Posts Tagged ‘Captain Steven’

Gerrard not in good form, says Benítez

• Benítez claims Gerrard is not playing at his ‘best level’
• ‘It is not the system, it is the players out on the pitch’

Rafael Benítez has questioned his Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard’s form after two defeats in the opening three games of the season. Benítez pointed to a lack of collective responsibility among his senior players after the home defeat to Aston Villa on Monday, but today went further, saying that Gerrard was not currently playing at his “best level”.

The Spaniard has generally shied way from criticising Gerrard, but expectations of his performances are such that Benítez has apparently felt the need to further motivate the England midfielder. Reverses against Villa and Tottenham, on the opening day of the season, mean Liverpool require a morale-boosting display away to Bolton on Saturday.

“We have seen Steven playing really well for a while now,” said Benítez. “He is one of our big names, a key player. He will continue to be that. He will know that he has played a couple of games that are not up to his best level. But because he so often plays really well, people maybe can see the difference.

“I know he will be ready now. The players are not stupid, they know when they are not playing well and not up to their best standard. He knows, everybody knows here, that we have to improve.”

Benítez dismissed the theory that Gerrard’s form has suffered after a difficult summer for the midfielder, involving a court case and acquittal following a night club incident in January of this year.

“For Steven that has not been a problem,” he said. “I was not naming any particular player when I was critical after the defeat by Villa. But it is clear that everyone has to improve, we have analysed things and we have talked to all the players. The reaction from them has been very good.

“They have to show character and they have been working really hard during the week because that is the only way to change things. The team wants to show that we are good enough [to challenge for the title]. But we know we can improve and I can guarantee that the players will be fighting hard from the very first minute.

“The team and staff know we are not doing well and have to improve. This is very clear. The players have responded by training hard to try to rectify the situation. The attitude has been good and we have to play well at Bolton and start the game well.

“We have lost two games and we are very disappointed, but now we have the chance to change everything. We have lost to two of the clubs who will be chasing the top four, Villa and Spurs, and there are good teams now trying to get into the top four. It will be more difficult for top sides now to win every game.”

New signing Sotirios Kyrgiakos played for the reserves on Thursday and is in line for his league debut at Bolton. Benítez, who is concerned that critics have picked on soft targets like Lucas rather than highlighting the failings of senior players they are friendly with, believes a couple of wins will change the atmosphere at Anfield.

“We have a problem because we are losing matches,” he added. “People can be critical of our system and suggest we have been worked out. But everybody knows all the systems, it is nothing really new. It is not systems, it is the players out on the pitch. Maybe we do not have squad depth at the moment and there were youngsters on the bench, but we have three key players to return – Fabio Aurelio, Danny Agger and Alberto Aquilani – and that will make a difference.

“The commitment of the players and the training sessions have been very good. That is the most important aspect. Players will retain their confidence, they will change certain things and go out and prove the squad is good.

“The players accepted my words in the right spirit. They have experience and they know they can improve. They have been listening to me for five years so they know what I feel. They are just waiting now for the chance to play well in the next match.”

Jury clears Gerrard of affray

• Liverpool star ‘unwise’ to get involved, judge says
• Fans gather outside court to cheer ‘Stevie G’ verdict

It took a jury less than 90 minutes today to clear Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard of affray even though he admitted punching a man three times in a bar.

Gerrard maintained that he had acted in self-defence during the brawl at the Lounge Inn in Southport last December, which was triggered by a row over control of music.

Gerrard, 29, had wanted to pick the music in the bar, but Marcus McGee, who was in charge of the CD player, refused his request. The trial was told that although McGee, 34, did not throw any punches, the player believed he was about to be hit.

Earlier in the evening, the England international and his friends had seemed to be in high spirits, singing and dancing as they celebrated a crushing victory over Newcastle United.

Minutes after he had been rebuffed by McGee, the footballer approached him as he sat on a barstool. John Doran, Gerrard’s friend, elbowed McGee in the face, making him reel backwards and forwards. Fearing that he was about to be attacked, Gerrard landed three uppercuts on his face.

During the trial, he apologised for what had happened. Around 100 supporters gathered outside court today and cheered as Gerrard left the building.

Gerrard said: “I would like to put this case behind me now and I am really looking forward to the season ahead and concentrating on football now.”

Judge Henry Globe, recorder of Liverpool, told Liverpool crown court after the verdict that the football player “could walk away with his reputation intact”.

The judge told Gerrard that in hindsight it “may have been unwise of you” to approach Marcus McGee following the trivial disagreement.

