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Liverpool balls: Rafa Benitez has Steven Gerrard’s number in phone call spat

Debrecen v Liverpool - UEFA Champions LeagueSteven Gerrard has told us about his gashed penis, how he bleeds Liverpool red and “hates” Manchester United. Now Gerrard uses his new book to reveal his thoughts on former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez.

“I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers, except for Rafa. It’s a shame because we shared the biggest night of our careers – the 2005 Champions League victory in Istanbul – yet there is no bond between us.”

Benitez, now manager of Real Madrid, has responded:

“I have read the quotes and I believe he is wrong because what we have to do is enjoy. And out of the respect that I have for Stevie and for the value and appreciation I have for him, and for Liverpool and the supporters I think it’s best to just let it pass.”

That’s a dignified response from a man who has thrived in the hotbed of top-flight football management – and whose family still live in the Liverpool area.

But Rafa had one more thing to say:

“He has brought out a book and now I’m the Real Madrid manager, that sells.”

Wonder what Rafa will have to say when his own book hits the shelves?

 

Posted: 15th, September 2015 | In: Books, Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Liverpool: Klopp wants the job if Rodgers is sacked

Screen Shot 2015-09-15 at 09.42.57Is Jurgen Klopp heading to Liverpool? German nespaper Bild says the former Borussia Dortmund manager is interested in replacing the verbose and smug Brendan Rodgers at Anfield.

Under Rodgers, Liverpool are directionless and uninspiring. What is the plan? What is the pattern? Rodgers is operating under a cloud. The fans are losing their faith in the manager. There is a sense that he will leave sooner rather than later.

Klopp actually says nothing to Bild. But his ‘friends’ do. The affable German has already rejected the chance to manage Zenit St. Petersburg and Olympique Marseille. Liverpool would be a great fit.

Posted: 15th, September 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comments (5)


Liverpool balls: Norwich City are always rubbish in the dial-in Premier League

Screen Shot 2015-09-14 at 15.24.48

 

The Premier League is a predictable, dull affair. Take former Liverpool player Danny Murphy talking about the Reds to the BBC:

This is a big season for Liverpool and for Rodgers…

It’s a big season for every club.

The fixture list has not been kind to Rodgers with trips to Emirates Stadium and Old Trafford in Liverpool’s first five games but now they have two home games against Norwich and Aston Villa.

Every team plays every other team home and away.

It is never quite as easy as it looks on paper, but two home games against teams in the bottom half of the table are exactly what Liverpool need and I think they will go for the jugular against Norwich – look to dominate and score goals.

Danny, this is the League table:

Screen Shot 2015-09-14 at 15.21.52

 

Norwich are above Liverpool.

Sad that the Premier League is such a procession of the richest clubs rising to the top that teams like Norwich and their accomplishments can be so easily dismissed.

 

Posted: 14th, September 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment (1)


Liverpool balls: Stephen Gerrard gets a gash on his penis in Bournemouth

Nice tackle

Nice tackle

 

In today’s extract from Stephen Gerrard autobiography, the Daily Mail shares this anecdote with readers:

“The magic of the FA Cup was bloodied on the day my penis was cut and then stitched shut on an unromantic afternoon in Bournemouth last year. It was eye-watering. I tried to close down a winger to block his cross but felt a stinging in my privates. I thought, ‘S*** — that doesn’t feel right!’ It was stinging like f***. The gash looked pretty bad, right across the middle. There was plenty of blood. I needed four stitches and the lads were absolutely p*ssing themselves. You can imagine the jokes about inches and stitches and my future performances at home.”

File under: ball control.

Posted: 13th, September 2015 | In: Books, Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Liverpool fan wins £4000 compensation for police-induced Manchester United toilet trauma

toilet police

 

Liverpool fans Kieth Culvin (correct spelling) has been awarded £4,000 after suing Greater Manchester Police over a false arrest claim. In 2013, Culvin was at Old Trafford to watch Liverpool take on Manchester United.

