2 Nov 2014

'He was lucky': BR blasts referee fail over 'horrendous' Newcastle incident & claims €11m star should've been sent off

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has hit out at €11m-rated Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko, claiming that the combative midfielder deserved to be sent off for a horror tackle on Joe Allen during Saturday's 1-0 defeat at St. James' Park.

In his post-match press conference, Rodgers revealed his frustration with the referee's failure to lay down the law. He barked:

“Sissoko’s challenge on Joe should have been a sending off. Sissoko is running back and jumps in and Joe was lucky.

“His foot was planted and it could have been an horrendous challenge. Overall we have no complaints how the game was handled apart from that tackle.”


Here is a video of the incident:



This is potentially a leg-breaking challenge. I should know - in October last year, I got taken out in a league game by an identical lunging kung-fu special, and ended up with a double fib-tib fracture (not fun!). If Sissoko had properly connected with Allen's leg, then it it could've been a hell of a lot worse.

It's good that Rodgers highlighted the issue, but he has a sketchy history when it comes to these type of challenges. Last season, Jordan Henderson received a red card for a similar challenge on Pablo Zabaleta, and after the game, the manager refused to accept the decision. He told reporters:

"Sometimes you watch images like that, and when it's slowed down, it looks really bad, but he [Henderson] actually touches the ball. He's stretching for it, but the sole of his foot touches the ball. Okay, maybe he catches Zabaleta, but I thought it [the red card] was harsh"



The decision wasn't harsh in the slightest. Henderson is a model professional, and although there was no malice to the tackle, but - like Sissoko's assault - it's dangerous play, and 'challenges' like this need to be eradicated from the game.

In my view, Rodgers should've just accepted the red card, and made it clear that such challenges are not acceptable. Instead, he's basically condoned the challenge, and indirectly argued that lunging in like Hendo is okay if there's a marginal touch on the ball.

Rodgers's quickly changes his tune, though, if a Liverpool player is the victim of a similar tackle, and the Joe Allen incident illustrates that.

The question is, if Sissoko had received his marching orders, would it have made any difference to the final score? Probably not. The same old problems continue to plague Liverpool, and the gravest issues stem from Rodgers and his tactics, i.e. continually playing an ineffective system, and persisting with one up-front when it doesn't work.

Author:


56 comments:

  1. What point in the game did the challenge come? We saw midweek how a sending off can change the game even late on.
    Managers always defend their own players and condemn others. It's just what they do but it's not like Rodgers does a Mourinho or Alerdyce and send his players out with express instruction to foul though. So he can condone all he wants as our players are still not going to foul all that much comparably.

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  2. Nevergonnacrackthecode2:18 pm, November 02, 2014

    Only one man and one man only can solve our problems
    Rodgers make way for the king
    no not king kenny
    KING RAFAEL BENITEZ
    he is our special one

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  3. Your quite a changeable chap aren't you?

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  4. Nevergonnacrackthecode2:25 pm, November 02, 2014

    i supported rodgers
    but why did he not play borini from the start when he done so well vs swansea and all the fans wanted him to start


    and what kind of man management is it to leave 20m markovic out the line up
    markovic is going same way as assaidi and alberto


    finally teh tactic of playing johsnon almost as a cb and lovren at lb and sterling at rwb was the weirdest i have ever seen .

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  5. I would not give you 5 million for 20 million Markovic right now he has done nothin to justify a spot in the team and is lucky to be on the bench really.

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  6. Nevergonnacrackthecode2:30 pm, November 02, 2014

    why did rodgers not see this ?


    and dont tell em he has some master plan


    luis alberto and thiago iloris two very bright prospect career have gone wayward because of rodgers


    rafa never bad signings of this proportion apart from aqualani when we were skint

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  7. Nevergonnacrackthecode2:37 pm, November 02, 2014

    please tell me
    did rodges have an efficient plan for theese players?
    assaidi
    borini
    iloris
    lovren ( when sakho plays at lcb)
    balotelli (he needs a partner)


    look at lallana he dont even get games
    what is going on?

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  8. Nevergonnacrackthecode2:39 pm, November 02, 2014

    Rodgers failing in the market has been well documented


    but another thing about rodgers is he aint brave


    STEVEN GERRARD PLAYS EVERY PL GAME


    rodgers cant drop him


    RAFA can drop gerrard or anyone he dont care he took stevie off vs everton in a mersyside derby and was prepared to drop JOHN TERRY

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  9. You will have to ask Rodgers himself or the transfer committee i certainly would not have bothered bringing in half the tripe he bought.

