Liverpool's Barry D-day looms
If Barry plays for Villa in Thursday’s UEFA Cup tie
with FH Hafnarfjardar he would not be eligible for the Champions
League until the knockout stages in February. That effectively
would finally put an end to the summer’s longest-running transfer
saga.
Kop boss Rafa Benitez will ignore the Barry fiasco for
the immediate future as he concentrates on tomorrow’s European
qualifier at Standard Liege in Belgium. He insisted: “My priority
this week is to prepare for the Champions League qualifier. I
believe we’re ready.”
Villa chief Martin O’Neill said: “If Gareth is still
our player tomorrow morning, he has as good a chance as anyone of
climbing on the bus.” Striker Andriy Voronin is set to quit Anfield
after failing to get into the starting line-up. He said: “It looks
as if there will be no honest competition for my position.”
Mac will never beat Wenger
McClaren’s Dutch minnows FC Twente host Arsenal in
tomorrow night’s Champions League qualifier. But Holland legend Van
Basten reckons the former England boss has no chance of puling off
a shock victory over the Gunners.
The Ajax chief — whose side lost 3-2 to Arsenal in a
friendly on Friday — said: “If you compare the teams and you have
to bet on the result, most people would bet on Arsenal. “Premier
League clubs have a lot of money, that’s why they’re strong and
have a lot of good players.”
And Emirates striker Robin van Persie has taunted
arch-rivals Tottenham by branding Twente as ‘Holland’s Spurs’. He
said: “It is unthinkable for us not to be in the Champions League.
Twente’s equivalent in England? Tottenham!”
Wenger is set to hijack Blackburn’s £2million move for
midfielder Anthony Annan, 22, after Rovers failed to agree terms
with Norway’s IK Start.
