The Udinese president has said that there has already been a 30-35 million euro bid for Alexis Sanchez but he canât name the club it came from. Reports are that it is Liverpool.
Any chance of signing a defensive midfielder I wonder?
More of a rules question than anything to do with Liverpool but Andy Carroll just used leaned on Skrtel to gain himself a bit of extra spring in the box (as if he needs it). The ref gave a free but may have thought he was leaning on a defender. Are you allowed to use a teammate to get extra height on a jump?
Was wondering the same. Iâd say itâs a free-kick as foul play is foul play regardless of who itâs committed against. Would be interesting to see whatâd happen if it was a defensive situation. Awful game.
I donât know the exact law but I think itâs a foul all right. Was reading online earlier in the week about a player who was sent off recently for violent conduct against a streaker.
Great article 
Liverpool revival under Kenny Dalglish puts the heat on Alex Ferguson
Anfield resurgence suggests Liverpool will be a major force next season and can threaten Unitedâs dominance
Paul Wilson
The Observer, Sunday 13 March 2011
Article history
This time 12 months ago the nation was wearily, queasily familiar with the exact nature of the personal relationships within the Chelsea dressing room, so presumably Fernando Torres knows what he is saying when he claims the camaraderie and professionalism of his new employers compares favourably with the âchaosâ he left behind at Liverpool.
Anfield fans would appreciate a period of silence from their former favourite now. Torres made his point eloquently enough when he indicated he wanted to leave, yet he continues to disparage his previous club in public as if seeking to reassure himself that he made the right decision. âThere are more personal relationships and jokes between the players at Chelsea than there were at Liverpool,â Torres has said. âEverything was much more serious there. Here you donât have to prove you are a professional; it is assumed.â
Torres has a talent for comedy if he can say this stuff with a straight face and not even mention the Chelsea dressing room being relaxed enough to permit the occasional air rifle, though his allegation that Liverpool have no sense of humour does not ring true. Scousers generally do and, while there may not be enough of them in the first team at the moment to play up to the regional stereotype, Liverpool always seem a happy squad to the journalists who work in the room next door and can hear the singing that accompanies a win.
Hurtful as his comments may be, at least Torres has a point of view and is not afraid to express it. In fact, he seems to be on a one-man crusade to promote plain speaking in football. âPeople arenât honest in the world of football,â he said. âYou canât say the truth or be clear with people. Itâs a business and nobody is anyoneâs friend.â
These top players do lead sheltered lives. Try to think of another type of business that works differently, or any other walk of life apart from football where a man of 26 can complain that nobody is his friend. That is what the world is like, Fernando, and most people are not paid ÂŁ170,000 a week to help them deal with it. Perhaps Torres is trying to assuage doubts about whether he joined the right team or when he may start scoring again, unless he simply watched Luis SuĂĄrez taking Manchester United to pieces last week and felt a pang at seeing himself so adequately replaced. âI knew I was an idol for the fans but it wasnât the same any more,â he said, as if trying to convince himself. âLiverpool needed time. I donât have that.â
Fair enough, though estimates of the amount of time Liverpool may need are falling with every performance under the only manager in the Premier League who looks happy in his work. The unmistakable Anfield resurgence has come too late to claim any of this seasonâs domestic prizes but with a couple more signings over the summer and a permanent deal for their new/old manager â why delay the inevitable? â Liverpool could clearly be back among the contenders next time round.
Coupled with Unitedâs recent stumbles to let Arsenal climb back into the title race and give even Chelsea hope that all may not be lost, that raises an interesting question. What happens if United do not win their 19th title this season? Sir Alex Ferguson is bound to retire or step aside at some point in the nearish future and for a long time it has been supposed that his final ambition is to complete his perch-clearing operation by taking his side past Liverpoolâs 18 titles, a monumental achievement considering the score was 16-7 to Merseyside when he arrived in Manchester.
For most of the season United have appeared on course, even if they were taking a somewhat pedestrian route to the most glittering prize of all, but should they fall away again this year, what certainty is there of a 19th title next season or the season after that? By that stage Ferguson will be into his seventies and Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes will not be far behind him.
Suppose Liverpool were to win the 19th title. The possibility may appear remote, given that Anfield has not seen a table-topping finish in over 20 years, yet if United and Chelsea are not what they were, you would have to give Liverpool a chance. Even now you would back Dalglishâs Liverpool against Manchester City.
Dalglish, of course, was the Liverpool manager when Ferguson came down from Aberdeen and, as his return has gone better than anyone could possibly have imagined, this already far-fetched story could still turn full circle. Put simply, if Fergie does not win the 19th title this year, he lets his oldest rival in with a chance of stealing his thunder. Just a chance, no more than that, but it is one more worry a 69-year-old does not need. Ferguson has even less time than Torres. He needs his players to put this season to bed
Fergie hits back ââKenny Dalglish looked to be lecturing me in the papers about the need to respect referees, perhaps forgetting that not so long ago his players were tweeting critically all over the place about Howard Webb.â
Is this how a seventy year old âhits backâ :lol:
Whereâs that player now Fergie?
Fergie would drink him under the table.
Lucas Leiva has made more tackles (125) than any other player in the Premier League this season.
Liverpool after Scot Dann in the summer apparently.
An Liverpudlian and a former season ticket holder.
The phrase âyour 2nd touch is a tackleâ comes to mind 
Lucas Leiva has signed a new long term deal at Liverpool. What a turnaround
Alberto Aquilani, remember him, says heâs open to a return to Liverpool as well. Iâd say for his own sake heâd be better off staying put if Juve are willing to sign or hope Roma come back for him.
Gerrard gone for the season now. Not that it matters hugely - nothing to play for. Too far behind Tottenham now to get 5th.
I wonder where Gerrard will play next season. After years of tinkering, his best position was found off Torres where the two could be scintilating at times. Torres is gone now and with the emphasis now seemingly on the Carroll Suarez partnership, Gerrard looks as if he could be asked to play deeper.
I remember the 1990s when Roy Evans decided to bring John Barnes back into a more deep lying midfield role from the wing. While Barnes had tremendous natural ability and dictated the play superbly, he hadnât great energy and wasnât a tackler. Gerrard does have energy and tackling ability but simply not enough discipline in the past to hold that role. However he has now turned 30 so maybe a new role could be found for him operating as the dicatator/enforcer in front of the back four. Itâs a position where Liverpool are lacking.
I accept than when played there before he showed that he couldnât play that role, but that was a young and hungry Gerrard. He is now one of the most senior players and is worth trying out there imo.
This is a masterclass from King Kenny Dalglishâs Liverpool.
Young Flanagan has lived up to all the hype here in the first half.
Some lovely football being played at times⌠Lets hope for another 3 or 4 this half.
Outstanding performance from Liverpool tonight. Kuyt and Suarez were outstanding with their workrate. Carroll played well, hopefully he can push on from tonight. I was nervous enough when I saw the back 4 initially but they were outstanding. Some excellent young players coming through and Flanagan is another example of that. Spearing played well again. Mancini was apologising to the city fans afterwards for making a balls of it. I dont think any team he could have put out there tonight would have beaten Liverpool in that form.
Best Iâve seen Liverpool play in a long, long time.
Meireles looks a completely different player since Dalglish took over.
Lucas has come on leaps and bounds, Carroll and Suarez seem to work well together.
The optimism for next season must be nearly at full tilt.