After the match, police held back the Liverpool fans, treating them as criminals without any crime having been committed. Culvin needed the toilet. As an adult who paid his way to watch the match, he expected to be able to visit the little boy’s room. But having raised his hand and asked permission, the police told him to wait.

This was despite an agreement between supporters’ group The Spirit of Shankly and the GMP that the loos would be available for Reds’ fans kept in the stadium after the final whistle. Culvin claimed he was negotiating with the police at the time when a local copper took a tumble near him, leading the authorities to wrongfully arrest the Liverpool fan for an alleged assault.

However, the case against Culvin was eventually dropped when mobile phone footage cleared him of any wrongdoing. Here’s the footage…

 

 

Following that, the still aggrieved fan launched a legal case of his own against the GMP, culminating in the £4,000 payout.

He said:

I think the outcome vindicates myself – I did nothing wrong. My worry is that other supporters might not know they can pursue these matters further if it happens to them. I think more should, as that is the only way we will get behaviour changed and as supporters be treated properly. I’ve still continued to meet with GMP to discuss policing of supporters at Old Trafford and thankfully no other issues like this have occurred so far.

Amanda Jacks of the Football Supporters’ Federation, who supported Culvin in his legal action against the GMP, said:

What made the real difference here… was Kieth himself having the presence of mind to ask his fellow fans to use their mobile phones to film events as they unfolded.

Who police’s the police?

Video: Spirit of Shankly

Posted: 11th, September 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Liverpool: Steven Gerrard reveals what would have made him stay at Anfield

The Daily Mail is puffing its interview with former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard.

 I might have stayed if Liverpool offered me the right job, reveals the Kop legend

Might have. Before we get to his latest words, it’s worth recalling what Gerrard said in May 2015:

“I am looking forward to being able to breathe and play football under a little less pressure and going back to days when maybe before I was in the first team at Liverpool when you really enjoyed your football and there’s not that responsibility and pressure.”

The Mail’s exclusive are is a trail for Gerrard’s” explosive book”, which the paper is serialising.

Says Gerrard:

“Yeah, I do miss it. I miss everything about it. When I switch on the TV and see the stadiums, with 50, 60, 70,000 people — the aggression, the intensity, the tension. I am jealous.  I miss the build-up, competing with better players, I miss being Steven Gerrard, Liverpool captain and walking out in front of my people with that pressure and trying to get a result for them.”

But the bit we want to know is how Gerrard could have remained at Anfield?

“Ability-wise, I could still play but physically I couldn’t play every game at my age… I might be contradicting myself here but what would have kept me at Liverpool into this season was the chance of shadowing Brendan Rodgers and his staff as well as playing. Those ideas were only mentioned to me after I had announced I was leaving.

“I don’t know if I am going to be good enough to be a manager, or a No 1, No 2, No 3 or No 4. Liverpool replaced coaches Colin Pascoe and Mike Marsh in the summer, so they were looking for a new No 2, or No 3 or No 4. I would have been tailor-made to fill one of these roles, as well as making myself available as a squad player. I could have been a good squad player, a good sub, as well as getting management experience that money can’t buy.”

So much for being able to breathe.

“I’d have stayed on as a squad player if I’d had the chance to learn more about management or coaching. I left with all the doors still open, but yes, I could still have been at Liverpool now.”

 

 

Posted: 11th, September 2015 | In: Books, Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Manchester United v Liverpool: police control scum fans inside a bubble

Manchester United host Liverpool in the weekend’s big Premier League match. The 5:30 kick-off gives time for fans to get to the game, soak up the atmosphere (and that’s the atmosphere outside the ground not the sit-down-shut-up funereal quiet imposed inside it), make a day of it and have fun.

