Liverpool's Alberto Aquilani to head to AC Milan

Alberto Aquilani, perhaps the most underrated player in the all of the Premier League, looks set to leave Liverpool yet again to Italy as AC Milan secure his services for the upcoming season.
Aquilani will head to Milan on a loan deal where he will serve as the replacement for Juventus signing Andrea Pirlo.

Last season, Aquilani also played in the Serie A with Turin side Juventus. During his time at Juventus, Aquilani made a great impact in the midfield, proving to be one of their best players in the 2010-2011 season.

However, in an absurd act, Juventus did not choose to permanently sign Aquilani, rather letting him return to Liverpool.

Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli commented on the Aquilani move:

"I want to pay tribute to the way Alberto has conducted himself during these discussions...Throughout the entire process, his only desire has been to play football and he has put this ahead of any other considerations and at personal cost to himself. We wish him well for the season ahead."

Aquilani has failed to make an impact at Liverpool, mainly due to the constant run of injuries he had during his time at the club. Performances would indicate he is fit to play in the Liverpool starting XI, but it just wasn't to be for the former Roma man.

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Blow for Liverpool as Steven Gerrard Gets Ruled out Until September

After signing a host of new players, Liverpool were having the perfect preseason. But it would seem that all good things come to an end, as inspirational captain Steven Gerrard has been ruled out until September with a groin infection.
According to a report by the Guardian Gerrard will continue to receive treatment on his troubled groin well into the beginning of the season.

Liverpool have stated that, "He [Gerrard] is expected to remain in hospital for several days while the precautionary procedure is completed."
Gerrard missed the end of last season due to the injury, and it would seem that the No. 8 is looking at shaking off the injury once and for all.
Potentially Gerrard will only miss three matches, maybe four. As things stand he is expected to return against Stoke, but between then and now is the anticipated match against Arsenal—a crucial match in any circumstance. He will also miss England's international friendly with Holland and the Euro qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales.

It is exciting times at Liverpool with the signings of Adam, Henderson, Downing and the return of Aquilani. With Gerrard out each player will have to step up, to provide a creative link between the midfield and forwards.

Reports would suggest that Gerrard is receiving the best possible treatment, as was confirmed by a statement made by the club, "The player will then return to Melwood to continue his rehabilitation programme and is expected to be available for selection in September."
From the neutral Premier League supporter perspective, it would be a great shame to see Gerrard to miss any more football. Hopefully, he gets back on the pitch as soon as possible.

How would you tweak the lineup to compensate for the absence of Gerrard?

Into Row Z - Liverpool’s Midfield Problem

 Liverpool’s opening transfer of the summer took everyone a little by surprise, taking Sunderland’s rising star Jordon Henderson away from the Stadium of Light. The second player to join the Reds was anything but a surprise, with the seven month chase of Charlie Adam finally resulting with the Scot signing a 4 year deal with the Reds. Both Henderson and Adam go into pre-season training with Liverpool on the backs of two fantastic seasons, but no matter their quality, adding two new central midfielders to a squad so clearly lacking in depth in other areas is going to be seen as a strange move.         

Speaking to many Liverpool fans over the past few months, the number one thing that they consider the team to lack is width. The arrival of Stewart Downing will go a long way to rectify this, but the team is still in desperate need of an opposite player to go on the right – a true winger – not a forward or midfielder forced to play out of position. Equally, if Liverpool want to catch the teams above them in the league, they need some way to replicate the attacking fullbacks that are becoming so important in recent seasons, and a left-back has to be a priority buy.     

So why was the first £47 million of Liverpool’s summer cash spent on an area which looks saturated already? Let’s take a look at who the Liverpool squad contains, and who is likely to make-it or break-it this season.  

It’s been a while since we saw Steven Gerrard smash a goal in from 30 yards out, and while his influence on the pitch has certainly diminished, his inspiration and leadership remain intact. He is, and will be for several more years, the heartbeat of this team, and when he’s fit will be first first name on the team-sheet. Perhaps second, but only behind Pepe Reina.

