Brendan Rodgers Wants To Work For A Club Who Has The Potential To Win Silverware

Liverpool have renewed attempts to discuss their vacant managerial post with Swansea's Brendan Rodgers.

Continue reading the main story“We would like to confirm that there has been no contact from Liverpool and nothing has changed since our previous statement on the issue”Swansea City statement on MondayOwner John W Henry arrived on Merseyside on Tuesday to personally oversee the recruitment process.

Having spoken to Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, Liverpool have gone back to Rodgers to discuss the position.

Rodgers 39, met Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins on Tuesday morning but the Welsh club insist the manager's future was not discussed.

Martinez has yet to hear back from Liverpool, but Henry is understood to have been impressed with him when the pair met in Miami last week and was keen to speak to him a second time.

Though persistent rumours that Rodgers would be meeting Liverpool last night proved unfounded, Swansea are today bracing themselves for the call from Merseyside. City chairman Huw Jenkins emerged from morning discussions with the Northern Irishman – which had been scheduled long before the Liverpool position became available – to insist that there had still been no contact from Anfield. But Rodgers' return to the UK from a visit to New York has coincided with a sudden sense of pessimism in south Wales that he could be persuaded to stay – and Liverpool may now be prepared to make their move. An announcement may be forthcoming on Friday.

But Rodgers has never made any secret of the fact that he wants to work for a club who have the potential to win silverware and though the presence of his family in South Wales is important, the Liverpool opportunity may prove too good to resist.

The outcome of Liverpool's pursuit of a new manager may now depend on how Martinez and Rodgers feel about the prospect of working under Louis van Gaal, who is favourite to become the club's sporting director. Van Gaal has always had an imperious streak and said 11 years ago that he had been top of Manchester United's list to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I knew I was first on the list to succeed [Ferguson] last year," he said. "I don't have any contact with them now... but I can imagine that a club like Manchester United are still interested in Louis van Gaal."

With Wigan's Martinez weighing up the structure that Liverpool's owner, Fenway Sports Group, has put before him, Rodgers has told friends that although he is happy in Wales he is intrigued by the chance to manage one of football's biggest clubs. He is pondering whether such an opening will come around again.

Swansea are on the verge of completing a club-record £6.8 million (AED 39.1m) transfer for on-loan Hoffenheim midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson and are interested in a loan deal for Tottenham's out-of-favour Giovani dos Santos - whom Rodgers watched on Sunday as a guest of the Football Association of Wales for the friendly against Mexico in New Jersey.

However, despite suggestions elsewhere that Rodgers had already been offered the Liverpool job, the club refused to comment officially on their manager's position.

Joey Barton Has Fallen Foul Of The Football Association

Queens Park Rangers midfielder Joey Barton has fallen foul of the Football Association on more than one occasion.
　　
On Wednesday he was issued with a 12-match ban after being found guilty of two counts of violent conduct during Rangers' 3-2 defeat by Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season. Here, BBC Sport reflects on some of the moments that have made headlines during the 29-year-old's career.
Barton, 29, was sent off in QPR's defeat at Manchester City on the final day of the season and had accepted a charge over his clash with Sergio Aguero in the wake of his red card.
　　
He was also found guilty over a separate clash with Vincent Kompany.
　　
 The midfielder has been fined £75,000 by the Football Association.
　　
Barton was initially sent off for an off-the-ball clash with City striker Carlos Tevez and will serve a four-match ban for that offence, as it was his second sending-off of the season.
　　
The incidents involving Aguero and Kompany came after Barton had been dismissed, meaning they fell outside the jurisdiction of the referee, and have resulted in a further eight-match suspension.
　　
The real wreckage, however, is not in the length of ban or the period of time in which Barton will not be allowed to play. It is now about the period when he will be allowed to play. A second hearing, this time convoked by his employers, Queen's Park Rangers, will begin now the outcome of the FA's is known. This does not promise to be any more pleasant or easy going than that which took place yesterday, given that there would not necessarily have been many tears shed at Loftus Road for the length of ban.
　　
The harsh reality for a club such as QPR, and there is no disrespect meant here, is that they cannot carry a player who will not be able to play for them until the nights are closing in. It could be a winter of discontent that the former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder faces, as he turns 30.
　　
He may not even be among the Premier League squad of 25 at the season's start, for a club who cannot afford to be a player short for the start of their second campaign in the top flight in the last 16 years.
　　
In April he was involved in a half-time row with his club captain, Shaun Derry, in the dressing room at West Bromwich Albion. That had not helped his standing with some team-mates before the Etihad incident.
　　
An FA statement read: "An independent Regulatory Commission has today (Wednesday) dealt with two charges of violent conduct against Joey Barton, arising from the game against Manchester City, resulting in an eight-match suspension and 75,000-pound fine for the Queens Park Rangers midfielder.
　　
"This eight-match suspension is to run consecutively to the four-game suspension Barton was already given for his dismissal in the fixture, making a total of 12 matches."
　　
The chairman of the Independent Regulatory Commission said: "There are rules of conduct that should be adhered to, and such behaviour tarnishes the image of football in this country, particularly as this match was the pinnacle of the domestic season and watched by millions around the globe."

