Jamie Carragher bows out of playing when Liverpool take on relegated Queens Park Rangers on Sunday at Anfield. Liverpool will be looking to celebrate Carragher's career in style as they round off the season at Anfield. The Reds have been in a good run of form and are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League outings.
QPR boss Harry Redknapp has hailed Jamie Carragher as "one of the greats" ahead of the Liverpool defender's retirement. The 35-year-old will play his 738th and final game for the Reds on Sunday against the Rs, bringing a 17-season playing career at Anfield to an end. And after winning five domestic cups and four European cups, including the Champions League, Carragher is up there with the best Liverpool has ever produced, according to Redknapp.
Jamie Carragher will bring down the curtain on a career which has seen him pull on the famous red shirt of Liverpool over 700 times on Sunday. Carragher will lead the team out at Anfield to face QPR in what will be his 737th and final game for the Anfield outfit. The former England centre-back has collected an impressive set of honours in his long career, but there's one thing missing.
Rumors are swirling over a possible exchange of players with Barcelona which could send Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina to Barcelona and send Cristian Tello to Anfield. As the rumor mill continues to spin ever-so-fast, attention must be shifted to that of captain fantastic Steven Gerrard.
At 32, Liverpool have reportedly been allowing Gerrard to play with an apparent shoulder injury which he's been suffering with for around three months as BBC Sport notes.
Liverpool outcast Andy Carroll is set to send fans on Tyneside into a frenzy after declaring that he is prepared to take a pay cut to engineer a return to Newcastle United this summer. The 24 year old England international made a 35 million pound switch from Newcastle to Liverpool in January 2011, but failed to settle down at Anfield, and was sent out on loan this season to West Ham United as the Reds tried to get the expensive youngster off their wage bill.
Lokeren goalkeeper Boubacar Barry knocks himself out on his goalpost [Pies] Liverpool are driving Anfield into decline by buying houses around their ground and leaving them empty [Guardian] Practice your lip-reading with Steven Gerrard [Feint Zebra] Rapper Jay Z is set to do what the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid would love to do [.
Despite knowing nothing about the situation being mentioned surrounding Anfield, this is a wonderful series of photos put together by The Guardian. Apparently these are the remnants of Liverpool's practice of buying up property around Anfield:
In the mid-90s Liverpool began buying houses around their Anfield ground and leaving them empty, with the intention of expanding the stadium.
In an article that is near and dear to my heart,The Guardian'sDavid Conn has written a follow-up piece to an article he wrote five years agoabout the status of the derelict houses that form a "ghost town" next to Liverpool's Anfield Stadium.
On a visit to Liverpool 7 years ago, I spent a morning walking around Anfield and was absolutely shocked at the state of the homes that were literally in the dark shadow of Liverpool Football Club.
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher insists he can be proud of his record against Everton as he heads towards retirement. Vice-captain Carragher became only the sixth Liverpool player to make 30 Merseyside derby appearances in Sunday's 0-0 draw at Anfield - joining Ian Rush, Bruce Grobbelaar, Alan Hansen, Ian Callaghan and Ronnie Whelan.
Long-time Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher announced that in August he will join the likes of Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp, Graeme Souness and others on the set of Sky Sports. For the 2013/14 season, Sky Sports will feature more than 500 livedomestic, European, and international football matches.
What can Liverpool learn from Juventus? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Liverpool and Juventus are traditionally two of the biggest names in European football, who have fallen from glory somewhat in recent years. The Turin giants were caught up in a scandal domestically and got themselves relegated from Serie A, but most importantly have returned to somewhere near their best.
Is Luis Suarez bad for Liverpool? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
The antics of Luis Suarez on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Anfield have generated much brouhaha in the footballing world. Commentators on the game – ranging from ex-players to newspapers to various fan forums have been forthcoming and fulsome in their opinions on Suarez biting Chelsea's defender Branislav Ivanovic.
From the outside looking in, sport rewards the patient. The casual observer may get a momentary thrill but the real drama is saved for those who have been paying attention. This Sunday will see Rafael Benitez come to Anfield for the first time since his Valencia side arrived on Merseyside in 2003.
Liverpool full back Glen Johnson praised teammate Stewart Downing for his remarkable turnaround of Anfield Career and heaped praise for his contribution to Liverpool Football Club.
Downing came under immense criticism at the start of the season and was even granted permission by manager Brendan Rodgers to leave Anfield in January.
Swansea City defender Ashley Williams (Google Creative Commons)
According to The Guardian, Swansea City defender Ashley Williams has been rumored to a possible exit for Liverpool this summer. The 28-year-old defender has been a real stable member of Swansea's starting XI as he has appeared in 31 matches for the Swans this season in the EPL.
Chelsea interim boss Rafael Benitez claims he is 'almost certain' he will one day return to Anfield to become the manager of Liverpool again. Benitez parted company with Liverpool in the summer of 2010 after the Reds had limped to seventh place in the Premier League, having endured their worst run in 22 years during the campaign.
Liverpool and West Ham culminated in a stalemate, but the scoreline may not have been indicative of the final result. Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho and Steven Gerrard all provided the creative punch to pin back West Ham in their own end forcing last-ditch efforts from James Tomkins, Jack Collison and Gary O'Neil.
Liverpool's talented right-back Glen Johnson has come out in praise of Manager Brendan Rodgers.
"Brendan has been very clever with the signings he's made and the squad is getting to where it needs to be," Johnson told Liverpoolfc.com.
"We've won six out of seven games at Anfield so if we can finish the season with a record very similar to that then that would put us in good stead for the start of the campaign at Anfield for next season.
