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aw some positives. He fin

  • April 22, 2019
    Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has refused to be drawn on whether he will try to lure Steven Gerrard to the club in January. The 36-year-old midfielder confirmed he is parting company with Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of his 18-month contract, which expires at the turn of the year.Gerrard, who won 114 international caps for England, worked with Rodgers for three years when the pair were at Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers gives instructions to Steven Gerrard during a Liverpool match Bookies have made Celtic favourites to sign Gerrard in the January transfer window, while Newcastle, where another former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is in charge, have also been linked with the player.While Rodgers reiterated his praise for the Anfield icon, he insists any business involving recruitment will be conducted in private by Celtic.Rodgers said: I never speculate or speak about players coming into the club. I never have done and dont intend to start now - that will always remain private. Steven Gerrard in action against Celtics Stiliyan Petrov in 2004 The only thing I would say with regards to Steven, he has been an incredible player. I had him for a number of years at Liverpool and he was absolutely brilliant with me.As a young manager going into such a great club, having the captain and real senior player there, to be able to work closely together with him and learn about the club and work together on the field was fantastic. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price He decided to go to America and Im sure he has had a good spell there. Steven will sit down now and come back and decide what he wants to do.In terms of the speculation, Im not sure where its come from. But players coming into the club will always remain private.Despite Rodgers reluctance to be drawn on Gerrards next move, former Hoops midfielder Murdo MacLeod would love to see the Champions League winner head to Celtic Park. Murdo MacLeod keen to see Gerrard join old club Celtic Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, MacLeod, who spent nine years with Celtic from 1978, said: Its an interesting one. Listening to Brendan, he is wondering where this has all come from.But he has the connection with him and obviously at some point it would be fantastic to see someone of the quality of Steven Gerrard playing for the club. Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Gerrard: Ive got options Gerrard departs LA Galaxy Where next for Gerrard? Transfer Centre Air Jordan Nz Cheap .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Air Jordan Nz . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. http://www.airjordannzcheap.com/ . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Cheap Air Jordan Shoes . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Wholesale Jordan Shoes . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota.TORONTO -- Josh Johnson doesnt have the answers. After another horrid start, the Toronto Blue Jays starter didnt know what he was doing wrong this season or in Saturdays 8-6 loss to the Houston Astros at Rogers Centre. "Ive just got to make better pitches," he said. "I made some OK pitches, but then I made some terrible ones as well." Johnson fell to 1-7 and saw his earned-run average rise to 6.08 as he gave up seven runs on seven hits, including three home runs. It was his third straight bad start and fifth consecutive loss in as many appearances. "Hes scuffling, thats an understatement," manager John Gibbons said. "Hes feeling it. I mean, hes human. You feel for the guy. And hes never struggled a whole lot in his career. Hes trying to settle in, hes trying to contribute, and it hasnt gone well for him. Its tough. Theres really nowhere to hide out there." Johnson tried to take a "different mind-set" onto the mound Saturday afternoon after lasting just two innings Monday. His pre-game bullpen session admittedly wasnt sharp, but the right-hander insisted he didnt think, "Here we go again" after surrendering back-to-back singles to start the game. "Sometimes that happens," Johnson said. "Seems like its happened a lot more with me, but its part of the game." When Astros designated hitter Chris Carter hit a three-run home run before Johnson recorded an out, it marked the sixth straight start in which he allowed multiple runs in the first inning a base runner got on. Pitching coach Pete Walker said he and his staff were "certainly aware" of that trend. But throwing from the stretch isnt Johnsons only problem, as Gibbons pointed out that he allowed solo home runs to Justin Maxwell and Matt Dominguez from the windup. Where Johnsons issues stem from could be mechanical or mental. More likely, its a combination of both, as the 29-year-old said his confidence is "not real high" right now. "They all go through those stretches where confidence becomes an issue," Gibbons said. "Youve got to deal with it. Thats part of this business. I know hes scrambling, hes got to be scrambling trying to figure it out because youll see him: Hell pitch some hitters good and then lose it and get hit pretty hard." Johnson tried to work on keeping his throwing motion more direct, driving down his right hip instead of falling off the mound toward first basee.dddddddddddd He consciously thought about it for all 5 2/3 innings Saturday. "Id do it for a couple pitches and then I wouldnt do it for a couple," Johnson said. "That inconsistency was still there a little bit." Consistency has been hard to find for the Blue Jays this season, and that goes beyond Johnsons struggles. They managed to put six runs on the board Saturday, finally getting to Astros starter Dallas Keuchel, but it wasnt enough. Keuchel, who lasted until Jose Bautistas three-run homer in the eighth, said the Blue Jays had as good a lineup as he has seen in the major leagues. Toronto showed it by out-hitting Houston, but the hole Johnson dug was too deep to get out of. "I think he just wants to compete, and he just wants to get some consistency in his game right now," Walker said. "The frustration is that he doesnt feel like hes giving this team a chance to win a game." As Johnson failed to do that for the fourth time in five starts, its time for more re-evaluation. Walker said its "back to the drawing board a little bit with him." From his vantage point, Johnson saw some positives. He finished with eight strikeouts and was able to last into the sixth inning to keep a tired bullpen fresh. But the negatives certainly outweighed the positives. "I just think they put some good swings on him," Gibbons said. "The balls not where hes trying to locate it, and then hes maybe up in the zone a little bit and they hit him." Johnson said he "threw some pretty good pitches." Because he didnt throw enough, he was left to lament another loss, but the coming days will mean more work to right his game. "Its a battle right now," Walker said. "And I know hes frustrated with the consistency, but were certainly not giving up on him by any stretch. I still think hes got plenty of stuff to get major-league hitters out. I think you saw it with the strikeouts today: At times hes very good. Hes going to continue to work at it, and I still believe in my heart that hes going to have some good games here." NOTES -- Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left the game with tightness in his left quadriceps muscle. He said he felt some tightness going from first to third, and manager Bo Porter indicated his removal was for precautionary reasons. ... Blue Jays second baseman Mark DeRosa hit his 100th career home run with a solo shot in the second inning. ' ' '