PROBABLE TEAM LINE UP V MAN CITY

With Liverpool given a boost following the refusal of the FA hearing committee to reduce or resind Vincent Kompany’s four game ban, plus the the loss of Yaya & kolo Toure’s participation at The African Nation’s Cup. Kenny Dalglish’s team have a great opportunity to progress to the Carling Cup final.
We still have to be at our best to beat these guys as the likes of  Nasri and Balotteli lie waiting in the wings.
Ever optimistic, I am hoping for a 1-0 win at The Eitihad Stadium.

Well I got most of the team and the result right.

KOMPANY LOOSES RED-CARD APPEAL, OUT OF LIVERPOOL GAMES

Man City’s Vincent Kompany has lost his appeal against a four match ban for his sending off against Man Utd on Sunday in the FA Cup.

The influential defender will now miss the Carling Cup game against Liverpool on Wednesday evening as well as two Premier League games and the 2nd leg at Anfield.

With the Toure brothers away at the African Nation’s Cup, Liverpool have been handed an advantage going into the Cup semi-final.

Lets hope we make the most of it.

KOMPANY OUT OF CARLING CUP TIE WITH LIVERPOOL

Man City’s Vincent Kompany is out of the Carling Cup Semi-Final with Liverpool this week.
The impressive defender was harshly sent-off in the FA Cup game v Man Utd yesterday.

Doesn’t matter, we will take it.
We couldn’t get past him the other week when we lost 3-0 to the Sky-blues, he stopped everything we threw at Man City.

It will still be a tough game at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
By the way, wasn’t it very convenient for Manchester City to be given an ultra-modern, brand new stadium after the Commonwealth games a few years ago?

Liverpool could have done with a new stadium being built by the Government at Stanley Park instead.

Anyhow, with Kompany’s ban we stand a slightly better chance of getting to the Carling Cup Final, lets hope we do it.

Expect Kenny Dalglish to field a strong team on Wednesday against Mancini’s City with Steven Gerrard, Charlie Adam, Glen Johnson and Jordan Henderson all returning to the side.

Shame we drew Man Utd in the FA Cup, 4th round, I knew it would happen, lets get at Scholes, Carrick and their ageing defence.

Games Suarez Will Miss: 

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POLICE APPREHEND THE RACIST CULPRIT THANKS TO LIVERPOOL FC

Merseyside Police have arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of racially abusing Oldham’s Tom Adeyemi during the FA Cup game at Liverpool.


Some good news about the alleged Racial abuse of Oldham’s Tom Adeyemi at Anfield in the FA Cup on Friday night.


Merseyide police have arrested an Aintree man following the incident, where someone in the Anfield crowd aimed racist abuse at the 20-year-old Oldham player during Friday’s FA Cup tie.


Kenny Dalglish’s men won the game 5-1 but the game was marred by the incident which saw Adeyemi, who is on loan from Norwich City, burst into tears.


A statement on Liverpool’s official website said that they had allowed the police every resource they could offer in the search for the miscreant.
“We take this matter extremely seriously and have today provided the police with the evidence we currently have available to us.
“This includes CCTV coverage and still photography of what we believe to be the relevant part of the stadium, statements from matchday stewards in that area and full access to all the footage captured by the cameras filming the match for our in-house tv operation.
“In addition, we have examined records of the tickets purchased in that part of the ground to see if they provide any additional information and have passed that on to the police.
“Finally, we would also urge any of our supporters who witnessed this incident or saw the individual involved and who have not already done so, to contact either the Club or the police.”
Lets hope the matter is brought to a swift conclusion and the furore over racism at Liverpool FC is finally brought to an end, without further punishment by the FA.

OH NO, NEW RACISM CONTROVERSY AT ANFIELD

The spectre of racism and the Luis Suarez T-shirts once more overshadowed Liverpool as a fan sporting the top worn to support the banned striker confronted Oldham’s young defender Tom Adeyemi and reduced him to tears.

