Liverpool Target Hamburg Hotshot

Liverpool are ready to make a move for Hamburg hotshot Eljero Elia as they bid to turn their season around.

Elia, 23, is regarded as one of the best forwards in the Bundesliga and has been attracting interest from a number of top clubs across Europe.

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is keen to strengthen his squad in January and knows he needs more firepower following their shock home defeat against Wolves.

Elia has a proven track record for Hamburg and has also broken into the Holland side.

Reports in Holland state that Liverpool's director of football strategy Damien Comolli has already made contact with Hamburg and is hoping to negotiate a deal next month.

The deal could hinge on Ryan Babel being sold in the January transfer window as Elia would be a natural replacement for his compatriot.

YNWA

Liverpool Seal French Winger

Liverpool have all but concluded the signing of Rennes midfielder Sylvain Marveaux, with the player a guest in the directors' box for Wednesdays 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Frenchman is capable of playing both on the left wing and at full back, but generally turns out in the former position, from where he scored ten goals in Ligue 1 last season.

Liverpool have longed for an outlet on the left hand side of their midfield for a very long time, and Marveaux's pace and ball control will be valuable assets for the Reds.

With his contract with Rennes ending in summer 2011, Liverpool have secured his signature for just £1.5m, but cannot expect immediate results.

Marveaux is currently out of action with a groin complaint that has troubled him intermittently recently, and Roy Hodgson will hope Liverpool's revamped medical team can manage it effectively.

Although it doesn't look like he will be a superstar, certainly when bought for £1.5m, it is the first of what we all hope will be a successful January transfer window.

YNWA

Cole & Gerrard Fitness Latest

Roy Hodgson is sweating on the fitness of Joe Cole after he aggravated an ankle injury in training this week - while the manager also has concerns about Steven Gerrard.

Cole is touch and go for our New Year's Day encounter with Bolton at Anfield, though Gerrard is likely to be involved despite being 'extremely tired' after playing 90 minutes on his return from injury against Wolves on Wednesday.

The skipper had not featured since mid-November due to a hamstring injury sustained on international duty.

Hodgson told his pre-match press conference: "There were no direct injuries after the game. Steven was extremely tired after playing his first game in a long period of time. It will be interesting to see tomorrow how the recovery has gone for certain players.

"Joe Cole aggravated his ankle in training yesterday. He had a bad ankle injury a couple of weeks ago which cleared up but he aggravated it. I'll have to wait for news on him as well.

"Hopefully it won't be sufficiently bad to keep him out of the game but it is a repetition of the injury which kept him out for 10 days or so."

YNWA

Empire Of Anfield Store Opened

We are delighted to announce we have opened the Empire Of Anfield Store, selling EVERYTHING to do with Liverpoool FC, kits, general and night time clothing, DVDs, books, games, jewellery, watches, and anything else you can think of, making your life that little bit more LFC.

We use Amazon's secure pay system to pay safely and easily, and we've made sure we're selling as many products for Liverpool FC and Adidas as possibly, meaning your money literally goes to the football club!

The store can be found here: http://empireofanfield.blogspot.com/p/store.html

Enjoy!

YNWA

Liverpool Make Ashley Young Top Target For January

Liverpool have made Ashley Young their top target for the January transfer window and are confident they can land the Aston Villa winger.

The Reds face stern competition from Manchester United and Tottenham for the England international, who will cost around £14 million as his contract at Villa Park runs out in 18 months' time.

Manager Roy Hodgson has been driving the interest from Anfield as he looks to add British talent to the squad but Damien Comolli, the club's director of football strategy, also supports the move for a player who will add much-needed pace to the side.

Liverpool are ready to meet Young's wage demands of £75,000-a-week - or £3.9m a year - and will make an official approach to Villa when the transfer window opens. Insiders at Anfield claim the club are confident the former Watford man is keen on a move and they believe Villa may feel compelled to sell because of his contract situation.

Young, 25, currently earns £65,000-a-week but has refused to sign a new deal at the Midlands club and there have been suggestions that he would be prepared to run down his contract and leave for nothing in the summer of 2012.