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  10. If he was told from the outset that he wouldn't have final say on which players come in then he's here for the money and not LFC. He could have said NO and stayed with Swansea. How bad a judge of player is he if these are all his preferred signings

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  11. Well i would be most interested for Rodgers and his committee do an interview and explain their parts in what always seemed to me a poor use of money.

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  12. Nevergonnacrackthecode2:56 pm, November 02, 2014

    A player cant be signed without rodgers approval
    he said that himself.
    most managers would quit if sych things happen like kevin keegan with dennsi wise


    however do the commitee have the power to stop rodgers signing palyers apparently rodgers preferred bony to balotelli but he could not sell it to commitee

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  13. He said we would NOT be signing Balo and soon after he was signed what is that supposed to tell us the fans about our transfer policy

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  14. Really a lot goes on we do not hear of and maybe it either will or wont count against Rodgers but i think he is definitely in the hot seat now this cant keep continuing.

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  15. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:01 pm, November 02, 2014

    good point
    bony would ahve been perfect


    but if rodgers did not want balotelli he would have dropped him like how rafa did with keane

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  16. I think he didn't want Balo but the decision was made for him- how many other decisions like that were made

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  17. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:05 pm, November 02, 2014

    but why would rodgers keep playing him
    his stock was high at the start of season


    and a smart man if someone if something like this would have happen
    would have told everyone openly it was not his signing and drop Botticelli


    rodgers cant be that dumb to take criticism for something that was not his fault and ruin his reputation ?

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  18. His other choice is Borini who he's been trying to get rid of for months

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  19. Balotelli has not been as bad as many are making out sure his finishing is off a bit at the moment to me he is the perfect scapegoat.

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  20. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:10 pm, November 02, 2014

    we were not talking of how bad balo has been


    but if rodgrs did actually sign him
    look at rafa a smart man a genius


    he was forced robbbie keane who struggled
    he dropped him to let everyone know
    and all the blame went to rick parry


    rodgers by playing ablotelli is reinforcing that he bought him it was his decision and he will have to take full responsibility for balotellis struggle


    while if rafa had that he would blame ian ayre

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  21. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:11 pm, November 02, 2014

    why signed lambert for 4m then?


    everto fans sing a hurtful song


    "this is how it feels to be small you sign lambert we sign etooo"
    why did we not sign eto as back up rather then big rick

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  22. No not at all and one thing you will not hear this season is this, Balotelli is the only blight on an otherwise exceptional Liverpool outfit.
    But the newspapers and attention grabbing pundits/idiots would have you believe otherwise.

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  23. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:19 pm, November 02, 2014

    arsenal palyed hull city
    in the 90 min welbeck scored a goal to save the day
    in 90 mins week later balotelli had perfect chance to score but eh missed it completly


    how can a striker for lfc not score a single goal in 8 games and he has had chances dont make that excuse up he had more shots tehn any other player in europe so he is getting chances


    look at pelle , valencia , sakho
    we have better service then tehm but balo cant score


    it is the same team that beat southampton one difference ballo rather then sturridge

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  24. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:20 pm, November 02, 2014

    his lack of movement his lack of skill
    his lack of invention
    has meant sterlinga nd hendo have no space to work with he has limited tehir games

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  25. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:23 pm, November 02, 2014

    good news we still above man utd and everton

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  26. And Spurs need to win by three goals to go ahead of us too.

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  27. any manager would defend his own player when he gets sent off. it is extremely rare that any manager comes out admitting that his own player deserved to be sent of for a potentially dangerous challenge let alone highlight it every time something like that happens.

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  28. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:38 pm, November 02, 2014

    Jaimie does not fully comprehend manager politics
    managers cant be 100% truthful
    otherwise you get a roy hodgson

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  29. He will start scoring gee i remember the likes of Crouch and Suarez when they began neither could hit a barn door but both turned out ok.
    Look i really think you need to look at the team as a whole ask yourself who has been outstanding then figure it out from there.

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  30. Rodgers has lost the plot. Probably put all his marbles under his new Girlfriends skirt.

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  31. time for change now


    1) only 3 points off 4th
    2) realistic chance in cl to qualify
    3) carling cup quater final


    we now need a capable manager to save this season

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  32. that smart he bought keane and wanted barry over alonso

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  33. Nevergonnacrackthecode3:59 pm, November 02, 2014

    barry won a pl with man city
    and might have been better for LFC not a better player but suit the system rafa wanted more


    alonso was shite in 07/08 so tehre you go


    what is your point?

