Time was when Steven Gerrard would produce at least one horror tackle a season. He hasn’t done it in a while. So instead he is quenching his thirst for blood by talking about hurting players, Besiktas ones to be precise.
“We know one more slip will end our interest in the tournament and so we want to go for the jugular from the first whistle.”
Wait, maybe he means metaphorically, Gerrard is always a fan of of the trite bulldog spirit phrase pre-match.
“We need another night like Juventus, Chelsea and Olympiakos. Our backs are against the wall but we know we can do it.”
See. Now, Jamie Carragher, there is someone with a bit more balance about the whole thing.
“If you’ve got the fear of missing out on that at the back of your mind, it should drive you on.
“It wouldn’t make me nervous or anything like that, it would make me want to grab the position we are in by the throat and not hold back.”
Or maybe not. With revenue from the Champions League in the tens of millions, and with even the winner of the Uefa Cup earning only about £4million, there is no doubt that today’s game against Besiktas is a biggie. So tonight, expect Liverpool to either thrash Besiktas or if they can’t to that at least strangle a couple of them.