Gerard Houllier, the Aston Villa manager, insists it would take "crazy money" for the Premier League strugglers to sell their prize asset - but owner Randy Lerner may feel differently as Young's value plummets as he runs down his contract.

Liverpool will press ahead with plans to sign Young despite being on the verge of signing Rennes winger Sylvain Marveaux, who was in the directors box for the 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Wednesday night.

Poll: Should Roy Hodgson Be Sacked?

Roy's Post Match Interview

Liverpool vs Wolves Match Highlights

Not an awful lot to watch, but enjoy.

YNWA

Negative Liverpool Lost 1-0 At Home To Wolves

In what can only be describes as an effortless Liverpool performance from about 7 players, some very rare booes rang around Anfield when the full time whistle signaled Liverpool's 1-0 loss at home to Wolves.

There was not much to talk about all game, with the biggest (and only) chance coming to Raul Meireles who poked a difficult chance towards goal only to see it saved by the goalkeeper.

On 56 minutes Liverpool's fate was sealed when Stephen Ward scored for Wolves after some confusion and bad defending from Liverpool let Ebanks-Blake play him though with ease.

On the whole a big day at the office and the pressure continues to mount on Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson.

Match Highlights, Roy's Reaction, an interesting Poll, and some interesting transfer news coming up...

YNWA

Liverpool vs Wolves Lineup

The lineup for tonights game has been announced and is as follows

Reina

Konchesky, Skrtel, Kyriakos, Johnson

Meireles, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt

Ngog, Torres

We are showing the match here: http://www.facebookfootballleague.co.uk/watch.html

YNWA

Liverpool Firm Favourites Ahead Of Tonights Clash

Today Liverpool look to face off against Wolves at Anfield in the Barclays Premier League, kick off 8pm GMT.

If we win it will take our unbeaten run at home to an impressive total of 8 games, and the bookies predict we will do just so. 

William Hill are offering the following odds:

Liverpool: 1.30 or 3/10
Draw: 5.00 or 4/1
Blackpool: 11.00 or 10/1

Click here for a free £25 bet on the match!

We will be showing the match live for you free of charge also!

Click here to watch the match!

We will release the lineup when it becomes available.

YNWA

Roy Explains Transfer Targets

Roy Hodgson today revealed how Liverpool will target only two kinds of signings in January - young gems and players who can make a 'big difference' to the current team.

Hodgson also spoke about how the club is not looking to move on any personnel in the forthcoming transfer window.

And he urged supporters not to get carried away with the blitz of speculation which fills newspapers at this time of year.

"We have a lot of ideas," the boss told Liverpoolfc.tv: "We're not looking to move anybody out and it would be nice if we could improve our squad with one or two players.

"As I've said to the supporters many times, it's important that we don't just get bodies and numbers. We need people who are going to be very good for the long-term future of the club, or players who are definitely going to make a big difference to us in terms of what we're going to do in the beginning of 2011.

"I'm anxious that we spend our money wisely and that we keep the squad manageable. I don't want to go back to a situation where we have an awful lot of players but many of them are training in a reserve group at Kirkby because they're not first-team material.

"We want first-team material, they cost money and they are not always available in January. I can assure the supporters that never a day goes by without me and Damien Comolli having lengthy discussions about it. But we'll have to wait and see what transpires."

If Liverpool are to sign any players over the coming weeks, Hodgson thinks it may well be later in the window.

He explained: "I would suggest things will probably happen later in January because that is normally the case.

"A lot depends on the situation of other top clubs here and abroad, on their need to sell. Sometimes it's easier in the summer because clubs think they can then use the money wisely to build their team - they can sell one star player and buy three or four new players. This is less likely in January.

"January is the window for agents and journalists. Every day my son scours the newspapers and tells me we're linked with this player and that player, and a lot of them I can quite honestly say have never been mentioned in any discussions. And yet still in newspapers we're going to sign them.

"My message to the fans is to be very sceptical about all the things you read."

Follow us all through January for all the latest transfer news!

YNWA

Liverpool Target £34,000,000 Striker

Liverpool are trying to put a deal together to sign Edin Dzeko, the Wolfsburg striker, but fear they will not be able to match Manchester City's spending power.

