Showing posts with label Liverpool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liverpool. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Meireles spoils Torres Chelsea debut with 1-0 win

Portuguese footballer Trindade Meireles refused to revel in revenge over Fernando Torres as Liverpool spoiled the Chelsea striker's debut with a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge Sunday.

Torres ignored Dalglish's pleas to remain at Anfield as he handed in a transfer request in a successful attempt to force through a British record 50 million pound transfer last week.

The Spaniard believes Liverpool are a club in transition and he jumped at the chance to join Chelsea because he sees the Blues as serious contenders for silverware.

As a Anfield legend who has won every major trophy during his time as a player and manager on Merseyside, Dalglish was inevitably frustrated to see Torres lose faith with Liverpool.

The Reds boss could easily have gloried in the way his tactical gameplan frustrated Torres, leading to the striker's 66th-minute substition following a lacklustre display on Sunday.

But instead Dalglish insisted his team were just focused on continuing their recent resurgence rather than stopping Torres.

"The players approached it professionally. I don't think it was any incentive, whatever someone else wants to do with their life is entirely their choice," Dalglish said.

"I came here to get three points, whether Carlo Ancelotti was playing up front or anyone else doesn't matter.

"He (Torres) had one shot on target when Jamie Carragher did a fantastic block tackle but I'm not here to talk any somebody else's players.

"I've always said the most important people to me are the people at Liverpool Football Club. We've got four clean-sheets in a row and 12 points, so I think anyone who is a Liverpool fan is very happy at the moment."

Just 10 days ago, Liverpool's future looked gloomy as Torres agitated for a move before the transfer deadline. But suddenly things are looking up for Dalglish and company.

Wins over Stoke and Chelsea have lifted Liverpool to within six points of the top four and new signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, drafted in to replace Torres, have yet to start for the Reds.

Dalglish is confident Liverpool fans, who taunted Torres mercilessly throughout the match, have every reason to be optimistic after 18 months of turmoil at Anfield.

"We had a busy Monday and it has been a great week. The players were fantastic in their determination to win this match," Dalglish said.

"We have signed two fantastic players in Suarez and Carroll and we are looking forward to seeing them play if they can get in the team!

"Sixth is a lot healthier than 12th when I started. That is a great credit to the players."

Liverpool's recent upsurge in fortunes has done Dalglish's chances of turning his short-term job into a more permanent one but the Scot was quick to play down such talk.

"I'm only doing what I said I would come in and do, which is help," he said.

"I'll never stand in the way of progress at this football club. I have never had a conversation with the owners beyond the conversation I had when I came in.

"That's where we stand at the moment and until there is more to discuss - that is where we are."

Related Articles

Monday, October 18, 2010

Liverpool slump in front of new owners

Liverpool's new owners watched their team slump to a comprehensive 2-0 defeat at Merseyside rivals Everton which sent them second bottom of the Premier League on Sunday.

Manchester City won 3-2 at Blackpool to move second in the table after Liverpool owners John W Henry and Tom Werner watched goals by Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta condemn the five-times European champions to their fourth defeat of the season.

Fernando Torres went closest for the visitors at Goodison Park when his first-half header was turned over the bar by Everton keeper Tim Howard, but Liverpool offered little else.

They slipped one place in the standings on goal difference, level on six points with Wolverhampton Wanderers and bottom-placed West Ham United.

Chelsea stayed top after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday. City are second, two points behind, Arsenal third after a 2-1 win at home to Birmingham City and Manchester United fourth after a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford.

Hodgson under pressure

Henry's New England Sports Ventures, owners of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, completed a takeover of Liverpool on Friday after contentious legal battles with the previous US owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The jubilant scenes in London on Friday concluded one of the most dramatic weeks in Liverpool's 118-year history, yet the euphoria of the takeover battle did not carry over to the pitch.

Everton fans taunted their counterparts with chants of "Going down" after the defeat that left Liverpool 19th in the table, their lowest ever position in the Premier League.

Manager Roy Hodgson was given a vote of confidence by Henry before Sunday's match, but the defeat is certain to focus attention on the future of the Englishman who has presided over Liverpool's worst start to a season for over 50 years.

