27 Apr 2008

Rafa slams Drogba for diving but Steven Gerrard is just as bad. And here is the proof.

Rafael Benitez has slated Didier Drogba’s diving antics ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League trip to Chelsea, but perhaps Rafa should have taken a closer look at the behaviour of his own players before launching his hypocritical tirade.

On the subject of Drogba’s predilection for diving, Rafa said:

“With Drogba, it's important to have a good referee.You can't do anything, but I will say it because it was so clear. He is amazing because he is massive.

“It's very impressive. I have a lot of clips of him from over the years and he surprises me. After four years, I expected it. We've played against Chelsea 19 games and every time I have collected some clips of Drogba”


Whilst Rafa is undoubtedly correct about Drogba's tiresome histrionics, Liverpool have a player who is just as bad when it comes to diving, and that player is club captain Steven Gerrard.

I will inevitably be slated and ridiculed for once again casting Gerrard in a negative light, but it sickens me that Liverpool’s captain is such a blatant diver.

What makes it worse is he has the gall to actually publicly criticize other players for diving, whilst doing exactly the same thing himself!

This season alone has been filled with examples of Gerrard diving. Against Everton at Goodison Park earlier in the season, Gerrard dived in the box after minimal contact with Tony Hibbert and Liverpool got a penalty.

What makes this incident worse is that Gerrard moaned at the referee and ended up getting Hibbert sent off. As the video clip below illustrates, Mark Clattenburg had the yellow card ready; then Gerrard walks past him, says something, and Clattenburg pulls out the red instead. Take a look:



Liverpool's recent victory against Blackburn at Anfield was marred by more examples of Gerrard's diving. On three occasions, Gerrard threw himself to the floor looking for a penalty. I’ve only managed to find clips for two of them, but they’re both laughable attempts at simulation.

This first one is embarrassing – Brad Friedel pulls himself out of the way, and Gerrard deliberately pushes his leg into the Blackburn keeper to create the contact, then goes down like a sack of potoatoes:




This second clip shows Gerrard trying to con the referee by diving after an innocuous challenge from Christopher Samba:





Gerrard doesn’t just dive for Liverpool, he dives for England too. Below is a clip of his blatant dive against Andorra, and you’ll notice the Andorran keeper has a go at him afterwards:





Below is a short compilation of Gerrard dives, including the most infamous dive of all, which came against AC Milan in 2005's Champions league final. How anyone can argue that it is *not* a dive is beyond me. Where exactly is the contact?!





Gerrard is a hypocritical diver, pure and simple. The question is, why do so many fans accept it and even praise him for it? Liverpool fans never pass up the opportunity to ridicule the likes of Ronaldo and Drogba for diving, yet when it comes to Gerrard and Torres, they’re conveniently overcome by selective blindness.

Take the Milan dive for example: If Gerrard had not dived, it's conceivable that Liverpool may not have gone on to win the game. Because Liverpool *did* win the game, fans think it's acceptable to overlook the dive and everything is forgotten.

I don't see it that way. As fantastic as the Milan game was, it was a phyrric victory in many ways. I can never take pleasure from blatant cheating, and that's what Gerrard did when he dived.

Of course, my attitude means I can't be a real fan. If I was a real fan, how could I highlight these things about a Liverpool captain? Well, for me, being a real fan is about acknowledging the truth and not allowing bias to cloud judgement.

And if you want an example of what 'real' fans think about Gerrard's diving, take a look at this video clip, where fans on the Kop actually encourage Gerrard to dive. At one point, you can clearly here someone say 'You should have dived there Stevie and won a penalty':





The fact is, many fans and pundits do not have the balls to tell it like it is, lest they be castigated by Liverpool's rabid 'superfans' for not being 'real supporters'. Winning is clearly more important than playing the game with honesty and integrity.

A prime example of this kind of spinelessness is Jamie Redknapp’s defence of Gerrard after the Blackburn game. Instead of being objective and telling the truth, he displayed breathtaking bias in his lame attempt to justify his mate Stevie’s actions:





There's nothing noble about defending a player when they've done something obviously wrong. Refusing to be objective because of bias and personal preference is just weak, and does not make someone a better fan.

