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Luis Suarez had looked lacklustre during the early stages of the Copa America but picked his form up to fire Uruguay into the final, with two characteristic finishes. He is now joint top of the scoring charts in the competition, and on the brink of becoming a national hero

Whilst his form in the Copa America will delight Liverpool fans, the result of his actions may not, as it delays his return to England even further. His efforts mean the earliest he will now return to the UK is just three weeks before Liverpool’s Premier League opener against Sunderland.

Suarez wasted little time in establishing himself as an Anfield favourite with a series of glorious performances after joining in January and was pivotal to the red’s turn around in fortunes last season. Should he bring success to his country, he will return to Merseyside brimming with confidence, but there is a small cause for concern over his long-term fitness.

After an intense summer, having played eight games for the national side, it is likely that Kenny Dalglish will want Suarez to have some rest and recovery time, which could push his return to Merseyside back even further, throwing his participation in the seasons opener into doubt.

The worry for Liverpool is that he will return jaded-both physically and mentally-after a summer without much time off. Lucas Leiva is another who has been in action at the tournament and will also return to Liverpool late. This shouldn’t worry Liverpool too much as they do have much better strength in depth than previous years, so should be able to cope should Suarez and Lucas not be fit for the opener. They will certainly not want to rush either player back and risk potential injuries or burnout in the long run.

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Suarez wouldn’t be the first to struggle after a heavy summer of matches. Javier Mascherano had a bad start to 2009 after returning from Argentina duty, and struggled for form in a Liverpool shirt for a while, complaining of tiredness, although he also wanted a move away from the red’s which probably affected his form as well.

It will be a long season for Suarez and Liverpool will want to look after their prize possession, to ensure they can get the best out of him. If that means giving him some time off at the start of the season to rest and recuperate and ensure he is in the best shape possible to face the vital season ahead, then surely that is what they will do.

The FA have announced that Mario Balotelli will not face any further disciplinary action after a number of reckless challenges in Manchester City’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.

The Italy international was sent off in the last minute after a rash challenge on Bacary Sagna, but escaped punishment for a high tackle on Alex Song in the first half.

The FA, despite calls from the media for Balotelli to be punished, have decided that no action will be taken against the City forward.

“Retrospective action in relation to the incident involving Mario Balotelli of Manchester City and Alex Song of Arsenal, which occurred in the 20th minute of Sunday’s game, will not be taken,” an FA statement confirmed.

“Where at least one of the officials has seen the coming together of players retrospective action is not taken, regardless of whether they have seen the full extent of the challenge.

“Retrospective action can only be taken in scenarios where none of the match officials saw the players coming together. The normal scenarios in which retrospective action is taken are for ‘off the ball’ incidents.

“Retrospective action was introduced for off the ball incidents where there was no contest for possession and could not be deemed to be re-refereeing an incident.

“In agreement with FIFA, this is how ‘not seen’ incidents are dealt with retrospectively in England. It is a policy that is agreed with all football stakeholders,” the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Mirror Football have reported that AC Milan and Inter are ready to battle it out to bring Balotelli back to Italy in the summer.

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The troubled forward has been identified as the man to lead an Inter revival, whilst the current Serie A champions are eager to freshen up their attacking options due to Alexandre Pato’s drop in fitness and form; both are ready to splash £20 million on Balotelli.

By Gareth McKnight

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New Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has made the retention of star players like Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard his main priority after being confirmed in the Anfield hot-seat.

Hodgson was unveiled as Rafael Benitez's successor on a three-year contract on Thursday to bring to an end a four-week search for a new manager.

During that time the futures of Spain striker Torres and captain Gerrard have been the subject of intense speculation following suggestions that a lack of on-pitch success and off-field uncertainty at boardroom level could lead to one or both moving on this summer.

However, Hodgson is hoping use his first few days at the helm to persuade both players that their futures remain at Anfield.

"I don't think there's anybody here at the club who would welcome losing them. Certainly the fans wouldn't welcome losing them and us as a club I'm sure will do everything we can to make certain they stay with us," he told the club's official website.

"I'll be trying to persuade them that this is the place to be. I'll ask them to give me a chance give us a chance to improve on last season.

"They're all disappointed, I'm sure, after last season's results and I'll be doing my level best.

"It would be foolish to give guarantees that it's going to happen because I can't speak for the players themselves, but I'll be doing my best to keep them."

