Carragher's Dad banned from all UK football grounds

Jamie Carragher's father appeared in court yesterday in relation to an incident at the recent England-Holland game at Villa Park. According to reports, Gary Carragher, 50, was ejected from his VIP seat when watching Jamie play in the friendly game.

He was later arrested - allegedly for being drunk - and was freed after a night in police cells.

He pleaded not guilty to a charge of trying to enter a sports arena while drunk. He received bail, but a condition of this was means he is banned from every ground in the UK until the case is settled.

Mr Carragher's solicitor, Ian Till, explained Carragher travelled all over England to watch his 27-year-old son and asked the bench not to impose the ban, saying Mr Carragher had not been drunk, and also had not tried to get back into the stadium. There had been an “incident” over match tickets. He said, “Given his unique position, I ask that no banning order is put in place. He follows his son across the country. It would be unfortunate to deny him this privilege as I don’t think there are concerns about his behaviour.”

Despite the request, senior magistrate, Rama Joshi, said the condition would be imposed on Mr Carragher, of Crosby in Liverpool. No date has been fixed for the trial.

I can't wait to play with my Red heroes

By Rob Brady, Liverpool Echo KOP hero John Aldridge is relishing playing alongside the Liverpool stars he used to worship as a young fan. Aldo is among five of the club's greatest goalscorers returning to Anfield to take part in a charity game. Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, Ian Rush and Robbie Fowler will also pull on the famous red shirt once again to raise money for survivors of the Asian tsunami. Aldridge said: "There are some great ex- Liverpool players involved. It is always a privilege to meet them, but especially to play alongside them. "Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan are two heroes of mine. And it will be great to play at Anfield. I never thought I would get the chance again." Alan Hansen, Bruce Grobbelaar, John Barnes and Terry McDermott have also signed up to the 22-man squad. The March 27 match (kick-off 4pm) will see the Liverpool legends pitted against a team of celebrities including singer Brian McFadden, Westlife ' s Nicky Byrne, Eastenders star Shane Richie and Leicester rockers Kasabian. The teams will be managed by former Red Roy Evans and Southampton boss Harry Redknapp. The tsunami soccer aid event has been organised by Tranmere's ex-Liverpool star Jason McAteer, who has promised more big names are in the pipeline. He said: "We have had celebrities calling us wanting to play in this game." Tickets go on sale from February 28, the day after the Reds' Carling Cup final clash with Chelsea. They will be available from the Liverpool FC ticket office, by telephone on 0870 220 0056 or at www.liverpoolfc.tv. They will also be on sale from Tranmere Rovers. Ticket prices are £15 for adults, £10 for over 65s and disabled fans, and £5 for under 16s.

11mGBP facelift hope for historic park

icLiverpool - 11m facelift hope for historic park

Feb 16 2005

By Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo

CAMPAIGNERS have given a cautious welcome to plans to spend 11m on Liverpool's Stanley park.

The council wants to transform the rundown park, including the restoration of its conservatory.

They want to give it a facelift to coincide with Liverpool FC's controversial plans to build a stadium on part of the site.

Initially, £390,000 would pay for drawing detailed designs to attract more funding.

But campaigners today cast doubt on whether the £11m scheme would ever take place.

They say the long- awaited improvements could be scuppered if they successfully challenge the Reds' stadium scheme in court. Joe Kenny, chairman of the Anfield Regeneration Action Committee, said: 'We support any investment to protect and restore the park, which should have happened a long time ago.

'But there are still some outstanding issues about the stadium which we plan to challenge in court.

'We have seen funding agreed for schemes which later collapse so it would be no surprise if we are going down a similar road here.'

The entire regeneration of the area surrounding the new stadium is expected to cost £140m and create hundreds of jobs.

Liverpool's famous stadium would be demolished and replaced with a new Anfield Plaza, home to a hotel, office space, restaurants, cafes and open space for a market.

Stanley park is described by the council as 'seriously degraded, vandalised and perceived to be unsafe'.

The £11m scheme aims to bring more families into the park, improve security and make surrounding communities more attractive to prospective residents.

Some of the cash would be spent on the park's Gladstone conservatory to see it renovated and turned into a function centre similar to the Sefton park palm house.

The conservatory, which was built in 1898, would also have a visitor centre with displays about the history of the Gladstone family.

Councillors are set to agree the £390,000 funding package which will be spent on detailed designs and drawings.

Planners say the detailed plans are vital to attract government and European funding.

Existing football pitches on Stanley park would be relaid and new changing facilities constructed within the new stadium.

Plans would also see the renovation of the neighbouring Anfield cemetery and an innovative genealogy centre."

Yahoo! Buzz Index - Premiership Table

Came across this list today - it's a list that basically shows how much each Premiership team has been searched for at Yahoo! -

Yahoo! Buzz Index - U.K. Buzz Index Leaders

At the time of writing, Liverpool were in fourth place, behind Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Everton were in fifth place.

