26 May 2013

Bad Apples? - Robbie Fowler reveals 'dislike' for €50m Bayern Munich duo

Last night, Bayern Munich attacking duo Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben - who cost Munich a combined £50m - capped a memorable season by helping the Bundesliga giants overcome Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions League. Ribery provided the assist for Robben's excellent winning goal, but Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler remained unimpressed, and revealed that he's not a fan of either player.

Whilst watching the game last night, Fowler - who scored 183 goals during his Liverpool career - tweeted:

"Ribery or Robben? Tough choice. Didn't mean who's the best. I mean whom do I dislike more".

I felt the same way watching the game, but for me, it's not a tough choice; with his constant play-acting and attempts to con the referee, Ribery was/is the the clear winner.

I would hate to see either player at Anfield, and thankfully, the chances of either player ever coming to Liverpool are slim.

In 2009, Robben was linked with a move to Liverpool, and at the time, I posted an article arguing against his signing, citing the Dutchman's history of diving/play-acting as a the main reason.

It looks like Robben may be available again this summer, and one manager who will almost certainly not be in for him is former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, who also seemingly dislikes the winger.

During Liverpool's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in 2006, Pepe Reina received a red card after some embarrassing play-acting from Robben:



Robben should be embarrassed by such a disgraceful reaction. Yes, Reina was wrong to raise his hands, but that doesn't excuse the play-acting. After the game, an infuriated and sarcastic Benitez accused Robben of diving. He told reporters:

"The incident was so serious that maybe he [Robben] will be in the hospital for one week. It is crazy. Reina made a mistake because Robben was talking to him and he touched his face. Maybe he will be in the hospital for three weeks with a broken neck. Robben has dived. What kind of professional can you be against another professional?"

Despite this incident (and many others) there are still lots of Reds fans who'd probably welcome Robben with open arms. After all, as we've seen with Luis Suarez, the prevailing view seems to be that diving/cheating is okay as long as the player doing it is top class.



NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


80 comments:

  1. Their antics would not be a problem for majority of current Liverpool fans. Just tell them the players have signed a contract with the club and loads of excuses for their disgusting behavior will begin coming up on a daily basis.

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  2. GOD FTW!!! I absolutely despise the two of them. Both incredible footballers and both incredible WANKERS!!

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  3. Suarez isn't like robben at all, as usual anything to have a little dig eh JK, Suarez gets hacked down every game and reacts, if the refs don't treat him with the correct rules of football why should he adhere to them. He's fucked up but not even in the same class of cheating as robben

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  4. I despise Robben a lot. Bayern lost last year due to his selfish performance and almost lost yesterday again due to him. His winning goal saved him from all the critics who were ready to pounce on him for his performance before that goal. Ribery is ok...

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  5. I have realized that JK has some personal vedanta against Suarez (which he do not accept) and have since read his article by ignoring those lines with Suarez mention as it makes lot more sense and removes systematic bias. It also helps me to react and comment in a civil manner and thus avoid ban. Lol

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  6. well done jaimie nearly a week without a dig at suarezbut alas hold habits die hard,ribery,is overrated imo robben is decent but to old infact 95%of footballers are two old for fsg

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  7. My vote goes to Robben. He is one of the worst divers I've ever watched and is selfish in a way that often costs his team. In a way, he is a poor man's Ribery, who, after all, is a fine footballer and seems to be a good professional, too.

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  8. Don't like our support for Suarez? Then go write about another team you supposedly follow.

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  9. Don't like our support for Suarez? Then go write about another team you supposedly follow..

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  10. Do not like my criticism of your ridiculous hypocrisy with regards to sportsmanship and fair play? Go churn out those old lines about 'support' to somebody who is going to be affected by that.

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  11. Please do not attack other posters for having a different opinion to you. Not being a fan of Suarez does notequate to lack of support for LFC.

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  12. There are not lots of Liverpool fans who would probably welcome Robben,do another poll and ask the question.We don't want Robben!

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  13. Bucked toothed diving and arm biting Suarez is worse than the above two combined.

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  14. lets face it m8 you have a chip on your shoulder over suarez its the only time you post

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  15. jaimie i have an idea for a post are fsg ever going to invest in lfc if they do not do it this summer i think they never will,my prediction for fsg is low budget signing then when the financial fair play rules come in they will start on the upgrade of anfield so that the club pays for that as well then they will sell to the highest bidder without a second thought for the supporters just my opinion

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  16. Have a look over my comments and list them here if you want to support your statement.

