themanupstairs

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/7578678/Johnson-Evra-set-Suarez-up

 

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson claims Manchester United's Patrice Evra did not really want to shake the hand of Luis Suarez at Old Trafford last month.

 

Uruguay international Suarez seemingly refused to shake hands with Evra ahead of the Premier League clash, which the hosts won 2-1, after he was found guilty of racially abusing the defender.

 

The striker was widely criticised for the action, with both the player and club apologising for the incident after the match, but Johnson believes Evra was at fault.

 

Clever

 

"Evra was clever at Old Trafford," he told the Daily Mail.

 

"Because - I'm not being funny - but if I wanted to shake your hand I would stick it right out in front of me like that. But if my hand is down here, almost by my side, then it's because I really don't want to shake your hand.

 

"Luis didn't shake his hand because Evra's hand was down there. What else is Luis supposed to do? Would you go to shake someone's hand if their hand is way down there by their side? Course not. But then, because Luis didn't do it, Evra has pulled him back by his arm as he walked on, as if to say to everybody: "Look, I wanted to shake his hand and he didn't..."

 

"He's following Luis with his eyes as if to say: "Right he's gone, he's gone (past me) so I'll pull him back now..." Evra probably stayed up all night thinking about how to do that. The whole thing was ridiculous."

 

Liverpool wore T-shirts supporting Suarez over the racism incident as they warmed up before a game at Wigan in December, sparking plenty of backlash.

 

But Johnson feels the gesture was blown out of proportion, adding: "The evidence was Luis' word against Evra's.

 

"I'm not saying Evra is lying but it's his word against Luis', isn't it? So how did it all turn out to be so strong in Evra's favour? I work with the lad every day. There is no way he said that.

 

"With the media these days and the way it was going to be blown up, maybe the T-shirts thing wasn't the right thing to do. How should I say this? We wore them to show our support for Luis. It wasn't to send a message to everyone else. It was just for him.

 

"It seemed to come across that we were making a point. We weren't. It was the club's idea. But obviously we all agreed. We didn't really think about how people would react."

 

Criticised

 

Ex-Manchester United defender Paul McGrath used social networking site Twitter to criticise Johnson for wearing the T-shirt in support of Suarez but the Liverpool defender has accused him of racism for singling him out.

 

Johnson claimed: "The McGrath thing ... that's actually racist. Saying what he said is racist. He is only saying that to me because I was the only black lad wearing the T-shirt.

 

"He's targeting me because of my colour."

 

why not wear them in training as opposed to on telly in front of thousands then. c***.

Suarez wore one himself as well iirc

Johnson made me laugh when claimed that when people go abroad, they would still use their own native slang. Yeah, right, I'd like to see your average Greek's reaction to being called an endearing cunt.

Do APOEL normally wear Orange or something? Loads of people sporting it in the crowd.

It's the color the fans wear. The story goes that they played AEK Athens in a European tie, then AEL Limassol in successive fixtures, and all 3 teams' main color was yellow. To differentiate themselves, the Apoel fans turned their black bomber jackets inside out to show the orange. It stuck from then on.

Tbf wacko you're a fantastic poster, and a very level-headed Liverpool fan, but I just don't understand that post at all. At least Kenny's aim is to improve the side? So Hodgson was actively aiming to drag Liverpool backwards towards mid-table?

For what it's worth, I reckon Hodgson is actually a better manager than Dalgleech.

f***ing yessss!!!! Cannot believe APOEL are through!! Party all night tonight on the little island 

 

Except Omonoia fans

 

Naah, they trash talked Apoel throughout the group stages, but their fan association announced that they were behind them tonight.

Fair play, couldn't ever do that for the mackems though.

Nowhere near the same significance obviously though.

 

I've always found the loyalty of Liverpool fans enormously endearing—their tendency to give a manager time, to let him build his own side before passing judgement and to assess him on his own terms—in stark contrast to, say, Real Madrid or Schalke fans. There is little reflexive outrage that we didn't get into the CL, or that we lost this or that game. But the flip side of that is this embarrassingly dogmatic dedication to King Kenny, regardless of what the current reality is.

 

 

Like Hodgson?

 

Right. Because Hodgson wasn't obviously driving the side towards his mid-table comfort zone from the second he arrived.