Well, unless the Greater Manchester Police get involved. They have issued a set of rules that turn football fans – spending money in shops and pubs around the ground – into a citizen sub-class for whom free movement and free speech are a step too far. Fans are being punished for crimes they have not committed…yet.

The GMP rules:

1. You cannot drink alcohol on the street in Manchester city centre or Trafford (the borough where the ground is)…

You can. But the police say you must not.

2. There are no pubs in the area of the ground which cater for visiting supporters.

But you can’t bring your own because the police won’t let you open it.

3. Liverpool fans will be able to get a drink in the ground – a maximum of two alcoholic drinks per visit to bar per person…

A quota. Know your limit.

4. All drinks (including soft drinks) will be decanted and these arrangements are the same for home fans situated near to the segregation line.

Ever go to the theatre and have your over-priced drink decanted into a cheap plastic beaker?

5. I would like to remind all supporters that pyrotechnics are dangerous and are not welcome by the majority of fans. It is an offence to enter a stadium with such an item and those engaging in this behaviour risk arrest, prosecution and also a banning order.

No flares. Most fans don’t like them, say the police. Have most fans been asked?

6. Potentially there may well be a hold back at the end of the game – all fans will be updated about this during the game by public address announcements in the stadium. We will minimise the duration of this as far as we can but I feel it has been successful in recent league games at minimising any issues on the forecourt. During any holdback, the police will work closely with the stewards, and we will do our best to ensure that fans can access toilet facilities during any holdback. This will need to be done in a controlled manner to help regulate the numbers accessing the toilets at any one time.

And then this bit of hideous balls. Liverpool and Manchester United fans are now viewed as part of PR England:

As always, the TV cameras and media will be focused on one of the biggest club fixtures in the world. I hope that supporters from both sides act in a responsible manner and enjoy the game, no matter what the result.

Because it doesn’t matter if your team got thumped 5 nil so long as you didn’t swear on the telly and asked the police to use the toilet.

 

Posted: 9th, September 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Liverpool: Steven Gerrard’s Anfield return in the MSL off-season, Beckham’s two clubs and the brand

Steven Gerrard will not play for Liverpool in the MLS off-season. Well, maybe. MLS Commissioner Don Garber goes on the record:

“I don’t think so. And I had not heard that was something that was being contemplated…”

Garber recalled when David Beckham joined AC Milan from LA Galaxy in 2009:

“And people in our country said: ‘what? he plays for two teams? and you are trying to build a sport’. It was a challenge getting people to understand that. You then realise if he is playing for the Galaxy and Milan what a great thing that says about your league…

“(But) I don’t believe we are going to see many more off-season loans happening in our league particularly at what I would call the high-level designated players. It’s been a couple of years (since it has happened). I don’t remember the last one we have had – Robbie Keane with (Aston) Villa, (Thierry) Henry with Arsenal (both 2012).”

He went on to trail a competition where the Premier League winners and the FA Cup winners would take on their MLS equivalents in a mini-tournament.

“I would love to find a way that we could play our FA Cup champion and our league champion against an FA Cup and league champion tournament and play it in New York City every year. I would love to do that. If not every year, then every four years because I know they have other places that they want to go to grow their brands. Overall there is no doubt that there are opportunities for the MLS and Premier League to work more closely together on either a tournament or some other type of activity, but that (an idea) is about as far as it has gone.”

 

The “brand”. One day footballers will be ‘brand ambassadors’. Something to look forward to, there…

Posted: 9th, September 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


England balls: Arsenal striker out for six months as Hodgson considers options

COQAC-XWgAAcwZLThe Sun says England manager Roy Hodgson has issued a “warning” to injured strikers Danny Wellbeck and Daniel Sturridge.

 HODGSON has warned Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge that time is running out.

Arsenal’s Welbeck is injured; Liverpool’s Sturridge is returning from a long injury-enforced layoff.  Was Hodgson so crass as to “warn” the players of anything? Wouldn’t he better served encouraging them?