Liverpool Have Sacked Manager Kenny Dalglish

The decision came after Dalglish flew to Boston to meet with Liverpool's US owner John Henry and chairman Tom Werner.

Kenny Dalglish led Liverpool to League Cup success and the FA Cup final in his second spell at Anfield. But his side finished eighth in the Premier League, 37 points behind champions Manchester City and below local rivals Everton.

The poor league finish came after Dalglish spent millions on new players last summer. Dalglish won 35 of his 74 games in all competitions since taking over in January 2011. In that time Liverpool have drawn 17 and lost 22 matches.

Liverpool have struggled for form at home this season winning just six of their 19 league games. Dalglish was also criticised for defending Luis Suarez after the Liverpool striker was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra.

Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez and Wigan's Roberto Martinez are the two early favourites to take over at Anfield.

Dalglish arrived back in England on Tuesday morning after meeting representatives of Fenway Sports Group, including Liverpool's principal owner, John W Henry, and the chairman, Tom Werner.

At the meeting, instigated by Dalglish in response to the uncertainty that has surrounded his position since defeat in the FA Cup final on 5 May, he delivered his end-of-season review and outlined his strategy for next season.

FSG, however, were dissatisfied with Liverpool's poor eighth‑place finish in the Premier League, matching their lowest league finish since they were promoted back to the old First Division in 1962.

A statement from the club said: "Kenny Dalglish is to leave his post today as manager after having his contract terminated. After a careful and deliberative review of the season, the club came to the decision that a change was appropriate. It is not a decision that was reached lightly or hastily. The search for a new manager will begin immediately."

Henry said: "Kenny will always be more than a championship winning manager, more than a championship winning star player. He is in many ways the heart and soul of the club. He personifies everything that is good about Liverpool Football Club. He has always put the club and its supporters first. Kenny will always be a part of the family at Anfield.

"Our job now is to identify and recruit the right person to take this club forward and build on the strong foundations put in place during the last 18 months."

The Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said: "Kenny came into the club as manager at our request at a time when Liverpool Football Club really needed him. He didn't ask to be manager; he was asked to assume the role. He did so because he knew the club needed him. He did more than anyone else to stabilise Liverpool over the past year-and-a-half and to get us once again looking forward. We owe him a great debt of gratitude.

Even as they paid tribute to Dalglish, co-owners Henry and Werner revealed it was the failure to come remotely close to delivering a top four finish that ultimately cost the Anfield icon his job.

"Kenny will always be more than a championship winning manager, more than a championship winning star player (but) our job is to identify and recruit the right person to take this club forward," Henry explained.

That process gets underway immediately, with bookmakers installing Roberto Martinez and former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez - who still lives in the area - as the two overwhelming favourites for the vacant position.

But the owners have made clear they will not be rushed into any hasty decisions in finding the right man to take them towards the top four challenge they consider is the minimum requirement for next season.

They are admirers of Andre Villas-Boas and considered him a credible candidate when they sacked Roy Hodgson in January 2010.

Chelsea FC Overcame Liverpool FC 2-1 To Win Their Seventh FA Cup

It's getting to the point where Roberto Di Matteo would have strong grounds for unfair dismissal if Roman Abramovich doesn’t keep him as Chelsea manager.

The Italian was supposed to provide nothing more than a safe pair of hands until the end of the season when Abramovich decided that having a man who was sacked by West Brom in temporary charge was a better option than Andre Villas-Boas.

But two months on, the Blues have won the FA Cup and have a Champions League Final to come.
Goals by Ramires and Didier Drogba took the famous old trophy back to Stamford Bridge for the fourth time in six seasons and seventh time overall.

And if Di Matteo’s men were impressive in the way they dominated Kenny Dalglish’s side for more than three-quarters of the contest, the sheer defiance they showed after Andy Carroll’s reply was just as telling.

Petr Cech’s save to push Carroll’s 82nd-minute header onto the crossbar will go down as one of the cup final’s definitive moments.

Liverpool insisted that the ball had crossed the line – but television replays suggested assistant referee Andrew Garratt’s eyes had not failed him.

And so, 14 years after he scored a goal that was once the fastest in Cup-final history, this was another day for Di Matteo to savour. 

Chelsea FC overcame Liverpool FC 2-1 to win their seventh FA Cup and their fourth in six years thanks to Ramires's first-half goal and a landmark strike by Didier Drogba.

It was a cagey first half and, although Ramires gave Chelsea an early lead, opportunities were few and far between. Drogba doubled the Blues' advantage after the break to become the only player to score in four FA Cup finals. Andy Carroll gave Liverpool hope with an emphatic strike but Chelsea held on with the help of a superb reflex save by Petr Čech.

