Premier League Preview: Liverpool vs Blackburn

Liverpool are in a sorry state of affairs as far as their domestic adventure is concerned, as they are in the relegation zone having amassed only six points from their opening eight games.

With only one victory against their name, there have been several questions asked of Hodgson's methods. But the Liverpool manager has remained firm, insisting that the team still needs time to gel under his guidance.

There had also been some speculation that the former Fulham boss could walk away from Anfield, but here recently rubbished such talk by affirming that he will not resign under any circumstances.

Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion are the only side to have visited Anfield and not taken a point or more off their opponents, though even their defeat came in the form of a narrow 1-0 scoreline.

And the club's recent defeat to Blackpool means that the players must really pick themselves up and put in a strong performance to take their first steps towards restoring lost pride.

Blackburn have a terrible record at Anfield as they have not registered a victory in their last 14 trips. Their last victory at Liverpool was 17 years ago, and since that win, they have drawn nine and lost five.

But now they have an excellent chance of setting things straight and piling the pressure on their opponents.

But with opposition skipper Gerrard and striker Torres having had a rest, their back line will have to defend well if they are to take anything away from Hodgson's men.

But the back line will have to work doubly hard, as they are missing Chris Samba while Ryan Nelsen has only just recovered from a thigh injury.

TEAM NEWS

Liverpool

Roy Hodgson rested some of his players during his side's recent goalless draw with Napoli, and should recall them for this encounter.

Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will return to the starting line-up, with midfielders Raul Meireles and Lucas also expected to start after they were not used in Italy.

Glen Johnson (hamstring) and Daniel Agger (back) are still doubtful, but could feature if they recover in time. Dirk Kuyt (ankle) is sidelined.

Possible starting line-up: Reina; Carragher, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Konchesky; Maxi Rodriguez, Lucas, Meireles, Cole; Gerrard; Torres.

Blackburn

Rovers boss Sam Allardyce will be hoping that defender Ryan Nelsen (thigh) recovers in time to play a part in this game, having missed the previous fixture against Sunderland.

Should he return, the 33-year-old is likely to partner Gael Givet in the absence of Chris Samba, who is serving a suspension.

In the meantime, Benjani has recovered from a concussion he suffered while playing against Sunderland, and is now in contention to play a part at Anfield.

Keith Andrews (groin), Vince Grella (hamstring) and Jason Roberts are still out.

Possible starting line-up: Robinson; Salgado, Nelsen, Givet, Olsson; Pedersen, N'Zonzi, Jones, Dunn, El Hadji Diouf; Kalinic.

Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina And Glen Johnson Want Out Of Liverpool

Ahead of their make-or-break clash with Blackburn Rovers on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool have been hit with the bombshell news that three of their most influential players are ready to leave Anfield in January.

Spanish duo Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina along with England defender Glen Johnson are said to be unhappy at the club, and with morale at an all-time low the trio are keen to seek pastures new, according to The Daily Mail.

The news will come as a bitter blow to under-fire manager Roy Hodgson as he fights to hang on to his job after a miserable start to the season which has dumped Liverpool in the relegation zone going into today’s game.

Torres, who has not scored in six games – equalling his worst run for the club - is said to be regretting his decision to stay in the summer; and Johnson, who may miss today’s game with a hamstring injury, is aware of interest from Bayern Munich and Juventus.

Both players - along with Reina - are far from impressed that former Wimbledon, Birmingham and QPR goalkeeper Mike Kelly, 68, has been placed in charge of first team coaching, including running through Reina’s routines.

Liverpool’s new owner John W Henry, who will not be at Anfield today due to illness, had planned on giving Hodgson a trial until Christmas; but with things looking in danger of spiralling out of control on the pitch, Hodgson’s future could be up for discussion a lot sooner than that.

Liverpool Line Up Move For Aston Villa's Ashley Young

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is keen to sign Aston Villa winger Ashley Young after the 25-year-old turned down the chance to sign a new deal at Villa Park for now.

New Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier will be disappointed that he has failed to tie down Young as yet, with the player himself insisting that he will talk about a new deal in the summer but is happy at the club for now.