But here is where the certainty ends. With a combined total of £78 million spent on Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez in January, we can predict that Kenny Dalglish sees these two playing the majority of matches together. Assuming (fairly confidently) that Liverpool play with four at the back, this leaves just another four spaces in midfield, three when you place Gerrard into his preferred central role. Add to that the £20 million acquisition of Stewart Downing to run down the left wing, the spaces may be limited to two. For a team which currently houses Adam, Henderson, Lucas, Meireles, Aquilani, Shelvey, Spearing, Poulsen, Joe Cole and Maxi Rodriguez, the problem of keeping a steady and reliable team becomes apparent. 

Charlie Adam can feel more confident than the others of a starting position. With set-plays contributing to some 30% of all goals scored in the Premier League last season, his left foot will likely see him starting a high number of games, especially while Fabio Aurelio remains perennially injured.        

Lucas is another who is unlikely to miss too many games. Winning Liverpool’s Player of The Year by a massive margin, Lucas achieved some 172 successful tackles last season, more than any other player in the league. As well as this he completed over 300 passes more than any of his team-mates. Lucas is completely unspectacular in what he does, but he does the job that needs to be done extremely well, and the Liverpool midfield would miss him far more than they realise were he to be replaced by someone with a little more flair.    

Meireles enjoyed a decent first season at Liverpool, but there’s already talk of him leaving, and this is simply because he is too good not to start thirty or forty games a season.  It would be through no fault of his own if his Anfield career was limited to just a year, but he suffers greatly from the fact that his best position is the same attacking midfield position as Gerrard and Aquilani. Aquilani had a successful loan spell at Juventus and looks to have shaken off his injury problems which caused his season in a Liverpool shirt unfairly labelled as a “flop”. So far in pre-season he has continued his Italian form with Liverpool. Against a Malaysia XI, there were times when Aquilani looked visibly angry at the lack of performance by his team-mates, and in the 45 minutes he played, he single-handedly dragged a lacklustre team and pushed them forward into one that scored 6 goals. Aquilani himself was instrumental in 3 of the 5 goals he was on the pitch for.        

Along with Downing, this probably sums up the men that are realistically fighting for a genuine chance of starting the majority of the games. It’s hard to imagine that both Aquilani and Meireles will both be at the club next season, and perhaps what will be most interesting is who will play opposite Downing on the right wing – a position which has been given to Dirk Kuyt in recent seasons. However, now with the wealth of talent the Liverpool Midfield possesses, it’s highly likely that Kuyt will be pushed back into being a striker, swapping in and out with Carroll and Suarez. Henderson has played on the right before for Sunderland, but Liverpool have already stated that he is “one for the future”, and it’s doubtful whether he’ll start too many games in his first season – another suggestion that Liverpool could well buy a right winger.  After this, there are a number of fringe players to consider. Jovanovic looks to be close to a move away from Anfield, while Joe Cole has been promised he still has a future at the club. And we can say what we want about Poulsen’s performances at Anfield so far (and they have been poor at best), but he remains the only rough, combative midfielder that Liverpool have, and so continues to offer something different to those around him.    
       
What is certain however, is that this collection of similarly positioned players cannot be good for the youngsters in the squad. The emergence of Jay Spearing as a real first-team player last season will surely come to an abrupt end if there aren’t a couple of departures elsewhere – a shame as he is a real favourite among the crowd. Similarly Jonjo Shelvey, Joe Cole and Maxi Rodriguez are going to struggle for game time, and it will almost certainly mean the end of Anfield careers for the players even further on the fringe such as young Dani Pacheco.

It’s close to impossible to predict just how Liverpool plan to cope with this problem, but a lot of it is down to other clubs. Fiorentina continue their interest in Aquilani, while Meireles has certainly gained some fans in Milan. There’s no guarantee of either leaving, but it’s likely as least one will.
              