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  17. just saying you always one of the 1st to jump on the suarez bandwagon whats up did he dive in your garden and wreck your flower beds or heaven forbid he bit you

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  18. ive checked your comments on suarez related posts and you have never said a good word about him ,i just do not get it ,its not like we have never had players who have ,been unsportsman like before just a lot of them were not as good

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  19. Jesus H Christ - how many times?! Stop bitching about this. If you don't like people being critical if Suarez, tough luck. Stop clogging the thread with pointless posts.

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  20. I said check my comments to see they are not only about Suarez, as you claimed.

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  21. I agree, Robben and Ribery are horrible divers and cheaters. And it's not ok! Because they're not half as good as Suarez. It's like suggesting it's ok for Downing to dive. Ridiculous!

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  22. No it doesn't. That only seems to apply when it's a player you like. Plenty of fans were not enamoured with El Hadji Diouf when he was at Anfield; does that mean they supported LFC any less? Not at all.

    Support of the club is separate from support of the individual, and both can be mutually exclusive.

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  23. I really hate to say that and please do not mind, Jason, but your constant allegations about FSG is absolutely unfounded. I don't know what makes u think so but it is not important to me or any true LFC supporters here. Anyway, apart from those oil-and-gas clubs, you will not find another set of owners that is more willing to invest into their club than FSG. I do not want and need to waste time again listing out the amount of money they blew on players over the past 2 seasons because you are not one that appreciate facts and figures. Anyone that follows this blog closely will know. You should say that KD/Comolli and BR blew their money and of course, this is an undisputed fact that you never want acknowledge, especially on the 'contributions' made by KD and Comolli. But to suggest FSG will try to sell players/club for short-term profit and will eventually do a grab-and-run is simply a joke, man! :)

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  24. i am with you Robbie,dislike both of them, getting players sent off really sucks

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  25. Diouf got a bad beating by a gang of teenagers in a toilet in Ghana last week, the poor chap.

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  26. I disagree. Good people do bad things sometimes. To me, Liverpool FC is a family and when someone in your family does something bad, you give him grief for what he's done but he's still family. The one exception for me is Downing. He's shushed LFC supporters which is a terrible thing to do in the first place but he's not yet apologised for it which is disgraceful and unforgiveable.

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  27. Yes, Downing shushing the crowd is far more damaging than Suarez's biting, diving, cheating and use of racially offensive language.

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  28. For all you know Jaimie, he might have dipped his finger in a tub of anthrax and been blowing it at the crowd.
    Is that not a problem Jaimie!? That Stewart Downing was literally trying to murder our fans!?
    Talk about hypocrisy...

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  29. Who said anything about damaging? You don't turn on your family and when you've offended them you apologise for it afterwards. I don't give a rat's bottom what the media, other managers or other club's supporters think about Suarez, Downing or whoever else. They simply do not matter. But inside the Liverpool family you either respect everyone in it, or you don't belong, which is obviously the case with Downing. You wouldn't see Suarez, Gerrard or any other player do such a despicable thing.

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  30. time will tell who the joke is plank,you can sit there in your perfect world and believe fsg are god i see them for what they are money grabbing bastards

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  31. why is it bitching or sniping your the biggest sniper on here ,how many times do you delete posts because they put up a counter argument to you just because they disagree with you ,you sniped at me the other day but do i give a f2ck no i just let it go over my head seriously i like your site its excellent but if you cannot take critism your in the wrong game

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  32. i agree there not but on any suarez agenda your on the case but then again anyone who has a bad word to say about suarez is ok on this site and they can do no wrong

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  33. I think people are far too dramatic about the so-called 'sins' of footballers, especially in Britain but then again, the great British pastime is unrighteous indignation.

    As for diving, it isn't even the biggest issue in football. That isn't to say we shouldn't try and curb it, but the amount of column inches and hot air it generates is an affront to perspective.

    I'm more concerned with this story about Robbie Rogers. I think he deserves an enormous pat on the back for acting like a man, facing his critics and probably providing hope and comfort to a lot of confused, scared kids.

    Side note:

    Rafa's comments about that Robben thing are why we love. The ornery ol' coot.

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  34. jaimie what about souness bellamy and molby for god sake molby even went to prison but when you refere to him you say ex lfc legend,so what makes suarez so different

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  35. Give me a break. None of those aforementioned players did *anything* along the same lines as Suarez. None of them disrespected the club to the extent he has, or caused such negative publicity. The fact you mention Souness is a complete joke. Not even in the same universe. There's a difference between tough tackling (which was more acceptable in the 70s and 80s as it was part and parcel of football) and diving, cheating, biting and racial abuse. If you can't see the difference, then you have absolutely no capacity for fair analysis.

