Month: May 2006

Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse has now changed his mind about wanting to remain a Red, if quotes attributed to him today are to be believed.

Djibs has been telling anyone who’ll listen, for the past few months at least, that he was happy at Anfield. He had a new wife, and new house, and he was enjoying himself. He scored on Saturday in the FA Cup final to add to the two he got in the Super Cup final at the start of the season. Now though it seems he wants to go back to the league where he was much more successful in front of goal and play for Marseille.

The 24-year-old is in the French squad for the World Cup, and told La Provence that he’d be taking any offer from Marseille seriously: “I would look seriously at an offer, if Marseille showed renewed interest. I have never hidden my interest in playing for Marseille. For me France has two clubs, Auxerre and Marseille, who I have always dreamt about.”

Continue reading Djibs admits Marseille move appeals to him

Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher says that England have to show their willingness to give everything they’ve got to the cause – similar to the way Liverpool played at Cardiff on Saturday. And for that matter the way they played a year ago in Istanbul. Both times Liverpool came out on top on penalties after having to fight their way back to level terms at full time. Both matches ended 3-3 too. If anything the fight has to be even stronger in the World Cup, says Carra: “The FA Cup is every year and the World Cup is every four years – but who knows when you’re going to be in an FA Cup final again.”

Carra is, along with Peter Crouch and Steve Gerrard, in Portugal for an England training camp as the longest season they’ve ever been involved in continues. Carra may not even be selected to start any games for England, but they’ll be missing a player that kicks the backsides of his team-mates when he’s wearing a red shirt and makes sure they are giving it their all. He says his attitude would be the same in an England shirt: “In a World Cup game, if there’s 20 minutes to go and the score’s not going right, you know it could be another four years  and some players may never get the chance again. So it does become a life and death thing, where you’ve just got to give it everything.”

Continue reading Carra – England need Reds’ determination

Rafael Benítez has been on the hunt for a right-winger now for what seems an age. He found one in the end, but although Steven Gerrard has had arguably his best season on the right side of midfield, the manager would like the option to use his captain more centrally too.

With Jan Kromkamp destined to move on in the summer, Rafa has got his eye on another player who can play right-back or right-wing. Seville’s Daniel Alves has said that he’d be happy to play at Anfield and if he did sign for the Reds he’d give Rafa some of those options he likes so much.

The two biggest problems for Liverpool will be the transfer fee and the interests of Barcelona in the player. The latest fee being talked about is £7m, and that is certainly the sort of fee Liverpool would be able to pay. If Barca do get involved and start any kind of bidding war then Liverpool will shift their attention elsewhere. Neither side has yet made a bid to Seville, but the price they are informally talking about is way too high for Liverpool’s liking. They aren’t short of money either, so if they want to dig their heels in they can.

Continue reading Alves to fix right-wing problem?

There is currently no such thing as Liverpool FC’s official newspaper, but if they had one it would probably be the Liverpool Echo. Their main writer for all things Liverpool is Chris Bascombe. It always worth reading what Chris has to say, but sometimes you need to also read between the lines. Today the Echo were granted an exclusive interview with Rafael Benitez.

First up is a little message from Benitez to Mourinho. The Portuguese boss has spent his whole time in England stirring up trouble in one way or another. Eventually he got on the nerves of the London media enough for them to actually see him for what he really is. So, ensuring he stayed the centre of attention rather than his players, Mourinho threw his winners’ medals into the crowd after Chelsea received their Premiership Trophy. Afterwards he complained about how he had been treated, saying he expected more credit for spending and complaining his way to the title. Rafa isn’t too impressed.

The Spaniard says, “I hear some people say they never get the credit they deserve when they win trophies, but there are some achievements which are more valuable than others. I congratulate teams like Wigan and West Ham who have done very well with no money to spend, and I think there is more value in our success in the last two years because we’ve done it without being able to go out and buy the most expensive players in the world. That’s harder.”

Continue reading Rafa talks a little about his summer plans

Strong rumours this morning and into the afternoon that Liverpool have signed Jermaine Defoe. More on this as we get to hear more about it, but at the moment it is still just that – rumour. It’s not the only one either.

