Voronin To Liverpool: Let Me Stay At Hertha Berlin

The Reds' Ukrainian flop is enjoying himself in the Bundesliga and hopes to complete a permanent switch if the good times keep rolling.

There was a fair bit of scepticism from Liverpool's supporters when Andriy Voronin joined on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in 2007.

The Reds' scouting staff were in no way rewarded for their gamble, though, as the former Koln forward endured a fairly miserable season at Anfield before being shipped off to Hertha Berlin.

And now that he has settled again in Germany, the 29-year-old has no desire to return to Merseyside and fight with Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane for a starting spot.

"I'm getting along fine at Hertha," he told the newspaper Bild. "I've been well received by the players and there are no problems with the coaching staff and the manager. Things are also going well with the football.

"The most important thing is what Hertha want. If the club really are interested in me staying, I'm sure we'll be able to find a way."

Hertha sit third in the Bundesliga standings, two points behind surprise leaders Hoffenheim and second-placed Bayern Munich.

Insua Eyes Starting Spot At Liverpool

Anfield's Argie youngster is hoping to make his mark on the first team after his impressive showing against the Gunners at the weekend.

Emiliano Insua was handed his second Premier League start of the season when Liverpool visited Arsenal on Sunday evening, getting the nod ahead of Italian full-back Andrea Dossena.

The Reds could only manage a 1-1 draw against a 10-man Gunners outfit, but Insua caught the eye with his raiding runs and dangerous delivery from the left flank.

The 19-year-old Argentine was thrilled to get the gig at the Emirates, and he hopes to be given another chance when Bolton Wanderers travel to Merseyside on Boxing Day.

"The boss (Rafael Benitez) gave me an opportunity to show what I can do and maybe I might get another chance to play at Anfield against Bolton," he told Liverpool's official website.

"Anfield is always a very special place to play and hopefully I can stay in the first team squad.

"The manager has given me a lot of confidence and I will keep training hard in every session and always give my best, because when you get your chance you have to take it.

"There is a lot of competition for places at Liverpool but that is a good thing."

Insua arrived in England on an initial loan deal in 2007, before completing a permanent switch from Boca Juniors during the last transfer window.

Robbie Keane Denies Claims He Is Poised To Quit Liverpool

Robbie Keane has hit back at Mark Lawrenson's suggestion that he will leave Liverpool in next month's transfer window.

It follows suggestions from Mark Lawrenson, the BBC football pundit and former Liverpool defender, which he was told by Steven Gerrard that would Keane would go.

During a radio interview in Ireland, Lawrenson stated that Gerrard "thinks something is going to happen with Keane in January", though he later said that it was his own opinion.

Keane, who has scored just three league goals since leaving Tottenham, struck the equaliser in Sunday's 1-1 draw against Arsenal and said: "Other people outside the club have said a few things to create something that's not there, which is a bit disappointing.

"As a striker you get judged on goals no matter what else you do. I know I will score a lot of goals for this club. I'd prefer to be judged at the end of the season."

Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, has issued a blunt and sobering Christmas message to his team-mates over the club's repeated failure to maintain a Premier League title challenge.

"People keep talking about us being top of the league but we are not a small club, we are actually Liverpool Football Club," he said. "We are where we should be so it's no big deal. A lot of the supporters probably have not seen us win the title because it has been that long. They grew up on stories from their fathers and grandfathers.

"That is why winning the Champions League [in 2005] and the [cup] treble [in 2001] was great for the younger generation so they could see what it means to people.

"But it has been too long really since Liverpool won the title – the last time they did [1990], I was an Everton fan. We were top at Christmas a couple of times when I first got in the team.

"It is nothing to do with the mental aspect. Other teams have just been better than us."

Carragher is also expecting the traditional 'Big Four' to continue to face greater competition from the rest of the league. "Teams have been winning the league with over 90 points, which makes them look a great side," he said.

"But I think it doesn't say a lot for the league. It's a lot more competitive when teams take points off each other, it creates a better league."

Benitez: Clubs Are Interested In Me

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is said to be close to signing a new deal, but he has hinted a host of rival clubs have approached him.

Benitez has made no secret of his desire to secure a new deal at Anfield, but it would appear as if he has other options available to him.

“At the moment we can say negotiations are in progress, we are in talks,” Benitez told ABC. “We will see what happens.