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  36. so just because they got away with murder in them days its ok molby went to clink and came back to lfc so that does not count either

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  37. i take it your joking about r rodgers so what it does not bother me but to suggest hes a role model is ludicrous imo

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  38. Molby going to Jail? Big fecking deal. It didn't happen on the pitch, and it wasn't blatant disrespect for LFC. He made a mistake *in life*. We all do that. Suarez has repeatedly pi$$ed all over LFC's good name with his antics. Massive difference.

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  39. lol a mistake it was all over the papers for weeks not that it bothered me jan was a great bloke but to say it did not show lfc in a bad light is comical next thing you will be saying diouf was just clearing his throught

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  40. If Suarez did the same as Molby, I wouldn't write about it or even mention it as I'm only concerned with stuff that happens on the pitch and/or is directly related to football.

    Molby made ONE mistake, and it wasn't football related. Suarez has *repeatedly* dragged the club through the dirt with his football related antics. That is the difference.

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  41. chirag i think i will follow your advice its a shame though as i will only be able to post on one thread out of ten;-)

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  42. so if suarez had bitten someone up town on a friday night before a big game it would be alright as it was not football related lol

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  43. Horrible Chelsea scum

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  44. Yes, a very realistic example. But no, it wouldn't bother me, mainly because it wouldn't happen in front of millions of TV viewers across the globe, and it wouldn't be directly related to LFC. What Suarez does in his own time is completely separate to what he does in a LFC shirt. If he makes mistakes in life, so be it' everyone does. When he's being paid 100K a week to behave in a certain manner on the field, then the rules are different.

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  45. Why delete comments

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  46. People think they can just roll up and spout whatever abuse they want and/or snipe to their heart's content. Well, not here. Anyone who insults/belittles someone else and/or snipes (i.e. posts sarcastic/mean-spirited comments) will have their posts deleted. If you want a free-for all full of juvenile name-calling and intolerance, go to LFC's official message boards, or any other LFC forum.

    Anyone who doesn't like the comment policy here doesn't have to visit this website.

    This site is for civil, reasoned debate/discussion - anyone who doesn't like that, can lump it.

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  47. so footballers are only role models to kids on the pitch and as long as they do not dive or cheat on the pitch thats fine they can do what they want off it ,it does not affect the club ,lol and you question my morals,i would rather have a player who dove and bit people on the pitch than a lot of the so called professional footballers out there who have done a lot worse of the pitch we have 2 players who police questioned for attacks on women this year on our books i,i know which ones i respect most,the one who is doing his job and giving 100%every game and if that means he upsets rival fans so be it

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  48. censorship is the best line of defence;-)

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  49. You constantly bring up examples that are totally irrelevant to Suarez. Players do not (generally) do whatever they want off the pitch. Things that happens (such as Bellamy and the golf club) are exceptions, not the rule, yet you try and make out that players are running wild off the pitch.

    You are just indicative of the modern fan: you don't care about the reputation or standing of the club; all you care about is individual players, and if they['re good enough, they can do anything on the pitch. The hypocrisy, of course, is that if the player is deemed crap, you'll be on his back for anything he does.

    No wonder football is in the gutter.

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  50. And souey dealt with the scum newspaper, to me that was lower than snake shite

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  51. Your right mate, the amount of articles with snipes at Suarez have got boring

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  52. What is more disgraceful is that referees most of the time lack total common sense when they perceive play acting.

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  53. dude, seriously, did you ever see JK write about Gerrard's allegedly abusive antics at night clubs?

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  54. You are making an absolute full of yourself. If someone felt so strongly about a club, that they feel obliged to criticise a player's ignorance of club morals and values, how does that mean their support for the club is decreased? If Jaimie weren't a supporter, why the fuck would he care so much about what Liverpool fc stands for and how players like Suarez tarnish that? If you're going to turn a blind eye to everything Suarez does wrong, yet attack players from other clubs who commit the same crimes, you're going to look really hypocritical aren't you?

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  55. I'm not joking.

    There are bound to be loads of gay athletes out there who are afraid to come out because of the abuse they'll get.
    Look at Justin Fashanu, who got disowned by his own brother for coming out.
    I think it is ridiculous in football that everyone at all level of the games (publicly at least) are staunchly against racism, but homophobia just seems to be tolerated.
    I've always thought the best thing about football is the way it brings people together, and that is why this Rogers thing is a sign of progress.
    There is a reason why it is 23 years since a footballer last admitted he was gay (and it isn't because there have only been straight footballers in that time), so Rogers has shown great fortitude here, in my opinion.

