Reds youngster can’t relax yet
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Bryan Robson says he can’t make any decisions on the future of Chris Kirkland until West Brom’s own future is known. The Baggies are fighting relegation and Robson says if they fail then Kirkland will be out of their reach. Robson said: “As a manager I would love to keep Chris here but it’s going to be down to circumstances and which division we are in next season. Obviously the wage budget is different between the Championship and the Premiership. But if I could do a deal with Liverpool, Chris and his agent, I would be interested.”
The former Manchester United midfielder is not going to even bother discussing the issue with the Reds though until they are either relegated or saved: “Until we know where we are going to be there’s no point in talking to Liverpool.” At least Robson was willing to say how much he’s been impressed by Kirkland, who has been hit by more of his bad luck during his season long loan at West Brom. Robson said: “I have been impressed with Chris and he was unlucky to get his kidney problem when he did after doing well in the first half of the season. Then he broke his finger which can happen to anyone. To have Tomasz and Chris at West Brom, both of whom are only in their mid 20s, and have them developing together would be ideal.”
Kirkland himself was quick to defend himself against the reputation that sees him labelled as nothing other than injury prone: “I have been unlucky with injuries at West Brom but have proved that whatever club signs me will not be taking on a crock next season. There were question marks placed over my back which I had problems with over the previous couple of years but it has not been an issue at all this season.”
Liverpool may be happy to let Kirkland move on, but the nonsense about captain Steven Gerrard heading to Real Madrid was quickly dismissed today by Rafael Benitez. Madrid’s director of football Benito Floro used Gerrard in an attempt to win himself favour at the Spanish club, and the English press enjoyed the opportunity to stir up trouble ahead of Liverpool’s latest clash with Chelsea at the weekend. Rafa couldn’t make it any clearer - none of his hidden meanings in his simple statement: “He’s not for sale. The situation is very clear. Steven Gerrard is not for sale.”
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Some progress for Liverpool FC in their attempts to build a new stadium on Stanley Park. Liverpool City Council today started advertising for a contractor to take on the task of restoring parts of Stanley Park, part of the overall work to regenerate the area around the existing ground. Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, the city council leader Warren Bradley said: “This scheme has been held up for far too long. We gave the go-ahead to the restoration of Stanley Park some time ago so it is good news that we are now advertising for a contractor to carry out the work.”
The plans for the new stadium were reapproved before Easter, and this is another big step towards the new ground for the Reds. Liverpool are still waiting for investment to be agreed before they can start work themselves, but the council say the park restoration work will continue regardless: “This work will be done separately from the new stadium, so we can still carry on with the park’s restoration, even if the club changes its mind.”
Even the opposition leader Joe Anderson was pleased to see some progress, although he didn’t quite say that in so many words: “The regeneration of Anfield and Breckfield is long overdue, and residents and businesses are suffering from this project’s inertia.”
There is a fund of around £20m for this additional work, which is needed as part of the work to build the new stadium, but won’t be spent on the grounds itself. This part of the money is to come from the European Objective One scheme and also the North West Development Agency. Included in this work is restoration of fountains and floral displays in the park, as well the Gladstone conservatory. New play areas will be built on the park too, but none of this concerns the “Friends of Stanley Park”. This organisation seem to prefer leaving things as they are - mainly derelict.
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FA Premiership Result.
Blackburn 0 Liverpool 1 (Fowler, 29)
Blackburn: Friedel, Neill, Khizanishvili, Nelsen, Gray, Bentley, Savage, Reid, Pedersen, Dickov (Kuqi 67), Bellamy
Unused subs: Enckelman, Emerton, Mokoena, Peter
Booked: Savage, Bentley, Neill.
Liverpool: Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Warnock (Kewell 69), Cisse, Sissoko, Alonso, Riise, Morientes (Kromkamp 81), Fowler (Luis Garcia 63)
Unused subs: Dudek, Traore
Booked: Sissoko, Alonso.
Attendance: 29,142
Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
|
|
Stat |
|
|
0 |
Goals |
1 |
|
3 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
|
3 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
|
0 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
|
6 |
Corners |
4 |
|
13 |
Fouls |
11 |
|
5 |
Offsides |
5 |
|
3 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
|
0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
|
54 |
Possession |
46 |
Comments:
Reds boss Rafael Benitez: “I was most pleased with the team spirit and our plan worked very well for us. We knew they had very quick players up front so we sat back and tried to hit them on the counter attack. You need to create the majority of chances in games like this and that is exactly what we managed to do.”
