LIVER BIRD – Cheerio Carra!

We all dream of a team of Carraghers…Image: guardian.co.uk Well, here we are, the end of the season. This one in particular seems to have flown by and unfortunately I a have to admit I’ve found myself a bit bored this season, I just haven’t felt fully entertained, only at certain points, here’s hoping next season we can improve on that! Sunday of course may be the last game of the season but with Liverpool destined to finish in 7th place win, lose or draw all of the focus is on the retiring James Lee Duncan Carragher. I’ve always loved Carragher, from schoolgirl crush to adult crush to having a general soft spot for traditional old fashioned defenders, I just feel that he’s a credit to not only his sport but to sportsmanship and to gentlemen as a whole. On Sunday there will be a guard of honour for Carragher who retires after 16 years at one club, something you don’t see very often at all these days. There will be presentations, talks and of course banners and you can be certain a rather noisy version of “Team Of Carraghers” will be ringing around Anfield, all in all it should be a very special occasion. So special in fact that even Carragher’s Mom will be attending the game. Onto the match… Injuries for Liverpool mean they are without Steven Gerrard and Daniel Agger. Also out is Suarez, still serving that ban but there is a hope that Skrtel may be able to feature this time after missing out on the last match. For QPR they are without Taarabt, Campbell and Wright-Phillips but they won’t be too worried as they’re only really playing for pride. The last time the two sides met was in December last year, on the score sheet were the missing duo of Daniel Agger and Luis Suarez, Suarez getting 2 for his side. In terms of QPR’s visits to Anfield, they don’t come often and so we have to go back to March 1991 to find a win for the Londoners. Stat Sandwich The Reds have scored the most league goals since January scoring 39 times. QPR haven’t won in their last 8 games. Daniel Sturridge has found the back of the net 6 times in his last 4 games. I think Liverpool have the win sealed here, with no real pressure on them and everybody wanting the side to end on a high and with the added emotion of it being Carragher’s last game. This will be Carragher’s 737th game, a truly remarkable achievement I’m sure you will agree and I seriously hope we can send him off in style with a win and somebody please, set the poor lad up! Lol #CarragherHatTrickLike “The Liver Bird” on Facebook – www.facebook.com/TheLiverBirdsBlog

A news article on 2013-05-18 12:18:00 from: The Liver Bird

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LIVER BIRD – Penultimate Match Of The Season At Fulham

Skrtel could be back for Sunday’s clash…Image: skysports.com After a rather dire Merseyside derby last weekend Liverpool will be looking to put in a good performance in their clash with Fulham on Sunday. As the penultimate game it’s clear that the Reds have underachieved this season and that’s mainly down to their inconsistency With Gerrard and Agger both missing on Sunday too it will prove a difficult task to secure a win against Fulham at the cottage. Injuries for Liverpool are still pretty much the same with the two lads mentioned above also missing out and obviously Luis Suarez isn’t available. For Fulham they have had some good news with Riether and Petric back from injury, they are without Steve Sidwell who is serving a ban. Fulham are currently 12th in the league on 40 points whilst Liverpool are in 7th on 55 chasing after Everton’s almost unassailable 60 points. The last time the two sides met was in December last year. A confident win for Liverpool saw them collect 4 goals via 4 different scorers; Martin Skrtel, Steven Gerrard, Stewart Downing and Luis Suarez. Interestingly due to the missing Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel should be given his chance back in the starting line up on Sunday and what better way to prove he’s not lost it than bagging a goal as well? Liverpool’s last visit to Craven Cottage wasn’t as pleasant though as the Reds lost the game 1-0 and saw youngster Jay Spearing sent off. Stat Sandwich The Reds have only lost one of their last ten league games. Fulham haven’t won a game this season where the opposition has scored first. Liverpool have had more shots per game than any side in the top 5 leagues in Europe. I don’t really know what to expect from this fixture to be honest but it would be nice for Daniel Sturridge to find the back of the net after being rather disappointing in the Merseyside Derby. If I was going to pop a quid on the game I’d probably go for a 2-0 Liverpool win. Enjoy the match folks! Like “The Liver Bird” on Facebook – www.facebook.com/TheLiverBirdsBlog

A news article on 2013-05-11 16:26:00 from: The Liver Bird

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F365 – Gerrard already eyeing comeback

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is confident he will be fully fit for pre-season after his campaign was prematurely ended by injury.

