Tag Archives: Reds

Cole – Reds need to improve

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Joe Cole says Liverpool will need to improve on the form they showed against FK Rabotnicki in the Europa League qualifer if they are to beat Arsenal in the Premier League opener next Sunday (Cole 14/1 to be Liverpool top scorer this season).

New signing Cole enjoyed a fine debut on Thursday evening at Anfield when he was at the heart of most of the Reds’ best moves in the 2-0 second-leg win over the Macedonian minnows, that set up a 4-0 overall victory in the tie.

However, despite the comfortable win and the impressive passing and movement on show in the game from Roy Hodgson’s side, the former Chelsea ace insists it will be a whole different kettle of fish against the Gunners and they will need to be better if they are also to kick off their domestic campaign with a win.

Liverpool’s new number 10 says the return of World Cup finalists Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Pepe Reina will automatically raise the quality level but he is well aware there is plenty of hard work to be done on the training pitch as well ahead of the clash against Arsene Wenger’s men (Liverpool 5/4, Arsenal 7/4 to win – 90 minutes).

“We’ve had two (competitive) games now and we’ve got Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Pepe Reina and the others to come back,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot to work on and there is a lot for us to do. We’ve got to come together and continue to improve.

“We have to keep working hard every day on the training pitch and go from there. We know we’ve got a long way to go.”

Cole appears to revel in the role Hodgson played him in on Thursday – just ahead of England colleague Steven Gerrard in a central attacking position – but he stresses it is far too early to assess his performance or that of the side in general until at least six games into the new campaign.

“You can’t assess anything on the first six games of the season, you have to judge us in May,” he added.

Liverpool have been drawn against Trabzonspor in the final play-off before the Europa League (Reds 9/1 – Outright) reverts to a group format and will be strong favourites to progress despite a tricky second leg in Turkey at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen is expected to complete a move to Anfield early next week in a deal that could cost the Reds up to £6million.

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Reds boosted by defender deal

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Manchester United’s hopes of winning the Premier League (5/2 to win title) have been boosted by the news Nemanja Vidic has penned a new deal but Rio Ferdinand could be missing for another six weeks.

Central defence is a key area as Manchester United look to win the title back from Chelsea, but at one stage it looked as though neither of the influential duo would be in the first team for the opening-day clash at home to Newcastle (United 1/5 to win).

Ferdinand will be missing as he battles to recover from the knee injury that he picked up at the World Cup with England but at least Vidic will be on board after penning a new deal.

The Serbian had been strongly linked with a move away from the club with Real Madrid known to be keen but thankfully from a United point of view, Vidic has had a word with the wife and all now appears to be well.

Rumours suggested that Vidic would seek a move as his wife was not settled living in England but they have now been dispelled as the player has penned an extension which means he will be at Old Trafford for the next four years, much to the delight of Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Over the last year or so there has been speculation about Nemanja time and time again, sometimes by the press, sometimes fuelled by other sources,” Fergie revealed.

“But we never had a strong feeling he really wanted to leave. There is always concern if they do well they want better contracts. At the end of the day we have managed to achieve the task of getting him to agree a four-year contract.

“We are delighted, he is fantastic centre-half, a great competitor with a marvellous attitude to winning games. It strengthens our hand.”

With Vidic in place for the long-term barring any injuries, Ferguson is now hoping to get Ferdinand back as soon as possibile but it looks like being another six weeks.

Ferguson does have other options in the form of Jonny Evans, Wes Brown and Chris Smalling and the Reds boss will have to turn to one of those three while Ferdinand battles back.

Fergie has been linked with central defenders all summer but now that Vidic has pledged his future to the club it seems as though that search is on hold even if doubts persist over the fitness of Ferdinand.

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Reds bag Cole deal

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Liverpool are 9/1 to win the Premier League title next season and have boosted their chances of being among the front runners by landing Joe Cole on a four-year deal.

New Reds boss Roy Hodgson has pulled off something of a coup by landing the player as Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United and a number of clubs abroad were keen, but the player has opted for Anfield.

Cole has agreed terms and even though the player still has to undergo a medical, which will happen in the next 48 hours, Liverpool do not expect any problems and have announced the deal as done.

The news comes as huge boost to Liverpool, who have had to fend off constant speculation over the future of star players Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres all summer.

The positive Liverpool fans will see this as an indication that both players are staying as Cole would surely want assurances that they would not be sold before he signed, while the more cynical may believe he is a replacement for Gerrard.

Time will tell but Hodgson has made it clear that Gerrard and Torres are not for sale and with Cole on board Liverpool should at least be looking at winning their place back in the top four.

They are 7/4 to do so but with Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham again looking strong, it will be a tall order even with Cole on board.

Premier League champions Chelsea have revealed they were unwilling to match Cole’s demands and were happy to let him go, obviously believing they can cope without him, but Liverpool are willing to match his demands and think he is worth it.

Yossi Benayoun left Anfield to move to Chelsea in a deal worth £6million in the summer so after the Reds landed Cole for free they will feel they got the best part of the deal.

Everything will become a lot clearer next season but for now Liverpool look to have pulled off one of the transfer coups of the summer so far.

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Kuyt waits on Reds future

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Dirk Kuyt says he is focused on winning the World Cup with Holland (4/9 to beat Slovakia) and will sort out his future with Liverpool once the tournament is over.

