Liverpool v Arsenal Team News

Liverpool entertain Arsenal on Tuesday evening with no injury concerns other than Steven Gerrard who it was already known would miss the match after aggravating his groin injury in the build up to last week's Champions League clash with Chelsea.

Arsenal on the other hand have a litany of concerns and are already without strike pairing Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor. Leading scorer van Persie has a groin problem Adebayor picked up a hamstring injury during the FA Cup semi-final over the weekend. Brazilian born Croatian forward Eudardo is likely to feature.

Manuel Almunia has failed to recover from a knock to his ankle which kept him on the sidelines at Wembley. Lukasz Fabianski is set to stand in once more.

Defensive trio Gael Clichy, Johan Djourou and William Gallas are also missing- he latter two with knee injuries. The Gunners can welcome back Bacary Sagna after a virus.

Teams:

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hyypia, Agger, Skrtel, Dossena, Aurelio, Insua, Benayoun, Riera, Mascherano, Alonso, Lucas, Kuyt, Torres, Ngog, El Zhar, Cavalieri.

Arsenal (from): Fabianski, Sagna, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs, Arshavin, Song, Fabregas, Walcott, Bendtner, Eduardo, Mannone, Eboue, Nasri, Diaby, Vela, Denilson, Ramsey.

Ten things you should know about....Liverpool

1. The club was founded in 1892 and quickly became a strong force in English football, wining five league championships between 1900 and 1947.

2. Legendary manager Bill Shankly took over the club in 1959 when the club were in the Second Division and on his arrival he released 24 players.

3. After winning promotion to the top flight, Shankly won three league championships, two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup.

4. But Bob Paisley is the club’s most successful manager, winning 21 trophies including three European Cups, six league titles and the League Cup in three successive seasons.

5. The current club badge is based on the city’s liver bird, which is placed inside a shield. Above the shield is a representation of the Shankly Gates with the title of the club’s famous anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

6. Ian Callaghan holds the club appearance record standing at 857 between 1958 and 1978.

7. Ian Rush is the club’s all-time record goalscorer with 346 between 1980 and 1987 and 1988 to 1996, although Roger Hunt has scored the most league goals.

8. Liverpool were the first British club to have sponsorship on their shirts after agreeing a deal with Hitachi in 1979.

9. Player-manager Kenny Dalglish won the Double in his first season in charge in 1985-86.

10. Liverpool’s European Cup winning captain Emlyn Hughes was nicknamed ‘Crazy Horse’.


Source: Givemefootball.com

Alex Ferguson showed arrogance and contempt for the FA Cup

Some men, through their deeds, are untouchable in the press. Winston Churchill achieved it after the Second World War. Bill Clinton seemed to don a Teflon skin in his near impeachment of the 1990s.

And now, it seems, Alex Ferguson has joined this elite group.

It is still early days following the Manchester United elimination from the FA Cup, but articles criticising the pugnacious Scot are few and far between. However, his conduct in the week preceding the match, and his example set during it, surely has to come under scrutiny.

Two weeks ago, Ferguson questioned Rafa Benitez's logic in bringing up Manchester United in a prematch meeting with the press before the European tie with Chelsea. He commented, "He's got a European tie (against Chelsea) and he's talking about Alex Ferguson. Fantastic! I didn't know I was that important!"

He is quick to offer opinion on the actions of others, but it seems he is not so keen on taking his own advice.

Not a week later, he returned the favour by criticising Benitez ahead of Man Utd's cup semi-final against Everton. Fergie refuted a comment made by Benitez two years ago that the Toffees weren't a big club, then called the Reds boss "beyond the pale" in his somewhat ambiguous hand gestures during Liverpool's 4-0 drubbing of Blackburn. An impressive tirade from the master of mind games and a lofty position to take, having alleged that the Liverpool gaffer is arrogant and, to quote the Scot, a man that showed contempt to a fellow manager.

Step forward to Sunday's semi-final in the FA Cup.

A competition steeped in history, but struggling to maintain its former glory. Played at the home of football, Wembley Stadium. Travelled to by thousands of Manchester United fans, each paying in the region of £100 for tickets and travel, before taking into account match day costs at the ground. Playing against a team that Ferguson himself argued was a big club.

Yet, his team selection showed the same arrogance and dismissiveness he accused his bitter rival of during the week. By only selecting two members of the first team, Ferguson showed a complete and utter lack of respect not only to Everton Football Club, but to the FA Cup, the world's oldest footballing competition and a symbol of our nation's game.