"I don't feel it to be a crisis,” Hodgson told Sky Sports. “The way we played today -- I don't think anyone would believe that's the level of football a team in the bottom three or four would play.”

"On the other hand, there's six points from eight games and that's a very, very poor return.

“We do need to start winning and climbing up that table soon, and until we do so I daresay the word 'crisis' will be bandied around."

Determined run

The breakthrough came from Seamus Coleman's determined run into the area. The Irish defender's cross took a deflection and the ball sat up for Cahill to drill his finish past Jose Reina.

Everton doubled their lead five minutes after halftime, when Sotiros Kyrgiakos's headed clearance from a corner fell to an unmarked Arteta, whose right-foot shot from the edge of the area swerved viciously and left Reina clutching at air.

At Bloomfield Road, Carlos Tevez put City ahead after 67 minutes with a neat touch at the near post from James Milner's cross.

Marlon Harewood got the faintest of touches to a free kick to bring Blackpool level with a header in the 78th minute, but City were back in front within a minute. Argentine Tevez robbed defender Ian Evatt -- who claimed he was fouled -- and his shot took a deflection before finding the bottom corner.

Spain forward David Silva made it three with a splendid solo goal, selling two dummies in the area and curling home a left-foot shot. Gary Taylor-Fletcher's stoppage-time strike was a consolation for the home side.

Related Articles

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Liverpool change hands after 'penalty shootout'

Liverpool's tortured takeover battle ended on Friday with the owners of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox completing their 300 million pounds (US$480.8 million) purchase of the Premier League club.

New England Sports Ventures (NESV) said the deal, welcomed by jubilant fans but dismissed as an "epic swindle" and "organized conspiracy" by ousted co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, had eliminated all of the acquisition debt placed on the club by the American pair.

In what could be a major boost for the struggling Merseyside team's embattled manager Roy Hodgson, the new owners added that the club's debt servicing obligations had been slashed from between $40-48 million a year to two to three.

"As any Liverpool fan knows, the most nerve-racking way to win is the penalty shootout," chairman Martin Broughton told a throng of reporters gathered outside the headquarters of a London law firm as he announced the change of ownership.

"But in the end, as long as you get the right result, it's worth the wait. We got the right result," added Broughton, who will stay on to oversee the transition.

However, Liverpool still face the prospect of a protracted legal battle after lawyers for Hicks and Gillett vowed to fight on "with all of their legal energies" in a claim for damages of $1.6 billion.

They also said they intended to return to the London High Court as part of that bid, with some analysts suggesting the legal battle could go on for years.

"Frankly, I think it's the beginning of a long book, rather than a final chapter," said Rick Horrow, a sports lecturer at Harvard Law School.

Texas breakthrough

The day had started with a breakthrough in Texas, where a judge lifted a restraining order that had prevented NESV from going ahead with the deal on Thursday.

It ended with new owner John W Henry declaring himself proud and humbled with his purchase, telling the fans what they wanted to hear.

"We regard our role as that of stewards for the club with a primary focus on returning the club to greatness on and off the field for the long-term," he said.

"We are committed first and foremost to winning. We have a history of winning, and today we want (Liverpool) supporters to know that this approach is what we intend to bring to this great club."

Liverpool, the five-time European champions, are one of England's greatest clubs with a brand of global stature despite their last league title coming 20 years ago.

However, they have had a nightmare start to the season and are currently 18th in the 20-strong Premier League with just six points from their opening seven matches.

Speaking before the deal was confirmed, Hodgson said a cloud had been lifted.

"It's a very good day for the club," he told a packed news conference at the club's training ground. "It's a relief... it has been a very difficult couple of weeks…”

“We've had to live through that bad time."

Local derby

Friday's outcome, desired by so many Liverpool fans, will be especially welcome ahead of Sunday's local derby away to Everton, a hugely important game given the club's precarious league position although one that Henry will miss.

"It's better for our first experience of our supporters to be at home," he said.

The amount of money the former co-owners, who bought the club in 2007 and have been left more than $160.2 million out of pocket, have vowed to pursue in damages was scoffed at by some commentators.

"They're hoping for a settlement," said Robert Boland, professor of sports management at New York University. "You never sue for a little.”