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  56. It is tough though.
    From a ref's point of view, if he lets someone get away with diving, people will be annoyed, but mainly with the diver.
    If you wrongly punish someone for diving, people go ape and really remember that you fucked up.
    Also, how many times have you, as a viewer, thought 'Oh this fella is at it again', like Carra on Nani at Anfield a few years ago, only to realise the player was genuinely hurt.
    I think the ref's need strong backing from their union, but they're a bunch of insular cowards who refuse to take responsibility.

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  57. Glad we see eye to eye on that one ... wait a minute you old dog you

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  58. You're getting into complicated territory now, because the amount of negative publicity Suarez has generated is in part thanks to the different nature of media now.
    If you're judging an incident by the level of outrage it generates, then that, I don't think, is the most reliable measure of how inappropriate an action was.
    Take for example the recently aired out footage of Souness breaking that Czech bloke's jaw. If that happened today, we'd never hear the end of it. Due to the time it happened, it is seen as an oddity, it is even fondly remembered as a relic of the 'good old days'.
    I'm not disagreeing that Suarez has disrespected the club, but I just think this is something worth bearing in mind.

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  59. He's a model citizen off it though, So you would have kept Mutu at Chelsea after his coke habit off the field because he was a good player on it?

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  60. How has he dragged it through the dirt exactly and damaged us? do you see mass walkouts? we get people singing about our fans dying, people singing about everyone in Liverpool being scum, we were top dog and people have spent the last 20 - 30 years putting us down as much as they can. We are still being talked about by the best players in the world saying how amazing our club is, I'll take their opinions any day over anyone who gets paid for their opinions because they can be financially motivated, How much exactly do you get from your advertisers per web hit Jaimie? and how many of those hits are due to Suarez story's (I don't focus on Suarez to get hits .. looks to top of page where still the only link to a player is Suarez Evra affair) the main person its bothered is you and other media who use it to drag their names through loads of cash due to increased site hits and paper sales.

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  61. It's got nothing to do with ability. I treat all players the same. In Mutu's case, he tested positive for cocaine, and received a 7-month ban from the FA. That makes it a football issue, thus it's football related, even if it happened off the field.

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  62. Jamie, I've posted once before about you,you Suarez obsessed muppet-you are the most blinkered, closed minded ,one dimensional epsilon semi-moron I've witnessed in a discussion; a bit like a spoiled child who doesn't get his own way! Suarez has anger impulse-control issues, that doesn't make him the anti-Christ as you portray him! I don't know him but he seems like a good family man with an engaging personality..which is more than some of the degenerate, dogging, spit-roasting prem footballers while videoing group sex sessions and assaulting drunk girls in hotels for a laugh!! Get a bit of perspective before letting your prejudice affect your latest rant at Suarez or one of the posters who..god forbid don't agree with you.

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  63. Is there any chance that over this silly season, where lil Luis won't be mentioned too much in the media (pretty sure he ain't leaving) that you can just leave him out of the next few articles? Honestly the comments section is turning into a joke with you mentioning his name in passing and everyone getting so goddamn righteous and it takes about 30 posts before there is actually anything mentioned about the article itself. We are going to have enough from JC having a go at FSG who have clearly never spent a cent on the club (all of the players from the past couple of seasons just walked to L4 and signed themselves up) so seriously I believe it will improve the comments section immensely.

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  64. So now were getting somewhere, the FA are the moral high ground, if they aren't involved a player is good to go onto the next match, after all we know the FA to be such fair and non controversial group of people, especially in handing out all their punishments

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  65. That's a bit harsh..

    Is it any wonder they come off as insular when they're being attacked from all sides .. I imagine any group of people that suffer the amount of abuse and lack of respect as they do are going to close ranks !!

    It's FIFA that need to step in and help referees enforce the descent rule..upgrade
    the offence to a straight red and a minimum 5 match ban and encourage
    them to enforce it vigorously.. We may have a few abandoned games on our
    hands at the start but I guarantee you it won't be long before it's stops !!

    Hartley got 11 weeks for calling the ref a 'f****g cheat' on Saturday.. Every week in the premiership and leagues all round the world football officials are subjected to far worse.. verbally and physically

    You've seen the abuse they get from player's, supporter's and the manager's during and afterwards.. You have the top managers in the world, Mourihnio and Ferguson to mention but two, coming out in interviews publicly questioning the integrity of the the officials .. making it even more acceptable to continue to bash these guy's from pillar to post for split second decisions made without the aid of 40 slow mo replays of an incident.

    Descent is the real cancer of the game.. If you establish respect for referees and an acceptance of their decision's (right or wrong) your more than likely going to address other issues such as diving at the same time .. As diving is an act to con the referee , if there was a genuine respect coupled with a healthy fear of referee's this would happen far less..

