Showing posts with label Liverpool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liverpool. Show all posts

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.


Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Ancelotti Remains on Sabbatical


Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed he intends to complete his year-long sabbatical before returning to club management.

The Italian, who left Real Madrid last season, had been linked with the vacancy at Liverpool created by the sacking of Brendan Rodgers. However, with Jürgen Klopp set to be appointed at Anfield in the near future, Ancelotti admitted it has always been his intention to take a year off.

“I enjoy my time now but, of course, I want to come back to manage - to work - because it is my passion,” he said at an event at the National History Museum in London on Tuesday.

“I want to take my time to rest, but next season I am ready.”

In a separate interview with French newspaper Le Parisien, Ancelotti suggested he could be open to a return to Paris Saint-Germain, where he spent two years before moving to Madrid in 2013.

“Why not? I have very good memories of Paris, PSG, I have good relations with everyone, with Nasser [al-Khelaifi, the PSG president],” said Ancelotti.

“But I’m thinking about other things and PSG has a very good coach in Laurent Blanc. I hope he will continue and shine in the Champions League.”

Ancelotti, who had back surgery after leaving Madrid in the summer, has been spending his time in the United States recently and posted a picture of him having dinner with Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo on his Twitter account last month.


Saturday, 26 September 2015

Gerrard Bookends Buck Rodgers


Steven Gerrard has criticised Brendan Rodgers’ “overconfident” approach to Liverpool’s fateful game against Chelsea that derailed the Merseyside club’s 2013-14 Premier League title bid.

Rodgers has had to deal with uncomfortable headlines linking the former Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp with his job, with scrutiny building after Liverpool needed penalties to scrape past Carlisle in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. And quotes from Gerrard’s new autobiography published in the Independent will do little to improve matters.

Liverpool led the table by five points with three games to go until they were beaten 2-0 by José Mourinho’s side in April 2014. Manchester City proceeded to win a game in hand and ultimately won the title by two points.

The match against Chelsea swung on Gerrard’s slip, which presented the ball to Demba Ba for a breakaway goal in first-half injury time. But in Steven Gerrard: My Story, the influential midfielder – now with LA Galaxy – points the finger at Rodgers as well.

Gerrard said: “I’ve never been able to say this in public before but I was seriously concerned that we thought we could blow Chelsea away. I sensed an over-confidence in Brendan’s team talks. We played into Chelsea’s hands. I feared it then and I know it now.”

Gerrard also recalls the moment he was told he would not be in the starting lineup against Manchester United last season. Gerrard was used as a half-time substitute in the game but was sent off just 38 seconds after his introduction for stamping on the United midfielder Ander Herrera – and he reveals in the book that he came close to venting his displeasure at Rodgers himself.

“A sudden lump formed in my throat,” he said of the conversation in the manager’s office earlier in the week. “I had a split-second decision to make. Do I have a go at him?”

Elsewhere in the book, Gerrard discusses his role in keeping Luis Suárez at the club in the summer of 2013. The Uruguay striker appeared set to join Arsenal, only for Liverpool to turn down the London club’s bid and keep Suárez at Anfield to spearhead that title near-miss.

Gerrard recalls texting Suárez to ask: “Luis, what’s going on here? We need to straighten this out.” The pair talked at training the next day and then met with Rodgers, with Suárez eventually persuaded to stay on Merseyside. He scored 31 league goals that season before leaving for Barcelona last summer.

Gerrard also describes being deployed to attract transfer targets to Anfield and claims he was asked by the club to “take a crack” by text at both Alexis Sánchez, before the Chile forward’s move from Barcelona to Arsenal, and the Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, who ultimately left Bayern Munich for Real Madrid.


Saturday, 16 May 2015

Anfield Finale for Gerrard

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Steven Gerrard will bid an emotional farewell to Anfield as Liverpool face Crystal Palace on Saturday Night Football.

It will be the 34-year-old’s final home match for the Reds after making more than 700 appearances over a 17-year spell. He will then finish his Liverpool career at Stoke on May 24 before jetting off to join MLS side LA Galaxy.

The Reds will be hoping to give Gerrard a winning send-off at Anfield after losing three of their last four matches to slip out of contention for a top-four finish.