“However, that is far from saying you were criminally responsible for the violence that thereafter erupted.”

The judge said when the violence commenced the victim and his partner Gina Lond, who was standing nearby, thought that Gerrard had started it. Gerrard himself had initially thought McGee was the first person to deliver a blow.

“The CCTV evidence obtained later demonstrated conclusively that you were all mistaken,” the judge noted. The judge said the verdict was credible and the jury had demonstrably paid close attention to the full facts of the case.

Six of Gerrard’s friends, two of whom are Accrington Stanley players, will be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to charges of affray or threatening behaviour in connection with the brawl.

Having twice rejected the lure of Chelsea’s riches, “Stevie G”, as he is universally known to the red half of Liverpool, epitomises the one-club player, the local boy made good who has tried to maintain his links to the Bluebell estate in Huyton, where he grew up.

During the trial he appeared to well up as a statement from Kenny Dalglish was read out in court. “He is a very humble man,” the former Liverpool star said, who was “not the archetypal footballer” and had “never forgotten his roots”.

But the England midfielder’s evident puzzlement, then anger, at the man who, in the words of the prosecution, dared to “say no” to Steven Gerrard betrayed the fact he could never be one of the lads.

Jon Holmes, the veteran football agent whose clients have included David Beckham, said: “Their relationship with their community and the world they’re from has changed enormously. The irony is that Gerrard is probably better connected to his community than others.”

Former Chelsea player Pat Nevin said that there have always been punch-ups and drunken incidents involving playersdown the years, but in the past they were less likely to make the papers.

“It existed when I was playing and probably before that. You had those whose heads were turned by the fame and the money, even when the money was just twice the average wage,” he said.

“You also have to think about the way society treats these players. They are treated like gods and they are ordinary people. If you treat them like gods you will be disappointed.”

Gerrard apologises for punching man in Merseyside bar brawl

England footballer admits throwing blow in row over music but says he was acting in self-defence

The Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard claimed today he had been acting in self-defence when he punched a man in a row over music.

The England international told Liverpool crown court that he punched Marcus McGee three times during a clash at a bar in Southport.

He said that he had struck the man “to defend myself”, fearing he was about to be hit by McGee. Gerrard, 29, who denies affray, said that, at the time, he was unaware one of his friends, John Doran, had landed the first blow, elbowing McGee in the face.

“I thought he was going to hit me,” Gerrard said.

“He was on his way forward to me and his behaviour had changed from when I was having a discussion with him. I didn’t know why.”

Asked how he felt now, the footballer added: “I am certainly mistaken in thinking he was coming towards me to throw punches at me. Now I know, obviously, he had been struck, reacted and thought the strike was by me and he came into me and that’s when I reacted.

“I am sorry about the whole incident.”

Gerrard denied that he had lost control on the night of the fight.

He had been drinking at the Lounge Inn in Southport to celebrate a 5-1 victory over Newcastle earlier that day. The footballer had been drinking Budweiser and a sweet liqueur drink called a Jammy Donut shot, estimating his level of drunkenness as seven out of 10. Gerrard remained calm and quietly spoken as he gave evidence, repeatedly sipping a glass of water as he stood in the witness box.

“It was very difficult at the time to explain to the police why I did throw the first blows. But it was because I was arguing and I felt as if Marcus was coming forward to hit me.”

He told the jury he had been used to people “mithering” him and he was usually able to smooth things over.

Gerrard said he suffered “a lot of mither” at traffic lights, shopping centres, bars and restaurants and the comments can be “derogatory or insulting”.

He admitted calling McGee “a prick” to one of his friends when he refused to change the music.

During the conversation with McGee, 34, he claimed the man swore at him, saying: “You are not putting no fucking music on here.”

Gerrard said a member of staff at the bar had given him permission to choose music from a CD player that his alleged victim was operating.

A card that controlled the music was snatched from his hand by McGee, he said.

“I couldn’t understand why the guy had such a problem with me, why he was so aggressive,” he said.

Gerrard said that when he went over to speak to McGee for a second time, he had no intention of having a fight but wanted to “smooth things over”.

Gerrard told the court he had a conviction for drink-driving when he was 19 but had not been in any other trouble with the police.

Gerrard welled up with tears as a statement from Liverpool legend Kenny

Dalglish was read out. Dalglish described Gerrard as “not the archetypal footballer. He does not like to move in movie star circles.”

He described him as “quiet” and “very private.” Despite his wealth, Dalglish said, Gerrard has “never forgotten his roots.”