It’s no secret that Liverpool are in the market for a new striker, and Defoe is a player they’ve been linked with for some time. However Darren Bent is also linked very strongly with a move to make him a Red for next season, so we’ll just have to wait.

Still only rumours, but Shaun Wright-Phillips could be on his way, as could Jermain Pennant. Liverpool will have new full-backs for next season, but in addition to John Arne Riise and Steven Finnan, not in their place. Despite putting in a good performance at Cardiff Jan Kromkamp is set to leave over the summer, he’s just not been able to settle in at the club. And if Jan Kromkamp is to go back home to Holland, does that mean Dirk Kuyt is part of a deal?

Silly season is now underway, hold on tightly.

Continue reading Defoe to sign?

Liverpool lifted the FA Cup on Saturday for the seventh time, after a final almost as exciting as Istanbul. And that is saying something.

It’s not very often that the Liverpool chairman David Moores speaks in public, preferring to let Rick Parry and the playing and coaching staff do all the speaking for him, but he was happy to praise the latest achievements of the Reds.

He started with Steven Gerrard: “It’s self-explanatory what Stevie means to this club. He’s a talisman. You could never replace him, so thank Christ it was all sorted out with him last year. He’s now settled and I know he’ll be with us for life. He’s an unbelievable player I wouldn’t swap for anybody.”

Moores also referenced Jamie Carragher’s recent comments when the defender said team-mate Gerrard would possibly only be behind legend Kenny Dalglish if you compiled a list of all the greats to have played at Anfield over the years. “Kenny’s one of my all-time heroes, and there have been so many greats for this club. If you ask who was the best, it would be Kenny. But I think Carra is right. If you’re looking at Stevie, he’d be regarded as highly. If he makes a great manager as well at the end of it all, you never know. He’s got everything. He’s been magnificent and different class. I thought a performance like that could never happen again after Istanbul, but we never make it easy for ourselves. It’s a good job I got my heart sorted out.”

Moores enthused about how good a match it was too: “About 300m people worldwide watched that game, so what a great advert for Liverpool Football Club and for English football. Top marks to West Ham, who played their part. I’m not sure anyone deserved to lose, but we took great penalties and Pepe made great saves. Over the course of the competition we did all the hard work beating Manchester United and Chelsea, so it would have been devastating not to have won the cup.”

Now of course, there’s just one prize left to get, the one we’ve had before 18 times already: “We’ve won the FA Cup twice, the league cup, the Champions League and UEFA Cup, but everyone knows what we’re all striving for. With Rafa, I’m confident it won’t be too long, but I know if I say that it builds everyone’s expectations. It’s been a tremendous season, no matter what the result on Saturday. It’s another trophy in the cabinet and I think we’ve won as many trophies since the start of the millennium as any club in Europe.”

Moores also explained how Rafa the perfectionist thought of the match: “Rafa is very happy, but he says we made terrible mistakes, which is great. He’s happy to win, but he tells people in no uncertain terms what they should do better. He’s a perfectionist.”

Continue reading Cup Reaction – LFC Chairman David Moores.

Penalty Shoot-Out:

Liverpool: 3 (Didi Hamman, Steven Gerrard, John Arne Riise) out of 4
West Ham: 1 (Teddy Sheringham) out of 4

Score after extra time: Liverpool 3 (Cisse 32, Gerrard 54, 90) – West Ham 3 (Carragher (o.g.) 21, Ashton 28, Koncheski 64)

Liverpool: J Reina, S Finnan, J Carragher, S Hyypia, J Riise, S Gerrard, X Alonso (J Kromkamp, 67) M Sissoko, H Kewell (F Morientes, 48), D Cisse, P Crouch (D Hamann, 71)
Unused subs: J Dudek, D Traore
Colours: Red shirts, Red shorts, Red socks
Booked: Carragher 63, Hamman 118

West Ham: S Hislop, L Scaloni, A Ferdinand, D Gabbidon, P Konchesky, Y Benayoun, C Fletcher (C Dailly, 77), N Reo-Coker, M Etherington (T Sheringham, 85), D Ashton (B Zamora, 71) M Harewood
Unused subs: J Walker, J Collins
Colours: White shirts, White shorts, White Socks
Booked: Ashton 60

Referee: Alan Wiley
Assistants: Ceri Richards and Darren Cann
Fourth Official: Phil Dowd

Kick-off: 3pm BST

Half-time: 1-2
End-of-Normal-Time: 3-3
End of 1st Period Extra-time: 3-3
End of Extra-time: 3-3

Continue reading FA Cup Final: Liverpool win 3-1 on penalties.

