Latest Sport News (19-02-08):

[<<ELVIS>>]

Carragher slams sorry Reds

Jamie Carragher admits Liverpool are simply 'not good enough'.

The Liverpool-born stopper was part of the Reds side that bowed out to Barnsley in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday in one of the biggest cup shocks in recent history.

Now with the club far from certain of a top-four finish in the Premier League, Tuesday's UEFA Champions League clash with Internazionale looks every increasingly crucial to their season.

But Carragher admits the club are not just hitting a blip in form, as they currently sit some 19 points off leaders Arsenal in the league.

"I wouldn't call this just a bad spell," Carragher said.

"It's been a lot longer than that. We realise we are not playing well enough. It's not a matter of putting your finger on one reason.

"It's simply because we have not been good enough. We've still got the Champions League to play for and we have to fight for that fourth place, so every league game is going to be important.

"We have to make sure we are in the Champions League next season."

Justified

Carragher admits any criticism that comes Liverpool's way is justified.

"At every club there are ups and downs, but we realise we are going to get a lot of criticism in the next few days and rightly so," added Carragher.

"We've got a massive game coming up against Inter, so we're going to have to get over this because the Champions League is massive for us now.

"It's the only thing we have left that we can win."

[<<ELVIS>>]

PL push ahead with 39th game talks

Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards has confirmed that the league is pressing ahead with its plans for the '39th game'.

The league confirmed earlier this month that they wanted to add an extra game to the top flight calendar in England. The plan would see all extra games (one each for every team) played abroad in various cities around the globe.

Reaction to the plans were mixed, but the likes of Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation were quick to denounce the scheme.

The Football Association have been lukewarm in their response, which has been unanimously backed by all 20 member clubs of the Premier League who have been enticed by the re****d £5million payment for the one game.

It was believed the plans would have to be shelved, but Richards insists that the Premier League are confident their scheme will get the backing of both the FA and Fifa once they have discussed their proposals in detail with them.

Talks

Richards revealed that talks would commence with both the FA and Fifa in the coming weeks.

"We are going to the FA board meeting on Thursday and will go to Fifa the week after next to explain why we are doing this," Richards told the Daily Express.

"I believe when they see for themselves what it is about, Fifa might just say they have jumped the gun a little bit. They might just listen to us more sympathetically."

Richards feels FA chief Lord Triesman and his Fifa counterpart Sepp Blatter - who has already vented his fury at the plans - will give them a 'fair hearing'.

"I am sure we will be given a fair hearing by the new FA chairman Lord Triesman and I am equally sure Sepp Blatter will have a vastly different view once he has heard from us personally," he said.

Richards admitted that the Premier League could re-work their plans if need be.

"If the 39th games are not acceptable we shall have to devise a formula that is," he said.

"We will not do anything to harm or injure the integrity of our own league."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Harry rejects James rumours

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has rubbished reports linking David James with a possible move to Tottenham.

Reports on Sunday suggested Tottenham were considering a summer swoop for James as they look to solve their goalkeeping problems.

It had been suggested James was out of contract of the summer, but Redknapp has laughed off the rumours saying James is under contract for a few more years yet.

Surprise
"I saw something about him going to Spurs in the summer, as he is out of contract," said Redknapp.

"I don't know where that one has come from. He only signed a new contract with us last year and he will be with us for a long time yet."

Redknapp also backed James to keep his England place for the 2010 World Cup feeling the former Liverpool and Aston Villa custodian can go on for a long while yet.

"There's no reason why he can't make the World Cup in 2010 because he will play on for a long time yet," added Redknapp.

"He's such a perfectionist and is a great trainer. He is absolutely dedicated and he is in such great condition.

[<<ELVIS>>]

Pompey snatch last-gasp win

Portsmouth are through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup courtesy of a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Preston at Deepdale.

The contest looked destined for a replay until Darren Carter inadvertently hooked the ball into his own net after The Lilywhites failed to deal with an inswinging corner.

The result was harsh on Preston who could, and should, have been ahead on the hour mark, but David James superbly denied Simon Whaley from the penalty spot.

The visitors had the better of the first half without really threatening while Preston's superb second-half showing meant the least they deserved was a replay.

However, it was not to be and Pompey remain on course for a rare FA Cup final appearance courtesy of Carter's own goal with the last kick of the game.

Preston's Paul McKenna set a captain's example in the fifth minute with a thunderous 25-yard shot which drew a fine block from Papa Bouba Diop.