Asked about his own transfer plans and the type of budget he can expect to receive, the former Fulham boss explained:"One thing they made clear to me is we have to work within whatever restraints are in place at the club.

"But they've also made clear that if we were unfortunate to lose somebody then that money would be made available.

"I'm hoping that won't be the case because I don't want to lose anybody, but we haven't gone much further than that."

Meanwhile, Hodgson has admitted that his main task is to improve the fortunes of a club which lost 19 games in all competitions last season and finished a disappointing seventh in the final Premier League table.

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"For Liverpool the ambition always has to be to try and achieve a Champions League place and that's what we'll be trying to do as soon as possible," he continued.

"There's no point throwing out empty promises. Words are words and actions are actions and we have to show by our actions first of all on the training field and then at Anfield and other stadiums that we're ready and good enough.

"That's my task, to work with the players and ensure we are good enough."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The annals of history are littered with a wealth of excellent footballers who failed to have the status of ‘great’ bestowed upon them due to their inability to land football’s biggest prize. Footballing canon, and Wayne Rooney it seems, denote that World Cup success is a mandatory requirement of ‘greatness’ – victory upon the world’s biggest stage is what separates Diego Maradona and Pele from the likes of Johan Cruyff and Eusebio. However, Rooney is currently considered to be one of the best footballers in the world. Regardless of whether he manages to lead England to World Cup victory, he is likely to be regarded as one of the finest players ever to don both the England and Manchester United jerseys. Should a failure to secure the Jules Rimet trophy preclude Rooney from entering the pantheon of all-time football greats?

On the back of a tremendous domestic season, in which he scooped both the PFA and FWA Player of the Year accolades, Wayne Rooney stands on the cusp of greatness. With the hopes and dreams of 50 million people resting upon his burly shoulders, Rooney recently stated that “If you want to be known and remembered in world football, I feel you would have to win a World Cup. Obviously there are players like George Best who are geniuses, but personally I feel I have to help England win a World Cup to be considered like that.”

Despite finishing the season with just the Carling Cup to tangibly demonstrate his side’s efforts, Rooney’s transformation from a talented player to a truly undisputed world-class one became apparent during 2009/10. A return of 34 goals from just 42 games emphatically dismissed any doubts over his ability to function as an out and out centre-forward whilst simultaneously helping to banish the spectre of the departed Cristiano Ronaldo. Still only 24 years of age, Rooney has already won three Premier League titles, two League Cups and one Champions League trophy (indeed, the FA Cup is the only major club prize Rooney has yet to win). At international level, Rooney has already racked up 60 caps, notching 25 goals in the process. The anticipated longevity of Rooney’s international career is such that many believe he will trump Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 goals for the English national team.

Since he first came to the attention of the widespread media with THAT goal against Arsenal, Rooney has consistently broken records. Rooney is the national side’s youngest ever goal scorer, as well as their youngest scorer in a European Championship tournament. More recently, the former Everton man recently broke the national’s side record for most goals scored in a World Cup qualifying campaign, having scored nine on the road to South Africa.

Records and statistics fail to indicate exactly how good the Croxteth-born forward is. Rooney is blessed with power, pace, vision and a wonderful eye for goal. Whilst many players are in possession of such attributes, Rooney’s ability to marry such traits with unwavering passion, determination and work-rate is what truly sets him apart from the rest.

Ultimately, the concept of ‘greatness’ is a subjective one, with many traditionalists believing that World Cup success distinguishes the excellent from the truly great. Still to reach the peak of his career, Rooney is primed to ensure that he can be defined as the latter. Will he be able to do so? Only time will tell.

Do you think Rooney needs to win the World Cup in order to achieve greatness?

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Follow all things United at www.twitter.com/Manunited_FFC

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/zarifrasul

City broke the deadlock in the 29th minute thanks to a goal from Yaya Toure but had to wait until the 73rd before putting the game to bed when Toure's shot struck the post before hitting Green and nestlising into the back of the net.

Adam Johnson made it 3-0 before James Tomkins grabbed a late consolation goal for the Hammers with a powerfull header.

Meanwhile, Alan Pardew's reign as Newcastle manager got off to the perfect start as the Magpies beat Liverpool 3-1 in the late kick off at St James' Park.

Kevein Nolan put Newcastle in front after 15 minutes before Dirk Kuyt's deflected shot levelled matters just after the break. However goals in the last 10 minutes from Joey Barton and Andy Carroll wrapped up the win.

