EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

Chairman Daniel Levy has accused Dimitar Berbatov of malevolence against Tottenham which led to the Spurs having a horrible start to the season.
“We had a player who had refused to play two games for us, having a detrimental affect on the dressing-room. We’d known for a year that the player had wanted out of this club. We were very disappointed. Dimitar Berbatov was a player who we brought to this club at a time when Man Utd were interested in him. He made a conscious decision to come to this club, we invested a lot of money, nobody had ever heard of Dimitar Berbatov when we bought him.”
Its pathetic that Levy is attempting to accuse Berbatov of having ruined Spurs next season. He told them he wanted to leave a year ahead of time and Spurs got paid a fair amount of money from Manchester United for him, only €30.5 million. And they had the entire summer transfer window to pick up some strikers (they also sold Robbie Keane to Liverpool for €20.3 million) with the combined €50.8 million euros they obtained. Unfortunately Spurs Sporting Director Damien Comolli did not pick up decent replacements. They got their moneys worth in those deals and it makes no sense to criticize Berbatov for going to one of the moss popular and successful clubs ever.

“A year later with 10 days to go to the end of the window he tells us he wants to leave to go to Manchester United.  I don’t think he treated this club with the respect that we honestly deserved. We put him on the map, I think he’s an outstanding player, but he signed a long-term contract with this club and I think he should have stayed. I had so many conversations with him. He kept saying it was about his ambition to play for Manchester United. It wasn’t a money issue. We offered him a new contract and he wasn’t even interested in discussing it.”

In an extremely exciting game Tottenham tied Arsenal in their 2nd game with Redknapp in charge. “I feel like superman, I could fly home” said David Bentley. “Arsenal knocked the the ball about and they are a hard team to play against but we showed character and spirit. We showed we are a top team willing to fight for every point. I’m buzzing. You’re going to get criticized when you’re not performing and certain things have gone on but we have sorted them out and we’re going in the right direction now.”

“It was probably the best night of my career, but I felt like an emotional wreck at the end of it. We had a team meeting before the game and Clive Allen pointed out that the keeper comes off his line and sometimes right out to the edge of his box. That was still in my head early in the game. The ball sat up and I caught it perfectly. When I saw it go in, I went mad. I get so emotional and that’s why we all play football. We’ve all been criticized this season and we accept that. Against Arsenal we conceded too many easy goals. We know that and we’ll address that. But it’s nights like that, goals like that, performances like that, that make it all worthwhile. We were 4-2 down but showed character, determination, fight and kept going until the final whistle. We’ll get things right, keep progressing and keep getting better.”

Harry Redknapp also commented on the great outcome for Sours. “It’s going to be a long season, but there was a great atmosphere in that dressing room now. I thought I was David Pleat running up the touchline when we scored. I don’t usually do that. I don’t have a suit or shoes that colour, mind you. I’ve tried to make them believe in themselves. There’s ability in the squad. Bring on Liverpool. We’ll give them a good go on Saturday.”

Wenger however, was about as pissed off as he can get. And for a good reason: the young Gunner were far to lax in their end game defense. “I am angry. We have to look at ourselves and improve. The players are very down. We were two levels above Tottenham and they were there for the taking. It was damaging. On the positive side, we were really superior to Tottenham, produced the game we wanted, lots of energy in the game. The only down side is we didn’t win. That was down a little bit to a lack of maturity. I would like to keep the positives tonight because I believe we were really outstanding. We were too cautious rather than scoring number five or six. The right pass would have seen us score. The maturity problem will improve with intelligence. They will learn from their mistakes. With two minutes to go, there was no Harry Redknapp factor.”

Heinze criticized a theory from Alex Ferguson which theorized that Real Madrid was still attempting to lure Crisitiano Ronaldo. Fergusons theory stipulated that Heinze was signed by Real Madrid because he was a good friend of Ronaldo and that he might convince Ronaldo to join Real Madrid.

“This theory of Ferguson about me going to Real in order to persuade Cristiano to come the following summer is a work of absolute fiction. I am a very good friend of Cristiano Ronaldo. This is true, but he always decides his own future. Cristiano is a clever person and he decides himself what is best for his own life. If he asks me a question about Real then, of course, I will answer, but I’m not a bad influence on him. Ferguson has spoken about me in the last months and I don’t understand this.

