Steven Gerrard, Everton and Stoke

 So Steven Gerrard says Everton play like Stoke and it seems to offend both Stoke and Everton fans. Get over it, he’s not insulting anybody.

 Liverpool struggle against Stoke, a team who make life difficult for you by being very direct at times and have big, physical players not scared of putting themselves about. They use wingers and tall forwards to get high balls in from wide areas as well as from deep. It works, it’s effective and skilful teams don’t like playing against it. The Stoke manager has built a squad capable of standing toe to toe with anyone in the league on it’s day on a very limited budget.

 On Sunday Everton were often very direct, aiming long, high balls for Fellaini and Jelavic, sometimes getting the ball out wide to cross high for the same two targets. It’s a style that David Moyes has used to great effect, Everton have had a great 2012 in terms of league results. Their squad has been put together fairly cheaply so it has been easier for them to acquire mainly physical, hard working players rather than the more expensive skilful players with vision that the boys with the big money go for.

 Everton play in a similar way to Stoke, Stoke play in a similar way to Everton. It’s not a criticism, it’s a comparison of styles and both teams should be happy to be compared to the other as they have both been successful and have both reached an FA Cup final in recent times playing this way.  Gerrard wasn’t criticising, he was saying Everton are hard to play against, as are Stoke.

Things I Saw In The Derby

 The Derby yesterday was a proper Derby match, plenty of passion, plenty of controversy and a bit of banter – exactly how these games should be. I’m not going to write an exact match report but I will focus on the bits I found most interesting for one reason or another.

 It seems Everton have a mental block when it comes to beating Liverpool at the moment, even when they play well they just can’t seem to do it. If I wanted to provoke I could easily say they dived, cheated, ran to the ref demanding cards, threw things at our players, benefitted from a very late very wrong linesman’s call and yet they still couldn’t beat us. But that’s not really my style, I’d rather look at things in a slightly more analytical way.

 First goal, Suarez was obviously determined to score and when the ball deflected in off Baines he gleefully ran over to the Everton bench and dived in celebration. I’m not saying it was overly wise but I certainly don’t think there was anything wrong with it, Moyes had spoken at length about Suarez before the game and now Suarez had his reply, I don’t think Moyes can complain about the celebration and as far as I’m aware he didn’t so in this case fair play to both men, it’s banter between opponents on Derby day and football is all the better for it.

 Second goal, great free kick, great header, enough said.

 Osman’s goal, Jones did well to punch the ball in a crowded six yard box but I think punching it out to the edge of the penalty area pretty much central wasn’t good, though the finish through the crowd still wasn’t easy and was very well executed. I think had this goal not come so soon we would have settled into our lead and probably won the game but we didn’t concentrate properly and Everton took full advantage.

 The equaliser, just seemed like none of our defenders were in the right positions and the ball evaded them all. There was more than a touch of fortune in the goal, coming from a throw in that should have been Liverpool’s but was awarded the other way, but let’s be honest, over the course of ninety minutes there’s always going to be a corner or throw in awarded the wrong way at some point – that’s football, and we should have defended better.

 Raheem Sterling committing a foul after being booked. Tim Howard came racing out to the ref to ask for a second yellow card, which the ref didn’t produce. If the officials handed out yellow cards for fouls that innocuous most games, never mind Derby games, would finish 5-a-side. Howard didn’t cover himself with glory in trying to get the teenager sent off, and neither did Mirallas when asking the referee for an earlier yellow card. Sterling’s game tailed off after this and he played with a fear that he hadn’t shown previously, I think he was possibly more concerned with not being sent off than he was with concentrating on playing his normal game but the young man will learn from this and emerge mentally stronger for it.

 Phil Neville getting booked for diving. All the headlines pre match were centred around David Moyes saying if people like Suarez keep diving then supporters will stop going to the games. And then his captain dived. Again, fair play to Moyes for apparently having a go at Neville at half time, but you have to ask had a free kick been awarded and scored from, would the morally perfect Scot have instructed his team to stand aside and allow the reds an equaliser, or would he have celebrated like they’d won the league? I’ll leave you to pick your own answer. Another little aside from the dive, there have been comments recently saying it’s foreigners who have introduced diving to the game but it’s worth pointing out that Phil Neville helps coach the England under 21 squad so if he carries on like this we could have the next generation of England stars coming through thinking this is acceptable behaviour. Also his shocked reaction to being booked didn’t seem to be so much ‘are you seriously accusing me of diving?’ as it did ‘but this happens all the time ref, why are you punishing me?’.

 Brendan Rodgers’ half time changes. Joe Allen is an excellent holding midfielder, sharp in the tackle, full of energy and efficient with the ball when he has it. But he’s short. Everton played Fellaini behind Jelavic right in Allen’s area of the pitch and hit long balls in the air to him, which Allen just couldn’t compete for. Bringing on the extra centre back to allow Coates to come forward and challenge Fellaini was key to keeping the blues at bay for the second half. We don’t usually play with three centre backs but on this occasion the manager read the game well and adjusted his team accordingly, and while it didn’t win us the game I’m sure it prevented us from losing it.

 Fellaini kicking Joe Allen (twice) while he was on the floor. Allen fouled Fellaini, the ref gave the free kick, the two remained tangled and Fellaini kicked the Welshman twice, not with real power but it was a petulant action and on another day he could have been shown a red card. But he wasn’t and fair play to the ref for letting the game flow, it’s a Derby and there should always be room for a bit of niggle.

 Coins being thrown at Luis Suarez. This is the second season in a row things have been thrown at our players from the same end and it needs dealing with and not just accepting as part of a hostile Derby game. Suarez put the coin in his right boot and I’m sure if his final goal had been allowed to stand he would have pointed out that it was scored with the coin.

 Suarez fouling Distin and getting booked. This wasn’t a clever challenge and it looked painful, but it was never a leg breaker or anything like that, I actually thought it was a straight forward yellow card but the Everton manager saw it differently, and after a few replays I still think a red card would have been a bit extreme but it’s not a tackle I’d like to see put in on one of our players.

 The injury time ‘winner’. Great free kick, great header down, great finish. A few seconds later the Everton defenders half heartedly appeal for offside and the linesman is clearly too scared to allow the goal to stand so he raises his flag for offside, not wanting to be responsible for a controversial winner. Replays show Suarez wasn’t even close to being offside and the linesman has a perfect view. When Everton played at home to Newcastle they scored a perfectly good goal that was ruled out because the officials weren’t 100% convinced the ball had crossed the line, and oh, how they screamed for video technology that night. Those same voices were silent this Sunday evening……

 Post match interviews. Phil Neville apologised for diving, his excuse? “I’m not used to being in that part of the pitch”. If Suarez had said that after the Stoke game it would have made the headlines on the back pages of every paper and people would still be laughing about it now. Brendan Rodgers expressed his disappointment at the disallowing of the late goal and defended Suarez over his tackle on Distin, and didn’t go into any detail when asked about diving, though I’m sure he would have loved to really put the boot into Neville. Personally I think he should have also spoken about Fellaini kicking Allen but he didn’t. David Moyes said Suarez should have been sent off and the late goal wasn’t offside but shouldn’t have been a free kick anyway. No mention of if Suarez should have gone then so should his own big haired Belgian. No mention of Liverpool getting a dodgy free kick but Everton getting their equaliser via an incorrect refereeing call. And no mention of Everton supporters being driven away from the game by the actions of the club captain.

