Bravo! Shocking comments from Moyes, but Suarez-blind BR must follow suit. Agree?

If there is one thing that Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers have in common, it is this: blanket, unquestioning support for Luis Suarez, and a pigheaded unwillingness to accept that there is a dark side to his game. According to them, Suarez doesn't dive; doesn't commit bad stamping fouls, and doesn't argue with referees. It's everyone else's fault. The whole world is against the Uruguayan, and both Dalglish and Rodgers are the chief culprits in creating and peddling the tedious 'Suarez media conspiracy' cobblers, which has been rabidly seized upon, and perpetuated by, the club's fans. Well, earlier today, Everton Boss David Moyes gave Rodgers and Dalglish a lesson in humility, and displayed real class and leadership in his handling of the Marouane Fellaini headbutt incident.

During Everton's 1-1 draw with Stoke today, the Belgian maestro lost his head and deliberately headbutted Ryan Shawcross, an incident which the referee missed, despite the fact he was looking right at it. You can view the incident below:



It's an open and shut case: Fellaini lamped Shawcross, end of story. Question: If Suarez did the same thing, or indeed another top LFC player, how would Rodgers/Dalglish respond? In my view, it would be one of the following:

* Stubborn refusal to accept the truth.
* Wheel out the 'everyone is against us' victim mentality.
* Use the convenient 'I didn't see it' excuse.

What Rodgers and Dalglish wouldn't do is publicly condemn Suarez, Gerrard or whoever, and call for the player to be punished by the FA. This is precisely what Moyes did in his post-match interview today. He said:

"He [Fellaini] deserves to get the punishment. I've seen it, it's a terrible thing to do. It should have been a sending-off in the game. If the referee had been able to see it, it should have been. I've told him it's not acceptable and whatever he gets, he and us deserve it. The biggest disappointment, if anything does happen, is that he will have let the team down"

Moyes could've taken the easy way out, but he chose to show true leadership and publicly acknowledge the incident, even though doing so would probably increase the likelihood of Marouane - arguably Everton's best player - being suspended.

Moyes' comments are shocking, but in a good way. When was the last time a top-flight manager publicly called for one of his own players to be suspended?! It's absolutely unheard of, which makes it all the more gratifying.

Witnessing Moyes' humility just makes Dalglish and Rodgers' ceaseless defence of Suarez even more infuriating. The difference between the three managers is glaring:

* Moyes is willing to make a personal sacrifice (i.e. losing Fellaini) to ensure justice is done.

* Dalglish preferred to cultivate a damaging victim mentality, pigheadedly refusing to accept that Suarez was every at fault for anything, and attacking anyone who had the temerity to question his stance.

* Picking up Dalglish's mantle, Rodgers refuses to tell the truth, and instead peddles the 'Everyone is against Suarez' conspiracy in a bid to avoid losing and/or alienating the Uruguayan.

The conclusion is harsh, yet simple: Moyes is a real leader; Rodgers and Dalglish are not.

Real leaders tell the truth and take responsibility, even when doing so means taking the blame, and making a personal sacrifice. You only have to look at Liverpool's belligerent and ultra-defensive handling of the Suarez-Evra fiasco to see an example of abject failure of leadership at the club, and even though Dalglish has gone, that damaging legacy continues under Rodgers.

Unlike Dalglish, who was just needlessly rude (to the extend that he had to publicly apologise at one point behaviour 'not befitting a Liverpool manager), Rodgers' defiant defence of Suarez is arguably the result of some kind of inferiority complex, which explains his constant gross overpraise of the players. He is so desperate not to upset the big, highly paid stars at Anfield that he constantly massages their egos with sycophantic, undeserved acclaim.

And how do these players repay Rodgers? By dropping 28 league points in four months whilst amassing a pathetic 22 points from 16 league games.

This post is not an attack on Suarez, and anyone reading this with an open mind will be able to see that. I am merely using him to make a point about what I perceive to be a fundamental lack of real leadership at Anfield at the moment, which is a major problem.

Rodgers can and should learn from Moyes. Yes, he is the Everton manager, but who cares? These issues are bigger that petty rivalry between the two clubs.

I want the manager of Liverpool to be a strong, courageous, honest leader, and that means telling the truth. If a performance is terrible, SAY SO. If a Liverpool player dives/commits a horrendous foul, ADMIT IT. If the Reds lose/draw a game, don't tell us the performance was OUTSTANDING or TERRIFIC (!)

Is this too much to ask?

Football is a cesspool of cheating, selfishness, greed, lies and corruption at the best of times, but every once in a while, a small ray of hope shines through the darkness to remind us that not all is lost. Today, that hope came from David Moyes, and I sincerely hope Rodgers is watching.

Mr Moyes - I salute you!

NOTE: Before anyone asks, I will be posting about today's game tomorrow; I want to let it sink in first.

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Jaimie Kanwar