“I thought he had forgotten me. He’s the boss at United and any person who protests about anything is marginalised. This was my problem at times when I was there. Ferguson cannot stop my quotes because I’m not now at United. I’m actually convinced Cristiano would offer Madrid even bigger performances than he has at United. That is my opinion and it is normal that I have wanted him to come and play with us here in La Liga.”

I can certainly agree that Fergusons theory is fairly remote in likelyhood, impossible to substantiate, and therefore silly.

Following the departure of Harry Redknapp, Tony Adams, his assistant for the past two years has been appointed as the new manager for Pompey. “It’s fantastic. I’m very honoured, it’s a great opportunity and one I would be mad to turn down. I am going to take this opportunity and risk, because Harry’s done a fantastic job for this club and is a hard act to follow. But I think it is my time, I think I am ready. It’s the best job in the world. I’m scared to bits, of course, but another bit of me is really excited. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

42 year old Tony Adams formerly played as a center back for Arsenal from 1984-2002 and also played for the England National squad from 1985-2000. “I spoke to Arsene last night for advice and he said ‘welcome to hell’. I said ‘are you scared? Because I’m coming for you!”’.

Wenger commented about his appointment positively and suggested it was a great opportunity.
“It makes me very happy. I believe it is a good opportunity for him and we wish him of course well. He is at the age now where you have to start in this job. For the rest I believe he has a good squad and he has worked a lot now in this job and I think he is ready. Tony has now much more experience because he has been abroad and has been at Portsmouth as an assistant. I believe he has the qualities and that is why I am very positive about it. I believe in life when you go wrong you can always, with intelligence and character, turn things right and that is what he did. He came out and said he had a drinking problem when he was a player and he showed enough strength and character to change that. I believed in him because everybody deserves a chance when he wants really to change life. That basically didn’t come from me, it came from him. I believe that he has natural authority which is one important ingredient, the second one is of course to convince everybody about your philosophy and the way you see things. At that level you need a big resistance to stress and daily commitment. You want to give him the chance. What is most important is that I believe he has the qualities. He gets the opportunity and only time will tell how he would do and I would bet that he will do well. The most important thing you want to have is good players when you arrive somewhere - and I believe Portsmouth has good players and that’s where you can show your qualities.”

Adams also managed the Wycombe Wanderers during the 2003-2004 season. The Wanderers were relegated the soon after he took over (though they were in the relegation zone when he joined them). The next season in League Two he resigned after their form became worse. “At Wycombe my job was to save the club - they were losing £6,000 a week at the time but this is a different ball game. It was the right time to move on from there, I went to Feyenoord and that was a great learning curve. As it was in my playing days under Arsene Wenger, Bobby Robson, Terry Venables and all the great managers I’ve played under. This is the next step for me, so here I am.”

Financial struggles at Pompey have aroused speculations that players would leave during the January transfer window. However, Adams assured fans that he would be keeping his best players:
“We’ve got some great players here at Portsmouth and I’ve been kind of responsible, with Harry, for bringing them to the club. They’re here because they’re good players … but my job is to keep them here and to get them to play well.”

Executive chairman Peter Storrie barely addressed finances at Pompey saying, “I said all I’m going to say about finances the other day, it’s a boring, boring subject. The club is fine, we’re moving on, the owner [Alexandre Gaydamak] is here and he continues to put money into the club. If Tony wants to sell then we’ll sell and reinvest that money - and the fans are all aware of the situation. I know we said we’d take our time a little bit but we had a think about it, had a chat with Tony and we feel he’s done a tremendous job here and thoroughly deserves this opportunity to manage the club. He’s not only popular among the board and people working at the club, but as was shown on Sunday, it’s a popular decision for the supporters.”

Tottenham Spurs have fired manager Juande Ramos and Sporting Director Damien Comolli. They are currently set to appoint 61 year old Harry Redknapp from Portsmouth with a €5 million compensation package. The first string coaches Marcos Alvarez and Gus Poyethave also been fired in the management cleansing following the string of defeats for the Spurs. Spurs have only taken 2 points from their first 8 games in the EPL with their only points obtained from ties.

Many were questioning whether Spurs sports director Damien Comolli was doing his job correctly in managing transfers. Last seasons starting forwards Robbie Keane and Berbatov both transferred to different teams and many question whether he found suitable replacements.

Redknapp commented on his transition:

“Once Tottenham came in and once the offer was made it was difficult for the club to turn down a £5m offer for a manager. The club were pleased to take it and hopefully people will remember what I’ve done there. I’ve got some good memories and I have had some great times there.”

