Monthly Archives: February 2013

Suarez my player of the year, says Rodgers

The 40-year-old boss praises the Uruguay international’s work ethic and quality in helping the side come through a difficult first few months this season when options were thin

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has declared that Luis Suarez is his player of the year this season.

The 26-year-old forward has been in exceptional form this season for the club, hitting 18 goals in the league so far while his tally stands at 26 goals across all competitions, leading to reported interest from Bayern Munich and other European giants.

With the club currently sat in eighth place in the league table with 11 games left to play this term, Rodgers believes that Suarez’s qualities have stood out all campaign during which they have come to rely on him for more than just goals.

“Who’s mine [player of the year]? Luis Suarez. He has been phenomenal. That’s not just an opinion as his manager,” the Reds boss told reporters.

“Luis had to play as the only striker we had for six months and hasn’t missed a single day of training. I couldn’t look further than Luis.”

Liverpool travel away to Roberto Martinez’s Wigan side on Saturday looking to maintain the pressure on the teams above them as they remain in the hunt for a European spot and Rodgers revealed that the side could be without Daniel Sturridge for the trip while Raheem Sterling could be rested.

He added: “Daniel has had a little knock but we’ll assess that in the next day and see how he is for the weekend.

“[Sterling] is a kid Sterling who’s got huge talent. I’ve got to make sure I protect him. He’ll need a wee rest, mentally and physically.”

Don’t miss out on your chance to win an iPad and football shirts in Goal.com’s Free Fantasy Football League

There are still 11 chances to enter Totel Football’s free Goal.com fantasy league with the winner walking away with an iPad 3 at the end of the season

It was an impressive start to the Goal.com free fantasy football league on Totel Football last weekend. Several players scored highly enough to have cashed in the real money game and the winner, username “Andy” amassed 98 points.

Rahul.92 was in second place with 96 points while Dexteralphonso, Janah and NanisLeftBoot were all tied for third, together with ABK5.

If you want to enter into this week’s competition for your chance to win an iPad or several other prizes, click here

Andy’s selection of Joe Hart in goal was inspired as the Manchester City goalkeeper not only kept a clean sheet against Chelsea, but also saved Frank Lampard’s penalty early in the second half which was crucial as Roberto Mancini’s side ran out 2-0 winners meaning the England No.1 earned 17 points in the process.

His defence included Rafael who was awarded 15 points for his eye-catching performance for Manchester United which included a superb goal as the league leaders took another step towards another Premier League crown.

Santi Cazorla’s double for Arsenal combined with Gareth Bale’s match-winning strikes on Monday did the damage in midfield for Andy’s team and despite the inclusion of Robin van Persie, Dimitar Berbatov’s winning goal for Fulham in the early kick off ensured he finished top of the leaderboard by two points.

If you didn’t enter last week then don’t worry. Totel Football will take your best 6 scores from the remaining 11 gameweeks to calculate the final overall leaderboard so there are plenty of chances to stake your claim for an iPad 3 while the four runners up will win a Premier League shirt of their choice.

You can read more about the competition here.

This weekend sees under fire Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez and his side host West Brom, a match which sees them face former Blues assistant manager Steve Clarke, who is now in charge of the Baggies. Liverpool travel to Wigan in Saturday’s late kick-off and the Reds should be well rested following a week off since their Europa League exit.  

Tottenham host Arsenal in a north London derby on Sunday afternoon which almost guarantees fireworks. Aston Villa-Manchester City is the final match of the gameweek on Monday.

You have until 16:00CET to enter your team this weekend as there is no early Premier League game so click here to visit Totel Football and enter your side for the next round of fixtures.

Anyone without a Totel Football account can sign up here.

Good luck!

Lucas backs Suarez to beat Van Persie & Bale to Player of the Year award

The 26-year-old feels the Uruguay international deserves recognition for his performances this season but expects competition from the Manchester United man and the Spurs star

Lucas Leiva believes Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez deserves the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award ahead of Robin van Persie and Gareth Bale.
The Uruguay international has been in fine form this season, netting 25 goals in 37 games so far, and is one of the favourites for the accolade.

And his fellow South American insisted that the forward is deserving of the crown after his “amazing” season that has, at times, single-handedly won the club matches.

“Luis will certainly be challenging for that award,” the Reds midfielder told the Liverpool Echo. “It has been such an amazing season for him. He has been scoring a lot of goals and showing everyone all the qualities he has.

“I just hope he wins because I think he deserves it after everything he has done this season.”

The Brazilian thinks that Van Persie and Bale will probably be Suarez’s main rivals, and is hoping that the Reds striker can maintain his good form until the end of the season.

“I think it’s going to be between Luis, Van Persie and Bale,” he added. “All three have performed really well and have scored a lot of goals.

“But we hope Luis has got the luck to win it. He has been so important for us and is a special player. It’s just so good to have him in our team.

“We just hope he can continue playing at this level and scores many more goals before the end of the season.”