Gerrard out of England Games

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will miss Saturday's Premier League game against Swansea and England's friendlies against Spain and Sweden.

The midfielder has undergone treatment on an infected right ankle, which has been placed in a protective cast.

The problem caused Gerrard, who has only just returned after a six-month absence following groin surgery, to miss Saturday's 2-0 win at West Brom.

England play Spain at Wembley on 12 November and Sweden three days later.

Gerrard, 31, recently revealed his time out with the groin injury was one of the lowest points of his career.

The Reds skipper travelled to the Black Country with his team-mates last Friday only for his ankle to flare up on Saturday morning, ruling him out of the victory over Roy Hodgson's team.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said: "He was in our minds for the game, it just flared up. It's nothing to do with any injuries before, it's an infection."

Gerrard only returned to the side as a substitute against Brighton in the Carling Cup on 21 September.

Since then he has made two Premier League starts, against Manchester United and Norwich.

Gerrard and his wife Alex became parents for a third time with the announcement of the birth of their third daughter, Lourdes.

The girl was born at 1600 on Tuesday and weighed 7lb 15oz, the midfielder's spokesman said.

Gerrard was present at the birth and "both mum and baby are doing well", he said.

Downing Makes Liverpool Switch

Liverpool have completed the signing of Stewart Downing from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee believed to be £20m.

The 26-year-old winger, who becomes Kenny Dalglish's fourth summer signing, said: "It's a great feeling and I'm very happy to be here. It's been a long time coming and I've had to wait a few weeks but I'm really pleased.

"With the tradition, the manager and the players they have here, there was a big temptation and once I knew of their interest, there was only one place I wanted to go. When I wanted to come to Liverpool, it was the first thing I thought of – playing at Anfield in front of those great fans. I'm really looking forward to it."

The prospect of winning trophies on a regular basis also appealed to Downing. "It would be nice to win something. I'm sure that's the same objective for everyone, not just me. My aim is to be in the team, to play well and give something back, because the manager has pushed the boat out to get me here.

Downing's arrival marked the end of a busy day for Liverpool, who also completed the signing of the goalkeeper Alexander Doni from Roma. The 31-year-old Brazilian is thought to have joined on a free transfer after agreeing terms and passing a medical. Doni, who has 10 caps for Brazil, will provide backup and competition for Liverpool No1 José Reina, a role he also played at Roma behind Júlio Sérgio.

Downing and Doni join Jordan Henderson from Sunderland and Blackpool's Charlie Adam as Liverpool's summer recruits.

Staunton and Dalglish to be Reunited

With Liverpool in Dublin next Monday to play Bray Wanderers, a reunion of sorts will take place with Kenny Dalglish in town, as former Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton is expected to join the Anfield bootroom ahead of the new Premier League season. 

Having been out of the game since losing his job at Darlington in March 2010, the chance to return to the club which played such a major part in his early playing career where he won the First Division title, the FA Cup and Charity Shield - is no doubt welcome. 

Kop Legend Sammy Lee abruptly left his role of assistant manager at the end of June as Liverpool’s revolution under Kenny Dalglish continued and his sudden departure ended a long association with the club for the 52-year-old, who started his Anfield career as a schoolboy during the days of Bill Shankly. He then returned as Rafa Benitez’s No 2 in May 2008. 

Over recent weeks the suggested contenders to replace him have been Paul Clement, who left a similar position at Chelsea recently, and the club’s former midfielder Gary McAllister. 

Lee had also been assistant to Roy Hodgson before Dalglish returned as manager in January but the subsequent appointment of Steve Clarke as first-team coach altered his role, qhich culminated in his departure.

Staunton is another long time servant of Anfield having first been signed for Liverpool back in 1986 from Irish side Dundalk, making his debut as a substitute against Tottenham in 1988 and became the club's first choice left back. 

Although part of Liverpool's title winning side of 1990 he was sold, against his wishes, to Aston Villa the following summer where he spent a very successful seven years at Villa Park. He then re-signed for the Reds on a free transfer in 1998. 

He played a few games at Liverpool's problem left-back position during 1999/2000 and was a useful member of the squad as he could play at the left of a defensive three and in midfield. In the early part of the 2000/01 season Liverpool told him that he would be allowed to leave the club on a free transfer. Out of the first team picture at Anfield, he joined First Division Crystal Palace on loan in October 2000 to put himself in the shop window. There he played six games and scored one goal for the Eagles. 

