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Posts Tagged ‘Steven Gerrard’

• Captain excited about new era after ‘horror’ of last season
• ‘Anything Messi can do, Joe can do as well, if not better’

Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool are set for a bright new era under Roy Hodgson after the “horror” of last season – and claims that the new signing Joe Cole is better than Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

Gerrard, in an interview with Match of the Day magazine, said the new manager has already given Liverpool a lift after a disappointing seventh-place finish last season.

“It’s a great club and after speaking with Roy Hodgson I’m really pleased to see his plans for the club. It’s a new era now – we must forget about the horror of what happened last season and get this club back to where it belongs, which is the Champions League at the very least.”

Gerrard said Cole, signed in July on a Bosman from Chelsea, has the ability to drive the team forward.

“[Lionel] Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better. He used to shock us in training by doing footy tricks with a golf ball that most players can’t even do with a football. I really fancy Joe for the [player of the year] award this season.”

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• Manager expects Carragher and Gerrard to stay ‘for life’
• Attempts to bring Sami Hyypia back to Anfield have failed

Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Liverpool will hand Jamie Carragher a new contract once the club’s ownership saga and transfer dealings are resolved this summer, and is confident the defender and Steven Gerrard will remain part of the Anfield furniture “for life”.

Carragher has entered the final year of his contract after change of manager and the uncertainty surrounding the club’s future under Tom Hicks and George Gillett put negotiations over an extension on hold. While it is unusual for Liverpool to allow a player of Carragher’s standing to get so close to a Bosman transfer, Hodgson has no concerns about losing the 32-year-old. The Liverpool manager said the defender will be approached with a new deal once rebuilding efforts and possibly a takeover are complete.

“I’m sure it [a contract extension] will be a priority,” said Hodgson, whose team were drawn against Trabzonspor of Turkey in the Europa League play-offs today. “Quite frankly so much has happened in the last five weeks, the hours I’ve spent at the club are enormous, that we haven’t actually got round to discussing contracts with players. I now know that Carragher has got one year left. That’s the only contract of a player that I know about. If you asked me how many years the others have got, I haven’t got a clue.”

Hodgson believes the Bootle-born defender and Gerrard will retain integral roles at the club long after their playing careers have ended. Hodgson wanted another Liverpool stalwart, Sami Hyypia, to return to Anfield in a coaching capacity this summer but was unable to convince Bayer Leverkusen to release the Finnish defender.

He added: “I can see players like Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard never leaving Liverpool Football Club. I can see them always being part of the club. In the same way I’m a bit disappointed that my attempts to bring Sami Hyypia back failed. It only failed because he’s so important to Bayer Leverkusen. We couldn’t get him out of his contract. He’s one I would also put in the Jamie Carragher-Steven Gerrard mould, Liverpool for life. Unfortunately he was let go at the end of the season before last and we can’t get him back. He’s too valuable to them.”

Liverpool’s Europa League ties – on 19 and 26 August – add to a congested start to the season for Hodgson, who insists the Premier League should not have scheduled its opening weekend three days after a known international date.

“It is frustrating not just for me, but for 90% of my colleagues,” he said. “In the Premier League there are very few teams who don’t have a lot of international players on their books going away. Fifa set this date a long time back and we have known 11 August is a Fifa date. It is a bit unfortunate they have decided to start the league three days after that.

“It would have been nice if that could have been pushed back and we had the same sort of time the teams in Italy, Spain and Germany have to prepare, because their leagues don’t start until after ours.”

Hodgson has allowed the Swiss defender Philipp Degen to join Stuttgart on a season-long loan.

LiverpoolJamie CarragherSteven GerrardAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk

• Manager faces ’soft debut’, then Arsenal in Premier League
• Liverpool take two-goal lead into Europa League return

One minute he is being labelled a treacherous “bugger” by Mohamed Al Fayed for leaving Fulham, the next he is the Midas of Liverpool for convincing Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard to resist moves that never got off the ground. It probably explains Roy Hodgson’s sanity after 34 years in football management that he can ignore such extremes, although even the self-confessed “ultimate pragmatist” expects his Anfield honeymoon to withstand a second date with FK Rabotnicki in the Europa League.

Hodgson has every right to savour a serene start at Liverpool when he steps into the home dug-out at Anfield for the first time as manager tonight, but insists there is “nothing spectacular” planned and is reluctant to accept any premature garlands being thrown his way. “We haven’t lost yet. Things can change very quickly, don’t you worry,” said Rafael Benítez’s replacement as manager yesterday.

He was also the voice of reason on the prospect of being lavished with transfer funds should Kenny Huang, or any prospective buyer, finally end Tom Hicks’ and George Gillett’s miserable hold on the club. “I’d like to see the sun shining every day, I’d like to see a lot of things happening every day, but I’m learning to be the ultimate pragmatist and will take each day as it comes,” he ventured.

At least Hodgson is sufficiently emboldened to believe his run of form will continue in the competition that helped attract him to Anfield. Leading 2-0 from the first leg in Macedonia last week, Liverpool can call on their England World Cup contingent of Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher for the Europa League third qualifying round, second leg tie and Hodgson is confident his first victory at Anfield can be achieved with minimum fuss. “When you take on the job, you do it because you want to be leading the team out at Anfield,” said Hodgson. “That’s going to be the highlight of your time as manager. It’s been five weeks now and the day has finally arrived and I’ll be looking forward to it. It’ll be like a mini-debut in a way.

“Having dealt with the opponents well enough in the first leg, it has taken the pressure off the second leg. I should be lucky enough to have a soft debut, then a real debut [against Arsenal in the Premier League] in 10 days’ time. I’m hoping my tenure will be a long one here and I can build up a rapport with the fans. I am very trusting of football supporters.”

Hodgson did not lose at Anfield in two appearances with Fulham and one with Blackburn Rovers, drawing each time. “A sample of three is not a big sample,” insists a manager who, with Torres and Gerrard confirmed on board, is simply relieved he is not making his debut as Liverpool manager with a blank canvas. Hodgson explained: “When you are offered a new job you hope that you are not going to start with a total rebuilding job . You don’t want to go to a new club needing players to make the squad stronger and replace the major cogs in your wheel.”

Liverpool (probable 4-2-3-1): Cavalieri; Johnson, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger; Gerrard, Lucas; Amoo, Cole, Jovanovic; Ngog.

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