Gerrard: "Rooney destroyed us at the weekend". Gosh...after that comment, I take it all back - He really IS an inspirational captain!

What is it with Steven Gerrard?! He just has no concept of what being a captain is all about. He proved that categorically with his failure to turn up in any capacity at Old Trafford, but now, in the aftermath of the defeat, he’s decided to eulogize about Wayne Rooney in public, praising him in emphatic terms for the part he played in Man United’s victory.

Discussing his failed partnership with Rooney in the recent England defeat to France, Gerrard gushed:

"I've seen him do it [play up front alone] with Manchester United. He destroyed us at the weekend with his direct running and making it difficult for defenders".

Gerrard also enthused about how playing with Rooney was ‘always a pleasure’.

Is this what Liverpool fans want to hear from the captain of the club 4 days after being beaten 3-0 by our hated rivals?! Is this the kind of fighting talk that we should expect from someone who is supposed to embody the competitive spirit of the club?!

It wasn’t just ‘Rooney played well against us’ – Gerrard made a bold, emphatic statement: ‘Rooney DESTROYED us’.

I’m sorry, but Liverpool FC does not get ‘destroyed’; that’s not a word that should be associated with the club. Furthermore, it’s not even accurate! In no way did Rooney ‘destroy’ the team with some kind of devastating, memorable, match winning performance.

Yes, he played well, but Liverpool were down to ten men for much of the game, and with Gerrard hiding and responsible for a total lack of leadership on the field, I’m not surprised the Mancs were rampant.

Gerrard’s reverence for players in rival teams is sickening. I've lost count of the amount of times he’s publicly fawned over the likes of Rooney, Frank Lampard and John Terry.

Perhaps I’m living in the past, but I don’t want to hear the captain of the club gushing about our rivals and telling the world the team was ‘destroyed’. How does this breed confidence? How is this conducive to maintaining a winning mentality?

As usual, I have to compare Gerrard to Liverpool’s captains of the past. Do you think Ron Yeats, Tommy Smith, Emlyn Hughes, Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush or John Barnes would have been so negative about the team in such a way?

Never in a million years.

Hell, even Paul Friggin’ Ince never spoke about the team in such a manner when he *shudder* captained the club, and he was an ex-Manc!

Just imagine what Liverpool could achieve with a *proper* leader. A real captain instills confidence, steel and an unshakeable will to win. A real captain does not:

1. Write off the team's Champions League chances in public.
2. Gush over hated rival players in public and praise them for 'destroying' the team.
3. Claim that the national team is more important than his club team.
4. Repeatedly fail to back his manager in public in times of adversity.

5. Question his manager's decisions in public in a petulant manner after being substituted.
6. Fail to defend his team-mates in high pressure games.
7. Endlessly spout pessimism and negativity in the press.
8. Spout xenophbic nonsense about 'Foreigners taking over'.
9. Try to take personal credit for the team's good performances.

10. Invite negative media pressure onto the club at the worst possible time.

11. Blame poor onfield performances on off field turmoil. In public.

12. Show a complete lack of class by publicly lobbying for the England captain role

And all that is just this season!

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, and I'll keep saying it until people finally pull their heads out of the sand: Liverpool will never win the league with Gerrard as captain. He is not a leader and he does not have the qualities required to be an effective leader.

People will continue to make excuses for him, but in my view, he is a liability as captain; he has no understanding of leadership and no concept of what the role of Liverpool captain is all about.

Quite frankly, he is an embarrassment, and the longer he remains in the role, the worse it will be for the team.

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Liverpool forced into a positive spin-offensive as a result of Gerrard’s pathetic public rant

Liverpool have been forced to publish a piece of positive spin on the official club website to try and steer the club away from Steven Gerrard’s negative and petulant public rant.

In the last few hours, Steve Hunter on the official site has published an interview with Rafa, which is clearly a hastily arranged and blatantly transparent attempt to take the edge of Gerrard’s public whining.

To recap: Earlier this week, Gerrard undermined Benitez and his team-mates with a pathetic, self-serving diatribe about how another Champions League win wouldn’t matter and how he’s running out of time to win the premiership.

As a result of ‘Stevie Me’s’ ill-advised piffle, the press went into overdrive, spinning his comments negatively and filling the back-pages with all kinds of negative speculatory drivel.

At time when this kind of attention is the LAST thing the club needs, the Liverpool spin-machine has been forced into action in an attempt to limit the damage of Gerrard’s comments.

In the interview on the official site, Rafael Benitez revealed the following: "Steven's commitment to this club is 100 per cent. He was trying to show he was disappointed with our position in the league”.

If his commitment is 100%, why have the club wheeled Benitez out to reiterate this in public?! Surely it should be self-evident?

Benitez added: "I was talking with him before our last training session and he's really pleased with our position in the Champions League. It would be fantastic if we could win the Champions League this season”.

Pure spin! Gerrard’s original comments were negative, with a completely different meaning to the tripe Benitez (i.e. the club) is feeding us. Re the Champions League, Gerrard stated:

"The only way we can fulfill [our] ambitions is in the Champions League. And I am not going to pretend that even winning that trophy - and we are a long way away from it at the moment - will make up for the disappointment of the league campaign."

Benitez tried even harder to put a positive spin on it: "I was talking with him [Gerrard] and for Steven to play in this competition is amazing and the most important trophy that he has won is the Champions League in Istanbul".

It is so obvious that the club is behind this statement! Anyone can see that, otherwise why release it in the first place? Benitez had already responded to Gerrard's comments, albeit with pessimistic appeasement rather than positivity.

It is clear that the club can see that Gerrard’s comments were negative and completely ill-advised.

The main issue here that, instead of focusing on preparing for this weekend’s league game, Rafa is forced to deflect Gerrard’s defeatist ravings and deal with a massive increase in negative press speculation.

If Gerrard really had the club’s best interests at heart, he would have realized the negative feeding frenzy his comments would generate. But of course, Gerrard is selfish and arrogant and only think about how things affect HIM.

Again, I ask the questions: What possible good has come from Gerrard’s comments?! Was there any need for him to go public with his feelings?

The thing the Gerrard apologists are forgetting is this: The possibility that there is a modicum of truth in what he said is irrelevant - the captain of the club should be more aware of the ramifications of comments he makes to the media. He should also know that the press will inevitably twist everything and spin his comments to fit the media agenda of the day.

The fact Gerrard came out with his comments in a time of intense turmoil for the club means he is either supremely ignorant or, as is more likely to be the case, he just doesn’t care about what happens and actually *wants* to whip up a media frenzy.