Liverpool have confirmed they will hold a minute's silence before Sunday's game against West Ham as a mark of respect for the 96 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster. The Anfield clash with the Hammers is the final home game before the 24th anniversary of the tragedy, which will be the first since the Hillsborough Independent Review published its findings.
Andy Carroll's loan spell at West Ham has done nothing to persuade Liverpool he will revive his career at Anfield next season, but the Merseyside club will not lower their £17 million asking price this summer. Although there is a prospect Carroll may have to return to his parent club in time for the next pre-season, that would only be in the event of further haggling over his fee, with Newcastle United sure to rival West Ham and revive their interest in re-signing their former player.
Liverpool is plotting a raid for Southampton's Jay Rodriguez. The Anfield side has added the forward to a list of players they are keeping tabs on. Rodriguez, 23, has flourished at St Mary's under new boss Mauricio Pochettino and the Reds have taken note. He has scored in his last two games, one a stunning solo effort in Southampton's 3-1 win over Liverpool last month.
Steven Gerrard once again proved Liverpool's saving grace as his penalty secured the three points for the Reds at Villa Park. Through the tireless work of Luis Suarez (who earned the penalty) and a calm finish from Jordan Henderson, Brendan Rodgers' side were able to complete the comeback and attain a much needed three points on the road.
In a time of economical difficulties in Europe, most people feel one way or another the presence of a recession. And this is no different for some soccer clubs, particularly Liverpool.
According to BBC Business, the Reds overall debt has gone up by a third from £65.4 millions in July 2011 to £87.
Daniel Agger of Liverpool (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Although the January transfer window has come and gone, summer is quickly approaching for teams in hopes of strengthening their respective squads. According to the Daily Mail, Barcelona are already pursuing an interest in Liverpool's Daniel Agger.
Skipper Steven Gerrard hails winger Stewart Downing for going the extra mile to save his Anfield career.
The 29 year old England international was rumored to be shipped out of the side during the January transfer window however after a string of good performances; Downing has become a regular in Rodgers starting XI.
Fiorentina striker Mounir El Hamdaoui admits he's flattered to be linked with a move to Liverpool. The former Ajax star only moved to the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the summer, but speculation in Morocco suggests the player could be on the move once again at the end of the season. And, the link to Anfield is one that delights the player, with El Hamdaoui happy to admit that playing for the Reds would be a dream.
Luis Suarez of Liverpool celebrates (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Liverpool have few matches where they can really make up some ground in their last ditch hopes of qualifying for Europe in any form of capacity next season. This afternoon's match against Tottenham will be as good a chance as any for the club to try and claw back three points.
Luis Suarez of Liverpool (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Liverpool host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in a must-win Premier League encounter for both sides. The Reds, currently 7th in the EPL table, will look to move three points closer to a European tournament qualification, while Spurs, who sit 3rd in the table, hope to gain ground on second place Manchester City, while also spacing themselves from 4th place Chelsea.
Manager Kenny Dalglish (C) presents new signings (L-R) Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Alexander Doni and Stewart Downing of Liverpool during August of 2011 (Photo by Clint Hughes/Getty Images)
Liverpool welcome third place Tottenham and in-form Gareth Bale to Anfield on Sunday, but news this week wasn't about the Reds' recent results but about their finances.
Spurs travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool and look cracking value at 4 with William Hill to secure another three points and extend their unbeaten run.
The Lilywhites 2-1 victory over Arsenal in last weekend's North London derby meant that they have now gone 12 consecutive games in the top flight without defeat for the first time, and they have not lost in any of their last four games against The Reds.
With the dust about to settle on another Premier League season, OTP looks at the top-flight teams' dodgiest transfer investments. 1. Chris Samba (QPR) QPR's super-heavyweight defender tops our list after his arrival in January. Brought in to bolster the R's brittle defence, he succeeded only in adding an extra dimension of calamity.
Blackpool winger Tom Ince has failed to rule out a return to Anfield. The son of former Anfield midfielder and current Tangerines boss, Paul, has been in excellent form this season and has caught some admiring glances from the Premier League. Ince piqued the interest of Reading and Liverpool during the January transfer window, however neither side were able to thrash a deal out for him.
Andy Carroll has provided the most significant clue yet that he's ready to re-build his Liverpool career. The £35million striker is close to agreeing a move - to a new house in Southport. And that could sabotage West Ham's hopes of signing the 24 year-old England ace. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce wants Carroll to stay after spending this season on loan from Anfield.
Glen Johnson has described Brendan Rodgers as 'very clever' for the signings he completed during the January transfer window, which the defender believes could boost Liverpool up the table next season. The boss swooped for Johnson's England teammate Daniel Sturridge and Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho at the beginning of the year - with both making instant impacts at Anfield.
Nuri Sahin has criticized Liverpool manger Brendan Rodgers are he suffered an unhappy loan spell at the club earlier this season. Sahin joined the Reds from Real Madrid at the start of the season but failed to make an impact at Anfield, managing just 12 appearances before moving back to his former club Borussia Dortmund.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has called on his team to show more consistency if they are to force their way back into the top four. The Anfield side has been in good form recently but it's not been enough to secure a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2009-2010. Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo: "There is a process of getting into the top four and becoming champions and that is consistency.
Former Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow thinks Luis Suarez's 10-game ban for biting was "very harsh", but he has no doubt that the forward will remain at Anfield this summer. The Football Association handed down a hefty 10-game suspension on Suarez after it found the Uruguayan guilty of violent conduct following his bite on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.
Interim Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez is eagerly anticipating his return to Anfield on Sunday afternoon, but insists he wants to leave with all three points.
The Blues won 3-0 at Fulham on Wednesday night with a long range effort from David Luiz and a brace from John Terry and ahead of Sunday's trip to Anfield the Spaniard admitted he is looking forward to returning to Merseyside.
