The Soccer Blog: Anfield

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Friday, 6 May 2011

Former Liverpool Hero Keen On £8m Anfield Return

Former Liverpool favourite John Arne Riise has sparked talk of a possible Anfield return after suggesting that he would be open to a move back to the Merseyside club he represented from 2002 to 2008. The Norwegian international is currently at Roma but has been linked with a move away from the Stadio Olimpico after an average season at the Serie A side.

Liverpool are reportedly looking for a new left back and have previously been strongly linked with Everton’s Leighton Baines and Newcastle United full back Jose Enrique. Kenny Dalglish will have been encouraged by the performances of youngster Jack Robinson but may feel that he needs a more experienced player to fill the position that has been handed to a number of players this season.

Paul Konchesky was the original first choice under Roy Hodgson but the former Fulham man struggled to find form and has been sent out on loan to Nottingham Forest. Fabio Aurelio has struggled for fitness and at times Glen Johnson and Danny Wilson have both been called in as emergency back up.

Monday, 11 April 2011

Liverpool Plan £35m Premier League Trio Raid: Dalglish and Comolli Look to Improve Anfield Squad

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish will be handed substantial funds by the club’s owners this summer and the Anfield boss plans to make moves for three Premier League targets. Newcastle United full back Jose Enrique, Tottenham playmaker Niko Kranjcar and Bolton centre back Gary Cahill are all on the Merseyside club’s wish-list.

Liverpool are looking for a left back to fill what has become something of a problem position and Dalglish hopes to lure Spaniard Jose Enrique to the club but may have to battle AC Milan for the 25 year old who has decided to keep talk of a new Magpies deal until the end of the season, leaving many to conclude the former Villarreal man may be ready to leave the St James’ Park club.

With two of his centre back contingent, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Jamie Carragher, over 30 years of age and with Daniel Agger having injury concerns, Liverpool are looking to bring England international Gary Cahill to beef up the club’s defensive options. The consistent Trotters defender is also wanted by both Tottenham and Arsenal and Owen Coyle has reportedly placed a slightly inflated

Friday, 1 April 2011

Anfield Naming Rights, Standard Chartered Blunders, and Other Friday Notes

By: Noel | April 1st, 2011
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Bond rip-offs and international updates and taking the piss out of Joe Cole. Plus the longest blog post in intertubes history and illusionists and polls and distracting videos and even the revival of the pre-match borderline intelligible cross-blogination discussion. And there’s probably some other stuff that I’m forgetting, too. Like Jonjo Shelvey’s penis.

So. Are you not entertained?

Well, we certainly hope you are. Still, so much for quiet international breaks and nothing to talk about, but thank Fowler football’s almost back anyhow…

* Remember that part where there was going to be a stadium announcement by the end of last week? Yeah, not so much, though we do have some non-news of potential stadium sponsorships and potential stadiums that mostly adds up to news letting us know there’s no news. Got that? Me neither, but here’s what Ian Ayre had to say anyhow:

We are actively looking for a naming partner if we were to move to a new ground, but that clearly does not apply if we decide to remain at Anfield.

No final decision has yet been made, but a considerable amount of work continues on analysing the options open to us, be that a refurbishment of our existing home or the move to a completely new LFC Stadium in Stanley Park.

So, I guess no news is no news?

* Meanwhile, Standard Chartered kept themselves entertained during the break by doing their best to piss off the fans, publicly discussing their preferred direction for the club and what they would like to see done to boost the value of their brand’s investment. According to Standard Chartered big-wig or maven or guru or something Gavin Laws:

The real power for what Liverpool could do for us, and I think for the English Premier League, is if there was a way they could nurture foreign players from Asia, a great Asian player–you see what Park Ji-sung does for Manchester United.

The markets in Asia and the Middle East are so nationalistic, they are very proud about their countries. Matches become huge events. One appearance from a player, say from Dubai in the Premier League, and you’d have the whole of Dubai watching it.

If Liverpool brings in Dubai’s next global superstar footballer (don’t tell me who their first one was–I’m sure it’ll come to me in a minute), we’ll know who’s calling the shots. Fortunately, with the new owners in place, this seems rather less likely than it would have been under Hicks and Gillett, though it still can’t help but set the teeth on edge that some random financial wizard1 thinks being shirt sponsor entitles them to play football manager with the club.

But that wasn’t the end of it, as Gavin Laws went on to talk about how glad Standard Chartered was that LFC spent the first six or so months of the season a manic-depressive mess:

If Liverpool were winning the league and were keeping at the top of everybody’s minds then it’s fantastic for a sponsor, but I would have thought that Liverpool have had more exposure around the world this season than anybody else. Without the turmoil at the club there wouldn’t have been that publicity. They are a mid-table team, who have an outside chance of getting into the Europa League again.

Oh. Well. Good to know the whole Hodgson fiasco and nerve-wracking sale process was good for your investment. And nice touch with the mid-table comments, too. I’m sure it’ll endear you to the supporters, which is always good for the bottom line.

