Carragher confident as Liverpool recover mean streak

February 10, 2010

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is confident his side’s rediscovered meanness can help them close the gap on faltering Arsenal.

Wednesday night’s fixture at the Emirates Stadium sees the team in third place in the Premier League table host the team in fourth.

Arsenal had been top just a few weeks ago but back-to-back defeats by Manchester United and then Chelsea have seen them fall behind the top two and most pundits have now written off their title chances.

Liverpool are coming up strongly behind them and a season that was being labelled “in crisis” a few weeks ago is now looking much healthier for Rafa Benitez and co.

The clean sheet in the 1-0 Merseyside derby victory Everton at the weekend was their fourth straight shut-out and Benitez’s men have now taken 17 points from a possible 21 in their last seven league outings.

Carragher said: “Over the last four or five years defensively we’ve been as good as probably any team in the world.

“You have to look at the overall record and defensively we’ve had a fantastic record under Rafa Benitez and we’re showing that again now.

“At the start of the season we had a lot of people in and out and maybe we were playing a little bit different with two offensive full-backs.

“We’re just getting back to our normal selves and hopefully we can keep that going. If you keep clean sheets you’re going to win games because you only need to score one goal.”

Liverpool had been out of the top four since October and now they were back striker Dirk Kuyt is keen to stay there.

The Dutchman, who scored the winner against Everton, said: “Out of the last seven matches we have taken 17 points and have kept six clean sheets, so you can see from those results that we are playing better and our confidence is up.

“Now we have to keep going and make sure we are ready for the next game at Arsenal. We have to show that we really are back to our best form.”

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said the weekend derby win would ensure his squad travel south in confident mood.

“Everybody is still on a high and now we have got to take that high into the Arsenal game,” the England midfielder said. “It’s a tough one, Arsenal away always is, but we have used beating Everton as a platform in the past and we’ve got to do it again.

“We want to extend our run and go on to better things as we can’t afford any slip-ups. We showed fantastic togetherness against Everton, we fought for each other and it’s performances like this that will get you there.”

The Arsenal players can probably understand how their Liverpool counterparts were feeling earlier in the season when rivals were prospering as they stumbled both at home and abroad.

The Gunners know they will remain in third place whatever the result however and defender Gael Clichy insists they have not given up hope of overhauling United and Chelsea before the end of the season.

Chelsea had also beaten Arsenal comfortably in November to establish an 11-point advantage but though only Wenger appeared to think that gap could be closed, the Gunners went on to do exactly that.

Clichy said: “We don’t have to look for a long run – we have to think game after game and it starts with Liverpool. We have to think one game at a time but the less we lose, the better it will be.

“It is not going to be easy but it is not finished. We were 11 points behind and came back so we have to hope they drop points and make sure we don’t drop any. Let’s work on it, next we play against a good side in Liverpool. It is going to be difficult but we have to do it because if we want to be the best we have to compete.”

Liverpool will be without Greece defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who starts a three-match ban for his sending-off against Everton.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: captain Steven Gerrard, CHELSEA, clean sheets, Clichy, dirk kuyt, emirates, Emirates Stadium, England, everton, greece, jamie carragher, little bit, Liverpool, london, manchester united, meanness, Merseyside, premier league, pundits, rafa benitez, score one, seven league, Steven Gerrard, title chances, wednesday night

Carragher turned down England approach

December 18, 2009

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher revealed Friday that he turned down an invitation from Fabio Capello to return to the England team.

Carragher, 31, won 34 caps for his country but announced his international retirement in the summer of 2007.

But after being encouraged by club captain Steven Gerrard he initially agreed to meet Capello’s assistant Franco Baldini, but changed his mind at the last moment.

Carragher told The Times: “I was supposed to meet Franco Baldini for a chat a year ago and at the last minute I pulled out.

“It was more out of courtesy that I was going to do it. Stevie had mentioned it to me a couple of times, so I agreed to the meeting, but at the last minute I just didn’t want to do it.

“I don’t think my situation would change if I got back in the squad. John Terry and Rio Ferdinand are first choice and they are two of the best central defenders in the world.

“Maybe I would have won 10 more caps over the last couple of years because Rio and John have missed a few games, but you couldn’t ask for a better centre-half pairing than those two going into the World Cup.”