 All in all a great Derby game, probably fantastic for the neutrals, and to be honest I thoroughly enjoyed it myself.

 I feel I also must make mention of Everton’s playing style. They played long, direct high balls to Jelavic and Fellaini on many occasions, but they also got the ball out wide and tried to get crosses in. Ok, so the basis of their game seems to be having tall forwards who are good in the air, but the way they tried to get the ball to them varied regularly which makes them difficult to play against as you’re not sure how their next attack will develop. Mixing your play is vital in outwitting your opponents and many teams could learn from the Toffee’s approach yesterday.

 Bring on the return fixture at Anfield!!

My Solution To The International Boredom

 The weekend is nearly upon us and for football fans there’s nothing whatsoever to look forward to as it’s time for the international fixtures to take place. It feels like the season hasn’t really got going yet and we’re already on the third set of international matches which, in my opinion, completely ruins the momentum of the Premier League.

 Us supporters are deprived of seeing our team for a weekend, club managers will complain about losing their players again, big clubs will withdraw players from national duty with slight knocks and the national team managers will complain about the limited time they get to work with their squads. In this day and age of cosmopolitan football clubs have players from all over the world so it’s quite normal for your star player to have a ten hour flight out to his own country and then back again, often arriving home the day before his next Premier League fixture, giving his club manager a real headache.

 Aside from scrapping international football completely there’s only one solution I can think of. But first a quick question and answer session.

 What’s the best thing about international football? Easy – tournaments, seeing your country play regularly and improving as the team spends more time together.

 What’s the worst thing about the Premier League fixture list? Easy – the continual international breaks.

 What do national managers want? Easy – more time with their players.

 What do club managers want? Easy – their players not being taken away from them five or six times a season.

 My solution? Instead of repeated short international breaks have one long one each season.  Shut down the domestic leagues for a month and play a host of international games. If there are five other teams in your qualifying group then play them all Saturday Wednesday Saturday Wednesday Saturday and even have time to fit a friendly in before if you like. Then the following season stop the domestic league again and play the return fixtures, simple.

 The national team manager then gets a full month with his players to work on tactics, formations, player bonding and anything else he likes, resulting in a national side that plays better football and hopefully making the international fixtures more watchable. Supporters can actually see the qualifying groups taking shape and one result will feel like it has more bearing on the next rather than winning or losing a match and having to wait six weeks to see if it has any effect on whether you will make it to the next big tournament or not.

 Club managers will only lose their players once, giving them fewer interruptions when trying to mould a team from their expensively assembled squads. Look at Brendan Rodgers, trying to introduce a new philosophy and style of football requires continuity and consistency but he has been denied this as his players keep jetting off to play for their countries. And he’s not the only manager who suffers in this way, they all do.

 The toll taken on player’s fitness with the constant flying and alteration of sleep patterns will be reduced, instead of travelling 50,000 miles on a plane for international duty over the course of a season Luis Suarez would only be airborne for 10,000 miles. Surely this is a massive benefit and could even extend the careers of top players. Not to mention the environmental effects of fewer flights.

 And for those of us who simply find international football pointless, dull and boring we will know exactly when to book our two weeks abroad in the sun. Or what date to arrange your wedding for without fear of missing your local derby. It’s all good.

Even FIFA Say Suarez Is A Cheat - But What Is Cheating?

 Diving has now become such a hot topic even the vice president of FIFA Jim Boyce has got involved and had his say. He says diving is nothing less than cheating and has become a cancer within the game, and I don’t disagree with him. Diving and ‘simulation’ has been commonplace in the game for a good twenty years now with millions of examples of such behaviour across every league in world football. Strangely enough with all the diving that has happened (remember Rivaldo at the world cup, Klinsmann, Rooney, Gerrard, Young, Welbeck, Pires, Viera, Ronaldo, Pepe, Bale three days ago, the list could go on and on and on) Boyce only named one player – Luis Suarez.

 I’m not defending Suarez against diving allegations, at times he’s very clearly guilty, but I am saying the coverage he gets is not in proportion to that which other players receive for the same actions and it would be easy to see why he could develop a victim complex. It’s not hard to work out why Brendan Rodgers chose to defend his player when other managers haven’t had to despite their men conducting themselves in a similarly unsporting manner.

 Boyce says there should be retrospective action against divers and initially I agreed with him, but should that happen I wonder just where it could lead. There is plenty of cheating that happens within football that is not diving related and how can you punish one kind and ignore another?

 When a corner is taken if an attacker can’t run and head the ball into the net because his shirt is being held and the referee misses it is that cheating? It’s a deliberate attempt to gain an advantage over an opponent using methods that are not within the rules of the game. Does this mean we need to hand out bans to defenders every time this occurs? Let’s be honest, diving is wrong and we don’t like it, but defenders combat strikers using ways that are outside of the laws of the game more often than strikers use them against defenders.

 If two players go in for the ball and it bounces out of play off the shins of one man and he knows this, but still appeals for the throw in is he not attempting to con the referee into giving his team a decision they should not get? This is also cheating and trying to fool the match officials, should we ban players for this?

 Sticking with Suarez incidents as they are topical and fresh in the memory, when a defender fouls an attacker in the box and a penalty is not awarded, has he cheated? Against Norwich, Man Utd and Arsenal Suarez was denied the chance to shoot at goal because of a challenge from a defender that was not within the rules of the game, does this mean the defenders cheated and should be banned?

 Deliberate handball is cheating, it is seeking to gain an advantage doing something that is against the rules of football. Do we need to ban everyone who commits a deliberate handball offence?

 I, like most football fans, have been saying for as long as I can remember that diving is cheating and we don’t want it in the game, but can we really blame the players for doing it? As the law stands if a referee feels a player has dived it’s a yellow card offence so if a player chooses to try to con the official he knows the risk and decides it’s worth it. If a game is level with a few minutes to go and a player hasn’t been booked, and defenders have been handling him all game using methods not within the rules, then why shouldn’t he try to win the match for his team in whatever way he can?

 Then there is us fans. We all accept our own players diving, we may say we don’t like it but if we win a game 1-0 thanks to a dodgy penalty we take it all day long. Evertonians hate Suarez with a passion and regularly call him a diver but if you offered them a 1-0 derby win thanks to a penalty when one of their forwards has cheated they would take it. As would fans of any team.

 The rule makers need to come up with something that will deter players from diving, and retrospective suspensions based on video evidence is a good way to go, but if they’re going to do this then all forms of cheating need to be dealt with. And when it comes to reporting incidents a sense of proportion and perspective should be applied, but I doubt this will ever happen in my lifetime.

