Aldridge: Suarez goal not like hand of Gaul
Suarez was branded ‘‘a cheat’’ by ESPN commentator Jon Champion after he used his right wrist to score Liverpool’s second goal against the non-league outfit on Sunday.
Champion has since been spoken to by the broadcaster for his remarks but former Liverpool and Ireland star Aldridge feels the incident ‘‘wasn’t anywhere near as bad’’ as Henry’s handball in the build-up to the goal that ended Ireland’s hopes of reaching the 2010 World Cup.
“It’s a disgrace to call Luis Suarez a cheat after what happened against Mansfield,’’ Aldridge wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo.
“After all the controversies in the past, some sections of the press just love sticking the boot into Suarez.
“It’s been blown out of all proportion and wasn’t anywhere near as bad as what Thierry Henry did for France against Ireland.’’
Aldridge was dismissive of suggestions that Suarez should have confessed his indiscretion to ref Andre Marriner.
“Some people say he should have told Andre Marriner to disallow it, but what player does that? The referee is there to make decisions,’’ he said.
“Would you expect a defender to own up when he clears the ball from behind the goal-line? Of course not.
“Those do-gooders having a go at Suarez have never been in that situation and don’t have a clue.
“Every striker in the world has done something like that, either scoring or making a goal with their hand.
“I certainly have. Years ago playing for Newport County against Blackpool, I went to meet a cross with my head, missed it and ended up punching it into the net. I got away with it and the goal stood.’’
Aldridge added: “He’s an easy target and the reaction to his handball has been ridiculously over the top.
“It certainly wasn’t intentional — it was a natural instinctive reaction. In fact if you watch it closely he was trying to pull his arm away.
‘‘Suarez knocked the ball into the net expecting it to be disallowed, but the referee awarded the goal and then you get on with it.’’
Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard has claimed Liverpool’s poor start to the season was ‘‘no surprise’’ to him but is confident the side will make big strides in the second half of the campaign and sneak into the “top positions”.
The England midfielder stopped short of declaring they would make the top four to qualify for the Champions League again but that remains the ambition at Anfield.
However, the 32-year-old admits they will have to find an answer to their inconsistencies if they are to rise up from eighth place and have any chance of closing the seven-point gap to current fourth-placed side Chelsea.
“We didn’t get off to the start we wanted this season but that was no surprise to me because there’d been a lot of change,” Gerrard said.
“We had a completely new coaching set-up and there were a few new players coming in, as well as a few players going out.
“My experience of football is that when that amount of change takes place, it takes time for everything to settle, for people to get used to each other, for us to get used to the manager’s philosophy and how he wants us to play.
“My feelings now are that we’re moving forward. I think that from now until the end of the season, we’ll make big strides and improve a lot.
“I’m pretty confident that you’ll see us sneak into those top positions but it’s all about consistency, winning games, turning draws into wins and avoiding silly defeats.
“That’s what we’ve got to try and eliminate from our game.”
Liverpool face Manchester United on Sunday and new signing Daniel Sturridge has raised the stakes ahead of the trip to Old Trafford by claiming “there is no bigger club than Liverpool”. The 23-year-old is likely to be in the squad to take on United, where the Reds are certain to face a hostile welcome.
Alex Ferguson’s side overtook their north-west rivals’ tally of 18 league titles with their Premier League championship in 2010/11, but Sturridge believes his new team are not inferior to anyone in England.
“It is the biggest club I have ever played for,” said the former Chelsea forward. “In the Premier League, there is no bigger club than Liverpool.”
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