Match Report: Tottenham 2 Liverpool 1 Tottenham maintained their winning start in 2004 with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Liverpool at White Hart Lane. Spurs were without top scorer Freddie Kanoute, who had left for African Cup of Nations duty, but Robbie Keane and Helder Postiga netted for a valuable three points. The Reds started the brighter and Michael Owen fired just wide of Kasey Keller's upright after a flick-on from Emile Heskey. The home side hit back straight away, with Helder Postiga's 20-yard drive bringing the best out of Liverpool keeper Paul Jones. The game was flowing from side to side and Igor Biscan was next to test out the Spurs defence, with his header from Harry Kewell's corner deflecting off a defender and into the grateful arms of Keller. However, the Croatian defender turned villain two minutes later when he brought down Robbie Keane in the box, leaving referee Uriah Rennie with no option but to point to the spot. The Irishman dusted himself off to slot home the penalty for his third goal in as many games. Liverpool hit back with a succession of corners, but were unable to make any inroads as Spurs took the one-goal lead into the break. The visitors continued the pressure at the start of the second half, but instead it was the Tottenham fans celebrating the next goal, with Postiga netting his first league goal for the club. Biscan was again to blame, with the Portuguese ace losing his marker to slot home substitute Johnnie Jackson's pinpoint pass. Liverpool again fought back and after shooting way over from a freekick, Harry Kewell made amends when he halved the deficit in style. The Australian winger picked up the ball just inside the opposition half and turned two defenders before beating Keller at his near post in the 75th minute. The game was turning scrappy, but Spurs almost secured the points with five minutes to go. Bobby Zamora fought well for the ball on the edge of Liverpool's area, but neither Simon Davies nor Keane could get onto the end of his cross. The Reds felt they should have had a penalty of their own with a minute to go after Gary Docherty handled from Owen's flick, but this time Rennie was unmoved. source: ITV football

HESKEY IN SNUB TO BORO EMILE HESKEY has told Liverpool he does not want to leave Anfield and move to Middlesbrough. Boro boss Steve McClaren is keen on bringing the England striker to the Riverside Stadium during the transfer window and has made an initial inquiry with the Merseysiders. Liverpool would be willing to sell Heskey - despite his recent upturn in form - for £5million with French striker Djibril Cisse due to join the Reds from Auxerre in the summer. But Heskey - who has scored 56 goals in 207 appearances for the Reds since his £11m move from Leicester - is not keen on a transfer to Teesside and he would prefer to stay at the club he supported as a boy. He has 18 months to run on his current deal and he wants to prove to manager Gerard Houllier that he is worth a new contract. AC Milan are also tracking Heskey and have made contact with Liverpool about taking Heskey on loan for the rest of the season. Liverpool are also open to offers for Senegalese flops Salif Diao and El-Hadji Diouf, who are on African Nations Cup duty, as boss Gerard Houllier looks to overhaul his squad. The pair cost a combined £15m in the summer of 2002, but neither has justified their expensive price tags. Liverpool offered Diao to Stuttgart when they recently made an inquiry for Stephane Henchoz and the Reds would be willing to accept a knockdown price for the midfielder. source: The Mirror