Hodgson says Welbeck will not return to action for another six months, as opposed to Arsenal’s view that it will be a three-month absence.

What Hodgson also said was:

 

“I can only hope that Danny recovers a bit quicker and then hits the ground running as soon as he does return. Daniel Sturridge is a bit the same. It’s a year since he played for me. The two of them are always in my thoughts because I think they are very good players and they did extremely well for the national team when I was coaching.”

Not a warning of any sort, then.

In the Indy, the talk is of “a Plan B for if they are without Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck”. Says Hodgson:

“I’ve got to make certain that there are a few Vardys and Kanes and Walcotts and that because we can’t keep going around talking about the ones who aren’t there.”

Adding:

“We’ve got to be quite sanguine about it and we mustn’t start thinking ‘When this one comes back, we’ll be better still.’ We can’t do that. We’ve got to make sure we’re good with the ones who are playing.”

Hodgson makes entirely sensible comment. Read all about it.

 

 

Posted: 7th, September 2015 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Tories attack disabled Liverpool fan they once praised

john smith disabled

 

Liverpool fan John Smith has been winning plaudits for his work with the disabled.

The Mirror reported on August 18:

A lifelong Liverpool FC fan who overcame his disabilities to become a club charity coach has been recognised by the Prime Minister. John Smith, from Croxteth, was presented with a Point of Light award at Liverpool FC’s match against Bournemouth for his commitment to teaching wheelchair football to people with severe disabilities.

Prime Minister David Cameron was full of praise for the 39-year-old:

“For many people conquering disability to play wheelchair football would be enough of a challenge, but John has gone so much further. Through his key role in Liverpool’s Respect 4 All programme, he is sharing his wheelchair football skills with others and helping to make football more accessible for disabled people. What John is doing at Liverpool is inspirational and I am delighted to recognise him as the UK’s 317th Point of Light.”

John Smith features on the Number 10 official Facebook page.

On August 21, the Disability News Service had more on John Smith:

A disabled football coach has been recognised by the prime minister with a national volunteering award, even though that work is threatened by a legal battle over the “bedroom tax” with work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith…

Because he lives alone in social housing, in a two-bedroom adapted bungalow, he was forced to find an extra £12 a week towards his housing costs after he was told he was not entitled to a second bedroom because of the government’s “spare room subsidy removal policy”, also known as the bedroom tax.

This meant that Smith had to cut down on his spending on food while fighting the decision through the tribunal process, a battle which he said caused him to feel “very stressed”.

Last September, he won an initial appeal, on the grounds that he needed his spare room to store essential independent living aids, including his second wheelchair and a bath chair, as well as equipment he uses to play and coach wheelchair football, boxes of specialist powdered food, a bag of swimming equipment, and a punch-bag he uses to keep fit.

The room is also used to store a table football game that he plays with friends.

But after his initial victory, the work and pensions secretary appealed against the tribunal’s ruling, putting at risk all of Smith’s volunteering work and social and community links.

Now he is having to await the result of test cases in the Supreme Court, in which the bedroom tax will be challenged on the grounds that it discriminates against disabled adults like him.

Nice.

 

Posted: 6th, September 2015 | In: Liverpool, Politicians, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Did Roy Hodgson say Raheem Sterling was better off at Manchester City than Liverpool?

Can the Sun endear itself to Liverpool fans? No.  The paper’s Charlie Wyett has go by telling everyone:

‘ROY HODGSON will infuriate Liverpool fans after saying Raheem Sterling will become a BETTER player now he is at Manchester City.’

Hogdson, the erudite, circumspect and likeable former Liverpool actually said that Sterling would become a better player because Manchester City make better players than Liverpool?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 27th, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Liverpool: James Milner earns more than he did at Manchester City

Liverpool’s James Milner “turned down £165,000 a week to remain at Manchester City”, writes the Sun. The paper works out that Milner sacrificed £65,000 a week to reignite his career at Anfield.