It is certain that while Andy Carroll is on the pitch, Liverpool need wide men to feed him, meaning that Downing is likely to get a lot of regular game time. After this, the rest could be down to form. With many of the fringe players desperate to have one final chance to prove themselves at a big club, it’s possible that a few may wait until January before making a final decision, and Liverpool could find themselves with a very large squad at the beginning of this season.

By David Astley

Aly Cissokho Looks to Complete Move from Lyon to Liverpool

As Liverpool look to add to their signings this transfer window, they have lined up young gun Aly Cissokho. Liverpool have compiled a bid in the region of €10 million to try and land the recent French International.

The 23 year old left back signed for Lyon from Porto in 2009 and since then has developed into a first team player for Lyon, resembling a certain Michel Bastos in his style of play. Liverpool have been in the hunt for a wing back for the duration of this transfer window, they even made an attempt to open talks with Arsenal over a move for Clichy (who went on to join Manchester City) - although Clichy admittedly turned them down.

Lyon have been in poor form recently, both on the pitch and financially. The financial situation is so dire that they sale of Cissokho for €10 million would see them make a loss of €5 million from the original purchase from Porto. If the deal occurs, it is set to be complete by the end of next week. He would be on a list of great additions to the Liverpool squad, who are looking to return to Champions League football, or the Europa League at worst.

Cissokho has made 60 appearances for Lyon and gained one international cap for the French side.
Liverpool are currently in Malaysia on their pres season tour, winning 6-3 against the Malaysian XI, with Charlie Adam getting his first goal for the club.

Official: Liverpool sign Charlie Adam

Blackpool midfielder Charlie Adam has completed a deal with Liverpool after passing a medical with flying colours. The 25 year old signed on with Liverpool after Blackpool were relegated from the EPL last year.It was quite clear to everyone that Adam had something special and was on the radar of all the big clubs in Europe. However Liverpool got in there first adding Adam to a list of signings completed this transfer window.

In an interview Adam said he was delighted to have signed for Liverpool FC, stating he wants to become a better player, and believes that Liverpool will help him to achieve this feat. Charlie Adam also made a setimental thankyou to the staff and players at Blackpool, after spending a few great years at the club.


The deal is believed to be in the region of 7 million pounds, with Dalglish desperately wanting to get the signature of the Scottish player ahead of any other clubs.

Photos to follow shortly

Official: Jordan Henderson signs with Liverpool - Photo!

Jordan Henderson has completed his transfer from Sunderland to Liverpool FC. All in all the deal set the Reds back 20million dollars. Henderson was quoted as saying he was "looking forward to playing for Liverpool".

Check out the first photo of Henderson in a Liverpool shirt!

Liverpool reach agreement with Sunderland over Jordan Henderson

Sunderland have announced that starlet Jordan Henderson could be sold to Liverpool in the coming days after accepting a lucrative 20 million dollar bid for the English under 21's star.

Whilst the full details of the contract are not known yet, it is believed that Liverpool will buy the player outright, rather than pursue the avenue of a trade plus cash incentive. Since Sunderland have agreed to the bid it will be up to Jordan to agreed to personal terms with Merryside. His signing would mark the first of a string of players that Liverpool are looking to sign to compliment successful activity from last years second half of the season.

We will bring you full details if personal terms are agreed, but the signs are looking positive for Liverpool!

Video - Highlights from Arsenal vs Liverpool

What a game it was, 8 minutes of extra time, two penalties in the dying minutes and overall a superb game of football. Arsenal needed to win to keep their title hopes alives, but they fell short as Liverpol equalised in the 101st minute through a penalty.

Arsenal went ahead just minutes earlier when Fabregas was brought down. Van Persie calmly converted. However the ball was quickly in the Arsenal peanlty area and this time Eboue brought down Lucas, and it was left to Kuyt to equalise.

Stunning finish to a stunning match.

Check out the extended highlights below!