Not only that, but it was a slap in the face to his own supporters who had paid a significant sum and travelled many miles to see their best side fight for a place in the showpiece final of English football. What they got was an insipid performance from a youth team that barely warranted the 0-0 scoreline and defamed the occasion.

We all know the arguments that he has to rest players for other competitions. This, however, is not a game that one should rest players for. A semi-final in the Champions League wouldn't and won't get the same treatment, of that you can be sure.

This is not the first time he has tarnished the name of this great competition, either, having famously withdrawn Man Utd from the 1999-2000 cup to play in the World Club Championship, a move that attracted criticism at the time but has since faded into history.

Former Red hails new 'Super Sub'

David Fairclough has praised Yossi Benayoun for his impressive form in recent weeks.

The Israeli international has come off the bench to turn around a few games of late and the legend who was nicknamed 'Super Sub' for his similar abilities in the 70's and 80's believes he is a key player in Rafael Benitez's side.

"People like Benayoun are weighing in with goals and playing a key part in winning us games," Fairclough told the lfconline.com.

"Yossi deserves a pat on the back. I think his form for us has been very impressive. He has scored some key goals and he looks like he is enjoying his football.

"He looks comfortable and he is a key part of our squad. It's a good sign that a lot of our players in the squad are looking comfortable and confident."

Carra to become Liverpool new League number thirteen

Jamie Carragher, the reds' current longest serving player, is set to move up one place for the number of League games played for the club to become Liverpool all-time #13, assuming he turns out against Arsenal at Anfield on Tuesday.

This will be his 393rd Premiership game for Liverpool - more than sixty outings ahead of his nearest current challenger, skipper Steven Gerrard. He has bagged just four goals in these League matches.

Jamie signed on as a pro in September 1996, and is currently contracted with the club until 2011. He made his League bow as a substitute in our goalless home draw with West Ham United in January 1997, having remained on the bench on four other occasions earlier that season. He played in just one more League game during that campaign, when he netted against Aston Villa in his first start.

After twenty League outings in 1997/98, he established himself as a regular, missing just eighteen League fixtures in the next five seasons. However, his 2003/04 was affected by a broken leg at Blackburn Rovers in September, and he could only turn out 22 times in the League.

He was an ever-present in the Premiership for the first time in 2004/05, and has since missed just eight League matches, with Rafael Benítez rarely rotating him out of the team.

Carra's 393rd League game will draw him level with left-back Donald Mackinlay in thirteenth place in the club's all-time League appearance ranking. He starred for the reds between 1910 and 1929, scoring 33 League goals, including one struck spectacularly from ten yards inside his own half at West Ham United in January 1926! He skippered us to two League titles, and also played in our first FA Cup Final in 1914.

It will take a further 37 Premiership games before the 31-year old Bootle lad can break into the club's all-time Top 10 League appearance holders, and he would then still be more than 200 League games behind Ian Callaghan, who is likely to forever remain the Liverpool player who tops the appearance charts.

Source: YNWA

So, was Allardyce really offended by Rafa's hand gestures...?

The Daily Mail has revealed that Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce had a drink with Liverpool No 2 Sammy Lee after his side’s 4-0 defeat at Anfield last weekend without mentioning that he had been offended by a gesture from Rafa Benitez.

The conversation over a couple of beers casts doubt over Allardyce’s claim that he was humiliated by Benitez after Fernando Torres scored Liverpool’s second goal.The Blackburn manager claimed on Friday he had tried to seek out Benitez for an explanation. He said: ‘I was hugely disappointed by those gestures. I think they were disrespectful and quite humiliating. The feeling was that he had written us off. It was open arms and then a crossover of the arms as if to suggest that was it.’

Barnes: Exit Won't Affect Liverpool

Liverpool legend John Barnes does not believe the midweek Champions League exit at Chelsea will have a major effect on his former club's title hopes.

It had been suggested the dramatic defeat could harm the team's morale going into the closing stages of the season, but Barnes disagrees.

He told Football Pools.com: "With few games to go in all the competitions, I'm not sure it will have that big an impact.

"The players won't have lost any confidence despite their exit and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they achieved maximum points from their remaining league games.

"They have the chance to return to the top of the table on Tuesday if they can beat in-form Arsenal but I wouldn't say that gives Liverpool a psychological advantage.

"After all, they've done the same twice recently only for United to win their following game and take back top spot.