 

Screen shot 2015-07-26 at 09.10.47

 

Is he really on £100,000 a week because the Guardian says Milner is paid £150,000 a week at Liverpool? And that £165,000 a week was based on the top figure, taking into account win and appearance bonuses at City. The Mail says Miler was earning £100,000 a week at City – which would mean he took a pay rise to join Liverpool.

And what of the signing-on fee at Liverpool, of which the Sun makes no mention? As a free agent, the Mirror says any fee would have been “huge“.

The Sun aims is to present Milner as something different to all other top players, the one who does it for love not money.  But the facts don’t support the portrayal. Milner earns more at Liverpool than he did at City. The move has not cost him £65,000 a week.

Says Milner:

“… I think the move to Liverpool and to take that mantle of central midfield was more of a selfish move. This is a chance for me to prove something. I want to look back at my career and feel I got everything out of it and was the best player I could be and won as much as I could.

“I don’t want to be sat at the end of my career thinking I could have done more or left something out there.

“I believe I can achieve things here where I could maybe have found myself on the bench at City and just taken the money.”

Now he takes the money and knows he’ll play.

Posted: 26th, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Christian Benteke drips for Liverpool

Benteke trousers

 

Transfer Balls: Christian Benteke has signed for Liverpool. He has joined, as ever, “to win things”. But the Indy writes:

“Liverpool signing appears to have been decorating before £32.5m switch, specks of paint spotted on jeans”

Eh?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 23rd, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Sergi Samper becomes Arsenal and Liverpool superstar

Arsenal have tabled a £8.5m offer for Barcelona’s Sergi Samper. Well, so says the Sun:

Samper, 20, is currently behind Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano and Sergi Roberto in the Nou Camp pecking order.

But the Metro says Sergi Roberto is close to joining Everton move”. If true (and yep, this is the Metro) Samper is either third or fourth choice pick for his slot in Barcelona’s central midfield.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: 23rd, July 2015 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Manchester City: Balotelli wants Liverpool fans to praise Raheem Sterling

raheem sterling manchester city debutManchester City: Raheem Sterling scored on his debut for The Citizens. Within three minutes for his new club, the former Liverpool player set about justifying City’s £49 million investment.

City won the game against Roma in Melbourne 5-4 on penalties.

All good, then. Well, it was until Liverpool wage-nicker Mario Balotelli took to twitter:

Well done @sterling 31 !

Having praised the man who rejected Liverpool, Balotelli picked up on the Liverpool fans sat in the stands who booed Sterling. He ordered them to stop:

“Liverpool fans are amazing but i hope @sterling31 will play at his best because he deserve it. He’s a good guy young and talented…. support him Like you always did.

“He gave everything to this club and respect it so im sad to see this. YNWA, Liverpool is a family ALWAYS”.

If ‘walking’ Balotelli wasn’t enough to irritate football fans tired of the football family balls and being treated as a mere audience, we get to hear the views of Samir Nasri. The Sun writes:

 

Sterling was jeered as he made his City debut in yesterday’s clash with Roma at the Melbourne Cricket Ground…

Nasri said: “You always have stupid fans in the stadium and the same thing happened to me when I left Arsenal. You have to move on. He has come to Manchester City and you have to respect his decision.”

Oh, do put a sock in it. Fans don’t have to respect anyone or anything, especially a man who rejects the chance to earn a fortune doing a job they’d do for free.

Nasri then adds:

 

“This is a game between Roma and Manchester City in Melbourne! We didn’t expect anything like that from these fans, so it is a surprise. But if he needs any advice about that, then he can come and talk to me.”

The advice would be that Liverpool are a bigger club than Man City. (The match was watched by 41,000 fans.  When Liverpool played Melbourne Victory at the MCG , 95000 fans were there.)

Money does not buy you love. And if anyone in your ‘family’ demands more pocket money to remain part of the clan or else, show them the door.