Liverpool are on the look out for a new manager following the departure of Rafa Benitez with Roy Hodgson the 3/10 favourite to take charge, but in the meantime speculation is rife that a host of players could be on the move.

Star duo Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard have been strongly linked with the exit door but a number of others including Kuyt are said to be considering their future.

Liverpool need to get a new manager on board as soon as possible if they want to keep the squad together but Kuyt says he will not be making any decision until after the World Cup and would be happy to stay at Anfield nonetheless.

“We have to see what happens,” he revealed. “I also have a great time at Liverpool and I still have a two-year contract. My focus is on the World Cup but I’m still happy to play at Liverpool.

“But who knows what happens in the future? We have to see. If the possibility is there, we have to see what happens with the new manager at Liverpool. Hopefully we’ll get new players but we’ll see what the future is for me.”

It seems as though Liverpool’s big names will want assurances over which players will be brought in over the summer before committing their futures, but they need a new boss first.

The fact that Liverpool are not in the Champions League next season will make things even harder but Torres and the rest may be willing to stay on if they believe they have a serious chance of challenging for the title.

For that to happen serious money will have to be spent but with the ownership of the club still up in the air the manager will not have any guarantees and that could lead to an exodus on Merseyside.

Liverpool are 10/1 to win the title but with no manager in place, players considering their futures and boardroom wranglings, it looks a tall order.

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Rafa backs Dalglish for Reds job

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Kenny Dalglish is 15/8 to become the next manager of Liverpool and former Reds boss Rafa Benitez says the Scot is keen to take charge at Anfield once again.

Liverpool are on the look out for a new boss after parting company with Benitez and the Spaniard, who has quickly taken charge at Inter Milan, says that Dalglish is the man the Reds board should turn to.

Dalglish is a legend at Anfield and would no doubt be a very popular choice with the fans but it remains to be seen whether he could match the success he had during his previous spell in charge.

The Scot won three league titles and two FA Cups from 1985 to 1991, which included the double in his first year, beating Merseyside rivals Everton in the process.

Dalglish went on to manage Blackburn where he won another league title, Newcastle and Celtic but he has not been at the helm since leaving Parkhead back in 2000 and that is a long time to have been out of the game.

Management has moved on a lot over the last 10 years and there has to be a huge question mark over whether Dalglish is the man as many believe he may have lost touch with the game.

However Benitez is not concerned and believes Dalglish is definitely the man to get the fans back on board and bring the glory days back to the club.

“I think Liverpool should look at Kenny Dalglish,” the Spaniard revealed. “He is the man for the job. The owners should listen to the fans because they are unhappy.

“No one knows the club better than Dalglish and he would be perfect there. He wants the job and in my opinion he should get it.”

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson remains evens favourite to take charge but the Cottagers would want to be compensated heavily and the easy route for the Reds would be to hand Dalglish the job.

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Flores predicts Reds battle

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Rafa BenitezAtletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores is digging in for the long haul against Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Europa League over the course of the next week (Atletico 13/10, draw 9/4, Liverpool 21/10 – 90 Minutes).

The two Champions League drop-outs go head to head at the Vicente Calderon later on Thursday night for the first of two legs which will decide who progresses to the final of the inaugural competition in Hamburg on Wednesday May 12.

Both Atletico (6/4 To Qualify) and the Reds (1/2) endured miserable campaigns at Europe’s top table earlier in the season and both have badly under-performed in their respective domestic leagues.

But all that will be forgotten at kick-off time with a place in the showpiece final against either Hamburg or Fulham up for grabs.

Flores, though, does not think his players will manage to complete the job before the Anfield re-match which he already thinks will be “uncomfortable” for a side currently languishing in 10th place in La Liga.

The former Valencia and Benfica coach said: “I don’t see any result possible that will give us peace of mind for the return at Anfield.

“Playing at Anfield is always uncomfortable, it doesn’t matter what result you get in the first leg. Liverpool are a team that are capable of bouncing back and having great games.”

Flores, 45, added: “The important thing for us will be the collective mindset that we have, as this competition always gives very close scorelines in the first leg.

“I don’t think that the tie, which is 50-50, will be decided at the Vicente Calderon. What I’m sure about is that we will have to play at a very high level.”

Liverpool were forced into a long trip overland because of the recent flying ban, a decision which did not please boss Rafa Benitez.

But the under-pressure Spaniard, who is without star striker Fernando Torres following knee surgery, must put the disruption behind him as he looks for his side to score what could be a crucial away goal.

Benitez admitted: “My dream is that on Thursday we can settle the tie, but I’m aware that the tie will be decided at Anfield.

“It’s going to be a very difficult and complicated tie. Both teams will play with caution but they will also try to score goals to win the game.”

Torres is joined on the sidelines by defenders Fabio Aurelio, Emiliano Insua (both thigh), Martin Skrtel (foot) and Martin Kelly (knee) so centre-half Daniel Agger will continue as a makeshift left-back.

Forward Ryan Babel is available again in Europe after a one-match suspension for his sending off in the first leg in the last round of the competition.

Atletico will be without Argentina striker Sergio Aguero as he is forced to serve a ban.

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