The striker laments declining the transfer, after Gerrard asked him to join Liverpool

An experienced striker in the Premier League has expressed remorse for declining a transfer to Liverpool, even though Steven Gerrard was pressuring him to sign with the team.

It was well knowledge that Gerrard used his ability to persuade players to join him at Anfield, albeit some of his attempts were more effective than others.

Bobby Zamora, a former striker for West Ham, said that he was one of the players the former Reds captain courted during his playing career and expressed regret for not following his fellow England international’s counsel.

Zamora disclosed on the Under The Cosh podcast that Gerrard attempted to persuade him to transfer to Liverpool, asserting that he “should have got five years” at Anfield.

The 42-year-old said, “I probably should have gone to Liverpool from Fulham.”

Roy Hopkinson travelled to Liverpool. They placed a simultaneous £10 million bid, as did Spurs.

“When I got in the lift with my best friend after my first England match against Hungary, Stevie G said, ‘Mate, f***ing brilliant today, well done.'” Are you planning to visit Liverpool?

“I told him to speak with Roy because I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.'”

I had recently had my girls. “You’re going to be my key man, I need you, and we’ll give you a new deal,” declared Mark Hughes. I answered, “Yeah OK,” not sure why.

But it’s true that I ought to have travelled to Liverpool. Despite the fact that Roy performed poorly there.

“I ought to have been at Liverpool for five years. There aren’t enough branches for you to hit coming down from that.

Zamora played in 252 Premier League games during his career, however he only made two appearances for England in friendlies, both of which were played under Fabio Capello.

In 17 appearances across all competitions, he scored twice against Liverpool, although it was evident that in 2010 he attracted Gerrard’s attention when the two were abroad on international duty.

Although it’s commendable that he feels he could have spent five years wearing a Liverpool shirt, it’s fair to say that’s a bold claim given the signings of Daniel Sturridge in 2013 and Luis Suarez in 2011!

Although Gerrard clearly had an eye for a player, all parties ultimately found that this move never quite worked out.

More news……

Why Martin Odegaard’s handball against Arsenal did not result in a penalty kick for Liverpool

On Saturday, Liverpool and Arsenal played in the Premier League.
Odegaard touched the ball in Arsenal’s box, but no penalty was called, and the referee was not called to look at the VAR screen.

The majority of the lead-up to Liverpool’s Premier League match against Arsenal was devoted by Jurgen Klopp to the Anfield faithful.

Following what Klopp thought were two dull performances by the Merseyside faithful against West Ham and Manchester United, the chief orchestrator of Liverpool insisted on “a proper Anfield experience” and asked supporters to surrender their tickets “if you are not in the right shape”.

After Martin Odegaard touched the ball in Arsenal’s box during the first half, the bulk of the 57,000 spectators who crammed into the stadium on Saturday night let out a collective yell of disapproval when referee Chris Kavanagh waved away strong claims for a penalty.

This is the reason why the captain of Arsenal got away with it, much to the vociferous disapproval of many at Anfield.

Why weren’t Liverpool given a penalty against Arsenal for Martin Odegaard’s handball?

After just three minutes, Arsenal took the lead with their 11th set-piece goal of the season, and Gabriel tried his hardest to hush those on the red side of Stanley Park with a looping header.

Midway through the first half, Odegaard found himself in his own penalty area despite having swung in that tempting delivery. With a deft touch, Mohamed Salah beat the captain of Arsenal to the ball and caught Odegaard off guard. Odegaard lost his footing and slapped the bouncing ball with his left hand in a desperate attempt to correct his placement, which infuriated many.

The FA handbook’s much-discussed Law 12 emphasises that “not every touch of a player’s hand/arm with the ball is an offence”.

Odegaard undoubtedly touched the ball by accident, but if a player “has made their body unnaturally bigger,” intent is irrelevant. Salah’s charge into Arsenal’s box was halted by Odegaard’s lowered arm, even though his studs were embedded in the ground.

In contrast, “the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation” absolves them of any criminal responsibility.

In order to avoid players receiving penalties for contacting the ball with the arm they are using to cushion their fall, this particular feature was included. Though he barely regains his balance, Odegaard seems to counterbalance his unsteady footing by moving his hand to the turf rather than punching the ball away. Referee Kavanagh had to have reached at least this conclusion when he made the snap decision in real time.

VAR David Coote either did not consider Kavanagh’s judgement to be a “clear and obvious error” or agreed with Kavanagh’s call, which is quite feasible. There was no request to have the on-pitch official check again via the pitchside monitor.