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Good evening all. Scott will here soon enough to type you through Liverpool’s trip to Bolton. If you get here before him, here’s Kenny Dalglish on Stewart Downing to keep you warm. Enjoy.

Kenny Dalglish has defended Stewart Downing, describing him as a better player than he envisaged when paying £20m to sign the England international from Aston Villa, despite the winger’s subdued start to his Liverpool career.

Downing has yet to score or create one league goal for Liverpool since his big money move from the Midlands, although he did register his first goal for the club in the FA Cup third-round win over Oldham Athletic, and growing criticism of the 27-year-old’s performances has prompted Dalglish to defend his summer signing. The Liverpool manager, who has been offered the Serbian striker Milos Krasic by Juventus, believes Downing is still adjusting to life at a higher-profile club and that it has been unfair to play the former Middlesbrough winger in several positions during his debut season at Anfield.

“Stewart is a better player than I thought he was going to be,” the Liverpool manager claimed. “I don’t think it has been too comfortable for him either because we have played him in three or four positions, so maybe we need to look at ourselves and say we have to be fair to him as well. He is better than what I thought he was. He is quicker than what I thought he was and he is quicker than Carra [Jamie Carragher] thought he was as well.”

Continued here

Premier League 2011-12Bolton WanderersLiverpoolPremier LeagueScott Murray
guardian.co.uk

• Defender back in training after recovering from calf injury
• 33-year-old in contention for Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge

Jamie Carragher is in line to make his Liverpool comeback against Chelsea this weekend after recovering from injury.

The defender and vice-captain has missed the last two matches, the win at West Bromwich Albion and a goalless draw at home to Swansea City, with a calf problem. However, the 33-year-old returned to full training this week and is in contention for Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.

“Jamie has joined in training over the last couple of days and looked good,” the first-team coach, Steve Clarke, told liverpoolfc.tv. “We just made sure he took his time, and he’s trained well these past couple of days. He’ll be in contention for the weekend if there are no mishaps between now and the game.”

Carragher said: “It’s down to the manager and the coaching staff but once I’m back with the lads I’m back, for the squad, the team or the bench – whatever it may be.”

Jamie CarragherLiverpoolguardian.co.uk

• Striker targets improvement despite being club’s top scorer
• ‘I could probably have converted one or two more’

Luis Suárez has said that there is greater improvement to come from both him and the rest of the Liverpool team.

The Uruguay striker has been the stand-out performer since he was signed in January just a few weeks after Kenny Dalglish returned for a second spell in charge at the club. Suárez is the club’s leading scorer this season with seven goals in 14 matches, with his overall record 11 in 27 since his £22.8m move from Ajax.

That tally could easily have been more as in his last two home matches the 24-year-old had shots brilliantly saved by Norwich’s John Ruddy and Swansea’s Michel Vorm which might have been match-winners. The fact neither were has meant Liverpool have now had three successive draws at Anfield and taken 10 points from six home league matches.

“As a striker I am always going to get plenty of chances and I could probably have converted one or two more,” he said. “I also know strikers go through periods where they are trying so hard to score and they don’t always go in. The main thing is I am playing well and the whole team is playing in the right manner.

“I think all of the lads are playing well and although we know we have some injuries to key players like Stevie [Gerrard] and Carra [Jamie Carragher], we know we have players who can step up and perform well. That’s the good thing about having such a big squad – we have the quality for anyone to come in, do a good job and replace these players. But we still know we can do that little bit better.”

Suárez was named Liverpool’s star player for October but after winning the award for three successive months he admits even he finds it a bit awkward accepting it. “It’s a bit of a surprise because to win it three months running makes me almost feel a bit embarrassed,” he told liverpoolfc.tv.

“But as long as people realise I’m just doing my job and I’m working hard for the team then that’s great. I think if we had managed to pick up a couple more victories in those games we deserved to – the home games against Manchester United and Norwich – we’d obviously be a little bit higher up the league.”

Liverpoolguardian.co.uk