Dalglish Would Prefer To Stay At Anfield

A lot has been said about the Liverpool stadium situation and this past week Ian Ayre said that he still does not know if Liverpool are going to build or new stadium or stay at Anfield and redevelop it. Kenny Dalglish has given us his take and it seems like if he had it his way, he would opt to remain at Anfield.

Dalglish was speaking to Liverpoolfc.tv and said, “We are going to win either way. They have decided we need a bigger attendance and to make that worthwhile we’ve got to get results on the pitch. The nostalgic one would be to stay at Anfield and extend it. The other option is to build a new one. If it’s possible I’d slightly favour Anfield because of the tradition that is there.

“If they can redevelop and it extends it then I would have no problem staying whatsoever. I’m sure John (Henry) and Tom (Werner) are having a good look at the stadium situation and will decide what they think is best. I would think they will take the fans opinion into consideration. They’ve certainly listened to them so far.”

I like the part where Dalglish says that we have to simply win whether we stay at Anfield or move to a new stadium. There is no point building a new stadium which seats 70,000 fans if the team is not winning. I certainly do hope we the fans get a say in regards the new stadium as Kenny suggests. What would you want us to do if you were asked by Henry and Werner about the new stadium?

Reds Line Up £11m Bid For Celtic Star

Liverpool aim to fill the vacant left-back spot with the signing of Emilio Izaguirre from Celtic.

The Honduras international has been a revelation in the Scottish Premier League since joining the club for a fee that is officially undisclosed but reported to be no more than £600,000. Such has been his impact in the SPL that he swept the board at the player of the year awards at the end of the season despite his club only picking up the Scottish Cup.

Liverpool have been impressed and want Izaguirre to solve their problem position. With Emiliano Insua shipped out after failing to star and Paul Konchesky's arrival from Fulham never likely to be the answer, the Reds relied largely on Glen Johnson playing out of position with Fabio Aurelio constantly succumbing to injury.

The 25-year-old has flirted with the idea of a move south of the border with Manchester United rumoured to be monitoring the situation. However, with the Red Devils failing to follow up their interest, the path is clear for Liverpool to make an approach with an £11m bid thought to be enough to secure Izaguirre's signature.

Reds Plan Move For Chelsea Star

Liverpool are reportedly set to mount an audacious attempt to lure Chelsea youngster Daniel Sturridge to Anfield.

The England U21 international is a player that boss Kenny Dalglish and director of football Damien Comolli are interested in bringing to in and may feel they have a decent shot at landing the striker as his first team chances seem set to become even more limited than previously.

Newly installed Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas apparently has no intention of selling either Fernando Torres or Didier Drogba, but may listen to offers for French international Nicolas Anelka, however the former FC Porto boss is reportedly keen on signing Santos star Neymar and Chelsea have already secured the services of Brazilian teenager Lucas Piazón and therefore Sturridge may well find it tough to break into the first team.

Liverpool are said to have made a move for Sturridge last January but at the time Chelsea were only willing to farm out the former Man City man out on loan and the 21 year old made a big impression at Bolton where he netted eight goals from 11 starts at the Reebok Stadium side.

Dalglish brought in strike pairing Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll but may well feel that the addition of another young attacker could help add further strength in depth and though the Merseyside club also has experienced Dutch international Dirk Kuyt on their books, he has tended to revert to a wide right role for much of his recent Liverpool career.

Liverpool is apparently ready to offload French striker David Ngog after the former PSG man failed to make an impact over the past three seasons. The Anfield side are also looking to sell a number of under performing squad players to help make way for new additions and the likes of Milan Jovanovic, Christian Poulsen, Paul Konchesky and Joe Cole. It also looks likely that Dalglish will allow Maxi Rodriguez to make the move back to Argentina that he has requested.

Chelsea boss Villas Boas may well consider offers for Sturridge as he too looks to make significant changes to his squad. The young Portuguese manager seems keen to bring a player or two from his former club FC Porto but is also strongly linked with moves to address the ageing nature of his squad.