Brendan Rodgers, Luis Suarez, Tony Pulis And The Media

 Today I would like to praise Brendan Rodgers for his calm, considered and accurate reaction to the media reporting of some of the weekends controversial incidents. Tonu Pulis gave his verdict on Luis Suarez after the game on Sunday and I’m not saying I disagree with what he said, Suarez quite clearly took a dive and in an ideal world this sort of thing should be punished with a ban. But what Pulis didn’t do was condemn the overly aggressive tackles from his side (including a stamp that should have received a red card and a three game ban), and his short memory didn’t stretch back a couple of weeks to when Peter Crouch deliberately handballed in scoring a goal for Stoke against Man City. The difference? Crouch cheated and it affected the outcome of the game, Suarez attempted to cheat and failed, it didn’t affect the outcome of the game.

 Rodgers’ didn’t defend Suarez from the diving allegation as it would be a pointless defence, the evidence is there clearly on TV and it’s being shown on Sky Sports News enough times to make sure everybody sees it. I’ve felt in recent weeks that Suarez has cut down on his theatrics and his antics on Sunday disappointed me, I’m hoping this will be a watershed moment for him and he will move forward and learn from this, when controversy doesn’t follow him he is one of the best players in the league and a really exciting talent to watch. It wasn’t Suarez’ actions against Stoke that Rodgers chose to focus on, it was the subsequent media reporting.

 He clearly and calmly stated, without naming names, that another high profile player did the same thing on Sunday and it didn’t make the headlines. He also spoke about how players, again without mentioning names, caused or potentially caused opponents injuries and this also didn’t gain the same sort of media headlines as those generated by our Uruguayan. He’s not wrong. I saw an hour of Sky Sports News on Monday, between 1 and 2pm, and, thanks to the wonders of being able to rewind TV it took me less than two minutes to count up that during the hour they showed Suarez’ dive NINE times. I then had to go on to youtube to find footage of Gareth Bale’s dive against Aston Villa as that wasn’t shown even once. And that’s not even going into the front page coverage most of the Monday sports pull outs gave to Suarez, while not mentioning Bale. Ok, Suarez has previous, but so does Bale, he is a serial diver and condemning one man so heavily and not another shows a bias in reporting, whether the media will admit it or not.

 Diving is wrong and needs eradicating from the game, retrospective punishments would be the only way to go, leave it as a yellow card during the game as it is so hard for refs to get right due to the cunning nature of today’s footballer and watch the video afterwards and hand out bans. It’s not always possible to prove without doubt that a player has dived but the FA disciplinary panel work to the balance of probabilities (as we have become very familiar with) when reaching a conclusion so if a player claims he slipped they can simply say ‘we don’t believe you slipped’ and ban him. This is what the FA can do about it, now how about the media.

 It’s really simple for the media, just report it as it is, don’t sensationalise it, don’t pick on certain players, pick on everyone who does it. If you’re going to have a picture of Suarez on your back page for diving then put a picture of Gareth Bale next to it. And make sure you have images of Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young and Eden Hazard ready for the next time they commit this horrendous sin. And come down just as hard on people who falsely accuse players of cheating. At Norwich last week Suarez was pushed in the back, elbowed and then trodden on by a defender who knew full well he’d committed a foul, who then turned round and asked the ref to book Suarez for diving. Fans and pundits alike say it’s hard for refs to know if a foul has happened as players go to ground too easily, by the same token defenders reacting like that to committing a foul makes it equally as hard for refs to know what has occurred. If cheating is such a sin then accusing a fellow professional when you know they haven’t done anything wrong is just as far out of order and should be subjected to the same scrutiny and headlines.

Concentration And Consequence

 Another home game, another bucket load of positives, another game without winning……. Udinese were the latest visitors to Anfield to be given a lesson in football and then sent home with a present, as hosts we’re almost perfect at the moment which is great if you’re on Come Dine With Me, but we’re not, we’re in the results driven business of competitive top level football.

 Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool is very much a work in progress and we shouldn’t forget this, he is introducing a new philosophy and a fresh style of play as well as integrating a number of promising youngsters into the first team set up and the work being put in now is geared up for long term success for the football club rather than instant results built with no foundations. As I see it the long term aim for the first XI is to play possession football, keep the ball away from the opposition and press them high up the pitch using fast and accurate passing combined with men moving into forward positions. This sounds like dream football and any supporter would be crazy not to want their team to play in this way, in fact Liverpool supporters almost demand their team to play this way, it’s what we crave and, given the level of support we’ve kept during our last twenty two title-less years, it’s what we deserve. My issue at the moment is this – against Udinese last night, against Man City, Sunderland and Man Utd we pretty much achieved this style of play. We dominated possession, passed the opposition to death, got men forward, wore them down and…………… didn’t win.

 The stats from last night’s Europa League game show we completed 691 passes to Udinese’s 173, and we had 71% possession to their paltry 29%. We were also far superior in the goal attempts figures but sadly the only statistics that count record us having two goals to our visitor’s three. It’s all very well trying to play perfect football but if you achieve it for ninety percent of the game and still don’t win then it needs seriously looking at.

 So far this season in the league we’ve played six matches, given away three penalties, received two red cards and conceded twelve goals. And probably completed over three thousand passes. What I’m getting at is just how much we’re being hurt by individual errors, they are costing us in every match we play and unless the manager can find out the reasons why and eradicate them we won’t be able to challenge for the positions higher up the league.

 Martin Skrtel was our player of the season last term and at times so far this time around he has looked commanding, but his errors have directly given away goals to West Brom, Man City and Norwich. Daniel Agger was caught out against West Brom and conceded a penalty in addition to collecting a red card. Pepe Reina totally fluffed a late long range shot against Hearts, almost resulting in us having to play an extra thirty minutes of football. Steven Gerrard gave the ball away deep in the Arsenal half and Podolski raced away, scored and we lost the game. Jose Enrique somehow managed to take the ball around his own goalkeeper against Young Boys presenting them with an open goal they duly finished off. In the same game Jamie Carragher was easily outmuscled for their third goal. Suso gave the ball away in the Man Utd half, Valencia raced away, won a penalty and we lost the game. In that game we were playing with only ten men after Jonjo Shelvey’s over the top of the ball challenge, the way we played with ten men makes you feel that without the dismissal we could well have taken all three points. Brad Jones comically dropped the ball at West Brom in the League Cup leaving us a goal behind after only three minutes. Last night it was Glen Johnson being caught in possession for the first goal and Sebastian Coates rising majestically to place his firm downward header beyond the reach of the ‘keeper (his own) that really turned the game. That’s pretty much all of our first choice and reserve defenders costing us goals, and it’s only the beginning of October.

 At no point this season have I felt a team has had us under so much pressure a goal against us was inevitable, we’ve had too much of the ball for that scenario to have arisen. But also at no point have I felt that we were fully in control of our defending, the possibility of us pressing the self destruct button has always been just around the corner and until that is removed and we regularly keep clean sheets there will always be nerves in our play, which will in turn lead to more mistakes.