The supporter approached Adeyemi during the game and the player is believed to have given a statement to police that he was called “a black c***”.
This is a PR disaster for Liverpool FC, there will be a police investigation and another FA investigation and this time Liverpool FC will pay where it really hurts.
A points deduction is now likely, along with a hefty fine and a lifetime ban for the idiot who uttered those words.
Our Season is over thanks to a moron who should have kept his mouth firmly shut, thanks mate for putting us in the shit!

LIVERPOOL 5-1 OLDHAM, KENNY’S BIGGEST WIN THIS SEASON

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard put more than two months of frustration behind him to score on his first start since October as his side beat Oldham 5-1 in the third round of the FA Cup.


After three substitute appearances following recovery from an ankle infection the 31-year-old finally reclaimed his place in the team and expertly dispatched the penalty which put his side into a lead they did not surrender despite a valiant effort from their League One opponents.


Gerrard did the same thing back in October when, on his first start after six months out after a groin operation, he scored against Manchester United.
On that occasion he played only one more match before succumbing to the ankle problem which sidelined him until St Stephen’s Day.


The England international will be hoping recent history does not repeat itself as Liverpool have an important few months ahead of them, starting with a two-legged Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester City next week.


Almost exactly a year ago manager Kenny Dalglish marked the start of his second spell in charge at the club with a third-round exit at Manchester United 24 hours after replacing Roy Hodgson.


There was no recurrence against a side 52 places below them in the league – although for a fleeting moment the visitors threatened a shock with a brilliantly-taken goal from Robbie Simpson which would not have looked out of place had it been scored at Wembley itself.


If the Latics had held on for longer than two minutes they may have stood a chance but a freakish deflected equaliser via Craig Bellamy and Gerrard’s penalty put the Reds in control and Jonjo Shelvey’s first goal for the club and late efforts from substitutes Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing wrapped things up.

With Gary Ablett’s family watching from the stand there was a minute’s applause for the former Liverpool defender who died on New Year’s Day aged 46 after losing a 16-month battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The Reds may be unbeaten at home this season but they have often struggled at Anfield and they were fortunate not to go behind after just 10 minutes.


Experienced striker Shefki Kuqi outmuscled Sebastian Coates and wrong-footed Jamie Carragher but wastefully shot into the side-netting with only Jose Reina to beat.


Right-back Tom Adeyemi had an equally good chance from Simpson’s 14th-minute corner but planted his free header just over while Chris Taylor also fired wide.
Oldham deservedly took the lead in spectacular style in the 28th minute when, after receiving Dean Furman’s pass, Simpson took one touch before unleashing a left-footed half-volley which flew past Reina.


The goal had the Oldham contingent in the directors’ box – and the 6,132 visiting fans – on their feet but they were soon pegged back by a huge stroke of luck.
Shelvey cut in from the right and speculatively aimed for the far post only for the shot to take a huge deflection off Bellamy’s chest and leave Alex Cisak helpless.
Gerrard put his side ahead just before the interval when, after Maxi Rodriguez was pushed by Adeyemi, he expertly converted only the second of six penalties the Reds have been awarded this season.
Bellamy, Dirk Kuyt and Martin Kelly all had chances early in the second half – the latter brilliantly denied by Cisak – before Shelvey smashed home from Bellamy’s 68th-minute cross, his first goal this season.
Late in the second half Adeyemi appeared to take offence to something shouted from the Kop and despite reassurance from his team-mates, Kuyt and Gerrard, the 20-year-old right-back, on loan from Bradford, seemed visibly upset, lets hope we don’t land in trouble with the FA again.


In the 89th minute, sub Andy Carroll smashed in a low shot from outside the area barely two minutes after coming on before Downing, also coming off the bench, wrapped things up with his 1st Liverpool goal four minutes into injury-time.

So a good win in the end with some lethal finishing in the second-half, nice to see Stuart Downing get his debut-goal at last.