* Then, in case you missed it yesterday, Sid Lowe had a ranging interview with former Red Alvaro Arbeloa as Real Madrid prepares to take on Spurs in the Champions League, with another former Liverpool player getting a supporting role:

When the final whistle blows on Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to the Bernabéu on Tuesday night, Alvaro Arbeloa will head straight for Peter Crouch and ask his former Liverpool team-mate to swap shirts. When the final whistle blows on Real Madrid’s visit to White Hart Lane eight nights later, he will do the same. One Crouch shirt is not enough: Arbeloa is after two.

It is not because they are friends… it is because he needs it. And because Raúl Albiol does too.

It’s a fun read, though it will remind you just how much Liverpool have missed having Arbeloa’s calming influence on the backline. Not to mention his patented leaping celebrations whenever the team scored.

Well, that was certainly a jam packed Friday notes. By the time you’re done, it should be just about time for Ed to wander along with the West Brom preview. In the meantime, while we wait for the return of club football in the hope it will make it easier to come up with things to entertain you with here on the blog…

1 Christian Purslow Christian Purslow Christian Poulsen Christian Purslow

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Happy Birthday Kenny Dalglish, Redeveloping Anfield, and Other Friday NotesAnfield Redevelopment Rumours, Carroll Called Up, and Other Monday NotesEpic Swindles, Endless Injuries, and Other Friday NotesTactics, Spanish Goalkeepers, and Other Friday NotesPurslow Piñatas, Poll Wrap, and Other Friday Notes

Category: Premier League, Team News

Tags: Alvaro Arbeloa, Anfield, Celebrate at Some Point, Christian Purslow Is Worse Than Hitler, Foot In Mouth Disease, George Gillett, Ian Ayre, John Henry, Links!, Premier League, Team News, Tom Hicks, West Bromwich Albion
Tweet « Tea and Crumpets with Surreal Football | Home | redtrev73It being the Eve Of The Hodgepocalypse and April 1 to boot, it nice to see our favourite face-rubbing purveyor of hoof-ball has kicked things off in typically arrogant and surreal style. With apologies to Noel and Ed, i thought i should share the latest musings of our former boss.
Anyone doubting roy's genius should, he insists, "look at what [he's] done in 36 years". Ah yes...don't forget the LMA award roy...and you haven't name-checked massimo moratti in a while...
Now round here we are privy to the hodge's secret double-life as a covert operative but even we were unaware of uncle royston's powers of bilocation. "I live in the present and the future", claimed roy in the same presser. Remarkable stuff, i think you'll all agree.NoelI like that he always brings up his experience at Inter and Liverpool and with the Swiss national team. Because that's really forward looking of him.YannYeah, I'd live in the present and the future too if I had Hodgson's pathetic past.blog comments powered by Disqus

Harry Redknapp, England manager? (Awful writing) Is It Too Early to Get Excited About Sturridge? Denmark 1 - 2 England (Via Hamlet) more news...

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Friday, 4 March 2011

Happy Birthday Kenny Dalglish, Redeveloping Anfield, and Other Friday Notes

By: Noel | March 4th, 2011
Tweet dalglish celebrating

Despite an at times slow week on the news front, this turned out to be a surprisingly jam-packed Friday notes. So without further frivolity let’s get right to the fun…

* Let’s put this week’s poll to bed right off the top, as the question of where on the pitch Steven Gerrard should be playing his football was never in doubt: 57% wanted to see him pushed up to a more advanced central position. Obviously I’m rather fond of those amongst the 57%, seeing as they voted the same way I did, and as such would like to offer shiny commemorative Canadian quarters all around–the ones with an embossed red poppy the US defense department thought were spy devices. You will have to pay my airfare, hotel, and etcetera so that I can deliver it by hand, but come on: a shiny Canadian spy quarter! Delivered by an anti-social, partially washed blogger who may or may not attempt to wear your skin! Isn’t that worth paying pretty much any price for? No?

Well, anyhow, 23% of you went with keeping Gerrard in a deeper central role, while 17% said to put him out on the right, and 3% wanted to see him played in goal or something–the others weren’t very forthcoming this week. While I’m somewhat less obviously filled with joy when people fail to agree with my awesome and all knowing rightness, you can all have quarters, too. I just won’t pretend to be happy when I deliver them. Though I might at least give the Right Midfield folks a lazy single thumbs up and an apathetic shrug. In any case, if you want a bit more fuel for your “Where should Gerrard play?” fires, Nate at OYB is your dealer with lots of deliciously colourful charts and graphs comparing this year’s West Ham display with last year’s more advanced performance.

