Season › 2012-13 › News

Jagielka shrugs off Gerrard digs

Lyndon Lloyd , 30 October, 16comments  |  Jump to most recent
Laughing off the "long ball" jibes by Steven Gerrard following another contentious Merseyside derby, Phil Jagielka suggests that the Liverpool captain's criticism means that Everton are "doing something well".

Gerrard tried to denigrate Everton's style of play by comparing it to that of Tony Pulis' physical, direct Stoke City side but was embarrassed by a statistics-based rebuttal to his claim by several well-respected media outlets.

“It does make you chuckle," Jagielka said of his England teammate, "but if Stevie is saying things like that then there must be a reason behind it which must be that we are doing something well.

“If Stevie says we are a long ball team then I'm not going to deny the fact that we play long balls. Do we play long balls for the full 90 minutes? No. But we play quite direct.

“Who wouldn't when you have someone in form like Felli who can bring the ball down from fun and we start creating things from there? Why wouldn't you do that?”

“It's a little bit disrespectful to players like Bainesy, Ossie and Kevin," Jagielka continued, naming three players who do not fit the big, physical mould, "who are players who do create a lot of chances for us.

“I suppose you could say it's a backhanded compliment. Stevie must have thought that Liverpool were in a game to come out which such comments.

“That's why we can take it with a pinch of salt. This season is the most goals we have scored, the most chances we have created, and I know the stats from the derby add up to us having more possession and more chances.”

Gerrard's bitterness makes all the reds we hear on the radio seem like content and satisfied people, even with Liverpool in the state they currently are. Some good betting odds at the moment could be us to win the league and them to get relegated — even a quid would probably get a decent return. Until that happens though it would be a good idea to place some money on something more immediate such as Everton to pick up a win this weekend.

Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Daily Post

Reader Comments (16)

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Paul Holden
1 Posted 31/10/2012 at 00:20:12
Can't wait for next season's derbies - Tranmere v the shyte!
Timothy Sebastian
2 Posted 31/10/2012 at 05:21:27
I can't stop laughing at Gerard's utter nonsensical comments about Everton. Talk about being bitter....this takes bitterness to the extreme. I wrote a few weeks back about the tide turning on Merseyside. We can all see this happening ever so gradually, but surely. I think Gerard is also seeing this, but his mind is struggling to make sense of this change. So he's lashing out as best he can and is trying to explain something that he just can't figure out. He is totally puzzled because Everton didn't sit down and accept defeat...we came back and gave as good, if not better, than what we got. We also did not hold on for the draw but went on to try and win the game. We did not give the RS any respect, either before, during or after the game. We are in 5th place and they are in 12th place. We've moved on to focus on Fulham, there're still bitter over last Sunday. So things have changed, and changed significantly. But Gerard's mind, unfortunately, is stuck in a time-warp and thus, he's unable to process all this new information. And to rub salt on Gerard's wounds, the press roundly contradicts his bitter comments about "long-ball" Everton by showing stats that we played better, dominated the match, and passed more effectively than they did. Talk about a slap in the face. A sure sign that this RS side are a team in decline and the media are painting them as such. I'm sure Gerard's mind can't process this as well as he's so used to the media seeing them as the darling "Sky 4". So stay tuned. I won't be surprised if we hear him calling the press a bunch of idiots for contradicting him!
Timothy Sebastian
3 Posted 31/10/2012 at 05:21:27
I can't stop laughing at Gerard's utter nonsensical comments about Everton. Talk about being bitter....this takes bitterness to the extreme. I wrote a few weeks back about the tide turning on Merseyside. We can all see this happening ever so gradually, but surely. I think Gerard is also seeing this, but his mind is struggling to make sense of this change. So he's lashing out as best he can and is trying to explain something that he just can't figure out. He is totally puzzled because Everton didn't sit down and accept defeat...we came back and gave as good, if not better, than what we got. We also did not hold on for the draw but went on to try and win the game. We did not give the RS any respect, either before, during or after the game. We are in 5th place and they are in 12th place. We've moved on to focus on Fulham, there're still bitter over last Sunday. So things have changed, and changed significantly. But Gerard's mind, unfortunately, is stuck in a time-warp and thus, he's unable to process all this new information. And to rub salt on Gerard's wounds, the press roundly contradicts his bitter comments about "long-ball" Everton by showing stats that we played better, dominated the match, and passed more effectively than they did. Talk about a slap in the face. A sure sign that this RS side are a team in decline and the media are painting them as such. I'm sure Gerard's mind can't process this as well as he's so used to the media seeing them as the darling "Sky 4". So stay tuned. I won't be surprised if we hear him calling the press a bunch of idiots for contradicting him!
Timothy Sebastian
4 Posted 31/10/2012 at 05:21:27
I can't stop laughing at Gerard's utter nonsensical comments about Everton. Talk about being bitter....this takes bitterness to the extreme. I wrote a few weeks back about the tide turning on Merseyside. We can all see this happening ever so gradually, but surely. I think Gerard is also seeing this, but his mind is struggling to make sense of this change. So he's lashing out as best he can and is trying to explain something that he just can't figure out. He is totally puzzled because Everton didn't sit down and accept defeat...we came back and gave as good, if not better, than what we got. We also did not hold on for the draw but went on to try and win the game. We did not give the RS any respect, either before, during or after the game. We are in 5th place and they are in 12th place. We've moved on to focus on Fulham, there're still bitter over last Sunday. So things have changed, and changed significantly. But Gerard's mind, unfortunately, is stuck in a time-warp and thus, he's unable to process all this new information. And to rub salt on Gerard's wounds, the press roundly contradicts his bitter comments about "long-ball" Everton by showing stats that we played better, dominated the match, and passed more effectively than they did. Talk about a slap in the face. A sure sign that this RS side are a team in decline and the media are painting them as such. I'm sure Gerard's mind can't process this as well as he's so used to the media seeing them as the darling "Sky 4". So stay tuned. I won't be surprised if we hear him calling the press a bunch of idiots for contradicting him!
Anto Byrne
5 Posted 31/10/2012 at 05:34:38
We had several clear-cut opportunities in the second half that we really should have done a lot better with. A little bit of luck and the rub of the green and we would all be sitting here with smug grins on our faces lauding over a 4- or 5-goal haul. As ever, the luck seemed to go with shite: own goals, dangerous cynical tackles going unpunished, and if that shitty little cunt wasn't bringing the game into disrepute with swan diving antics, I don't know what is.