“When you are coaching a great team, and this is a great team, everybody is always interested in you.

“I am grateful for the fact that they are showing recognition in my work in some places.”

The former Valencia boss has revealed his recipe for success and said: “I love to manage in England. I’m very happy with what I’m doing.

“I feel like you have more capacity to make your own decisions, without your role and projects being bigger (than in Spain).

“The truth is that I feel great, with a massive motivation and a huge belief. Our team are playing well and we aim to stay at the top for as long as possible and never to give up on anything.”

He added: “The balance between our attack and our defence can be one of our keys for success.

“I understand that the English’s winning mentality is excellent and if you mix it with a Latin vision of football it should be success guaranteed.”

Arbeloa Hits Back At Adebayor

Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa has hit back at Emmanuel Adebayor after he accused the Spaniard of helping him get sent off.

Adebayor was dismissed for a second bookable offence during Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Liverpool following a clash with Arbeloa.

The Togo striker accused Arbeloa of acting like he "had put a knife in him" after going down under Adebayor's challenge.

Arbeloa has rejected Adebayor's claims that he is a diver and says the Gunners hit-man has no-one to blame but himself for getting sent off.

"Adebayor is a player who uses his arms and elbows when he is playing and ususally that means a foul," Arbeloa told the Daily Star.

"I had nothing to do with the sending-off. I don't feel like it was my fault, it was what Adebayor did.

"I am a professional and I would never play-act to get someone sent off.

"I do not want to get involved in any controversy with Arsenal, but I received a blow in the face and a foul and if the ref then shows a yellow card that is not my problem."

Keane Still Has To Prove Worth To Rafa

The 16th substitution of Robbie Keane's Liverpool career on Sunday against Arsenal told you that, even in his absence, Rafael Benitez was not about to allow the striker to get carried away.

At least this time, Keane could walk off the pitch with a goal to show for his effort and it is his wish that he is judged at the end of the season rather on than the modest three he has scored thus far.

After a week in which Mark Lawrenson spilt the beans on Steven Gerrard's privately-held belief that Keane could leave in January, the goal against the Gunners came just in time for the Irish striker.

"It's not really been a frustrating time for me," Keane said. "Other people outside the club have said a few things to create something that's not there, which is a bit disappointing.

"But in the club, with the fans and everything, nobody is really frustrated. I know I will score a lot of goals for this club. It was nice to score against Arsenal and there will be a lot more to come. I'd prefer to be judged at the end of the season."

They are brave words for a man who, like many Liverpool strikers under Benitez, has come to learn that a reputation as a goalscorer does not ensure you will be played in your optimum position or that you will play there for the full 90 minutes.

Keane was replaced by Nabil El Zhar at The Emirates and there is nothing wrong with his fitness.

By his own admission, Jamie Carragher was still an Everton fan when Liverpool last won the league in 1991 and he said after the draw against Arsenal that there was no mystery as to what would make Liverpool successful.

"It is nothing to do with the mental aspect," Carragher said. "The best teams win. Other teams have just been better than us.

"There is no secret ingredient, it is just the best team which wins the league in the end and hopefully that will be us.

"People keep talking about us being top of the league but we are not a small club, we are actually Liverpool Football Club.

"We are where we should be so it's no big deal, getting carried away.

"We are where we should be. A lot of the supporters probably have not seen us win the title, especially the young ones, because it has been that long.

"They grew up on stories from their fathers and grandfathers."

Carragher said that this season, the title race had been made more interesting by the failure of any side to pull away at the top.

"The last few years teams have been winning the league with over 90 points which makes them look a great side," he said. "But I think it doesn't say a lot for the league to be honest,” he said.

"It's a lot more competitive when teams take points off each other, it creates a better league and I think we have seen that this season. In the past, maybe, three or four seasons, Arsenal going unbeaten all season, Chelsea only losing one and always getting over 90 points.

“I think you want the league to be more competitive than that and I think it looks like it will be this season."

Milan To Swoop For Liverpool’s Dossena?

The Diavoli are allegedly pondering a January move for the former Udinese left-back, which could prompt a return to his roots for Jankulovski.

Milan are reportedly drawing up a back-up plan to reshuffle their midfield department after the serious injury suffered by Gennaro Gattuso. According to Tuttomercatoweb, the Rossoneri transfer gurus are tracking Liverpool full-back Andrea Dossena, who is struggling to settle in the Premier League.

