Houllier: We don't need Rivaldo Gerard Houllier today said that he is not interested in Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo as he is more than happy with his current squad. AC Milan have admitted Rivaldo will be leaving the club after Christmas amid reports of a move to the Premiership, with Liverpool supposedly one of a number of clubs interested in his services. But Houllier insists the player won't be swapping the San Siro for Anfield because he is more than happy with his squad as it stands. The Liverpool manager said: "First of all you need to need someone like Rivaldo and secondly you don't want to have any disruption in terms of salary in your dressing room. So I hope my first signings in January will be Jamie Carragher and Milan Baros and maybe Stephane Henchoz and Bruno Cheyrou too. I will stick with what I have unless an opportunity comes up - then we will snatch it. I have shown confidence in my players and given them my unconditional support and I'll continue to do that." source: liverpoolfc.tv/Koptalk/Walk On

Owen blow for Liverpool Liverpool have received an injury blow with the news that star striker Michael Owen will be out for three weeks. Owen has been ruled out for three weeks following a scan on the thigh muscle he injured in Liverpool's Uefa Cup win over Steaua Bucharest. The England striker has torn muscle fibres in his right leg, the latest injury blow to hit the 23-year-old in recent months. Owen damaged his shin during the 2-1 home defeat by Arsenal on 4 October and was ruled out for England's game in Turkey and the next two Liverpool matches. He returned against Leeds on 25 October but then was ruled out with an ankle problem. In all he has played only four of the last nine Liverpool matches and it may be Christmas before the striker is back in action. Gérard Houllier said of Owen's latest injury: "Michael has pulled a few fibres of the thigh muscle, he will be out for two to three weeks. It was not just a strain, the scan was the proof there was something wrong. It was purely accidental and came when he kicked the ball with the outside of his right foot. He felt something go and came off straight away. It is not a tear or a big pull, but what you do not want is him playing with an injury because it can become chronic. He will have rest for the first few days and then have intensive treatment. He will have to build things up, but this is nothing to do with the former problems he used to have." Houllier will turn to French teenager Florent Sinama-Pongolle to cover Owen's absence. The French U-21 striker made only his second start of the season against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday after his summer move from Le Havre, and will now probably partner Emile Heskey. Houllier added:"Lack of fortune for some means fortune for others. I would prefer to have Michael and Milan Baros available. But the fact that they are both injured means someone else can blossom. Pongolle is quick, he gives us something extra and has good touch. He turns quickly and that is why defenders are very wary of him. I like the way he has overcome the physical side of the English game." source: The Independent/Ananova/walkon

Match Report - Liverpool 1 Steaua Busharest 0 (Agg: 2-1) Liverpool go through to the third round of the UEFA Cup after seeing off Romanian side Steaua Busharest at Anfield tonight. Harry Kewell headed home the only goal of the match after 48 minutes to confirm the Reds' place in the next round. Liverpool went into the clash with a slender advantage and knowing a goalless draw on the night would have been enough on the away goals rule after Djimi Traore's strike secured a vital 1-1 draw in Romania three weeks ago. Gerard Houllier handed midfielder Dietmar Hamann his first start of the season, while youngster Florent Sinama-Pongolle earned a rare start alongside Michael Owen, with Danny Murphy and Emile Heskey relegated to the bench. Goalkeeper Chris Kirkland kept his place between the sticks after taking over from Jerzy Dudek for the goalless draw at Middlesborugh on Saturday. The game started off lively with Liverpool having the edge. Owen had a great chance to open the scoring after finding space and time 8 yards out after Gerrard curled a free-kick into the danger area. A little flick was all that was needed but the England striker got a little too much on it and saw the ball sail over the bar. Next headed chance fell too Steven Gerrard from a Kewell cross and whilst he got it on target it was straight at the keeper. But the visitors slowly started to claw their way back into the game and almost opened the scoring in the 15 minute, but Marian Aliuta's low shot across goal just missed Kirkland's right-hand post. After 36 minutes Steaua carved out another fine opening when Valeriu Rachita's angled ball from right to left dropped into the penalty area behind a sleeping Diao for Gabriel Bostina to send a looping header just wide. Igor Biscan was then lucky not to give away a penalty two minutes after the break. The defender tried to back heel the ball in his own box but missed and tripped Claudiu Raducanu in the process. Liverpool eventually broke the deadlock three minutes after the interval. Gerrard dropped his shoulder, sprinted to the byline before crossing deep for Kewell who rose well to head the ball down and into the net. Steaua went looking for the equaliser and when Radoi's 30-yard drive was blocked Claudiu Raducanu sliced the rebound wide from 10 yards. But Liverpool pushed for a second and on 71 minutes substitute Vladimir Smicer put Owen through with just the keeper to beat, but the unusually out of sorts England striker could only find the side netting. With 10 minutes left, Nana and Daniel Oprita were replaced by Adrian Pitu and Laurentiu Dinita, Steaua knowing that despite Liverpool having the better of the second half, one goal would see them right back in it.And it almost came on 87 minutes when the ball came in from the right and Dinita had time and space on the edge of the box to set himself for a shot but fired wide much to the relief of the home side, who held on for victory. source: shanklygates/ITV/Pink football/Ananova