Elsewhere Blackpool continued their fine season with a 1-0 win away at Stoke with DJ Campbell getting the only goal in an entertaining game.

Aston Villa eased their relegation fears with a 2-1 win over Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park.

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Stewart Downing and Emile Heskey put Villa 2-0 in front before Paul Scharner pulled one back for the visitors at the death to set up a tense finale.

Everton and Wigan both remain in relegation trouble after fighting out a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park and so do Fulham who also had to settle for a goalless encounter at home to Sunderland.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

After a rather unpleasant summer for United fans, seeing Chelsea and Arsenal make big moves in the transfer market, not to mention being told off by their equivalent of God, Fergie, whilst he was defending the Glazers – who of course have the best interests of the club at heart, clearly displayed by the plans to sell on the stock exchange and keep only half the money – such generosity knows no bounds, but things are looking up for fans, with the declaration that £50 million will be spent this summer to show the club still has intent and can compete with anyone in Europe.

Sadly for United however, in the modern game, like it or not, £50 million is not going to get you very much. It may buy you a leg of Messi, or perhaps a half of the duo that is Xavi and Iniesta – but at the absolute most, unless you are a wiz at bargaining or the club is in utter disarray like Malaga, you can get two world class players if you’re very lucky.

For a top, top player you are looking at going on £30 million – even the forgotten man Kaka and tug of love child Luka Modric are going for around that, and someone like Scholes in his prime would have exceeded that mark easily.

This is by no means a dig at United, in fact it is lamenting the price of players these days, and more than that the wage demands that come with them. It is not just the millions you are forking out for RVP, it is the couple of hundred thousand a week he demands on top of this.

Of course you can still get quality players who have the potential to become stars for just under big money – Kagawa is a little bit of an unknown quantity (obviously not to the people who claim to have watched the boy for years and know he is in no way a risk or unknown quantity – apparently he’s even better than Mata or Cazorla – there must be more Dortmund season ticket holders in England than we thought.)

For clubs who aren’t looking to challenge for the title, £50 million is a huge amount of money – just imagine what Moyes could do with that at Everton, or Valencia if they could buy a player instead of selling their star every summer, yet in reality for a world class player or to really overhaul a team, it is not that much.

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Everything is obviously relative to the club you are talking about, and for one as big and with as stellar a reputation and manager as United, and one that needs a few players at that, £50 million really isn’t too big a deal. Perhaps if the Glazers hadn’t crippled the club with interest payments, there would be a larger amount in the transfer kitty and a longer run in the Champions League.

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With the error in judgement Jose Reina made last night against Wigan costing Liverpool a fifth straight victory, this may seem a fairly inappropriate time to say this; but the Anfield outfit cannot afford to let the 28 year-old Spaniard leave. It has been suggested in recent weeks that although Reina is not for sale in the January transfer window, he may be allowed to leave the club in the summer if he is unhappy with life at Anfield, with both Manchester United and Arsenal seeming very interested in the goalkeeper. With Reina himself reportedly unwilling to commit himself to Liverpool beyond the end of the season;

‘I will stay at Liverpool at least until the end of the season… I know there are rumours about me leaving but I want to make it clear that I have no intention of going back to Spain… Rafael Benitez was an essential person for this club and the reason I came to Liverpool.’

And Roy Hodgson reluctant to refute rumours regarding the Spanish goalkeeper’s exit, it seems it may be quite possible that Reina could walk out of Anfield in the summer. Allowing this to happen would be a complete disaster for the club in several ways;

First, Reina is a world-class goalkeeper, and barring the notable mistake against Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season, the 28 year-old has been magnificent for the Anfield outfit during his 5 years at the club. Winning the coveted ‘Premier League Golden Glove’, for the most clean sheets in a season in 3 of his 5 seasons at the club, and, in fact, keeping as many clean sheets as Petr Cech last season, missing out on the award purely on a clean sheet to games played ratio.

Second, there is a genuine paucity of world-class keepers at the moment, and if Liverpool have one, they would do well to keep hold of him. After a dismal start to the season both on and off the pitch, the club are on the up, and through the retention of the services of Reina, the club can push on, on both the domestic front and in Europe, and with their new investors, they should be looking to hang on to their prize assets. Along with Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, Reina is one of them. Letting the 28 year-old go would mean looking for a new, quality goalkeeper, and the ones that aren’t already tied down to big clubs are sparse in number to say the least.

