A few on here should heed his words....
Jamie Carragher has pleaded for patience from Liverpool supporters after admitting their frustrations affected the team's performance during the goalless draw with Fulham.
Liverpool missed the chance to go top of the Premier League on Saturday with a turgid display that yielded a second away point of the season for Roy Hodgson's side and audible irritation around Anfield. Jeers greeted both the full- and half-time whistles at Anfield, which has not witnessed a league defeat for Liverpool in 2008, while the midfielder Lucas was targeted by supporters as the Brazilian made his sixth start of the season in place of the in-form Xabi Alonso.
Carragher has revealed that Rafael Benítez's players were acutely aware of the criticism as they struggled to break down an accomplished Fulham defence, and believes it is self-defeating as Liverpool attempt to claim their first league title since 1990. "People shouldn't get too downhearted that we've drawn at home to Fulham," said the Liverpool defender, one of the few who played well on Saturday. "The crowd, especially at Anfield, want us to win so much that it transmits itself down on to the pitch at times. You could feel that when we were trying to get the goal in the second half on Saturday."
The 30-year-old added: "The supporters have to realise we are in November and not March or April yet. Like us, they are so passionate to win the title but sometimes that passion can bowl you over. We have to all stay patient. It's a long race and it's not the be-all and end-all if we draw a home game in November. Don't get me wrong, the fans are great for us. But the fans, and the players, all of us together have to realise we have to be patient. It is a long, long race and I'm sure there'll be a few more games like the Fulham one before the end of the season."
Carragher also defended Benítez's decision to leave Alonso on the bench for 64 minutes of the goalless draw, despite Steven Gerrard being ruled out of the Fulham game with a muscle tear. "It goes without saying that you are going to miss players of the quality of Stevie, who was injured, and Xabi, who was on the bench because he'd played 90 minutes for Spain in midweek," said the Liverpool centre-half. We didn't create as many clear-cut chances as we would have wanted against Fulham but it's difficult to replace players with the quality of Stevie and Xabi."
Gerrard himself shares his team-mate's belief in Liverpool's title credentials. "We know we're a good team, we know we're getting closer to a title challenge - we can say that. But we've to prove we can stay in the race till the end," he said.
Benítez, meanwhile, expects Gerrard to have recovered from the injury that cost him a place against Fulham and for England in Germany last week in time for tomorrow's Champions League group game against Marseille. "We are disappointed about Saturday but we cannot talk about past games now," said the manager. "We have to think about making mistakes and analyse why."
Jamie Carragher has pleaded for patience from Liverpool supporters after admitting their frustrations affected the team's performance during the goalless draw with Fulham.
Liverpool missed the chance to go top of the Premier League on Saturday with a turgid display that yielded a second away point of the season for Roy Hodgson's side and audible irritation around Anfield. Jeers greeted both the full- and half-time whistles at Anfield, which has not witnessed a league defeat for Liverpool in 2008, while the midfielder Lucas was targeted by supporters as the Brazilian made his sixth start of the season in place of the in-form Xabi Alonso.
Carragher has revealed that Rafael Benítez's players were acutely aware of the criticism as they struggled to break down an accomplished Fulham defence, and believes it is self-defeating as Liverpool attempt to claim their first league title since 1990. "People shouldn't get too downhearted that we've drawn at home to Fulham," said the Liverpool defender, one of the few who played well on Saturday. "The crowd, especially at Anfield, want us to win so much that it transmits itself down on to the pitch at times. You could feel that when we were trying to get the goal in the second half on Saturday."
The 30-year-old added: "The supporters have to realise we are in November and not March or April yet. Like us, they are so passionate to win the title but sometimes that passion can bowl you over. We have to all stay patient. It's a long race and it's not the be-all and end-all if we draw a home game in November. Don't get me wrong, the fans are great for us. But the fans, and the players, all of us together have to realise we have to be patient. It is a long, long race and I'm sure there'll be a few more games like the Fulham one before the end of the season."
Carragher also defended Benítez's decision to leave Alonso on the bench for 64 minutes of the goalless draw, despite Steven Gerrard being ruled out of the Fulham game with a muscle tear. "It goes without saying that you are going to miss players of the quality of Stevie, who was injured, and Xabi, who was on the bench because he'd played 90 minutes for Spain in midweek," said the Liverpool centre-half. We didn't create as many clear-cut chances as we would have wanted against Fulham but it's difficult to replace players with the quality of Stevie and Xabi."
Gerrard himself shares his team-mate's belief in Liverpool's title credentials. "We know we're a good team, we know we're getting closer to a title challenge - we can say that. But we've to prove we can stay in the race till the end," he said.
Benítez, meanwhile, expects Gerrard to have recovered from the injury that cost him a place against Fulham and for England in Germany last week in time for tomorrow's Champions League group game against Marseille. "We are disappointed about Saturday but we cannot talk about past games now," said the manager. "We have to think about making mistakes and analyse why."
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