found an interesting reply posted in the forum: THE REASONS PEOPLE ARE AGAINST MR. GERARD HOULLIER: 1. He has spend £135million on players, well over half of which was on players who are not in our first team. 2. He has failed to EVER mount a proper challenge on the premiership. 3. He has killed the pass and move tradition, installing his own custom brand of HOOFBALL. 4. He has sold off club legends and replaced them with sub-standard crap. 5. We are closer to the bottom three than the top 3 at this stage of the season 6. He constantly embarrasses the club with his non-sensical rambles. 7. He insists on taking credit for things that had nothing to do with him. 8. He makes comments which indicate that he believes he is more important to this club than the fans 9. He has treated club legends who made this great club like they are nothing, banning them from the ground, who does he think he is??? 10. When we are winning he announces that we are very close to Manure's level and winning the league, and then when we have a slump, he claims he never said anything of the sort, that we are still a year or two away from winning the league and that we are progressing. 11. He refers to the Charity Shield and the Super Cup as trophies. 12. He tells the fans that they are happy with what he does, HOW DOES HE KNOW?? HE'S NOT A FAN! 13. He said he'd build a team to win the league within 5 years, this is year number 5, we do not have a team to win the league. 14. I could go on and on and on and on for another hour, but that's enough for now. ------------------------------------ my reasons are just as simple... *becos he sold fowler *becos he is bringing us to nowhere *becos he is just not good enough source: KOPtalk

:: Liverpool step up search for new manager :: Liverpool will not make a decision on the future of manager Gerard Houllier until the end of the season. The Sunday Mirror says the Reds board have decided to act swiftly if the Merseyside giants fail to secure a place in the Champions League and will not hesitate to axe Houllier. Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry - Houllier's biggest ally at the club - believes the manager should be allowed to complete the season despite a serious drop in morale. It is a view shared by several key figures who believe they will be left with Red faces if a change is made now, plus proposed 2004 transfers could collapse. It's a difficult and frustrating predicament for the club's executives to deal with but I have every confidence that they will make the right decisions. Meanwhile, Liverpool have stepped up their search for a new manager and have reduced their shortlist from 7 potential candidates to 6. Sources close to O'Neill have informed agents said to be representing Liverpool that he is interested in the job but that he has concerns as to what role Gerard Houllier would play if he remains at the club. Sven-Goran Eriksson - who has been heavily linked with taking over at Chelsea in the summer - is another name 'rumoured' to be on the club's shortlist of managerial candidates. Chairman David Moores is said to favour a return to the old 'Bootroom' style of appointing a figure with strong links to the club. There is talk that Dalgish could return as manager supported by Ian Rush and John Aldridge. Whether or not anything like that will happen, we'll just have to wait and see. source: tribalfootball/KOPtalk

:: Finnan out for 4 weeks :: Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier today confirmed that Steve Finnan will be out for the next month due to a calf strain. The Republic of Ireland international full-back suffered a calf strain during the goalless draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday and will miss the forthcoming games Steaua, Birmingham, Bolton, Newcastle and Southampton. With Markus Babbel out on loan to Blackburn and Jamie Carragher also injured it leaves Houllier short of right sided defenders. Houllier says:"We won't have Steve for four weeks. We will look at a few options, but Salif will probably play against Bucharest. It is a blow." source: Sublime Football/liverpoolfc.tv/This is Anfield/YNWA