The 27-year-old joined the Reds this summer, but he has failed to live up to his reputation so far and might plump for a move back to the peninsula next month.

Should Milan really bring in the Italian international, it is alleged that coach Carlo Ancelotti might push Marek Jankulovski further up the field into a midfield role, which would not be a novelty for the 31-year-old, as he played in this position during his spells with Udinese and Napoli.

However, there are also whispers that the Stadio San Siro outfit are pursuing Stefano Morrone and McDonald Mariga, but Parma president Tommaso Ghirardi has revealed that they have not been approached so far.

“We are flattered by this reported interest, but have not received formal offers up until now,” he told Sky Sport 24 this morning.

“We aim to get back into Serie A, and it is highly unlikely that we will release important players next month.”

Carragher: It's Tougher This Year But Titles Aren't Won By Mind Games

Jamie Carragher admits he would enjoy Liverpool winning this league championship rather more than he did their previous one. "It has been too long since the club won the title - the last time they did, I was an Everton fan," he said with a smile, recalling the triumph under Kenny Dalglish in 1990, when he was 12 years old.

Opinion is divided as to whether Liverpool will stay the course this time and the debate continued yesterday over the merits of Sunday's point at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal, who played for half an hour with 10 men after the dismissal of Emmanuel Adebayor.

Already shorn of Cesc Fabregas, who went off injured at half-time, Arsenal seemed to be there for the taking. Yet it was not until the final five minutes that Liverpool seriously threatened to score a winning goal.

"For the last 18 months we have probably been one of the hardest teams to beat. We do not lose many games," said Carragher, and he has statistics to back him up. Since the beginning of last season Liverpool have lost only five times in the league. No team have been defeated less.

For Liverpool, though, the challenge is to turn the draws into decisive wins. Victory at Arsenal would not only have completed a notable set this season, after the wins over Manchester United at Anfield and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, it would have given them breathing space at the top of the table and seen them apply pressure on their rivals.

The Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, questioned whether Liverpool had been "scared to push on", and Sammy Lee, the Liverpool coach, said they "had to be very careful not to lose [against 10 men]. If that sounds negative, I make no apologies." If fortune truly does favour the brave, might Liverpool finish short?

Unlike Wenger, Rafael Benítez has been reluctant to portray his team as champions-in-waiting. "For us to win the league, it's necessary for Chelsea, United and Arsenal, who have far greater economic resources than us, to have a bad season," the manager said last week. "It's rare that these three clubs fail at the same time."

There is certainly a measure of reassurance inside the Liverpool dressing room that no single club have so far blazed a trail, although Chelsea and United are expected to be more consistently imposing over the second part of the season. Wenger believes that the title winner will amass fewer than 80 points; Liverpool, one match shy of the halfway point, have 39.

"A lot of teams seem to be taking points off each other, which I think is better," said Carragher. "In the last few years, teams have been winning the league with over 90 points, which makes them look great but it doesn't say a lot for the league.

"Arsenal went unbeaten [in 2003-04] and Chelsea only lost one [in 2004-05] and always got over 90 points [in their title- winning seasons]. You want the league to be more competitive than that. It's a lot more competitive when teams take points off each other, it creates a better league and we have seen that this season."

Whatever the view on the point gained at Arsenal, there is consensus that Liverpool's home form is not that of champions. They might remain unbeaten but the four draws in nine games have been the source of frustration.

The tension at Anfield can be palpable, with the wait for a 19th championship playing its part, but Carragher says that the squad are taking their status of front runners in their stride. Next up for them is Bolton Wanderers at home on Friday.

"People keep talking about us being at the top of the league but we are not a small club," said Carragher. "We are Liverpool Football Club. We are where we should be so it's no big deal. We have had a couple of chances [to win the league]; we were top at Christmas a couple of times when I first got in the team, but there's still a long way to go."

For his team-mate Robbie Keane, scoring against Arsenal was a relief from the speculation that he will be moved on in January. "Other people outside the club have said a few things to create something that's not there. But in the club, nobody is really frustrated. I know I will score a lot of goals for this club. It was nice to score against Arsenal and there will be a lot more to come. I'd prefer to be judged at the end of the season."