Liverpool News: Steven Gerrard defends Fernando Torres and manager Roy Hodgson
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has come out in support of his teammate Fernando Torres and manager Roy Hodgson, as the two have come in for some heavy criticism early on in the season.
The World Cup and Euro Cup winning Spanish striker has been off his game this season, and has managed to score just one goal. Roy Hodgson, the new man in charge, has been able to earn just one win for the team this season,
as they suffer their worst start to the season in 5 decades. Liverpool are currently in the drop zone and are in desperate need of divine intervention.
Gerrard, one of the players in the team this season that has looked somewhere close to his former self, insists that it is not fair to put the blame on Torres or Hodgson. He said that all the criticisms are simply over the
top and uncalled for.
The Liverpool captain said that it is easy for people to sit in the stands or in front of their television screens and point fingers at others. He said that if a striker does not manage to score a goal or underperforms even
the slightest bit, he is put under the hammer, and people start to question his commitment.
Gerrard said that it is completely normal for a player who is returning from injury to struggle, and it does take some time to get one’s game back. He said that having played at the highest level for a while, he does understand
that if he was also coming back from an injury he would have also struggled and gone through the same problems.
He said that he did not find anything wrong with the body language of Torres, and people who have been questioning his commitment should take another look at how much hard work Torres puts in for the team in every game.
The Liverpool central midfielder said that Torres is a player who is always pushing for perfection, and when they do not get that the head does tend to drop. However, that still does not mean that the body language is not
correct; it only means that he is not being able to do what he wants.
Stevie-G went on to say that all those who have been questioning Fernando need to look at his track record for the club, and they would have all the answers. He added that he is just going through a tough phase, and once
he is back to full fitness he would be the same player once again.
"He wasn't 100% going into the World Cup and he had a lot of criticism over the summer but he'll bounce back.
"We all need to get behind Fernando and help him to get back to the form he showed in his first season here,” said Gerrard.
Gerrard, who led England in the World Cup in South Africa, said that when Torres gets going, there is no question that he is simply the best in the world. The midfielder believes that Fernando has not had proper time to recuperate
from his injuries. He said that last season, he was not able to play for Liverpool in the last few games due to a knee problem. He had hardly recovered when the World Cup came, and as the final was about to end he pulled a hamstring. Therefore, any player
in the world would have problems coming back to form with one injury following the other. In the end, Gerrard insisted that Liverpool in general should be given more time by the fans and the critics to prove their worth this season. He said that there is no
need to panic as the season is just 7 games old.
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