Auxerre Chief - Cisse Heading To Anfield Auxerre president Jean-Claude Hamel on Friday insisted that Djibril Cisse will definitely be a Liverpool player next season. Cisse, who is contracted to Auxerre until June 2006, has been a long-term target for Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier who is keen to team him up with England striker Michael Owen. And Hamel is adamant that a deal will be finalised with Auxerre powerless to match the money on offer to Cisse at Anfield. "Djibril will play in a great European club next campaign, this is 100%," Hamel told PA International in Paris. "Liverpool have been following him for ages, and the details of his transfer are now on a very positive path. We cannot prevent our talented players leaving the club and talented players like Cisse join great European clubs like Liverpool. "We can't really challenge them financially anyway. This is excellent for Djibril's career. He gave a lot to Auxerre and this is good for him that he experiences something else." Auxerre coach Guy Roux told France Football that Liverpool were ready to pay up to £13.9million for Cisse. "This is a huge and realistic sum," said Roux, who also claimed Cisse travelled to Liverpool at the start of the week to visit the club's facilities and pass his medical. "Cisse passed his medical at the start of the week; he found the agreement with Liverpool and this is now both clubs' role to finalise the deal." Like Hamel, Roux is convinced Liverpool are the right club for Cisse, who he believes, will be a great success in England. He added: "This is an excellent choice, probably the best he could make. He will probably be a first-team member fast and I truly think his game will pair extremely well with that of (Michael) Owen's. "This is simple, I am convinced that he will massacre all the English defences," added Roux of Cisse, who has scored 63 goals in six seasons with Auxerre as well as three goals in 16 matches with France. source: 365football

LIVERPOOL SWOOP FOR JONES Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier has moved to ease his goalkeeping problems by signing Southampton's Paul Jones on a one-month loan. Jones told Liverpool's official club website www.liverpoolfc.tv: "It's been a pretty hectic 24 hours for me. "I got a phone call from Gordon Strachan telling me that Liverpool were interested and he told me to think it over. It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to come here. "This move is a dream come true. The deal is only for a month but from my point of view it's a month at one of the biggest clubs in Europe, if not the world. “It was too good an opportunity for me to turn down and I know I'd have regretted it for the rest of my life if I'd not come here. “Whether I play one game, two games or whatever, I am just relishing the chance to play a part here. "I've been a Liverpool fan all my life so to be here really is a dream for me. I grew up in the Shrewsbury area with a lot of other Liverpool fans and we used to watch the games on the television or listen on the radio. "I've always followed their results and I've always enjoyed playing at Anfield. It'll be nice to have the fans behind me now and not against me." Jones will wear the number 12 shirt but has not been given any indication as to whether he or Luzi will start against Aston Villa as Liverpool look to build on the morale-boosting win at Stamford Bridge. "I think the result at Chelsea will have given everyone a huge boost and hopefully that can spur us on to go and get that fourth place in the league," said Jones. "I'll do all I can in the time I'm here to help the club get as many good results as possible. "I've only been here a few hours but I can see that there is a great spirit within the squad. “All the lads have been very friendly to me and very welcoming. I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. "Of course, being here during January means I miss out on the chance of a permanent move somewhere during the transfer window, but if I do the business here then hopefully in the summer time people will have taken notice of me and maybe something can happen. For now I'm just going to enjoy the challenge at Liverpool." source: premierleague.com

Liverpool seek backup Goalkeeper Gerard Houllier says he could sign a goalkeeper on a short-term deal with Chris Kirkland and Jerzy Dudek both sidelined through injury. Kirkland has been ruled out of action for a month with a broken finger while Dudek sustained a groin injury during Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday and could be out for two to three weeks. The only goalkeeper left in the Liverpool squad is Frenchman Patrice Luzi. "I may need a new goalkeeper as Jerzy has a groin problem. We still have Patrice and, if he has to, he will fill the position well," Houllier said on Thursday. "He came on for his debut last night and did very well, making two great saves. But we only have him available now so we might have to look at someone for the short-term." source: eurosport ----------------------------------- i was surfing around the websites and came across the news that Houllier might loan Southampton's Paul Jones as a backup for Luzi. Other alternatives include Tim Dittmer and Paul Harrison from the academy. We just have to keep out fingers cross *x* and hope GH don't make another mistake in the transfer market and pray luzi remain safe and sound for the nx 3 weeks or so. cheers, webmaster

