Thread can be deleted because it is being taken out of context by some idiots who can't interpret properly.
I also think Joe Allen will come good. I'm not so surprised about Gerrard I imagined him to be focused on his own game anyway.
I'm sure the other young players like Henderson, Shelvey etc would hang out with him. Making friends is something he should know by now?? Anyway, he needs to offer a lot more to his game. However, his lack of pace, skill and ability to pass dangerously, just makes him useless imo.
People forget how young he is, the criticisms he has been subjected to are unfair IMO. Give a while to settle and carry on improving and he could be at the heart of the Liverpool midfield for ten years, will become an extremely important player for us. Keep your head up lad, just look at Lucas, he got battered by the fans for ages but became a fan favorite.
The development of relationships within a squad is primarily the responsibility of the individual. It can be assisted by both the club and the squad but it is still down to the player. If he cannot or will not adapt to meet the culture of the group then not only will his existence be lonely but his performance will suffer. In the old days this adoption process was assisted both in the pub and on the golf course or even the racecourse. Nowadays such opportunities seem to be becoming rare. With younger players coming from a generation in which the games console is the prime focus then there is no wonder that some of them have problems with socialisation. After all football, for them, has changed in the level of professionalism required. If the player is Allen then he has to lear how the culture of the squad works and how he can fit into it. If he is taking Gerrards actions and referencing them to things that may have happened at Swansea then he is going to make and continue to make false assumptions.
Gerrard practices corners??? I've aired my thoughts about Joe before. I think he's a good lad and I think he'll try his hardest to develop. He's got good basics but he needs to work extremely hard to displace any of the 3 who are in the team now. If Henderson continues in current form he won't be easy to shift. In fact Joe can look to Hendo for a bit of inspiration in terms of what hard work can do for a young lad (not that I'm suggesting he doesn't work hard). I think BR has played him too much, especially when it's been out of position and it was a huge mistake to play him against Utd not only for the team but for Joe as a player. He has to adapt to a new club and a different lifestyle in terms of being out of his comfort zone. Undoubtedly a big price tag can be a weight on the shoulders but as with every player, they sign on the dotted line and know (roughly) what that price tag is. With those big fees and big wages comes a responsibility and a pressure to perform. I'm not levelling this at Allen because I don't know the lad but there is a culture in this country that you sign that big contract and you've made it whereas in reality that's where the hard work and tough times begin. Football can be a massively cruel business but this is his job not his social life. Granted a happy player will usually perform better but at the end of the day he's not here to make new mates. I do hope he makes it, I think he can if he really knuckles down and he accepts it might take another year/18 months to establish a place.
If this story is true, then I don't see why his dad is criticising (what it sounds like to me) Gerrard for not doing anything with youth players. Its not his job to help the youth players, that's the job of the coaches and the manager. Sure he probably gives them advice in training and stuff but why should he stay after training just because he's the captain? Its an odd comment really. I bet there's some sort of **** joke in the OP though.
The way he said it wasn't criticising at all, he did say that Gerrard could do that as he is probably our greatest ever player. I personally thought he would be doing more with the team as captain. Making friends isn't a problem for Joe and I doubt it is for anyone else, especially the British guys. He was just explaining the difference between the step up from Swansea. He was clearly worried about Joes form. mentioned Joe becoming a dad but didn't mention it as being a factor in his dip of form.
I've always thought Gerrard is more the captain who leads by example, rather than by mentoring and putting an arm round the shoulder of players. Maybe he keeps a bit of distance from the younger players to try and keep that bit of distance, and ensure they keep looking up to him rather than just seeing him as one of the lads.
Yeah pretty clear and very foolish of his dad be holding court on what goes off at the club! This sort of open talk won't help Joe settle in and it certainly won't win him any friends in the team as they'll probably not feel comfortable telling him anything!
That's even worse! I'd tell SSN my deepest and darkest secrets before I told Zingy the time of day...
Knobheads. Think people have taken this thread the wrong way. He spoke a lot about what it was like up there, I just picked out what I found most interesting. He didn't say Gerrard 'buggered off' that was my words putting it in a nutshell. I was just pretty sick of people criticising Joe saying he brings nothing to the team etc when we were all calling him Alonso at the start of the season. Anyway, if it's going to be taken the wrong way we can turn this thread into another toilet thread.
I couldn't care if he was telling his own mum, in football any gossip is a story and that conversation is best not had. New signings dad critices team captain is a headline waiting to be written! After all the **** the clubs been through it should be a case of closed ranks! And I won't be given the 'doh' treatment by someone from stagland!
