The score flatters Liverpool.

They were useless in the first half, against a team that's lost half of it's players. They'll need to improve if they even want to finish top 4 this season.

It'a a shame that they needed a return game against Luton to begin with

Hm. The Italian press is reporting that Newcastle are now looking at Gerard Houllier and Didier Deschamps as possible replacements for the departed Big Sam.

Alhassan Bangura...  Wish more people from Sierra Leone were saved instead of being killed in the stupid civil war!

(stp) München. Manchester City ist weiter an einer Verpflichtung von Bayern Star Lukas Podolski interessiert. Nach englischen Medienberichten war Tord Grip, Assistent von City-Trainer Sven-Göran Eriksson, vergangene Woche zu ersten Gesprächen bereits in München.
Manchester City weiter an Podolski interessiert

„Als Fußballer will ich spielen. Ich kann nicht zufrieden sein, wenn ich nur auf der Bank sitze. Auch wenn es die Bank der Bayern ist. Ich gebe jetzt Gas in der Vorbereitung und in der Rückrunde. Wenn das nicht hilft, muss ich für mich neu entscheiden“, sagte Podolski am Rande des spanischen Trainingslager in Marbella.

Vertrag bis 2010

Podolski hat bei den Bayern noch einen Vertrag bis 2010 und ist zurzeit hinter seinen Stürmerkollegen Miroslav Klose und Luca Toni nur die Nummer drei. Das könnte sich jedoch im Sommer ändern, wenn Jürgen Klinsmann, der ein großer Förderer Podolskis ist, das Traineramt bei den Bayern übernimmt. Podolski ist dennoch skeptisch: “Das ist dennoch keine Garantie für mich.”

Zuletzt dachte ManCity-Trainer Eriksson lautstark über ein Ausleihgeschäft bis zum Saisonende nach. Nun steht sogar eine Ablösesumme von etwa 18 Millionen Euro für den 22-jährigen Nationalstürmer im Raum. “Geld spielt nicht die entscheidende Rolle”, so Eriksson, der einen finanzkräftigen Klubeigentümer im Rücken hat.

I remember asking you if Milan ought/could get him.

Bring them all to Newcastle...we need all the help we can get.

@kurt:

I can't believe u hate Newcastle.

They're my fav team in England. Watching them play(the true Newcastle way, not this crappy Allardyce stuff) is like reading Don Quixote charging the windmills. They're a great team.

I'd like Newcastle to be great again. Entertaining crowds ought to be what football is about too. Not just winning the FA cup. ( )

What would I do with Newcastle....

Geremi----Simic-----Taylor----Bridge
------------Barton-----Butt-------------
--------Milner----Duff-----N'Zogbia----
-------------Martins/Owen/Viduka-----
Coach: Ten Cate/Jol/Mourinho ()/MvB

They just need two big transfers...one for the CB position, and one for the LB position. kurt for God's sake hands off Milner. He's all we've got actually, esp with Nolby and Scottie gone. Barton's a jackass. The Toon is better off bidding for Sissoko.

This could easily save them this season. Even end up in the top 8 teams if they play it right.

About Bangura, it really is fantastic news, fantastic to see that he can stay!

Good riddance.

Martin Laursen has agreed to put pen to paper on a new two and a half year deal.

The Danish defender has been a rock at the back and has proved to be a massive asset going forward too, with six goals already this term.

AVFC

That IS a nice read, Porty. And it brings up interesting points about financing for the purchase of clubs. Lerner really is the only one who's done it with his eyes open -- and Villa are thriving. I wonder what's going to happen to Liverpool now.

Hopefully whoever buys Liverpool from Hicks and Gillett has some sense. There's nothing worse than seeing probably the greatest club in our countries history in control of two morons. It's quite astounding how quickly they've managed to mess things up like this. Not only are they getting it wrong with their finances, but the stadium, the rows with Rafa.. they're useless.

I love Hicks and Gillett!!!

Now the only thing the Liverpool fans are doing is praying. 

They don't need to pray... Hicks and Gillett are going to make $75m each from this deal... I think they are going to go for it!

Blues close in on Villan Cahill 

Birmingham City are talking to their city rivals Aston Villa about signing defender Gary Cahill.
Cahill has been on loan with Sheffield United this season and seems surplus to requirements at Villa Park.

Blues boss Alex McLeish told BBC WM: "We've spoken to Villa about it and nothing's happened as yet.

"We're waiting to see whether the player wants a loan deal or a permanent one. It's another one of these maybe, maybe not situations."

"I like Gary," the former Scotland boss added. "I've seen him a few times - both in the flesh and on DVD."

Cahill burst onto the Premier League scene by scoring with a spectacular scissor-kick for Villa in the derby win nearly two years ago.

And that moment still sticks in McLeish's mind: "I remember his fantastic goal against Birmingham and he formed a good partnership with [Liam] Ridgewell too."

BBC

I disagree. In my view he should have stayed. If there is a midfielder Arsenal should get rid of is Diaby.

so they'll sell for 150m more than what they paid? they did invest so i dont think they'll be making that much profit.

At least Diaby scores from time to time...all Diarra did was telling everyone that he expected to play in every match and when getting a game he takes his chance by playing medicore.

Fulham 0-2 Arsenal. HT.
Adebayor with two mighty headers.

Liverpool set for new buy-out bid
By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer



Dubai International Capital - the investment arm of the Dubai Government - is to launch a £500m bid to buy Liverpool Football Club.

BBC Sport understands the offer is in the process of being made to American co-owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks.

DIC was originally thought to be ready to make an offer for Hicks' 50% share, despite his insistence that he is unwilling to discuss a sale.

But DIC is now poised to make an offer for the complete buy-out of the pair.

His 23rd goal this season. We're in January and he already scored as much as he did last season.

Cristiano Ronaldo 80 metres run. 0-2. [Rooney did the 1st]

His 23rd goal this season. We're in January and he already scored as much as he did last season.

So finally you consider him the best in the world? 

Newcastle-Bolton game=most boring match yet this season.

Best only saw Ronaldo's first two seasons, neither of which were that great. It's only last season and this season that he's been something special, in my opinion.

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is hiding a secret heartache - his mother is battling breast cancer.

Dolores Aveiro broke the news to the Manchester United player at the start of the season.

While he has been turning in some of his best performances for his club, she has been having life-saving treatment.

Surgeons removed a lump from her breast before sending her to a specialist clinic for a successful course of radiotherapy.

Dolores, 53 tomorrow, is recovering at home in Madeira and taking daily anticancer tablets to keep the disease at bay.

Ronaldo, 22 - who watched his dad Dinis drink himself to death at just 52 two years ago and helped his brother Hugo to fight a drug addiction - has been calling every day for an update.

A friend said: "This has hit Cristiano really hard. He's had his fair share of family heartache and his mum means the world to him." Dolores said: "Cristiano phones me every day. He's always telling me this is nothing and how I'm going to live until I'm 90."

Ronaldo, due to play at West Ham yesterday, added: "I try to give my mum lots of love and affection. I'm just sorry I can't be with her for her birthday in Madeira"

News from 2 weeks ago.