"It's all about keeping the pressure on United game by game in the hope they crack.

"Perhaps the extra rest between games will help them do that but I'm not sure it will be a major issue in the title race with so few games left to play."

Busy summer for Liverpool's Spanish stars

Fernando Torres looks set to face a busy summer of football with little time for a summer break, after the Merseyside club announced plans to tour Thailand in July.

Torres is already set to play for Spain in the Confederations Cup in South Africa in June and may now have to report back to Liverpool shortly afterwards as the club plan to travel to Asia for a pre-season tour.

Despite current political unrest in the country, the Anfield outfit are reportedly in negotiations to play a series of games in Thailand, according to the Mail on Sunday.

The paper claims that an announcement will be made this week about the tour, which should see the club play the Thailand national team, managed by former Everton midfielder Peter Reid, in Bangkok on July 22.

Liverpool will then move on to Singapore to play another game, four days later, in a tour that should prove, financially, very lucrative for the club.

However, the timing of the trip, which follows the Confederations Cup, means that Torres will have little time to rest during the summer, which may cause anxiety at the club particularly as the striker has endured an injury-plagued season at Anfield.

He has managed only 15 Premier League starts this season, yet has still hit an impressive 11 goals.

Of course, Torres is not the only Liverpool player who this will affect, as the Reds boast several Spanish internationals who are also expected to play in the Confederations Cup.

Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arebloa will join Torres in South Africa and may also have to endure very little time off this summer.

Kenny Dalglish set for Anfield return

Reports suggest Kenny Dalglish may be in line to make a return to Liverpool Football Club just over 18 years after leaving the club.

Anfield boss Rafael Benitez is understood to have sounded out his 58 year old predecessor about joining his staff with a roving brief between the academy, Melwood as well as the first team.

Benitez's recent contract negotiations saw him claim more responsibility over various facets of the club.

Preliminary talks are understood to have gone well. Dalglish has been a long term advocate of the manager and not only his methods but track record.

Benitez is also known to be an admirer of Dalglish as a player not to mention his achievements while in the Anfield hotseat.

If an agreement can be reached it will be the Liverpool legend's first active involvement in football since leaving Celtic where he was a Director of Football as well as interim manager until the summer of 2000.

Vidic still recovering from Torres trauma

Manchester United's seemingly-solid defender Nemanja Vidic will now always be remembered for his error which opened the way for Liverpool's great triumph.

"Obviously it is going to follow you for your career when it happens in a big game like against Liverpool, and you're never going to forget," Vidic said. "I like to look back, when I play well and when I play bad, I like to watch the games and improve every part of my game. That game, obviously I'd like to have cleared the ball straight away. When the game is finished you know these things but you take these things and try next time not to do the same thing."

Whose house?

Source: Livejournal

Rafa's 'crushing machine': The proven way to win arguments and titles

"Valencia were an implacable steamroller. They were like boxers who pinned their opponents to the rope and wouldn't stop until they had annihilated them. The tremendous intensity of their play earned them the nickname 'The Crushing Machine'." Sound familiar...?

Taken from the book 'Rafa Benitez' by Paco Llloret, this quote will resonate with any Liverpool fans who remember the sense of optimism buzzing around the club when it was announced that Rafa was to leave Valencia and become Liverpool's manager.

Senor Benitez had taken on Real Madrid's Galácticos and Barcelona's free-flowing style of football, and lead Valencia to their first league title in thirty one years. Now he was about to take on the task of guiding our club’s future and the hope was that he could do the same for Liverpool.

The key difference is that Valencia had been in two Champions League finals and had a squad already filled with quality. They just needed to apply themselves better, and under Rafa's astute guidance, they did so.

I've done a great deal of homework about Rafa, none more so then when we won the Champions League. I wanted to learn about things such as his childhood and his career as a semi-professional in Spain's second tier.

Cascarino: Forget United Stars, Gerrard Should Win PFA Award ‘Hands Down’

The PFA nominees were announced this week with some surprising names picked in my opinion. Edwin van der Sar may have broken clean-sheet records with Manchester United this season but if I was going to pick a keeper amongst the final 6 choices then it wouldn’t have been the Dutchman. Liverpool’s Jose Reina or Aston Villa’s Brad Friedel would have been ahead of him as they’ve performed far better than Van der Sar in my opinion.