* Meanwhile, the Anfield question is on the docket this morning, with two options for getting your fix of should they stay or should they go conundrumy goodness. At The Tomkins Times, Chris Rowland puts a spade in the finances and emotions swirling around the issue of what to do with one of the most famous sporting grounds in the world, before getting at a sometimes overlooked potential trouble:

Of course if we opt for the redevelopment route, we will need the co-operation of the local council and public authorities. Staying may give the immediate area a much needed boost – if you think the area by the ground is run down now, imagine it without its supporting life force. The businesses that rely on match day income – the pubs, shops and chippys – would also be mighty relieved. But that co-operation may not be forthcoming. They see a new build, rather than redevelopment, as the catalyst for the regeneration of north Liverpool. As recently as October 2010, the council leader Joe Anderson said that redeveloping Anfield instead of building a new stadium would be unlikely to gain approval. “I would encourage them to stick to the commitment that is already in place because I think that is the best solution for everyone – for the club and the city”, he said. I also seem to recall Hicks’ and Gillett’s proposals for extending the imaginary new stadium in Stanley Park beyond its initial 60/65,000 capacity meeting opposition over the inability of the public transport infrastructure to cope with crowds of 75,000. This may not be a smooth ride.

In the end, though, he nervously edges towards the possibility of the dreaded groundshare coming true, whether it’s the result of uncertain financial realities or a contrary council. At the same time over on The Kop–and dismissing the groundshare option out of hand–Brian Durand sets out a bit of history before getting on to the questions:

[Its] trophy room has been the residence of the League Championship trophy on no less than nineteen occasions. Yes, nineteen… as the first of those Championship campaigns came when Everton’s name was above the home dressing room door, two years before the well-documented rent dispute which led to John Houlding forming Liverpool Football club.

Well, I don’t suppose that will do a lot of good should United end the campaign triumphant, but if you’re at all inclined to hoarding shiny little baubles of useless information like scraps of twig and tinfoil, banishing the slightest useful thought from your head in the process, that right there is pure gold. Or a shiny bit of trivia tinfoil. Or something.

* Back in the here and now, it’s Kenny Dalglish’s 60th birthday today, which in a way seems a little silly to note since what is there really to do or say on a blog when somebody you’re never likely to meet is celebrating a milestone? At the same time, it’s not as though it’s the sort of thing one can or should completely ignore–I mean, he is the current manager. He’s also amongst the club’s managerial legends based on his first go round, and by most accounts its greatest ever player. So, you know, he is The King. And kind of a big deal.

Well all right, then, if you head on back to those crazy days of January on the blog you’ll find a solidly engaging 25-minute retrospective on his time as a player and manager. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s certainly worth a watch. Otherwise, here’s hoping for a win on Sunday to cap things off for him and anybody else celebrating their birth between now and then.

in the meantime, while you consider that if you read and watched everything offered up to you in the links of this post you could probably get right through the morning without doing a shred of work, bringing yourself that much closer a couple of drinks that would then bring you that much closer to Sunday’s big match…

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Mental Health Break, Kenny Dalglish EditionPurslow Piñatas, Poll Wrap, and Other Friday NotesHappy Birthday Maggie!Roy Hodgson Out, Kenny Dalglish InRehabilitating Rafa, and Other Friday Notes

Category: Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News

Tags: Anfield, Blog Pollin', Don't Stop Drinking Yet, Groundshare, History, Kenny Dalglish, Links!, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Steven Gerrard, Team News
Tweet « Video: The King Speaks | Home | RoscoHave to admit it really is a strange feeling to look forward to a Liverpool manager press conference nowadays, it's certainly been a while. For all Rafas good points he really was chronic in interviews at times. Less said about Woy the better.

" So Kenny, will you have a nice bottle of red waiting for Sir Alex after the game?"

"Wit? It's ma birthday, no his."

Class act.KCRandom comment from random fan: I hope we get to see Suso play soon5yearplana partly washed lazy single thumbs up and an apathetic shrug in my general direction then.

My vote was just a wish not to be a member of the herd, nor to agree with anything that Andy Gray might once have said, although to be fair if there had been a left back in the changing room Option I may well have taken that as I am becoming increasingly disillusioned with our Liverpool through and through captain.

Still on a bright note I have discovered enough enthusiasm to click and clack at a few keys, dispersing my eccentric and firmly held beliefs to a expectant nation and shall now step out revitalised and find breakfast, sure in the knowledge that my job here is doneYannTell us Noel, do you like fava beans with a nice Chianti?KaiHappy Friday folks! Damn Aussies will get to crack out the beers first....YannIt's my birthday too and I've already polished off 3 glasses of wine and 4 beers. A crowd is gathering and there's much more to come. Friday night and I'm happy, happy, happy. Cheers to all. Go Liverpool!redtrev73Best wishes from me here in Paddyland Yann. Hope its a great night and you can nurse your sore head through a monumental victory over Matron Ferguson's mancs on Sunday. Enjoy mate.YannGood on you redtrev. It's turned into a sizeable gathering and I'm already in questionable shape, but there's no stopping now. I'm on severe tenderhooks about Sunday because I have the feeling its not going to be close and I hope the pendulum swings our way. The Carroll & Suarez pairing looks great on paper - lets hope they do time together and deliver the goods.blog comments powered by Disqus