 As I mentioned at the start there have been plenty of positives and I don’t want this article to seem like it’s doom and gloom. I have no doubts that we have the right man in charge and I think the emergence of some of our younger players, most notably Raheem Sterling and Jonjo Shelvey bodes very well for not just the long term future but also the rest of the current season. Shelvey has the potential to replace what we will lose when Steven Gerrard eventually retires and Sterling could provide the creative spark we’ve not really had since Steve McManaman left for Real Madrid. Also Luis Suarez has taken on the mantle of being our sole striker and vastly improved his goals to games ratio (with the help of a few Norwich defenders). We have been a goal threat more often than we were last season and you feel that it may not be too long before we give somebody a proper hiding when everything clicks together (we have a derby in a few weeks, would be a good time for it to happen…….).

 I’ve been impressed with how Brendan Rodgers has spoken about our performances after our victories and our defeats and he seems quite realistic in his assessments. He would do well to heed the warnings of last season though, we went through a patch of totally battering teams like Wigan, West Brom and Norwich but not winning the games. The management seemed to think that as the performances merited more than we were getting there was no need to change anything or to lay into the team and as a consequence the rotten sequence of results continued. I’m pleased that despite playing well last night Rodgers has chosen to publicly highlight the negatives as something to work on rather than point out the positives and say everything is ok.

 Lessons need to be learned and if defenders with better concentration are required then that is something that we can look at in January or next summer, but for now as a team I think we’re moving in the right direction, we just need to keep realistic and cut out the basic errors.

Who To Choose For An Italian Job

 Tonight sees Udinese visit Anfield in our second Europa League group game and it could be a pretty tricky fixture against an Italian side who have plenty of experience, despite having a start to their league campaign that has been pretty similar to ours, with only one win in their first six matches.

 It’s difficult to know what sort of side we should put out for the game, Brendan Rodgers has started making wholesale changes for our midweek games and our weekend form has certainly improved as a result, though our second string hasn’t yet come up against a team as strong as tonight’s opposition. The likes of Carragher, Coates, Shelvey, Downing and Henderson can come in and, while three of them are young, they’re not complete rookies and all have first team experience. The major decision is who to play alongside them, should it be youngsters like Suso, Jack Robinson, John Flanagan, Andre Wisdom and Samed Yesil, or should it be a sprinkling of first team regulars like Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez, Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Glen Johnson? I think with the lack of travelling involved it would be a mistake to not at least have a bench full of established players, even if the boss decides to begin the game giving our youngsters a chance to impress.

 Prioritising the league is the right choice, we need to finish as high as we can and it would be gutting to be completely out of contention for a top four spot by November, but by the same token it would be wrong not to try to win the Europa League. It’s extremely unlikely we’ll win the Premier League this season which leaves us in the hunt for three trophies and we should give all we can to land all three of them. Our team under the new manager is a work in progress and will take time to gel, but nothing would help buy the whole process some extra time like landing silverware, especially in your first season at the club. I think we’ve already made a big step in our group by winning away at Young Boys and we should use the three home games to try to get the points we need to qualify. Four wins would surely see us qualify for the knockout phase of the competition and if home results go our way we can then afford to rest our key players for the away trips to Italy and Russia, where they will not only avoid ninety tough minutes but also the travelling that is involved. A positive result tonight will go a long way in taking the pressure off four our remaining group fixtures, a defeat will leave us with it all to do.

Take A Look In The Mirror

 Don't really need to say too much about this one, I've mentioned double standards in press reporting of Liverpool before and I see no real reason to change my mind based on this evidence.......

 The Terry article also mentions Suarez five times, in addition to defending Terry as a family man who loves his kids and a courageous player (all of which is probably true but has no bearing on what he has been found guilty of) and no mention of his well publicised indiscretions in his personal life (which also have no relevance to his FA charge but in the interests of a balanced article would logically be included). Anybody wishing to compare the story on Terry to the story on Suarez could do so easily by checking the Mirror's online article archive, except that immediately after publishing the Terry story last night they removed their Suarez article from their website......

 One more thing that nobody seems to have picked up on concerns the difference in level of fines the two players received, Suarez getting £40,000 and Terry £220,000. At the time Suarez was reported to be on approximately £30,000 a week and Terry on closer to £200,000 per week so in reality the fines are very comparable. If a player in League Two on £500 a week had been found guilty of exactly the same thing as Terry nobody would have expected a fine of £220,000. Surely the obvious conclusion is the fine is calculated by the players earnings, which is probably one of the few things the FA actually seem to get right.

Effort And Application, Cutting Edge And Decisions

 So the much anticipated crowd problems never really turned up. There are a few reports of a small minority engaging in unsavoury chanting after the final whistle in a near empty stadium but none of this has been fully substantiated and if it is it will be condemned widely enough for me not to have to go into it on here. Both sets of fans observed the pre match Hillsborough tributes with the dignity the occasion demanded and as the game drew to a close the visiting supporters taunted the home crowd with purely football related shouts and nothing approaching crossing the line. Suarez and Evra shook hands as we all expected they would and the tone followed on from there. I feel I must add at this point that much of the talk around this handshake seemed to say Evra was the innocent party, which in my view isn't strictly accurate. Yes, he wasn't at fault in the whole racist comment saga, but his behaviour at the end of the league fixture at Old Trafford last season was unsporting to say the least and will have riled more than just Suarez in the Liverpool camp, his acceptance of the handshake today was just as important to the occasion as the Uruguayans.

 I'm assuming most of you reading this have watched the game so I'm not going to give a blow by blow account but Liverpool played very well, we passed accurately, worked hard and made very few of the errors that have so far blighted our season. All the possession and attacking play will continue to count for nothing though if we continue to struggle putting chances away. Borini is still young with plenty to learn and at time his movement was good, as was his work rate, but at the moment I wouldn't have him in my team ahead of Kuyt or Maxi, both of whom were moved on in the summer to make way for players like the Italian. Suarez and Sterling looked good as a combination and most of our more dangerous moments involved either one or both of them. Allen and Gerrard worked tirelessly and efficiently in midfield alongside Jojo Shelvey for the majority of the first half until he saw red. I've no complaints with Shelvey's dismissal, indeed he was very lucky to escape a yellow card early on in the game so he should really have taken that as a warning and calmed down. He was off the ground and not in control of his body and by the letter of the law that is a sending off, as is jumping in two footed studs first like Johnny Evans in the same challenge. I'm sure if Brendan Rodgers sat down with Mark Halsey and talked through the Shelvey red card and then asked why Evans' tackle didn't meet the same criteria the ref would admit it should have been a double dismissal. Even with ten men Liverpool looked the better side and it wasn't until the very end when legs tired that it looked like we were numerically disadvantaged.

 Gerrard took his goal well and we thoroughly deserved our lead, only to be pegged back minutes later. Our wastefulness in front of goal was brutally highlighted when Rafael curled the ball into the top corner with his wrong foot, a goal which he will never repeat but unfortunately on the evidence of this season so far neither will our attackers. Next up was the non award of a penalty for a foul on Suarez, he got to the ball before Evans, toed it past him and has his foot kicked out from under him before he was also tripped by Evans' shin. It was a very blatant foul and there was no real excuse for the spot kick not to be awarded but again Mr Halsey failed to rule in the Reds favour. Suarez should now have been awarded penalties in our last three fixtures and, while it's true reputation can go before a player, a foul is a foul, regardless of who it is committed on. It's also true that decisions can even themselves out, look at Everton, screaming for the introduction of video technology after being wrongly denied a goal against Newcastle last week only to score  their breakthrough goal yesterday thanks to an assist from Fellaini's hand, something that would not have been allowed if technology had been used. On this basis we should be due a fair few dodgy calls over the coming weeks, might be worth putting money on Gerrard as first goalscorer again the amount of spot kicks that may be coming our way.... Just to rub it in Utd then got a penalty of their own, Johnson bringing down Valencia on the edge of the six yard box after a quick breakaway from the Utd winger. It was an accidental clip of the back of Valencia's foot as he swung it back to kick the ball but it impeded him and we can't really complain about the award.