In any event, the fact that the club have to waste time *yet again* trying to appease the press is just another sad indictment of the negative impact Gerrard is continuing to have on the club.

This season has been littered with pointless, ill-advised public comments from Gerrard, including the following:

1. Stabbing John Terry in the back by publicly putting himself forward for the England captaincy.

2. Publicly moaning after his substitution v Everton and vowing to talk to Rafa about it, after which Bobby Robson was moved to write an article berating Gerrard’s selfishness.

3. Admitting in public that England (i.e. the pursuit of his own personal fame) is more important that Liverpool.

4. Back-tracking over his England comments and contradicting himself in the process

5. Blaming off-field problems for poor performances

6. Failing to back Rafa in public during his spat with Hicks and Gillette, despite emphatically backing Steve McClaren in public only days earlier.

7. Xenophobic public comments about foreigners ‘taking over’ the premiership

Aaaagh!

When will it end?!

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Inspirational Captain?! What a joke. Gerrard's latest comments prove once again that he is not fit to lead Liverpool FC

Steven Gerrard’s latest negative and very public comments about the state of the club provide yet more evidence (as if any more was needed!) that he is arguably the weakest , most pessimistic captain Liverpool FC has ever had

‘Mr Liverpool’s’ public lambasting of the club harks back to the summers of 2003 and 2004, where such moaning public statements were a regular occurrence as he tried to maneuver his way out of Anfield and into Stamford Bridge.

This is how it starts.

Mutterings of discontent, which build up over time until the proverbial bombshell is dropped.

And like last time, I will be ecstatic when the inevitable happens and ‘Captain Fantastic’ reveals his desire to leave. It may not happen tomorrow; it may not happen this year, but mark my words, it will happen.

Until that time, Liverpool fans will have to put up with Gerrard’s continual negativity in its various forms.

It's been happening all season - Liverpool players repeatedly whining to the press about various things, and Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have been the chief culprits. Rather ironically, those two are supposed to be the inspirational leaders of the club!

What a joke.

In his latest moaning session, Gerrard whines:

"You don't get any prizes in football for finishing in second place, never mind fourth. We need to improve dramatically and even if we do finish fourth, it doesn't mean we have had a good season."

"In the position we find ourselves now, fourth is the least that is acceptable. But we have bigger ambitions than that. The only way we can fulfil those ambitions is in the Champions League. And I am not going to pretend that even winning that trophy - and we are a long way away from it at the moment - will make up for the disappointment of the league campaign”

Thomas Jefferson once said something that sums up Gerrard and the rest of Liverpool’s whining brigade: ‘Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude’.

How are Gerrard’s comments conducive to being an ‘inspirational captain’?! How ANYONE can call Gerrard inspirational when he comes out with tosh like this is just beyond me.

Gerrard’s attitude is and always has been DEFEATIST. The above statement proves this once again. Not that this is first time Gerrard has been negative about Liverpool’s Champions League chances. He publicly wrote off the club’s chances in the 2004-5 season too…and look what happened.

I won’t go through the whole of Gerrard’s pointless statement, but one comment in particular illustrates his breathtaking hypocrisy. When asked about the effect of events off the pitch, he commented:

"It’s sad so much of the club's business has been conducted in public. The club I have grown up supporting always did its business behind closed doors, and that is what we have to get back to”.

Gerrard moans about club business being carried out in public whilst he disses the team…in public! You couldn’t make it up.

There are a few simple questions that need to be asked here:

1. Was there any need for Gerrard to make such a negative statement in public?
2. Does being negative about the team and Liverpool’s chances of CL glory serve any positive purpose?
3. Is this the kind of statement fans should expect from a captain?

No on all counts.

Gerrard’s comments do nothing but damage the club and provide the media with negative headlines and a chance to negatively speculate about the future of the club and the manager. Every major newspaper has put a negative spin on his comments and jumped at the chance to stick the knife into the club.

With the club struggling in the league and needing everyone to pull together to ensure the season finishes as well as possible, how are Gerrard’s comments supposed to inspire his team-mates or the fans?

Gerrard basically says that the team isn’t good enough and winning the Champions League will mean nothing. Way to go, Stevie! A fantastic way to motivate the team!

I am so sick to death of the Steven Gerrard sideshow. I’m sick of the sulking; the rampant ego; the arrogance; the negativity; the superiority complex he so clearly has; the repeated pessimistic public comments and the complete lack of real leadership on and off the field.

He was acting this way during the summer of 2004 – moaning in the press about how the team wasn’t good enough, and how he needed to win trophies. In his latest comments, he’s at it again:

‘I'm 27 now; I don't want to be talking about 'next season' for Liverpool when I'm 32’.

Gerrard is and always has been about one thing: his own glory. He makes it sound like he cares about the club and the fans, but he DOESN’T. He just cares about winning trophies for HIMSELF.

He proved this when he wanted to move to Chelsea to win trophies, and he’s proving it again now.

If he DID truly care about the club, he wouldn’t be adding to the problems by slamming the team in public. Any fool can see the detrimental effect his statement can and will have.

And still, despite the obvious fact that Gerrard’s behaviour is the antithesis of what being a captain is all about, fans will *still* make excuses for him, the main one being ‘But he’s just being honest and telling it like it is’.

WAKE UP!

Fans who peddle this excuse are weak-minded sheep that need to detach their lips from Gerrard’s buttocks and see things the way they really are.

Gerrard’s comments are divisive, destabilizing and a very subtle attempt to undermine Rafa Benitez, who Stevie Me clearly does not like.

This is obvious to anyone who is not dazzled by the Gerrard ‘phenomenon’, and is further evidenced by Gerrard’s repeated failure to back Benitez in public at key points in the season.

What gives Gerrard the right to constantly undermine the club in public like this?!

As Captain, he should be keeping his mouth shut about such things and focusing on motivating and inspiring the team for the remainder of the season.

Has there ever been *any* player in Liverpool’s history who has spewed as much negativity as Gerrard has throughout his career?!

No.

None of Liverpool’s previous captains *ever* came out with pessimistic statements like Gerrard, but he is lauded for it by fans instead of being castigated!

It truly beggars belief.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the cancer eating away at Liverpool is a losing mentality.

Negative, defeatist pessimism in public is becoming the defining characteristic of Liverpool FC and Gerrard and Carragher are the perpetrators-in-chief.

I feel I have to return once again to something Bill Shankly said – something that defines what has made Liverpool so successful over the years:

“A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.”