“He is a very respectful man who has always behaved to senior players in a respectful way,” Dalglish said. “He is a very humble man.”

Dalglish, who had earlier met Gerrard on the night of the incident, said he had been with a group of boys who were “normal, polite, eating sushi and enjoying themselves”.

The footballer said Gerrard had become involved in his wife Marina’s charity for breast cancer and had been a guest of honour at a Hillsborough memorial match.

William Bygroves, the chaplain at Liverpool football club, said in a statement he had known Gerrard since he was a youth. “I have seen him mature into a kind, mature, generous, community minded family man.”

The chaplain said Gerrard had shown interest in those less fortunate than himself.

Bygroves said Gerrard was always generous when meeting children at Alder Hey children’s hospital and had worked on an anti-racism campaign with Gee Walker, the mother of murder victim Anthony Walker.

He described Gerrard as a warm-hearted genuine person.

Cross-examined by David Turner QC, for the prosecution, Gerrard was asked to show the jury how he hit McGee. He gently lifted his right arm to demonstrate the uppercut.

Asked by Turner if he was sickened by what he did, Gerrard replied: “I am certainly sorry.”

The jurors are expected to be sent out to consider their verdict tomorrow.

Torres signs improved Liverpool contract

• Spanish striker rewarded with £40,000-a-week pay increase
• Improved contract until 2013 gives him option for a further year

Liverpool have rewarded Fernando Torres for his outstanding impact at Anfield with a new contract that will increase the Spain striker’s wages to £110,000 a week.

The 25-year-old still had four seasons remaining on the six-year, £70,000-a-week deal he signed on becoming Liverpool’s record acquisition in 2007 but, under the terms of that transfer, was entitled to review his salary with the club this summer. His new contract will vastly improve his personal terms until 2013 as scheduled – “reflecting his standing as one of the world’s top strikers,” according to the club – and contains an option for a further year’s extension until 2014. It will make him the second-highest-paid player at the club behind the captain, Steven Gerrard.

“Fernando is one of the best strikers in the game and, at his age, can only get better,” said Liverpool’s manager, Rafael Benítez. “Every major side would want him in their team, but he has shown how much he wants to achieve success at Liverpool by committing his future to the club. He’s a special talent, but still has the hunger to improve his game.”

Torres follows Benítez, Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger in agreeing new contracts at Liverpool over the past two months, although several of the deals are as yet unsigned, including those of Torres and Gerrard. The agreement, however, emphatically confirms Torres’ commitment to Liverpool and ensures Benítez has long-term assurances over his major assets and the spine of the team.

The former Atlético Madrid player, who scored his 50th goal in two seasons for Liverpool in the Premier League finale against Tottenham Hotspur, has been coveted by Europe’s wealthiest clubs since making an immediate impact at Anfield. Torres has repeatedly stressed his loyalty to Liverpool and has now agreed to put it in writing. Benítez added: “We’ve made huge progress this season and now we need to take the next step. We are building something special hereand securing such important players on long-term deals means we can move forward with confidence. “

Liverpool have confirmed, meanwhile, that Gary Ablett and several other coaches are to leave the club following a review of the club’s academy system.

Gerrard back to boost Reds title push

• Liverpool captain missed costly 4-4 draw with Arsenal
• Man Utd could be six points clear by Saturday afternoon

Liverpool’s hopes of prising the Premier League title from Manchester United’s grip will be boosted by the return of captain Steven Gerrard for Sunday’s match at home to Newcastle.

Liverpool’s talismanic midfielder missed the club’s Champions League exit at Chelsea and the costly 4-4 home draw with Arsenal in the league last week with a groin injury. His return is good news for Liverpool, who are three points behind Manchester United with four games left, but not a pleasant one for Newcastle manager Alan Shearer whose side are fighting to cling on to their Premier League status.

“Steven is doing well and is training with the rest of the team,” Rafael Benítez told the club’s official website. “I think he will be fit and available for Sunday. It is good news for the team and for him because he can be a key player for us over the remaining games.”

Liverpool cannot afford to drop any more points this season to have any hope of preventing Manchester United from equalling their record of 18 top-flight title wins. United travel to relegation battlers Middlesbrough for an early kick-off on Saturday, having edged Arsenal 1-0 in their Champions League semi-final, first leg last night.

It will be a quick turnaround for United, who have a major doubt over Rio Ferdinand after he picked up a rib injury against Arsenal, but Benítez will not be holding out too much hope of an upset and victory will leave Liverpool trailing the Old Trafford club by six points prior to their match with Newcastle on Sunday.