Liverpool have only lost one of their previous 14 home league games against Crystal Palace but were beaten 3-1 at Selhurst Park earlier in the season.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard expects his final game at Anfield on Saturday to be emotional

Palace are still in with a slim chance of finishing in the top half of the table if they win their final two games, but are also looking to avoid a fifth successive defeat.

Gerrard will be given a guard of honour and is likely to start alongside Jordan Henderson in midfield as manager Brendan Rodgers expects to have the same squad which drew at Chelsea last weekend.

After being sidelined by a hamstring injury for five weeks, defender Mamadou Sakho trained this week, as did striker Mario Balotelli.

Crystal Palace have a clean bill of health and academy winger Sullay Kaikai could be among several youngsters to make the trip to Merseyside.

Crystal Palace have found the back of the net in each of their last six Premier League matches against the Reds, including exactly three goals in their last two.

Palace have scored more goals in their past six league games against Liverpool (11) than the previous 19 (10).

Of Gerrard’s 92 Premier League assists, 51 have arrived at home. Only three players (Ryan Giggs 84, Dennis Bergkamp 66 and Frank Lampard 52) have provided more assists at home for a single club than the Liverpool captain has in the Premier League.

However, Gerrard has recorded just one assist this campaign, his lowest total since his debut season in the Premier League in 1998/99 (0 in 12 games).

Simon Mignolet and Jordan Henderson could make their 53rd appearance of the campaign in all competitions, more than any other Premier League player has managed.

Jason Puncheon (12) has had a hand in more Premier League goals than any other Crystal Palace player this season (five goals, seven assists).


Sunday, 11 May 2014

Title for Pellegrini and Kompany

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Manchester City cruised to their second Premier League title in three years with a comfortable 2-0 victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium.

Needing only a point for glory, City finally broke through the massed ranks of West Ham defenders in the 39th minute when Samir Nasri's low long-range shot proved too hot to handle for goalkeeper Adrian.

That removed any lingering nerves for Manuel Pellegrini's men, who have only led the Premier League for 14 days this season, with Liverpool's 2-1 win against Newcastle at Anfield ensuring City ended the season as they began the final day - two points clear of their nearest rivals.

Vincent Kompany gleefully lashed home a Nasri corner from six yards out early in the second half to start the party at the Etihad, and with Joe Hart a virtual spectator throughout the game, there was never even a hint of a West Ham fightback.

It was raining heavily at kick-off but the atmosphere was raucous and City approached the game with the confidence of a side that were comfortable and in control of their destiny.

City's top scorer Sergio Aguero was back in their side after injury but not at his sharpest, although on this occasion his brilliance was not needed.

West Ham did play a little more positively than the previous visitors, Aston Villa in midweek, but the occasions they threatened were still few and far between.

The hosts appealed unsuccessfully for a penalty early on after Mark Noble deflected a Pablo Zabaleta cross onto his hand.

Their first real chance came after David Silva and Aguero combined well on the edge of the box. Yaya Toure's initial effort was blocked before Silva volleyed over from a Zabaleta cross.

Zabaleta then wanted a penalty after going down under a challenge from Mohamed Diame before Aguero showed some nimble footwork to spark an attack from inside his own half.

The ball was worked across the field and Aguero tried to finish from distance but slipped as he shot and Adrian saved comfortably.

Nasri then had a good cross turned behind and Toure curled a shot narrowly wide as news filtered through that Liverpool had fallen behind in their game against Newcastle.

City maintained the pressure, with Aleksandar Kolarov forcing Adrian to tip over a powerful drive from distance.

Nasri finally broke through six minutes before the interval as he took aim from 20 yards and struck a powerful low shot which flew beyond Adrian and into the side-netting.

City fans then increased the volume significantly and Aguero glanced a header wide before Silva saw an effort deflected onto the bar off Andy Carroll.

City truly got the party started four minutes into the second half when Kompany stabbed home from six yards after Edin Dzeko won the ball from a corner - the City captain celebrating with unconfined joy.

West Ham did make a rare charge to the City end but Matt Taylor's mistimed shot bounced wide.

Aguero had two opportunities to extend City's lead but headed wide at the near post and then failed to connect cleanly in front of an open goal from a Zabaleta cross.

That sparked an unnecessary scuffle between several players of both sides and Aguero was eventually booked, but it could not dampen City's celebrations.

They knew the job was completed and the hosts duly played out the closing minutes with little alarm to prompt a pitch invasion and jubilant scenes.


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