Video - Highlights from Liverpool vs Manchester City

With the pressure mounting on Liverpool's Premier League campaign the Reds had to produce something special at Anfield, and they did just that destroyed Manchester City 3-0. Midweek Liverpool's Champions League aspirations took a massive blow as captain Stven Gerrard was ruled out for the remainder of the season. However it was new signing Andy Carroll who (with a Gerrard like finish) found the back of the net to give Liverpool a lead. City's defence was in shambles, each wave of Liverpool attack looked to present another opportunity. Kuyt was found unmarked in the box and slotted home with a very calm finish. Just a minute later City's fate would be sealed as Carroll headed home to give Liverpool an astounding 3-0 lead before the half time interval. The second half continued much the same way as the first, but Liverpool could not add to their tally. It was a solid win for Liverpool who now sit five points out of European qualification (8 from Champions League). Manchester City's spot in the top four looks shaky as Tottenham breathe down their neck. City will be further setback by Tevez's hamstring injury which will see him miss the FA Cup semi final against United.

Check out the highlights below!

Gerrard out as season goes from bad to worse

Inspirational Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is out for the remainder of the season due to a groin injury. The English international and Liverpool number 8 had been suffering the injury from last month but suffered a further setback during a light training session midweek.

Kenny Dalglish confirmed that the skipper will be out for the remainder of Liverpool's campaign this year, putting their chances of qualifying for Europe in major doubt. Along with this Daniel Agger has also been ruled out for the reaminder of the season as well as Glen Johnson, both have not been able to recover from their respective injuries.

 

Liverpool face Manchester City this week and a loss would most likely see the Reds not feature in Europe at all. However with the signings of Carroll and Suarez they will look to challenge the top four in the 2011/2012 season.

Opinion - A Liverpool fan's perspective vs Sunderland

The day finally came when we as Liverpool fans got to see Suarez and Carroll in the same starting line-up. Not really in a forward two, Carroll was up top and Suarez seemed to have a bit of a free role supporting him mainly playing towards the left along with Kuyt on the right in a 433, when attacking. In the second half Meireles joined in with the attacking support a lot more and was usually the most advanced midfielder, making the formation more of a 4231. Great to see us continue to have plenty of support in attack.

When I first saw the team I felt we may be a bit overrun in the midfield and to my eyes I was proved right in the first half. During the first half I thought our midfield let players go past them too easily, they needed to be better in the tackle and stop sticking their foot out and hoping to get the ball, commitment lads! I did see an improvement in this, players started getting stuck in more, let’s do this from the off next game.  Another negative, we were a bit too sloppy in possession; Sunderland cut our passes out far too much, too many times players were guilty of waiting for the ball to come to them and not being aware of the opposition player closing down. The actual pass was sometimes too sloppy as well, more power was needed.

Liverpool had a good first few minutes of the game and could have scored twice but after this most of the possession belonged to Sunderland. Although they had most of the possession they never really looked like scoring, only one good cross that no one got on the end of. We were the ones looking most likely with our counter attacking play and from corners; we finally looked a big threat. Meireles, who although wasn’t at the races the first half did deliverer well from corners. In the box we had some big tall, strong players in our new number nine and Skrtel. These two worked together at most corner kicks, Carroll using Skrtel as his deploy. Some good movement was on show in the box from our corners, an area that has obviously been worked on greatly since the arrival of Carroll. This all nearly paid off in the second half when Carroll could have had his first Liverpool goal, his low directed header cleared off the line. Overall the first half Liverpool were very solid in defence and looked dangerous on the attack.      

In the second half we managed to get forward a lot more, Meireles most notably came more into the game, playing further up the pitch with carroll, Suarez and Kuyt, still not having his best game but quite an improvement. Liverpool could have scored more than two and in my opinion were the better team. Suarez taught Mignolet, Sunderland’s keeper a lesson when with a belter of a shot beat him at his near post. An obscured angel which few would even try, but after a run along the bye line, our new hero, Luis Suarez did.            