Danger averted

The ball spun back towards Portsmouth's goal, however, and Sol Campbell needed to be alert to make a vital interception to avert the danger.

In the 13th minute Carter's inswinging corner was greeted by an uncharacteristically flimsy punch from James - and the Pompey backline were required to clear the loose ball.

Preston threatened again midway through the half when Whaley saw a shot blocked by Glen Johnson and then fired the rebound high and wide from 12 yards.

Pompey tested Andy Lonergan in the 37th minute when Muntari's curling free-kick from 25 yards drew a smart stop from the North End goalkeeper.

The Premier League side threatened briefly after the break when Johnson advanced forward at pace from right-back before cutting infield and hitting a fierce 20-yard shot straight at Lonergan.

Clumsy

Preston responded moments later, however, when Carter had a volley blocked by Diop.

Pompey came even closer shortly before the hour mark when Niko Kranjcar crossed from the left and Youl Mawene almost put the ball past his own goalkeeper before Lonergan got down low to prevent the ball crossing the line.

Preston's big chance came when Sylvain Distin clumsily felled Billy Jones as he sought to break clear after collecting Whaley's pass.

Whaley stepped up from 12 yards but James dived to his right and the visiting defence cleared the danger from the rebound.

James continued to excel - reacting superbly to get a hand to Chris Brown's long-range strike before doing likewise to repel a 20-yard piledriver from Neil Mellor.

The home side continued to pile on the pressure but Pompey stole victory when Kranjcar's late corner ended up in the net via the unfortunate Carter.

Preston North End Team Statistics Portsmouth
0 Goals 1
0 1st Half Goals 0
4 Shots on Target 5
8 Shots off Target 9
5 Blocked Shots 7
8 Corners 7
12 Fouls 12
0 Offsides 6
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
63.8 Passing Success 76.2
30 Tackles 32
46.7 Tackles Success 53.1
43.5 Possession 56.5
50.9 Territorial Advantage 49.1

[<<ELVIS>>]

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[<<ELVIS>>]

Torres: Don't blame rotation

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres does not believe manager Rafa Benitez's rotation policy is to blame for the club's indifferent season.

The Reds are currently fifth in the Premier League table and last weekend's FA Cup defeat to Barnsley has left the club with only the UEFA Champions League left to fight for.

With the likes of Torres and captain Steven Gerrard not starting against The Tykes, many have pointed the finger at Benitez's decision to chop and change his starting XI as the reason behind their inconsistency.

However, Torres says the squad are happy with Benitez's policy, especially as it has brought the club Champions League and FA Cup success in the past.

"When things don't go the way one wishes, people look for things to blame," Torres told The Times. "We have a manager with a philosophy that people knew before he came and one that has succeeded.

Not a problem

"It is very opportunistic to blame rotation for everything that goes wrong. It is not a problem for us. Liverpool have won a Champions League, FA Cup and so on with rotation.

"It is normal to rest. We players never want to, but if the manager says so, you have to. If everybody accepts that is the way forward, the atmosphere doesn't suffer."

The Reds made a blistering start to the season and Torres wants the team to recapture that form as he believes that is the real Liverpool and not the side who failed to win in the Premier League last month.

"The real Liverpool is the one that impressed earlier on," he said. "We have to keep that level for longer. Those who do that fight for the league title and the ones who can't have to fight for the knockout competitions.

"We are a very uncomfortable team to play against, but we have dropped too many points. We didn't win a league match in January. We could find a thousand excuses, but that would be an easy exercise. The players could have done it better.

Miracle

"There are matches where we had the impression that we have dropped points and others where we thought we had got something out of it by a pure miracle.

"We were lucky against Derby, but not so much against Wigan, for instance. Generally, we have dropped points where the top three haven't."

Liverpool tackle high-flying Internazionale in the Champions League on Tuesday and Torres knows that The Reds have a very difficult match in store.

However, the former Atletico Madrid ace does not believe anything will be settled at Anfield, as the return leg at Giuseppe Meazza will be the crucial meeting.

"Even in training, everybody seems very switched on," he concluded. "The Inter match is going to be very hard, but very watchable. I don't think there will be many goals and it will all be decided in the return leg.

"The key is how effective the strikers are. They used to say that Zlatan Ibrahimovic was not a regular goalscorer. This season, he is silencing his critics. He is one of the most in-form players in Europe."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Lyon star reveals Spanish aim

Manchester United target Karim Benzema has claimed he would rather play in Spain or Italy, than England.

Sir Alex Ferguson is a confirmed fan of Benzema and his Lyon team-mate Hatem Ben Arfa.