 Our overall performance was excellent and we deserved to win, never mind draw, but sometimes such is football. The better team on the day doesn't always get the victory but that doesn't mean we can't take positives. Our effort, pressing, passing and moving was top drawer against a very good side who will be challenging for the title come next May and a couple of decisions were all that stood between us and the three points. Many more afternoons like this and our current league position will be improved upon very quickly.

Youth And Young Boys

 A virtual Liverpool reserve team last night consisting mainly of young players and even a few debutants managed what the senior side haven’t done for a while and won a match. Our Europa League fixture away at Young Boys was an entertaining 5-3 victory against a side that gave Spurs a real scare recently.

 The standout performances came from Andre Wisdom, Suso and substitute Jonjo Shelvey. Right back seems to be the position that is most often covered by our reserve team, the last decade or so has seen Jon Otsemobor, Steven Wright, Martin Kelly and John Flanagan all get regular runs in the side and Wisdom looked as if he has all the qualities needed to be the next off the conveyor belt. Big, strong, quick and determined, and already a Liverpool goalscorer, powering in a header from an accurate Nuri Sahin corner late in the first half, he seems a genuine prospect for the future. Suso showed some neat skill and dribbling ability and if he progresses how the management hope he could be a star in the making. Shelvey came off the bench for the last twenty five minutes and took the game by the scruff of the neck the way we’ve seen Steven Gerrard do, albeit against a Swiss defence with more holes in than their famous cheese…

 I was also impressed with Brad Jones, he was assured, good in the air and made a few decent saves. I’m not sure he has the strength of personality to command his area like the top ‘keepers do but he proved more than capable as back up if he is ever. Nuri Sahin and Ossama Assaidi both played their part and if they can reproduce their best moments more consistently over ninety minutes we may have players that can help our league campaign this season. Jordan Henderson looked pretty tidy in a more disciplined role and I think being out of the week to week spotlight may be helping his confidence, though obviously match time will be required if he is to step his game up to the necessary level.

 There were downsides as well, Dani Pacheco failing to really make any sort of impression leads me to believe he probably won’t make it at Liverpool the way he threatened to do a couple of seasons back. Jose Enrique’s decline in performance level seems to be continuing from last season, it’s scary how quickly somebody who was so impressive at the beginning of the last campaign is turning into a bit of an accident waiting to happen, fingers crossed this is a blip rather than his natural level. It’s also hard watching Jamie Carragher struggle in situations he dominated for such a long time in the heart of our defence. He’s never had pace but seeing him outmuscled is a real worry, still his attitude is spot on and he is a good leader and somebody who more than played his part in helping guide a young side to a well deserved victory.

 Our Europa League group is quite a tricky one on paper, especially with our first team squad looking so sparse, so to win our first game away from home is a real boost. The competition may not have the prestige of the Champions League but it is still a trophy and it would be a good one to win, I’m certainly not of the opinion that getting knocked out early will be a benefit to the team. The performance of the youngsters means we can make eleven changes for Sunday and still pick a team of Reina, Kelly, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson, Gerrard, Allen, Shelvey, Borini, Suarez and Sterling which has the potential to produce results if and when the players gel together.

Hatred And Respect - Sing Your Hearts Out

 There has been plenty of talk on internet forums about the crowd behaviour at the upcoming Liverpool v Man Utd game, Liverpool fans annoyed by the Utd supporters ‘victim’ chants against Wigan and the Utd fans saying Liverpool supporters regularly sing about Munich. Utd fans have been saying they weren’t singing about Hillsborough when they sang ‘always the victims, it’s never your fault’ on Saturday and it’s misleading and incorrect press reports that are stoking up the tension ahead of Sundays game. I could be mistaken but is this not saying ‘we’ve done nothing wrong, we’re the innocent victims in all of this’? And isn’t that exactly what they’ve been accusing Liverpool fans of whinging about? A touch of irony here perhaps.

 As a Liverpool supporter I have to be honest, I’m not overly bothered if Man Utd fans sing about Hillsborough. They are our most hated rivals and there is a tradition of animosity between the two sets of fans, hearing them sing about our fans dying only helps to reinforce our belief that a percentage of their support is worth despising and it validates the rivalry. And it’s not something that everyone will readily admit but seeing your enemy attract negative headlines can be pleasurable. How many Man Utd fans do you think wanted Luis Suarez found not guilty of abusing Patrice Evra? The thought of Liverpool fans singing about the Munich air disaster offends me much more. I don’t want to be classed as part of a group of supporters who behave like this, it’s not something I would do and I, like most other reasonably minded people, find this sort of act highly distasteful.

 I’ve been going to Anfield for around 20 years and I’ve honestly never heard any songs about Munich, I don’t know any and have never been involved in any chanting of this sort. Does this mean I believe songs like this don’t exist amongst Liverpool fans? Of course not. I see people at the game who have that combination of anger and ignorance needed to indulge in that sort of thing and I’m sure in certain circumstances they would relish the opportunity to taunt their rivals over such a sensitive and emotive issue.

 My hope for Sunday is that if one set of fans crosses the line the other set don’t follow. I know this sounds childish but we learn at a very early age that two wrongs don’t make a right. I can envisage a scenario where one group of supporters sings about Hillsborough and the other sings about Munich and they both use the behaviour of the opposition fans to justify their own actions. Remember you’re representing your club, and all of it’s supporters around the world when you attend a football match, we all get tarred with the same brush and I don’t want anyone behaving in a way that reflects badly on the club I love or indeed the decent supporters I stand side by side with when I attend the games.

 As I’ve already mentioned, as a football fan I’m not too bothered about what hated rivals sing to each other, but as a parent I am bothered about bringing up a child in a society that is happy to take such pleasure in the deep pain of others. Songs about your oppositions past tragedies may be an easy way to wind up their fans, but there are people behind these tragedies who are no longer with us or who have left grieving relatives to suffer a lifetime of loss and these people should be respected. YNWA.

Always The Victims.........

 There has been plenty of coverage in the press this morning of chants about Liverpool heard at Old Trafford yesterday, prompting Man Utd and the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) to issue public statements. The most widely reported chant was 'always the victims, it's never your fault' which Man Utd say they deplore and that their manager has made the club's position on this clear and it's up to the fans to respect this. the MUST say that while the chants were directed at Liverpool it was related to the Evra / Suarez saga rather than Hillsborough and any attempts to report otherwise are irresponsible. I wonder what it must be like for the press to report your fans as doing something they haven't done and damage their reputation, I hope to God nothing like that ever happens to my club...................

