Liverpool FC Forum

[weringo]

What an overreaction, it's hardly a personal attack on Rafa, Steve is just saying what he would have done in those situations and the praise he heaps on the manager far outways anything bad he says about him.

I really couldn't care less if Gerrard wants to release a book now rather than after his career is over, people clearly want to hear what he has to say and he's getting a lot of money for doing not a lot so good on him I say.

[Wilhelmsson]

Nobody is saying that, but there is little need for it. If you are earning 100k+ a week not including endorsements, why even write an autobiography now?

If you haven't even finished your playing career, why write an autobiography of something that isn't complete?

...Because at this moment in time he can extract as much money as possible from it due to his status as a star player.

Why even risk the aggro it may cause? It draws attraction from the media, something we can do without, especially when we are just about to embark on one of the most crucial seasons in recent years.

Gerrard wrote his autobiography because there was grave interest in hearing his story. He is one of the best midfielders in Europe and a lot of football fans wanted to read his thoughts on the Chelsea affair and on Istanbul, so at the time it seemed fitting for Gerrard to A) release his story and B) collect a lot of money in the process.

I’m not an advocate of reading autobiographies, but Gerrard’s autobiography was a book that I found thoroughly enjoyable. It gave me an insight into life at grass roots level at Liverpool, it portrayed Gerrard in a more positive light and the Chelsea affair (although one sided) became much clearer and more understandable.

As for the aggravation, what aggravation do you speak of? Why would Gerrard’s opinions cause problems within the dressing room? After all Gerrard’s stating his mind and I am sure Rafa was informed prior to the release of the ‘next chapter’. If he wasn’t, then he’ll have a nice insight into what his captain thought of his decision making and stubborn behaviour in the Champions League final.

If worst came to the worst, Benitez would probably take Gerrard to the side and warn him over his future conduct and will probably make him a lap of Melwood once or twice. I don’t understand why there is such uproar, I thought Gerrard was accurate in his judgement of the final and his opinions were clear, concise and his criticisms were constructive.

[JC_81]

Don't think this is cause for concern at all to be honest.  As the more sensible posters have pointed out, Gerrard's comments hardly constitute an 'attack' on Benitez.  He simply questions a few of Benitez's decisions in hindsight, which imo a captain has the right to do.  Not only is a captain appointed to be a leader on the field, but to be a direct link between the manager and the dressing room.  Gerrard isn't there to be Benitez's 'yes man', if he or other players don't agree with certain decisions then it's Gerrard's duty as captain to discuss them with the manager.  I'd be very surprised if the contents of this article haven't already been discussed with Benitez in private.

The press will obviously be around this like flies round sh.it, but I can hardly see Benitez and Gerrard falling out over it and the whole thing will be forgotten by the time the season starts in earnest.

I'm not a big fan of players bringing these books out while they're still playing, but let's face it, it's part of football now as much as huge salaries and squad rotation are.  Get used to it.

[adamnbarrett]

fuck off I've already got his book.

I don't see what everyone's getting worked up about his comments for. I'm more worked up about the fact I got the original book in hardback at Christmas and now he's adding bits to it.

how many versions of this book are there going to be?

[ivor_the_injun]

He'll almost certainly have run it by the club before it went to the publishers.

It's fair comment, not ridiculous criticism. Let's not forget that he's a fan too, and it's not like we haven't had a thing or two to say about some of Rafa's decisions at times.

[tubby]

fuck off I've already got his book.

I don't see what everyone's getting worked up about his comments for. I'm more worked up about the fact I got the original book in hardback at Christmas and now he's adding bits to it.

how many versions of this book are there going to be?

Im waiting till this xmas when the final additions will be made.

[LFC2007]

Nobody is saying that, but there is little need for it. If you are earning 100k+ a week not including endorsements, why even write an autobiography now?

If you haven't even finished your playing career, why write an autobiography of something that isn't complete?

...Because at this moment in time he can extract as much money as possible from it due to his status as a star player.

Why even risk the aggro it may cause? It draws attraction from the media, something we can do without, especially when we are just about to embark on one of the most crucial seasons in recent years.

