LIVERPOOL FOOTBALL FANS

Jamie Carragher has said that he wants to finish his last season for Liverpool on a winning note.

Carragher is going to retire from professional football at the end of this season. He featured for the Reds for almost 17 years and played more than 500 matches for them.

He became 35 years old this year, but, he was still playing at his best. In the first half of the ongoing season, he didn’t get regular opportunities, but, since January, the manager Brendan Rodgers showed faith in him and he stood up to the expectations of the manager. His form has been tremendous in the last few months.

Now, Carragher is looking to finish this season and his career in a memorable way. Liverpool has to play a couple of more games and Carragher is expected to captain the Reds in those two games because the regular captain of the team Steven Gerrard is out injured.

Talking to the reporters, Carragher said, “We have put up good performances consistently this year and now, we want to finish the season on a winning note. We have two games left and we will try hard to win both of them. I would love to retire with a win.”

“This hasn’t been a bad season for us. Yes, in the first half of the season, the consistency was not there. The manager tried to give chances to the youngsters, but, in the second half, he brought in more experience into the starting XI and the results improved significantly.”

“Not too many clubs have performed better than us defensively. We have 15 clean sheets and that’s fantastic. But, we couldn’t match other teams in scoring goals.”

Liverpool’s next match will be against Fulham. That match will be played on 12^th of May at Craven Cottage.

After being not at the best in the first half of the season, the Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that he would like to bring in a few players before the close of the January transfer window in order to strengthen the team. Liverpool have already brought in the Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge for a fee believed to be in the region of £ 12 million. They are currently in negotiations with the Italian club Inter Milan over the possibility of signing the Brazilian midfielder Coutinho. The Welsh captain Ashley Williams has also been spoken of as a transfer target for Liverpool.

Rogers has confirmed that the club are indeed negotiating with several parties, and are hoping to announce a new deal for a player before the end of the transfer window. He has praised the way Sturridge has made an impact at the club immediately after arriving. The former Chelsea and Manchester City striker has formed a great partnership with Luis Suarez. He has said that £ 12 million for a player like Daniel Sturridge might prove to be a great bargain a few years down the line. However, he thinks that the squad will be complete only if they bring in a couple of players before the end of the transfer window.

“We hope to do some business between now and the end of the month. The owners have been brilliant in supporting (me), we knew we were maybe a little bit short in the summer. We all agreed this was a month we would try to reinforce, if we could. Very quickly we got Daniel Sturridge in and he has made a big impact, proving the owners were right to fund the money for him,” said Rodgers, whose team sit just above the 10th position in the table.

The Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that he feels that the striker Fabio Borini will eventually come good for the club. The former Roma and Chelsea striker was signed for £ 11 million in the summer, but he has so far been a major disappointment due to the fact that he has largely been played out of position. Rogers has elected to use Luis Suarez as the lone striker at the club, while playing Borini in a wide position. The 21-year-old has also struggled with a lot of injuries since arriving at Liverpool, while he has recently spent the last three months on the injury table.

The fact that Liverpool recently brought in the Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge for £ 12 million means that the first-team opportunities are likely to be limited for Borini in the second half of the season. Despite this, the manager has reiterated his faith in the summer signing by saying that he expects Borini to add a lot of spark to the Liverpool season. Liverpool will be making the trip to Manchester United on Sunday looking to continue the good run of form, which has seen the team pick up four victories in the last five matches. As a result, they have risen up to the eighth position in the table.

“Other clubs have the depth to bring people off the bench and make an impact. We have been unable to do that in the opening months of the season, which gives incredible credit to the players who have kept us going until now. We have Daniel here now and will have Fabio fit soon and that will give us that spark. Hopefully over the years Fabio can develop into a top performer which I think he can be,” said Rodgers ahead of the visit to Manchester United.

The Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has said that the Liverpool players should be looking to ease the burden on the star midfielder Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool captain has been one of the important players for the club for more than a decade now. He has been coming to the rescue of the team on numerous occasions in the past, but at 32 years of age, he is coming to the twilight of his career. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has already tried to bring in a number of young players into the squad, with one of the most important being the 17-year-old youngster Sterling.