Man of the Match: Craig Bellamy

POSSIBLE TEAM V OLDHAM IN THE FA CUP

THE GAMES SUAREZ WILL MISS DURING UNCONTESTED BAN

Following Liverpool’s decision not to appeal Luis Suarez’s 8 match-ban earlier today, I did a check on which games the Uraguyan forward will miss and 7 of them occur during January in which we face a hectic schedule of fixtures.

We play 5 Premier League games, the Carling Cup semi-final legs and an FA Cup game versus Oldham Athletic on Friday.
It turns out that Luis, who didn’t get a fair hearing by the FA, will be available to face Spurs at home on February 6th.

Alot of games, but at least our innocent forward will be back next month.
It remains to be seen if he will given leave to return home on compassionate leave for a few weeks to escape the media attention or not.

You were hard done by Luis but the best thing is to just take it on the chin and move on.

YNWA

TWENTE’S DE JONG ON LIVERPOOL’S RADAR

Liverpool are reportedly preparing to make a £10 million bid for FC Twente’s Luuk De Long.
The Dutch International has scored 10 goals in 12 matches for Twente already this Season.
It is believed that Damien Commoli has watched him, Kenny Dalglish and Fenway Sports are willing to pay up for the prolific Dutch forward as Andy Carroll continues to struggle for goals, the more quality forwards we have at Liverpool the better. 

BENT HEADING TO ANFIELD?

According to the Daily Mail, Darren Bent is on his way to Liverpool.
The £24 million pound man is rumored to be unsettled at Ville Park and would jump at the chance at joining Liverpool.
Selling Bent would be detrimental to Alex McLeish’s plans but club finances dictate that should the Villa manager want to strengthen his side then almost every player is susceptible to a bid. Villa paid £24million for Bent last January and would want more to justify the sale to fans.


Bent has a lot of admirers at Anfield, not least director of football Damien Comolli, who helped take him to Tottenham from Charlton for £16.5m in 2007. He also has a good relationship with ex-Villa team-mate Stewart Downing and the other members of the England contingent at Liverpool.


However, his arrival would bring Andy Carroll’s long-term future at the club under the microscope once again.
 Boss Kenny Dalglish has been a staunch supporter of the £35m signing from Newcastle and there were signs of a promising partnership with Steven Gerrard during Friday night’s 3-1 win over his former club.
But a signing of Bent’s magnitude would put serious pressure on places up front with Luis Suarez almost an automatic pick, although Suarez will likely be out for eight matches following the FA’s damning report.

I am not overly impressed with Andy Carroll so far and I would implore Kenny Dalglish to go for this proven, established England striker so that we can move up the table.
We badly need a natural goal-scorer and Darren Bent certainly fits the bill.
He is worth 15 goals a season and with Suarez likely to be out until mid-Febuary at the earliest, I would urge Commoli and Kenny to add him to our ranks.

 

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FA GIVES ITS REASONS FOR SUAREZ BAN

The FA have given its reasons for Luis Suarez’s eight match ban saying “He gave unreliable and inconclusive evidence in his hearing.”

Here is an extract from the official report:

“The FA’s case, in short, was as follows. In the goalmouth, Mr Evra and Mr Suarez spoke to each other in Spanish. Mr Evra asked Mr Suarez why he had kicked him, referring to the foul five minutes previously. Mr Suarez replied “Porque tu eres negro”, meaning “Because you are black”. Mr Evra then said to Mr Suarez “say it to me again, I’m going to punch you”. Mr Suarez replied “No hablo con los negros”, meaning “I don’t speak to blacks”.
Mr Evra continued by saying that he now thought he was going to punch Mr Suarez.
 Mr Suarez replied “Dale, negro, negro, negro”, which meant “okay, blackie, blackie, blackie”.
As Mr Suarez said this, he reached out to touch Mr Evra’s arm, gesturing at his skin.
 Mr Kuyt then intervened. When the referee blew his whistle and called the players over to him shortly after the exchanges in the goalmouth, Mr Evra said to the referee “ref, ref, he just called me a fucking black”.