The partnership between Andy and Luis will take time and neither at the moment are fully match fit or have had time to settle in, what with Carroll’s injury and Luis constant in and out of the team with his exclusion from Europe. Even with these factors there were still very good signs for this partnership, Luis never stops running and works so hard for the team and Carroll, good luck to any defender in beating him in the air to knock down a ball to Suarez. The good thing about Carroll is that he has a lot more than just aerial threat to his game, cannot wait until he is match fit. At times the two players linked up well but sometimes the understanding of the other players movement was not quite there, once the two of them have got used to each other I can honestly see this being a partnership to fear. On one occasion Suarez passed the ball to Andy on the edge of the box and like always carried on running, found space for him self, if Carroll had immediately passed back to Suarez, I would have bet my house on him beating the keeper. With Suarez in the team our players need to be ready for him to do anything, little magician he is. 

In summary a very solid away performance from Liverpool. The defence did their job well, Jamie looking good on the right and what a difference Daniel Agger makes to the team. A ball playing defender, starting attacks from the back. Would like to see another Agger brought into the club. Attacking wise, we hit them on the break and looked threatening, not too much in the way of ‘pass and move, it’s the Liverpool groove’ to marvel in but we got the 3 points, ok with the help of a controversial penalty but we looked much better than what some are giving us credit for. 

By Christina Ashwell

Video - Highlights from Liverpool vs Manchester United - 3-1

Check out the latest from the EPL with the highlights from Liverpool vs Manchester United. A hattrick from Kuyt was enough to seal a famous victory over Manchester United.

United have now lost two games in the space of a week.

The extended highlights are below

Fernando Torres - The "el nino" effect

Now not many of us football fans pay much attention to the business side of the sport. We on the other hand rather like it, and stumbled across something that we found rather interesting.

Although the transfer window is well closed and the shock trasfer of Fernando Torres to Chelsea has settled into our system, I thought I would take one more look at the 50mil Spaniards transfer and just how much this transfer could mean to Chelsea. Now Fernando maybe be looking a bit rusty on the pitch, and at times border lining desperate, but you get the feeling goals will come and he will once again be up there with Europes elite. However, despite his lack of form Torres is paying back the club that signed him in more ways than one. Torres is a foot-balling icon and a world wide image in the sport that streches far and wide. Simple internet findings reveal just how big an icon Torres is.

The most popular social networking site Facebook highlights perfectly how Chelsea can benefit commercially by acquiring Torres," said Oliver Ward, Senior Agent at ITM Sports Management.

With 966,680 fans, Torres is the most popular player in the English Premier League. More people like him than John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba combined, Torres has almost as many fans as either Arsenal and Chelsea Football Clubs.


"With 966,680 fans Torres is the Premier League's most popular player on Facebook"
Now as far as a clubs image goes, no club can be worse off aquiring the Premier Leagues most followed player. He is a sort after commodity, the player every marketing man wants to get his hands on. Torres with Chelsea in the Champioms league is much more appealing than Torres with Liverpool in the Europa league, sponsers know this and will be waiting in the wings for the Spaniard to strutt his stuff in Europes elite competition. A further indication of Fernandos insant success at Chelsea world wide was 24hours after transfer deadline day, when it was revealed that in 24hours Torres Chelsea shirts outsold Carroll Liverpool shirts Chelsea in a staggering 250/1 ratio.

The brand of Chelsea football club has already risen to extreme heights with there expansive spending on high profile players, but with Fernando Torres joining the ranks of the lofty Londeners there world-wide reputation becomes just that much more appealing.
Fernando is not only a top class player, he is a top class piece of business and 50mil is starting to look like a small price to pay considering the amount of potential this transfer has for both club and player. Chelsea officials and fans alike will only be so happy to see him plying his trade at Stamford Bridge.

By Ayden Rhodes

Midseason turn arounds

With the intensity of European football quickly leeaving most teams behind in respective leagues around Europe; credit must be given to those who have the ability to bounce back and mount a challenge for the league title. Liverpool and Inter both in England and Italy have done just this.