Steven Gerrard clearly has no idea whatsoever what the above means. If he did, he wouldn’t be spitting his dummy out in the press.

Something Martin Luther King once said is also relevant here: ‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy’.

Gerrard has proved time and time again, that when the chips are down, he is a liability. And don’t give me any crap about Olympiakos or AC Milan; those were one off incidents where Gerrard's precious pursuit of personal glory was under threat.

What matters is a leader's impact over time, and Gerrard has proved that when the club is struggling, he adds to the burden rather than relieving it with real leadership on and off the pitch.

Examples of this are too numerous to list, but the double Chelsea debacle at the tail end of Gerard Houllier’s reign springs to mind, with Gerrard issuing veiled threats, ultimatums and routinely spewing forth negative statements.

Now, in another time of turmoil, he is showing his true colours yet again.

Instead of being a motivating, inspiring force as a captain *should* be, he moans to the press and undermines the club, the fans and his team-mates.

Quite simply, Gerrard is not fit to wear the captain’s armband. And anyone who has come across my opinions about Liverpool FC over the last five years knows that this is not a knee-jerk reaction.

Sooner or later, people will see the truth.

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Liverpool's winning mentality has been eroded by a team of weak-minded LOSERS...and Jamie Carragher is the biggest culprit!

There is a sickness shrouding Anfield, and it is not the anti-football, technical ineptitude and perennial underperformance in the league – it is the death of Liverpool’s winning mentality.

Quite simply, the current Liverpool team is full of defeatist, whining LOSERS.

Bill Shankly once said: “A lot of football success is in the mind. You must believe you are the best and then make sure that you are.”

Liverpool's current squad and management have a serious problem with collective defeatist mentality, and The huge number of pessimistic comments in the press this season has exposed the 'loser' mentality eating away at Anfield.

I've chosen a selection of public comments from the last couple of months to illustrate my point, but the entire season has been full of public defeatism.
Let’s start with Ryan Babel. After the recent Sunderland VICTORY, he stated:

"Fortunately we saw off Sunderland on Saturday”.

Fortunately? According Sunderland such respect to the extent of suggesting that Liverpool struggled to beat a team in the relegation zone is ridiculous. Even if it’s true, Babel should put a positive slant on it. He continued:

"Hopefully we have taken a first step towards regaining confidence, which is a bit low at the moment".

Is there any benefit in telling the world this? And he went on:

"We haven't been doing well the past few weeks. Our captain Steven Gerrard already said that confidence is a bit low at Liverpool at the moment”.

Such comments should be no surprise coming from a player who clearly has no self-belief:

"I can't physically cope with the terrific pace of the Premier League. I invariably face a tall task, even also against the so-called small teams".

Is this what Liverpool fans want to hear from players? Here’s a thought – GROW UP. Stop acting like a baby and start acting like a MAN. If you can’t hack the Premiership, keep it to yourself, instead of inviting ridicule and making yourself and the team look weak.

It gets worse. Let’s move onto Dirk Kuyt, who recently whined:

"We are struggling at the moment in the league. We know we can do better and win games like West Ham away. It's been disappointing to lose a lot of points at home this season”.

What purpose is served by confirming the obvious fact that Liverpool are struggling in the league? The trend continued with Liverpool's so-called 'inspirational captain' Steven Gerrard offering his own inimitable rallying cry:

“Confidence is a bit low at the moment”.

Great. So after a victory, Liverpool's captain focuses on the negative. Why? Perhaps it has something to do with the pessimism spilling down from the top. Rafael Benitez is no stranger to public defeatism, as his comments after the Sunerland vctory demonstrate:

“It was important to find our confidence. We need to find the confidence we had when we had people scoring goals and winning games”

What about Jamie Carragher? Surely positivity from him? Think again! Carragher has been a fountain of pessimism over the last few months, as illustrated by the following assorted public comments:

"We've got to sort it out very quick, otherwise fourth place is going to be in danger as well. We just need a couple of results to get the confidence back”.

After the West Ham defeat:

"At the moment, the confidence isn't quite there, we're not quite at our best”.

After the West Ham defeat:

"At the moment, obviously, the confidence isn't great and we're not playing as well as we can. We realise that, we're not stupid. A draw wouldn't have been that bad, but we've got to move on now”.

In another interview:

"We should be doing a lot better, but we've just got to try to get through this period and come out the other side."

In a recent newspaper interview:

"We are not good enough. It is not one particular 'this' or 'that'. It is just that other teams have been playing better than us. We have obviously got to improve both as individuals and as a team".

Aaaagh!

There seems to be an obsession with Liverpool players telling the world that confidence is at rock-bottom. Such comments are maddeningly counter-productive and give other teams a psychological advantage: if Liverpool are weak, struggling and lacking confidence, they are BEATABLE.

Whilst it may be true that confidence is low, WHY SHOUT ABOUT IT IN THE PRESS? Who does this help? NOBODY. It just perpetuates the negativity hanging over the club and lets every other club in Europe know that Liverpool are there for the taking.

It doesn’t stop there! More examples include Gerrard complaining that Liverpool’s off-field problems were affecting the team and, in the last few days, Benitez criticizing Xabi Alonso in public.

With such a negative, defeatist attitude coming out the club, it is no wonder Liverpool’s season is tailing off into ignominious failure.

Anfield needs WINNERS in the team – players with an unshakeable winning mentality – not mewling ladyboys who cry about lacking confidence every five seconds.

You never heard Graeme Souness moaning about lack of confidence. Emlyn Hughes never whined about not being able to ‘cope’ with the league. Kenny Dalglish never threw in the towel and continually whimpered about how confidence was low.

Why? Because they were winners with the right mentality.

All the comments I have highlighted above are not what Liverpool FC is all about, and such an astounding level of defeatism has no place at the club.

I am not suggesting that there should be blanket optimism and blind faith – far from it. There are, however, ways to present a united, positive front in the face of adversity, and at the moment, Liverpool just do not have a clue.

A massive overhaul of the club's media strategy is needed, and this should start with players being banned from talking about poinless, negative things 'like lack of confidence' to the press.

It needs to start from the top down, but this will be difficult to achieve with arch pessimist Steven Gerrard and petulant sulker Rafael Benitez running things. Both are supposed to be club leaders but both have a tendency to exacerbate the negativity with repeatedly ill-advised public comments.

Until the club sheds the losing mentality (on and off the field) and rediscovers the never say die, winning attitude that made the club great, the mediocrity and chronic premiership failure will continue.

