from the Evertonians over the years about his personal life & what a perfect way it would have been to shut them up.
As it happens, he had to wait until last night's Champions League game against Dutch Champions Psv Eindhoven and it was well worth the wait.
When the final whistle blew at the Velodrome on Tuesday night, Rafa Benitez could have been forgiven for thinking qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League might just be a bit more straightforward than it was 12 months ago when the Reds visited the same venue knowing only a win would take us through, not to mention save his job. It also signalled a satisfactory end to a trip that had threatened to throw up one catastrophe after another for me and my 3 fellow reds Dan, Ste and Mark who had made the trip to Southern France.
A quick look back at some of our home results emphasises why a title challenge failed to materialise last season. Birmingham City, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Wigan all came away from Anfield with a draw - that's eight points dropped in what many would consider "home bankers" in a season that saw us finish 11 points off the top. Therefore, it was absolutely vital we got our home campaign off to a winning start against a Boro side who will surprise a few people this season, and what a way to clinch it!
RAFAEL BENITEZ and chief executive Rick Parry have vowed to "move forward together" after holding clear-the-air talks at Liverpool.
But it remains highly unlikely that Gareth Barry will move to Anfield before the transfer window closes in 10 days' time.
The working relationship between the pair had become strained by Liverpool's prolonged pursuit of Aston Villa midfielder Barry.
Benitez is frustrated over the failure to sign one of his leading summer targets, and once again questioned the speed with which the club deals in the transfer market.
That was taken as a slight against Parry, but Benitez now accepts that the chief executive was not solely responsible for the Anfield hierarchy's decision not to meet Villa's £18million asking price for Barry.
Liverpool's American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are concerned there would be little sell-on value for a player who is already 28 years old.
ALL bar one of Ian Rush's most productive top flight seasons were spent at Anfield.
That solitary season in exile was spent in Italy at Juventus - and both player and Reds fans alike were relieved when it was over.
But the Liverpool legend may well have endured other Italian jobs, as he reveals in his new autobiography "Rush," published this week by Ebury Press.
Rush was offered a breathtaking deal by Napoli in the summer of 1984, when he had just celebrated an unforgettable 40-goal haul.
Liverpool predictably and stubbornly blocked the move.
RAFA BENITEZ and Rick Parry have held clear the air talks in a bid to draw a line under the fallout from the Gareth Barry saga.
The Liverpool manager met his chief executive at Anfield in a meeting which was described as "positive" by both parties.
Their working relationship has come under intense strain over the last week as the chances of the Reds doing a deal with Aston Villa for Barry have receded considerably.
Benitez remains deeply frustrated over the club's inability to secure one of his main targets for the summer and over the weekend his exasperation saw him question the speed at which Liverpool do deals, a jibe which many believed was aimed at Parry.
RYAN BABEL believes he is ready to take his game "to the next level" - with Rafael Benitez confident Liverpool will see the best of the Dutch forward this season.
Babel returned to Melwood this week after missing the start of the Premier League campaign while appearing for Holland in the Olympic Games.
The 21-year-old scored in the group stages and helped his country to the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Javier Mascherano's Argentina last Saturday.
Babel experienced a testing debut campaign at Anfield after arriving from Ajax for £11.5million last summer, rarely playing a full 90 minutes and limited to just 15 league starts.
LIVERPOOL are ready to walk away from Espanyol winger Albert Riera, rather than get drawn into another bidding war this summer.
The Spanish side reacted to renewed Reds interest in the 26-year-old by invoking a £16m release clause.
But if Espanyol refuse to lower their demands to something around the £9m mark, Liverpool will instantly switch their attentions to Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing.
The summer-long pursuit of Gareth Barry has caused internal strife at Anfield and the Reds cannot afford another prolonged saga.
England international Downing would be a more affordable option at £12m and would fulfil the preferred criteria of adding another English player to the squad.
Riera's agent, Magico Diaz, confirmed: "Liverpool want Riera but are reluctant to meet Espanyol's demands."
IN the week building up to the Matthew Street festival, the Beatles track 'We Can Work it Out' would seem very applicable at Anfield.
From Americans, to Barry, to lack of width there are so many things which need putting right before we can consider putting up any form of challenge for any silverware.
IT'S an old football saying - back him or sack him - and it's one Liverpool should be adopting with Rafa Benitez right now.
I share Rafa's belief that Gareth Barry would be an excellent addition to Liverpool's present squad. Equally I accept that he's not worth £18m.
But if the money is available in the club coffers and the manager wants to spend it, he should be given those resources.
That's how successful football clubs work.
Except it doesn't seem to be working that way at Anfield right now.
If the manager is allowed to buy the players he wants, you can then judge the manager on how those signings perform.
If Rafa signs Gareth Barry, and Liverpool don't progress into at least the top two, then the manager wouldn't have any excuses for a lack of progress. At the moment the Reds boss would be justified in saying he is not being allowed to do the job to the best of his ability.
LIVERPOOL are ready to turn their attentions to Albert Riera as hopes of bringing the Gareth Barry saga to a successful conclusion fade.
The Espanyol winger has been on Rafa Benitez's radar for some time and is under consideration to fill the Reds' troublesome left wing spot along with Middlesbrough's Stewart Downing.
Liverpool scouts watched Riera on several occasions last season and the 26-year-old is thought to have improved a great deal since he spent a year on loan at Man City two seasons ago.
Riera has already made it clear that he would relish a move to Anfield if Liverpool were to make a concrete offer for his services and a bid could now be imminent with the Reds' move for Barry all but dead.
The Liverpool board refuse to meet Aston Villa's £18m asking price for the England man, believing it to be far in excess of what the player is worth.
Benitez is now coming to terms with the fact that, unless Villa decide to reduce the fee for Barry, he is unlikely to be able to land one of his top targets for his ongoing team rebuilding programme and is ready to consider alternatives.
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