Tag Archives: faces

Roy aims for magic and new faces

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Roy Hodgson has admitted some of the Liverpool squad are “disenchanted” following last season’s poor form but he has vowed to bring the magic back to Anfield – Liverpool are valued at 12/1 to win the Premier League - and says the club are working hard on signing new players.

Hodgson is currently preparing for his first game in charge of the Reds – a pre-season friendly against Al-Hilal in Switzerland on Saturday evening – and, just a few weeks into his new job, says the search for new players to improve the squad is about to be stepped up.

Liverpool have been linked with a whole host of players so far this summer, including the likes of Paraguay ace Victor Caceres, Fulham defender Brede Hangeland and even former Everton forward James Beattie, but Hodgson has said the club’s fans should not believe everything they read in the papers or on the internet.

Among the former Fulham boss’ most-important tasks, however, before he can add new talent to his squad, is persuading star duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres that the future is bright at Anfield. So far Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) has been the only first-team departure since the end of the season, but Emiliano Insua (Napoli) and David Ngog (West Brom on loan) could be the next players to leave.

Hodgson is prepared to give all of his youthful squad a chance to impress out in Switzerland before he begins to chop and change before the start of the new season, which kicks off with a tough encounter at home to Arsenal on August 15 (Liverpool to win 3-0 – 20/1).

“We are working very hard on making certain the players we have at the club who you would call the ‘good players’ are going to be with us for next season,” Hodgson told the club’s website.

“The board are working very hard in that area. Some players are a bit disenchanted after what happened last season and we want to make sure we get that enchantment back.

“We are looking to add to and improve the squad, but I prefer not to talk or say what we are doing until we have something concrete to announce.”

It is obvious that Hodgson needs to sign several players, most notably in defence and attack, ahead of the new season but he is well aware some of the names doing the rounds in the media are way off his list of targets.

“We are being linked with players left, right and centre and it amuses me that we are sometimes linked with players we haven’t even heard of,” he added.

“I have great faith in the Liverpool public that they will see through the snippets of information they may read in the newspapers, take it with a pinch of salt and wait for an official announcement.”

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New Zealand’s Brown faces race against time

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New Zealand manager Ricki HerbertNew Zealand (66/1 to win Group F) midfielder Tim Brown will not find out if he can play in the World Cup until the day before the tournament starts.

Brown said at a press conference that he will make the decision about whether he is fit enough to play, following a recovery period for his fractured shoulder that was operated on this week.

“I think on June 10th they’re going to make a decision. Until then, I don’t know, I’m just going to work as hard as I can on rehab,” said Brown.

“It’ll be a combination of both [Brown's and doctors' evaluations], it’s going to be a moment of real honesty from me, giving my best advice and making the best decision. We’ll have a chat about it.

“The one thing from my point of view is when I make that decision I’ll make the right one. And that’s not going to be one for me, it’s one for the team.

“I do believe if I’m fit I can contribute, and if I’m fit I can help them. If not, I won’t. I just don’t think it’s fair. We’ve worked hard to build a culture of real honesty and togetherness and if I go over there and I’m not right I think I do a bit of disservice to my mates and to the shirt.”

The Wellington Phoenix man says even if he is not available to the All Whites, it will not be a terminal blow to their chances. (New Zealand 12/1 to qualify from Group F)

“To be perfectly honest I’m not critical to the team, it’s not a Dan Carter or a Ryan Nelsen situation,” he said.

“I think I’ve got stuff to offer, a lot to offer, but I’ll only go if I feel I can offer 100 percent. To go and offer 80 percent or 75 percent, I just don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”

The surgery saw doctors insert three screws into his fractured bone, but the recovery is going as well as possible, says Brown, who hopes to be back in the gym over the weekend.

He said: “The surgery went, by all accounts, amazingly well, which has given me a big, big chance. All the muscles and ligaments are intact.”

The 29-year-old suffered a fractured right shoulder during the All White’s 2-1 friendly defeat to Australia (125/1 to win World Cup 2010) in Melbourne on Monday.

Brown was rated a “50-50″ chance before the operation and surgeon Stu Walsh offered a positive prognosis, albeit without ensuring his fitness for South Africa, after revealing Thursday’s operation had gone well.

“It is still too early to comment on his chances of being available for the World Cup at this stage,” Walsh said.

“That will depend on how quickly he heals and how well he progresses through rehabilitation. The usual recovery time for this type of injury is three to six weeks, depending on the individual, and it can occasionally be much longer.

“However, Tim is a strong and fit athlete, who is very motivated and looks after himself well, which will benefit his recovery.

“We are therefore optimistic about the prognosis.”

Coach Ricki Herbert feels the squad is well prepared now they have arrived in their pre-World Cup base, and said: “Psychologically we’re really in that World Cup mode now.

“We’ve got teams like England and Japan preparing [in Austria] so there’s a real sense that we’re back on the world stage again.”

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