According to The People, Houllier's former club Liverpool is ready to take advantage of Young's hesitancy with Roy Hodgson prepared to meet Villa's £14million valuation.

The People reports that Anfield boss Hodgson will have £30million to spend in January and hopes to bring five new faces to Liverpool, of which he wants two to be British talent.

Young has impressed at Aston Villa since arriving from Watford in 2006 and enjoyed another good season last campaign, scoring five goals and contributing eight assists. Young has already won ten England caps but was not considered for Fabio Capello's World Cup squad.

Barcelona Tracking Liverpool Striker Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres' time at Liverpool is reportedly over and the clock at Barcelona has started to tick as the Catalan giants plan a move to lure him over to Camp Nou.

Sport.es claims that Barcelona are ready to approach Liverpool and broker a deal for the Spanish international hitman who has endured a miserable campaign at Anfield.

That, coupled with Liverpool's recent turmoil behind the scenes in relation to their takeover by NESV, has given the Azulgrana hope and encouragement.

Torres is said to be considering his own future, and a swift move is being garnished by Barcelona who are putting the finishing touches to their initial blueprints.

It's no secret that coach Pep Guardiola admires the former Atletico hitman who dreams of playing alongside Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

With finance becoming the byword of trouble at Anfield, Torres could be sold sooner rather than later.

Roy Hodgson Takes A Swipe At Frank Rijkaard

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has taken a swipe at Frank Rijkaard, questioning the Dutchman's managerial capabilities and defending his own record ahead of his side's game with Blackburn Rovers.

The 48-year-old's time at Galatasaray recently came to an untimely end after the Turkish club fell to four defeats in eight weeks and suffered elimination from the Europa League in the process.

The Dutchman has since been linked with a move to take the reins at Anfield, with the former Fulham boss thought to be heading for the chopping block after a run of poor results.

The Reds are currently in the relegation zone in the Premier League, and have also been dumped out of the League Cup.

Now Hodgson has hit out at suggestions that Rijkaard could be in line to replace him.

"I had two-and-a-half years of this kind of thing when I was at Inter when, every day, there would be stuff in the newspapers that someone was going to get my job," he said, according to The Mirror.

"If I took two-and-a-half years of that in Milan I can take two-and-a-half years of it here.

"It ended up with my being offered a new contract by Inter when I left for Blackburn.

"The doom and gloom that surrounds us is not coming from within the club, not from me and not from the players – it’s coming from people outside who are having a field day and delighting in the fact we are having a bad time.

"Rijkaard has just been sacked from Galatasaray - he must be a great manager to have been sacked by Galatasaray! What you are talking about is Frank Rijkaard’s agent putting his name around. It is all speculation."

Hodgson also defended his reign at Blackburn Rovers, where he was fired after 18 months in charge with the club at the bottom of the standings.

"At Blackburn, I took a team that avoided relegation by one point to the UEFA Cup when we finished sixth in the league," he said.

"That seems somehow to be forgotten when the next season we had a lot of injury problems and found that things were not going so well. But in that first season we were being feted everywhere and I was being tipped as the next England manager, but after a poor start the following season I didn’t get a chance to follow it through.

"I am sure that if I had been given a chance to follow it through, I would have dealt with that one too. You do get bad periods and I have been lucky in having had more good ones than bad ones.

"At Blackburn, 18 months of work got judged on the last two or three months when we did poorly. But that is the business.

"So many good things have been written about me over the last two-and-a-half years that it would be churlish of me to start complaining. But I wasn’t happy about the way my time at Blackburn was perceived."

Now the 63-year-old will go up against his former club Rovers when Sam Allardyce's charges visit Anfield on Sunday.

"Now it is up to the players who will be fresh from not having taken part [against Napoli in the midweek Europa League tie] to step up to the plate," he said.

"We have left more than two behind - there is [Raul] Meireles, there is [Glen] Johnson, there is [Lucas] Leiva; Jamie Carragher played half the game, Joe Cole only came on at the end.