Third, with Reina’s explicit wish not to return to Spain, it must surely signal either a move to Italy, or remaining where he is settled, in England. Behind every title winning side there is, generally, a great goalkeeper, and it can be argued that one of the only things missing at Arsenal is precisely that. Selling Reina to either Manchester United or Arsenal would give an enormous boost to potential rivals not only for the European places, but eventually also the title.

Reina is a top goalkeeper and has been an excellent servant of Liverpool FC. To allow him to walk out the door would lack foresight and could be detrimental to the club for years to come in more ways than one.

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Click on image below to see a gallery of Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest lady

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is set to start his first competitive match for England at Wembley on Tuesday having being warned by manager Roy Hodgson not to let his performance levels slip, reports The Guardian.

Hodgson is planning to hold talks with the Arsenal attacker in an attempt to find out why he allowed an impressive 45 minute display against Moldova to fade in the second half.

The 19-year-old had been one of England’s stand out performer’s during the first half, causing havoc on the left hand side of midfield. However Hodgson was disappointed with the manner in which his performance fizzled out in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

“I thought he’d been very good through that first half,” Hodgson said. “He’d done what we wanted him to do, and what I’d selected him to do, extremely well. But we’d made it clear to him we intended to take him off after 60 minutes, so I think he forgot to play in those first 15 minutes of the second half. That will be an interesting lesson for him as well. Especially when I tell him.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain had admitted in the build up to the game he still has plenty to learn, having only started playing regular first team football with Arsenal at the start of the year. He also revealed he was the first player to receive a telling off from the England boss, for showboating in a training session during Euro 2012.

“I’m the least experienced player here, so just watching everyone in training is an education,” he said. “This is only the start of my career and I can only watch and learn, and keep working hard.

“I’ve always been a relaxed person, but when I get on the pitch I rely on my ability and trust in myself. I can just listen to everyone and any advice or constructive criticism they have I can just take it into account and try to make my game better. It’s nice Roy has put such faith in me so far, but I don’t consider myself an automatic regular starter yet.”

Whilst Chamberlain is set to start, one player who looks set to miss the visit of Ukraine is Chelsea defender John Terry, who picked up an ankle injury during Friday’s 5-0 victory in Moldova. Gary Cahill looks set to partner Joleon Lescott at centre back, whilst Leighton Baines is set to retain his place at left back after the FA confirmed Ashley Cole will not be rejoining the squad having failed to recover from an ankle injury.

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Brendan Rodgers believes there were ‘only positives’ to take from Liverpool’s 5-3 win over Young Boys and admits he took great pride in the performance.

Liverpool opened their Europa League group phase with a thrilling victory in Switzerland after Rodgers left most of his big-name players back on Merseyside. His faith in his rookies was rewarded as Andre Wisdom scored on his debut before substitute Jonjo Shelvey netted twice as the Reds came from 3-2 down to claim the points. The Reds boss told Sky Sports:

“We’ve come away with a young team into a European game and I want to talk about the five goals, which were absolutely magnificent. Of course, we could have defended better and the three goals we gave away were disappointing, but there are only positives from tonight. It was a chance for the young players to seize that opportunity to play and I think they took it.”

Rodgers also praised the impact of Shelvey, who put the Reds 4-3 in front with a first-time finish before wrapping up the win with a run and fierce shot. The Liverpool boss added:

“I felt that it was the time of the game that we needed him and it worked well for us. Obviously once we got the equaliser they went to more 4-4-2 and that give us the extra man in midfield and we were able to dominate that wee bit more. It worked very, very well, he does what he can do very well and he’s going to be a big player for Liverpool.”

Liverpool next face a fierce fixture against Manchester United at Anfield. This will be the first game played at Anfield since the publication of the Hillsborough disaster report.

Manchester United are close to finally offloading Dimitar Berbatov, after Fiorentina made a bid for the striker’s services, according to Mirror Football.

The Bulgarian forward has found opportunities at Old Trafford limited due to the attacking talent at Sir Alex Ferguson’s disposal and the summer signing of Robin van Persie has put a nail in Berbatov’s chances with the Red Devils.

A number of European clubs have made enquiries over the eastern European striker, with Fiorentina the latest to show interest.

The Viola have had a busy summer in the transfer market, but are fearful that they may lose skilful attacker Stevan Jovetic before the end of August.

As such Berbatov is on the verge of signing a two-year contract at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, after asking Sir Alex Ferguson personally to lower the club’s asking price for him.

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By Gareth McKnight

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