If I were Liverpool FC, I would be very careful about appealing this as their view of events show that the FA are clearly set against Luis Suarez in this case and Luis hasn’t a hope of winning an appeal if this is how the FA see it.

Don’t appeal it Suarez, the FA are out to make an example of you, they will not budge, accept the suspension and come back to us in February when we need you.

Happy New Year fans & others, lets hope its a good one…

LIVERPOOL TRIUMPH OVER NEWCASTLE

Two goals by Craig Bellamy drove Liverpool towards success against Newcastle at Anfield and returning Captain Steven Gerrard scored a delightful chip on 77 minutes to seal a 3-1 victory over a dogged Newcastle following an unlucky own-goal by Daniel Agger under pressure on 25 mins.

The game was more about the victory than the performance and Liverpool dug it out in determined fashion.

The main feelings now are of relief and joy as we move ahead of Pardew’s team and Arsenal into 5th on 34 points along with Chelsea, for now.

Great to get the win and equaly good to see Stevie G back and amongst the goals.

Next up: Man City away in the League Tue 3rd, Jan.

BEATING NEWCASTLE AT ANFIELD IS A MUST: POSSIBLE TEAM

The two teams are only divided by a point in the League with Newcastles’s Demba Ba scoring for fun (14 goals) while Liverpool boast the meanest defence in the League so far.

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NEWCASTLE WIN A MUST AT ANFIELD

With all the furore over Luis Suarez getting another ban, Liverpool getting a £20,000 fine over Jay Spearing’s sending off and all the dismal draws instead of wins as we slide down the table, it is the same old story with Liverpool FC, failure to beat lower league opposition, failure to stay in touch with the Manchester teams and now Tottenham Hotspur.

LUKAS PODOLSKI ON LIVERPOOL’S RADAR

With Liverpool in obvious need for a proven striker, especially with Suarez facing an eight-match ban in the near future, one possibility is German hitman Lukas Podolski.
The Polish native is playing for German side Cologne and has scored 14 goals in 15 appearances already this season.
He has also scored 43 goals in 95 games for his adopted Country, Germany in the past few years.
The sharp-shooter is still only 26 and would provide the ideal striker for a Liverpool side that has only scored 16 goals so far this season.
Damien Comolli has his eye on him and it is believed €20 million(£16.5 million) will be enough for Cologne to part with the player.

Its just a rumour at this stage, but I would love to see the player at Anfield.

TORRES MOUTHING OFF AGAIN ABOUT LIVERPOOL

That man Torres is at it again, criticising his former club when nearly 70% of Liverpool fans are willing to forgive and forget and welcome him back to Anfield.

Speaking to Spanish TV station Canal+ Liga, Torres said: “The Liverpool fans don’t know the truth about why I signed for Chelsea. The fans don’t even know half of what happened.
 They don’t know what the people in charge at Liverpool are like – they have a completely different perception of what they are like.

“They made promises that they didn’t keep and I left because I realised I didn’t have time to be part of a project that would take years. I have nothing against the Liverpool fans. I didn’t want to leave Liverpool the way I did but the club lied. I was let down and I don’t understand why the fans hate me.”



Why does FT keep having a go at his former club?
Since his acrimonious departure from Anfield, he has repeatedly criticised his former team.

As for branding John W. Henry and FSG liars, he is making a big mistake.
Our new owners have invested well in the club and will do so again in the January transfer-window, so how can you call them liars Torres?

Content yourself with the Chelsea subs bench and stop moaning about Liverpool FC.

I support the Liverpool players wearing Suarez 7 t-shirts at the Wigan game, I am not racist and neither is Suarez.