"I think we won’t be taking any fatigue into the match. It doesn’t always work that way, but we won’t have that as an excuse if we don’t go on and win the game."

O'Neill Looking To Return

Martin O'Neill has revealed that he wants to get back into management sooner rather than later.

The 58-year-old coach left Aston Villa just days before the start of the season and is now looking to return to the dugout.

O'Neill has had successful spells at Wycombe, Leicester and Celtic during an impressive 23-year managerial career, but left Villa after a disagreement with owner Randy Lerner.

"I've been enjoying myself and getting rather lazy these last two months," he said in the Daily Mirror.

"But I obviously miss the game and I'm sure I'll get back into it at some stage if I can.

"I'd rather that happened sooner rather than later."

On his departure from Villa in August, he added: "I think we decided we weren't going in the same direction, I'm not sure what direction that was. Probably the less said, the better."

O'Neill has been linked with a number of high-profile positions such as the vacancy at Middlesbrough, and with Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson under pressure, speculation has suggested that he could potentially be the next manager at Anfield.

A career-defining job could be O'Neill's next step. He has also been linked with England, as Fabio Capello is set to step down after the European Championships in 2012.

The former Northern Ireland midfielder was interviewed for the Three Lions job following the departure of Sven-Goran Eriksson in 2006, and he has revealed his disappointment that he was not appointed.

"I was interviewed for the England job back before Steve McClaren got it," O'Neill remarked.

"Obviously Steve had been there as assistant to Sven at the time, but I'm not sure of the way the voting system went.

"A number of candidates were interviewed - Big Sam Allardyce brought every piece of machinery and all the stats with him, unfortunately I didn't.

"I just brought myself, and we all know what happened."

NESV Duo Join Anfield Board

Two senior officials of New England Sports Ventures have been appointed to the Liverpool board.

David Ginsberg, one of NESV's two vice-chairmen, and investor Michael Gordon have been installed as club directors.

Both men will watch Liverpool's Premier League match against Blackburn on Sunday alongside new co-owner Tom Werner.

John W Henry, the principal owner of NESV, is unable to travel to the game because of illness.

But Henry said: "Sunday promises to be a special day at Anfield in more ways than one.

"I'll be watching the game from home and, although I have only been here for a few days, I already miss Anfield.

"We are hard at work setting a course for the future including the search for a chief executive officer.

"I wish the club and the fans all the best for the match against Blackburn."

Tom Hicks And George Gillett To Press Ahead With $1.6bn Liverpool FC Damages Claim

Lawyers for Liverpool FC’s ousted American owners today said they were still intent on “gathering information” ahead of a potential multi-million pound lawsuit.

But Tom Hicks and George Gillett have refused to put a deadline or timescale on their threatened claim for a massive $1.6bn damages.

Today lead litigator Tom Melsheimer told the ECHO the departed Americans were “exploring all avenues to seek relief”.

Their case, it appears, will now be heard before an English court – although some proceedings may still take place in the US.

At present, Mr. Melsheimer said, no date has been listed.

In an interview with the ECHO the lawyer reaffirmed the view the Reds’ sale to New England Sports Venures was a “swindle”.

And he claimed last Friday’s deal undervalued Liverpool FC by hundreds of millions of dollars.

But Mr. Melsheimer was unable to detail:

The particulars of the last-gasp Mill Financial offer, broached by Hicks, specifically if that takeover was designed to give the Texan some retention of control at Anfield along with his 50% stake.

Why the other bidders, put forward by Hicks and Gillett and supposedly offering higher valuation for the Reds, only emerged at the 11th hour.

If those claimed bidders still intended to leave huge debts on Liverpool, extending the club’s crippling leveraged status.

The make-up of the alleged “better offers” or provide a comprehensive explanation of how they would have left Liverpool financially.

Hicks’s team suggested the reason for the late spate of supposed offers to buy Liverpool, a claim made by the co-owners legal team, was due to previous approaches crumbling because of a lack of proven funds.

Mr. Melsheimer said: “Selling a team like this is a complicated business.