Anyone who dives in football is cheat. End of story. There is never any excuse for it, and the diving epidemic is just indicative of the corrupt, self-serving nature of the modern game.

I don't care what Drogba and Ronaldo do - I don't want to see Liverpool players diving, and I definitely do want to see the captain of the club cheating to gain an advantage.

So Rafa - before having a go at other players for diving, why don't you make sure your own players are conducting themselves in a way the befits the history and traditions of Liverpool FC?

Gerrard may not writhe around on the floor like he's been shot a la Drogba, but his diving is still an embarrassment to the club.

And it needs to STOP.



34 comments:

  1. while he can go down easily, much of what you call a 'dive' isn't

    Gerrard is running at 100 mph and the slightest knock can throw you off balance

    1) Hibbert and Everton is not a dive by any means, he was tugging at him from well outside the box. Also, it is his job as a captain to talk to the ref, he can't ask the ref if hibbert was the last man back? he wasn't all in the ref's face, signalling for a card... so I think you're wrong on that one.

    2) The friedel one shows there was contact, and when you're running as fast as gerrard does it can be more than enough. The samba shows again his leg was bumped, and almost ANY player knows if you feel contact throughout the pitch and you don't think you can get the ball you go down... like when players all of a sudden stop running when their shirt is pulled or something like that... 99% of players do that I would say

    3) Istanbul: Gattuso catches his leg, again gerrard running full steam, and why would he go down there? he is in with the goalkeeper, I think you assume too much

    The andorra clip is harder to argue, he felt contact earlier and when presented with his remaining options decided to go down. While it is embarrassing to see him go down rather easily sometimes, branding someone as a 'cheat' for acouple rushes of blood to the head/ bad decisions is harsh.

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  3. More pearls of wisdom from the "I hate Steven Gerrard" site.

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  4. Omg to manage a couple of clips you had to go back 3 years and the one i say it was a dive is andorras though there was contact before. A player has every right to fall if there is any type of contact that influences the players balance. Drogba does that much in one game and with no contact at all or a slight push and he hold his leg agonizingly faking injuries!!! Drogba is a disgrace to your club...
    Gerrard is a legend

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  5. Ryan

    I have to admit that your line of thinking is disappointing and exposes the problem with the fans' attitude to diving. You state that 'A player has every right to fall if there is any type of contact that influences the players balance'. Why? What are you suggesting...that a player should just fall over because they get brushed by someone when they're running?!

    Shouldn't the player just try and stay on their feet instead of falling *just because* they got a slight touch from another player?

    No player has 'the right' to fall over. Such thinking just makes it easier for the cheats to prosper.

    If it's a situation where a player genuinely cannot stay on his feet then fair play, but in many cases players wait for the inevitable contact - even if it's just a slight brushing of shoulders - and fall over deliberately.

    Gerrard is a master at this, and the clips above prove that.

    And there are *many* other examples of Gerrard blatantly diving, including laughable recent incidents against Bolton and Sheffield United, but I couldn't find any clips.

    Andy why when we discuss diving do we have to bring other players into the mix? What has Didier Drogba got to do with Gerrard diving? Nothing. It's like fans are saying, 'well, Drogba does it, so it's okay for Gerrard to do it'.

    What a load of crap. Gerrard is a diver, just accept it. Whatever the ssupposed justification is, it doesn't matter. He's a diver and should be condemned for it, just like any other player who dives.

    It's just sad that so many great players are divers.

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  6. Jaimie, you seriously need therapy mate.

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  7. Yes, you're right. Because I tell the truth about Steven Gerrard, there must be something wrong with me! Old Stevie is beyond reproach and can never be questioned or criticised. And anyone who has the audacity to see the truth about him must be deranged.

    I see your point ;-)

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  8. I agree with some of your posts and this being one of them to a certain degree. But your views are always so righteous! Plus you never highlight any good points just always the bad. I'm pretty sure (could be totally wrong) you arent a LFC fan at all.

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  9. No Jaime, it's just you who's deranged.