It’s been a strange old season really in terms of big players not really performing as usual over the course of the campaign. There are no Chelsea players amongst the nominees and to be fair it’s hard to pick out anyone who has excelled consistently at the Bridge. Then there’s Arsenal, their usual candidates such as Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas have both struggled with injury. Therefore, it’s no surprise the final 6 are dominated by mainly Manchester United players.

Torres ready to commit to Liverpool

Fernando Torres has hinted he is ready to commit his long-term future to Liverpool after revealing how much he loves life at Anfield.

Torres has been touched by the affection shown to him by Liverpool fans since moving to Merseyside from Atletico Madrid in 2007. The 25-year-old, who has scored 47 times in almost two seasons with the Reds, is idolised just as much as local heroes Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher and is keen to repay their faith.

It is believed Torres is in the early stages of negotiations over a contract extension and a new deal could be concluded in the close-season. "I would love to remain at Liverpool for many seasons to come. I feel at home here. I still have this season plus another four years left to run on my contract," Torres said on his website F9T

Liverpool's Spirit Shines Through In Chelsea Epic

When the dust has settled on this extraordinary Champions League tie, and when Liverpool fans overcome the despairs of seeing their side gift Chelsea goals, Reds fans must celebrate how valiantly their side fought in the second leg to push Chelsea all the way. The fact that they came so close to achieving one of the most remarkable comebacks of all time, on not one but two occasions, should be what supporters remember most, and not the mistakes that led to Chelsea’s resurgence at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool showed why they are feared so much in Europe with a display brimming with determination and passion for the red shirt. On another night they would have been the ones preparing to book flights to Spain for a mouth-watering semi-final with Barcelona.

If Jose Reina hadn’t spilled Didier Drogba’s flick into his own net shortly after half-time, swinging the momentum into Chelsea’s favour in the process, then it might have been Liverpool fans jumping up and down at the final whistle.

PFA Player Of The Year Shortlist Disgrace: No Lampard? No Alonso?

The nominees for this season's PFA award were announced today and, much to my surprise, there is only one non-Manchester United player on the list: Steven Gerrard.

No doubt about it, he has had a great season and is deservedly there, but his fellow nominees leave a lot to be desired, to be honest.

I mean, who compiles these lists?

CL: Liverpool 4 - 4 Chelsea (5 - 7 Agg)

Chelsea and Liverpool delivered a match last night that will be long remembered for its goals, comedy goalkeeping, tension and high drama. Chelsea made it through to the Champions League semi-finals, but Liverpool can be proud of their rousing and brave performance on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster that saw them come very close to overturning a 3-1 deficit from the first leg.

Martin Skrtel proving to be another fine Rafael Benitez signing

Meanwhile, Brian Hall, a former player from the 1970s but now the club's PR manager, accompanies a small group having a look around. Nothing untoward here. Nothing to suggest Liverpool had just enjoyed a fantastic week, one that might well affect the next few years.

On the pitch, Real Madrid had been slain in the Champions League before Manchester United met a similar fate on their own patch. A few days later we hear Rafael Benitez has finally signed a new contract to end all the speculation.

CL : Liverpool v Chelsea Team news

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is expected to return to the side following a groin injury.

Javier Mascherano will also be back from suspension as the Anfield men look to overcome a 3-1 deficit.

Manager Rafael Benitez must decide whether to retain Daniel Agger in central defence, ahead of Martin Skrtel, after his goalscoring performance against Blackburn on Saturday.

Chelsea captain John Terry is suspended for the Champions League quarter-final return leg against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

Terry misses out after collecting a yellow card for his challenge on Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina at Anfield.

Right-back Jose Bosingwa is expected to be sidelined because of hamstring trouble while Alex will replace Terry alongside Ricardo Carvalho in the centre of the defence.

Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira are absent with knee ligament injuries.
Teams:

Liverpool (from): Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Hyypia, Skrtel, Aurelio, Dossena, Kuyt, Lucas, Mascherano, Gerrard, Alonso, Torres, Babel, Benayoun, Riera, Cavalieri, N'Gog.

Chelsea (from): Cech, Hilario, Belletti, Alex, Ivanovic, Carvalho, Mancienne, A Cole, Lampard, Ballack, Deco, Obi, Kalou, Essien, Malouda, Di Santo, Anelka, Quaresma, Stoch, Drogba

Steven Gerrard on shortlist for PFA Footballer of the Year

Steven Gerrard is the only non-Manchester United player in the running for the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year award.

The Liverpool captain is joined on the shortlist by United's Nemanja Vidic, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo and Edwin van der Sar.

LFC