 

 

Posted: 22nd, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Manchester City, Sports | Comment


Liverpool: Raheem Sterling laughs as Manchester City wait to exhale

And so it came to pass that Raheem Sterling completed his move from Liverpool to Manchester City for a whopping £49m and £200,000 a week.

This one had threatened to run all summer, leaving media and fans talking more about the Sterling transfer story than actual football deep into August. Sky Sports would herald the new Premier League season with an M People powered montage of Sterling’s best transfer stories trailed by health warning on the perils of inhaling gas from party balloons.

But  we can now enjoy the sense of freedom as Sterling moves to his dream club [insert name here]. As he held aloft a scarf in City colours, Sterling said:

“I’ve just had to learn to take it all in my stride. I never imagined I’d be at this point at the age I am now and breaking a transfer record fee. You don’t think about it when you’re a kid — but things have come really fast in the last couple of years. It’s a good feeling and a really happy time for me and my family.

“I’m just glad it’s all over and done with and I can’t wait to get on the training field.

“I’d also like to thank all the people around me — my mum and sisters, my management team, and Aidy Ward for helping me focus and get where I am today.”

Sterling’s protracted Anfield exit became increasingly acrimonious. But in the end he won. And his agent laughed all the way to the bank. Who needs laughing gas when you have loadsa money?

 

Posted: 15th, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Manchester City, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling ‘agrees’ £45m move to Manchester City: now for the wages

Transfer Balls: Liverpool have told Raheem Sterling he doesn’t have to go on their pre-season tour of the Far East. Well, so says the Telegraph:

Liverpool are now in advanced negotiations with City as the clubs edge closer to a £50 million deal, prompting the decision to omit Sterling from the travelling squad heading to the Far East and Australia.

The Mail says Sterling will head to Manchester City for £45m.

City have agreed to pay £45million for the England star, who has been Manuel Pellegrini’s target No 1 summer target.

Now do the tricky bit: what does Raheem Sterling think he should earn every week?

Liverpool fans will be left to wonder why a player poached from QPR was not secured for more money when his last contract was signed. If Liverpool says he’s worth £50m, it’s little wonder Sterling believes he’s worth more than the £100,000-a-week the Reds have offered him? It remains to be seen whether Sterling’s potential bears fruit, but Manchester City clearly think it will.

Posted: 12th, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Manchester City bid £44m for Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling

Transfer Balls: a look at today’s reporting on Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling.

The Daily Mirror says Liverpool’s owners are ready to stick Raheem Sterling, 20, in the reserves rather than allow him to leave for below their £50m valuation. But surely doing that would result in Sterling playing less top-level football, not being picked for England and a reduction in any transfer fee.

Steven Gerrard has heard enough, telling Sky Sports:

“I’m not happy with all that carry-on and I don’t think there’s any need for it. They all need to be men about the situation. Raheem needs to go in and speak to the owners [Fenway Sports Group] and to Brendan himself, tell them what he wants and go about it that way. You don’t have to throw illnesses in and refuse to go on tour. There are millions and millions of Liverpool fans around the world who are itching to see Raheem Sterling in a Liverpool kit. So I don’t think it’s fair on them if he is behaving like that.”

The Times hears more from the former Liverpool skipper:

However, the 35-year-old said that Sterling, who is under contract until 2017 at Anfield, compared unfavourably with [Jordan] Henderson. “Raheem and Jordan are at different ends of the scale,” the former England captain added. “Jordan’s so professional, he’s a winner, a great lad. I don’t think there’s a more fitting player to take that armband off me. I see a lot of my game in Jordan’s game and what I like about him is he’s very humble.”

The Guardian says Sterling is now feeling much better. He’s presented his off-games not to Mr Rodgers and after two days in front of daytime telly returned for pre-season training. Will he now take part in Liverool’s pre-season tour?

