Articles
Will he go or will he stay?
By Robbie Amins and Cloggs at talklfc
Preview by Robbie Amins:
Will he go or will he stay? All the pre-match hype have been about Michael Owen's future. It is widely reported that Spanish giants Real Madrid have made a cash plus player bid for England's number one striker. Fans are impatiently waiting for the starting line-up of the match tonight as it will go some way towards confirming what many are thinking. If Michael has decided to move to Spain or is still unsure about his future, Milan Baros and Djibril Cisse will surely start upfront for Liverpool at the Arnold Scwarzenegger Stadium.
Injured duo Djimi Traore and Vladimir Smicer have not travelled, nor has the suspended Igor Biscan or Danny Murphy, who is currently looking for options away from Anfield after being told he will only play a bit-part role in Benitez's plans. Promising young midfielder Darren Potter replaces Murphy in the travelling party.
The players realise the importance of this game and know that there is no room for error.
Defender Stephane Henchoz who is set to start alongside Sami Hyypia in the centre of defence said, 'This is a very important game for the club, the fans and the players. We want to be playing in the Champions League this season. Grazer AK are the champions and double winners so they must be a very good team. They are a bit unknown to us but we have had them watched and seen videos so we know they are a strong team, especially at home so we know we have to perform.'
Captain Steven Gerrard agreed with his colleague and reminded his men of Newcastle. Partizan Belgrade kicked out the Magpies out of the Champions League last season before they even stepped into it.
He said, 'What happened to Newcastle last season is a big lesson to learn for us. I am sure Newcastle went into their qualifying round games last summer expecting to come through it and maybe they underestimated the opposition.'
'I can assure you that won't happen to us. It is my job as captain of the team to make sure the boys go into it with the right attitude and mentality. I am certain we can come through this and reach the group stages, it is so important for the club. We have the ability in the squad to see us over this hurdle.'
But Liverpool's arrival in Austria has definitely been overshadowed by the 'Owen to Real' stories. With the Premiership season about to begin in less than a week, Owen's decision will make or break Liverpool's season. If he does leave, the club's coffers will be boosted for Rafa Benitez to further strengthen the positions that the Reds are weak in. There's no doubt that the team lacks an established natural right winger. Shaun Wright-Phillips will be the player to solve that problem position for the Reds according to the media.
Indeed, the next few days will be very interesting.
Liverpool (probable): Dudek; Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise; Finnan, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell; Cisse, Baros.
------------------------------
Match report by Cloggs
Liverpool took a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League last night by beating Austrian champions Graz AK 2-0 in their own Arnold Schwarzenegger stadium.
The Austrians could have done with the Terminator's help last night as they were bossed around for the full 90 minutes by a Liverpool team that seemed dead set to shrug the mantle of negativity it had been wearing for the last five years.
Manager Rafael Benitez left Michael Owen on the bench for the entire match further fueling speculation of an imminent transfer to Spain.
The new look Liverpool side started with new boy Josemi at right back and Steve Finnan ahead of him in right midfield. The last two weeks there was a lot of speculation of who would be the answer to the gap in midfield and Finnan was last night's answer. However, it also became painfully obvious that it was by no means a permanent answer.
Benitez was very lively on the sidelines shouting instructions at his charges as they pushed up the pitch to put the choke hold on their opponent. On 23 minutes Liverpool went one up when captain Steven Gerrard hammered a pin perfect cross by Harry Kewell in to the top corner.
Four minutes later it could have been two. Steve Finnan's ball put Baros into a dangerous position on the right, he spun away from his marker and drilled a low ball to the far post where Cissé was fractionally late arriving. Dietmar Hamann twice, Baros and Cissé could have added further goals before the break.
Liverpool thought they had scored a second goal when Gerrard unleashed a fierce volley from outside the box. But the French referee Alain Sars penalised Cissé in the build-up as he tried a bicycle kick that missed ball and man.
On 80 minutes Liverpool still got their right deserts though when Steven Gerrard unleashed striker Djibril Cisse who cut inside and pushed the ball out to Kewell. The Ozzie winger once again set up Gerrard on the right who still had enough energy, after running almost the full length of the pitch, to drill a low shot in the bottom corner.
The match saw competitive debuts for Steve Warnock and Darren Potter once again indicating that this manager has an entirely different view to using homegrown players than the last one.