    Even Sir Alex Ferguson says a good word or two about Liverpool every now and then.

    You just seem to loathe this club and anything positive that could possibly come from it and then try to justify that revilement as objectivity. And objective person is capable to seeing both sides of the coin and so far it only seems that as far as the current Liverpool squad is concerned, Rafa Benitez and Stevie G are concerned, there's only one side on that coin.

    As always, just sad.

    Now you can go ahead and delete this post as a dissenting opinion as is in your "objective" nature to do so.

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  10. It's a pity JK is putting up this crap just a day before the big match.

    No way he can be a Liverpool supporter.

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  11. Hillarious title to this article. Its like comparing a ferrari and a mini cos they are both cars. Some of the clips show gerrard diving some do not. So it is correct to say he dives. The consistancy and volume to which he dives is minimal at best. Most damning against drogba and what sets them so far appart is the inability for drogba to whitstand and physical contact on any part of the pitch from any angle. This greatly differs from gerrard. for headers drogba leans backwards into players while in mid air, feels contact and howls like a baby. he also falls towards players in a different direction than the ball is going in a way that alters the natural direction he should be going. He brings diving to an art form. Gerrard as i said has dived and may continue to do so but at a rate of once every 5 games (a random number) versus brogba who does so 8 or 9 times per game.
    Get a sense of perspective

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  12. Most players, coaches, referees and fans appreciate the significant difference between diving and taking advantage of contact.

    Drogba atrocious showing last Tuesday in the CL match was an extreme example of diving, where there was no contact or, worse, where he created contact to force the referee into a decision. He could've been sent off. It was a reckless, embarrassing display.

    Your clips of Gerrard mostly show the latter - taking advantage of contact - a facet of the game for longer than you and I have been alive.

    Your own appreciation of the difference, regardless of your opinion of Gerrard, would be more tolerable.

    You're on the verge of journalistic diving.

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  13. Jamie, addressing something you said earlier:

    "You state that 'A player has every right to fall if there is any type of contact that influences the players balance'. Why? What are you suggesting...that a player should just fall over because they get brushed by someone when they're running?!"

    I disagree with you on this. If you are FOULED, you have the option of going to ground. Whether you choose to or not depends on what you think is in the best interest of your team. This is NOT cheating. It is not cheating because you have been fouled.

    If you haven't been fouled, then yes it is cheating.

    You also said:
    "Shouldn't the player just try and stay on their feet instead of falling *just because* they got a slight touch from another player?"

    That depends on the circumstances. A player might try and stay on their feet, but they might not. If they have been fouled, they have the option of doing either.

    You also said:
    "No player has 'the right' to fall over. Such thinking just makes it easier for the cheats to prosper."

    You miss an important counter-point: no player has the "duty" to stay on his feet when his opponent has made a stupid mistake.

    You seem to criticise people who are willing to go to ground, but hang on! What about those players who through cynicism or lack of skill FOUL the attacker in the first place?

    A player has EVERY right to act in the best interest of his team, within the rules of the game. Conversely, no opponent has the RIGHT to NOT have his poor/dangerous/cynical play rewarded by an "honest" attacker trying to stay on his feet (in 99% of such occasions the referee will not call play back for a penalty anyway, for example).

    Remember the rules don't just say that contact has to be paid. They also state "the intent to foul a player".

    E.g.: you're running through one-on-one with the keeper. Some leaden-footed talentless defender isn't good enough to stop you, so just throws his legs at you. You lose your balance and may be able to stay on your feet.

    Whatever you choose to do, you have absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY to do the fouling player a favour! If you go down, you draw the referee's attention to the foul. If you go on, you might score or you might miss, in which case the defending team neither concedes a goal nor loses a man from a red-card challenge. Your choice. But the decision is based on what's best for your team WITHIN THE RULES OF THE GAME, not based on doing the fouling player a favour!

    This is the difference between cheating and good play.

    Now, Steven Gerrard DOES dive. But I'm not sure all the examples you've given prove that. (The ones against Blackburn for instance, ARE fouls.)