 Manchester United were playing against Wigan, not Liverpool, or indeed Everton, the game was not live on TV so there were no Liverpool supporters watching, there was basically no reason for this chant to be aired yesterday. There may or may not be any truth in the idea that this was aimed at Luis Suarez, I can't go inside the head of everybody who was singing to find out what they meant, but to sing a song that they use to taunt Liverpool about Hillsborough shortly after kick off three days after the independent report was released is only going to be interpreted one way, and any Man Utd fan who thought it was an appropriate chant at a time when the rest of football was honouring the victims is either very naive or very stupid. Anyway, neutral journalists and, according to social networking sites, supporters of most other clubs find this chant at this time insensitive, offensive and disgusting. This is now clear so if the Man Utd fans genuinely weren't singing about Hillsborough they now know how this was interpreted and it is a song that they should not bring with them when they turn up at Anfield next weekend.

 There is a good chance by kick off next Sunday that Liverpool will be in the bottom three, we have had our worst run of results at the start of a season for over 100 years, we're as far away from winning the title as we have been for the majority of the past 20 seasons and we've now started the last four seasons under four different managers. If the visiting supporters want to taunt us next week there is plenty of ammunition for them without stepping into any grey areas or crossing any boundaries into tasteless territory, any chants that seem to allude to the tragedy where 96 football fans lost their lives through no fault of their own will undoubtedly be met with similarly disgusting songs in response.

 The rivalry between the two clubs is massive and next weekend will be key in future relations between the two sets of fans. There will be almost 45,000 people in the stadium but for once at Anfield I feel it is down to the visiting fans to set the tone for the atmosphere, respect the grief and anger felt by a group of people over the way their friends and family members died 23 years ago and it will be appreciated, whatever you may think about Liverpool fans if you show us respect in an area that is so emotive you will get respect back. Mock us over the way they died and cross the line into tastelessness and disrespect and I would expect nothing less than the same coming back at you.

 Both managers have made it very clear they want an end to the unpleasantness from the minority of all sets of supporters and it is up to the fans to listen and take on board. Both clubs have enough about them to make fun of, and both sets of fans are imaginative enough to not sink to the depths I fear could be reached next Sunday.

Europa Heart Beats On

 Whoever we draw in the Champions League or Europa League qualification matches and no matter how well we play we never fail to get past them. The likes of Spurs, Villa, Newcastle and Everton have all failed at this point in recent years so they can be a banana skin waiting to happen. This one almost turned out that but as always we had enough to see us through (despite a “heart attack” moment).

  With the news filtering through that Carroll was down in London for a medical (more comment will be made on the deal after midnight tonight but for now without a replacement it looks daft, with one it could be genius) Rodgers picked a relatively youthful or experimental side, Downing started at left back which was interesting to watch after the manager’s recent words about him being able to play there. He was more than comfortable all night and provided a good attacking option, although he won’t get many more easier games as for all of Hearts’ endeavour they did not come to attack. More strangely Henderson started as the left sided forward which is never going to be his position so seemed a bit of a arse about tit way of introducing Downing to left back. Too many square pegs and all.

  It was exciting to see Morgan’s name on the team sheet and there was a definite buzz around the ground as he got the ball, the crowd were willing him to do well, I guess there was hope of a Fowler/Fulham night. It wasn’t to be but despite a few nerves early on he acquitted himself well and looks one for the future.

  We were on top the entire game with relative ease but without ever being overly dominant, it wasn’t until the introduction of Sterling (for Morgan) on the hour mark that we really looked like carving Hearts open. There is so much anticipation when he got the ball and rarely did he disappoint. Sterling is one for the now, he is bound to get targeted by opposition in the coming months but he has so much talent and pace he could be the player that helps us break down teams or mean there is space in other areas that Rodgers’ passing style can exploit.

 Allen and Gerrard were our stand out players on the night, we all know how good Gerrard is but I think we are all loving the look of Allen. Not only can he pass exquisitely but he is able sniff out danger, chase down players and come away with the ball. A quality that Mascherano had and we have missed.

  Suarez was Suarez, looked great at times and cut a frustrating figure at others, he had a couple of chances that we are going to need him to put away or we will be punished. Like we almost were. The Hearts goal came out of nothing, there had been no pressure or thought that we might concede, then yet another monumental error from one of our players put us under pressure. It was almost comical the way Reina let the ball slip into the net. There can be no excuses. Shocking goalkeeping. Over the last two seasons errors have really started to creep into his game and I expect if they continue Rodgers will have no choice but to look for an alternative. With money tight I don’t imagine this is an area he wanted or expected to use budget on.

  Thankfully Suarez made amends for any earlier misses with a lovely run and a fantastic finish to equalise and send us through 2-1 on aggregate. The goal was welcome as you could visibly see how tired both he and Gerrard were and extra time really was not wanted with Arsenal coming in just two days. The goal killed Hearts and we saw out the final through minutes with the ease that we had done all night.

  There wasn’t a huge amount of positives to take from the night but then no real negatives, it was, as always, job done. We need to stop the errors though as if they continue we will need to score two or three every game to win and that is something we struggle with.

  The club don’t often get thanked but keeping the ticket prices at £14 (Kop) was a good move and ensured a full house so thank you to them and let’s hope they keep the group matches at a sensible price.

Sublime Placement, Ridiculous Misplacement

 2-2 at home to Man City today was a good result for a couple of reasons. Firstly after being so toothless going forward last weekend it was nice to get a couple of goals, and secondly even though there have only been two rounds of matches it's nice not to be sat at the very bottom of the league table. Being bottom after two games certainly wouldn't have been any reason to panic but it would have added to the pressure on the new boss and his developing side. To be totally honest if I'd been offered a draw before the game I would've been sorely tempted to take it, though with ten minutes to go I was after nothing but the three points. And up to that point we deserved them.

 Quick, confident passing coupled with patient build up play gave us a first half performance to be proud of and real reason for optimism for the rest of the season. Special mention has to go to 17 year old Raheem Sterling, it certainly wasn't a low key game in which to give the youngster his first Premier League but he didn't look out of place or overwhelmed by the occasion or his illustrious opponents. He's obviously a long way off the finished article but the promise is there and the manager and his team mates clearly have faith in him. 

 The opening goal was enjoyable, a bullet header from Martin Skrtel from a pinpoint Steven Gerrard corner. I love seeing a really powerful header and Joe Hart had absolutely no chance of stopping it. Skrtel finding the space was a result of City's zonal marking system, giving the Slovakian a running jump against the standing leap of the defenders, only ever going to be one winner there.... Interestingly enough Man City actually managed to win the title last season despite using zonal marking when defending corners, anybody listening to the pundits version of our defending under Rafa Benitez would find this impossible to believe, such a heinous crime was this method of defending..