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez would like nothing more on his birthday today than seeing the Reds close the gap on second-placed Manchester United. Chelsea’s win yesterday meant it was finally impossible mathematically for the Reds to win the league, but second place is certainly within reach. Liverpool are six points behind United at the moment, and it’s still a real outside chance for them to be overtaken, but nobody expected Sunderland to take points off United on Friday.
Today’s opponents have their own ambitions though, and Mark Hughes will want his Blackburn side to prove they deserve to be in the top six by beating the Reds, and in turn press their claim even more for a European place. Even Champions League football is a possibility for the Lancashire side.
The game this afternoon has a few little side-shows to it. Djibril Cisse will be returning to play at the ground where his career nearly ended if he’s picked. It was early last season that the Frenchman broke his leg at Ewood Park. Blackburn striker Craig Bellamy has again been linked with a move to Anfield, and press reports today have revisited reports from when Bellamy signed for Rovers that his contract includes a £6million get-out clause should an offer come in from a Champions League side. Mark Hughes may be making himself a lot of friends in Blackburn since taking over from Graeme Souness, but he’s less likely to make any friends at Anfield thanks to his past with Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea. Brad Friedel keeps goal for Blackburn against his old club, and Dominic Matteo is in the Blackburn squad hoping to face his former club.
Liverpool full-back John Arne Riise summed up what a Liverpool fans felt about the original plan for Liverpool to play Blackburn Rovers today. With Liverpool’s potentially heavy fixture commitments the club claimed there was no room to move the game away from today. It was set to kick off at tea-time, but even then there would not be enough time for many to make it to the both the game and the memorial service, which takes place as always at 2.45pm. In the end Liverpool’s elimination from the Champions League made room for the fixture to be delayed by a day. Now the Blackburn match is being played tomorrow, and will be televised by Sky.
It’s a tough day for Liverpool fans. Everyone chooses to spend the day in their own way, whether it’s attending the service, staying at home to reflect or going to a place special to them. Going to watch the Reds player has never been an option, never been a decision that’s had to be made. According to Riise, it’s just as well. He’s happy that he will still be able to attend the service at Anfield, and that he’s not got to play on such a significant and sad day: “It is a very sad time for everyone. Everybody knows about it and for us to come to the service to give something back is good. It shows that football is not that important in the end. I think it’s good for everyone to come and see the families and show our support. This will be the fifth time I will be at the service and I’m looking forward to it. It’s a sad occasion but I’m glad I can give something back.”
Today is not a day for football. Riise’s words may come as a shock to those that thought it would be OK to play today. Riise says it just wouldn’t have worked: “It just wouldn’t have felt right playing today. There would have been so much fuss about it as well in the papers, so I think Blackburn did a good job to change the game. It is such a big day for the Liverpool players, the fans and the families, we just couldn’t have played. What Blackburn did showed it means a lot to everybody.”
To the ninety-six Liverpool supporters who died as a result of the Hillsborough disaster on April 15th 1989, may you all rest in peace. You are always in our thoughts, and we will never forget you. You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Liverpool’s youth side take on Manchester City’s equivalent team in tonight’s Youth Cup final first leg at Anfield. The game kicks off at 7.30pm and is available to UK viewers on Sky Sports.
The reds won their semi-final against Southampton in a penalty shoot-out at St Mary’s. The few Liverpool supporters that made it down to the south coast helped the Reds players to get the victory, singing the anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” proudly. Tonight there should be a much larger contingent of Reds supporters – Anfield officials believe that there could be 30,000 at the game, the majority of course being Reds.
The youth side is made up of players from the Academy and the eligible players from the reserve side. According to Academy coach John Owens, the final should see a decent level of support for the youngsters: “In a way the response from the fans in the previous youth games has been disappointing with only a handful plus family and friends of the players, but we would hope that the fact that we are in the final would spur some of those who have not been along to see the youth team would come along and support us, because it does make a difference. You only have to ask the first team players about that.”