 

Working or not, at least Kenny's aim is to improve the side, not to entrench it where it stands in the hope of avoiding further decline, like Hodgson did.

Let me see if I got this right. Hodgson WANTED his Liverpool side in mid-table, so he could avoid further decline? 

f***ing yessss!!!! Cannot believe APOEL are through!! Party all night tonight on the little island 

 

Except Omonoia fans

Naah, they trash talked Apoel throughout the group stages, but their fan association announced that they were behind them tonight.

Celebrations have already started on the streets down here, and this isn't even Apoel's city!

Could feasibly be Basel vs APOEL in the quarters. Platini must be loving it.

Don't care who it is. I'm buying tickets for the match the minute they are released. We don't see many CL quarter finals here

Fucking yessss!!!! Cannot believe APOEL are through!! Party all night tonight on the little island 

This is when the N-O revolution starts..this is just the begging

The N-O spring

1:25 of that Ben Arfa video sums up why we need a RB that can play football, Tiote in a good position to pass to yet he lumps it forward, which unsurprisingly their defender won the header

 

Simpson made one excellent run forward to overlap with HBA, who in turn dribbled and took out two mackems and played Simpson in. The cross from our fullback was lacking in anything resembling a threat, but if he can do that more often, much more often, he could end up causing some serious problems for the opposition.

 

He is going to have to learn to cross if that is ever to happen

He will if he does it more often in matches. Not saying he'll be Beckham-esque. But he's much more likely to hit one or two dangerous crosses in a game if he gets 6 or 7 opportunities to do so.

1:25 of that Ben Arfa video sums up why we need a RB that can play football, Tiote in a good position to pass to yet he lumps it forward, which unsurprisingly their defender won the header

Simpson made one excellent run forward to overlap with HBA, who in turn dribbled and took out two mackems and played Simpson in. The cross from our fullback was lacking in anything resembling a threat, but if he can do that more often, much more often, he could end up causing some serious problems for the opposition.

HBA : <<Being on a pitch for making 2 meters passes wich are for no use, as some do to avoid taking risks, pffff, that doesn't interest me>>

That's the attitude

IMO it will all boil down to how many chances RVP gets. Nullify him and we'll get a result.

Also, we'll have to score as I think Walcott will get one.

I don't get it. Who, outside journalists, have complained about Pardew's reaction? If O'Neill was doing it I couldn't give a s*** tbh. Of everything that went down yesterday, the managers getting excited and showing a bit of passion that he 'goads' the opposition manager is the least of my worries. In a match like that I'd hope managers are showing a bit of passion.

 

O'Niel jumps up and down like a demented tramp on speed during every game. It's his trade mark and for some obscure reason why the media love him so much.

Aye, sort of like this fella  only with specsaver's finest

What would people expect from Pardew next season if we get 6th place this season?

 

1st!

 

Seriously, if we get 6th this year, i hope we end up around the same place next year.

What i want to see next season is a positive development regarding our play.

If we get 6th, and we can dominate more games, play better football i am happy.

then we can build on that in the future.

 

I would say 7th or better would be a great follow up season, preferably with a better challenge in the cups. Be mad to assume our summer will be without the obligatory cockup/hickup and that the other 'big 6' teams dont improve. Particularly Liverpool & Chelsea.

 

Yep. We should still be looking to improve though, otherwise there's no point. This includes reasonable investment in the playing squad over the summer.

There's no telling what could potentially go wrong for Spurs should Redknapp take the England job, and if they see Bale and Modric get sold. The instability at Chelsea and Liverpool's apparent lack of vision could see a top 4 spot seriously open up. If we're smart enough and keep a shrewd eye on the prize, there's no reason we can't challenge for that spot come next season.

Every time Hatem made a pass, he was wanting to get Tiote on the ball, particularly when Simpson had it. Lovely to see him trying to dictate things.

Yup. When he's on the pitch he tends to marshall the midfield, and you can always see him pointing to players to move or come short. Love seeing that. Love the way he decided to switch the play that ultimately created the chance we scored from. That little dinked pass to Jonas that started the move was a thing of beauty.

Just finished watching that second half again....emotion removed from the analysis!