Preview by Robbie Amins:
Will he go or will he stay? All the pre-match hype have been about Michael Owen's future. It is widely reported that Spanish giants Real Madrid have made a cash plus player bid for England's number one striker. Fans are impatiently waiting for the starting line-up of the match tonight as it will go some way towards confirming what many are thinking. If Michael has decided to move to Spain or is still unsure about his future, Milan Baros and Djibril Cisse will surely start upfront for Liverpool at the Arnold Scwarzenegger Stadium.
Injured duo Djimi Traore and Vladimir Smicer have not travelled, nor has the suspended Igor Biscan or Danny Murphy, who is currently looking for options away from Anfield after being told he will only play a bit-part role in Benitez's plans. Promising young midfielder Darren Potter replaces Murphy in the travelling party.
The players realise the importance of this game and know that there is no room for error.
Defender Stephane Henchoz who is set to start alongside Sami Hyypia in the centre of defence said, 'This is a very important game for the club, the fans and the players. We want to be playing in the Champions League this season. Grazer AK are the champions and double winners so they must be a very good team. They are a bit unknown to us but we have had them watched and seen videos so we know they are a strong team, especially at home so we know we have to perform.'
Captain Steven Gerrard agreed with his colleague and reminded his men of Newcastle. Partizan Belgrade kicked out the Magpies out of the Champions League last season before they even stepped into it.
He said, 'What happened to Newcastle last season is a big lesson to learn for us. I am sure Newcastle went into their qualifying round games last summer expecting to come through it and maybe they underestimated the opposition.'
'I can assure you that won't happen to us. It is my job as captain of the team to make sure the boys go into it with the right attitude and mentality. I am certain we can come through this and reach the group stages, it is so important for the club. We have the ability in the squad to see us over this hurdle.'
But Liverpool's arrival in Austria has definitely been overshadowed by the 'Owen to Real' stories. With the Premiership season about to begin in less than a week, Owen's decision will make or break Liverpool's season. If he does leave, the club's coffers will be boosted for Rafa Benitez to further strengthen the positions that the Reds are weak in. There's no doubt that the team lacks an established natural right winger. Shaun Wright-Phillips will be the player to solve that problem position for the Reds according to the media.
Indeed, the next few days will be very interesting.
Liverpool (probable): Dudek; Carragher, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise; Finnan, Gerrard, Hamann, Kewell; Cisse, Baros.
------------------------------
Match report by Cloggs
Liverpool took a big step towards qualifying for the Champions League last night by beating Austrian champions Graz AK 2-0 in their own Arnold Schwarzenegger stadium.
The Austrians could have done with the Terminator's help last night as they were bossed around for the full 90 minutes by a Liverpool team that seemed dead set to shrug the mantle of negativity it had been wearing for the last five years.
Manager Rafael Benitez left Michael Owen on the bench for the entire match further fueling speculation of an imminent transfer to Spain.
The new look Liverpool side started with new boy Josemi at right back and Steve Finnan ahead of him in right midfield. The last two weeks there was a lot of speculation of who would be the answer to the gap in midfield and Finnan was last night's answer. However, it also became painfully obvious that it was by no means a permanent answer.
Benitez was very lively on the sidelines shouting instructions at his charges as they pushed up the pitch to put the choke hold on their opponent. On 23 minutes Liverpool went one up when captain Steven Gerrard hammered a pin perfect cross by Harry Kewell in to the top corner.
Four minutes later it could have been two. Steve Finnan's ball put Baros into a dangerous position on the right, he spun away from his marker and drilled a low ball to the far post where Cissé was fractionally late arriving. Dietmar Hamann twice, Baros and Cissé could have added further goals before the break.
Liverpool thought they had scored a second goal when Gerrard unleashed a fierce volley from outside the box. But the French referee Alain Sars penalised Cissé in the build-up as he tried a bicycle kick that missed ball and man.
On 80 minutes Liverpool still got their right deserts though when Steven Gerrard unleashed striker Djibril Cisse who cut inside and pushed the ball out to Kewell. The Ozzie winger once again set up Gerrard on the right who still had enough energy, after running almost the full length of the pitch, to drill a low shot in the bottom corner.
The match saw competitive debuts for Steve Warnock and Darren Potter once again indicating that this manager has an entirely different view to using homegrown players than the last one.