In November 2000 he was recalled to Anfield as the Reds had a crisis at left back and Staunton was drafted in to play from the bench against Olympiakos in the Second Round of the UEFA Cup. That proved to be his last game for Gerard Houllier's and he rejoined Aston Villa on a free transfer in early December 2000. 

At Villa Park he made his second debut for the club in a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea and was immediately a crucial member of the Villa first team. By the end of the 2002/03 season, he had played a total of 318 games for the club. 

On the international front Steve played in Jack Charlton’s 1990 World Cup team that reached the quarterfinals -where he starred on the left side of defence at just 20 years old- and was also part of the 1994 World Cup squad in the USA that reached the last 16 in the United States. 

He took over the captain armband for the Republic of Ireland 2002 World Cup squad and led the Irish in the tournament in Japan/Korea after the events of Saipan. He announced his international retirement after winning 102 caps and scoring eight goals, becoming the first Irishman ever to break the magical 100 caps mark. 

Off the field following his retirement Steve Staunton worked with RTE covering some of Ireland’s 2004 European Championship qualifying home games and Sky Sports. 

In England Staunton continued to play club football, plying his trade with Coventry City until the summer of 2005 after leaving Aston Villa when David O’Leary arrived as manager. He did not return to Coventry after his contract expired, and joined Walsall on 2 August, 2005. 

He held the post of assistant coach at Walsall with Paul Merson until the 16 January 2006 when he was appointed manager of the Republic of Ireland senior international side. Fittingly, he was captain of the Walsall side that defeated Blackpool 2-0 on 31st December 2005, in what was his final game as a professional footballer. 

Following the departure of Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr, after the team failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, a tree-man sub- committee of the Football Association of Ireland(FAI) selected Steve Staunton as their new man for the EURO 2008 campaign. In February 2006 he was joined by former England manager Sir Bobby Robson supporting him in the role of International Consultant and with former Aston Villa teammate Kevin MacDonald as coach. 

A dream start with a 3–0 victory over Sweden in March of the same year set the Dundalk man on seemed like a promising career as international manager. 

However on the evening of October 23rd 2007 it all came to an end after Staunton failed to make an adequate case to be retained in the national team job. The 21 month reign subsequently ended with Don Givens taking temporary charge of the national team until Giovanni Trapattoni's appointment as manager. 

After that, Steve Staunton used scout players for Mick McCarthy for his Wolverhampton Wanderers club and then joined Leeds United in early 2008, working alongside Gary McAllister for a training session, with a view to becoming McAllister's assistant manager at the club. When McAllister was sacked by Leeds United in December 2008 after five consecutive defeats, Staunton also left the club. 

He joined Darlington in May 2009. 

Since being out of football Steve Staunton has regularly worked with Sky Sports as pundit and co-commentator on the Republic of Ireland international matches. 

Fact File 

Date of birth: January 19th, 969 

Place of birth: Drogheda 

Position Defender 

International Cap: 102 

International Goals: 8

Gerrard to Miss Liverpool Asia Tour

Steven Gerrard will miss Liverpool's pre-season tour of Asia as he continues to recover from two groin operations.

The 31-year-old England midfielder has been out of action since March.

"I'm sure people will appreciate Steven giving himself the best opportunity to play against Sunderland on the opening day of the new campaign," manager Kenny Dalglish told the club website.

"Steven and the medical team are in the final stages of getting him back to full training."

Gerrard initially had surgery after picking up the injury in the win at Chelsea in February and was scheduled to return before the end of last season.

But the Reds captain suffered a setback in his recovery and went under the knife for a second time in April, signalling the end of his campaign.

"I'd really been looking to travelling and meeting first hand as many as our fans as possible," said Gerrard.

"I'm really sorry that I won't now be able to do that.

"But after sitting down and talking with our medical experts, it's been decided that the best course of action is for me to continue my rehabilitation programme at Melwood.

"It's disappointing I won't be with them, but I'm sure the lads who go out there will put a great show on for our fans."

Liverpool will play games in China and Malayia as well as training in Singapore on the eight-day trip to the Far East, which begins on Sunday.