In his programme notes Chelsea's interim manager Roberto Di Matteo hailed his side's 'class and character' in their 5-1 semi-final victory against Tottenham Hotspur FC and Juan Mata showed plenty of the former to set up Ramires for the opening goal on 11 minutes. The Spanish international pounced on a mistake by Jay Spearing to find Ramires with a perfectly weighted pass and the midfielder raced clear of José Enrique to fire in a shot which went in off Pepe Reina at his near post.

Liverpool came close to an immediate response but Branislav Ivanović blocked Craig Bellamy's goal-bound volley after Chelsea failed to clear Glen Johnson's centre. Midway through the first half the lively Salomon Kalou looked to have weaved his way through the Liverpool defence but his mesmerising run was halted by Daniel Agger at the final hurdle.

The UEFA Champions League finalists continued to control the game in the second half and doubled their lead on 52 minutes. Frank Lampard evaded the challenge of Spearing in midfield and slid the ball into the path of Drogba, who squeezed his effort through the legs of Martin Škrtel and into the bottom right-hand corner to become the first player to score in four FA Cup finals.

Seemingly down and out, Liverpool were back in the game 12 minutes later when substitute Carroll pounced on a loose ball, made himself some room in the penalty area and rifled it into the roof of the net giving Čech no chance.

Buoyed by their goal, Liverpool went in search of an equaliser and came close when Carroll's header was superbly pawed on to the crossbar by Čech with eight minutes remaining. The west Londoners held on, however, to give themselves the perfect boost ahead of the UEFA Champions League showpiece in a fortnight's time.

Roy Hodgson Is The Man Charged With The Responsibility Of Leading England At UEFA EURO 2012

England will go into UEFA EURO 2012 with Roy Hodgson as their manager after the Football Association (FA) confirmed his appointment on a four-year contract.

Hodgson replaces Fabio Capello, who quit the role in February, and will have just two friendly matches – against Norway in Oslo on 26 May, and Belgium at Wembley on 2 June – before England embark on their EURO campaign against France in Donetsk on 11 June.

"Roy emerged as our stand-out candidate," said David Bernstein, the chairman of the FA, at the press conference to unveil England's new appointment. "We quickly agreed Roy is the right man to guide us through the European Championships and future tournaments.

"We were unanimous in choosing Roy, a manager with vast experience of international and European football. This is the first time the FA has appointed an England manager with any previous international experience. This, I'm sure, will be of great benefit in helping him make the adjustments from club management."

Hodgson described feelings of great pride at taking the job he regards to be "the pinnacle" of football management. "It's a very proud day for me," he said. "I'm a very happy man to have been offered the chance to manage my country. I'm looking forward enormously to the task ahead; everyone knows it's not an easy one but I also think that everybody – the fans – will get behind the team because it's the team that counts, and it's the team that will win us matches."

Hodgson added that he was aiming to guide England to victory at UEFA EURO 2012 and that the announcement of his provisional squad for the tournament would be put back until the end of the season in order for him to do "as much research" and "speak to as many players as possible". The 64-year-old has also agreed to see out West Bromwich Albion FC's final two Premier League matches of the campaign – against Bolton Wanderers FC and Arsenal FC – before focusing on the matter of steering England to glory in Poland and Ukraine.

"England have always got to go into a tournament with the aim of winning it because we're a major footballing nation. It will be difficult because I've come in at a rather late stage, but I think the players would be disappointed if I tried to do anything less."

The FA announced on Sunday that it had made an approach to West Brom to speak to Hodgson, who had been manager at The Hawthorns since February last year and whose contract with the club ends this summer.

England have been without a manager since the resignation of Capello. Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce held the reins for the 3-2 home friendly defeat by the Netherlands at the end of February.

Hodgson has previous experience of international football with Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Finland and as coach of the Swiss ended their 28-year absence from major tournaments when steering them to the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they reached the last 16. He also led Switzerland to EURO '96 qualification but moved on to FC Internazionale Milano before the finals.

In an interview with UEFA.com last year, Hodgson reflected on the different challenge of international management when he said: "The major difference for me was the nature of the work and what it demanded from me. You get more preparation time, which is good. I always felt that I was able to go in and really talk with some expertise on the opponents, because I had the chance to follow them and study them and prepare the videos."

Known as a hands-on coach on the training ground, Hodgson also voiced his awareness of one of the potential perils of the job. "There's a risk with being a national coach, that after periods of inactivity you try to do too much in a short period of time," he said.

"You also forget that the players come from a day-to-day environment, they come to you maybe a little bit tired from their club training sessions, and you are trying to get the maximum and demanding a lot from them in your training sessions; it can be a dangerous job for people like myself who like to be out on the field coaching the players."

Hodgson will face these challenges and more in his new role, but can draw on almost four decades of experience from a coaching career which began with Swedish club Halmstad BK in the mid-1970s.
Since then Hodgson has managed clubs in five other countries – Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Norway and, of course, England. He returned to his homeland in 2007 to take charge of Fulham FC and led them to the UEFA Europa League final in 2010, just as he had done with Inter in the 1997 UEFA Cup, before a short-lived spell as Liverpool FC manager.