The Liverpool Echo says he could be. Sterling’s name has been included in Lvierpool’s 30-man squad to tour Australia and the Far East. However, the Echo concedes “it is still unknown, however, whether Sterling will actually join up with the squad”.

The Telegraph says the Professional Footballers’ Association has volunteered to mediate between Sterling and Liverpool.

As the Times notes, the PFA did that when Arsenal came knocking for Suarez:

The situation is not a new one for Liverpool, who were faced with a similar predicament two years ago during Arsenal’s unsuccessful pursuit of Luis Suárez.
At the time, Suárez’s attempts to force a move were faced down by Liverpool and after joining up with his club’s pre-season tour of Australia, the Uruguay striker ended the summer training alone before reluctantly accepting that he would not be allowed to leave.

The key difference with Sterling, however, is that Liverpool will sanction his sale at the right price but, unless a deal is struck with City before this weekend, Rodgers will expect the former Queens Park Rangers player to be on the flight to Bangkok with the rest of his team-mates.

But no need to worry the Mirror says Manchester City have bid £44m for Sterling.

It is set to be £40m cash with add-ons which may still not be enough for Liverpool to accept as they are holding out for £50m. The clubs have opened dialogue about Sterling and must try and resolve it in the next 24 hours.

Maybe…

 

Posted: 11th, July 2015 | In: Liverpool, Manchester City, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Benzema heads to Liverpool for £38m and to Arsenal for much less?

Karim Benzema arsenal move transfer

 

Transfer Balls: the summer is here and with comes the return of the story that Arsenal and Liverpool are to sign Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.

The Daily Star tells its readers (and we can see your lips moving):

 

Arsenal step up attempts to sign Karim Benzema with £17.8m bid

So the Gunners have made a bid for Benzema?

Spanish daily AS are reporting that Arsenal have upped their attempts to sign the French striker after being alerted about his availability. AS say Arsene Wenger is a big fan of Benzema and would love to bring him to England for around £17.8m.

No. Arsenal have not made a bid for Benzema. But if they do it will be for £17.8m. Maybe.

It is unclear at the moment how much Real are demanding for Benzema.

In other words: the player is not on sale. That £17.8m is a guess.

 

It all smells of utter balls, but to The Metro it means:

Arsenal ‘closing in on Karim Benzema transfer’

The Metro then adds:

Manchester United are also thought to be interested in Benzema

Thought by whom, the Metro doesn’t say.

We’ve been here before, of course:

Daily Express, June 5: “Arsenal set to make Karim Benzema a MASSIVE offer to fend off Man United and Liverpool”

Is £17.8m massive?

ITV, May 26: “Arsenal launch £35m bid for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema”

That’s bigger. But no bid has been made.

Daily Mirror, Jan 7: “Benzema wants Anfield switch”

Words from Benzema: none.

Daily Star, October 4 2014: “Liverpool AGREE £38m deal for Arsenal target Karim Benzema”

No. They didn’t.

Looks like Arsenal are getting a £17.8m bargain.

Such are the facts.

 

 

Posted: 6th, July 2015 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Which wantaway Liverpool striker’s agent calls him ‘a lion in a cage’?

Football agent of the day is Marco De Marchi. He represents Liverpool striker Fabio Borini. Since signing for Liverpool in July 2012, the £10m Italian has scored 10 Premier League goals – seven of which were for Sunderland when he went out on loan.

You could deduce from the stats that Borini has been less than great. But Marco De Marchi tells Corriere dello Sport

“Fabio wants a new experience. We expected more consideration from Liverpool. There are teams from all over Europe interested in him. Top clubs in Europe are keen on him, from the Premier League to the Bundesliga and there also clubs in Italy, but many clubs in Italy have had coaching changes and that has slowed things down. He has no preference, he just wants a team that gives him a clear chance to prove himself. Right now he feels like a lion in a cage.”