They begin their Premier League season at home to Sunderland on Saturday, 13 August before travelling to Arsenal a week later.

Keen Replaces Lee in Anfield Bootroom

Keen moves to Anfield

Liverpool Football Club have named former West Ham caretaker manager Kevin Keen as their new first-team coach.

The Reds have acted quickly to bolster their coaching team after assistant manager Sammy Lee left last week.

Keen worked with Steve Clarke, who joined Liverpool as first-team coach in January, when the Scot was assistant to Gianfranco Zola at West Ham.

Liverpool have not yet said if Clarke will take Lee's role or remain as a first-team coach.

Keen, 44, has signed a three-year deal and will start his new job on Monday when Liverpool begin pre-season training.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said Keen was "highly respected in the game and will be a great addition to our technical staff".

He was previously first-team coach at Upton Park and was the Hammers' caretaker manager on three occasions, the last of which came after Avram Grant's dismissal in May.

Keen subsequently declared his interest in taking the job on a permanent basis, but West Ham appointed Sam Allardyce as manager in June.

Keen also made more than 600 appearances in a playing career that included spells with West Ham, Wolves, Stoke City, Macclesfield and Wycombe.

Liverpool Give King Kenny Three Year Job

Sammy Lee, Steve Clarke and Kenny Dalglish

Kenny Dalglish signed a three-year contract as Liverpool manager on Thursday after helping the team recover from a dreadful start to the season and move to the brink of European qualification. The former Anfield striker returned for a second spell in charge of Liverpool in January when he replaced Roy Hodgson on a six-month deal. 

Dalglish has since overseen a dramatic improvement in results with a fifth place finish and a win away from qualification for next season's Europa League.

"I said when I took the job on in January that I was just happy to help the club out for the remainder of the season … now the owners have decided in their wisdom that they want me to stay a little longer and it's fantastic news," Dalglish said.

The permanent appointment of Dalglish, who won eight league titles as a player and a coach from 1977 to '90 to establish himself as a club legend, was hardly in doubt after the team's remarkable turnaround in form.

Taking over a team lacking in confidence and just four points above the relegation zone, Liverpool has lost just three times in the league in the last four months and catapulted up to fifth. 

"Kenny is a legendary Liverpool figure both as a supremely gifted footballer and successful manager," Liverpool owner John Henry said. "Since returning in January he has shown extraordinary leadership and the ability to bring the best out of so many people associated with the club."

"It was obvious to us very early on that the atmosphere surrounding the club had been transformed by his presence. No one else could have produced such a response."

Dalglish's first stint as manager ended for health reasons in 1991, a year after Liverpool won its 18th league title. He remained a fans' favourite, but was overlooked for the manager's job in the off-season when Hodgson was hired to replace Rafa Benitez.

However, he was drafted in by the club's new American owners in a time of crisis.

"This is a unique football club and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to help build something special here again," Dalglish said.

Assistant manager Steve Clarke has also agreed a three-year deal with the 18-time English champions, whose record haul of titles is set to be surpassed by fierce rival Manchester United.

"I want to salute the efforts of all the players as they have been fantastic and thank everyone at the club for the welcome they have given me since I returned in January," said Dalglish.

I also want to pay tribute to Steve Clarke's input since we started working together as he has brought great experience and knowledge to the role. The players enjoy the training sessions, understand their relevance to our actual football games and have responded brilliantly."

Fired Rafa Benitez Costs Liverpool

Liverpool Football Club paid former manager Rafael Benitez and his staff €7.8 million pounds ($12.8 million) in compensation after firing him at the end of last season, according to the team’s annual accounts.

Benitez left after Liverpool finished seventh last season in the Premier League and failed to qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2004. His departure came as former owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks were forced by their lenders to put the club up for sale. Liverpool was bought by the group that controls the Boston Red Sox in October.

Liverpool, which hasn’t won the English championship since 1990, remains one of soccer’s most popular teams with supporter groups spread around the world. The club’s latest shirt sponsorship deal with international bank Standard Chartered is worth 80.1 million pounds over four years and is among the largest in the sport. The accounts confirm the club lost 19.9 million pounds for the year ended July 31, 2010. 

Much of that was because of the exceptional costs linked to removing Benitez, the Spanish coach that led the team to its fifth European Cup in 2005, and higher interest costs. Interest payments rose to 17.7 million pounds from 12.9 million a year earlier. Total staff costs soared by 20 million pounds to 108.5 million pounds.