But the 20-year-old France international has told the Spanish press that his future lies in La Liga.

"I like the Spanish and Italian leagues," he told Don Balon.

"The Premier League does not hold too much attraction to me.

"Although they have great teams and I consider that I could play there, the style of game they play does not attract me.

"I love La Liga because they play beautiful football there.

Barca liking

"As far as football is concerned, Barca are the team I prefer today because they play it on touch," he said.

"I must admit I like Real Madrid as well, even if they are more focused on defending.

"Barca also give young players the chance to play alongside stars, which helps them improve a lot.

"In Italy football is stronger and more based on tactics and it's more difficult to impose yourself, but I consider it a very good league as well."

Ferguson keen

Speaking ahead of Lyon's clash with United, Red Devils chief Ferguson admitted that the French club could be very proud of their young striker whilst also admitting he wants another forward.

"It's an area we tried to strengthen last summer and I don't think that has left us," he told the Daily Star.

"We have big hopes for Danny Welbeck and we have Fraizer Campbell, who has done well at Hull, coming back.

"But both are very young. Ben Arfa and Benzema are 20. Benzema is a local boy, which I am sure gives Lyon pride."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Messi praises McGeady

Barcelona star Lionel Messi believes Celtic's Aiden McGeady will be the one to watch when the sides meet in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.

The Liga giants travel to Scotland in what should be a keenly-contested game at Celtic Park, which can be seen live on Sky One and Sky One HD.

Although Messi is one of the best players in the world, he believes Bhoys counterpart McGeady has the ability to become a success on the continent.

Such is McGeady's natural ability that playmaker Messi believes his Barca team-mates will need to give the winger special attention for the first leg in Scotland.

Skilful

"Aiden McGeady is a fast and skilful winger and someone I rate highly," he told the Record Sport.

"We will have to be careful with him because his movement can be special and he has a great ability to appear in goalscoring positions out of the blue.

"I really like the way he plays football. He is a natural talent, who can create a brilliant piece of play in the blink of an eye and I can assure you our defenders will be paying very close attention to him.

"He'd be successful anywhere in Europe, but I know he likes playing for Celtic, so I'm not sure he'd leave."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Mascherano ready for battle

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano is ready to die in order help his side to victory over Internazionale in the UEFA Champions League.

Inter travel to Liverpool on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash and the Serie A leaders arrive on Merseyside with their hosts in turmoil.

The mood at Anfield is bleak to say the least as Saturday's FA Cup upset at the hands of Barnsley epitomised a lacklustre season which has left the Reds only realistically chasing silverware in Europe.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez has come under intense pressure as the Reds' failures on the field have been combined with behind the scenes squabbles with the club's American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

Mascherano is expected to start in the heart of the Liverpool midfield against Inter, which is likely to see the Argentine pitted against compatriots Javier Zanetti, Esteban Cambiasso and Julio Cruz.

Playing mode

But Mascherano insists friendships will be put on hold as he attempts to earn Benitez a reprieve and hand the Reds a first-leg advantage ahead of a return trip to the Giuseppe Meazza.

"I would die to try to get my team a win in this game. They are my team-mates for my country but my job is to stop Inter Milan's players," Mascherano told the Daily Mirror.

"When I play for Liverpool, I don't have any friends in the opposing side.

"When I go out on to the pitch, when I get my mind into playing mode, I forget about everything except winning. I will die to try and get my team a win.

"If that means getting myself between the ball and people who are friends off the pitch, then that is just the way it is."

[<<ELVIS>>]

Fabregas reveals Eto'o wish

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas admits he would 'love' to have Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o on his team.

The Cameroon international has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Premier League after becoming one of football's most feared forwards.

Fabregas is a huge admirer of Eto'o and would relish the opportunity to play alongside the hit-man at Emirates Stadium.

"If I was asked which one player I would like to see at Arsenal, it would be Samuel Eto'o," Fabregas told CNN International's 'World Sport'.

Phenomenal

"Eto'o is a phenomenal striker, he's ambitious, he runs, he works for the team, he scores well and he's a real winner.

"I would love to have him on my team."

The Gunners return to UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday when holders Milan make the trip to London for the first leg of the last 16 encounter.

Though Milan have endured an indifferent season in Serie A, Fabregas has warned his team-mates not to underestimate the Italians' threat.

He added: "Everybody talks that they are not well in the league, but these teams they can kill you in one second.

"They have great players like Pirlo and Kaka."