Very poor communication from Brod. For three players (Hendo, Studge and Gerrard) to ask think Hendo should be the taker isn't some random coincidence.
Tbf he's took that stance with Balo from day one, saying when we bought him that it was a risk Regardless of what Balo does between now and the end of the season he'll still be gone in the Summer as Rodgers just doesn't like him, similar to him and Carroll.
Why shouldn't Rodgers (or Gerrard for that matter) criticise him publicly? Balotelli was quite happy to show up his captain in public. Balotelli doesn't give a **** about team spirit. Rodgers can say what he likes to Balo and about him, he's done it about other players so why shouldn't he do it with him? At the end of the day it's his job to get the best out of him and if he feels he needs to speak out then so be it. I'll back BR over Mario any day of the week (but I'm sure Mario couldn't give a **** what's said either way) Rodgers biggest fault here (IMO) isn't what he's said but what he didn't do and that's to make it abundently clear that if Mario is on the pitch he is second only to Gerrard when taking pens.
but now rodgers has done this, balotelli might bring the team spirit down even more like in training which is gonna affect it in matches as well. henderson shouldve swallowed his pride and let him take it. we were drawing and desperately needed a goal and you can always rely on balo to score a penalty. wouldve been different if we were a few goals up but we werent. hendo and gerrard are to blame just as much as balo is in my opinion
Henderson did swallow his pride because he thinks team first (plus he wasn't going to argue with MB ). If Balo sulks in training then BR can do to him just as he did to Suarez and shove him in training with the kids. As I said in my earlier post I agree Balo should have been on the list to take the pen but if he wasn't then HE should have swallowed his pride and not gone against the instructions of the man who is his boss.
ha i meant he shouldnt have made a big deal about it on the pitch. gerrard probably talked with him about it and then proceeded to mention something to the media about balo
I see it differently, there was no fuss (of this kind) if the player that the manager had chosen to take the penalty had actually taken the pen. Who exactly is in charge at Anfield, Brendan or Mario? The whole thing is a storm in a tea cup of course but from my point of view I don't get the "this should be done behind closed doors" argument. This wasn't a training ground incident and was viewed by millions. Modern media demands are such that BR has to field a thousand more questions than Liverpool managers of old so when an incident is played out so publicly a response in public is inevitable.
Like I said earlier Gerrard escalated the whole thing, if he'd have kept his trap shut it would have been brushed under the carpet. Mountain out of a molehill made out by the media to be WW III within our ranks.
He did and obviously it's been blown up further than necessary but if Balo wants to do these things in public I'm not sure why people (especially those with major roles within the club) should be held back from giving opinions in public.
When Balotelli is on the field he isn't going to stand there and watch our captain miss a penalty. The guy is great at penalties and the fact he scored it should close all discussion. He never shown Henderson up whatsoever.
But Gerrard ain't the manager or club spokesman and never got the ok to divulge the managers choice as PK taker on the night. Rodgers has now made a liar out of both Hendo and Gerrard by saying Balo was his choice to take it.
Is not about showing anyone up or whether it was scored or not, it's about respect to your team mates and manager. Since Brod has said Mario was his choice, all is fine. Hendo, Studge and Gerrard obviously didn't know that though so Brod needs to improve his communication (he'll love the sound of that)
Eight pages on a penalty which was scored is laughable. I think Henderson is a great player but he should never be first in line when a Gerrard isn't in the field. This is the problem with people who watch and comment about football is how fickle everyone is. Gerrard let Sturridge have a pen to complete his hat trick to complete the #demolitionjob on Everton and he hit row Z, was immediately subbed and was given a slap on the wrist for even contemplating taking it away from Gerrard. I've never seen Mirallas take a penalty before and he decides he's the man for the job against West Brom, with Baines on the pitch and everyone kicking off at him to give the ball back to him Baines he refused, stepped up and took it. The whole footballing world went into meltdown and felt Mirallas disrespected the whole club and should be punished. 0-0 with five minutes to go, Liverpool get a penalty. With Gerrard not in the field we had Hendo step up take the pen, after Balotelli went to him and said reality that he shiuld be nowhere near the spot Hendo agreed and gave the ball to Mario who calmly slotted it in to give us advantage into the second leg. But it has caused a meltdown with everyone in the footballing world because it's 'disrespectful.' I say that's a man stepping up for his team but whatever... And whoever questioned what would Mario of done if Hendo said no...... He walks away.
Zanetti - the team captain - dragged him away. He didn't walk off of is own volition at all, and he didn't celebrate the goal either
Does he really though? The best player takes the penalties, simple. In penalty shoot out there are great players who don't take one because they don't fancy it, is that disrespectful? No, if a player fancies himself to score and people are ok with it then fine. Only players who was unhappy was Sturridge and Henderson, both who fancied the penalty. When Mirallas took the pen away four other players and the manager shouted at him to give it back, that's disrespect. If Rodgers was in the sidelines screaming at Balotelli then yeah I would say he shouldn't of, the fact he stayed on the field and won us the game speaks volumes.
