Liverpool News Archives

If you believe the hype, the 2007/2008 English Premier League season was the most exciting and unpredictable season that we’ve had in a long, long time.

Except for the eventual top 4. Or the top 2. Or guessing 2 out of 3 relegation contenders. Or seeing recently taken-over teams embrace mid-table mediocrity instead of European football. Or seeing solid ball-playing sides like Everton and Aston Villa end up in the top half of the table. Or seeing Mourinho leave after everyone had predicted his departure.

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“Judas, Judas”, that evocative biblical name could be applied and regularly chanted at either Gareth Barry or Dimitar Berbatov next season if they are seen to depart their clubs for the promised land of the ‘Big Four’.

They’d be following in some familiar and famous footsteps in running the gauntlet of public opinion - deciding to sacrifice any good PR for a move to a better-placed club and the prospect of major honours.

Nick Barmby and Luis Figo (2000), Sol Campbell (2001), Rio Ferdinand (2002), Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Alan Smith (2004) know all about consequences of leaving a club you have developed ties with for a bitter rival.

Both Barry and Berbatov are loved by Aston Villa and Spurs fans respectively and their clubs’ would dig deep in their pockets to keep them, but they cannot currently offer the one thing that both players crave – Champions League football.

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Can someone clue me in - did Tottenham always have this much to spend, or is it the fact that they’re realizing that winning is nice that’s making them shell out big bucks?

Today’s transfer rumors are Spurs-heavy, so if you hate Tottenham, or are a Spurs fan who doesn’t want to get their hopes up (or dashed), it’s okay to read selectively.

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We had an e-mail at Soccerlens this morning from a distraught football official who feels that he has been unfairly castigated by fans, managers, players, pundits, his family, his friends, people in the street, total strangers, his pets, the media, the unions, the employers, his colleagues and anyone who knows the slightest thing about fairness, efficiency or football.

The man is very down and he needs our help.

Dear Soccerlens,

I am writing to you in despair. I have seen the help you have given others and you are the only people I can now turn to. Before I start, I would like to ask you how much you pay your excellent writer Graham Fisher. I’m sure it isn’t enough.

I have officiated at two games of football this season involving my favourites, the champions Manchester United. In both of these games I have performed admirably and made some excellent and crucial decisions. Despite the brilliance of my performance, everybody else in the world seems to think I have got it wrong. How can I have got it wrong if United have won the league?

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Highlights from the final day of the 07/08 Premier League season:

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Saying goodbye to the football season is very much like giving birth to a ginger child: after nine months of optimism, hope and anguish, you’re left with a genuine feeling of disappointment.

The final day is often emotional. Who could forget Arsenal pipping Liverpool to the title in 1989? Well sadly, my old man. In fact, if you see a small befuddled pensioner roaming the streets, you’ll be better off avoiding football trivia altogether; senility is no picnic.

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Today’s transfer roundup starts with transfer-related news, but not a big rumor. Instead, I give two thumbs-up to Real Madrid’s Wesley Sneijder for looking out for his brother’s best interests, as he stepped in to prevent Real from making an offer to former club Ajax for his brother Rodney, a promising youth team player.

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Today’s transfer roundup starts up as the last one did, so Arsenal fans, feel free to jump a couple of paragraphs.

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Guess who’s back? That’s right, me and the transfer roundup.

The season’s winding down and the rumors are heating up, so you’ll be seeing me in this space regularly.

Anyway, on to the good stuff!

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Uefa’s Under-17 Championships have revealed many a burgeoning young talent to a wider audience in the last six years. It is the stage where Wayne Rooney (2002), Cesc Fabregas (2004), Nuri Sahin (2005), Toni Kroos (2006) and Bojan Krkic (2007) strutted their stuff and won the ‘Golden Boy’ award.

You have to wonder what happened to David Rodriguez after his 2003 performance, such is the mark of quality that goes with the recognition of being the best player on show. But who are this year’s likely lads ? Who cares which nation takes the trophy, we all want to know where the next generation of star names are going to come from!

From what I hear, he could come from an area of Liverpool called West Derby, via Madrid and Argentina and go by the name Gerry Brown (local translation), but we will have to wait and see. I’ve picked out eight names to keep an eye on for the duration of the event - May 4-16 in Antalya, Turkey.

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The move to Liverpool will tick several boxes for the Aston Villa captain: he gets to make more money (in a short career that’s always a consideration), he gets to play Champions League football and he gets to dream about the Premier League title as opposed to Champions League qualification. It’s a lifestyle upgrade, and although it won’t matter as much (I’m sure Barry has friends at Villa too) Steven Gerrard is being touted as another reason for Barry to leave Villa for Pool.

And then there is his candidacy for a midfield berth with the England national team. He is not my favourite footballer mainly because he has pushed Michael Carrick down the pecking order but the man’s game is more complete than Carrick’s and his versatility and ability to influence a game gives him an edge.

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Highlights from the midweek Champions League semifinals:

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Tubby Brazilian Ronaldo may be one of the greatest players to ever grace a football pitch, but he’s definitely a poor role model. The AC Milan man let himself down when he invited three members of the late-night entertainment industry back to a motel. It wasn’t just the fact that they turned out to be ladyboys; he shamefully offered to pay them for doing nothing. If I pay a builder to construct a conservatory, and he brings along a few superfluous tools, I’d expect him to keep his head down and finish the job.