After having a dismal start to the 2010/2011 season Liverpool looked to the winter transfer window to bring about change. This change included the signings of Luis Suarez and Andy Carrol. The Uruguayan man has already paid dividends to his new owners scoring on debut. The 35 million dollar man Andy Carrol has already found the net 11 times this season for Newcastle, and if this form continues, Liverpool could be assured of a top 6 finish in the Premier League. The real mastermind behind this form turn around has to be their new coach Kenny Dalglish.
"King Kenny" as he is referred to has almost revitalised the club. Formation changes has seen Portugese centre-man Raul Meireles discover his best form. Whilst Hogdson favourite Christian Poulsen has been reverted to the bench.

Reigning Italian champions Inter Milan always knew that the 2010/2011 campaign would be difficult from the onset. The leaving of Jose Mourinho to Spain left a massive gap in the coaching role. Rafa benitez was instated to fill his seemingly too big shoes, and was already out by the time the club had reached the halfway point of the season. Shock signing Leonardo (Milan's 2009/2010 coach) was instated and quickly brought about a streak of results to push Inter ahead of Juventus and amongst the top 4 of the league.
Subtle signings have also proved to be of worth to the Neazzurri. After spending no money at the start of the season Inter looked to Sampdoria hitman Pazzini in the winter window. Two goals on debut from the frontman and a further goal against Bari assured the Inter management that they had solved their finishing woes which were so prevalent at the start of the season.

Both Inter and Liverpool have histories filled with trophies and titles, the fact they they can still remain competative after poor starts to the season highlights their depth and quality.
Each clubs made a string of signings throughout the winter window and this would lead one to suggest that both clubs are on the way up.

Torres transfer saga end as El Nino returns home to face his former Club

Fernando Torres' much hyped to Chelsea has settled and now the Spanish striker will focus on this weekend's game against his former club Liverpool.

The new number 9 at Stamford Bridge will most likely make his debut after his 50 million dollar plus move to Chelsea in the winter transfer window. The former Anfield man has vowed not to celebrate if he happens to put his bad form behind him and score a goal on debut. Torres attributes this attitude to the Liverpool fans who haad treated him so well whilst he was at the club.

Liverpool have almost returned to top form, thanks to a splurge of cash on the transfer market. Suarez who made the move from Ajax was just one of the winter signings and he paid dividends scoring in his sides win during the week against Stoke.

Torres will have to compete with the likes of Drogba and Anelka for a starting position and will most likely start from the bench. But a desperate Chelsea may just start the new signing as they try to push back up the table and into contention for the League title.

Premier League January transfer window roundup

We take a look at the clubs looking to make a move for a player, and those looking to offload those not performing very well.

Arsenal: Arsene Wenger came out after his sides' 1-0 loss to Ipswich claiming that he was looking at offloading "flops" as he labelled them. Players that look to be leaving the Emirates include Arshavin, Almunia, Bendtner and Denilson. Arsenal were in the hunt for a centre back, Liverpool's Daniel Agger was apparantly in talks with the club regarding a loan deal.

Chelsea: Creativity has been lacking upfront of recent and Chelsea will be looking to add some spark in the midfield. A big name looks to be arriving at Stamford Bridge, Kaka may just be the player Chelsea need to contest the title. Interest in Bosingwa from Italy may just see Chelsea looking for a wingback also.

Liverpool: Kenny Dalglish came out this week saying that he content with the squad at hand. Nevertheless Liverpool have been linked with a number of strikers to help bring some goals to the club. Amauri and Suarez have been reported to be of interest to the Reds. Torres may also be on the move after a poor season this year. Fullbacks Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger have been attracting attention from Juventus and Arsenal.


Manchester United: Alexis Sanchez has long been tipped to join the Red Devils and this January the deal might be set in stone. Per Mertesacker has been linked with United as a busy schedule will see Ferdinand and Vidic needing rests. Wes Brown has attracted the interest of Tottenham and may just leave by the time the window closes.