:: Match Report - Boro 0 Lfc 0 :: Nil in the net, not a single shot on target - nor anywhere near if the truth be told - but much endeavour to entertain. And, in the end, it boiled down to a tale of two tackles that saved goals that might have been penalties; one by Djimi Traoré that was as clean as a whistle and another by Franck Queudrue which was as murky as the water in the nearby River Tees. The Riverside crowd had to wait until the half-hour mark for the first meaningful goalmouth action when Juninho put through Gaizka Mendieta but before he could shoot at Chris Kirkland in goal, Djimi Traore put in a timely tackle. Owen, returning to the side after an ankle injury, had a half-chance on the stroke of half-time but his first touvh let him down. Owen then turned provider early in the second half when his pass found Harry Kewell who in turn found Emile Heskey but the England man's shot was kept out by Mark Schwarzer in goal. Senegal striker El Hadji Diouf then came close to breaking the deadlock when his header from a Kewell cross crashed off the crossbar before being denied later in the proceedings by a challenge from Colin Cooper. Owen, still short of match fitness, was replaced by exciting teenager Sinama-Pongolle whose first contribution was to fire over from close range. By now it was one-way traffic. Diouf fired over after a neat lay-off by Heskey and Kewell's 20-yard drive was blocked by Queudrue. Gerrard stormed through Boro's backline and released Sinama-Pongolle but running away from goal the French starlet's effort was tame and easily claimed by Schwarzer. In a rare foray to the Liverpool end Zenden stabbed wide when picked out by Mendieta, but if that constituted a let-off for the visitors, it was dwarfed by the one Boro enjoyed. As the clock ticked away, Gerrard poked a pass from the edge of the area to send Sinama-Pongolle careering in on goal. Backtracking, Queudrue flung a boot from behind, got nothing on the ball and flattened Sinama-Pongolle as he prepared to shoot, only for referee Dowd to ignore Liverpool's penalty appeals. Houllier believes it was a penalty and was disappointed not to be given the decision, in a similar incident to what occurred towards the end of the Manchester United defeat. "I think it was a cast iron penalty," said Houllier. "When you see the replay you see he hit the player's leg and didn't touch the ball at all. So we think it should have been a penalty."

source: The Independent/world soccer news/icTeesside

:: Transfer Gossip :: Liverpool have been approached by one of the big two in the Scottish Premier League with regards to the availability of one of Gerard Houllier's first team players. Newspaper speculation has suggested that Rangers are in the market for a midfielder while rivals Celtic are hoping to recruit a striker. From what the webmaster gathered in liverpoolfc.tv forum, the player Celtic wants is Emile Heskey. Martin O'Neil is an admirer of Heskey and is ready to swoop the striker once the transfer window opens. Liverpool should issue a reply over the weekend as they are also interested in bringing in John Hartson as a part exchange plus cash deal. Meanwhile, lfc is once again linked to Rivaldo. Rivaldo has admitted that liverpool had approached him and talks had began but liverpool had again 'rubbish' the claim. rivaldo may come on a free transfer but his wage demands might be too much for lfc to take it. fact or fiction? you decide. source: KOPtalk/liverpoolfc.tv/tribalfootball

:: Owen fitness boost for Reds, Baros back around Christmas :: Michael Owen is set to declare himself fit for Liverpool's trip to Middlesbrough after making a successful return to training. Owen was back in full training with the rest of the squad yesterday having undergone more treatment on the problem which has plagued him for the last month. Stephane Henchoz and Dietmar Hamann are back in contention for recalls, although Houllier looks likely to keep faith with Igor Biscan who is enjoying his longest run in the side. Another great news is Milan Baros has set his sights on returning to action for Liverpool next month. The Czech Republic striker broke his ankle in Liverpool's bad-tempered win at Blackburn and was initially expected to be sidelined until the new year. But the 22-year-old has made rapid progress and has started light running at the club's Melwood training ground. source: icLiverpool/ESPN Soccernet

:: Transfer News - Djurgarden delight at Sjolund switch :: Djurgardens IF have completed the permanent transfer of Finnish Under-21 international Daniel Sjolund from Liverpool FC. Sjolund spent the 2003 season on loan with the Swedish champions and impressed enough to earn a three-year deal. Djurgarden coach Zoran Lukic said: "Daniel is a quick player and with a bit more physical strength, he'll be a very valuable asset to the squad." source: uefa.com

:: Contract talks start for Owen ::

Michael Owen has hit back at last weeks reports that he could walk out Liverpool if they fail to qualify for next seasons Champions League competition. "After Steven Gerrard signed his new contract, it was inevitable all the attention would turn to me and my future. The stories which followed resulted from some comments which I gave to a magazine several months ago. Some of the words I never even said and the rest were taken completely out of context." "They have led to a lot of false claims that I will walk out on Liverpool if we don't get into the Champions League. It has all got completely out of hand." "I want every supporter to know that I am as committed to Liverpool as any player at the club. I have been the same ever since I first came to Anfield as an 11-year-old." "I believe my ambitions can be fulfilled at Liverpool. I find it a little insulting that, after 12 years' service, my loyalty is being questioned. I have signed five contracts with Liverpool and on each occasion they have been sorted out very quickly and satisfactorily." "I wouldn't normally comment on gossip and speculation but I felt I should put the record straight for all Liverpool fans." "My position is this: I have got 18 months left on my contract, and we have started negotiating. We have had one meeting, and talks will go on into the new year.''

source: YNWA/shanklygates/TEAMtalk

welcome to my lfc news website. i'll try to update major lfc news as frequently as possible. i'll also surf around for rumors and transfer gossips and post more reliable information over here.