“Initially they show interest but they can’t bring the finance.”

He also confirmed the battle for damages was “very much a joint action” despite suggestions Gillett’s influence as a co-owner was arguably eradicated after he defaulted on a £75m loan to Mill Financial in August.

The Canadian has been conspicuous by his low profile in recent weeks.

Although he was said to be in London last week discussing his position during the quickfire moves leading up to Friday’s NESV sale.

The $1.6bn figure claimed for damages, Hicks’ legal spokesman added, represented their valuation of “potential of loss of opportunity and loss of profits”.

Mr. Melsheimer said: “We don’t have interest doing anything to unwind the sale of the team and we wish it the very best and its fans.

“But the way things have been handled for the last month, we believe, was a conspiracy to violate our rights.

“We are looking at what are next options might be. We’re not saying anything definitive, but we are gathering information in Liverpool and elsewhere.

“We acknowledge people were unhappy about the ownership and we understand all that.

“But none of that is justification for what happened here.

“We think the fans of the club were hurt as the best price for the club was not obtained.

“We had other buyers who we believed were interested.”

Mr. Melsheimer was questioned on the wisdom of any action for damages bearing in mind High Court judge Mr. Justice Floyd’s central argument last week that the sale was approved by a five-strong legally-constituted board and appeared to be the crucial legal tenant of the dispute.

He replied: “Now the sale has taken place, there’s much less emotion and time pressure.

“The full facts about how our rights were violated will emerge.

“Once the dust has settled we will figure out how we were violated in terms of English law.

“We respect the English judicial system, one of the best in the world.

“All that said we are seeking avenues for relief.”

Mr. Melsheimer added: “The events of the last few weeks have been emotional. We duly pursued all real prospects to buy the team and we had better prospects that eventually consumated.

“These were not just phone calls in the last three days, but the last six months. I understand people saying ‘Where were they?’

“But it can’t be that owners don’t get to control who their team is sold to.”

Mr. Melsheimer was reminded that chairman Martin Broughton was introduced in April to lead the sale process, after long periods of unsuccessful touting of Liverpool by Hicks and Gillett to investors around the world.

He said: “Tom and George were selling the team, there was no plan to do anything under the table.

“We thought we were on the same page as the directors.

“We understand the animosity people have, but that cannot be a justification for these two gentlemen to see their interests reduce to zero.”

NESV Pledge To Spend Heavily In The Next Year To Keep Liverpool Striker Fernando Torres

New England Sports Ventures have pledged to splash the cash in the next year to keep Liverpool striker Fernando Torres away from Manchester United, according to The Mirror.

Torres, 26, has emerged as a prime target for United if Wayne Rooney leaves the club in January. The Spaniard has cut a frustrated figure throughout Liverpool's poor start to the season and is believed to be willing to listen to offers.

Owner John W. Henry has reportedly already met Torres and told him his plans to invest heavily in new players in the next 12 months to make Liverpool competitive again.

They have no plans to cash in on the center forward who has four-and-a-half years left on his contract.

Roberto Donadoni Emerges As Candidate To Replace Roy Hodgson

Rumours have surfaced suggesting that Italian manager Roberto Donadoni is set to replace Roy Hodgson as manager of Liverpool.

Despite receiving public backing from Liverpool's new owners, defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby last weekend has resulted in rumours that Hodgson could well be sacked if results do not improve quickly.

Unknown English sources have told Calciomercato.com that Roy Hodgson will be sacked soon and that contact has already been made between Liverpool's new owners and Donadoni's Israelian agent Oved Kraus.

Donadoni has been out of work since October 2009 when he was sacked as manager of Napoli following a 2-1 loss to rivals Roma.

A second string Liverpool side battled to a 0-0 draw with Napoli on Thursday in the Europe League and the two sides recent meeting will certainly help rumours surrounding Donadoni's possible interest in the Liverpool job to spread.

The former Italian international winger has also had a stint in charge the Italian national side. Donadoni was announced as the successor to Marcelo Lippi, who resigned immediately after Italy won the 2006 World Cup.