And won't that be fun?

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When will people WAKE UP and realise that Liverpool need a new Captain?

Liverpool’s abject performance against West Ham contained the usual mix of technical ineptitude, creative paucity and predictable anti-football, but one thing stood out more than anything else: The total lack of leadership on the field.

My feelings about Steven Gerrard are well known – I do not believe he is world class and I do not rate him as a Captain. I have been criticized all over the web for these opinions and have been labeled as a “Gerrard hater’ by certain Liverpool fan-sites.

I have never attacked Gerrard personally; if I criticize him, I do so in fair manner, based on how I perceive his performances or conduct. I may be vociferous in my views, but my opinions are always argued at length, and I always attempt to explain myself, as opposed to hurling childish insults.

As such, I feel I have no option but to once again call for Steven Gerrard to stand down or be replaced as Liverpool Captain. He is NOT an effective Captain - Never has been and never will be. I have been arguing the same thing for the last four years and nothing has happened in that time to change my view.

His 'captaincy' against West Ham typified his lack of leadership ability. There was no passion in the team; no onfield organization; no talking or encouraging; no fight; no will to win; no never say die attitude. Nothing. As a Leadership force, Gerrard was non-existent.

Fawning Liverpool fans who continually massage Gerrard’s ego and deify him should detach their lips from his oversubscribed buttocks for five seconds and consider the following questions in an objective manner:

1. What does Gerrard bring to the team in his capacity as captain

2. What impact does he have as a leader on the pitch?

3. This season, where is the evidence of his so-called ‘inspirational leadership’?

4. If he is such a motivating, inspiring Captain, why are Liverpool so dire on the pitch?

I can guess the responses: His failings will be ignored and glossed over; the age old cliches of 'what about Istanbul/Olympiakos/The FA CUP final will be trotted out. Rafa, Hicks, Gillette and Parry will get blamed for the on-field malaise, and every other Liverpool player will be blamed for not performing/not being good enough.

When are fans going to pull their heads out of the sand and realize that Gerrard’s failure as a Captain is ALSO to blame?

I am so sick of ‘Captain Fantastic’ strutting around as if everyone else is to blame. He offers NOTHING as captain. Absolutely NOTHING. And don’t give me the tired excuse that he ‘leads by example’. When? Where? Gerrard is and always has been in it for himself and his own personal glory.

There are countless examples of why this is true. I won’t dig up the DOZENS of examples from the past that illustrate this, but this season is littered with examples Gerrard’s selfishness and instances of conduct unbecoming a captain of Liverpool FC:

1. Begging to stay on the pitch v Luton so he could complete HIS hat-trick.

2. Stabbing John Terry in the back by publicly putting himself forward for the England captaincy.

3. Publicly moaning after his substitution v Everton and vowing to talk to Rafa about it, after which Bobby Robson was moved to write an article berating Gerrard’s selfishness.

4. Admitting in public that England (i.e. the pursuit of his own personal fame) is more important that Liverpool.

5. Blaming off-field problems for poor performances

6. Failing to back Rafa in public during his spat with Hicks and Gillette, despite emphatically backing Steve McClaren in public only days earlier.

7. Xenophobic public comments about foreigners ‘taking over’ the premiership.

Just look at Liverpool’s current run of form in the league: four draws and one defeat in the last five games. In the last fifteen games in all competitions, the team has drawn five games and lost four – that’s failure to win in nine of the last fifteen games, and the games Liverpool DID win were against the poorest teams around, the likes of Luton Town, Havant, Bolton and Derby.

Off-field problems and Rafa’s madness play their part, but during this period, there has been no leadership on the field, and Gerrard has to take the blame for this. It is job of the captain, is it not, to keep players focused and motivated on and off the pitch, irrespective of the turmoil off the pitch?

I categorically refute the suggestion that players are affected by off-field problems to the extent it affects their game to such a degree. If Liverpool had a half-decent Captain who gave a damn then there would be that extra bit of energy on the pitch. Instead, what we get is lethargy and dispassionate, lumbering ineptitude.

In the same way the players no longer put the effort in for Rafa, they do not respond to Gerrard’s ineffective brand of ‘inspirational leadership’.

And to think some clueless fans have the sheer gall to suggest Gerrard is Liverpool’s greatest ever captain!

How can so many people be so misguided?

Again I pose the questions: What exactly does Steven Gerrard bring to Liverpool team in his role as Captain? What is his measurable impact as a leader this season?

The spectre of Steven Gerrard hangs over Anfield like a cloud of inescapable gloom, and it's time for a long overdue change.

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Steven Gerrard's sneaky attempt to usurp John Terry as England Captain

In a self-serving statement of almost Machiavellian slyness, Steven Gerrard has sneakily announced his desire to usurp John Terry as England Captain under Fabio Capello’s new regime.

Gerrard’s latest comments on the issue dripped with hollow sincerity: "If the manager comes and asks you 'do you want to be captain?' then you say 'yes of course, but I don't want to put my name forward because we have our leader in John Terry and we have to show some respect”.

So, Gerrard’s idea of not putting his name forward is...putting his name forward indirectly! By saying ‘I don’t want to put my name forward’ he is doing exactly that, and he knows it!

Gerrard’s hollow endorsement of Terry included the immortal line ‘We have to show some respect’. Respect? That’s a laugh. Showing respect would be backing Terry without all the obvious subtext.

Gerrard’s focus on not putting his name forward continued: ‘Every England player wants to captain his country. But John is our captain at the moment and that hasn't changed as yet. So, we have to wait and see what the new manager decides."

If Gerrard had any class, he would have simply backed Terry to the hilt and said nothing else. Instead, he did everything he could to let the world know that he wants the Captaincy, and he wants it bad.

I’m sure many fans won’t bat an eyelid at Gerrard’s comments, but once again they expose his selfish ambition, lack of class and propensity for making ill-advised public comments.

His comments also expose the lack of unity and teamwork within the England team. If there was any real solidarity, Gerrard would have backed Terry without the cheap ‘come and get me’ subtext.

Such a lack of team unity is arguably part of the reason England’s overpaid ladyboys underachieve so much; they’re all in it for themselves and their own glory instead of looking at the bigger picture.

Gerrard's naked display of selfish ambition is no surprise, considering he believes that England games are more important than Liverpool games anyway. Just witness his comments before the ill-fated Euro 2008 game against Croatia – a debacle of a game for which, incidentally, Gerrard was captain:

"When I join up with England, these games are bigger than Champions League games or league games. You're representing your country. If you go to a major tournament and play well or achieve something as a team it's going to be a lot bigger than achieving something at your club."

