Steven Gerrard - Hang your head
Written by Si on Sunday 21 October 2007 - 01:28:45
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard will be praised tonight for saving his team's blushes and inspiring them to a vital three points away at Goodison Park. He will be commended for his surging run which ended with a penalty decision in his favour, and the way he spoke to referee Mark Clattenburg to ensure Tony Hibbert was sent off will be ignored.
He will be labelled as Liverpool's hero. His substitution will be questioned, and the fact that he can never be bothered for England when it matters will be completely forgotten by the red-top newspapers and the rose-tinted TV pundits.
In reality, he should hang his head in shame for his utterly dispicable performance of "simulation" and gamesmanship. A player who is often held up as a model professional for children to follow today brought the game to it's knees faster than he slumped to them himself to "win" a penalty.
With his Liverpool side trailling 1-0 and looking anything but convincing, Gerrard used all of his cunning and guile to fool Mark Clattenburg into giving him a penalty, before then protesting at the referee to send fellow Huyton-born star Tony Hibbert.
Gerrard raced towards Everton's penalty area after the ineffective Ukranian Vorodin somehow smuggled a ball through the Everton defence unchallenged.
Tony Hibbert matched his run stride for stride, forcing the boyhood Everton fan to the left side of the Everton box as they both charged at pace.
As they ran, Gerrard reached back and gave Hibbert's shirt a pull - to which Hibbert responded in kind - out of the eyes of the referee who was directly behind the runners.
Then, as Gerrard saw the penalty area loom close and as the ball ran even further to the left, he through out his right foot and tumbled to the floor, taking Hibbert with him.
Gerrard performed his usual dramatic slide with his arms outstretched from his sides that we see when he feels his dive should earn his opponent a punishment, and Clattenburg was sold. Penalty kick.
Clattenburg, clearly feeling the ball had escaped Gerrard's control, or at least been pushed too wide to be classed as a goalscoring position had the player stayed on his feet, grasped his yellow card.
Gerrard had other ideas though, and marched towards the referee with his arms outstretched and palms faced upwards - we've seen this before too, when he feels the referee might possibly make the irrational judgement of sticking to his original ruling. Words were exchanged, and Clattenburg replaced his yellow card to his pocket, and proceeded to send Tony Hibbert off.
This example of Gerrard's then saw Jamie Carragher man-handle Clattenburg out of a caution when arguing about a corner kick, and through Clattenburg completely off his game.
Gerrard may well take his praise this weekend, claiming his work changed the game for his side, but he has shown once again what a cheating, loathesome piece of work he is. He deserves everything he gets in life - and a lifelong career at Premiership-less Liverpool Football Club is the perfect place for a reptile like him
Written by Si on Sunday 21 October 2007 - 01:28:45
Liverpool's Steven Gerrard will be praised tonight for saving his team's blushes and inspiring them to a vital three points away at Goodison Park. He will be commended for his surging run which ended with a penalty decision in his favour, and the way he spoke to referee Mark Clattenburg to ensure Tony Hibbert was sent off will be ignored.
He will be labelled as Liverpool's hero. His substitution will be questioned, and the fact that he can never be bothered for England when it matters will be completely forgotten by the red-top newspapers and the rose-tinted TV pundits.
In reality, he should hang his head in shame for his utterly dispicable performance of "simulation" and gamesmanship. A player who is often held up as a model professional for children to follow today brought the game to it's knees faster than he slumped to them himself to "win" a penalty.
With his Liverpool side trailling 1-0 and looking anything but convincing, Gerrard used all of his cunning and guile to fool Mark Clattenburg into giving him a penalty, before then protesting at the referee to send fellow Huyton-born star Tony Hibbert.
Gerrard raced towards Everton's penalty area after the ineffective Ukranian Vorodin somehow smuggled a ball through the Everton defence unchallenged.
Tony Hibbert matched his run stride for stride, forcing the boyhood Everton fan to the left side of the Everton box as they both charged at pace.
As they ran, Gerrard reached back and gave Hibbert's shirt a pull - to which Hibbert responded in kind - out of the eyes of the referee who was directly behind the runners.
Then, as Gerrard saw the penalty area loom close and as the ball ran even further to the left, he through out his right foot and tumbled to the floor, taking Hibbert with him.
Gerrard performed his usual dramatic slide with his arms outstretched from his sides that we see when he feels his dive should earn his opponent a punishment, and Clattenburg was sold. Penalty kick.
Clattenburg, clearly feeling the ball had escaped Gerrard's control, or at least been pushed too wide to be classed as a goalscoring position had the player stayed on his feet, grasped his yellow card.
Gerrard had other ideas though, and marched towards the referee with his arms outstretched and palms faced upwards - we've seen this before too, when he feels the referee might possibly make the irrational judgement of sticking to his original ruling. Words were exchanged, and Clattenburg replaced his yellow card to his pocket, and proceeded to send Tony Hibbert off.
This example of Gerrard's then saw Jamie Carragher man-handle Clattenburg out of a caution when arguing about a corner kick, and through Clattenburg completely off his game.
Gerrard may well take his praise this weekend, claiming his work changed the game for his side, but he has shown once again what a cheating, loathesome piece of work he is. He deserves everything he gets in life - and a lifelong career at Premiership-less Liverpool Football Club is the perfect place for a reptile like him
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