PATRIOTS: if thine own eye offend you.... amid the spluttering of indignation at England only winning, the forensic fury from the poison pens aimed at the boss and a flurry of doughnut and root vegetable based cartoon character assassinations there seemed little room to point out the latest penalty box am-dram acrobatics for the benefit of the referee.
We hear much about Johnny Foreigner being particular being adept at the art of the tumble and how this alien virus is damaging the game and the standards we true English hearts alone fight to defend. Hold on - that dive by Steven Gerrard was pathetic!
Yes, Stevie G, the epitome of English honesty and the man in who the press have invested all their post-Beckham hopes of a hero (the spud-faced granny botherer is too Tourettes prone and volatile to be trusted with the mantle of flag bearer)... dived!
That will be the same Stevie G that asked about dirty diegos who set out to cheat England's golden generation of their World Cup birthright said this:
"It annoys me. I don't think there is anything worse than seeing not just a foreign player but any player who has received a knock lying down on the floor to get an opponent booked - or diving when no one's been anywhere near him, If I saw a team-mate doing it I would definitely have a word. It's happened here at Liverpool a couple of times, where players have gone down too easily, and the manager has said: 'Get up, get on with it, don't be doing that. It's wrong'.
"I think managers and captains, leaders and experienced players have a responsibility to grab people after a training session or a game and say 'None of that. That doesn't happen here'."
So will he be expecting Mr McClaren to take him to task? Of course not. He knows that the manager has far bigger problems that inept acrobatics. And will the press highlight the issue? Not while they have pages of bile to discharge on the new Turnip. And what about the fans? Will they turn on this cheat and drive him out of the game? No, they are too busy booing the best - possibly only - specialist left sided flanker and crosser in the country.
- Post to:
del.icio.us
Digg
Newsvine
Nowpublic
Reddit
« Previous | Home | Next »