The Bosnia striker, 24, has a €40million (£34 million) release clause in his contract, which expires in 2013, and Wolfsburg hope that City's interest will help them receive a figure as close to that as possible.

Wolfsburg had hoped to keep Dzeko until the summer but after a poor start to the season under Steve McClaren - they are 13th in the Bundesliga and out of the cup - they are prepared to let their star player go. Wolfsburg, who won the title in 2009 with Dzeko as top scorer, are open to Liverpool's suggestion of taking players in part-exchange, with Ryan Babel and Daniel Agger the German club's preferred options.

City have confirmed they have been in dialogue with Wolfsburg and it is understood they wanted to put Emmanuel Adebayor into a deal in part-exchange. Adebayor, however, does not want to move to the Bundesliga.

A deal for Dezko would be the biggest of what is set up to be a frenetic transfer window. It opens on Jan 1 and one senior club executive said, "I have never seen anything like it at this time of year. There are agents aggressively pushing players and sometimes several different agents all working for the same player."

With some agencies understood to be in financial difficulty, and several clubs, especially on the continent, needing to sell to stave off financial pressure, there is value in a market which has previously proved a poor time to spend.

YNWA

Blackpool vs Liverpool Game Called Off

Our Boxing Day game against Blackpool has been called off due to a frozen pitch.

The pitch inspection was moved up from 12 Noon to 10 AM following freezing temperature in Blackpool over night.

This latest postponement sure adds pressure to our very busy schedule, the game now has been rescheduled for Wednesday 12th January at 8PM. We now have seven games scheduled in January, six of them being EPL ones while the other is our FA cup tie against Manchester United.

Our next game is now on Wednesday as we host Wolves at Anfield.

YNWA

Roy's Christmas Message

The following is a statement released by Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson to all the Liverpool fans around the world for Christmas Day.

On behalf of the players and staff of Liverpool Football Club I'd like to wish all of our fans - wherever you are in the world - a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2011.

With another year about to end it's an opportune time to thank you all for your support in 2010.

While our league form has been inconsistent, I've been delighted with our progress in the Europa League as we qualified for the knockout stage as group winners. We are still in a transitional period and looking to build the club back up again. There are still lots of games to go and lots of opportunities for us to pick up the points we need to achieve the position we desire in the Barclays Premier League.

Your support throughout the season, at Anfield and away from home, has been nothing short of tremendous and hopefully we can repay your backing as we continue to work to create a squad which will bring success to the club.

It just remains for me to once again wish you all a very Merry Christmas, all good wishes for the new year and here's hoping for maximum points over the festive period.

Best wishes,

Roy Hodgson

YNWA

Blackpool vs Liverpool Pitch Condition Latest

Blackpool's Barclays Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday, December 26 will be subject to a 12 noon pitch inspection on the day of the fixture.

Ground staff at Bloomfield Road have been working throughout the night and will continue to work round the clock to try and ensure that the game takes place.

While it has been well documented that the club does not have undersoil heating, several industrial hot air blowers have been sourced along with additional frost protection covers.

The timing of the pitch inspection has been made in consultation with the Barclays Premier League, match referee Mike Oliver and officials from Liverpool FC.

Club officials remain in regular contact with all parties and will continue to monitor the weather forecasts up to the scheduled kick off.

Liverpool are firm favourites for the clash, with William Hill offering odds on Liverpool to win at 3/4. Click here for a free bet on the game.

All the best to everyone and have a very Merry Christmas! YNWA

New Fulham Date Announced

Liverpool have announced that their Barclays Premier League clash at home to Fulham has been rearranged for Wednesday, January 26, 2011. Kick off 8pm GMT.

The ticket office will be making an announcement regarding selling arrangements for the new date in due course.

The match will no longer be transmitted live by ESPN.

The Reds had been scheduled to face the Cottagers on Saturday, December 18, 2010 but saw the game postponed due to adverse weather conditions.

