On Thursday night in Lisbon, former Liverpool left-back Emiliano Insua turned in a man of the
match performance as he and his Sporting teammates fought back late to get a 2-1 win over Athletic,
who've to this point been the darlings of the competition. They'll have plenty of work to do at the
San Mamés, where Athletic are unbeaten in the Europa League, but they managed to give themselves a
chance at forcing their way into what many predicted would be an all-Spanish final, and, at least
on the night, they have the Merseyside castaway to thank.
AnfieldIndex Liverpool FC Stats | Liverpool FC Blog | Liverpool FC Forum Liverpool has long had
a problem with the left-back position ever since John Arne Riise left for Roma in 2008. Yes we had
Fabio Aurelio and Emiliano Insua but neither.
The window closes on Wednesday at midnight in England, and with Liverpool getting the bulk of
their incomings sorted well before the season even started there may not be all that much room for
the excitement of a last minute acquisition or three. Still, there are a few chunks of remaining
deadwood the club would desperately love to be rid of at any cost.
In the past five seasons, Liverpool have had only three fullbacks reach the thirty match mark
Steve Finnan and John Arne Riise played in 33 league matches apiece in the 2006-2007 season, and
Emiliano Insua made 31 appearances after being forced into regular duty in the 2009-2010 season.
Álvaro Arbeloa came close a few times, as has Glen Johnson since arriving, but it's been a tough
marker to reach for a Liverpool fullback.
Liverpool moved closer to solving their problem at left-back after agreeing a fee with Newcastle
for defender Jose Enrique.
Liverpool will discuss personal terms with the Spaniard when he arrives on Merseyside for his
medical at their Melwood training ground this afternoon.
Enrique, 25, will cost Liverpool in the region of £6million but will fill a position which they
struggled with last season.
Newcastle's José Enrique set for Liverpool move after clubs agree fee
• Full-back to undergo medical ahead of £6m transfer • 25-year-old signed for Newcastle in
August 2007 The Newcastle full-back José Enrique is expected to undergo a medical at Liverpool
after the two clubs agreed a fee believed to be close to £6m.
Sciott Heavey/Getty Images(Bleacher Report) The 2011-12 season started off with great belief and
great doubt all at the same time. The Rafael Benitez era had come to a close in a dismal fashion,
as the Reds slumped to a 7th place finish after having finished 2nd the season before.
Roy Hodgson, after leading a mid-table Fulham team to the UEFA Europa League final, was installed
as the new man at Anfield, but it was a signing that had no real fan belief behind him.
Roma are the latest Serie A side to be linked with Liverpool defender Emiliano Insua. "I have
spoken to Walter Sabatini," said his agent.
The 22-year-old Argentine was very close to Fiorentina and Juventus in January, but opted to join
Galatasaray on loan instead.
Now he is back at Anfield and it seems as if the Giallorossi are making a bid for the left-back.
Roma are the latest Serie A side to be linked with Liverpool defender Emiliano Insua. "I have
spoken to Walter Sabatini," said his agent.
The 22-year-old Argentine was very close to Fiorentina and Juventus in January, but opted to join
Galatasaray on loan instead.
Now he is back at Anfield and it seems as if the Giallorossi are making a bid for the left-back.
Malaysia All-Stars XI 3-6 Liverpool After flying home to secure the signing of Stewart Downing,
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will have seen something to impress, and plenty more to be puzzled
by as he watched the second game of his side's Asian tour on television.
Malaysia All-Star XI 3-6 Liverpool | Friendly match report
Malaysia All-Star XI 3-6 Liverpool After flying home to secure the signing of Stewart Downing ,
the Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, will have seen something to impress, and plenty more to be
puzzled by as he watched the second game of his side's Asian tour on television.
Kickoff from Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur 5:45PM Local/10:45AM GMT/5:45AM
EST
Ways to Watch:
Live on ESPNUK in England and FSC in America, as well as on LFCtv live and online for those with
a season pass.
MyP2P
ATDHE
FromSport
Liverpool:
Liverpool are getting set for their second preseason friendly of the Asian tour, and it's being
widely reported that Kenny Dalglish has flown back to Liverpool to complete the signing of Stewart
Downing.
Noel's gone ahead and capped a busy summer by churning out some unparalleled deadline day
coverage, and if you're just coming back into the fray, scrolling down is an absolute necessity.
From Tuesday's confirmation that Sebastian Coates had arrived to the exit of Raul Meireles last
night, the club's transfer activity was covered incomparably.
Rafa Benitez undoubtedly signed some brilliant players during his time at Anfield, and the club is
still benefiting from some of the players he signed. However, it's also true to say that Benitez
wasted a lots of money on players who just weren't good enough for Liverpool. It's taken a long
time to rid the club of these highly paid players, but with the departure of Philipp Degen today,
the club is no longer lumbered with Benitez's deadwood.
Liverpool look set to lose David Ngog to Bolton, with Kenny Dalglish keen to trim the club by at
least six players over the next two weeks, according to the Liverpool Daily Post.
Ngog has long been the subject of exit talks, and Bolton are said to be readying a £4 million bid
for the young striker.
Hull City 3:Brady 21′, Koren 33′, Simpson 58′ Liverpool 0
Let's just get the standard "doesn't mean anything unless someone looks good, then we'll get
really excited" proclamations out of the way few conclusions can be made from any preseason match,
and after the display today we'll have to hope that the Liverpool we see on August 13th has little
in common with the one we saw today.
Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) want manager Kenny Dalglish to sell members of his squad
before they will allow him to spend the cash again.
The Reds have already embarked in a £40million recruitment drive this summer, resulting in Stewart
Downing, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Alexander Doni being signed.
Liverpool 4:Poulsen 19′, N'Gog 22′, Coady 72′, Carroll 85′
Guangdong 3:Steer 46′, Lin 90′, Hongbo 92′
And so a new season begins. Or at least the road to it does. Certainly without the extended
break forced by the European Championships and World Cup in recent years it doesn't feel like as
much of a wait as in the past, when half the players would have just now been starting into their
short summer breaks following international commitments.
After an underwhelming 2011-2012 season, most of which was due to lack of selection rather than
any failings of his own, there was general consensus that Dirk Kuyt had little time left as a
Liverpool player. Still fit as ever, still capable of producing in front of goal, and still
committed to the cause, even if its commitment to him had waned.
The all Iberian showdown between the Lusos and the Basques kept up the Europa Cup's fast growing
reputation of put whatever you're doing down and enjoin (an amalgam of join + enjoy) the thrill a
minute, eyeballs to the wall, non stop, box to box action on display by some of the world's best
talent.