Despite a slow start, he led Italy through a successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. At the tournement itself, Italy recovered from a faltering start in their first two group games and beat France 2-0 to secure a quarter-final tie with Spain.

Italy held the eventual champions Spain to a 0-0 draw but lost 4-2 in the resulting penalty shoot-out. Only reaching the quarter-final stage was viewed as a failure by the Italian Football Federation and Donadoni's contract was terminated in June 2008.

Since leaving Turkish club Galatasary Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard has also been rumoured as a possible replacement for Hodgson, should Liverpool's new owners go back on their word and sack their manager.

However, Calciomercato.com say Donadoni's history as an international player and his ability to speak the English language well could push him to the head of the queue to replace Hodgson.

It is expected that more developments on this situation will be revealed after Liverpool's game with Blackburn Rovers this Sunday - as Donadoni has also been heavily linked with the Parma job following pressure on their manager Pasquale Marino.

Amid all the uncertainty, Roy Hodgson will know that the best way to quash such rumours about his future will be on the pitch on Sunday with a victory against Sam Allardyce's physical Blackburn team.

Liverpool Join In Race For Valter Birsa

Wigan and Blackpool are keen on Auxerre midfielder Valter Birsa.

The Slovenia international impressed in the World Cup and is out of contract in the summer.

Liverpool have also been alerted to the 24-year-old's availability and could make a cut-price offer in January.

Birsa has impressed in the Champions League and scored for Auxerre against Ajax this week.

Liverpool Plot £22m Trio Raid To Land Tottenham, Manchester City And Blackburn Targets

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has set his sights on three new additions to his Anfield squad in January as he hopes for a significant injection of transfer funds from the club’s new owners. The under-fire manager has earmarked moves for Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, Blackburn Rovers youngster Phil Jones and Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-phillips.

Hodgson knows that his current squad simply isn’t functioning and he hopes that the players mentioned could help fill gaping holes in his side but will have to hope that by January his side is pulling away from the drop zone otherwise he may struggle to convince players of this calibre to move to the Merseyside club.

Roman Pavlyuchenko was targeted in the last transfer window but a last ditch attempt to land the Russian failed to materialise but the former Spartak Moscow man is still struggling to secure a regular starting spot at White Hart Lane despite netting five goals in six starts this season.

Phil Jones has impressed many with his mature performances at Ewood Park and the Blackburn Rovers man would help Hodgson to continue the club’s recent policy of bringing in young up and coming talents. Much like Pavlyuchenko, Shaun Wright-phillips finds it hard to claim a starting spot and at the age of 28 year he does not want to be wasting away on the bench and with the likes of Adam Johnson and David Silva at the club the England international will find it increasingly difficult to get on Roberto Mancini’s opening team sheet.

This trio of talent could be considered as realistic targets and would set the club back around £23m and Hodgson will hope that the club’s new owners would realise that such an investment is crucial to help get the club firing on all cylinders.

Liverpool All Set To Poach The £25M ‘Beast Of A Striker’ Utd Were Scouting

According to a variety of sources, Manchester United are keeping one eye on giant Spanish striker Fernando Llorente.

Llorente stands almost as tall as Peter Crouch, but doesn’t double for a beanstalk and with his frightening physique can out-muscle even the most steely of defenders.

Llorente has hit 50 goals in 173 appearances for Athletic Bilbao, and steadily maintained a goal tally in double figures for each season since 2007-08.

But Kopsource are directly contradicting this; and the NESV investment will enable Liverpool to press on with negotiations while United wait to sell Rooney. It is only this logical explanation which gives such an isolated source any credibility. Kopsource states:

“It is believed that the owners will signal their intent by providing the manager with funds, believed to be in the region of £17M, to sign the frontman.

“Llorente, who’s real name is Torres, has been identified as a perfect partner for his Spanish counterpart while simultaneously earning the new owners extra brownie points. However, the owners will first have to resolve the burning managerial issue before they can focus on bringing in new players.”

A battle between the North-West’s ailing top two could very likely emerge come January, and it would most certainly be in the interest of both clubs to sign such a talent in an effort to turn around respectively bad seasons so far.