After the ignominious Croatia defeat, I explained why I feel Gerrard is a poor Captain for England – my feelings have not changed.

As much as it would be great to have a Liverpool player captaining the national side, it’s best to be honest: Gerrard just does not have the leadership ability of John Terry, and that has been proven in his never say die performances for Chelsea and England.

I’ve said it once and I'll say it again: Gerrard is not a leader. He does not have the strength of character, the fighting mentality or motivational power to be a consistently effective Captain.

This has been obvious for years at Liverpool, and Gerrard’s lack of motivational impact is glaringly apparent in Liverpool’s current period of draw-infested drudgery.

Gerrard’s limitations were also obvious against Croatia last November, where England’s players were undone by dispiriting lack urgency as the Croatians were given all the room in the world to weave their magic.

I cringed in the pre-Croatia build up as Gerrard issued his rallying cry of how England had to ‘die out there’ and how the players had to ‘give everything they’ve got’. Gerrard does not have the motivational ability to inspire players to give it everything they’ve got!

Indeed, 'Captain Fantastic' barely said a world all night to his team-mates, and the real lack of proper leadership on the field was palpable.

All we ever hear from Gerrard re the national team is how much he loves England, and what an honour it is to Captain the team. So where was the passion against Croatia? Where was the much vaunted passion and inspirational leadership?

A real Captain would not have let the heads go down after Scott Carson’s howler, and would’ve had a quick word with the stricken keeper in an attempt to restore his confidence.

A real Captain would have fought tooth and nail to keep the confidence and self-belief flowing. Gerrard did none of these things. As per usual in the big games, whether it’s England or Liverpool, he hid and singularly failed to shoulder the responsibility.

Ultimately, I believe making Gerrard Captain of England would have an adverse effect on Liverpool. He has enough on his plate struggling to captain the club effectively, and the England job would be too much for him to handle.

And I don't think I can take anymore of Gerrard's 'inspirational' rallying cries before every England game...

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Drop the excuses, Stevie. Rafa and the players are to blame for the on-pitch shambles, not Hicks and Gillette.

Steven Gerrard wasted no time passing the buck after Liverpool’s pitiful home draw against Aston Villa, claiming that off-field events were affecting the team, and that it was, in some cases, ‘impossible’ to ignore the problems.

Gerrard whined:

‘It’s not just this week. It’s been going on for some time and it’s certainly not helping the players’. We know what’s going on, but as players you’ve got a job to do on the pitch and you try to put what’s going on off the pitch to the back of your mind. But sometimes it’s impossible, when it is every day.”

Awww. My heart bleeds for you, Steven. And I suppose your wallet is too small for your fifties and your diamond shoes are too tight?

It’s so nice to see another shining example of Liverpool’s so called ‘inspirational’ Captain lifting the mood amid behind the scenes turmoil.

Gerrard’s comments are tantamount to shirking responsibility for a season blighted by staggering inconsistency. 'Captain Fantastic' basically concedes defeat, handing every other team Liverpool face this season a psychological advantage in the process.

I appreciate that Gerrard was asked a direct question, but what happened to being positive, and inspiring the team and the fans with fighting talk? Isn't that what captains are supposed to do...?

Gerrard may privately think that the team is suffering, but what purpose is served by saying it in public?

In any event, it is utter nonsense to suggest that off-field problems are to blame for Liverpool’s failure to mount a serious title challenge. Blaming loss of form on behind the scenes shenanigans is just an easy excuse and a coward’s way out.

How exactly does Liverpool’s ownership situation ‘affect’ the players? Anfield's cosseted playboys are still getting paid their grossly exorbitant salaries. None of the players are at risk from any proposed take-over, and regardless of what happens, none of the them are going to be out of a job.

I keep hearing how the players ‘must be affected’ by the off-field problems, but it’s all just meaningless, empty sound-bytes. I’ve yet to read one convincing argument detailing how the current situation actually impacts the players.

In fact, I would argue that footballers in the top division couldn’t care less about who owns the club. As long as they are getting paid, that’s all that matters.

When Liverpool's players step onto the pitch, they should be 100% focused and concentrated on the job in hand. To suggest that the players are thinking about off-field battles whilst they are playing is, quite simply, an insult to the intelligence.

Hicks and Gillette have NOTHING to do with Liverpool failing to win 12 of their 22 league games this season.

Off-field strife has nothing to do with 10 league draws, endless tinkering, ineffective rotation, poor home record, sup-par performances, ridiculous team selections, outlandish formations, playing players out of position, lack of creativity, inability to break teams down and an ultra-cautious approach.

Rafa and the players are to blame. No one else.

They are paid obscene amounts of money to behave in a PROFESSIONAL manner. That means being dedicated to their jobs and having the mentality to withstand the comparatively tame impact of boardroom power-struggles.

If players like Gerrard or anyone else can’t hack it, and it’s too difficult for them to give their all on the pitch, then replace them with players that Liverpool FC deserve, i.e. mentally tough PROFESSIONALS.

The thing that makes an absolute mockery of Gerrard’s moaning is Luton Town’s lionhearted performances against Liverpool in the FA Cup. Now there is team with REAL problems off the pitch. The pressure on Luton’s unpaid players is infinitely greater than anything the mollycoddled Merseyside millionaires are facing.

You don’t hear Luton’s players moaning about it though, even though they have far more reason to that Liverpool's players. And Luton's recent performances against Liverpool were bursting with passion and energy despite their dire situation.

Quite frankly, Luton’s strength in adversity makes Gerrard’s whining and Liverpool’s regular capitulations look embarrassing.

And let’s not forget that the Liverpool’s season was on the rocks BEFORE everything exploded between Benitez and Tom Hicks. The start to the season was fantastic, but it quickly tailed off into a depressingly predictable mess, as Rafa’s flaws and the team’s creative limitations came to the fore.

Were Gillette and Hicks to blame for the miserable draws against Portsmouth, Porto and Birmingham in September 2007? The woeful home defeats to Marseille and Besiktas in October? Rafa’s continual failure to play his best team? Rafa’s never ending tinkering with team formation and personnel?

No.

The problems on the playing side have been there all season, and have been brewing ever since Rafa took charge of the club, and no amount of spin or passing the buck is going to change that.

Hicks and Gillette have been turned into Hollywood bad-guys by the press, and sheep-like Liverpool fans have followed suit, with a misguided outpouring of pseudo-emotional hand-wringing.