Manchester City: Eastlands has already seen Edin Dzeko arrive this window however, City will look to unload from their surplus of strikers. The first to go look to be Adebayor and Santa Cruz who have not been getting as much playing time as a player of their calibre deserves.

Tottenham: After a stellar start to the season Gareth Bale has attracted the interest of the biggest clubs around Europe. However Tottenham will not let their wing man go. Tottenham have been in the hunt for David Beckham of late and a move to the club looks unlikely, but Beckham desperately wants to return to England, so stay tuned.


Aston Villa: Lyon have confirmed talks that midfielder Jean Makoun is in talks with Villa. They were also linked with an audacious loan move for Real Madrid's Karim Benzema but Jose Mourinho has looked to quell the talks. Blackpool's star performer Charlie Adams has also gained the interest of Villa scouts.

There looks to be much movement in the EPL this January and Play the Advantage will try and ensure that you hear about every move as it happens. If you are looking for news for smaller EPL clubs let us know and we will take a look deeper into the Transfer window.

News to come from Serie A and La Liga in the coming days.

Arsenal fails to dominate in the Carling Cup, whilst Liverpool continue to slip in the Premier League.

Action from England saw a couple of fixtures take place overnight. The most prominant being Liverpool's league match with Blackpool and Arsenal's clash with Ipswich in the Carling Cup.

In Dalglish's first league game as the Red's manager Liverpool were looking to put the first half of their season behind them and begin a climb up the ladder. It looked to be a promising start for the away side as in the third minute, out of form striker and Spanish international Fernando Torres found the back of the net after just 3 minutes.

Although Liverpool failed to push forward after the goal, preferring to sit back and try and hold out for the rest of the match.

Blackpool on the otherhand looked very lively in attack. Gary Taylor-Fletcher equalised for the promoted side and the game looked to be turning in Blackpool's favour. The Liverpool defence looked non existant in Taylor-Fletcher's goal as a lazy midfield failed to track back, mixed with a bit of luck he easily slotted the ball past Reina.

Blackpool continued to dominate the match and almost went ahead just minutes after the halftime restart, online prevented from some excellent keeping from Reina. Although all the attack from Blackpool would pay dividends as later in the first half a long Blackpool pass was headed onto Campell who added to the score sheet with an unstoppable header. The goal proved to be the winner as Blackpool inflicted yet another loss on Liverpool. Liverpool stay on 25 points just four away from relegation.

The coaching change in Liverpool highlighted that the issue isn't with the quality of coaching, but maybe with the players.

Home advantage counted in Ipswich as Arsenal were defeated 1-0 by the home side in the Carling Cup. Arsenal have alot of work to do in the second leg tie as they were comprehensively dominated by the Suffolk side.

Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin was by far the best player on the pitch as a goal late in the second half saw the underdogs, defeat a fairly strong Arsenal side. Looking to win their first piece of silverware in five years Arsenal started with Arshavin and Fabregas to help bolster attack. Althpugh Ipswich went closest to scoring in the first half, with Arsenal's best opportunity coming from a freekick which resulted in nothing.

The scond half saw play open up as Ipswich stunned the Gunners by holding a majority of the possession. They were rewarded with a goal when a nicley played through ball found Priskin and he cooly slotted the ball home to stun the travelling fans and send the stadium into raptures.

Arsenal will most likely play a full strenght squad in the second leg to try and turn the tie in their favour and bring home a trophy to the emirates.

Hodgson out Dalglish in, what are his chances at Anfield?

It was bound to happen, another coaching change at Liverpool. Bad form under Roy Hodgson has seen a mutual agreement take place, where both parties agreed upon the descision made by the former Fulham coach to leave Anfield.

