Gerrard Rallies Support For Torres And Roy

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard
has given his full backing to
striker Fernando Torres and
manager Roy Hodgson after both
came in for early-season
criticism.
Torres has scored just once
while Hodgson, who took over
from predecessor Rafael Benitez
on July 1, has overseen one
Barclays Premier League victory
which has contributed to the
side slumping to 18th in the
table.
But Gerrard, who has been one
of the few Liverpool players to
rise above mediocrity in the
current campaign, told LFC
Weekly: "It's all completely over
the top. "
He added: "It's easy to watch a
football match and if the centre-
forward doesn't score or pull a
rabbit out of a hat, say his body
language isn't right. If a player's
form isn't there or he's fighting
for full fitness after injuries it's
normal that their body language
isn't perfect.
"If I'm not playing at the levels I
know I can, or if I'm struggling
with an injury, people say the
same things about me.
"The only time a centre-forward's
body language is 100 per cent
right is when they're scoring in
every game, that's the way they
are.
"That's why players like that are
the best in the world, because if
they come off the pitch without
scoring or producing a nine out
of 10 or 10 out of 10
performance they're not happy.
"You only have to look at
Fernando's record since he
walked through the door to
know how good he is but he's
had a bad time with injuries of
late. He wasn't 100% going into
the World Cup and he had a lot of
criticism over the summer but
he'll bounce back."
Gerrard also said the poor
performances this season could
not just be pinned on Hodgson,
who has had to cope with a
number of squad changes and
the on-going ownership issues.
"It's unfair for people to just
blame the manager for the bad
start to the season," he
continued. "We're all in this
together, everyone at the club,
from top to bottom. We've all got
to accept responsibility and pull
together if we are to turn things
around."