“Every (car) bumper tap in New York City is worth $2 million in damages, you always put the biggest number you possibly could imagine for damages on the lawsuit to start."

Hicks and Gillett had faced a Friday deadline to repay more than $320.5 million worth of outstanding debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the club's major creditors, who welcomed the new owners and rebuffed the old.

"RBS is pleased the sale of LFC to NESV has been completed and are confident this will provide the foundation for the club and its fans to enjoy renewed success on and off the pitch," the bank said in a statement.

"RBS is aware of reports that Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett may intend to pursue further litigation in relation to the sale of Liverpool FC.

"The English Courts have described claims made to date as 'not realistic and abusive'. Any further claims against RBS will be vigorously opposed," it added.

Related Articles

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Liverpool agree sale but legal battle looms

Liverpool's board has agreed to sell the club to the owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox but the fate of England's most successful soccer team could yet be decided in court as an ownership dispute rages on.

The Premier League club said on Wednesday they had accepted a 300 million pounds (US$477.6 million) offer from New England Sports Ventures (NESV) but the deal is being complicated because they are facing a legal challenge from their current owners.

Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett sought on Tuesday to replace two members of the five-man board with their own people in a final bid to retain control.

Hicks and Gillett also confirmed their commitment to selling Liverpool but said the current offer "dramatically" undervalued the club.

"The board has been legally reconstituted and the new board does not approve of this proposed transaction," a spokesman for the owners said.

The proposed deal's price tag of $477.6 million includes $317.8 million in writing down all acquisition debt and taking on additional working capital debts and other liabilities.

The club's American owners would also not have been happy to hear that a sale to NESV has the support of Liverpool's major creditors Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), according to a source familiar with the situation.

Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton said he was disappointed the current owners had "tried everything to prevent the deal from happening" but added the potential new owners were the best people for the job.

An NESV statement said it wanted to "stabilize the club and ultimately return Liverpool FC to its rightful place in English and European football, successfully competing for and winning trophies."

Unpopular owners

Hicks and Gillett bought the Merseyside club in February 2007 for $347.9 million and have been unpopular with fans for burdening it with debt, leaving little money for transfers.

Fans have held many protests calling for their departure, blaming the club's worst start to a season for more than half a century on a lack of new players, but they still struck a note of caution.

"We've heard all these promises before and it amounted to very little," James McKenna, a representative of the Spirit of Shankly supporters group, told Reuters.

Broughton sought to allay such fears, saying NESV wanted to create a 60,000-seater stadium in a "short timetable" -- be it a new ground or an expansion of Anfield -- and pointed to their track record with the Red Sox.

"NESV's philosophy is all about winning and they have fully demonstrated that at Red Sox," he said, referring to the two World Series the team won in 2004 and 2007 after an 86-year wait.

The first title came two years after the takeover by NESV, headed by multi-millionaire John W. Henry.

Related Articles

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Drogba gives Arsenal blues as Liverpool humbled

Chelsea's Didier Drogba proved Arsenal's nemesis again as he inspired the champions to a 2-0 win over their London rivals and Blackpool pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory at Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.

Chelsea bounced back from defeat at Manchester City to overpower Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and move four points clear at the top as Liverpool slumped into the relegation zone following Blackpool's triumph on their first league visit to Anfield since 1971.

Liverpool's day started badly when more than 2,000 fans marched from the city center to protest against the ownership of Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett and the defeat left new manager Roy Hodgson with just one league victory in seven matches.

Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 to leapfrog Manchester United and Arsenal and move into second place.

Chelsea, who have beaten Arsenal in their last four league matches, top the table with 18 points, followed by City on 14, United on 13 and Arsenal on 11.

The victory was Chelsea's sixth in seven league games and Drogba again proved an unstoppable force against Arsenal, giving his side the lead with a stunning flick on the turn after 40 minutes to notch up his 13th goal in 13 appearances against Arsene Wenger's team.

Defender Alex sealed victory with an unstoppable free kick after 85 minutes, ending a difficult week for Chelsea, during which manager Carlo Ancelotti's father died, on a high.

"For the last two days the players have trained exceptionally well -- the day after Carlo's father's death was a bit lackluster," Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins told a news conference.

"We were disappointing against Manchester City last week and we did not perform all that well today.

