"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
Bill Shankly, Liverpool FC
Showing posts with label LFC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LFC. Show all posts
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
View from the Top - Bill Shankly
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
Footie Quotes - Bob Paisley OBE
'Mind you, I've been here during the bad times too - one year we came second.'
Bob Paisley, Liverpool manager 1974 - 1983
Friday, 11 March 2016
Newcastle Name Benitez as New Manager
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| Getty Images |
Rafael Benitez has been named as Newcastle's new manager, following the sacking of Steve McClaren.
The former Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Valencia boss takes over with the Magpies a point from safety with 10 games left.
Spaniard Benitez, 55, has signed a three-year contract and brought in coaches Fabio Pecchia, Francisco de Miguel Moreno and Antonio Gomez Perez.
"C'mon Toon Army. The club and I need your total involvement," he said.
Benitez was sacked in January after seven months as Real Madrid boss.
He spent six years as Liverpool manager, winning the Champions League in 2005. He also had an interim spell with Chelsea, guiding the Blues to Europa League success in 2013.
"I have the pleasure to confirm I have committed to a legendary English club, with the massive challenge of remaining part of the Premier League," he said.
"It will be a challenge not just for me and my staff but for the players, the club and the fans.
"All of us must push together in the same direction and with the same target in mind. This is the reason why I'm going to ask for your total support to successfully complete this task.
"Personally, it means my return to the Premier League, closer to my home and my family. I can't be happier."
Under the former England manager's guidance, Newcastle won just six of 28 Premier League games.
Coaches Paul Simpson, Alessandro Schoenmaker and Steve Black have all left the club.
Managing director Lee Charnley said: "In Rafa we have, without doubt, secured the services of one of Europe's top managers.
"He has managed some of the most successful teams at the very highest level of the game and we are proud to now have him as our manager.
"Our sole focus now is to give our full support to Rafa, his coaching team and the players in order to secure our status in the Premier League."
Former Magpies defender Steve Howey told BBC Radio 5 live: "Benitez could be a fans' favourite straight away. He's got a fantastic track record.
"Sunderland seem to have done it in the last couple of seasons, changing their manager and getting a positive result.
"It's a big contrast for him. It's not that long since he was manager of Real Madrid and if things don't go well he could be playing on a horrible, windy, wet midweek game down at MK Dons."
Friday, 19 February 2016
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Mascherano Holds Out on Tax
Javier Mascherano has decided against commuting the one-year prison sentence that he received for tax fraud in Spain to a fine.
The Barcelona player refused to pay the 280,000-euro penalty that the judge suggested because he believed the amount to be excessive. Mascherano, did admit to tax fraud and paid the Spanish tax authorities the amount they had claimed before the case even reached court. In the end the former Liverpool player was only willing to part with 21,000 euros.
Spanish radio station CadenaSER reported that the figure suggested by the Argentina international was accepted by the public prosecutor, but not by the tax authorities' lawyers, who deemed it insufficient and demanded a bigger sum from the investigating judge.
With a one-year jail term hanging over him, Mascherano has already been forced to pay a separate 815,000-euro fine, also return the 1.5 million euros that he owed in tax and cover the legal costs.
The Barcelona star made all the payments quickly and then attempted to cut a deal for a financial arrangement to override the jail sentence, despite the fact that he was never going to have to serve it because it was his first and was for less than two years.
Mascherano's refusal to pay the fine suggested by the judge will delay the trial and means he will have to avoid committing any other crimes over the next year in order to stay out of prison.
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Benteke Not Load of Klopp - Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers has defended the signing of Christian Benteke by claiming his successor at Liverpool, Jürgen Klopp, tried to buy the striker when he was in charge of Borussia Dortmund.
“I took him to Liverpool in the summer because we were really short on goals and the one thing he does give you is goals, but obviously it’s going to take him time to get up to the way the team wants to play and Jürgen wants to press,” Rodgers told Talksport.
“I think Jürgen will take his time with him,” he added. “In this country, now, everything is very ‘short-termism’, isn’t it? People look at it like, you’ve got to come in, get 20 goals in your first season or you might be deemed a failure.
“I don’t think Jürgen’s looking at it as that. He tried to sign him for Dortmund. He knows he’s a good player. He met the boy, he met the agent, he met them in Germany, so he knows he’s a good player.”
The Belgian striker cost Liverpool £32.5m from Aston Villa in July in what appeared to be a panic buy by Rodgers but has largely been kept on the bench since Klopp took over in October.
Saturday, 16 January 2016
Garcia Leaves Anfield for Australia
Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is the man most responsible for former Spain international and UEFA Champions League winner Luis Garcia joining the Central Coast Mariners.
Speaking to Fox Sports’ Michael Zappone during the second half of Central Coast’s A-League game with Adelaide United, Mariners’ manager Tony Walmsley revealed it was a good word from Gerrard that swayed the Mariners.
“He will bring quality first and foremost and great character,” Walmsley said.
“We got a great reference from Stevie Gerrard and he said you wouldn’t get a better person in terms of someone to pass on his experience to young players.
“The tips from within Liverpool were you couldn’t get a better man and he’s going to bring us a lot of quality on the pitch as well and a lot of spectators everywhere we go.”
Spectators and quality are two things the cellar-dwelling Mariners desperately need having just lost star midfielder Anthony Caceres to English Premier League giants Manchester City.
Garcia, 37, who recently played in Australia as a part of the Liverpool Legends match has signed on as Central Coast’s marquee player.
“I am really looking forward to being on the coast, meeting my fellow players, meeting the fans and to entertain them with my style of play,” Garcia said.
"One of the things that attracted me to the club was the opportunity to share my experience with a young playing group. I am also looking forward to playing football in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” Garcia said.
Garcia, who played for Liverpool, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid during his career, ends a two-year retirement by signing for the Mariners.
He won 20 caps for Spain, scoring four times.
In his club career, Garcia has so far scored 107 goals in 431 matches.
Monday, 11 January 2016
Klopp Sends Pep Fixture Warning
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned Pep Guardiola that the greatest challenge he will face in the Premier League is the busy fixture schedule.
The German also advises his Spanish rival that the weather in Britain is "not great" but adds the food is "much better than everybody said".
Guardiola, 44, who will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season, said he plans to work in England next.
He has been linked with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Klopp said that the amount of domestic cup games had surprised him following his move to England in October.
"The number of games is the biggest difference," he said.
"When I came here, I didn't know there were two rounds [legs] in the semi-final of the Capital One Cup.
Klopp, 48, said he had received messages of congratulations from friends after his side beat Stoke 1-0 in last Tuesday's League Cup semi-final first leg.
"I had people in Germany, saying: 'Yeah, you're in the final again!'" recalled the former Borussia Dortmund boss. "Idiots!"
With 12 players out injured, Klopp named an inexperienced team for Friday's 2-2 FA Cup third-round draw at Exeter.
He has indicated he will field a similar side for next week's replay.
"In Germany, when you tell people that if you draw in the FA Cup, you play again, they say: 'What?' Here you have penalties and extra time, but only after the second game," he said.
"That's the thing, it's the number of games... football, football, football."
But he insisted that Guardiola is "so experienced" he will cope.
"I'm sure he will buy a few players and have a good team... 35 players or whatever,"
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