Accused Gerard gets the full support of his manager
Steven Gerard was accused last week of initiating a bar brawl. He is now being backed by the Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez who said in defense of the Liverpool captain “Steven is our captain and a key player for us, but more than this, I know him as a nice person.”
The manager told the club’s official website “I sat down with him this morning and had a very good talk with him about the situation and I was also able to speak at length with our club lawyer,”
“Steven explained to me what had happened and I told him he has my full support and backing, along with everyone else at the football club,”
The manager continued to say “He’s trained with the other lads this (Wednesday) morning after a couple of days off for the squad and is keen now to focus solely on his football. We’ve worked very hard to get into the position we’re in going through to the New Year and all of us are determined to keep that progress going.”
Gerard feels confident after being freed from police custody on bail and being allowed to play the upcoming game. Benitez pledged his support to the captain of the team saying “We’ll do whatever we can to support Steven in the weeks ahead, but we’re now concentrating on our preparation for the FA Cup game at Preston this weekend.”
28 year old Gerard was amongst the three men that were arrested by the police at 2:30 am in the Lounge Inn restaurant at Southport where the incident took place. The disc jockey that was employed at the venue had to be taken to the hospital after suffering from facial injuries during the brawl.
Apparently the dispute began when Gerard insisted the DJ to play a song of his choice. From amongst the eyewitness reports one stated the DJ “pushed Gerard in the chest, and almost instinctively Gerard hit back with his elbow”.
The Liverpool captain along with the two others arrested with him are set to appear before the North Sefton Magistrate’s Court on January 23rd 2009. The unlikely incident took place on the night when Liverpool managed to crush New Castle in a 5-1 victory. Gerard had scored two goals during the match. The other two individuals charged along with the captain are fellow team mates Ian Smith and John Doran.
Sammy Baugh Hall of Fame quarterback dies at 94
Sammy Baugh will always be remembered for setting innumerable passing records with his team the Washington Redskins. The Hall of Fame quarterback lived a long and prosperous life before finally losing his life on Wednesday night at the age of 94.
The NFL superstar was plagued with a number of serious health problems and his misery finally came to an end at the Fisher County Hospital in Rotan. The quarterback’s son told the reporters that his father had been battling dementia and Alzheimer’s for a number of years. Recently he had been experiencing some kidney problems along with double pneumonia which had brought him to the hospital.
The legendary quarterback was known to be quite a charismatic character throughout his life. His recent sicknesses had changed him completely according to his son. The various illnesses that had taken over Sam’s body began to wear him out as a person before he finally gave way.
Sammy Baugh was part of the inaugural class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Up until his death on Wednesday he was the only surviving member of the class. Known as Slingin’ Sammy the NFL superstar started his career at TCU and then made his way into the Redskins squad in 1937. He continued to play with the Redskins till 1952.
Redskins current owner Dan Snyder paid tribute to the legendary player by saying “Sammy Baugh embodied all we aspire to at the Washington Redskins.” He also went on to say in praise of the deceased quarterback “He was a competitor in everything he did and a winner. He was one of the greatest to ever play the game of football, and one of the greatest the Redskins ever had. My thoughts and prayers are with his family tonight.”
Sammy Baugh was most notably renowned for his great passing skills. Along with this he was also considered to be one of the best all-around players of his time. He has put on many great performances during his career which got people to honor him as being the greatest player in the game.