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  14. Matt - I'm aware of the dinstinction between diving and taking advantage of contact, but in practice what's the difference? Example 1: Player A dives without contact in a blatant attempt to con the referee.

    Example 2: Player B is through on goal, is brushed by a defender and takes advantage of the contact by diving.

    What exactly is the difference.

    The intent is still to con the referee and cheat to get a free-kick or penalty.

    Gerrard, like so many other players, has mastered the art of taking advantage of contact. Instead of staying on his feet, which I argue he *could* most of the time, if there is any contact in the box, he well just dive to the ground with the intent of winning a penalty.

    IMO, the clips above prove categorically that Gerrard is a diver. He may only be diving after taking advantage of contact, but it's still a dive.

    Gerrard's worst divinng offence against Bolton is not even there, but in that game, Gerrard dived without any contact at all, which shows he is just as bad as Drogba on that front.

    For me, it's black and white: There is never any excuse for diving, even if someone is merely taking advantage of contact. The player should stay on his feet *unless* it is physically impossible to do so.

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  15. Excellent commments, Tim.

    You stated: "If you are FOULED, you have the option of going to ground. Whether you choose to or not depends on what you think is in the best interest of your team. This is NOT cheating. It is not cheating because you have been fouled.

    I disagree with this. Even if a player has been fouled, if they can stay on their feet, they should do so. Besides, how can you be sure a player has been fouled unless the referee *gives the foul*?

    You and I might think from watching that the player has been fouled, but unless the offence is given, then it's a moot point.

    You state that Gerrard was fouled in the three incidents against Blackburn. if that's the case, why were all three incidents ignored by the ref? We can argue ref incompetence or say the ref got it wrong, but it's clear from the clips that Gerrard - as Matt highlighted above - took advantage of the contact.

    He didn't just take advantage - he took the piss! He was looking for contact and looking for an excuse to go down. In one of the clips, you can clearly see Gerrard move his leg towards Friedel to *create* contact!

    This is cheating of the worst kind in my view.

    Remember the rules don't just say that contact has to be paid. They also state "the intent to foul a player".

    E.g.: you're running through one-on-one with the keeper. Some leaden-footed talentless defender isn't good enough to stop you, so just throws his legs at you. You lose your balance and may be able to stay on your feet.

    Whatever you choose to do, you have absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY to do the fouling player a favour! If you go down, you draw the referee's attention to the foul. If you go on, you might score or you might miss, in which case the defending team neither concedes a goal nor loses a man from a red-card challenge. Your choice. But the decision is based on what's best for your team WITHIN THE RULES OF THE GAME, not based on doing the fouling player a favour


    Interesting points. You seem to be suggesting that in order to draw the referee's attention to a foul, a player who is capable of staying on his feet should just take advantage of whatever contact there may have been and just fall to the ground.

    I just can't agree with that because it's a fundamentally negative approach to football: Attack and try to score, but if you can go down in the box under minimal provocation - even if you can stay on your feet - then do it, because you bring the ref's attention to your foul.

    Can't you see how this approach can be seriously abused? This approach is destroying football. So many players prefer to go down in the box to get a definite penalty instead of staying on their feet and taking their chances.

    If it was down to me, Refs would be tough on players taking advantage of contact. Players are always going to bump into each other in full flight when chasing for the ball. Falling over at the slightest touch (as Gerrard frequently does) should not be what football is about.

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  16. Jaimie

    Going against the grain slightly I don't disagree with everything you say. Gerrard has been known to dive, Gerrard isn't perfect but I am sure plenty of other top players have taken dives from time to time and he is a top player!

    However, looking at your site there are now 3 or 4 negative Gerrard related articles on the front page and I would suggest (and I know you will ignore me but I will suggest it anyway) that this could well dilute any solid points that you have to make regarding him.

    Just a thought.

    R

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  17. R - thanks for your comments.

    I agree with you when you say that plenty of top players have taken dives, but that doesn't mean it should be condoned, surely?!

    You seem to be suggesting that because top players dive across the world then it's okay for other players to follow suit. I cannot agree with this attitude, and in my view, such views are the reason football is in the gutter.

