Tuesday 30 December 2008

Reds vow to back skipper Gerrard


Liverpool will give captain Steven Gerrard "all the support he needs" after he was charged with assault and affray on Monday morning.

The 28-year-old midfielder was charged in relation to an incident in a Southport bar in the early hours of Monday.

A club spokesman told the Liverpool Echo: "Steven has been an outstanding servant to Liverpool for the last 10 years and the club will give him all the support he needs at this time."

The comment is the only one to have been made by the club in relation to Gerrard's arrest, which occurred just hours after a man-of-the-match display in Sunday's 5-1 win at Newcastle.

That victory put the Reds three points clear at the top of the Premier League and raised hopes of a first domestic title since 1990.

Gerrard was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray following an alleged brawl, Merseyside police announced overnight. He was released from Southport police station early on Tuesday morning.

He was charged along with two other men who had also been arrested after a "disturbance" outside the late-night Lounge Inn.

The venue's DJ, a 34-year-old local man, required hospital treatment after suffering facial injuries.

Gerrard was at the restaurant and bar - which turns into a nightclub - with friends to celebrate the victory at Newcastle.

In a statement, a Merseyside Police spokesman said: "Merseyside Police has charged Steven Gerrard, 28 years, of Formby, Sefton, John Doran, 29, and Ian Smith, 19 years, both from Huyton, Liverpool, with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray following an incident at Bold Street in Southport in the early hours of Monday, December 29.

"The three men will be appearing at North Sefton Magistrates' Court on January 23."

The spokesman said Gerrard and the two other men had been bailed and three other men who were arrested in connection with the incident were released on police bail pending further inquiries.

After the game on Sunday Gerrard, who scored twice, hailed his table-topping side as the best he has played in.

But several hours later he was apparently caught up in an altercation outside the Southport bar on Bold Street.

Police were called and arrested six men on suspicion of assault in nearby Lord Street.

The town centre business remained shut on Monday but evidence of a fight inside could be seen through the windows.

Spots of blood were clearly visible on the floor, along with shards of broken glass.

Gerrard has been capped by England 70 times and has captained his country on four occasions.

He was made an MBE last year and received an honorary fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University.

Liverpool's next match is against Preston in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Source: TeamTalk

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Then, there is this article from Eurosport blogger, Early Doors.

"These next 10 years can be the best of Steven's life. But he has to live for the job. If his mates want to go to a nightclub, let them. By the time he has finished, he can buy one of his own." Gerard Houllier, May 2001.

On Sunday, Steven Gerrard was at his Roy of the Rovers best, playing brilliantly and scoring twice against Newcastle. Then he got arrested in a Southport bar following a brawl.

It was a sequence of events that proved what we already knew - Gerard Houllier knows nothing about football.

At the very least Houllier seriously underestimated Stevie G's ability to mix inspirational midfield play and late-night dust-ups to brilliantly high-octane effect.

Disappointingly, it seems Early Doors cannot make wild and unsubstantiated claims about what happened during the ruck - suffice it to say that if somebody had drawn a weapon Stevie G would have been well-practiced at the art of diving for cover.

What ED can do is quote The Sun's eyewitness, who claims that trouble broke out after an argument over the music choice of DJ Marcus McGee, who will probably be relieved he wasn't playing Panic by the Smiths.

Not only did Gerrard have to endure a night in the cells, his Bentley was also landed with a parking ticket.

ED imagines him sitting in his cell, face pressed up against the bars of his window, fretting every time a traffic warden walked past his motor. Had he been kept in for a second night his pride and joy might even have been towed. The horror...

Gerrard's wife Alex Curran proved a tower of strength, refusing to let the trauma put her off her WAGgish stride.

After she visited her hubby - presumably to check out his arrowed pyjamas and to accessorise them with a Juicy Couture manbag - she still found time to stop in for a comfort coffee on her way from the station to her car.

It was textbook stuff: Her husband and father of her two children might have been incarcerated, but that didn't mean she was about to give up her venti non-fat eggnog latte in a festive red cup.

And Liverpool's response to the incident was also a belter, with a spokeswoman solemnly intoning: "The club is making no comment whatsoever." Except that one, obviously.

It's all enough to give poor Rafa Benitez another kidney stone - Early Doors wouldn't be surprised if he gets Gerrard to arrange his next nightclub excursion for the weekend before he is due to go away on international duty.

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Owh, Early Doors also include this interesting article.

Chippenham's David Pratt hit the headlines at the weekend when he received what was widely acknowledged as the fastest red card of all time, taking just three seconds to receive his marching orders for a studs-up challenge on Bashley midfielder Chris Knowles.

He showed no sign of remorse yesterday, accusing Knowles of being a big jessie.

"The way their players reacted to the challenge was well over the top and he [Knowles] went down like he'd been shot," he moaned

"He didn't even need any treatment and played the whole 90 minutes."

Pratt may be expecting a call from Norris McWhirter following his supposed record-breaking activities, but sources close to Early Doors (well, Reuters actually) claim there has been an even quicker dismissal.

Lee Todd, a striker for Sunday league team Cross Farm Park Celtic, was apparently sent off after just two seconds in 2000, having responded to the referee's whistle to start the game by shouting: "F*** me, that was loud!"

Referee Pete Kearle duly showed him a red card for using foul and abusive language.

Todd was fined £27 - roughly the same amount as a Steven Gerrard parking ticket - and banned for five weeks.

He said: "I wasn't swearing at the ref or anyone else. I was just muttering to myself. He nearly blew my ear off. Football is a man's game and players swear all the time but I was off the pitch before the match even began."

Cross Farm Park Celtic did not miss Todd's absence, going on to beat Taunton East Reach Wanderers 11-2.

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