Carragher also said he would rather leave Liverpool than play for them when he is past his best.

“I wouldn’t want to get to 34 or 35 with Liverpool and have people thinking, ‘He’s well gone.”‘ he added.

“So I do think about whether it would be better to go while I’m still at a decent level and play out my days at another club.

“Over the next year or two I’ll probably have a decision to make. I’d love to stay at Liverpool – that’s what I want to do – but there are different things that I think about that may compromise that.”

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: caps, captain steven, captain Steven Gerrard, central defenders, club captain, decent level, different things, England, england team, fabio capello, first choice, franco baldini, international retirement, invitation, jamie carragher, john terry, last moment, Liverpool, london, Rio, rio ferdinand, World Cup

Liverpool in search of Arsenal revival

December 12, 2009

Liverpool started this season with hopes of winning their first English title since 1990; they face Arsenal on Sunday desperate to maintain their bid for a top four finish.

Ending the season among the English Premier League’s leading quartet will guarantee Liverpool Champions League football next season.

This term’s Champions League efforts have been dismal by the five-times European Cup winners’ own standards.

Liverpool had already seen their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages disappear before Wednesday’s dispiriting 2-1 loss to Fiorentina.

The Reds are seventh in the Premier League, 12 points behind leaders Chelsea, and must now take on third-placed Arsenal, one of their regular ‘Big Four’ rivals.

“Without a doubt that (finishing in the top four) has to be the main aim this season,” said Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

“It’s obviously important for the club, and having played in the Champions League for such a long time, it’s very important.

“We’ll be right up for the Arsenal game on Sunday. If we can get three points there and take that into the Wigan game, we can turn a corner.”

Liverpool will at least be bolstered by the return of star striker Fernando Torres, who came on as a second-half substitute against Fiorentina after a month out injured.

“Torres’s return is massive for me, massive for everyone,” Gerrard insisted.

“He’s the main man, he’s our top scorer and we need him back firing.

“If that happens I’m sure we’ll move back up the league and get in the top four places.”

Arsenal, who’ve lost two of their last three Premier League matches, are likely to deploy a more familiar looking side at Anfield after manager Arsene Wenger fielded a largely inexperienced line-up for this week’s ‘dead’ Champions League loss away to Greek club Olympiakos.

Saturday sees the rest of the Premier League in action with champions Manchester United, now just two points behind leaders Chelsea, at home to fifth-placed Aston Villa.

Injuries mean England midfielder Michael Carrick is likely to start again as a centre-back but, after three straight wins, the player said confidence at Old Trafford was overcoming United’s fitness problems.

“We won’t take our foot off the pedal now,” Carrick insisted.

Chelsea, looking to return to winning ways after last weekend’s loss to Manchester City, will be without injured midfielder Michael Essien (hamstring) for the visit of an Everton side who are three points above the drop zone and have won just once in their last nine league games.

Portsmouth, who on Thursday denied reports they were about to enter administration, will climb off the bottom if they win away to Sunderland and fellow strugglers Bolton are beaten by Manchester City.

Wolves, also in the bottom three, are away to high-flyers Tottenham while West Ham, who are only a point clear of the relegation zone, travel to Birmingham City.

All eyes in Stoke’s early kick-off match against Wigan are set to be on James Beattie after the striker was involved in an alleged dressing-room bust-up with manager Tony Pulis last weekend.

In other matches, Hull City manager Phil Brown is up against his mentor Sam Allardyce, back from heart surgery, as the Tigers take on Blackburn, while Fulham will try to bolster their fine home record when Burnley, who’ve struggled away from Turf Moor this term, come to west London.