Still, what do you expect from the Shite? — it's been the same for the last 40+ years. They have always been a hard physical bullyboy kick-and-rush team and Dalgliesh is up there as one of the most insidious players I've ever had the misfortune to see. The master diver — anyone see the Shite v Ipswich when they were a high flying pure football team?

Peter Barry
6 Posted 31/10/2012 at 06:26:08
It's Gerrard, a thug both on and off the field, just confirming he is a moron too.
Derek Thomas
7 Posted 31/10/2012 at 08:13:48
According to that boyhood photo he was a Blue, so obviously you can take the blue out of the boy but not the bitterness out of the Blue.

We're well rid

Dave Roberts
8 Posted 31/10/2012 at 08:02:19
Take no notice of the fucking idiot. Any club that thinks Suarez is an ok guy has to have something rotting in its smelly innard anyway and part of it may be him. Gerrard has decided to take the Emlyn Hughes mindset towards Everton and the reason is that he knows we are better than them (although our defence has to learn to wake up and get involved at some point BEFORE the kick-off!)

If Stevie GBH felt the need to say we are not better than them then it can only be because it is an issue for the shite and they know we are!

I can understand why the average kopshite thinks Gerrard is wonderful but to any reasonable person the bloke is a fucking shithouse who should be in jail for his attack on that DJ in Southport. How any jury could find him not guilty after watching that video amazes me. Obnoxious creep. He's more obnoxious than John Terry and that's not an easy status to achieve.

Colin Wainwright
9 Posted 31/10/2012 at 08:28:11
Dave @464. "He's more obnoxious than John Terry and that's not an easy status to achieve. "

You're right mate. What is it with England captains lately? Scumbags, every fuckin' one of them.

Kevin Tully
10 Posted 31/10/2012 at 08:50:43
Stupid fecker now admitting he was wrong - no doubt after seeing video's of himself diving & the stat's from the derby !


http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/10/31/liverpool-fc-skipper-steven-gerrard-admits-he-went-too-far-with-everton-fc-derby-comments-100252-32133655/

James Martin
11 Posted 31/10/2012 at 09:33:16
Choked that out hastily didn't he. Not that there's a retraction anywhere there, no mention of our good style, and no apology anywhere. Probably just got leaned on by the top brass.

I know they all think that Ian Ayre is an idiot who needs to be fired but I wouldn't envy his job, it's a new farce every single day for him to deal with and his communications director who should be handling it is causing most of the trouble himself.

How they have fallen, what a joke they are now... Shankly and Paisley would be turning in their graves.
Mark Tanton
12 Posted 31/10/2012 at 10:54:44
Is it just me who finds it slightly ironic that it is, of all people, Jagielka who speaks up against this?!

By the way Gerrard is an utter cretin.

Dave Charles
13 Posted 31/10/2012 at 11:13:27
Mark, Jagielka is being conservative with his response and no doubt has spoken with Moyes and club officials of how to respond. It shows class that the club doesn't get drawn in to the level Gerrard has stooped down too. We would all love to read a response of 'The day we take notice of one of the biggest cheats if football, is the day we are finished'.

Over the years we've had Shankly, Dalglish, Evans and Benitez all have a pop for something that didn't go their way. Sir Joe Royle replied to Evans with the 'Dummies falling out of the pram' and that was them shut up. Pure class from from Joe.

Your also right about him (Gerrard) being a cretin.

Tony J Williams
14 Posted 31/10/2012 at 11:42:18
I see the bitters are rolling out the "long ball" stat given in another paper where we are joint third with Southampton and they are 19th out of 20.

What these stats probably don't show is the percentage of balls and possession

Mark Tanton
15 Posted 31/10/2012 at 11:44:29
It just made me smile that it was Mr Lump It Jags who came out and responded to Gerrard's criticisms.
Michael Coury
16 Posted 01/11/2012 at 21:47:36
I have a Google alert set up so I have seen the scores of stories about Gerrard's statement and retraction, Jag's statement, etc. Its been on my radar ad nausea.

I have a different spin on this, and it is very simple: Win the game. All the chirping and nonsense is instantly null and void (unless you are SAF - but I digress). Who cares if we did or did not play a direct game. To quote, "The scoreboard has no eyes" - Win the effen game already.

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