    I take your point about my articles re Steven Gerrard, but to be honest, I am not concerned with how people view what I write. I'm not trying to please anyone or convince anyone. I just tell it like I see it, and in recent weeks, there has been alot to discuss re Gerrard. The difference is, unlike most people, I'm on the other side of the ' Gerrard is God and can do no wrong' fence.

    I disagree that my points are diluted, as you suggest. And I seriously doubt that if I had a similar number of articles praising Gerrard that you would be saying my points were being diluted....

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  18. He is a diver, and its embarrassing really. I admire him in 90% of his game but every time I see him fall near the penalty area (which happens quite a lot. got a yellow card for diving an hour ago in the liverpool-chelsea game)Im ashamed for his sake. I just wish he would stop because he is too good of a player for that.

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  19. You're absolutely right, kicki - Gerrard is a shameless diver, as evidenced once again by his blatant dive v Chelsea, for which he was rightfully booked.

    Diving is CHEATING. End of story. A player with a cheating mindset does not deserve to captain their club. What sort of example is Gerrard setting youngsters who are mad about Liverpool? It's okay to dive as long as you get away with it?! As the article above highlights, Gerrard has been a diver for years and for me, his cheating sullies the name of the club.

    Of course, all the Gerrard apologists will make endless excuses for his behaviour, the most insidious of which is usually 'but it's part of modern football - everyone else does it so why shouldn't he'?

    Gerrard is a cheat, which is one of the main reasons I dislike him so much, and it one of the reasons I cannot support him. I do not support blatant cheats, and anyone who does is just as bad the person doing the cheating.

    This blase attitide amongst so-called fans of overlooking such things just because it's Liverpool is another example of how modern football and modern fandom is in the toilet. True fans acknowledge mistakes, they don't gloss over them.

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  20. As I said, I agree on SG being a diver, but if you maybe want to take some constructive criticism (which you dont seem to be, regarding your responses to other reasonable commentators, but here goes) maybe you should balance your articles a bit. It is very refreshing to have someone being realistic about their fan club, but I do think it is much better to have a more well-rounded site. ,just to keep it more interesting. You claim you speak "the truth", but this is just one side of it and therefore not the truth at all. You have some really good points, but you are just hurting yourself by being exclusively negative. Maybe the reader is more interested in reading an unbiased report, instead of having to swith between webpages of unconditional support and whining criticism. Isolate one of your articles and it can be seen as realistic, but the over-all impression one gets from your blog is that it is over the top. You must agree, since if this collection of articles were the realism of LFC, then how would you ever be able to defend the fact that you are a fan? You give advice to a lot of people. Maybe you should listen to some yourself?

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  21. Kicki

    Why should I try and be 'balanced'? This site represents my opinions about LFC. I'm not the BBC - I don't have to be impartial or balanced. If people want to read unbiased reports and opinions, then they can go to a million other sites on the nest - no one forces them to come here.

    I think may people who criticise me just cannot seem to grasp the fact that I don't care if people dislike my views; I couldn't care less if my critical stance is perceived as 'hurting' the site - it's my site to hurt! I'm not trying to win a popularity contest. If people don't want to visit this site, so be it!

    I don't need to defend my status as a fan - I know I'm a fan and that's good enough for me.

    I am, however, a different kind of fan. I'm not part of the 'support the club no matter what' brigade. I HATE that concept. Supporting something even if you know it's wrong/morally bankrupt etc does not make you a better fan, it makes you a hypocrite.

    When these brainwashed fans gush about 'loving the club', what exactly do they love? The club constitutes the players, the manager, the support staff, the board and the history of the club. So, do they love Hicks, Gillett, Rick Parry?! Most of them 'love' the likes of Gerrard, who wouldn't give any of them a second glance if he passed them on the street. Plus, how they can 'love' someone who is such a cheat is beyond me.

    I personally love the history of the club - that is where my admiration for Liverpool FC lies. I do NOT love ANYTHING about the modern incarnation of Liverpool, which is why my support for the 21st century club is quickly waning.