A news article on 2013-05-10 11:20:00 from: Football 365

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ESPN – Gerrard to be back in time for pre-season training

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has vowed that he will be fully fit for the start of next season after shoulder surgery ended his campaign early.

A news article on 2013-05-10 07:55:00 from: ESPN

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ECHO – Liverpool FC News: Steven Gerrard to miss rest of Liverpool FC’s season to have shoulder surgery

STEVEN GERRARD will miss Liverpool FC’s final two Premier League games of the campaign as he prepares to undergo shoulder surgery later this week.

A news article on 2013-05-07 15:24:00 from: Liverpool Echo

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METRO – Steven Gerrard to have shoulder surgery, Liverpool confirm

Liverpool have confirmed Steven Gerrard will have shoulder surgery, ruling him out of the Reds’ final two Premier League games and England’s end-of-season friendlies.

A news article on 2013-05-07 15:13:00 from: The Metro

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ECHO – Liverpool FC News: John Aldridge: Credit our local Liverpool FC lads

LIVERPOOL’S two best players against Everton were the home grown lads.

A news article on 2013-05-07 09:39:00 from: Liverpool Echo

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ECHO – Liverpool FC News: Daniel Sturridge on how Liverpool FC will miss Jamie Carragher

DANIEL STURRIDGE admits Liverpool will sorely miss “a great man” when Jamie Carragher retires later this month.

A news article on 2013-05-07 07:00:00 from: Liverpool Echo

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LIVER BIRD – Goalless Derby Draw

Well I think we all know what Suarez made of that…Image: mirror.co.uk Liverpool failed to collect all 3 points at Anfield on Sunday as they struggled to find the back of the net in a rather uneventful Merseyside derby. We’re quite used to seeing an exciting 90 minutes when this fixture comes around but not this time. The most controversial moment of the game was a disallowed goal from Distin. A lovely gesture from Liverpool at the start of the game saw The Kop end create a mosaic saying “Thanks” to Everton. Liverpool’s Luis Suarez had to settle for watching from the stands with his wife and daughter whilst Daniel Sturridge lead the line. Coutinho was again chosen to start and Borini was on the bench once again. The first half on Sunday was barely anything to write home about (or blog about) surprisingly there was no real sense of urgency in a game that usually sees the excitement get the better of most players. Steven Gerrard, Coutinho and Sturridge were perhaps the most lively however. Coutiho and Gerrard supplied some superb passes, some from yards away up the other end of the pitch but unfortunately the set ups weren’t enough to encourage Daniel Sturridge to get his shooting boots on. The forward had a bit of an off day on Sunday and despite having several chances he struggled to get them on target. As mentioned in the first paragraph of this post the most controversial moment of the game was Everton’s disallowed goal in the second half. I’ve looked at the incident a couple of times and I have to admit I think the referee has been extremely harsh for this one, I can understand why Everton feel hard done by and to be honest if they’d of collected that goal I’d struggle to see Liverpool gaining one back. The Reds saw Steven Gerrard have some chances a couple of times throughout the match but most significantly when a shot from him was cleared off the Everton line by the man who’s goal was disallowed earlier; Distin. Coutinho was again impressive for Liverpool but the ex Inter man didn’t really get many chances in front of the goal mouth. His play outside of the box though was as always brilliant and really his team mates should have been producing more with the pin point balls he was delivering. Fabio Borini was brought into the game late in the second half but the Italian couldn’t quite find enough to put Liverpool in the lead, his goal against Newcastle must have filled him with some confidence but it was clear that Everton were going to be hard to break down. By the final whistle it was clear that this had actually been a hard fought draw and the Reds really could count themselves lucky that they’d collected a point after the disallowed goal, however on another day Gerrard’s goal would have found its way in or Sturridge would have been more accurate. The stats for the game saw it end 50/50 in possession which I think sums up perfectly the kind of game it was. Hopefully Liverpool can improve on their performance when they face Fulham next week.Like “The Liver Bird” on Facebook – www.facebook.com/TheLiverBirdsBlog

A news article on 2013-05-06 11:51:00 from: The Liver Bird

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GOAL – Gerrard rues Liverpool’s lack of cutting edge against top clubs

The Reds captain believes the goalless draw against Everton is another example of his team’s biggest shortcoming as Jamie Carragher accepted a point in his final Merseyside derby

A news article on 2013-05-05 15:36:00 from: Goal

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