Luis Suarez tormented The Lilywhites

Maxi Rodriguez may have walked away with the match ball last night, but it was once again the performance of Luis Suarez that stole the show as Liverpool recorded a highly impressive 5-2 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage last night.
The Reds were three up inside 15 minutes as two goals from Maxi and a howler from Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer which allowed a Dirk Kuyt shot to trickle past him left Kenny Dalglish’s men in cruise control. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that the Uruguayan hitman got himself on the scoresheet, but it was a goal he fully deserved.
The new Liverpool away shirt is released tomorrow ahead of what has now become a much anticipated 2011/12 campaign for the Reds, who have been revitalised since the return of club legend Dalglish.
It’s fair to say that a large percentage of the new kits sold will include Luis Suarez shirt printing, such is the impact the striker has made since joining from Ajax in the January transfer window. It would have been unthinkable just a few months ago for a Liverpool fan to believe that Fernando Torres would be a forgotten man but as the Spaniard struggles to make it into the Chelsea team, let alone justify his transfer fee, the Kop has a new favourite.
While the impact of Dalglish has undoubtedly breathed fresh life into an ailing Liverpool side, nobody epitomises the new found belief and spirit at the club than Suarez. Out of every forward in the Barclays Premier League, he must arguably be the most irritating to play against. Like a sugar-filled child at Disneyland, he simply does not give you peace for a second and buzzes about constantly, not giving his opponents time to think let alone catch breath.
Time after time, Suarez forced errors from the Fulham background and Brade Hageland can count himself lucky not to be sent off after losing out to the striker with the scores already 3-0.
With Andy Carroll to come properly into the team for the new season when he fully regains fitness, the 2011/12 campaign promises much for Liverpool supporters and with some fresh investment in the summer, the minimum the club can expect next year is to be once again competing for a Champions League spot.
Written by Eddie Smith, a sports blogger who writes about vintage football kits.

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Video Highlights: Fulham 2-5 Liverpool

Another Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick helped Liverpool climb back into a European spot with a 5-2 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

The Argentine bagged his second treble in two weeks after opening the scoring in the first minute, with Dirk Kuyt and the irrepressible Luis Suarez also getting in on the act during a superlative exhibition of football.

Mousa Dembele and Steve Sidwell snatched consolations in the second period to deny Jamie Carragher a clean sheet on a day when he climbed to outright second in the club's appearance table having worn Liverpool colours an incredible 666 times.

The result means he and his teammates are now two points clear of rivals-for-fifth Tottenham having played a game more. The sides meet at Anfield on Sunday.

With Andy Carroll not fit enough to participate, Kenny Dalglish opted to photocopy his teamsheet from the 3-0 victory over Newcastle.

And Fulham were to suffer a similar fate to the Magpies by conceding an early goal to Maxi- this time after just 32 seconds. It was Lucas who drove the ball through Fulham's rearguard for Suarez to run onto. His cross then ricocheted off Carlos Salcido before Maxi hammered into the net.

But we hadn't seen anything yet. On seven minutes it was 2-0 as another Lucas pass split the home defence. On this occasion Glen Johnson received possession before floating a cross to the back post where Maxi was waiting to execute a first-time volley into the bottom corner. [Read more…]

  

Sources: Video courtesy of FootyTube.com and match report from LiverpoolFC.tv

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Liverpool almost certain to land Newcastle full-back but also keeping tabs on Arsenal’s man

Liverpool's chances of signing Newcastle United full-back have been boosted after Alan Pardew made it known he would be interested in signing Paul Konchesky as a replacement.

Enrique is Liverpool's first choice to solve the club's problem left-back position in the summer and Newcastle's interest in Reds defender Konchesky raises the possibility of a player-plus-cash deal.

The two clubs are yet to open negotiations but Newcastle are privately resigned to losing the £8 million-rated man, who has just one year left on his contract and is also attracting interest from Arsenal and European giants AC Milan and Bayern Munich.

Reds manager Kenny Dalglish has also been keeping tabs on Arsenal full-back Gael Clichy, but Enrique has always been his top target following his consistent displays throughout this season. Meanwhile, Manchester City and Real Madrid are also interested in the Gunners full-back.

The two big spending clubs have placed Clichy on their list of summer targets but face strong competition from Liverpool, who have a long-standing interest in the Frenchman.

Negotiations stalled earlier in the year after Clichy's request for a hike on his £50,000-a-week wages was rebuffed by the club.

Manager Arsene Wenger fears the Gunners' longest-serving player will not extend his stay at Emirates Stadium and is becoming increasingly willing to listen to clubs who will match Arsenal's £5.5 million valuation rather than allow the France international to leave for free in a year's time.