Liverpool’s owners have arguably brought shame on the club with their rampant unprofessionalism and ill-advised public statements. However, blaming them for everything is dangerous, as it removes the focus from the real problem: Rafa’s inability to get the best out of the players at his disposal, and the team’s defeatist, cautious mentality.

And if DIC take over the club, things will not just magically disappear; The same tiresome problems will still exist and they will inevitably continue.

Liverpool may be in turmoil off the pitch, but the turmoil *on the pitch* is far worse. Instead of shirking responsibility, Rafa and the team need to start taking personal responsibility for their ineptitude, and that means knuckling down, being positive, trying harder and dispensing with the destructive negative attitude.

Self-pity is not what Liverpool FC is about, and if Anfield’s current crop of pampered players can’t hack the pressure of representing the club in times of adversity, then as far as I’m concerned, they’re not fit to wear the shirt.

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Gerrard exposes his lack of support for beleaguered Benitez

On the eve of Liverpool's most crucial game of the season, Steven Gerrard has stuck his oar into the ongoing problems at Anfield with pointless comments that arguably display his lack of support for Rafael Benitez.

Gerrard was never slow to voice support for Gerard Houllier or Steve McClaren when they most needed it, so why are his latest comments completely devoid of any kind of support for the Manager he has eulogised as 'the best in the world'?

Sticking his nose in during periods of club unrest is nothing new to Gerrard. In 2004, when speculation was mounting that Gerard Houllier was set to leave, Gerrard came out with ridiculous comments about how he would leave Liverpool if Houllier was sacked:

"If Gerrard Houllier left the club, I would have to consider my own future. I belive he is the man for the job. I love playing for him".

In another display of public support, Gerrard was even more emphatic:

"The criticism is very, very unfair. I'm not just saying that because he's my manager and made me captain - but because of where he has taken us and what he has won since he took over. He's brought the club forward massively.
"I'm sure he will be here for many years to come and will continue to take us forward and win things. Gerard's faith in me was one of the factors why I signed. He has improved me as a player and we are capable of winning trophies under him in the years to come. I want to be part of that."

The club is undergoing another period of unrest and the same thing is happening again, only Gerrard displays no public support for the Manager he recently described as 'World Class':

“It’s important that the players keep their focus. We realise that there is stuff going on behind the scenes but as a player you have just got to blank that out. As players we get judged on results so it's vital that we don't get distracted from what is going on off the pitch and keep on winning.”

First of all, did Gerrard need to focus yet more media attention onto ‘stuff going on behind the scenes’?! In fact, did he need to make any comment at all on the situation? What possible purpose do his comments serve? None whatsoever I would argue.

If Gerrard had to say something, he should have said something positive, along the lines of: ‘All the players are behind the Manager, and we support him 100%’. This is the kind of thing a captain *should* be saying, is it not?

Of course it is, as proved by Gerrard himself recently when he offered positive, emphatic backing for former England Manager Steve McClaren when speculation was rife about his job:

"I'm certainly backing the manager. I've got a lot of faith in him. I've enjoyed working with him and speaking to the other players I'm sure they feel the same”.

So why no similar display of support for beleaguered Benitez when there was every opportunity for a show of solidarity? On the eve of a game that could make or break Benitez’s career, a show of support would have done wonders for Rafa’s position. It would have also tallied with the overwhelming support of the worldwide fanbase and created a positive symbiosis of support.

Instead, Gerrard just states the obvious and talks about a ‘distraction’ in detached terms as if it’s happening a million miles away and has nothing to do with him or the team.

Gerrard knows exactly what he is doing, and if he wanted to support Rafa in public, he would have. The question is, given his ample public support of Houllier and McClaren in the past, why has Gerrard not supported Benitez?

I personally suspect that Gerrard is not worried either way if Rafa leaves, as it would give him the perfect excuse to leave Anfield in the summer, and no one would question his decision. After all, Gerrard has made no secret of the fact that he dislikes being played out of position – something that ‘detached’ Benitez has done regularly throughout his reign.

Indeed, there is speculation today that Gerrard would ‘consider his future’ if Rafa was to leave. This is clearly paper talk, but it would not surprise me if Gerrard is already planning his future away from Anfield.

After Gerrard cried wolf twice over Chelsea, he made a rod for his own back in the sense that he created a situation where by he could never publicly consider his future again, lest he incur the irreversible wrath of the fans.

In such a situation, what does Gerrard do if he wants to leave? There’s nothing he can do. He’s basically stuck unless he can find a situation where he can leave and be absolved of any blame.

The Benitez situation is the opportunity Gerrard has been waiting for. If Rafa is sacked, Gerrard can start making noises about his future again, and people will be more understanding because a new Manager will have to rebuild again, and Gerrard might not want to hang around during the transition period.

This would be far easier to accept that the dual Chelsea debacles, and given the fickle nature of fans, I have no doubt that the majority would support Gerrard if he gave that kind of reasoning for leaving.

Ultimately, as club Captain, Steven Gerrard should have come out with a show of support for Rafa. If he could muster up support for Steve McClaren, why could he not do the same for Rafa?

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Stevie Me's laughable explanation for his 'England are best' comments

Steven Gerrard has taken time out from his beloved England and deigned to offer Liverpool fans a hollow justification for his idiotic comments about England games being ‘bigger’ than Liverpool games…

Gerrard’s convincing, heartfelt clarification consisted of the following:

“All I was trying to say was when I am with England, England are most important but when I am with Liverpool, Liverpool are most important”.

With these comments, Gerrard is insulting our intelligence, and if he thinks he can fool fans with this feeble attempt at an explanation…he’s right! Sadly, despite the outrageous and obvious truth, Gerrard apologists across the globe will accept his 'explanation' without question and the whole thing will be forgotten.

Quite simply, any fan who unquestioningly believes this tosh is a mug. Gerrard might try and convince people that he didn’t say England are more important, but he DID. Consider his original comments again:

"When I join up with England, these games are bigger than Champions League games or league games”.

This statement is categorically unambiguous: England games are bigger than CL and league games. Gerrard claims that he was making a distinction between when he plays for England and when he plays for Liverpool. Where is this distinction exactly?! He also said:

“If you go to a major tournament and play well or achieve something as a team it's going to be a lot bigger than achieving something at your club."

Am I missing something here? Where does he say ‘when I play for England they are most important’?! Again, Gerrard’s attitude is clear and impossible to misinterpret: Achieving something with England is A LOT BIGGER than achieving something with Liverpool.

