28 Mar 2008

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.
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.



10 comments:

  1. Well Jaimie, interesting views there. I was baffled to hear Gerrard saying Rooney destroyed us, and although i love Gerrard, i've always said, carragher is our real captain. Don't care what others say, and whether they like it or not, gerrard is not fit for the Liverpool captaincy as much as Carragher is. I guess you've outlined the real reasons before, no need to repeat it.

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  2. Was shocked by the word. What is he thinking? Does he know that he is the captain? I think he wants to leave..

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  3. you.. are a wanker mate. are you even a reds fan? if you were you'd stand behind your team at everything they said/done/acted.. grow up. get a life and stop wasting mine and others time with rubbish like this... is this suppose to be inspirational? wanka

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  4. Typical response by a blinkered Gerrard apologist. How can I be wasting your time?! Was it me who took control of your body and made you read the story?! No.

    If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple really.

    Why don't you wake up and see the fact that Gerrard just isn't a good captain?!

    I support LIVERPOOL FC - not Steven Gerrard Inc. I want what's best for the club and Gerrard as Captain is NOT best for the club.

    If he is the best person to be captain, please explain why with examples of his leadership ability.

    In my article, I have provided 12 examples *from this season alone* why he is not fit to captain LFC.

    I will expect the usual 'but what about Istanbul' cliches and 'but Pele said that Gerrard's the best' etc...

    If anyone has a real, credible argument about how Gerrard is an inspirational captain, then I would seriously love to hear it.

    And no, my article is not supposed to be inspirational (!). It's supposed to highlight yet again how Gerrard is failing as a leader of the club - something I think is a very serious issue.

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  5. Gerrard, have you asked yourself.. where were you in the thick of things for the whole match against Man Utd? Where were you, esp as our Captain of Liverpool FC... rallying our troops to stay tight as a unit and wait for the chance to square the match and perhaps WIN against the odds (with TEN men)?

    Mascherano had the FIRE and DESIRE to WIN in the last match. He had URGENCY. Sorry Gerrard but I did not see that in you. I'm just as surprised as the rest of the readers here that the word destroyed was used. Stop putting down the team and above all, Liverpool FC. Please remember that you're wearing the red of Liverpool FC and not the red of others.

    Carragher would be the best choice from the first eleven but I would welcome Hyypia as our Captain back anytime!

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  6. good one!go to RAWK!They are discussing abt this issue very much.But it would be better if u just sit back and read those comments and use it to justify urself ;).

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  7. OMFG, this is the first ive heard about this! but in all honesty i cant say im surprised.

    Im captain of my 5-A-Side team (top of the playfootball.net tuesday night prem, Liverpool!! D&G :)) and never in a million years have i ever thought about praising another player after a defeat, you may think it, but youd never actually say it!!

    Its just another example of Stevies lack of intelligence, he does this so regularly now that i can honestly say that im not arsed if he leaves! His leadership is becoming more and more detrimental to the team and its about time he fucked off!

    Sell the idiot and get in some class players who dont just act professionally with thier off field actions but with thier mouths aswell.

    Give the armband to masch as soon as hes learnt english, but give it to carra in the meantime. Thats what id be doing if i was rafa.

    With the money raised from his sale we could buy Ronaldinho (reported 12m) Ricardo Quaresma and With a little added on top, Daniel Alvez.

    Just another example of his stupidity really, and i wouldnt mind, although he played well rooney wasnt even thier best player. Thier best player was none other than Steve Bennet :)

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  8. It's embarrassing that Gerrard said this. Furthermore, it's true that he praises rivals with regularity and prefers England to Liverpool. Still, he's a fine player, a local boy and has had his moments of inspiration. Personally, I don't give the captaincy question the priority that Jaimie does. Keane was a great captain for Man. U., but these days Fergie's men seem to manage OK without highly motivating captains. I think Carragher is very important fior Liverpool and I don't really think his influence would increase if he was captain. The ideal situation is to have a team of winners, so you don't need just one man to provide motivation.

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  9. What is embarrassing is scumbags like this masquerading as Liverpool fans.

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  10. No, mr anonymous, what is embarassing is sausage jockeys like you who will make posts insulting other ppl without leaving your name! Go and hide, suck your thumb and keep deluding yourself!

    Gerrard is a great player, but the money we could get for a player approaching 28 is too good, not to think about! His sale would benefit the club more than his retention, its as simple as that!

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