If this list has any impact on the real Premiership table, Middlesborough, Man City and Bolton had better watch out.

ROW 6 Europe 3

The final score in the special game played for a Tsunami Charity was Rest of the World 6, Europe 3.

Steven Gerrard played the full 90 minutes, captaining the side from centre-back in the second half. Gerrard was able to play the whole game because Liverpool have no game at the weekend, and Steven is suspended for the first-leg Champions League game a week today.

Also on show were former reds Rigobert Song and Jari Litmanen.

Stevie G wearing blue?

Steven Gerrard lines up for a European team in the "Football For Hope" game taking place at the Nou Camp this evening. The game is being played for Tsunami Solidarity Appeal. The European team are wearing blue.

More details at the UEFA site: uefa.com.

The Daily Mail: Where will Owen go?

From The Daily Mail.

Michael Owen has hinted he may need to leave Real Madrid in order to play regular first-team football, sparking reports of a return to England this summer.

Here we look at the clubs who may make a move for the England striker should he decide to cut short his Spanish sojourn.

ARSENAL
The Gunners have been strongly linked with Owen, possibly in a swap deal with Spain striker Jose Antonio Reyes who is homesick. A potential partnership with Thierry Henry would be one of the fastest on the planet and suit the tempo Arsene Wenger's team like to play at. It would also give them another 20-goals-a-season striker.

VERDICT: Reyes' desire to go back to Spain makes this deal look like a winner. From Owen's point of view, he could expect to be a regular starter.

CHELSEA
Could certainly outdo Arsenal if it came down to a bidding war, it depends on whether Owen fits in with Jose Mourinho's vision at Chelsea. A penalty-box predator is the one thing the Blues have really missed this season and neither Eidur Gudjohnsen nor Didier Drogba are in double figures for Premiership goals this season, while Mateja Kezman has not settled.

VERDICT: Chelsea's need for an out-and-out goalscorer and almost unlimited resources could bring Owen to Stamford Bridge. He might even be joined in west London by former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard.

EVERTON
The Blues still have some cash in the bank from the sale of Wayne Rooney, and Owen could make a good foil for James Beattie. David Moyes' men would surely have to qualify for the Champions League to tempt Owen and even then he may prefer to go for more instant gratification with Arsenal or Chelsea rather than join the long-term project Moyes is undertaking at Goodison Park.

VERDICT: Their only chance may be if Arsenal and Chelsea look elsewhere for strikers.

LIVERPOOL
Ian Rush did it, why not Owen? However, the difference now in returning to Liverpool could not be greater. While Rush returned to a Reds team still dominating the English game, the Anfield men are now struggling just to finish in the top four, with the Carling Cup their only genuine chance of silverware this season. Should Steven Gerrard leave too, going back 'home' is hardly an attractive proposition for Owen.

VERDICT: Little left to offer Owen - they are a long way from challenging the 'big three' yet.

MANCHESTER UNITED
Sir Alex Ferguson might consider the prospect of Owen linking up with Rooney for club as well as country as appealing, but Ruud van Nistelrooy might have something to say about that. United appear to have strength in depth up front and the last thing Owen would want is to move from the Bernabeu bench to the one at Old Trafford.

VERDICT: The Red Devils already look good going forward - signing Owen almost seems unnecessary.

NEWCASTLE
The Magpies could well be looking for a new Gallowgate idol should Alan Shearer stick to his guns and retire at the end of the season. Money should not be too much of a problem and first-team football is pretty much guaranteed. The major difficulty in tempting him to the north-east, other than rival interest from London's big two, could be the lack of European football on offer.

VERDICT: Newcastle could be a club in transition this summer - Owen will want stability and the promise of trophies, so unlikely."

BBC SPORT: Gerrard would relish Owen link-up

Link to article

Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard would be delighted to link up again with Michael Owen - if the Real Madrid star makes a swift return to England.

Ex-Reds striker Owen, 25, has insisted he is happy at the Bernabeu, despite rumours linking him with a quick exit.

'Michael is a fantastic player to play with, although I am not sure what decisions he will make in his career,' Gerrard, 24, told BBC Radio Five Live.

'I love playing with Michael - he is a fantastic footballer.'

Owen left Liverpool to join Real in August 2004.

And the England striker has netted 11 goals in all competitions for the club this season, despite starting only eight games.

But his impressive ratio has not stopped coach coach Wanderley Luxemburgo using Raul and Ronaldo as his first-choice strikers.

'He is not getting many minutes on the field, which is unfortunate because he deserves to play more,' added Gerrard.

'His goals-to-games ratio is fantastic. I think the new manager will be playing him more.'

The Liverpool midfielder, who has been linked with Real Madrid and Chelsea, also revealed his admiration for David Beckham - the man who some have tipped Gerrard to replace as England captain.

He said: 'I have got a lot of respect for David Beckham as a person and player.

'Every player goes through dips in form - you can't always play at your highest level - I've had dips in form myself.' "