PSV Statement Hints At January Sale

PSV Eindhoven star Ibrahim Afellay will not be signing an extension to his current contract which is due to expire at the end of the season, the Euredivisie side have confirmed.

The prodigious 24-year-old has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs most notably Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, and the Holland international recently suggested a move to either Anfield or Old Trafford would be favourable at this stage in his career, although Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid are also rumoured to be interested.

A statement on PSV’s official website read: “PSV and Ibrahim Afellay have reached the conclusion that a contract extension is no longer a realistic option for various reasons,

"PSV are disappointed that a successful collaboration will come to an end. However, the club is satisfied with the terms we've agreed with Ibrahim.

“He has promised the club that he'll do his utmost to make sure he doesn't leave the club without a reasonable compensation."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is a long time admirer of the attacking midfielder having coveted the player as a teenager, while Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City have also been mentioned as a potential suitor in recent weeks.

Despite plenty of options, Afellay recently revealed an admiration for Manchester United and Liverpool.

He said: “Playing in the Premier League would be best for my prestige. I'd like to play for Liverpool or Manchester United , the top-level prospect for any player.”

Spearing Sees Reds Springboard

Jay Spearing claims Liverpool have been boosted in confidence after Thursday's goalless draw with Napoli.

Reds boss Roy Hodgson elected to take a weakened squad to Italy for their Europa League tie and his young side managed to leave the San Paolo with a point to their name.

The likes of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Raul Meireles and Lucas Leiva were all rested midweek ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Blackburn.

And Spearing believes the result in Naples could be a springboard for their domestic form to improve.

"It's a hostile place to play but we showed what we're capable of doing and it was a good point away from home," said the midfielder, whose club are languishing second-bottom in the table.

"Results haven't been going our way, but this can be the start and we can go into Sunday's game looking for three points at home."

Spearing was one of a number of youthful members of the side, which included 18-year-old Jonjo Shelvey and 20-year-old Martin Kelly.

"It's massive confidence boost straight away when the boss is going to play you in such a hostile place," said the 21-year-old former youth team captain.

"It shows we can play under pressure in these types of games and that the boss has confidence in us."

Experience midfielder Christian Poulsen was impressed by the performances of Shelvey, Spearing, Kelly and David Ngog who, although the club's leading scorer this season, is still only 21.

"Our young players battled well and you couldn't tell there was a lot of inexperience out there," said the 30-year-old.

"I think they had a really good game and it shows we have a strong squad at Liverpool."

Kenny Dalglish Should Be King Of Kop Again, Says Harry Gregg

Northern Ireland goalkeeping great Harry Gregg believes Kenny Dalglish should be the manager of Liverpool and not Roy Hodgson.

Winning pair: Kenny Dalglish in the Anfield stand with old strike partner Ian Rush no doubt wishing for a return to former glory days

While Gregg has been keeping a close eye on recent stunning developments at his old team Manchester United, telling Wayne Rooney in yesterday’s Belfast Telegraph that “no one is bigger than the club”, another iconic side in the north west of England has also been occupying his thoughts.

And Gregg is appalled with events at Anfield on and off the pitch.

While Liverpool supporters have been cheering the departure of Tom Hicks and George Gillette and hailing the arrival of new owner John Henry, Gregg asks: “What association do the new people have with Liverpool Football Club? It’s only business for them. I have a feeling it may be a case of out of the pan and into the kettle.”

Liverpool were involved in Europa League action last night, but the major concern relates to their dreadful domestic form.

Embarrassingly knocked out of the Carling Cup by Northampton earlier in the season, the Anfield outfit now find themselves in 19th place in the Premier League.

Rather than fighting for the title or a Champions League spot, they are in the relegation zone with just one win from eight matches, the last of which was a dismal 2-0 defeat at derby rivals Everton last Sunday.

Reds manager Hodgson suggested that his side played well in that game. He was in a minority of one on that and is going through a difficult time persuading Liverpool fans that he is the man to take them onwards and more importantly upwards.