Clive Allen will take over as interim-manager for the Bolton game until Redknapp’s move becomes official.

More information and interviews concerning escalation to Ramos firing:

Manager Juande Ramos has been under considerable pressure recently with Tottenham suffering the worst start to a season for the club since 1912. They currently stand at the very bottom of the Premier League with 2 points; 8 games have been played so far this season and Tottenham has still not won a game. Their record now stands at 6 games lost and two ties. The news comes hard to fans and players who were hoping that Spurs could make it to the Top Four this season. However, they should have realized that this was unlikely when Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov were transferred away. Spurs were left without a competent attacking force.

Ramos commented on the situation:
“Any decision on my future is not up to me but I am determined to put it right. It is my job, my work. The main problem for us is scoring goals. You have to score to win games and we are finding that difficult. But if we continue to play similar to how we did against Hull we can change the situation. The effort was there and the players did their job very well. Their attitude was positive and when I speak to them they say they want to finish this situation quickly.” Reportedly, if Ramos was sacked he would be due between €15-20 million in compensation which may be why he is being given a better chance than most. It was also difficult for Tottenham to obtain Ramos who recently led Sevilla to 2 UEFA Cup wins.

However, Ramos met with club chairman Daniel Levy Thursday and said the meeting had been productive.
“It was very nice, very happy. He’s very happy. We know the problem and we are speaking about looking for the solution but the meeting was nice. The problem has to stop on Sunday, not January. To win matches you need to play football. Fighting is difficult because they are a very strong team. I think we need to play. We have to show that we are worthy to stay up, but if we are not winning games it doesn’t count for anything. We need to win matches. We are very good in defense, in midfield very good but we need to improve and score goals. To win or to lose, all the team have the responsibility. Football is like the markets. It’s possible that then the markets change and go up, and so do we.”

Bent commented on the teams dismal form:
“One win won’t get us out of it, we need to start winning games so that there isn’t a gap where you need to win two or three games just to have a chance. We’ve got a difficult game against Stoke but if we prepare like we know we can do, and play like we did against Hull in periods, we know we can beat anyone. Everyone is still upbeat. There are things going around that there is unrest in the dressing room but everyone is behind the manager, and we are all behind each other. I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m sure we’ll be okay and we’ll put it right sooner or later. It’s disappointing, obviously, but we have to take positives and in some games we’ve been playing well enough to get something from games. When you lose to Hull with goals like Geovanni’s, there’s nothing much you can do about that. It just seems to happen to us but I’m sure we’ll put it right eventually. We know what we have to do.”

Its apparent that Spurs spirits are at an all time low with David Bentley suggesting people Tottenham has become a laughing stock.
“I know people are having a laugh at the fact we are bottom of the league at the moment but it’s up to everyone at the club to stop the jokes. We’re not happy with what has been happening. You cannot hide from the situation but what we need are a team of leaders who take responsibility. We have to grow as people. We have more than enough good players at Tottenham to get us out of this situation and I give my word that we will. I’m fully behind him [Ramos], 100%. I still love being at Spurs and I don’t regret joining the club for one second. I know I haven’t been at my best but I haven’t become a bad player in a fortnight. The manager believes in me.”
(Bentley joined White Hart Lane from Blackburn for €15million this past summer and was benched after having made these comments).

Ramos talked about the sultry situation at White Heart Lane:
“I am worried about the situation but last season we won the Carling Cup and everyone was very happy. At this moment everyone is very sad and I am worried about it as I don’t like this situation. We need to work very hard to change this situation and only hard work can change it. This is my job and I am working very hard each day to finish this situation. The responsibility is all the people working in the club starting with me and finishing with the last person - we all have responsibility, when we win and when we lose.”

His attitude contrast sharply with last Thursday whence he spoke with Spurs club chairman who was reportedly very positive despite the situation.
“I don’t know - this is a question for the chairman. I speak to the chairman when he permits us to speak. He’s a very busy person and I don’t know when it will be possible to speak. Sometimes football is difficult to explain. We had two penalties against us, two players sent off, some players injured. It was very difficult for us after the sending off in the first half but the attitude of the players was very good. We played Chelsea away and played okay and got a point and I think playing against big teams, the team can concentrate well.”

Spurs defender Jonathan Woodgate has suggested that Tottenham has a strong chance of being relegated unless they take strong, immediate action. He even stated that Leeds, the team he had played with in 2004, was a better team than the current Spurs squad. Leeds was relegated from the EPL that same season.
“People say we are too good to go down but we aren’t. I’ve seen it happen at Leeds and they had a better team than we do here.” He also said that Spurs were currently facing relegation. “One million per cent we are at the moment.”