This sorry tale was not the only case of mistaken identity this week; Rio Ferdinand kicked a female Chelsea steward after mistaking her for a wall. It sounds like a tall story, but I once kicked the wife by accident; I thought she was her mother.

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According to Forbes.com Manchester United have been valued at $1.8 billion, ahead of the club traditionally known as the richest club in football (Real Madrid, $1.285 billion) and their chief domestic rivals Arsenal ($1.2 billion), Liverpool ($1.05 billion) and Chelsea ($764 million).

Have fun sorting the lists according to different criteria. Here are some highlights:

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Looking through the Soccerlens mailbag this week we came across a letter from a Premier League player who is facing a difficult dilemma. As always, Soccerlens can help.

Dear Soccerlens,

I am faced with an impossible decision at a crucial stage in my career. I don’t know what to do for the best and I am told that you are the people to come to for advice. I certainly enjoy reading Graham Fisher’s stuff, I really don’t think he gets paid enough.

I am twenty-seven years old and am a one club man. I skipper my team and everyone here likes me. I have played at centre-half, left back, left midfield and am now one of the best central midfield players in the country. I must be because I’ve got eighteen England caps to prove it. So put that in your pipe in smoke it.

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Saturday 26 April 2008 - English Premier League highlights:

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The Liverpool 2008/2010 Home Shirt is now available for pre-order. The shirt will be launched on 22nd May and as with all things Liverpool they are bound to be a sell-out so get your order in as quickly as possible to ensure that you get your hands on the new 08/10 Liverpool home kit first.

And as an added incentive, with every pre-order of the new Liverpool home kit you will also get a free Torres shirt for being smart enough to order ahead of time.

Here’s the shirt itself:

Liverpool 08/09 Home Shirt

Pre-order your Liverpool home shirt now.

I’m not a fan of the red and white pattern inside the shirt on the back but other than that it’s simple, traditional and the collar isn’t half-bad either.

So here you go - pre-order Liverpool’s next season’s home kit and book your El Nino tee as well.

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

Liverpool players scored both goals with Dirk Kuyt giving the Kops the lead. Riise scored a shocker own goal which beat Reina all the way. Advantage Chelsea!

By the way, you can catch all coverage of the Liverpool - Chelsea semifinal here.

Visit goalcentre.com for more football videos.

Photo Caption: Grant thinks Kenyon was joking when Chelsea picked AG as manager - the ironic bit is, Kenyon might have been.

Both Avram Grant and Rafael Benitez have been locked in various off-pitch wrangles lately. Grant with the press and the fans and if the media is to be believed, players. Benitez with the owners, the board and Neil Warnock.

Both managers recently wrote in to Soccerlens to let off some steam and get some answers to their problems. Here’s how that particular exchange went:

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On Wednesday, 9 April, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson reached his fifth Champions League semifinal after his club progressed at the expense of AS Roma.

Only Carlo Ancelotti has reached so many semifinals as head coach in this competition. What’s interesting to note here is both Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez have made it to 3 semi-finals each, and at their (relatively) young age it’s quite likely that they will get to a few more semi-finals, assuming that they go in the upward trajectory that their career paths have suggested till now.

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Here’s a list of the top scorers in this year’s Champions League (so far), plus their career stats for the Champions League:

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While Manchester United keep closing the gap between themselves and rivals Liverpool in terms of league titles, a debutant playing at Anfield is close to matching (and if opportunities permit, breaking) a record set by a former Manchester United striker.

With 3 games left in the Premier League (2-3 more in Europe), Fernando Torres has 30 goals from 42 appearances, and 22 from 31 appearances in the Premier League. This leaves him just 1 short of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record of 23 goals from 32 appearances, and 6 short of his overall first season (2001/2002) tally of 36 goals from 45 games.

These numbers are phenomenal - RVN’s strike rate of 150 goals in 201 games is legendary and Torres can bring that consistency of 4-5 seasons (at least) to Liverpool, then who knows where they’ll go?

Some numbers:

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Liverpool v Chelsea, Semifinal, 2007/2008 Champions League

First Leg:
Anfield, Liverpool - Tuesday 22 April 2008 - 19:45 GMT

Second Leg:
Stamford Bridge, London - Wednesday 30 April 2008 - 19:45 GMT

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Yes, we’re back to that age old rivalry between the Red-Men from Liverpool, and the Blues from London, the Angels of the North against the Arseholes of the South. So here is a very Liverpool view on why we will beat Chelsea, and then see Fergie in the final in Moscow.

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It’s that time of the season when the player of the season awards start being handed out. It’s also the time of the season when us fans argue about who has been the best player in each of the positions. It is unlikely that any two fans would select an identical ‘team of the year’ but for the purposes of debate and ‘friendly’ discussion I thought I’d have a go at putting my ideas on paper.

I have selected a squad of twenty-two from which I will select my final Premier League eleven. I just know that the players I select will be hugely proud to be recognised by me, a man who all the top players listen to. Mmm.

I’m going for a good old fashioned 4-4-2. Not because it is the only way to play but because it makes it easier to put down on paper!
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Highlights from the Premier League games on Sunday, 13 April 2008:

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Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have all progressed to the Champions League semifinals for the second season in a row which equals the record set in 2000/2001 when three of the previous year’s semifinalists again reached the last four.

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Like last season, Ronaldo is a strong favourite for winning the Professional Footballers’ Association players’ player of the year and the PFA young player of the year awards.

Here’s the full list of nominations:

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