Gregg, forthright as ever, has never been convinced Hodgson, who is now dogged by rumours that he is about to be replaced by former Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard, would cut it at Anfield.

“People ask how long Roy Hodgson should get at Liverpool. I would say he’s had too long already,” says Harry, who has been distinctly unimpressed by the form and attitude of Kop hero Fernando Torres.

“I know Roy Hodgson did well at Fulham, but I didn’t think he was the right man for Liverpool when he was appointed. I’m not being wise after the event, I told people that in the summer when he took over. I've never been a big admirer.

“At the time when Rafa Benitez was being replaced I felt Kenny Dalglish should have been given the job and I still hold that view. They really should bring him back to manage the club.”

Although Gregg’s beloved United and Liverpool have been fierce rivals down the years, Northern Ireland’s 1958 World Cup hero says he takes no pleasure whatsoever from the troubles the Anfield outfit have encountered in recent times.

In fact, he says he is saddened by developments on the red half of Merseyside.

“I do feel sad about what has happened at Liverpool and have sympathy for their fans,” states Harry. “I remember Liverpool when they were playing in the old second division.

“I played against them when I was at Doncaster Rovers and even then the atmosphere at Anfield was special, though it has fallen away recently.

“The great Bill Shankly came along and the club took off and then flourished through dear friends of mine like Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish. It’s sad to see Liverpool where they are now.”

Match Report: Napoli 0 - 0 Liverpool

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson's gamble in leaving at home a handful of his senior players - including Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard - paid off in some respect as his side claimed a well-earned Europa League 0-0 draw against Napoli in the Stadio San Paolo.

Many tipped the hopelessly out-of-form Reds for defeat after bringing a weakened side to Naples, but they withstood long spells of pressure to leave with a point.

The closest they came to conceding was in first-half added time when Paul Konchesky cleared Marek Hamsik's shot off the line in the nick of time, while Ryan Babel could have snatched victory with 20 minutes to go but shot too close to goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis.

Hodgson had admitted in his pre-match press conference that the Barclays Premier League had to take priority because of their woeful start to the season, with just one win in eight games leaving them 19th in the table, and that was why he had rested Torres, Gerrard, Raul Meireles and Lucas Leiva.

He said if they lost in Naples he would expect to receive criticism. He avoided the former but it is unlikely the latter will dissipate any time soon as even a win over Blackburn on Sunday will probably not end the growing murmurings of discontent within Anfield.

At least this performance, unlike the Merseyside derby defeat last weekend, showed some grit and determination and keeps Liverpool on course for progress to the knockout phase as they have taken five points from their three group matches so far, and still have home games against Utrecht and Napoli.

It is a competition which has so far been much kinder to Hodgson but, unfortunately for him, if he cannot turn around the team's domestic form, no number of good performances in Europe are going to ease the pressure on him.

Getting to the latter stages of the Europa League but still being stuck in the lower reaches of the Premier League is unlikely to carry much weight with new owners New England Sports Ventures, who expect to see more from their £300million investment.

After the previous night's attacks on fans and some limited patches of trouble prior to kick-off, the atmosphere inside the stadium was equally as daunting for the players as the streets of Naples had been for supporters.

However, the visitors did a good job of negating all that early fervour with a disciplined, solid start and the whistles which greeted any spell of Liverpool possession were deafening.

Ezequiel Lavezzi's corner saw Cristian Maggio divert the ball goalwards only for Edinson Cavani to head it away as he tried to get a decisive touch.

Napoli were starting to take control but Lavezzi's long-range strike flew well over Jose Reina's crossbar.

In the 33rd minute Jonjo Shelvey combined with Jay Spearing but the shot with his weaker left foot was straight at goalkeeper De Sanctis.

He was obviously not short of confidence as he tried to lob De Sanctis from the halfway line but hardly extended the goalkeeper let alone tested him.

But they had a lucky escape in first-half stoppage time with a controversial incident which will again bring up the issue of goal-line technology.

Maggio's corner fell to Cavani who beat Jamie Carragher and fired in a low cross which Hamsik diverted goalwards and it was unclear whether the ball had crossed the line before Konchesky cleared.