“You saw not a fantastic performance but a different performance in that we ground out a win. The three points was what we went for and that's what we got."

Wenger said he was pleased with Arsenal's performance.

"I just want to say that the game demonstrates how you can play well and lose the game," he said.

"We had the chances to score today, two in the first two minutes, but when you have the chances you have to score. We need to be more clinical offensively -- and defensively."

Blackpool stunned Liverpool with a 29th-minute penalty from Charlie Adam after Glen Johnson's foul on Luke Varney who struck again for the visitors before halftime.

Headed home

Defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos pulled one back for Liverpool after 53 minutes when he headed home a Steven Gerrard free kick, but the home side, who lost Spain striker Fernando Torres with an injury after nine minutes, were unable to fight back.

"It's a bad result and a very bad day," Hodgson told a news conference. "There's nothing more I can say.”

“We were very anxious to get back on track, to get the three points and lift ourselves up the table.

"No words or anything I can say can change that situation or make it better," he added.

Manchester City took the lead against Newcastle with a first-half penalty from Carlos Tevez and England's Adam Johnson fired a 75th-minute winner after Jonas Gutierrez had equalized.

The visitors also lost striker Hatem Ben Arfa with a suspected broken leg.

"It does not look good," Newcastle manager Chris Hughton told reporters. "It looks like a broken leg.”

“Everyone will have their own opinion but it was a tackle that did not need to be made."

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Tevez on target as Man City beat Liverpool 3-0

tevez
Manchester City's Carlos Tevez (R) shoots to score against Liverpool during their English Premier League soccer match at the City of Manchester stadium in Manchester, northern England, August 23, 2010
Photo: Reuters

Carlos Tevez claimed two second-half goals as a confident Manchester City overwhelmed Liverpool 3-0 to underline their Premier League title credentials Monday.

With Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Mansour given a standing ovation by the fans on attending his first home game since buying the club two years ago, big-spending City provided plenty for their billionaire owner to savor on a wet night at Eastlands.

Newly-signed England midfielder James Milner enjoyed an impressive debut, setting up the 13th minute opener by surging into the box and stroking the ball back for former Aston Villa team mate Gareth Barry to side-foot home.

Tevez made it 2-0 in the 52nd, claiming a classic poacher's goal from point-blank range after seemingly adding the final snatched touch to a powerful Micah Richards header.

Richards told Sky Sports television that the goal was his.

"It's definitely mine, I'm definitely going to claim it," he said.

There was no doubt about the third, with the Argentine striker calmly sending Pepe Reina the wrong way as he slotted home from the penalty spot in the 68th after Adam Johnson was felled in the box by Martin Skrtel.

City, who have spent more than US$155.5 million on players since they finished fifth last season, moved up to fourth overall after beating Liverpool for the first time since 2005.

Champions Chelsea, who thrashed Wigan Athletic 6-0 on Saturday, have a maximum six points from two games with Arsenal second on four after crushing Blackpool by the same score line.

Mascherano absent

"The mentality is very important," said City manager Roberto Mancini, who rested new Italian signing Mario Balotelli with Tevez alone up front. "If the squad has a good mentality, it can beat everyone."

It was City's best league result against the once-mighty visitors, whose own title aspirations have been fuelled by the arrival of manager Roy Hodgson and some high-profile summer signings, in 73 years.

"We were a little bit unlucky to get beaten so heavily," Hodgson told Sky. "I didn't think we really deserved to get beaten 3-0.”

"Pepe Reina wasn't called into action that often and I thought we had one or two good spells in the game but we were playing against a very effective and strong Manchester City side," he added.

Liverpool were without unsettled Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano, who is linked to Spanish champions Barcelona, and the suspended Joe Cole but had Spanish striker Fernando Torres -- a summer target for City -- making his first start of the season.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard hit the post with a powerful shot in the second half while City goalkeeper Joe Hart, again favored over Shay Given, made a stunning double save to deny David Ngog and Torres.

"When Hart made that incredible double save, at 2-1 that might have put some more life back into the game," said Hodgson. "It's only two matches into the season...”

“I think it's a bit premature to start discussing how big the job is," he added when asked about the task ahead of him.

Related Articles