However, he has not been able to achieve the results he would like to bring to the club in his first few months as the Liverpool manager. Steven Gerrard has been the most used player this season by Liverpool, but he has scored just one goal in the league. The recent defeat at the hands of Tottenham has demoted Liverpool to the 12th position in the league. Rodgers has said that Steven Gerrard has been carrying the club for 13 years now and it is the time for other players to step up into his position. Liverpool will be playing against newly promoted Southampton at home this weekend looking to bring an end to the poor run of form.

“He’s carried this club for nearly 13 years and it’s about time there was more than Steven picking up the baton of responsibility. There are others that we want to step up to the plate and get the goals. Steven been brilliant since I arrived here. His inspiration and leadership within the team has been phenomenal. He might not have got the goals that he wanted this season, but his range of passing, commitment and drive into the box against Tottenham was superb,” said Rodgers.

After a busy day of newspaper gossip yesterday, things appear to have quietened down somewhat for Thursday. Nevertheless, there are some stories circulating the newspapers about Liverpool and one or two even involve transfers…

The first builds on the reports that have been circulating over recent weeks about Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. According to the Daily Star, Dougie Freedman has told the player that he has a responsibility to do what is right by him and therefore suggests he stays at Selhurst Park. He says that he is at least guaranteed first team football there, something which may not occur at either Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City – the three clubs who are reportedly chasing him.

In other news, Daniel Agger has revealed to the Sun the reasons why he signed a new contract. The Danish central defender has said that he is proud to play for the Reds and feels part of the city. He also went on to say that the tattoos on his knuckles were meant to highlight this fact to supporters and that he is not worried about the future under the current regime.

The next report comes from Football Italia and involves a possible transfer. This outlet is claiming that Rodgers instructed scots to go and watch Genoa defender Andreas Granqvist, with representatives supposedly in the stands during Genoa’s recent game against Palermo. The report also goes on to say that Liverpool would have to fork out around €6m to land the player.

And finally, the last story is from the Daily Mail. This newspaper has run a short interview with Rodgers, with the manager stating that he is using the international break to try and crack that magic formula for the club. He also went on to say that Jose Enrique will be back training in the next week or so, which means he could start playing again very soon.

According to a Liverpool fanzine, former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has said that he is confident that the new manager after the helm Brendan Rodgers will be a major success. Liverpool recently secured the former Chelsea assistant manager from Swansea. He has immediately made a significant change to the Liverpool first-team by adopting a passing style of football. Rafael Benitez remains as one of the most successful Liverpool managers in recent years, as he has helped the club lift the Champions League title not so long ago in 2005. Benitez has said that he is a little surprised that he was not considered for the role as the Liverpool manager when Kenny Dalglish was sacked in the summer.

However, he has said that is more than confident that the replacement for Kenny Dalglish – Brendan Rodgers – will be able to do a good job at Liverpool. Benitez once again stressed the fact that his era with Liverpool was one of the most successful because they managed to lift the ultimate price for a club team in Europe – the Champions League. The club has not come close to playing in a Champions League final since then. He has also said that Liverpool have not even played in the Champions League for the last three seasons.

“I think they have enough quality to be in the top four — that’s my impression. Now because they are in a bad position people say ‘no chance’, but I think they have enough experience, quality, young players and the desire so I think they can compete. When a new manager goes in to a big club it is not easy especially when you have owners who need to understand more about this country, the club and football, but I have confidence they (the team) will do well,” said Rafa Benitez in a recent interview.

Liverpool’s latest signing Nuri Sahin has said that he does not want to rule out the possibility of staying at Anfield beyond the end of his loan spell. Liverpool recently managed to capture Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid on a season long loan deal under the noses of Arsenal. Arsenal were thought to be the favourites for his signature, but the sudden entry of Liverpool coupled with negotiations dragging on meant that the Merseyside club was successful in getting the 23-year-old on the books for one season. Currently, Liverpool only have the option of having the player for one season before he will be returning to Real Madrid.

However, the 23-year-old, who endured a disappointing first season with the Spanish club has said that there is every possibility that he could end up staying at the club. Nuri Sahin has been seen as the only missing link in the attempts to get into the top four by Liverpool. He is also expected to settle extremely well in the Liverpool line-up due to the passing style of football employed by the manager Brendan Rodgers. Many have said that he is a typical Brendan Rodgers player because of his style of football. Nuri Sahin has not disagreed with this fact.