Carragher was replaced for the second half by Sotirios Kyrgiakos as Napoli seized the initiative again.

Cavani wasted a good chance before Michele Pazienza was booked for a wild lunge which caught Spearing in the face as he stooped to head the ball and, after initial concerns about the midfielder, he was able to continue after treatment.

Napoli continued to press but Babel should have snatched the lead with the best chance of the night when he was played through by Jovanovic in acres of space on the left of the penalty area.

The Holland international opted to shoot right-footed across De Sanctis but placed his effort too close to the goalkeeper, who saved with his feet.

Ngog also went close when he turned in the area only for his shot to be charged down by Salvatore Aronica.

Jonjo Shelvey Admitted He Is Hungry For More At Liverpool FC

Jonjo Shelvey admitted he is hungry for more as he reflected on his “memorable” first start for Liverpool.

The young midfielder rose to the challenge in Stadio San Paolo last night as he played a key role in the Reds’ 0-0 draw with Napoli.

Liverpool remain top of Group K and are odds-on favourites to qualify for the Europa League’s knockout stages and Shelvey hopes that means he will get to another chance to prove his worth.

He was one of seven changes to the side that had lost 2-0 to Everton last weekend but, showing no fear, Shelvey caught the eye throughout and vindicated Hodgson’s decision to pitch him in.

But while he was thrilled to have helped secure a confidence boosting result, the 18-year-old has made it clear he does not want it to be a one-off experience.

“It’s a hostile place to come and you knew that with the way the crowd were,” said Shelvey. “They were banging on the bus when we were on the way to the stadium.

“So it was very satisfying to get a result. It’s massive for everyone at the club. Personally I’m delighted as I’ve been waiting for my chance to show the Gaffer that I am good enough.

“This is a platform. The next task is to make sure we get three points on Sunday. The Gaffer told us we played well as a team and that we deserved the draw.

“You could tell Napoli are a good team by the way they moved the ball about but we had a game plan and it worked. In many ways, we were unlucky not to win as we had a few good chances.”

Signed from Charlton Athletic in the summer, Shelvey has been around Liverpool’s squad ever since Hodgson came to the club and he revealed the manager has been a constant source of encouragement.

“He told me personally to stay confident and keep doing my best,” said Shelvey. “I want to push on more now and get a few games under my belt. Hopefully I will get another chance soon.

“I’m not really someone who gets nervous and I have got faith in my ability. I know I can do a job and I’m desperate for another go.”

No Reds Move For Rijkaard

Frank Rijkaard's agent insists they have not been approached by Liverpool about possibly replacing Roy Hodgson at Anfield.

Hodgson's future at Liverpool has come under intense scrutiny following a disastrous start to the season.

Rijkaard has been mentioned as a possible replacement with the Dutchman being made the strong favourite by Sky Bet following his departure from Galatasaray earlier this week.

However, Rijkaard's representative, Perry Overeem, insists he has had no contact with Liverpool and that the former Barcelona boss will not be rushing any decision over his future.

"We have not been approached by Liverpool," Overeem told Sky Sports News HD.

"Frank's not thinking about any job at the moment - he wants to put what's happened in Turkey behind him.

"Frank's still in Turkey.

"Whenever we are approached, if we are approached, we will deal with that then but it's not helpful to get into rumours at this stage."

Babel Coy On Future

Ryan Babel insists he is not concerned about people talking about his future at Liverpool.

The Reds forward, who has struggled to establish himself at Anfield, was given a rare start on Thursday against Napoli in the Europa League.

Babel failed to score in the 0-0 draw in Naples and looks set to return to the bench as Liverpool face Blackburn on Sunday.

And the Dutchman is refusing to discuss whether his future lies at Anfield.

"It is always the same story, this is your chance, this is your chance," he told Sky Sports News.

"I don't see it like that any more, it is just another game and I do it for myself.

"My situation is clear for everyone so I don't need to talk about it, I have said enough things in the past so I don't want to talk about it."