Tottenham recently played Udinese in the UEFA Cup and lost 2-0. Woodgate said that the players needed to “take responsibility” for their form. Spurs committed multiple blunders with their keeper Heurelho Gomes conceding a penalty (their 3rd in 2 matches) and with Jamie O’Hara obtaining 2 yellow cards in the span of 1 minute. O’Hara was sent off, the 3rd player to be dismissed in the past 2 games.
When O’Hara was asked if he could take anything positive from the game he responded:
“No, none at all. What went wrong was the same as has been happening in every single game we have played in this season - a lack of concentration. We have got to start learning quickly. A goal goes in and you think ‘here we go again’. When you have a losing mentality like we’ve got at the moment you have got to get really stuck in and start winning games or you just get used to losing and losing and losing. We have really got to roll our sleeves up here and start grafting because, I am telling you now, it is going to be hard. We are bottom of the Premier League with two points and it doesn’t really get much worse than that. Without a doubt I will take responsibility - I have got to stand up like everyone else. It is the players who shoulder the blame because we are not pulling our weight on the pitch. If we are not producing the goods and getting the wins then pressure is going to be put on the manager, the chairman and Damien Comolli [sporting director]. The way we have been playing, we deserve to be down at the bottom of the table - we deserve to be where we are, end of story.”

Brazilian keeper Gomes described the situation at White Heart Lane just before Ramos was sacked:
“I do not think the big problem is with the quality we have on the pitch. I think it is more mental at the moment. We are lacking in confidence, the game can be lost in your head. It is a difficult period for us at the moment. We lost another game against Udinese and everyone in the dressing room is down right now but we have to carry on because there are more games to play and Bolton is another difficult match. The formations are not an issue. What is important is the mentality of the players to produce a good performance and get us goals. We have great quality in this squad. We train well every day but on a matchday I do not know why this has happened.”

Ramos commented on the sultry situation again,
“I’m very angry because I don’t like to lose. We lost this match in this competition and now we have to win matches to qualify for the next stage.” Bentley commented about the situation at White Heart Lane before the game and when Ramos was asked why he did not play in the game in Italy Ramos said, “I chose these 18 players out of the 20 in the squad. I don’t know what happened before the match. His [Bentley’s] reaction was normal, the same as the other players who are not playing. The situation is not very comfortable. At this moment [morale] in the dressing room is not in a normal situation but they know it’s possible to win in football and it’s possible to lose.”

Spurs defender Jonathan Woodgate has suggested that Tottenham has a strong chance of being relegated unless they take strong, immediate action. He even stated that Leeds, the team he had played with in 2004, was a better team than the current Spurs squad. Leeds was relegated from the EPL that same season. “People say we are too good to go down but we aren’t. I’ve seen it happen at Leeds and they had a better team than we do here.” He also said that Spurs were currently facing relegation. “One million per cent we are at the moment.”

Tottenham recently played Udinese in the UEFA Cup and lost 2-0. Woodgate said that the players needed to “take responsibility” for their form. Spurs committed multiple blunders with their keeper Heurelho Gomes conceding a penalty (their 3rd in 2 matches) and with Jamie O’Hara obtaining 2 yellow cards in the span of 1 minute. O’Hara was sent off, the 3rd player to be dismissed in the past 2 games. When asked if he could take anything positive from the game he responded: “No, none at all. What went wrong was the same as has been happening in every single game we have played in this season - a lack of concentration. We have got to start learning quickly.”

“A goal goes in and you think ‘here we go again’. When you have a losing mentality like we’ve got at the moment you have got to get really stuck in and start winning games or you just get used to losing and losing and losing. We have really got to roll our sleeves up here and start grafting because, I am telling you now, it is going to be hard. We are bottom of the Premier League with two points and it doesn’t really get much worse than that. Without a doubt I will take responsibility - I have got to stand up like everyone else. It is the players who shoulder the blame because we are not pulling our weight on the pitch.

“If we are not producing the goods and getting the wins then pressure is going to be put on the manager, the chairman and Damien Comolli [sporting director]. The way we have been playing, we deserve to be down at the bottom of the table - we deserve to be where we are, end of story.”