Ready to strike just as soon as he can find his teeth…

Posted: 19th, June 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment


Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling is my hippy crack role model

sterling hippy crack

 

Is that Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling inhaling nitrous oxide – always billed in the newspapers as ‘hippy crack’  – on a boat in Ibiza? The Sun’s Chris Pollard says it is:

FOOTBALL star Raheem Sterling has been caught sucking from a balloon — just weeks after The Sun exposed him inhaling laughing gas… on Tuesday he was videoed with the stem of an inflated pink balloon between his lips.

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Posted: 18th, June 2015 | In: Liverpool, Reviews, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Liverpool await the inevitable Manchester City £50m bid for Sterling

The less he plays for the Liverpool, the more his value rises. So it is for Raheem Sterling, who is now the subject of a £40m bid from desperate Manchester City.

Liverpool will, of course, reject the offer. City have upped their bid from £30m to £40m in a matter of days. Liverpool know that making City wait for prime, young English talent will only increase his price.

Liverpool want £50 million for Sterling. When that was announced, it looked high. But now it looks reasonable.

City will make the offer. And it looks very much like no-one else will.

 

Posted: 17th, June 2015 | In: Liverpool, Manchester City, Sports | Comment


Transfer Balls: Danny Ings Agrees to Play For Liverpool As Burnley Sell Him To Spurs

Transfer Balls time. News on the official Liverpool FC website is that Danny Ings “completes Anfield switch”.

 

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Former Liverpool players lined up to welcome the Burnley player:

 

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The Liverpool website went into full PR mode, informing fans of the 1o things they need to know about Ings.

 

 

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Playing for Liverpool would be the pinnacle of Ings’ career:

 

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But it’s all wrong becasue Burnley have formally accepted a late £12million bid from Tottenham for the 22-year-old striker.

This from the Independent:

Brendan Rodgers’ side have been very confident since January that [Ings] would sign for them but Tottenham’s late bid for the player will be taken into consideration if a tribunal meets to decide the fee.

Though Ings has no interest in joining Spurs, Burnley can cite the higher offer, as well as the player’s contribution for them, as relevant factors for consideration if the case comes before a Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC).

It’s also being reported that Burnley are holding out for £7-8million despite Ings being out of contract.

Liverpool are now attempting to hammer out a club-to-club agreement with the Clarets in an effort to avoid the wrangling going to a tribunal.

Football, eh…

 

Posted: 9th, June 2015 | In: Reviews, Sports | Comment


Liverpool Balls: Raheem Sterling is thin-skinned, dusty and broken

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In a game so dull it made you understand why FIFA settled on playing the World Cup on red-hot sand in Qatar, Ireland and England’s draw was remarkable for one thing: a few fans jeered and booed Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling.

“I think he’s going through a bad time publicly,” said England manager Roy Hodgson said. “You can’t expect people just to shrug off the criticism he has been receiving, not least from the local media in Liverpool. That becomes national pretty quickly. He does ever so well and tries well to shrug it off, to let his football do the talking. He needed this game to realise that, if he is going to get it out of his system, he’s going to have to work harder still and get a thicker skin than he has at the moment.
We only took him off today to give others a game, to air the squad.”

If Sterling is letting his football do the talking for him, right now he’s in whisper mode. And we do like the bit about airing the squad, as you would a mattress, cellar or attic. Sterling made way for Andros Townsend, who could have enlivened the moribund affair had he appeared dressed as Miss Havisham or a dusty bottle of wine.

So. Is Sterling going to play for England in Slovenia on Sunday?

“I have no reservations about playing him in Slovenia,” says Hodgson. “I trust Sterling, but players are not robots. He’s done some fantastic things for us, but today he didn’t hit those heights. It’ll take a lot before I and the English national team sway from Raheem Sterling.”

In the meantime, enough with the jering and the booing. Can fans not think up a decent chant to hail Raheem?

 

 

Posted: 8th, June 2015 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment