Liverpool play out a drab stalemate with FC Utrecht in their meaningless Europa League tie, as Fernando Torres remains benched and Joe Cole remains ineffective. Elsewhere Frank Lampard is upping his preparation for the weekend clash with United and Birmingham appear to have at last found a suitable role for Nikola Zigic…as a training aid…
Roy Hodgson employed a 4-4-2 system with Ryan Babel and young Nathan Eccleston paired in attack. Elsewhere the Liverpool lineup was suitably second-string – with Martin Skrtel the only regular first-teamer in the back four, while Jovanovic, Poulsen, Shelvey and Cole made up a midfield – all players who remain on the fringes of Roy Hodgson’s starting XI.
Fernando Torres was left on the bench then, despite Hodgson publicly promoting the possibility of a start for the Spaniard. Hodgson later revealed that he had been convinced by medical staff to keep Torres out of the action in preparation for the weekend fixture with Fulham…
“I had a vision of Fernando going out there, having a great 45 minutes, it being good for his confidence, maybe scoring a goal and giving him a little lift. I was only going to play him for 45 minutes. He didn’t play against Aston Villa and he was quite looking forward to playing. But when we sat down and we started to talk about it again, it seemed to me the disadvantages or potential disadvantages far outweighed any potential advantage.”
Hodgson was also questioned on the form of Joe Cole, who again disappointed having started the night out on the left flank, but switched inside behind the striker in the second-half. On a night which missed the flashes from Torres, Cole failed to capture the limelight and continues to struggle at Anfield. Hodgson had this to say on the Summer signing’s form…
“He sets himself high standards, he plays on small margins, he’s an honest lad and I’m sure he came off the field thinking, ‘That wasn’t the performance I wanted to give. I’m better than that and I can do better than that. It was just unfortunate he was unable to show that tonight but it certainly wasn’t for a want of trying or through a lack of effort or desire. It didn’t go his way and that can happen with front players.”
Cole is likely to find himself on the Liverpool bench against Fulham then. Indeed, aside from Skrtel, it’s hard to imagine any of last night’s side making an impression on the teamsheet. Steven Gerrard remains a doubt for a return against Hodgson’s former club. The Liverpool boss revealed yesterday that his skipper was still a risk…
“Steven Gerrard is not fit and will be touch and go for Fulham. He is training every day and training harder than anyone. But we have to be careful there is no risk of the injury reoccurring”
Frank Lampard will step up his fitness ahead of the weekend clash with United by taking part in a behind-closed-doors match today at Chelsea’s training headquarters. Lampard came off the bench at Spurs last weekend but looks certain to be in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting lineup for the Stamford Bridge meeting with United. Lampard’s return will likely see Florent Malouda return to a left-flank position having been forced to play a deeper role in recent weeks.
Gerard Houllier’s unsettled relationship with his players continues with reports of Richard Dunne, John Carew, Habib Beye and Stephen Ireland all given a run-out with the reserves in a behind-closed-doors match yesterday. Houllier dropped stand-in skipper Dunne to the bench for the much-needed win over rivals West Brom at the weekend. It remains to be seen if he and the likes of Carew and Ireland figure in the manager’s plans for the trip to Wigan on Saturday. It looks unlikely. Nigel Reo-Coker also got a run-out in the game as he continues his quest for fitness following injury.
And finally…Birmingham’s Roger Johnson has apparently used team-mate Nikola Zigic in training to help him prepare for the confrontation with Newcastle’s Andy Carroll at the weekend…
“Obviously Ziggy is a big lad, which puts you in good stead to face someone like Carroll.”
Johnson is still likely to find the actual clash with Carroll a shock to the system, unless of course Zigic has suddenly mastered the art of actually winning a header and hitting the target in training.