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  22. I am not a LFC supporter but loves to watch the club play. Each time Liverpool play I would switch to that TV channel over most others. I do not reside in the UK.
    I used to cringe when it lost games or played poorly against lowly clubs. I wanted it to win.
    I am no expert on the technicalities of football playing; I am your average weekend BPL fan, who watches the games every weekend on TV live. Yet, to my untrained eyes, I noticed something different each time Gerrard plays. He seems to tumble so easily. Most football players run at high speeds, too, but none are as clumsy as him, I felt. Then when clips are replayed at slow mo, I began to notice how often he would fall if so much as a hair follicle touched him. The more I watched Liverpool play, the more disenchanted with SG I felt. Why would such a big strong man fall like a frail girl is beyond my comprehension. I thought this is a contact sport with alot of shoving and clashing of bodies. Big burly rugby players get knocked harder and they try their best to stay on their feet.
    After reading all the exchanges here, I feel that if football is to be won on technicalities rather than through skill, honour and sportsmanship, then I'd say this game has lost it.
    It is also disrespectful to the legions of football fans around the world, who want to see a game won through a good, hard but decent fight and not through cunning and deception.
    That said, I am glad to add that while there are other prominent divers, most do not resort to this antic. I have seen some of the FA Cup games and some of the Championship and Conference teams play hard, fast and they seldom tumble down unless the knocks are hard. Those are honest games.

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  23. All right, I'm not going to defend Gerrard's diving antics, although I think he's nothing compared to Ronaldo or Drogba, and he's reduced in the last few months, I can of Atletico as his last dive. What I am going to defend is the "dive" in Istanbul against Milan.

    It was NOT a dive. If you watch the video again, you can see that Gerrard goes down not because Gattuso pulls his shirt (which most people, including myself, assume/assumed before), but because Gattuso clips the back of Gerrard's left leg, which is more than enough contact to bring anyone down, and is definitely not a dive, illegal, and in that situation, worthy of a Red. I was really distressed by what I considered to be a dive at that point, because if it was a dive, it takes away the sheen of our victory. I'm happy it wasn't.

    I can't, and am not going to defend the rest.

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  24. Typo: I can *think* of Atletico as his last dive.

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  25. you live in a dream world kanwar, your hatred for liverpool shines through like a beacon, just be a man and admit it, stop hiding

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  26. OMG. You are pathetic, Blake

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  27. One question for all the posters ...... Is Didi Hamman a cheat?

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  28. why is evryone suddenly finding stevie's mistakes??what bout nando??he hardly stays on his feet everytime he plays!the situation is the same here,,nando falling like a small kid everytime a defender slightly touch him,,bcz he's in his full speed n a slight cntct will makes him fall down.same with stevie's situation,,slightest cntct will make u lose ur balance!it's not easy to stay on ur feet when ure running.ure not that stable.come on,everyone knows it.u may critic the capt,but not labelled him as a diver.u asked him to stop diving,,y dont u ask urself to be more sensible and take it this way,,a player,when he feels there's a cntact,he'll be unstable and he'll fall down.put urself in that situation.u'll fall down too,i guess.or shall i say,,u'll 'dive' too??

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  29. yes.i agree,,true fans acknowledge mistakes.but true fans acknowledge everyone's mistakes.not the capt alone.and acknowledge our own mistakes too,,posting articles that criticising our own team.let the manure read those,,they'll be deadly happy.u dont support gerrard,just shut ur mouth up.u dont like him,ignores him.out away ur hands from the keyborads,,ure wasting ur time "highlighting" his mistakes.

