ECHO Comment: "Fears of Witch-hunt Against Liverpool FC"

[magicjuan]

Yeah giving it the big'un. The funny thing is he's been saying how close Sturridge is to fitness for about a week or so, I'd love Hodgson to say feck it and call him up as he's well within his rights to if Sturridge plays this weekend.

It would really show him up for the small time tit he's desperate to escape the image of.

Really? Seems to me he's hellbent on maintaining the image, every time he opens his mouth the world does a collective cringe

 

[magicjuan]

Im sorry what? The same player who won the world cup with Italy and two champions leagues all before he was 30? He's played the same position his whole career as he has mo pace but is probably the best passer of the ball i've seen in my lifetime. Pirlo was a whole class of player above Gerrard and any comparison between the two is an embarassment to the Itslian.

Pirlo made any team be it club or international play better. Gerrard makes any team be it club or international change to try and make him look better. He has bedn embarrassed on the international stage where he has been found to be completely out of his depth by players in that upper class such ss Pirlo. On two separate recent occassions a 34 year old and 36 year old Pirlo was playing in his slippers as Liverpools two yard dogs chased shadows. Completely and utterly superior player in nearly every aspect. Perhaps Gerrard wins the category of best player at swinging at stuff in the last minute but that's about the only one.

Pirlo is a class footballing midfielder, Gerrard is a footballing quarterback who needs the pace of other players

 

[Del]

Jimmy Traore won the champions league before he was 24, does that make him a great player?


Look what i mean is Pirlo was not the player is is today all those years ago. If he hadn't moved to Juve after AC didnt want him he would be one in a long line of players who you had heard of but wasn't world class. It is easy going 'oh well he done this and this' but at the time you weren't thinking this lad is world class. Same as Gattusso, another one in the same boat. Same player in terms of ability and age as Pirlo yet Pirlo improved and became who he is and Gattuso will be long forgotton.

Did you just compare Traore and Gattusso to Pirlo mate?

 

[Ashtonian]

Did you just compare Traore and Gattusso to Pirlo mate?

Gattusso played along side him in midfield at AC. Both were sold at the same time. not a bad comparision considering it. Exactly like comparing Mcarthur and McCarthy. If one is winning trophies and the other is playing league one football in their thirties then played together, one improved the other didnt.

And as for the jimi comparision, you cant base a player on winning the champions league before a certain age.

 

[Jacob]

I know the whole delusion and obsession about things from kopites but i come accross a little article on Sky SPorts this morning from Graham Souness talking about slippy G and how he just needs to adapt to his new role and he is still a star.........

Rodgers has followed up with a totally OTT, even more brown nosing than usual Echo Three Page Special on how he ' believes "the inspirational qualities of "genuine superstar" Steven Gerrard will prove crucial in Liverpool's Champions League clash with FC Basel '. Raking up when Gerrard was substituted at half time by Houllier when he was 22 and the RS were losing 3-0 to Basel. Gerrard saying 'by his own admission, the fact that Salif Diao was brought on as his replacement added to his humiliation'. Nice. So much for respect for ones teammates and the usual "humility" tag hes regularly given. That damage limitation Gerrard piped up with straight away in his post derby interview about having a man on him is harped on by Rodgers too saying he worked on that last week and it worked against us ...
“Some of the criticism he’s had shows you the level he has been playing at consistently. That teams deem that they need to put someone on him as a marker shows you the influence of his game.
“We’ve been working on areas to free up space for him. We did specific tactical sessions last week in order to free him up of that marker.
“That worked quite well at the weekend where he was able to arrive in areas and was able to have that influence. He is right in the thick of it, he is right in the centre of it, that is the position I have put him in so that he can orchestrate the team. That is something he has done magnificently and the players respond to that.”
So..."quite well" in two sentences suddenly becomes "magnificently". Heres a link to it....read on an empty stomach though.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/rodgers-how-gerrard-continues-inspire-7860808

 

[Del]

Gattusso played along side him in midfield at AC. Both were sold at the same time. not a bad comparision considering it. Exactly like comparing Mcarthur and McCarthy. If one is winning trophies and the other is playing league one football in their thirties then played together, one improved the other didnt.

And as for the jimi comparision, you cant base a player on winning the champions league before a certain age.

See yer

 

[Ashtonian]

See yer

lol so two players who came through together and played together at both their first club and their first english club aren't comparable?

 

[1966efc]

How funny would it be if Sturridge actually got injured in the Liverpool game at the weekend. No doubt that would also be England's fault, somehow

You can be pretty sure he will be "injured".

 

[Chang Elephant]

Yeah giving it the big'un. The funny thing is he's been saying how close Sturridge is to fitness for about a week or so, I'd love Hodgson to say feck it and call him up as he's well within his rights to if Sturridge plays this weekend.

It would really show him up for the small time tit he's desperate to escape the image of.

