LET'S SMASH STRIKERS LIKE MASCH

August 28, 2010

JAVIER MASCHERANO’S move to Barcelona is yet more evidence of football’s pampered players getting too big for their boots.

Kop boss Roy Hodgson didn’t want to sell the Argentina spoiler unless someone coughed up the market value. Fair enough. He had two years left on his Anfield deal after all.

Not for Mascherano, though. He wanted out, no matter what. So he kicked up a stink, refused to play against ManchesterCity and now look.

Like the kid who rolls around the supermarket floor kicking and screaming and ends up with an ice lolly, he got what we wanted. But what about Liverpool?

They’ve lost the world’s best holding midfielder with four days left of the transfer window. And they’ve trousered £18m up front for a player they paid £17m for three years ago.

Then Mascherano was rotting in West Ham’s reserves and there was hardly a queue of clubs vying for his services.

By refusing to play against City, the 26-yearold left Liverpool up sh*t creek without a paddle.

They had a wantaway star on their hands who was prepared to carry out a wildcat strike to get what he wanted. They had money on the table from Barca.

By holding out for more, they risked having a bad egg in the camp and come January the price would have been less.

But so what eh, Javier? At least you got what YOU wanted. And what message does it send to the rest of the Liverpool players?

Just a year ago, Barca were in the hunt for Mascherano. Then the price was £30m to £40m.

But then Liverpool were in the Champions League and had finished second in the league.

Now they’re trawling Europe’s backwaters. That wasn’t good enough for Masch – he’d had his chips at Liverpool.

One hissy fit later, his value drops by £12m and he’s off to the Spanish champions.

Fernando Torres was kept out of the clutches of Chelsea this summer by promises of new investment at Anfield. That now looks as far away as ever.

So what’s to stop the Spaniard bringing out the burning bin and donkey jacket to secure himself a move?

Clubs should start taking the hard line. Get the lawyers in, dish out some fines or come to a collective agreement that players who take the piss are blacklisted.

If they don’t, there’ll be more like Mascherano.

TIME TO TURF OUT ANDY

ANDY GRAY is only too ready to highlight managers’ failings on the gadget-heavy bullshit fest that is his show on Sky Sports.

So without the slightest pang of guilt, I call on Sky to do us all a favour and put this dinosaur out to grass.

For 20 years we have put up with Gray’s cliches, his know-it-all tactical analysis and the uncomfortable fawning from sidekick Richard Keys.

Now it’s all gone a step too far. In Sky’s coverage of the Manchester City v Liverpool game, Gray ‘man-marked’ Keys on a piece of astroturf to demonstrate the difference between that approach and zonal marking. Yes, really.

It was as embarrassing as it sounds. And Gray gets £20,000-a-week for that? Here’s a thought. Why not tell us something we don’t know, Andy?

Why not find a new catchphrase – cos ‘tikkaboo-son’ is wearing as thin as your barnet.

And guess what? We fork out big wedge to Sky to watch FOOTBALL – not to watch you play computer games and push Keys around on fake grass.