Fixtures (1500GMT kick-off unless stated)

Saturday

Birmingham v West Ham, Bolton v Manchester City, Burnley v Fulham, Chelsea v Everton, Hull v Blackburn, Manchester United v Aston Villa (1730GMT), Stoke v Wigan (1245GMT), Sunderland v Portsmouth, Tottenham v Wolves

Sunday

Liverpool v Arsenal (1600GMT)

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: anfield, Birmingham, birmingham city, captain steven, captain Steven Gerrard, champions league football, CHELSEA, England, English Premier League, european cup winners, Fernando Torres, fulham, greek club, HULL, hull city, James Beattie, Liverpool, liverpool champions league, london, main man, Manchester, manchester city, manchester united, Michael Carrick, Michael Essien, midfielder, Olympiakos, phil brown, Portsmouth, premier league, quartet, reds, Sam, star striker, Steven Gerrard, Sunderland, tony pulis, west ham, west london

Kaka: “I am a huge fan of Steven Gerrard”

November 12, 2009

Ahead of Brazil and England’s friendly in Doha, Real Madrid midfielder Kaka is all hails for England and believes they have a great chance of winning the World Cup because they have a glut of quality Premier League players, with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard being his strong admiration.

Unfortunately, both Kaka and Gerrard will be denied the opportunity to pit their wits against each other in the Friendly, as the Liverpool talisman failed to recover from his groin injury and hence wouldn’t be a part of Fabio Capello’s squad.

“England have always had individually strong players and I am a huge fan of Stevie Gerrard,” Kaka told The Guardian.

“He has the heart of a lion and is the icon of the modern footballer with his ability to attack and defend so well.”

The former AC Milan star claimed England were more than capable of winning the World Cup next summer, but like any team they would require luck to do so.

“The World Cup is a competition in which everything needs to work for your advantage,” Kaka added.

“Players need to be fit, decisions have to go in your favour and details such as a red card can cost a team dearly.

“I have no doubts that England can do it.”

Anurada Bhat

Tags: ac milan, admiration, brazil, captain steven, captain Steven Gerrard, Doha, England, fabio capello, favour, footballer, glut, groin injury, Guardian, kaka, Liverpool, MADRID, midfielder, Milan, no doubts, premier league, real madrid, Steven Gerrard, talisman, World Cup

Rush tells Liverpool fans to back Benitez

October 22, 2009

Liverpool great Ian Rush has urged supporters to row in behind under-fire boss Rafael Benitez as the Spaniard prepares his struggling side for Sunday’s home clash with bitter rivals Manchester United.

Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat by Lyon here at Anfield meant Liverpool had lost four games in a row for the first time since 1987 and left the five-times European champions struggling to qualify for the knockout phase.

The fact that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard suffered a recurrence of his groin injury 24 minutes into the Lyon match, while injured Spain striker Fernando Torres didn’t play at all because of a groin problem, also led to fresh criticism of Benitez for allowing the club to become over-reliant on their two star players.

It is 19 years since Liverpool last won the English title and pressure is building on Benitez, in charge at Anfield since 2004.

He guided the Reds to their fifth European Cup crown in 2005 but that success is receding into the memory of fans who’ve seen their side lose four of their nine league matches so far this season, including last weekend’s 1-0 beach ball assisted defeat by Sunderland, to lie seven points behind leaders and reigning champions United.

But former Wales striker Rush, a key member of the Liverpool side that dominated English football during the 1980s, told Sky Sports here on Wednesday: “Right now is the time when you need to get behind the manager, and the players as well.

“I’m sure the supporters will do on Sunday but then it’s up to the players to respond. The manager can only pick a team. It’s up to the players to respond on the pitch.

“Okay, we lost against Lyon but we can still qualify for the second phase of the Champions League. It’s when you can’t do that, then you maybe start looking (at the manager),” Rush added.

A boost for Benitez was that England defender Glen Johnson, who missed the Lyon match, is set to return against United, who lost 2-1 at Anfield last season in a match where neither Gerrard nor Torres started.

Despite Liverpool’s recent run of results, Benitez’s position does not appear under immediate threat if only because of the boardroom spat between the club’s feuding American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Hicks has been a strong supporter of Benitez, who signed a new four-year contract in March, while Gillett has criticised the former Valencia manager’s spending this season.

Both men would have to agree to the sacking of Benitez and, given their frosty relationship, that seems unlikely.

Meanwhile former Liverpool manager Roy Evans said the players, rather than Benitez, “had to look at themselves”.

Evans, whose four-year spell in charge ended in 1998, admitted: “The results have put a lot of pressure on.

“But they are still in the Champions League and can still get second place (in the group), but there has to be an improvement, that’s for sure.

“Rafa has always been tactically very strong in Europe, but when you lose your best players, like Gerrard, Torres and Johnson, that is a real problem.