Additionally, there is no allusion to the Liverpool/England distinction he makes his ‘apology’. Why? Because that is not what he meant.

Instead of lying to the fans, Gerrard should have the courage of his convictions - If he feels England are more important than LFC, then he should just stick to his opinion. Sticking resolutely to a passionately held opinion in the face of adversity is something I can respect.
After all, my LFC bias aside, I can see the argument that playing for the national team is more important than playing for your club. It’s not something fans want to hear but a convincing argument could be made for it.

In any event, for me as a Liverpool fan, Gerrard’s comments are depressingly explicit. No amount of desperate backtracking or spin can change this simple fact: Liverpool's homegrown Captain prefers winning with England to winning with Liverpool.

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Gerrard: England more important than Liverpool

Coming hot on the heels of his ignorant ‘foreigners are taking over the league’ comments, Steven Gerrard has angered many Liverpool fans by proclaiming that playing for England is ‘ a lot bigger’ than playing for Liverpool.

I have been repeatedly shouted down when advancing that opinion that Gerard cares more about England than Liverpool, but once again I have been proved right. Gerrard stated:

"When I join up with England, these games are bigger than Champions League games or league games. You're representing your country. If you go to a major tournament and play well or achieve something as a team it's going to be a lot bigger than achieving something at your club."

Gerrard’s disappointing views are arguably at odds with the majority of Liverpool fans, who prioritise club over country. Not that Gerrard seems to give two hoots about damaging the expectations of his loyal fanbase:

"Maybe that is supporters being selfish. As a player, you want to play in the biggest games. Those are European [Championship] games and World Cup games."

It’s nice to know that Gerrard considers games against Macedonia and Trinidad and Tobago to be more important than games against AC Milan and Arsenal.

These comments confirm what I have been saying for years about Steven Gerrard: He is more interested in playing for England than Liverpool. In that respect, he is similar to former Liverpool player Michael Owen, someone who has shamelessly prioritised country over club for years.

Gerrard’s comments are depressingly unambiguous, and whilst I can understand his patriotism, this is not what you want to hear from a Liverpool Captain. The fact that Gerrard is a homegrown Liverpudlian makes it even worse, as there is now a damaging dichotomy between him and the Scouse fans that worship him every week.

Fans love to believe that Gerrard is an extension of them, representing their hopes and dreams as a ‘local boy done good’. The reality is sadly very different. Gerrard is as far removed from the average fan on the street as it possible to be. He lives in a different world, and has nothing in common with the fawning fans who put him on a pedestal.

In my view, the reason Gerrard prefers England over Liverpool has nothing to do with patriotism and everything to do with vanity. He wants to be immortalised on the international stage, and considered one of the best players of all time. He is hungry for the fame that the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Maradona enjoy. It’s all about 'Stevie Me' and what he can achieve for himself, rather than having anything to do with the team or the pride of England.

With these comments, Gerrard is close to destroying the special bond that exists between Scousers and ‘one of their own’. Would you ever hear Robbie Fowler say such things? Never. That is why Fowler is revered and Gerrard will ultimately be greeted with indifference.

As I’ve stated repeatedly over the years, Steven Gerrard is not fit to be the Captain of Liverpool FC. He needs to be stripped of that honour, and it should go to someone who prioritises Liverpool FC above all else. This is the way it needs to be and this is the way it should be.

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Steven Gerrard’s xenophobic attack on premiership ‘foreigners’

Steven Gerrard has hit out at ‘foreigners’ in the Premiership, complaining that if a quota system is not introduced, ‘foreigners’ will ‘take over’. In his infinite wisdom, Gerrard offered this stunning insight:

'There is a concern that [English] talent will stop coming through if foreigners do take over our league. Something has got to happen otherwise there will be more and more foreigners and they will take over'.

Gerrard should stick to improving his game instead of peddling this kind of ignorant, divisive, simplistic hogwash. Foreigners?! Surely the correct terminology is ‘overseas player’? The word ‘foreigner’ is dismissive, has negative connotations and exacerbates the insidious discrimination bubbling under the surface of society.

Gerrard’s rant sounds like veiled xenophobia to me. Notice that Gerrard refers to 'our league' not 'the' league. And 'foreigners taking over'? Hmmm. Where have I heard that before? Ah yes – the likes of the BNP, with their campaign of intolerance deliberatly couched in similarly moderate terms in an attempt appear respectable.

I can imagine weak-minded football fans who hang on Gerrard' s every word taking his lead and using the ‘foreigners out’ mantra as a new weapon on the terraces. Indeed, to some extent, many homegrown Liverpool fans have already adopted this dispiriting attitude, moronically campaigning for ‘non scousers’ to be banned from the Kop.

As the so-called Captain of a team than contains lots of ‘foreigners’, Gerrard should have thought his comments through before proceeding to slight his colleagues. How will they feel knowing that Gerrard thinks they are ‘taking over’? Such an outburst is typical of Gerrard though - ill considered displays of public ignorance have been a feature of his career at Liverpool. I personally expect more diplomacy and intelligence from a Liverpool Captain.

Anyway - Let’s just assume for a second that Gerrard is right, and at some point in the future ‘foreigners’ take over the league as a result of a quota system not being introduced. Why exactly would that happen? The answer is simple: overseas players are more intelligent, more disciplined, more technically proficient and more skillful than English players. Always have been and always will be.

English players SHOULD be afraid. They should be very afraid. Overseas players are have been highlighting the deficiencies inherent in the English game for years, as well as exposing the limitations of many English players. Additionally, overseas players and Managers are arguably the main reason that the premiership is considered to be one of the best leagues in the world. The standard has been raised, and English hoofball had nothing to do with it.

In his interview, Gerrard also had the sheer gall to suggest that the influx of overseas players had affected the progress of the current England team:

"I think there is a risk of too many foreign players coming over which will affect our national team eventually - if it is not doing it now”.

Pure unadulterated claptrap. The consistently poor performance of the current ‘golden generation’ of England players has NOTHING to with overseas players and everything to do with the fact that England’s scandalously overpaid primadonna are just not good enough. They are a bunch of preening, pampered ladyboys, collectively devoid of character, discipline, humility, leadership and genuine bulldog spirit.

To suggest that overseas players are to blame for England’s continual embarrassing failure is ridiculous in the extreme. We are constantly told how the likes of Gerrard, Rooney et al are ‘world class’ but where is the proof? As far as I can see, England have been humiliated in the last 4 international tournaments, failing every time as their painfully limited players are cruelly exposed on the highest stage.