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  30. I have to say that reading this article was surprising to say the least as it's actually a Liverpool supporter slating their team captain. I am a Man Utd supporter and have to agree with the general flow of the current with regard to players who dive. I didn't like it with Ronaldo, nor do i like it with any other player, regardless of the shirt they wear.
    I honestly think that what (if I may be so informal) Jamie is referring to is the fact that dishonesty in the game is actually encouraged while honesty, it would appear, leaves everyone asking "Why didn't you dive? We'd have gotten a penalty/free kick/yellow/red card for opponent, etc. etc.". The end justifying the means if you will.
    I don't like Steven Gerrard for a couple of reasons, some which sit pretty with others, and others that don't.
    To look at this from a classic point of view, most football club's supporters don't like to see their own players fanning the flames of the diving fire if you like, but the fact is that since diving "came about" it has been encouraged by both supporters and managers, not to mention footballers, alike.
    Rewind back to the early nineties:English clubs were allowed back into European competition after a 5-year absence. The top teams were struggling in Europe because the "Blood and Thunder" football was getting them nowhere.
    At that time, and you might not like this reference but, Alex Ferguson saw that if his team were to keep playing "British" football, they wouldn't win anything in Europe. He adjusted accordingly and Man U reaped rewards both domestically and in Europe. Needless to say, everyone followed suit. This is not saying that English clubs have diving to thank for their successes, but have finally realised that being the honest lad may get you plaudits, but plaudits don't win trophies.
    We even have the perfect example today:Scottish football.
    Every season Rangers & Celtic vie for top spot with the rest scrambling over the other European spots. ever see a European game with a Scottish team? It's the same as an English team was about 15 years ago in Europe; high paced football, terribly unlucky, lots of heart, lost to a penalty decision(for example) because the opposing player dived in the box from a tackle that would be acceptable in Scotland whereas their striker would stay on his feet in the same situation because how can you change your game for 4-6 games at different stages in a domestic season?
    Look at continental football and some decisions are ridiculous with the referees by no means exhonerating themselves and this is what football has become.
    Yes, Steven Gerrard is a cheat. The examples above and plenty more besides highlight this. But so is every other professional footballer because it gives an advantage, however unfair, and this advantage could be worth millions to the club, depending on how it pans out AND they are encouraged to do so because of the financial ramifications behind it.
    We would all like it more if these men were to step up to be the good role models we want them to be for kids both today and in the future, not to mention the extra pride in winning something honestly, but in a world(football) where the cheat is paid hansomely for doing so and is hailed as a hero in a sporting media that has hyped these people to superstar status, the honest man is left behind.
    Go out and ask any 7-10 year old, who they would rather be:John Brown, Pillar of the community, helped build the roads connecting this town with all surrounding areas so that the town and the people may benefit in generations to come or the cheat Steven Gerrard/Cristiano Ronaldo/Wayne Rooney/Didier Drogba/enter anyone who pops into mind and Mr. Brown will be left waiting a long time for someone to follow in his footsteps.

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  31. Hi Jamie,

    in this respect I find myself in the same boat as yourself. Love Man U, but not too impressed with the modern team/manager/"fans". The game of football I quite simply fell in love with has left me for a shallower, richer kind of 'fan'. I also don't subscribe to the "If (e.g.) Rooney does it, it's ok for me." That to me is blinkered; part of supporting a football club is being proud of the team, and as a result, players and manager and anyone connected with the club. Unfortunately, as in my earlier rant, football has moved from the stands to the silver screen and has left the man in the street just there.
    Amazed you're a Liverpool supporter actually, but as you stress, you support the club and not the team. Good man.

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  32. @Jaimie - I applaud your honesty

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  33. Everyone seems to be saying "what about Drogba, he does it" or "what about Ronaldo" ..well, they don't come out with autobiographies saying "diving is a disgrace" and "diving is ruining the game" and then do it themselves.

    I am a Man Utd supporter and whenever one of our players dives because, yes lets face it, it does obviously happen, I cringe and I don't understand why players would rather fall down and win a free kick rather than keep on running and perhaps set something up.

    I know the Liverpool fans deny it but watching those videos it is easy to see how easily he goes down, some people say with the Friedel one there is clear contact but you can clearly see Gerrard just drags his leg into Friedel.

    Now yes it's true there are A LOT of divers out there but I think the main reason he is singling out Gerrard is about how he came out and said it's a disgrace and ruining the game and stuff where as ronaldo, drogba etc haven't done that. Noone tries to deny they dive so its not a big controversial issue, where as Gerrard said all those things and everyone denies the fact that he dives so people keep trying to prove to the people who deny it that he does it thus turning it into a big issue.

    Well, that's my 2 cents anyhow...

    Daniel.

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