YNWA

Video: Inspirational Story - Sick Liverpool Fan Gets The Christmas Of His Dreams

Young Red Rhys who is sick with a rare skin condition gets a Christmas wish of a lifetime when he is taken to Anfield and then to Melwood where he gets to meet Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Jamie Carragher & Joe Cole.

This is a truly inspiring story and really shows what the words You'll Never Walk Alone truly mean.

Merry Christmas Rhys, YNWA

Roy Hodgson Interview

Roy Hodgson took a small break from his preparations to chat to radio journalists ahead of the Boxing Day encounter with Blackpool. Here’s what he had to say!

On the merits of festive football...
I've been brought up with it, so I can't help but be a fan of it in some ways. It's part of a football tradition but I think the sport has changed so much in terms of commercial value, that the days when teams needed a Boxing Day fixture to fill their stadium and get a big crowd in are gone. People come to Liverpool in droves to watch matches that aren't too significant. Look at the Liverpool v Utrecht game the other week, 40,000 people turned up for a game where it didn't matter what the score was, so I don't think the festive fixtures are needed in that respect anymore.

On the idea of a winter break...
I am a fan of the idea because I think people need a break from the intensity of English football. It's difficult to say when that break could be though. You can have good weather in January and bad in February, so it's not east to predict in terms of the affect it will have on pitches. Having said that, pitches are so good nowadays that you don't have that many matches called off. For me, the beauty of the winter break is that you have a nice flow to your season. You have a shorter pre-season and then when players are beginning to get a bit tired, you get a month to free your head. That month may only be a few weeks away from football, with the other weeks spent in preparation for the return to action. I think that can only be of benefit for the players and for the quality of football. I don't think the fans would lose out either. It means the games they would have been watching in unpleasant conditions in January would take place in May or the early part of June. I don't really understand the opposition to the winter break. I'm only repeating something I've been saying for many years because of course, I come from a background in European football where winter breaks are a necessity.

On the 2-1 defeat against Blackpool back in October...
It was a low point. We were expected to waltz all over this newcomer, but not only did we not do it, we ended up losing the game after a very good performance from them. I don't know if that was a watershed as far as we are concerned but I do think that over the course of time we have improved. I don't think it will be as easy for Blackpool as it was in that game when we gave them a two goal head start and found it very tough to pull it back.

On the 'revenge' factor...
I can understand you using the word revenge because having lost at home we would like to make certain that they suffer a similar home defeat and we get our share of the points. If we draw or lose they will have taken more points from us than we have taken from them and that won't please us. But I won't talk about revenge really. I talk about what we need to do to win the game and that word doesn't come into my vocabulary.

On the attacking mentality of newly promoted sides...
I'm not certain teams in the past haven't done that too. I seem to remember Hull doing a similar thing a few years ago when they were right near the top of the table after beating Arsenal, Tottenham and all sorts of other teams away from home. All teams that come up from the Championship now are ready for the challenge. We talk all the time about the league getting tighter in terms of unpredictability. There's no longer a certainty over who the top four will be or who the obvious relegation candidates are going to be. I think that can only be a good thing in general.

On hitting the back of the net...
I don't think we've been very lucky in front of goal. I don't think our goal return is a fair reflection of what we have created in terms of opportunities. I'm not talking about shots at goal. That is often a weak statistic because an effort the goalkeeper could throw his hat on is regarded as a shot at goal while a ball that whizzes across the six yard line that the centre forward misses by a whisker isn't counted. So, I'm very sceptical about shots at goal. I think we've had our chances and created danger, but I don't think we have converted enough. It's something we are working on. We do have goalscorers in the team and we have one of Europe's best in Fernando Torres. He doesn't need reminding if he misses a goal chance because I bet you he could recall every one he has missed in the past four months - they stay with people. The important thing is that players keep getting in the right positions and if we get Fernando into positions where he can score goals, he will score goals

On whether the length of time since the Newcastle defeat could have an adverse affect on team morale..
Not really. I think you dwell for a day or two and then put it behind you. If you had players who dwelt for weeks on end about good or bad results then you would find it very difficult to complete the type of season we have to cope with, playing between 55 and 60 matches. We have to be prepared to deal with the fact that every now and then we will play a game where we are dissatisfied and have to put that into context with the matches when we are playing well.