Clichy, who turns 26 in July, is on the radar of a number of top clubs who are in the market for a proven performer at left-back.

However, director of football Damien Comolli was instrumental in bringing Clichy to London from Cannes in 2003 when he was working for Arsenal as their French scout.

City and Real are also in the market for a new left-back as they bid to beef up their squads in the summer.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Sources: LiverpoolFC.tv, Goal.com

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Liverpool ready to swoop for £15m Tottenham winger

Spurs could be willing to cash in on the England winger after a series of bust-ups with the boss, who feels the player is not improving and does not respond to orders.

Tottenham are willing to sell Aaron Lennon for £15 million this summer following a breakdown in his relationship with Harry Redknapp.

The Spurs manager is fed up with below-par performances from the England winger and is ready to listen to offers for him.

Lennon has scored just three goals in 42 matches this season and, although he has chipped in with eight assists in all competitions, only three of those have come in the Premier League.

His relationship with Redknapp has steadily deteriorated over the last two seasons following a string of disagreements, culminating in a barely concealed falling-out following Tottenham’s 4-0 Champions League defeat at Real Madrid last month.

The Spurs boss has become increasingly frustrated by what he believes is Lennon’s failure to respond to orders.

“Harry feels Lennon is not learning, not improving and not listening to instructions,” a Tottenham source told Goal.com. “He has been really disappointed by Lennon’s performances since the first half of last season and does not believe he is as willing to run at the full-back as he should be.”

Glaring holes first started to appear in Redknapp’s relationship with the 25-year-old in a 1-0 home defeat against Stoke City in October 2009.

The Spurs manager would not allow Lennon to come off when the player insisted he had an ankle problem but he ended up subbing himself with 10 minutes to go in any case even though Redknapp had already used all three substitutes. “Harry was furious and they had a massive row afterwards,” the source added.

The pair clashed again in the Christmas 2009 fixture against West Ham. Lennon was struggling with a groin injury but was made to play on until the 89th minute and ended up being out for four months and nearly missing the World Cup.

The latest flare-up came at the Bernabeu, where Lennon withdrew from the team five minutes before kick-off after failing to shake off an illness that the club later confirmed had been affecting him for more than two days before the game.

Redknapp denied being disappointed with Lennon but made some thinly veiled comments and the player used his Twitter account the following day to declare that he “will not be made a scapegoat saying they only knew just b4 KO”.

Lennon has clung on to his regular starting place but insiders insist that is due more to an absence of competition on the right flank.

“They have a really bad relationship and Harry wants to cash in,” said the source. “Spurs have not yet started touting him around but if they get a good offer, they will probably sell him.”

Liverpool director of football Damien Comolli is a big admirer of Lennon from their time together at Spurs and could be willing to test the water with an offer for the former Leeds man, who joined Spurs for £1m as an 18-year-old.

Among the replacements Spurs are lining up include Sevilla midfielder Diego Perotti, as revealed by Goal.com, and Brazilian Hulk, who has been in outstanding form for Porto this season.

Hulk, who is valued at £20-25m, plays on the right of Porto’s front three and has weighed in with 33 goals in 49 matches, including 22 in 25 in the league.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Source: Goal.com

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Liverpool plan €10m move for Barcelona winger

Sources state that Kenny Dalglish is keen on the Dutch international who has struggled to secure a spot in the Catalan club's starting eleven since his move to the Nou Camp in January.

25-year-old wide man Afellay arrived at the La Liga champions for a nominal fee as his PSV Eindhoven contract was due to expire at the end of the season and has made just four league starts and has subsequently been linked with a summer exit.

Kenny Dalglish and director of football Damien Comolli are drawing up a list of prospective targets as the club's owners prepare to fund significant moves in the transfer market. For some time now there has been talk of the need for more natural wide options as regular starters Maxi and Dirk Kuyt struggle to make a consistent impact.

Having signed Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll at the tail end of the last transfer window, Liverpool are now looking to bring in natural width to help provide ammunition for their strike force. Afellay has however impressed in recent cameo roles, most notably during the Champions League Semi-Final with Real Madrid.

Barcelona are however reportedly heavily in debt and they could opt to cash in on a player who cost them just €3m (£2.6m) and will listen to offers of €10m (£8.7m) for the talented winger who can also play as an attacking midfielder or in the hole behind the striker.

Dalglish is reportedly happy to meet any reasonable valuation in order to land Ibrahim Afellay who may be keen on the chance to move to the Premier League especially if such a move helps secure regular first team football.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Sources: LiverpoolFC.tv, CaughtOffside

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