 The second half saw us going for a second goal and certainly not settling for a 1-0 win but unfortunately it was the visitors who scored next. Tevez got himself one on one with Raheem Sterling on the City right wing and put his cross in, the ball just skimmed the top of Skrtel's head taking it inches away from Pepe Reina's hand, bouncing off Martin Kelly and straight into the path of Yaya Toure who couldn't really miss. At first it looked like pretty poor defending but on closer inspection there wasn't really much more any of our defenders could do. But after being pegged back to 1-1 by the reigning champions it was a case of seeing how we would respond.

 Three minutes later we had the answer. A fortunately awarded free kick after a handball by Jack Rodwell (refs don't seem to give him the benefit of the doubt against us..) gave us a chance 30 yards from goal and with Gerrard and Suarez standing over the ball we had options. Suarez took it, bent it low around the wall and into the bottom corner beyond the dive of Joe Hart. It was the only place the ball could have crept in and Suarez could not have placed it any better, it was truly inch perfect. Even more impressive than the strike was our response to it, there was no sign of settling for the one goal advantage and we continues to carry a greater attacking threat than our opponents. 

 Ten minutes from the end Skrtel received the ball from Reina towards the left touchline and under pressure from City attackers decided to attempt to keep possession for the team, and rather than hoofing the ball forward he tried to play it back to our 'keeper but it was intercepted by Tevez who made the most of the gift, 2-2. It's the second time in two games Skrtel has been caught out and cost us a goal but other than the one mistake he was excellent today and after his performances last season the fans certainly won't turn on him after a couple of errors the way they do at some other clubs. The intelligent passing game may not be entirely suited to the big defender's game but he's good enough and intelligent enough to adapt and I'm sure he'll be a key player for us in the new era.

 Slightly more composed defending would have seen us win comfortably today against a top quality side and despite the dropped points the overriding feeling after the game is one of optimism and hope, rather than the 'oh no, here we go again' feeling that followed the majority of our home draws and defeats over the last three seasons.

 Joe Allen was awarded man of the match for his accurate passing and his ability to read the game. He already looks a good signing and appears to have settled in pretty quickly. A player with his ability to pick out another red shirt can be invaluable, but he can only ever be as good as his team mates let him be. If players make intelligent forward runs into space for him to find he can be another Xabi Alonso for us. If his team mates don't make that sort of run and he is restricted to merely sideways and backwards passes he would be more like another Jamie Redknapp, good but not as creative as his talents suggest he should be.

 All in all a positive afternoon in the Sunday afternoon sunshine, and if we can carry that sort of form into our forthcoming fixtures our results will improve. Coates did well deputising for Daniel Agger and Jose Enrique made a late return from injury so the future is looking bright. Hopefully Lucas' injury isn't too severe, though Jonjo Shelvey performed very well after replacing the Brazilian. Brendan Rodgers can be pleased with and proud of the majority of his first afternoon's work at his new home, and long may it continue.

Small Steps, Short Passes

 In the 93^rd minute of our away game at Hearts in the Europa League last night Pepe Reina kicked the ball down the pitch from a goal kick. For the 93 minutes before that he had been passing the ball short to our defenders, who in turn attempted to pass the ball short to our midfielders. We certainly didn’t dominate the match and there were probably as many chances against us as there were for us, and in this respect the game mirrored the majority of our cup games against lesser sides for the last decade. But on this occasion it was clear we were trying something new.

 The style of play may be in it’s infancy and at the moment it’s probably easier to find fault with than to see the positives, but there is a revolution happening at Liverpool Football Club, the seeds have been planted and hopefully over the season it will grow and turn into something special.

 Firstly the faults, as I just said, it’s quite easy to pick them. In order to keep possession you need team mates around the man with the ball, so if the centre back receives the ball 20 yards from his own goal and the midfield drop back to give him a simple pass you end up with too many players deep inside their own half leaving the forwards very isolated. This was pretty clear last night and without Raheem Sterling’s individual play we would have struggled to make any impression in the final third. And if you don’t do that then you don’t score goals which are quite important when it comes to winning matches. Another issue is that playing this way can magnify the significance of any individual errors. Martin Skrtel was caught in possession looking for a pass on Saturday and seconds later the game was beyond our reach. Playing exclusively short passes from the back can be very pretty but without a bit of variety in the play it can become predictable and easy to play against. Teams can commit men forward to put pressure on our defenders as they move the ball from side to side if they are not worried the ball will be played over the top leaving their defence exposed. The key to any style of play is variety and the short, simple passes that keep possession are all well and good, but they cannot be the sole way of playing.

 Now on to the positives. Keeping hold of the ball means the opposition have to chase you, and that is far more tiring than when you are dictating the game. A tiring opponent is always easier to beat than a fresh energetic side and I can see Liverpool developing a habit of winning games fairly late on once the other side begin to grow weary. Playing possession football also encourages our players to think quickly whilst at the same time developing a calmness on the ball, two key aspects that all successful sides must have. If we can continue making progress in our evolution and begin to play the same kind of football further up the pitch the rewards could be there for us.

 The next few fixtures, Man City and Arsenal at home, Sunderland away and Man Utd at home are not ideal for experimenting and there is a good argument to be made for using tactics the players are more familiar with for the next month or so. Playing aggressive, attractive attacking football is something Liverpool should be doing, but we shouldn’t forget the need to win games along the way. Losing 3-0 at West Brom was unexpected and if we don’t get things right there is the potential for not winning at all in our first five league games, which would put extreme pressure on the team and the management. The long term goal of playing how Liverpool should is worth a few defeats and struggles along the way but how many is something we need to be very careful of.

 Thankfully for Brendan Rodgers he is at Liverpool. The supporters (some radio phone in regulars excluded) know their football and if the signs are there that we are on the right path they will be noticed. Liverpool is one of the few clubs where results are not everything, enthusiasm, ability and passion count for almost as much as winning and fans will be patient as long as they see positive signs. But these signs eventually have to turn into a finished product. Like I said, the seeds have been planted, let’s all hope they grow quickly.

Show Some Heart

 For tonight’s game at Hearts we’ve left a few senior players at home and will be relying on some of our squad players to put in a performance. This is a really good chance for three players especially to stake a claim for regular first team football.

 Charlie Adam has been linked with a move away but has said he wants to stay. He showed glimpses of quality last season, including one goal and two assists in his first two home games, and if he can show he can be an effective member of the team then maybe he has a future under Brendan Rodgers. When Adam came on against Gomel in our 3-0 win some of his passing was excellent and this could fit in well with the style of play we are attempting under the new boss. If Adam is serious when he says he wants to stay than tonight is a good opportunity for him to show his determination and quality.

 Jordan Henderson played well in patches last term but also had long ineffectual periods in the first team. He’s still young and has an excellent attitude and a long future ahead of him but the signing of Joe Allen and the return to fitness of Lucas will make it much harder for him to get into the starting eleven. He has spoken well this season about his first year at Anfield and his evaluation hasn’t been particularly different to that of most reasonable minded kopites. He knows where he did well and where he needs to improve and tonight will give him a chance to show he can put what he’s learned into practice and not just words.