I watched the Newcastle game again to try and make certain that my initial feelings after the game are backed up by the video evidence from the match.  There's no doubt that defeats affect you longer than victories, but I'm very conscious of the need to make sure you don't get to euphoric after victories. What we need to ensure is that the training sessions are of the same quality and focus regardless of the result we have just had.

On ways to improve Liverpool's away record..
We have a very analytical and organised group of people here at this club. We go as far as to even look at our travel preparations, the type of hotels we are staying in etc. We analyse all of those things and the players will have analysed their own performances. It's not an exact science. People can go out onto a football pitch with the right mental attitude, ready to go and then play badly.

On the return of Steven Gerrard and the prospect of breaking up the Lucas Leiva-Raul Meireles midfield partnership..
It won't be a headache to put Steven back in but it will require me to make a decision. We've got many more players fit now which is fantastic because going into this stage of the season with just two injured players is an incredible tribute to the work our sports science people, the physios and the doctors have done.

YNWA

Lucas Relishing Brazil Honour

Lucas Leiva believes he can handle the pressure that goes with wearing one of the most coveted shirts in Brazil.



The Reds midfielder has worn the No.5 under new coach Mano Menezes, following in the illustrious footsteps of the likes of Dunga and Gilberto Silva.

He admits it is a huge honour to be entrusted with the responsibility and hopes he can live up to the expectation.

"It is a really important shirt," said Lucas.

"In Brazil, they think everything starts with this player. The No 5 is expected to make the game. It is one of the most important positions."

With the 2014 World Cup set to take place in Brazil, the Liverpool man could well emerge as a key player for the hosts.

Lucas acknowledges there will be an additional pressure that comes with being the home country but hopes they can go one better than the last time his nation hosted football's biggest tournament.

"We have to win it," added Lucas. "There is no option. It will be 12 years since we won it, and it is in Brazil. Everyone still remembers what happened in 1950 against Uruguay, and the final will be at Maracana again.

"There is a lot of pressure. People are thinking only about winning. It is a big responsibility for me."

Well done Lucas! YNWA

Rafa Still Loved On Merseyside

This fantastic photo shows a gate somewhere in Merseyside full of banners, some showing love for Rafa while others urging the Liverpool owners to bring him back.

No matter what your take on the whole thing is, the man is a legend, never has there been such coverage for a former manager of a Premier League club. Realistically however I can’t see Rafa returning to Liverpool, however the sure romance of the whole things stirs up imagination and great memories of that one night in Istanbul.

Incredibly, an online Poll done last night shows that over 65% of Liverpool fans want Rafa back. There is really no in between when it comes to Rafa, many love him with a passion while some hate him with a passion.

 

Whether he returns or not Rafa will always be in our hearts and thanked for all the work he done bringing back a glimpse of the glory days to Liverpool FC!

YNWA

Video: Hodgson Talks About Rafa, The Winter Break, & Blackpool

Gerrard & Agger Set To Return

Roy Hodgson has confirmed Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger are fit to face Blackpool on Boxing Day.

Gerrard has been sidelined in recent weeks by a hamstring injury sustained on international duty with England last month, while a calf problem has kept Agger out of action since September 25.

However, the pair are set to return to action for the trip to Bloomfield Road.

Hodgson told his pre-match press conference: "Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger are fit.

"It's a big boost going into five games in 15 days, which is a season-changing period for every club in the Premier League.

"Steven would have been fit to have played against Fulham as well, so it doesn't hurt to give him an extra week so he can get some more training in.

"But what he needs now is to play matches and unfortunately the chance to play a match was missed because of our game against Fulham falling victim to the weather."

Jay Spearing and Jamie Carragher are Liverpool's only absentees for the Blackpool clash.

Hodgson added: "There are only two players unavailable to me. Jay Spearing, who suffered a break in a bone above his ankle, is still out for another month I think."

"Jamie Carragher is, if we are to believe the doctors, still nine weeks away from coming back. But knowing Jamie, it would not surprise me if it was a lot less than nine weeks!"