The problem with the England team is not overseas players, it is English players. The likes of Gerrard, Ferdinand, Terry and Cashley Cole suffer from the typical English football disease: Dulled competitive edge as a result of rampaging egos, more money than sense and becoming drunk on their own hype. Indeed, this is a view echoed by Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov, who believes that England are struggling to qualify for Euro 2008 because money has diminished the work ethic of the players:

"England have a team of big stars who earn an awful lot of money from playing with their private deals. Russia have a compact group of players who don't have anywhere near as much money, but with far more hard workers on the field. That's the difference between the countries. That's why we are in a strong position and England have been left just hoping."

Exactly right, though I doubt Gerrard would take any notice of Kerzhakov. After all, he's only a 'foreigner'.

Gerrard should direct his prodigious powers of perception at himself for a change and accept that his impact on England has been less than negligible, and foreigners have nothing to do with it. He is a poor Captain for Liverpool and an even worse one for England, as evidenced by the team’s capitulation against Russia. Where was his much vaunted 'inspirational leadership' then?

Or is he going to blame his wretched lack of leadership ability on foreigners too?

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Robson slams 'selfish' Gerrard

Finally! A high profile dissenting voice in the media highlighting the 'Steven Gerrard problem' at Liverpool.

In a recent interview, Sir Bobby Robson offered a refreshing antidote to the endless media eulogizing, highlighting Gerrard’s selfish attitude and undermining tendencies...

Fuelled by the exaggerated hyperbole of the ‘Steven Gerrard can do no wrong’ club, chaired by Andy Gray and Alan Hansen, the media fawning over Gerrard is sickening. No matter what Gerrard does, the likes of Gray and Hansen praise him to the hilt, find excuse after excuse and, in Gray’s case, even exhort Gerrard to leave the club if he’s not played in central midfield!

Robson views are a breath of fresh air! If only there were more like him willing to highlight the evils of egotistical player power. Robson focuses on Gerrard's recent subsitution against Everton - an incident that really irritated me, and should irritate all true fans – i.e. fans of the CLUB, not fans of Steven Gerrard Inc.

After the game, Gerrard made a huge song and dance about being ‘hurt’ and ‘disappointed’, and whined about how he wanted an explanation from the Manager. Robson commented:

“Rafa was brave in taking off Gerrard at Everton because he would have been severely criticised had Liverpool not won. But they did win, and I am not sure why Gerrard had to go and see his manager to ask why he had been subbed. Would Dirk Kuyt, Javier Mascherano or any other player do that?”.

Exactly. No other player would have had the churlish audacity to question their Manager in the media, but Gerrard believes he is on a higher plain than everyone else. The fact is, Gerrard went off and the game was won. End of story. The means justifies the ends and that should be enough for him.

Of course, if Gerrard was a genuine team player, he would see the bigger picture and be satisfied that the TEAM combined to produce the right result. Sadly though, this incident once again illustrates how Gerrard is concerned more with personal glory than team achievement.

Bobby Robson seems to agree with this sentiment, stating that ‘no individual is bigger than the club and this is the time for Stevie to ask 'What can I do for Liverpool?', not 'What can they do for me?’’.

Gerrard has a history of sulking when things don’t go his way. As Robson observes in the article, “Gerrard has always made his opinions clear about where he wants to play”. When he doesn’t get what he wants, the sulking begins, with the most obvious signs of this being negative body language on the pitch and aggressive attitude towards fellow players when they make the slightest mistake.

This kind of behaviour is deliberately undermining, not only to the Manager, but the club as a whole. Robson also sees this, noting:

"His [Gerrard's] apparent willingness to give an opinion is not exactly helping. Stevie should be aware of the influence he has, and now is the time to use that influence to back the manager in a trying time".

Make no mistake about it, this is a non offensive, diplomatic rebuke by Robson, but it’s a rebuke all the same. I’m sure Robson sees parallels between the Gerrard/Benitez situation and his own battles with Alan Shearer at Newcastle United. I would not discount the possibility that privately, Robson advocates the selling of Steven Gerrard, and I would argue there is evidence of this in the article, where he states:

“The best managers realise quickly when there is possible conflict with a big-name player and they act decisively to make sure everyone knows who is in charge. Sir Alex Ferguson has done it often, most notably with David Beckham and Roy Keane, while Wenger dealt with the Henry situation for the good of the club.”

Read between the lines! Not surprisingly, the three players mentioned all left their respective clubs. Perhaps Robson is subtly imploring Benitez to also take ‘decisive action’ for the good of the club.

“I am sure the Liverpool captain is a long way from leaving Anfield”, concluded Robson “but it is important the manager is in charge and is backed by the board and the fans”.

Rafa’s substitution of Gerrard against Everton was a decisive act, and one which increased my respect for the man. However, the most decisive act would be to sell Gerrard – something that, in my view, is a necessity if Liverpool have genuine aspirations of winning the title this decade.

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'Brainless' Gerrard 'hurt' by 'Rafa The Merciless'

So Steven Gerrard is feeling 'hurt' and 'disappointed' by his substitution in the 70th minute of the recent Merseyside Derby...?

Boo f**king hoo. He deserved to be 'hooked' as he called it. No player is bigger than the club, yet Sir Steven of Gerrard has the audacity and arrogance to question Rafa Benitez's decision in public:

'I'll be speaking to the manager about it just to find out why I was substituted', whined Gerrard.

And therein lies the problem: Gerrard actually believes he has the right to demand an answer. Instead of taking it like a man and accepting the decision, his rampaging ego rears its ugly head again...
Pandering to Gerrard's ego

But this is nothing new. The sad fact is, Steven Gerrard IS bigger than the club. David Moores and Rick Parry have made sure of that with their constant pandering to Gerrard's ego. Incredibly, despite Gerrard's traitorous flirtations with Chelsea, Parry still got down on his hands and knees and puckered up, subjugating the club and elevating Gerrard to status 'the untouchable'.

As a result of this, Rafa's first act as Liverpool boss was to make a humiliating trip to appease the golden boy during Euro 2004. Would Alex Ferguson have done this? More to the point, would Bill Shankly have stood for this? No - both would have told the board to get stuffed and Gerrard would have been put in his place.

Times have changed though, and Liverpool's enduring legacy, founded upon the Shankly ethos of hardwork and humility, is disappearing fast.

'We needed to play with our brains'

Rafa got it spot on with Gerrard's substitution; as he said after the game 'we needed to play with our brains' - something Gerrard singularly fails to do.