Ramos commented on the sultry situation again, “I’m very angry because I don’t like to lose. We lost this match in this competition and now we have to win matches to qualify for the next stage.” Bentley commented about the situation at White Heart Lane before the game and when Ramos was asked why he did not play in the game in Italy Ramos said, “I chose these 18 players out of the 20 in the squad. I don’t know what happened before the match. His [Bentley’s] reaction was normal, the same as the other players who are not playing. The situation is not very comfortable. At this moment [morale] in the dressing room is not in a normal situation but they know it’s possible to win in football and it’s possible to lose.”

Spurs will be playing Bolton October 26th.

View Spurs break club record for worst start

and…

Ramos struggles to produce results at Tottenham to view Bentley’s comments

Spurs lost to Stoke 2-1 and finished the game with only 9 men. This is the worst start to a season that Spurs have ever had to endure.
After the game, Ramos made a statement about conditions at White Heart Lane.
”I am worried about the situation but last season we won the Carling Cup and everyone was very happy. At this moment everyone is very sad and I am worried about it as I don’t like this situation. We need to work very hard to change this situation and only hard work can change it. This is my job and I am working very hard each day to finish this situation. The responsibility is all the people working in the club starting with me and finishing with the last person - we all have responsibility, when we win and when we lose.”

His attitude contrast sharply with last Thursday whence he spoke with Spurs club chairman who was reportedly very positive despite the situation.
“I don’t know - this is a question for the chairman. I speak to the chairman when he permits us to speak.
[Its probably not that good of a sign when someone is this submissive. The manager of an EPL team should be able to talk to the club chairman anytime he wants to.]
He’s a very busy person and I don’t know when it will be possible to speak. Sometimes football is difficult to explain. We had two penalties against us, two players sent off, some players injured. It was very difficult for us after the sending off in the first half but the attitude of the players was very good. We played Chelsea away and played okay and got a point and I think playing against big teams, the team can concentrate well.”

“I have been in professional football for 20 years and have had very good experiences and very bad experiences. Against Hull and today I liked the team but sometimes it’s difficult to play with 10 against 11. I think the penalty decision was okay but the [Bale] red card should have been a yellow card.”

Stoke’s manager Tony Pullis encouraged Tottenham’s board of directors to stick with Ramos and remember his years of managing experience. ”Let’s see a bit of character by their board of directors and see them back him. We are all in the same boat and know the rules, and have to accept it. I just hope the chairman who got rid of a very popular manager before [Martin Jol] now backs him and gives him a chance to turn it around. They certainly have good enough players and a good depth of squad. We were like rabbits trapped in headlights for the rest of the first half. After they went down to 10 men we were garbage. We just told them to push up in the second half and not show them so much respect. The second half was more like us. We played with a bit of pace and could have scored more goals.”

View, Ramos struggles to produce results at Tottenham for more info.

Manager Juande Ramos has been under considerable pressure recently with Tottenham suffering the worst start to a season for the club since 1912. They currently stand at the very bottom of the Premier League with 2 points; 7 games have been played so far this season and Tottenham has still not won a game. Their record now stands at 5 games lost and two ties. The news comes hard to fans and players who were hoping that Spurs could make it to the Top Four this season. However, they should have realized that this was unlikely when Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov were transferred away. Now Spurs are left without a competent attacking force.

“Any decision on my future is not up to me but I am determined to put it right. It is my job, my work. The main problem for us is scoring goals. You have to score to win games and we are finding that difficult. But if we continue to play similar to how we did against Hull we can change the situation. The effort was there and the players did their job very well. Their attitude was positive and when I speak to them they say they want to finish this situation quickly.” Reportedly, if Ramos was sacked he would be due between €15-20 million in compensation which may be why he is being given a better chance than most. It was also difficult for Tottenham to obtain Ramos who recently led Sevilla to 2 UEFA Cup wins.

However, Ramos met with club chairman Daniel Levy Thursday and said the meeting had been productive. “It was very nice, very happy. He’s very happy. We know the problem and we are speaking about looking for the solution but the meeting was nice. The problem has to stop on Sunday, not January. To win matches you need to play football. Fighting is difficult because they are a very strong team. I think we need to play. We have to show that we are worthy to stay up, but if we are not winning games it doesn’t count for anything. We need to win matches. We are very good in defense, in midfield very good but we need to improve and score goals. To win or to lose, all the team have the responsibility. Football is like the markets. It’s possible that then the markets change and go up, and so do we.”