Gerrard wrote his autobiography because there was grave interest in hearing his story. He is one of the best midfielders in Europe and a lot of football fans wanted to read his thoughts on the Chelsea affair and on Istanbul, so at the time it seemed fitting for Gerrard to A) release his story and B) collect a lot of money in the process.

I’m not an advocate of reading autobiographies, but Gerrard’s autobiography was a book that I found thoroughly enjoyable. It gave me an insight into life at grass roots level at Liverpool, it portrayed Gerrard in a more positive light and the Chelsea affair (although one sided) became much clearer and more understandable.

As for the aggravation, what aggravation do you speak of? Why would Gerrard’s opinions cause problems within the dressing room? After all Gerrard’s stating his mind and I am sure Rafa was informed prior to the release of the ‘next chapter’. If he wasn’t, then he’ll have a nice insight into what his captain thought of his decision making and stubborn behaviour in the Champions League final.

If worst came to the worst, Benitez would probably take Gerrard to the side and warn him over his future conduct and will probably make him a lap of Melwood once or twice. I don’t understand why there is such uproar, I thought Gerrard was accurate in his judgement of the final and his opinions were clear, concise and his criticisms were constructive.

So why write it at this moment in time?

Why not wait until the end of your playing career like it should be done.

He could still write about Istanbul in 7 or 8 years time, in fact, it would perhaps be a more complete autobiography if it was written in a few years time. One with more perspective to it.

Aggravation in terms of speculation from the media, the media will pick up on the smallest hint of disagreement and turn it into a big issue.


There isn't an "uproar" as you put it, but I see little point in writing an autobiography now. It could have waited, if he is earning so much money then why is so important to milk it as much as he possibly can now?

To put his story across? An incomplete story.

[LFC2007]

Don't think this is cause for concern at all to be honest.  As the more sensible posters have pointed out, Gerrard's comments hardly constitute an 'attack' on Benitez.

And who exactly has said it does constitute an "attack" on Benitez?

[adamnbarrett]

fuck off I've already got his book.

I don't see what everyone's getting worked up about his comments for. I'm more worked up about the fact I got the original book in hardback at Christmas and now he's adding bits to it.

how many versions of this book are there going to be?

Im waiting till this xmas when the final additions will be made.

Gerrard - I promise this is the last one

The 100th Autobiography

just 2 chapter more than the 99th addition.

[Kharhaz]

The one good thing about what goes on in the dressing room is the interaction between managers and players so I say well done Gerrard, while your at it why dont you tell everyone rafas tactics on handling chelsea matches, hell go the whole hog and say why every player is there on the pitch for different reasons that the fans cannot fathom but he gets surprising results, hell, why not go all out and explain the entire thinking behind rafas plans on every team we play against?

FFS isnt £120,000 a week enough?

[The_Rock]

we it agrees with what a of of us said about the CL final, things needed changing earlier

Great minds think alike 

[Wilhelmsson]

So why write it at this moment in time?

Why not wait until the end of your playing career like it should be done.

He could still write about Istanbul in 7 or 8 years time, in fact, it would perhaps be a more complete autobiography if it was written in a few years time. One with more perspective to it.

Aggravation in terms of speculation from the media, the media will pick up on the smallest hint of disagreement and turn it into a big issue.


There isn't an "uproar" as you put it, but I see little point in writing an autobiography now. It could have waited, if he is earning so much money then why is so important to milk it as much as he possibly can now?

To put his story across? An incomplete story.

I’d imagine Gerrard wrote his autobiography now because he is one of the most decorated footballers in Europe at this current time and with all the attention that was received around the Gerrard -- Chelsea speculation and Europe’s finest football final -- Istanbul, it made perfect sense to release the book whilst he is well known sports star still in his prime and creating headlines amongst the media.

You’re asking me questions I cannot answer, I do not know Gerrard personally, and therefore I can represent his views. Who is to say an autobiography should be released when a player is no longer a playing football? There are plenty of people who release their autobiography whilst they are still in their career; Robbie Fowler springs to mind, so why hasn’t he come under intense criticism? I was pleased when Fowler released his because I wanted to find out what really happened between him, Big nose and Gerard.