Match Report: Chelsea 0 Liverpool 1

Liverpool inflicted a serious blow on Chelsea's title ambitions with a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge. In a measure of revenge for their defeat last season at Stamford Bridge, which took Champions League football away from Anfield, Liverpool secured a hard-earned victory to revive their own fortunes. If the pressure was growing on Houllier before this game, it has now been transferred to Claudio Ranieri, whose broad shoulders are burdened by his side's recent dip in fortunes. Liverpool had seized the lead after 33 minutes through the unlikely figure of Bruno Cheyrou, who was picked for only his second start of the season as Michael Owen was left on the bench. Cheyrou took the chance to score his first Premiership goal with dramatic effect and the visitors were even able to survive the late sending-off of El-Hadji Diouf. Chelsea were forced into a change as early as the 12th minute, when Hernan Crespo limped off to be replaced by Eidur Gudjohnsen. Liverpool broke the deadlock when Cheyrou exchanged neat flicks with Heskey before charging into the penalty area and meeting the England international's guided cross with a first-time finish as John Terry floundered. Chelsea were stunned and they attempted to hit back immediately with Joe Cole and Frank Lampard both going close, but they struggled to make any real impact. Liverpool refused to buckle, even in the face of a nervous final spell as Chelsea pressed increasingly desperately for an equaliser. Adrian Mutu headed a corner by Geremi against the face of the bar from point-blank range and was denied by a superb block at his feet by substitute keeper Patrice Luzi, who had replaced Jerzy Dudek with 14 minutes left. Liverpool were reduced to 10 men for the last three minutes as Diouf, who had earlier been booked, was shown a second yellow card for tangling with Mutu and fiercely protested his innocence before leaving the pitch. source: Ananova

Transfer talk: Reds reject Henchoz Liverpool have rejected a £2.1million bid from VfB Stuttgart for Swiss centre-back Stephane Henchoz. Stuttgart coach Felix Magath has conceded defeat in his bid to sign Liverpool defender Stephane Henchoz. Magath had hoped to add the 29-year-old to his Bundesliga title-chasing squad, but found the Reds unwilling to even discuss the suggestion. "Liverpool were not prepared to talk about a transfer," said Magath. "The topic is dead." The Stuttgart manager is well aware of Henchoz's talents having worked with him at SV Hamburg before the defender moved to Blackburn Rovers in 1997. Henchoz has just returned to the side in recent weeks after a series of injuries this season and Reds boss Gerard Houllier is determined to keep hold of his best players as they try and secure that lucrative fourth place in The Premiership this term. source: nationwide/ skysports

FA Cup Round 3 - Yeovil 0 Liverpool 2 For 45 minutes, Yeovil took the game to Liverpool and what little chances were created went the way of the home side. Jerzy Dudek was forced to fist clear from a Nick Crittenden free-kick before producing a stunning one-handed save to keep out Darren Williams' stinging drive. And Darren Way's hooked volley over the crossbar followed a fine exchange of passes in a flowing build-up of one-touch football from the home team. A touch of class from the side supposedly a class below. Liverpool's chances were embarrassingly rare and it took Gerard Houllier's side 51 minutes to even force a corner. El-Hadji Diouf shot wide just before half-time after Vladimir Smicer had found room to run into down the Liverpool right and cut the ball back. Diouf's frustration and desperation to force an opening earned him a first-half booking for a clear dive in the Yeovil penalty area. But Yeovil could have exacted a more telling punishment as they started the second half the way they had begun the first. Liverpool, apparently unaffected by any half-time criticism from Houllier, remained ponderous as Yeovil snapped and challenge down the left. And when a low cross fell to the feet of Nick Gall, it took a last-ditch challenge from Smicer to deny the striker an opening goal. That finally signalled a response from the visitors and Smicer was unlucky to see a scuffed shot bounce back off a post with goalkeeper Chris Weale beaten midway through the second half. But Heskey, a second-half replacement for Florent Sinama Pongolle, ensured there was to be no shock this time for a club that claimed 20 league scalps in the FA Cup during their non-league days. It took an incisive combination of passing to open the home side up, Murphy and Kewell setting Heskey up for a neat finish. Seven minutes later, Kewell fell under an innocuous challenge from giant defender Rodriguez and Murphy made sure of Liverpool's safe passage with an unstoppable penalty. source: BBC sport