“The project with Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers is the best for my situation I think – that is why I am here. I think the style I play is the same as how the manager wants the team to play. I have settled in very well and I hope it will be the same on the pitch and that we will have a great season. I am looking forward to playing this year here and after we will see,” said the 23-year-old after signing for the Merseyside club. He could make his debut against Arsenal this weekend.

New Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that he will be giving every player at the club equal opportunity when it comes to staking a first-team place for next season. Liverpool recently appointed Brendan Rodgers from Swansea city after paying compensation of around £ 7 million for the former Chelsea assistant manager. He has been one of the best young managers in the country over the last couple of seasons. His attractive style of football has led him to be the number one favourite for the Liverpool job. A number of high-profile Liverpool players have been unable to get into the first-team after being overlooked by the former manager Kenny Dalglish.

Joe Cole and Albert Aquilani are the two major names who have been unable to get a chance at Liverpool under the previous regime. Brendan Rodgers, though, has admitted that he would like to provide every opportunity for the current players in order to prove themselves that they are worthy of first-team spot at Liverpool. Albert Aquilani, who only has two seasons left on his current contract, is being linked with a return to Anfield. It is the same situation with former Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole as well.

“The cycle with Kenny was a terrific cycle, but I’m a different tactician and a different type of person and that will give all the players an opportunity to perform. I’ve got to assess all the players to see if they fit into the philosophy. I know what we’ve got, more or less, in the squad, but I also know there are a couple of signings that could really improve what we do. I think there are a few players who can come in and improve the group straight away. I know the types of player I need to bring here to make us function well,” said Brendan Rodgers.

Steven Gerrard is on his way to be ready to play in the FA Cup final match after coming back to training, but Coach Kenny Dalglish had affirmed that Charlie Adam will not play in the final game.

On Sunday, Steven Gerrard sat out on his team’s home defeat against West Bromwich Albion as he was suffering from a hamstring injury. Now, the FA Cup final is less than a fortnight away at the Wembley stadium, Dalglish said that Gerrard is fine; he has been training all week and there is no other problems.

In March, Charlie Adam hurt his knee ligaments in which Liverpool lost 3 – 2 against Queens Park Rangers. Even though he will not have to go through a surgery, he will not take part in a match till the next season. Now, Charlie can walk without crutches but have to carry on his rehab program in the summer. Dalglish told that Charlie will not be able to play in the Olympic Games.

The twenty-six year old player who came for for £6.75m from Blackpool finishes the season with utter disappointment. After a promising start, Charlie’s form shook off. He could not convert a penalty in shoot-out victory against Cardiff at the Carling Cup in February and soon after that he lost his spot to Jay Spearing.

Dalglish also added that he sticks with a strong team both to win the FA Cup title as well as to meliorate Liverpool’s spot in the Premier League.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has criticised both Andy Carroll and Pepe Reina after the 2-0 defeat suffered at the hands of Newcastle United during the weekend. Following the loss, Liverpool now trail Newcastle United in the sixth place by a massive level 11 points with only seven games remaining in the season.

A lot of indiscipline was displayed by the Liverpool players during the match against Newcastle. As a result, Dalglish has criticised both the players who were the chief culprits in the match – Andy Carroll and Pepe Reina. Former Newcastle striker Carroll received a caution in the first half after a dive, while Pepe Reina was sent off in the match following a head butt of a Newcastle player.

Andy Carroll was substituted in the 80th minute after a very poor performance, but it brought out the worst in the striker after this apparent displeasure over the substitution. The striker angrily remarked at the bench while going down the tunnel. Reina also was involved in an altercation with Newcastle United player James Perch, which left the Liverpool goalkeeper with a red card to his name. As a result, he will be missing the next three matches for Liverpool including the huge semi-final clash with Everton in the FA Cup.

“We have not got a problem with people showing desperation or disappointment or frustration but we need to channel it better than we have done. It ended up with a lot of frustration and disappointment and I think the frustration and disappointment was a result of the actions that Pepe took. He got a deserved red card, and then Andy came off and went up the tunnel,” said Dalglish. Dalglish has come under criticism for the poor run of Liverpool, which has been their worst in more than 50 years.