 Andy Carroll has been more strongly linked with a move away than he has been with staying at Liverpool but so far he is still our player. If rumours are to be believed he has turned down one or two moves as he wants to prove his worth to the new manager and stay at Anfield. With Suarez/Downing/Borini looking like Rodgers’ preferred starting forward line Carroll will have to make the most of the opportunities he gets in the red shirt. Tonight he faces a defence he should be able to bully, the way he did Chelsea’s for half an hour at Wembley and for ninety minutes at Anfield a few days later at the end of last season. He is another who has quality but if he really wants to become a success at Liverpool he needs to prove it not with words but with actions and, most importantly, goals.

 The fact we have a team with something to prove gives me a good deal of optimism for tonight but if our luck on Saturday is anything to go by Carroll will probably miss the game injured, Adam will get sent off and Henderson will be anonymous. Fingers crossed the gaffer has everyone motivated and prepared and we deliver a solid performance leaving us on the verge of qualification for the group stages of the Europa League.

Luis Suarez - Manchester United Legend?

  As part of my research for this website I’ve been having a look over the last few weeks at season previews from supporters of other clubs, sometimes three or four previews from each club to get different viewpoints. The first thing that stood out for me was how unoriginal the majority of them are and for that reason I decided not to do a preview, it’s pretty obvious that I’d like to see my team play attractive attacking football, improve on last season’s position and beat our local rivals home and away. The other thing that stood out for me was the amount of times Luis Suarez was mentioned in season previews for other teams, on some occasions he was mentioned far more than any players at the club the fan was supposed to be sharing his opinions on.

 Football is built on rivalries and I’m not naïve enough to suggest we should get behind our enemies better players, but it’s interesting to have a look at how often hatred really just becomes an act of hypocrisy. I used to look forward to watching Arsenal because I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Robin Van Persie strike the ball so cleanly past goalkeepers, now I’d be happy if he missed the majority of the season through injury and I’ll be made up if his transfer turns into a nightmare. I’m not claiming to be whiter than white on this issue, I’m just looking at when things go too far, or what exactly supporters (of ALL clubs) will overlook when one of their own strays from the path of righteousness.

 The majority of the bile directed at Suarez has come, not in the least bit unexpectedly and not totally without reason, from Manchester United supporters. ‘Racist shit’, ‘despicable human being’, ‘cheating c*nt’ and ‘moaning f*cking Scouse bastard’ have all appeared more than once in some form or another, but I’m curious to know how much of this is a considered, well thought out examination of someone’s character and how much of it is just having a go at one of their most hated enemies better players. I’m going to take each charge one at a time and contrast and compare the supporter reaction to that of when one of their own commits an indiscretion.

 ‘Racist shit’. That is what he has been labelled ever since the FA found him guilty of calling Patrice Evra ‘negro’ on the balance of probabilities earlier this year. The charge was never 100% proven beyond all reasonable doubt but for the purpose of this article I’m going to assume the FA got their facts completely correct and Suarez said every word Evra claimed. The FA report and Patrice Evra himself claimed it was a racist remark and both said they certainly didn’t believe Luis Suarez to be an actual racist. In calling Suarez a racist Manchester United fans are actually saying they don’t believe elements of what Patrice Evra said during the FA hearing. When Liverpool supporters say the same thing about Evra they are criticised and accused of supporting racism. Rio Ferdinand recently faced his own FA charge for use of the phrase ‘choc-ice’, a way of saying a black person has lost touch with his heritage. In my opinion remarks made on Twitter when somebody is sat at home in the evening fall outside of the FA’s jurisdiction and a player should not be banned for something said on the internet, and in this respect I completely agree with the decision to fine but not ban the defender. The player and his club decided not to appeal Ferdinand’s fine, therefore accepting that the player was in the wrong. In terms of making one racist remark, one man during the heat of an argument and one man reacting to something somebody else had said on Twitter, is Luis Suarez any more of a racist than Rio Ferdinand? With a purely analytical head on the answer is no, he isn’t. What will the Old Trafford crowd’s reaction be to Ferdinand? Total support, he’s one of their heroes.

 ‘Despicable human being’. Luis Suarez donates all of his pay from international appearances to charities at home in Uruguay and here in England. He is a family man with a young daughter who he clearly thinks the world of. The most popular name on the back of Man Utd shirts is Rooney. A man who cheated on his pregnant wife with prostitutes. The longest serving player at Man Utd is Ryan Giggs, a man who had an eight year affair with his brother’s wife. How do the people who call Suarez a despicable human being react to these players when they step out in the Man Utd shirt? They support them, they are their heroes.

 ‘Cheating c*nt’. Suarez goes down easily, not all the time, but he does. He looks for contact and will sometimes make sure the ref knows he’s been fouled. A good example of this was against Arsenal at Anfield last season, his shin was clipped by the ‘keeper’s shin but he was already in the air on his way over, clearly looking for a penalty and the ref fell for it. Ashley Young won two penalties for Man Utd towards the back end of last season that very nearly won them the league, both occasions any contact was greatly exaggerated if not entirely made up. Wayne Rooney dives sometimes, Nani is incredibly prone to theatrical falls, and who can forget Cristiano Ronaldo in a Man Utd shirt, possibly the best player ever to play in the Premier League, but also a grade A diver. How do the Old Trafford faithful respond to these players? They cheer them, they are their heroes.

 ‘Moaning Scouse bastard’. Yes, Suarez does question referee’s decisions and he does complain when things don’t go in his favour, and he has perfected the expression of injustice often seen on the face of the modern footballer. But he’s not alone in this. Wayne Rooney has been sent off in Europe for sarcastically applauding a refereeing decision, and how often have we seen him chasing a ref half the length of the pitch to have his say or to argue with a decision? Ryan Giggs spends more time with his arm in the air asking referees for decisions than anything else these days. Who can forget Roy Keane running after the ref, eyes bulging, veins popping out in his neck, for daring to give a penalty against Man Utd at Old Trafford? And how many times has Alex Ferguson been in trouble for comments made about or to referees? How does the home crowd react to these people? They sing their names, they are their heroes.

 Luis Suarez is a figure that gets the Manchester United fans wound up, they hate him, they hate him as much as anybody they’ve ever hated. If he had joined them in January last year instead of Liverpool and had exactly the same eighteen months in England, with the same controversies, the same actions and the same pieces of sublime skill, would they hate him as much as they do, or would he be well on the way to becoming a Manchester United legend? I think we all know the answer to that.

 Believe it or not the aim of this piece is not to have a dig at Man Utd fans, it’s more intended as an observation of football fans as a whole. There are probably hundreds of examples of Liverpool fans behaving in the same way (almost certainly involving Gary Neville), in fact you could probably write a similar article highlighting the hypocrisies of whichever set of supporters you choose with only a small amount of research time. It’s easy to boo opposition players and without that rivalry football would only be half the sport it is, but if you’re going to cross the line into blind hatred and full on abuse of somebody you’ve never actually met you should make sure it’s for the right reasons. There has been plenty of talk about football needing to emulate the spirit of the Olympics recently, but this needs to start with the fans. Usain Bolt is from Jamaica and he went right up to the crowd in London who were respectful of his achievements and gave him the reception he deserved. Could you imagine Demba Ba scoring a superb late winner for Newcastle against Aston Villa and going up to the Villa fans after the game? He would get anything but applause.