Hicks and Gillett lost control of the team after the forced sale to Fenway Sports Group, which was then called New England Sports Ventures. The sale went through after FSG agreed to repay loans totaling more than 220 million pounds to Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) and Wachovia Corp.

RBS, a government-controlled lender, has agreed to lend 92 million pounds to the club’s new holding company UKSV for working capital and stadium development funds, the accounts show. The team had used 94 percent of the funding by the end of January. Hicks and Gillett spent about 50 million pounds on planning and preliminary work at site near the team’s current Anfield stadium. FSG has said the team may stay there and “it is highly likely there will a significant right-off of the new stadium project cost”.

The club is likely to refinance its agreement with RBS “on acceptable terms.”

Since the end of July Liverpool has committed 76.2 million pounds to pay for new players and recouped 76.1 million pounds. The purchase of strikers Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January and the capture of midfielder Raul Meireles make up the bulk of the team’s outlay. Sales include the U.K. record 50 million pound transfer of Fernando Torres to Chelsea, Javier Mascherano’s move to Barcelona and sending Ryan Babel to Hoffenheim.

Liverpool fired Benitez’s replacement Roy Hodgson in January and brought in former title winning coach and player Kenny Dalglish. He’s lifted the team from its worst start in more than 50 years to sit in fifth place with three games remaining.

Dalglish Trusts Anfield Roar in Europa

Kenny Dalglish

For tonight's UEFA Europa League return leg at Anfield against Braga Liverpool trail to Alan's 18th-minute penalty with Kenny Dalglish insistent that the famous Anfield roar can salvage the  club's European campaign. 

"Even though we're one down, the fans can help us turn things around, but it's mainly up to us to help ourselves," said the Liverpool Legend "We need to start much better than in the first leg. We want to be in European competition next year and to do that we need to win matches, starting tomorrow. European football and this club are synonymous and we want it to continue."

Despite the visitors' aggregate lead, Dalglish does not expect Braga, who have already beaten Sevilla FC, Celtic FC and Arsenal FC this season, to approach Thursday's game with caution. 

"I didn't think Braga were defensive [last week] and I'd expect them to play pretty much the same way," he said. "It seems to be their style home or away. They were better than us, but we were disappointed as we think we can play much better."

Midfielder Jay Spearing, who has made seven UEFA Europa League appearances this term, also stressed how much reaching the quarter-finals means to Liverpool. "This is a massive competition for us, especially with us being out the League Cup and the FA Cup. Braga showed they're a very attacking team, but in the second half we showed we can cause them problems, particularly when Andy Carroll came on and starting winning a lot of balls."

"I'm pleased with everything Andy's done so far, the way he's recovered from injury, trained and gone about things when on the pitch," said Dalglish of his recently signed centre-forward. "The most important thing is that he's fit and well. I'll either start with him or he'll come on second half, depending how he does in training."

Centre-back Daniel Agger is also back in training and rated the most likely of several injured players – Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Kelly and Fábio Aurélio – to feature. Dalglish added that unavailable captain Steven Gerrard "feels good" after groin surgery.

Braga skipper Vandinho, meanwhile, has been out since mid February with a thigh problem yet figures in coach Domingos Paciência's 18-man squad. Defender Kaká and forward Alan also travel to England despite respective thigh and abdominal injuries, although Custódio and Elderson, who missed the first leg with thigh complaints, remain sidelined.

Midfielder Hugo Viana, for one, is excited about experiencing Anfield on a European night, with the ex-Newcastle United FC man confident his team will rise to the occasion. 

"We know the match at Anfield will be completely different and it's a very difficult stadium, but it's also the kind of venue and atmosphere which motivates every player," said Viana. "I think we have what it takes to handle the pressure and reach the last eight."

Roy Hodgson says he will not resign

Roy Hodgson says he will not resign as Liverpool manager | guardian.co.uk

Carragher injury blow for Liverpool

Carragher injury blow for Liverpool | Irish Examiner

Captain Fantastic hits hat-trick

Captain Fantastic hits 15-minute hat-trick | Mail Online

Torres, Reina and Johnson seek Anfield exit

Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina and Glen Johnson seek Anfield exit | Mail Online