Speculation is rife that players such as Florent Malouda, Paulo Ferriera and the aforementioned Anelka will be sold and squad players Salomon Kalou, Jose Bosingwa Yossi Benayoun and Yuri Zhirkov may well be sacrificed as Boas looks to re-shape his Stamford Bridge squad to better reflect his long term plans.

Fanatix reports that Liverpool will look to make an offer in the near future for the Chelsea front man, but it does seem that the West London side are not likely to sell the player to a club vying for a top four spot and may elect instead to accept over offers if they do indeed look to allow the Birmingham born striker to leave.

Arsenal To Rival Liverpool For Stewart Downing Transfer

Stewart Downing has emerged as a transfer target for Arsenal, despite reports that he is on his way to Liverpool.

Reds boss Kenny Dalglish is determined to land the England winger, but no deal has yet been agreed because Aston Villa has put a £20 million price tag on the player.

The lack of progress in Downing's expected move to Anfield has left the door open for bids from other clubs and it appears Arsenal are ready to take advantage of the situation.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is prepared to match Villa's asking price in order to get his man, reports the Sunday Mirror.

Wenger is determined to add a creative player to his squad before the new season gets underway, as he is facing the prospect of losing Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and possibly also seeing Samir Nasri leave.

Downing does not enjoy the same standing in the game as Fabregas and Nasri, but the 26-year-old is a proven Premier League performer who would need little time to adapt.

Liverpool & Tottenham Monitoring Jack Collison

Liverpool and Tottenham are monitoring the situation of West Ham midfielder Jack Collison, it has been claimed.

According to the News of the World, the Barclays Premier League rivals will also have West Brom to contend with, should they formalize their interest in the Wales international.

Collison only returned to action for the Hammers in the closing weeks of last season, having been sidelined for 14 months with a serious knee injury.

And, with the east London club having been relegated the Npower Championship, the 21-year-old is facing an uncertain future at Upton Park, despite the Hammers being desperate to retain his services.

Collison is to hold talks with new boss Sam Allardyce to discuss his options, but it is likely the youngster will have his head turned if Liverpool and Spurs make a serious approach.

Liverpool and Spurs are also both thought to be keen on the acquisition of Lille star Eden Hazard, while both clubs had been hoping to beat Arsenal to the signature of the Belgian’s teammate Gervinho.

Liverpool Face Battle For Stade Brest Striker

Liverpool face a battle with Sochaux and Lille for striker Nolan Roux.

talkSPORT recently revealed Liverpool were keen on the French forward, with Kenny Dalglish committed to overhauling his squad this summer.

Stade Brest has received enquiries for Roux and the club is planning to cash in on the £7million-rated star - with Liverpool the most keen.

But talkSPORT understands French sides Sochaux and Lille are also eager to speak to Brest about the possibility of signing the 23-year-old.

Lille are losing striker Gervinho to Arsenal and the club are already planning for his departure by scouring the market for a replacement.

It all means Dalglish will have to move quickly to sign his target and although Brest have not received an official bid yet, interest from elsewhere may force him into action.

Liverpool To Resume Interest In Jose Enrique

Liverpool will reportedly turn their attention back to Newcastle United defender Jose Enrique after failing in their bid to land Arsenal's Gael Clichy, according to The News of the World.

Manchester City have apparently beaten the Reds to the signing of Clichy, so Liverpool are said to be reviving their interest in Enrique, who has been a target for the Anfield club after impressing for the Magpies last season.

Reds' boss Kenny Dalglish is keen to strengthen his options at left-back and has also been linked with a move for England defender Leighton Baines, but was apparently put off by neighbours Everton’s £20 (€22) million valuation.

However, he has been tracking Enrique for a number of months. Ironically, when the Spaniard left Villarreal for the Premier League in August 2007, Liverpool (then managed by Rafael Benitez) was one of the clubs, along with Manchester City, whom Newcastle beat to his signature.

Youngster Targets World Cup Glory

Academy forward Adam Morgan is relishing the prospect of England's mouthwatering U17 World Cup quarter-final against Germany on Monday night.