Hodgson claimed that coaching at Liverpool was one of the hardest things he has done in his career to date and he wishes the club all the best in the coming future. Liverpool announced their thitd coach within a year would be indeed a former coach Kenny Dalglish. After leading Liverpool to Premier League success on a number of occassions Dalglish reutrns to a different Anfield to the one he is so used to being in control on.

Dalglish was also at the helm of Celtic and Blackburn, before laying off management positions for a while. Although Dalglish's managerial career has not been all glory. Whilst under the control of Celtic Dalglish made a number of descisions which would see the club endure a period of unrest within it's administrative areas. Nevertheless he still led the Scottish team to a League Cup.

Liverpool currently lie in 12th position in the Premier League. Still pushing for another European birth Dalglish will look to make anumber of significant player changes, including making a number of key signings to restore the Reds to their former glory.

Dalglish has experienced much success with Liverpool, but what they will first have to achieve is consistancy. After losing 3-1 midweek, Dalglish will look to boost morale before their clash with United in the FA Cup and then against Blackpool in the League.

Liverpool have began their search for a second half of the season surge with a coaching change, it is expected that a player overhaul is next.

Liverpool and Chelsea disappoint..........again!

Roy Hodgson's and Carlo Ancelotti's respective roles as coaches of Liverpool and Chelsea, will be under review this week as both coaches fail to perform in the league yet again this season. While Ancelotti may appear to be in a safer position than Roy, but with Chelsea's recent slide down the table anything could develop in the coming days.

Liverpool fans are calling for the axing of their manager, as upset fans rue yet another opportunity to move up the table. Liverpool have disappointed for a consecutive two seasons now, and pressure is mounting for the club to qualify for the Champions League as well as get a few big name signings in 2011.
Hodgson has pleaded with club officials for a hefty transfer budget, to allow him to bring the players he needs to Anfield. Whether he is still there to consolidate his words remains to be seen. Mounting speculation would suggest that another league loss will see a new coach step into the role of manager at the club.

Chelsea fans have been brought back to reality in the past two months as their team relinquished their first place at the head of the league, moving down to fifth and certainly losing contact with Manchester United for the remainder of the season, sitting 9 points behind the leaders - who still have a game in hand.

A mix of injuries as well as tough league ties have lead to the Blues' demise. Although an optimistic Ancelotti believes that his side will be back in the near future. Fans will have the piece of mind that their team still has the Champions League to look forward to, especially because Chelsea have drawn FC Copenhagen in the first round, they are respectively the least feared opponent in the Round of 16 draw.

The fate of both these coaches will be made apparant in the near future. Although one thing is for certain, both will need to improve to be true title contenders next season.

Liverpool looking to rebuild through the January transfer window

Roy Hodgson has issued a plea to Liverpool club directors to allow him to rebuild their squad. Hodgson's position at the club is under threat, as Liverpool look to once again miss out on a top four finish in the EPL, unless drastic changes are made to the squad.


After a poor performance in the league last season, and with a current poor position on the table, Liverpool have struggled to attract big names to the club. As well as that they look unlikely to hold onto their big stars including a lackluster Torres who has certainly failed to fire prolifically this season.

Inspirational captain and English international Steven Gerrard has pledged his loyalty to the club, however the skipper alone cannot bring results to the club. Liverpool have failed this season when it comes to consitancy, Hodgson's team has proved that they still have the quality, opitimised by their victory over Chelsea earlier in the season.

Liverpool have been linked with a number of big names around the world, Including

Ronaldihno: Probably not the best signing for the Reds although the Brazilian may be able to revitalise his career at Anfield.

Adebayor: The former Arsenal man and now Manchester City man certainly has Premier League experience, and has proved that he still has what it takes to score. Also looking to revitalise his career, he could prove to be a useful partner upfront for Torres

Mertersacker: The towering German defender could really sure up the poor Liverpool defence, however with other big clubs interested in the centre back, luring him to Anfield could be difficult

Whether Hodgson is sill at Liverpool after the January window remains to be seen. However one thing is for certain though, Liverpool will need to change to avoid turning into a mid table Premier League club.