One of the two managers comes out of this as a small time tit. Hodgson needs to ask himself if it's gonna be him given he's every right to call him up.

 

[MikeH72]

I know the whole delusion and obsession about things from kopites but i come accross a little article on Sky SPorts this morning from Graham Souness talking about slippy G and how he just needs to adapt to his new role and he is still a star........


Now explain to me why this is so? First of all he has been playing there for the past 12 calender months now so if he hasn't adapted by now then why would we suddenly be able to because an old manager said it?

Second of all, which does grate on me admittedly the whole Slippy G / Pirlo thing. I mean just because he plays into his late 30s and does it well, why is that suddenly the same as Slippy?

And lastly, and this is the biggest shock of them all, which i know the answer to. Why cannot they let go of players until they retire? Carragher was fantastic up until the day he retired, then it was all 'well he was getting worse'. Same with Slippy now, they won't acknolage he is declining quite a bit and cling onto the hope that he will emulate a player in italy because apparently thats what all midfielders do?


and while i'm on the subject;

1) Pirlo was a bang average midfielder for most of his career. That is why AC let him go at the time because he wasnt very good. As he got older and changed position for his new club he learned and improved and found his true calling on the pitch. Its football, it happens. that is how Brittan became a central midfielder for Swansea under our manager, how Jags became a defender and Scholes as a deeper lying player.

2) Frank Lampard. the closest player to slippy and he is still playing strong. IN FACT, Lampard is still playing an attacking midfield role and is older than Slippy, does that make him better as he isn't having to massively adapt to a deep holding role. He has scored more goals in the past few games than slippy will all season. Point is, they wouldn't even acknowledge the fact he is better, probably throw some insults at him from being from round the corner in Hackney or something.

Pirlo was MOTM in the World Cup final in 06. Football fans around the world knew how good he was then, it's only when the media in this country started fawning over him at Euro 2012 that all the LADbible Soccer AM melts noticed him

 

[Dithering Dougie]

One of the two managers comes out of this as a small time tit. Hodgson needs to ask himself if it's gonna be him given he's every right to call him up.

If he gets game time this weekend there's no way he can stop them calling him up. In fact given that he's not played for about a month or so you'd imagine he'd want him getting a competitive run out. But he's dug himself into a hole here and he keeps digging with these comments, you'd imagine if he's got any influence and giving his comments about players not turning up for their country Neville might just try and push Hodgson a bit on this.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Jimmy Traore won the champions league before he was 24, does that make him a great player?


Look what i mean is Pirlo was not the player is is today all those years ago. If he hadn't moved to Juve after AC didnt want him he would be one in a long line of players who you had heard of but wasn't world class. It is easy going 'oh well he done this and this' but at the time you weren't thinking this lad is world class. Same as Gattusso, another one in the same boat. Same player in terms of ability and age as Pirlo yet Pirlo improved and became who he is and Gattuso will be long forgotton.

I didnt say all champions league winners are great players, but you seem to be pedalling a myth that Pirlo was 'bang average' before he moved to Juventus. I pointed out that before this move he was a class player who was integral parts of teams who won two champions leagues and the world cup.

Not many people outside of Juventus will remember him for these last few latter years and only in-ger-land yobs will remember him for schooling half the Liverpool side at the Euros. Normal fans will remember his world cup winning exploits and continuous world class performances in the champions league and serie A over a number of seasons in his peak. Your being harsh on Gattuso as well who despite being lesser in talent would have walked into the England team at any point during the decade he was at his peak.

Reaching the pinnacle of European football with AC Milan is not quite the same as breaking through together at Wigan mate. At that time Pirlo Gattuso Seedorf and Kaka for Milan was the best club midfield in the world. Pirlo Gattuso De Rossi Totti was probably the best internationally. Hence why they won liads of stuff.

If Gerrard hadn't of fluked the champions league no one outside of the red half of Liverpool would care less about him when he retires. He's a nobody at international level, has never won a league title, and spent 5 years not even in the champions league. He's been a great player for Liverpool but all of this 'best midfielder of his generation' 'best player in premier league history' 'best player of the last decade' is complete and utter delusion. Even at the very peak of his powers there was a whole raft of players better than him. Now that he's playing on a zimmer im not going to accept a comparison to one of Europe's best midfielders of the last 15 years.

 

[1966efc]

Surely he'll play him for ten minutes and then announce to an astonished world that he's had a reaction to the injury.

 

[Boss_Blue]

Gattusso played along side him in midfield at AC. Both were sold at the same time. not a bad comparision considering it. Exactly like comparing Mcarthur and McCarthy. If one is winning trophies and the other is playing league one football in their thirties then played together, one improved the other didnt.

And as for the jimi comparision, you cant base a player on winning the champions league before a certain age.

The only thing those two share is Mc

 

[Sapie88]

The only thing those two share is Mc

James?