The Reds striker came off the bench to net a cool spot-kick in the shoot-out success over Argentina in the round of 16 - and is now optimistic the Three Lions can rise to the occasion when they lock horns with one of the competition's favourites in Morelia, Mexico.

“It was a fantastic feeling to score a penalty at a World Cup and get through to a Quarter Final,” said Morgan.

“Even though the conditions were awful, we played well throughout the match and deserved the victory. The lads are delighted we got through and can’t wait for the next game against Germany."

He added: "We're confident we can beat any team at this tournament. We can't see ourselves losing at the moment."

If England is to go on and lift the U17 World Cup they will have to overcome some of their fiercest rivals along the way.

The Three Lions' senior team has a long history of battles with both Argentina and Germany, something that is not lost on Morgan despite his tender years.

"I can remember watching England-Argentina games through the World Cups when I was younger," he said. "I remember Michael Owen's great goal in 1998 and David Beckham's penalty in 2002. It's such a special feeling to be a part of this rivalry at a World Cup.

"It's the same in the next round. They're Germany and we're England. The games between us are always special.

"We're determined to give it our all. Going forward, we've got the likes of Raheem (Sterling) and Hallam (Hope) and we're flying on the wings. As long as we put in a solid team performance we know that we will score goals.

“It’s fantastic for all the squad to have game time at a World Cup, it’s a brilliant experience for all 21 players to play and been involved at such a young age. It will definitely help us in the future, there is no doubt about that.

“Every time I get an opportunity to play, I give it my all and hope I have an impact on the matches I play in.”

He added: "We've got so many wingers and forwards who can hurt a team. We're really coming together. We will be giving it our best shot to reach the Semi-Finals of a World Cup.”

Liverpool’s Plan For Fewer Injuries This Season

Since the arrival of Dr. Peter Brukner and his small army of Sport Scientists last summer, it has been hard to gauge really how successful the big changes in the medical department have been. There was a lot of talk of improving the injury situation at Anfield, with the Reds being hampered by a number of players sidelined with so called “soft tissue injuries.” Dr. Brukner, a pre-eminent figure in the field of Sports Science and Medicine back in his native Australia, felt that football in particular, despite being the world’s most popular sport, had a lot to learn from other sports in regards to fitness and injury management.

This season has seen the likes of Daniel Agger, Steven Gerrard and Fabio Aurelio, three players who have lengthy injury records, being sidelined once again with recurring injuries, and it looked like any edge we would get for being at the forefront of Sports Science in football would be negligible, but Brukner talked to LFC Weekly this week about how their procedures and programs may make a difference next campaign:

“They all have a program. If they’re playing internationals, they’ll have a month off and the ones who are not will have six weeks off. But in this day and age you can’t just do nothing for four or six weeks. The players won’t have to do an awful lot but they will be on a maintenance program so three or four times a week, they’ll have things to do.”

Martin Skrtel stated last week in an interview he was keeping to his program, and it has also been mentioned that these programs are also targeted to strengthen the weakest areas of their bodies (i.e. where they had injuries last season) and to make sure they come to pre-season training next month as strong as they can be to ensure that these injuries don’t reoccur next campaign. In addition, Brukner believes the absence of the World Cup will give the Sports Science team greater time to implement their programs to ensure the team is in the best shape possible for next season:

“It is very different to last year when we got everyone back in dribs and drabs as and when they got eliminated from the World Cup. It will be a good opportunity for us to really work with the players. With the World Cup, we didn’t have that lengthy period of pre-season training to do that. We’re looking forward to working with them in that period. They may not be looking forward to it so much, but we are!”

Although it is very hard to see a great difference in Reds players’ injury record last season, perhaps this campaign will be different. With the Medical department in its second year at the club, knowing more about the strength and weaknesses of each player, as well as the absence of a summer tournament for the majority of the players, we should see better fitness levels next season, and hopefully it will give us an extra edge in tight matches as next campaign draws to a close.