Bent commented on the teams dismal form:
“One win won’t get us out of it, we need to start winning games so that there isn’t a gap where you need to win two or three games just to have a chance. We’ve got a difficult game against Stoke but if we prepare like we know we can do, and play like we did against Hull in periods, we know we can beat anyone. Everyone is still upbeat. There are things going around that there is unrest in the dressing room but everyone is behind the manager, and we are all behind each other. I’ve said on numerous occasions, I’m sure we’ll be okay and we’ll put it right sooner or later. It’s disappointing, obviously, but we have to take positives and in some games we’ve been playing well enough to get something from games. When you lose to Hull with goals like Geovanni’s, there’s nothing much you can do about that. It just seems to happen to us but I’m sure we’ll put it right eventually. We know what we have to do.”

Its apparent that Spurs spirits are at an all time low with David Bentley suggesting people Tottenham has become a laughing stock.

“I know people are having a laugh at the fact we are bottom of the league at the moment but it’s up to everyone at the club to stop the jokes. We’re not happy with what has been happening. You cannot hide from the situation but what we need are a team of leaders who take responsibility. We have to grow as people. We have more than enough good players at Tottenham to get us out of this situation and I give my word that we will. I’m fully behind him [Ramos], 100%. I still love being at Spurs and I don’t regret joining the club for one second. I know I haven’t been at my best but I haven’t become a bad player in a fortnight. The manager believes in me.” Bentley joined WHite Hart Lane from Blackburn for €15million this past summer.

Many are questioning whether Spurs sports director Damien Comolli is doing his job correctly in managing transfers. Last seasons starting forwards Robbie Keane and Berbatov both transferred to different teams and many question whether he found suitable replacements.

Spurs will be playing Stoke at the Britannia Stadium Sunday, October 19th.

Wenger announced that Arsenal had suffered several injuries during the past week of International World Cup qualifyers. Gallas injured his hamstring, Bendtner sprained his ankle and Sagna undured a knee injury. The 3 are expected to be out for at least a week. Fabregas obtained a broken nose, Johan Djourou a concussion and van Persie pulled a muscle.

Wenger commented on the string of injuries that plagued Arsenal:

“Unfortunately we have lost some players over the 10 days - William Gallas, Bacary Sagna and Nicklas Bendtner. These are heavy losses and we have to compensate them. Fortunately the three of them don’t look to be out for a long, long time but they will be out for the weekend game and I think the game on Tuesday. As well as them, Djourou got concussion during his game with Switzerland and will be assessed tomorrow to see if he is available. He does not look too bad and he could have a good chance to play. I am still waiting for Robin to come back so I don’t know about him. However, he should be okay. He went with a muscle problem but he came on after 56 minutes last night and, from the reports I got, he should be all right. Both of them will be assessed. Also I am told Cesc has a broken nose. It should not stop him playing. He is here now and is being assessed.”

He succeeded in not sounding as annoying as Benitez who recently complained about Torres’ injury during World Cup Qualifying games. Benitez Vents

Arsenal will be playing Everton this weekend, Fenerbace on Tuesday in the Champions League, and West Ham next weekend. Fortunately, Abou Diaby has just recovered from a thigh injury and will be starting. “At least Abou Diaby is back in the squad again.” said Wenger. “Even though he has not played games he will be used, at the least in the squad, because we have lost those three players.”

Fernando Torres was injured during Spain’s 2-1 World Cup Qualifying win against Belgium in Brussels. Torres limped off witha  hamstring injury only 16 minutes in compunding his earlier hamstring problems in September. Ryan Babel was also playing in World Cup Qualifyers and received an ankle injury during the Netherlands 1-0 win in Norway.

Benitez expressed his discontent with how many World Cup Qualifying games professional club players are required to play. He suggested that their should be 2 tiers to the qualifying games with stronger teams playing stronger teams and weaker teams only playing stronger teams once they have moved up. This would effectively minimize the number of games that teams would play. While I’m not sure if this is feasible, I do know that Liverpool will have some real challenges if Torres and Babel are not fit soon. In the next 10 days Liverpool will be playing Wigan, Chelsea, and a Champions League game against Atletico Madrid.

Xabi Alonso described the injuries as a real blow: “It is undoubtedly bad news. We have to wait and see what the tests say, but we do not stop now until around Christmas, and we have a big calendar coming up - we cannot let up. It is not the first time this has happened [to Torres] with the national side, and it is a blow to have an injury when he is in such a good streak of form.”

Torres is expected to be out for about 10 days while Babel’s injury recovery time has not been assessed yet.