I understand what you are saying about Istanbul, however it was also nice to read Gerrard’s present day feelings about Istanbul and whilst it was still afresh in his mind. I understand about the media, but reading some of the back pages of several newspapers this morning, not one newspaper has commented on Gerrard’s recent autobiography update. The attention is on Frank Lampard’s “affair” with another woman and Carlos Tevez’s, eviction from his North London home.

I understand what you are saying about him waiting and perhaps he could have and should waited, though I understand why he released it now and it’s a pretty trivial affair to criticise him over releasing it during his playing career.

You should email Bill Gates and ask him why he released Windows Vista when there was little wrong with Windows XP. It’s about money, unless you live under a dictatorship, the world’s currency is money.

If I was as good a footballer as Gerrard and there was demand for me to release my autobiography, I’d release it. Who is to say that when Gerrard is in his late thirties that there will be demand for his story?

It is an incomplete story, who is to say he won’t release another one when he has finished playing? With all due respect this entire thread is rather trivial and not worth debating, so I shall excuse myself from the table.

[LFC2007]

I’d imagine Gerrard wrote his autobiography now because he is one of the most decorated footballers in Europe at this current time and with all the attention that was received around the Gerrard -- Chelsea speculation and Europe’s finest football final -- Istanbul, it made perfect sense to release the book whilst he is well known sports star still in his prime and creating headlines amongst the media.

You’re asking me questions I cannot answer, I do not know Gerrard personally, and therefore I can represent his views. Who is to say an autobiography should be released when a player is no longer a playing football? There are plenty of people who release their autobiography whilst they are still in their career; Robbie Fowler springs to mind, so why hasn’t he come under intense criticism? I was pleased when Fowler released his because I wanted to find out what really happened between him, Big nose and Gerard.

I understand what you are saying about Istanbul, however it was also nice to read Gerrard’s present day feelings about Istanbul and whilst it was still afresh in his mind. I understand about the media, but reading some of the back pages of several newspapers this morning, not one newspaper has commented on Gerrard’s recent autobiography update. The attention is on Frank Lampard’s “affair” with another woman and Carlos Tevez’s, eviction from his North London home.

I understand what you are saying about him waiting and perhaps he could have and should waited, though I understand why he released it now and it’s a pretty trivial affair to criticise him over releasing it during his playing career.

You should email Bill Gates and ask him why he released Windows Vista when there was little wrong with Windows XP. It’s about money, unless you live under a dictatorship, the world’s currency is money.

If I was as good a footballer as Gerrard and there was demand for me to release my autobiography, I’d release it. Who is to say that when Gerrard is in his late thirties that there will be demand for his story?

It is an incomplete story, who is to say he won’t release another one when he has finished playing? With all due respect this entire thread is rather trivial and not worth debating, so I shall excuse myself from the table.

1) He's a decorated footballer who hasn't finished his career, he is releasing it now to earn more money. Of that there is no question.

2) It seems odd to release an autobiography of your career when it is not even finished, it is a financial decision, he can earn more now than he can in 10 years time from releasing a more complete autiobiography with more perspective. If you're earning upwards of £5m/year then I find this decision difficult to understand. I don't believe he released it now just to give people an insight because the insight in 10 years time would be more complete.

3) It's not just Gerrard, I never said it was just Gerrard but it's a symptom of our society that people want to exploit the opportunity to the max for their own greed.

4) You compare Bill gates and Windows Vista, that clearly has no resemblance to this scenario and is a stupid attempt at justifying a capitalistic viewpoint.

5) You excuse yourself from the table, after writing such a lengthy post, to call it trivial is rather hypocritical of you.

[Elchris]

[stmichael]

Most of his book made me cringe, but I can't see anything wrong with the latest stuff, most of it was kissing Rafa's ar$e rather than criticising him. It seems to me that his relationship with the manager is better than it has ever been.

I just wish he'd take his head out of his ar$e, and stop sulking whenever he is asked to play on the flank. Seeing as how that won't happen though, I just wouldn't play him on the flank as its a waste of time.