 

Cabaye did very well. He looked to receive the ball, played good early balls into the frontmen, spread the play well (particularly to Arfa before he skinned Richardson and shot at the near post) and regularly kept things ticking over in the centre of the pitch... Second half performance was definitely a solid 7 like.

 

It should also be stated that he has put in an unreal shift physically this season......his first season can be considered his conditioning to the EPL,...next season....

 

 

Same thing for me when i watched the wolves match 2nd time round - thought he was very poor on the initial showing but 2nd time round i appreciated that he did have quite a good game. suppose it's that he's doing a lot of work without fuss rather than being full of eye-catching moments.

 

Im a huge Cabaye fan but this is a bit pointless. You cannot give much credit to a play-maker doing some simple play-making against ten men under no pressure. It's the least you should expect.

 

You cannot expect him to magically open locks....he is not that sort of player!

 

That is HBA

 

Cabaye should perform a role akin to Xavi of Barcelona, creating space, supporting team possession, and moving the ball around (and, at the correct time forward) quickly.

 

Cabaye is far more a central midfielder than an attacking one...

Agreed. He's more of an all-action type than a Xavi or Alonso. The scope of pitch which he operates within is huge at the moment, but that's what you get playing alongside Tiote with two forwards. Apart from him getting more shots on target, and finding forwards with early keyhole passes on the deck, I can't ask more from him tbh. He's no shrinking violet, and even in the games where his passing has been a bit off, his still gets stuck in, and goes about his business without fuss.

Wish Cabaye would get out his way. Let Tiote anchor and Cabaye push up to give him a forward pass. Despite his limited passing ability Tiote always wants to make a forward pass.

So it's just me then who thinks that Tiote is developing a dangerous habit of doing the famed Scottie Pirouette far too often these days? He's done it a few times in the last couple of games when he had enough space to drive with it forward. I guess it might have something to do with the huge gap between midfield and attack we're complaining about.

Criminal the amount of dividends Hall and Shepherd took out. I heard a brilliant interview with the Arsenal chairman/CEO where he explained that the purpose of a football club is to make profit only so that it can invest money back into the club. That's what we should be aiming for.

And in the end, I don't have a problem with Ashley using the club to boost revenues from his SD brand(s), so long as he keeps the club's profits within it and continues to improve it. Buying a football club is about the prestige and the challenge and not about making money. I shudder to think what would've happened to us had a hedge fund bought us as was rumored back in 05/06.

Just finished watching that second half again....emotion removed from the analysis!

 

Cabaye did very well. He looked to receive the ball, played good early balls into the frontmen, spread the play well (particularly to Arfa before he skinned Richardson and shot at the near post) and regularly kept things ticking over in the centre of the pitch... Second half performance was definitely a solid 7 like.

 

It should also be stated that he has put in an unreal shift physically this season......his first season can be considered his conditioning to the EPL,...next season....

 

 

Same thing for me when i watched the wolves match 2nd time round - thought he was very poor on the initial showing but 2nd time round i appreciated that he did have quite a good game. suppose it's that he's doing a lot of work without fuss rather than being full of eye-catching moments.

His work off the ball, whether it's in our possession or not, is top top class. He is almost constantly moving, giving players options, or closing down the ball and/or opposition runners. He won't provide us with many hollywood moments, but when it comes to the donkey work he is absolutely top class, no doubt in my mind.

Ameobi announces his retirement

Mackems:  :dance:

Sammy Ameobi comes on as a sub in the Tyne-Wear derby 2013

Mackems:  :scared:

Mr. and Mrs. Ameobi:  :troll:

Were people aware that Colo's motor of choice is a convertible Smart Car? :lol:

Doesn't need a big fuckoff SUV to prove his manhood. What a guy 

Fulham did exactly what we could and should have done last week, if we hadn't been so worried about Wolves attacking threat (ho ho).

We're top 6, they're fighting for their lives. We should have never set up to "nullify" them. In hindsight, and a week or so later I find it absolutely preposterous the way Pardew set us up on the day. When we got the 2 goals in as early as we did, we should have changed the game plan, and gone for 7 or 8 instead of "containing" the danger posed by the opposition. Goal difference, pre-derby boost, plus the fact that Wolves are an atrocity at the back... it's an afterthought I know, but i'm fucking livid

Cisse could have bagged 5 that game.