LIVERPOOL GAIN AN AWAY DRAW AT WIGAN

The cloud over Luis Suarez’s EIGHT match ban seemed to weigh heavily on the player’s shoulders as they were held scoreless at the DW Stadium.

With the players and Manager Kenny Dalglish all donning tee-shirts in support of Suarez, the team went all out for victory against Wigan away.

Plenty of chances went a begging and Charlie Adam missed a penalty.
Despite Liverpool dominated the game, they failed to break Wigan’s defence.
The need for a top-quality striker was never more obvious as it is now.

LIVERPOOL FALL SHORT AT WIGAN

The cloud over Luis Suarez’s EIGHT match ban seemed to weigh heavily on the player’s shoulders as they were held scoreless at the DW Stadium.With the players and Manager Kenny Dalglish all donning tee-shirts in support of Suarez, the team went all out …

OFFICIAL LIVERPOOL RESPONSE TO SUAREZ VERDICT

Liverpool Football Club is very surprised and disappointed with the decision of the Football Association Commission to find Luis Suarez guilty of the charges against him.
We look forward to the publication of the Commission’s Judgment. We will study the detailed reasons of the Commission once they become available, but reserve our right to appeal or take any other course of action we feel appropriate with regards to this situation.
We find it extraordinary that Luis can be found guilty on the word of Patrice Evra alone when no-one else on the field of play – including Evra’s own Manchester United teammates and all the match officials – heard the alleged conversation between the two players in a crowded Kop goalmouth while a corner kick was about to be taken.
The Club takes extremely seriously the fight against all forms of discrimination and has a long and successful track record in work relating to anti-racist activity and social inclusion. We remain committed to this ideal and equality for all, irrespective of a person’s background.
LFC considers racism in any form to be unacceptable – without compromise. It is our strong held belief, having gone over the facts of the case, that Luis Suarez did not commit any racist act. It is also our opinion that the accusation by this particular player was not credible – certainly no more credible than his prior unfounded accusations.
It is key to note that Patrice Evra himself in his written statement in this case said ‘I don’t think that Luis Suarez is racist’. The FA in their opening remarks accepted that Luis Suarez was not racist.
Luis himself is of a mixed race family background as his grandfather was black.
 He has been personally involved since the 2010 World Cup in a charitable project which uses sport to encourage solidarity amongst people of different backgrounds with the central theme that the colour of a person’s skin does not matter; they can all play together as a team.
He has played with black players and mixed with their families whilst with the Uruguay national side and was Captain at Ajax Amsterdam of a team with a proud multi-cultural profile, many of whom became good friends.
It seems incredible to us that a player of mixed heritage should be accused and found guilty in the way he has based on the evidence presented. We do not recognise the way in which Luis Suarez has been characterised.
It appears to us that the FA were determined to bring charges against Luis Suarez, even before interviewing him at the beginning of November. Nothing we have heard in the course of the hearing has changed our view that Luis Suarez is innocent of the charges brought against him and we will provide Luis with whatever support he now needs to clear his name.
We would also like to know when the FA intend to charge Patrice Evra with making abusive remarks to an opponent after he admitted himself in his evidence to insulting Luis Suarez in Spanish in the most objectionable of terms. Luis, to his credit, actually told the FA he had not heard the insult.
© Liverpool Fc
Liverpool will fight this judgement tooth and nail.
They are unlikely to get the verdict overturned but they can hope for a reduction in the length of the ban, eight matches is extraordinarily harsh and will surely be resinded in due course.
We need Suarez in the team as much as possible and the obvious need for a new striker is now put into sharper focus.

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SUAREZ GIVEN 8 MATCH BAN BY FA

The FA Disiplinary committee has banned Luiz Suarez for EIGHT games and fined him £40,000 for using racist language against Man Utd’s Patrice Evra.
Given the severity of the verdict, Liverpool are likely to appeal the decision, they have two weeks to do so.

Luis Suarez has tweeted a message following the ban:

Best of luck with the likely appeal Luis.