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  34. im not for huge squads they can cause more problems than they solve ...what rogers has done this year is be a lazy manager hes just bought a load of players and hoped that will be enough instead of just buying a few quantity players and improved the team

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  35. Nevergonnacrackthecode4:00 pm, November 02, 2014

    has he yet played the same team twice consecutively ?


    maybe having too many palyers he cant cope

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  36. that rafa wasnt as smart as hes made out ..people always view the past with rose colored glass ...i for one don't want rafa back hes a walking talking egomaniac who in the end had lost the plot and had us playing the most insipid football.Remember the muppet pelligino he shoved at cb hahaha pure genius

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  37. he doesn't know what to do with them and hes over-payed for the pleasure to boot

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  38. thats how rogers may well spin it ...its strange that balo gets the flack @ 16m when hes playing all the time...surely lallana @ 26m and marko@ 20m should receive more flack as they are not even getting in the team but cost more

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  39. I told you already: stop posting with multiple accounts. This alas is now banned.

    Sent from Samsung Mobile

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  40. I don't see how you can say Rodgers is saying that lunging in like Hendo did was ok. All he said was that he thought the red was a bit harsh. That's not the same as condoning the challenge.
    Anyway I agree with you regarding the tactics. It's becoming very frustrating and the team's confidence is shot to bits because of it. Something definitely needs to change

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  41. For sure- I was responding to 'Never' comment about the manager having final say on who comes in when BR said 'categorically LFC will not be signing Balo and then he's signed. Who changed the script or who went over his head. It's not Balo' fault he's being hung out to dry and given no support up front. I want to know why is this happening why not play Borini with him even if BR doesn't want him. For the good of the team he should give Balo some help up front. Why won't he?

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  42. i say the first way...i still have a little faith in BR

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  43. it was a bad tackle but thats what happens in football from time to time.Our performance yesterday was terrible but once again balo is the main topic even though he was one of our better players Imo.Gerrard did nothing in midfield and is in the papers wailing about a contract,

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  44. Should Man U sack van Gaal? 13 points. Should Everton sack Martinez? 13 points. Should Tottenham sack Pochettino? 11 points at the moment.

    Think these cases then think our situation.

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  45. People will talk of money spent but United have spent more and far more on wages, Spurs spent 100m last season. Thing people are not talking about is that lots of teams have worked out how to pay attacking teams like all those mentioned. Even City are suffering more than expected. These armchairmen think that it is all so simple, sack the manager and somehow magic instant results.

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  46. u cant even sell them..everyone is either new or key to the squad ...can sell joe allen or Johnson at most..and a striker maybe

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  47. people are saying sack BR and go for jurgen klopp.Dortmund is last in the bundesliga

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  48. People still like Klopp because of what he's done with Dortmund previously. It doesn't help when your club pays absolute minimum wage and Bayern Munich time and time again tries to steal your best players.

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  49. Loss of loss of Suarez.

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  50. Actually I think the ref got this one right. Yes, it's a potential leg breaker but I think Sissoko is more in control than it first seems. His knee is still bent and you can see that he ends up pulling back a little. The impact is not quite as bad as if it was a locked leg and that Allen got away from it relatively unscathed is indication of that. Certainly he could have given a red card and all the indications are there to do so but this time around I think his instincts were right. He probably just didn't feel the tackle was all that bad, even though it was studs-on.

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  51. The faster football has very little to do with Rodgers. You think he's standing on the sidelines and enjoying the pedestrian passing at the back? He'd be fuming inside. It's never been part of his style, his tactics to play like that. What's happened is that the players just are not willing or seemingly able to put a high tempo game into action. They tried a few times but it came undone too quickly. The players just went into their shell. I don't know if it's entirely a confidence thing but I really struggle with this notion that it's tactics. I don't see that the tactics have changed since last season and why would they have? The problem is that some of the players have changed, most notably up front.


    The whole match I was in front of the TV saying "come on ... tempo, tempo, get on with it ..." so I totally agree with you on what's wrong, but I think it's much more than just Rodgers and "tactics". The players are the ones who are supposed to put the tactics into action. Couldn't it be that the players are just not doing what he's asked them to do?

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  52. Sorry but no. These challenges are the kind that breaks legs. here is a reason why players get straights for them now.




    It does not matter if its controlled, or no harm was meant, it was in your own words "a potential leg breaker"

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  53. First off Dortmund have been racked with injuries this season. They have had as many as 7 first team players out.

    They also lost 2 of there best players to Bayern.

    On top of all of this the Bundesliga has now become a carbon copy of the Scottish League.. One team to rule them all.

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  54. The difference between us and Man Utd is that they are getting better with each game, we are getting worse.


    Everton are and always have been crap. As long as they finish in the top 10 all is fine, that is not the case with us.


    Spurs.. fair enough :)

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