    It's so lazy to keep blaming referee's when everyone else involved in the game from player's, manager's, supporters and media need to take a long hard look at the way they treat the officials of the game.

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  66. Where have you seen me attack players from other clubs? I don't care about what they do. Other than that, you should sit back carefully and read again what I said. I said, I also condemn what LFC players do when I disapprove, Suarez's bite being an example (did you manage to read Suarez's name there or are you replying already?), but I would not condemn the person. Which is what constantly happens with Suarez in articles here. Write an article about Fowler, Robben and Ribery but right at the end JK needs to have yet another dig at people who disagree with him on Suarez. But when people then respond and defend their opinion, all of a sudden they should stop attacking people who agree with him on Suarez. Now that, my friend, is hypocrite.

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  67. errr Souness did more than just a bit of hard tackling on the pitch, what about his flag planting antics when manager of Galatasaray, or the time he broke a Dynamo Bucharest players jaw while playing for Liverpool, or how he mismanaged LFC as manager you negate to mention these facet's of the legends game, career and character. The point is you still call him a legend which seems a bit hypocritical really when you denounce Suarez at every given opportunity. It really amazes me how nearly every article you write seems to end up being about Suarez, example, you can't help but have a snipe at him right at the end of this article, it's tiring. You don't like him as a player, I think we all get what your view of him is by now, Why is Souness as you put it "One of the clubs greatest servants", and yes I was watching LFC long before he joined the club.

    To cherry pick is to provide a biased view, an lets face it we all have those, even you, yet you call us blind and sheep because of our opinions. The truth is simple, we support Suarez because at this moment in time he is part of the LFC family.

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  68. if it had been suarez it would have been all over this site like a bad rash

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  69. I think most football fans apart from Munich don't like these two players and as for sly Suarez remark why is it in every story you write about the team you support there is always a negative remark were the red side of merseyside remember

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  70. Another person who can't handle opposing opinions on Suarez. If you don't like it, don't visit this site.

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  71. JK I'm surprised anyone visits the site any more, with all this dont visit this site stuff. It's not that people can't handle different views it's that these people who read your articles make the site what it is. And in all fairness I agree with you to a certain extent on Suarez but not to write about it in every single article

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  72. Stop exaggerating. I do not write about Suarez in every single article, and even if I did, that's my right. People who don't like that don't have to visit, do they?
    If everyone stopped visiting tomorrow, I'd still post exactly the same as I do now. I don't run this site to appease people, be popular, or ingratiate myself; I write what I think, and I write about stuff that interests me.
    I 'm not afraid to lose visitors. People have a choice: visit or don't. It's that simple.

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  73. mate, everyone's done it before.

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  74. what about ian Callaghan one bastard that!!

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  75. I have to disagree with you.
    The actions of players off the field are just as important as their actions on it.


    I wouldn't want my kid to be a fan of a player whose 'made a single mistake' and raped someone else. Would you?


    I would much prefer my kid to support Suarez, who might be animal on the pitch, but a wonderful person off it(when adrenaline isn't suffocating his brain).


    If you talk about publicity - Suarez has also brought a lot of positive media attention to Liverpool after a few good years that our club has shown nothing interesting and was off the headlines.

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  76. I think you've misunderstood what I was trying to say.

    Apologies if I didn't make it clear enough- I'll try and clarify now.

    I wasn't having a go at the refs, I was saying that they've got a tough job and they need proper backing from the authorities and their own union.

    The people I'm calling insular cowards aren't the refs as individuals, but the associations that represent them (the FA and whatever the ref's union is called nowadays).

    I think that part of the antipathy stems from a number of failures:

    1) The failure to accept responsibility for incorrect decision.

    2) The refusal to explain contentious decisions.(these two make refs seem arrogant and unimpeachable).

    3) Failure to modernise enforcement, including the introduction of technology (the way we can constantly pore over decisions in a way that enormously outweighs the ref's capability undermines their authority) and the inadequacy of the disciplinary system (whether it be trials (a lá Suarez and Terry) or retro-active punishment (Callum McManaman).

    Do you get the point I'm makling? The failure of the disciplinary system isn't the ref's fault, but it diminishes confidence in the enforcement of the laws of the game which leaves the ref's exposed.

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  77. I don't like either of them. Not really sure why, I just never have. Never really thought Ribery is as good as people say.

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  78. What if the fa were to have banned him for going to jail? Would it have been different then? Same crime exactly but they decided to jump in and ban him for going to jail. Is he a disgrace then?

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  79. This is one time i disagree with Fowler. Liverpool would love players like Ribery and Robben on the wings, balancing defensive work with amazing counter attacking at pace. They also create and score a shed load of goals between then.

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