“Without them Liverpool struggle to compete, with them they are a good bet to recover their position in the group.

“You cannot always blame the manager, players have to improve,” added Evans.

“A good result will change everything. A win against Manchester United could be the victory that gives Liverpool their confidence back.”

LIVERPOOL, England (AFP)

Tags: 19 years, bitter rivals, captain Steven Gerrard, english football, Europe, european champions, Fernando Torres, fire boss, four games, glen johnson, groin injury, groin problem, Ian Rush, Liverpool, Lyon, manchester united, rafael benitez, recurrence, Roy Evans, second phase, seven points, Sky Sports, Spain, star players, Steven Gerrard, Sunderland, tom hicks, Valencia, Wales

Liverpool look ahead after Champions League scare

September 17, 2009

Liverpool will hope to make it four wins in a row when they visit West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday after limping to a 1-0 victory against Hungarian champions Debrecen in Europe.

“We’re slowly getting back to where we want to be,” Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said after seeing his side struggle to victory over Debrecen in their opening Champions League Group E tie at Anfield on Wednesday.

“It’s three wins on the spin, hopefully we can make that four at West Ham,” added the England midfielder.

Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal against Debrecen, who were making their first appearance in the Champions League group stages.

“The most important thing is to get the three points,” Reds manager Rafael Benitez said after seeing Kuyt’s goal in added time at the end of the first half secure the win.

“People didn’t know what to expect because they didn’t know the other team, but they showed they’re not bad,” added the Spaniard who was celebrating his 300th game in charge of Liverpool.

Attention now turns to Saturday and Liverpool’s visit to West Ham.

The Reds, boosted this week by a multi-million pound sponsorship deal signed with Standard Chartered Bank, have endured a mixed start to the new Premier League season.

Liverpool have lost two of their opening five fixtures – the same number as during the whole of last season when they finished second to champions Manchester United.

“Everyone knows we had a bad start… We are trying to get our confidence back,” Kuyt said on Wednesday.

Benitez began the match against Debrecen with the same side that had defeated Burnley 4-0 in the Premier League last weekend, which meant Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano started on the bench following a short spell out through injury.

Israeli Yossi Benayoun, scorer of a hat-trick against Burnley, was involved in creating the goal before making way for Mascherano near the end.

The Hungarians, backed by a few hundred noisy fans, defended solidly early on, restricting the home side to long-range strikes fired tamely wide of the visitors’ goal.

Debrecen grew in confidence as the first-half progressed and in the 30th minute Peter Czvitkovics forced Pepe Reina in the Liverpool goal into a finger-tip save over his bar.

It was a wake-up call for Benitez’s players who fought back thanks to two strikes from Albert Riera but on each occasion the Spaniard’s effort was well saved by Debrecen’s goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic.

Riera was at the heart of the action once more just before the break, firing in a low cross but Gerrard was unable to keep his shot on target.

Liverpool finally opened the scoring moments before the end of the first half.

Fernando Torres, collecting a through-pass from Benayoun, swivelled away from his marker on the edge of the Debrecen box, before unleashing a shot towards goal. Poleksic managed only to push the ball back into the path of Kuyt and the Dutchman slotted home from close range.

Liverpool took the game to Debrecen in the second half as Gerrard shot a volley just over the bar and a Benayoun effort was punched away by the keeper after a mazy run from the diminutive midfielder.

Debrecen might have snatched a shock equaliser near the end but French striker Adamo Coulibaly, finding himself free in the box after beating the offside trap, was unable to lob Reina rushing from his goal.

LIVERPOOL (AFP)

Tags: albert riera, anfield, Argentina, captain Steven Gerrard, champions league group, dirk kuyt, England, Fernando Torres, first appearance, four wins, group stages, hat trick, hungarians, Javier Mascherano, Liverpool, Manchester, midfielder, noisy fans, Peter Czvitkovics, rafael benitez, reds manager, Reina, Spaniard, sponsorship deal, standard chartered bank, Steven Gerrard, west ham

Liverpool seek Premier League tonic after cup scare

September 17, 2009

Liverpool will hope to make it four wins in a row when they visit West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday after limping to a 1-0 victory against Hungarian champions Debrecen in Europe.