After Extra Time (match now goes to penalties):

Liverpool 3 (Cisse 32, Gerrard 54, 90) – West Ham 3 (Carragher (o.g.) 21, Ashton 28, Koncheski 64)

Liverpool: J Reina, S Finnan, J Carragher, S Hyypia, J Riise, S Gerrard, X Alonso (J Kromkamp, 67) M Sissoko, H Kewell (F Morientes, 48), D Cisse, P Crouch (D Hamann, 71)
Unused subs: J Dudek, D Traore
Colours: Red shirts, Red shorts, Red socks
Booked: Carragher 63, Hamman 118

West Ham: S Hislop, L Scaloni, A Ferdinand, D Gabbidon, P Konchesky, Y Benayoun, C Fletcher (C Dailly, 77), N Reo-Coker, M Etherington (T Sheringham, 85), D Ashton (B Zamora, 71) M Harewood
Unused subs: J Walker, J Collins
Colours: White shirts, White shorts, White Socks
Booked: Ashton 60

Referee: Alan Wiley
Assistants: Ceri Richards and Darren Cann
Fourth Official: Phil Dowd

Kick-off: 3pm BST

Half-time: 1-2
End-of-Normal-Time: 3-3
End of 1st Period Extra-time: 3-3
End of Extra-time: 3-3

Continue reading FA Cup Final: Liverpool 3 West Ham 3 AET

End of Normal Time: Liverpool 3 (Cisse 32, Gerrard 54, 90) – West Ham 3 (Carragher (o.g.) 21, Ashton 28, Koncheski 64)

Liverpool: J Reina, S Finnan, J Carragher, S Hyypia, J Riise, S Gerrard, X Alonso (J Kromkamp, 67) M Sissoko, H Kewell (F Morientes, 48), D Cisse, P Crouch (D Hamann, 71)
Unused subs: J Dudek, D Traore
Colours: Red shirts, Red shorts, Red socks
Booked: Carragher 63

West Ham: S Hislop, L Scaloni, A Ferdinand, D Gabbidon, P Konchesky, Y Benayoun, C Fletcher (C Dailly, 77), N Reo-Coker, M Etherington (T Sheringham, 85), D Ashton (B Zamora, 71) M Harewood
Unused subs: J Walker, J Collins
Colours: White shirts, White shorts, White Socks
Booked: Ashton 60

Referee: Alan Wiley
Assistants: Ceri Richards and Darren Cann
Fourth Official: Phil Dowd

Kick-off: 3pm BST

Half-time: 1-2

Continue reading FA Cup Final: Score after 90: Liverpool 3 West Ham 3

Half-time: Liverpool 1 (Cisse 32) – West Ham 2 (Carragher (o.g.) 21, Ashton 28)

Liverpool: J Reina, S Finnan, J Carragher, S Hyypia, J Riise, S Gerrard, X Alonso, M Sissoko, H Kewell, D Cisse, P Crouch
Subs: J Dudek, J Kromkamp, D Hamann, F Morientes, D Traore
Colours: Red shirts, Red shorts, Red socks

West Ham: S Hislop, L Scaloni, A Ferdinand, D Gabbidon, P Konchesky, Y Benayoun, C Fletcher, N Reo-Coker, M Etherington, D Ashton, M Harewood
Subs: J Walker, C Dailly, T Sheringham, J Collins, B Zamora
Colours: White shirts, White shorts, White Socks

Referee: Alan Wiley
Assistants: Ceri Richards and Darren Cann
Fourth Official: Phil Dowd

Kick-off: 3pm BST

Continue reading FA Cup Final: Half-time. Liverpool 1 West Ham 2