Hi ASI,
Okay, we have different opinions about dirty washing - my point being, why criticise a player publicly at all? Roy did it at the same time as he praised another player. My point is that such action engenders a spirit of divisiveness in the squad - that can never be a good thing. The Liverpool Way, as we all know, includes keeping dignified before the public. Any castigations should have been done behind closed doors - period.
We sat back again against Wigan, too. It has happened at many games I've seen this season - too often to be anything other than a nasty combination of a lack of confidence in the players, and a defensive-minded approach from their coach. Fulham were the same last season - hence the amount of players who have said their style has changed under Hughes, with the team pressing much higher up the pitch. Look at Roy's career managerial record when it comes to away wins, there is a pattern revealing (in my opinion only) a negative, defensive mindset.
lets not get carried away with this miraculous rebirth of our team. As a lifelong fan it gives me a great thrill to see us avoiding defeat, but we really should be picking up those pints not doing cartwheels in gratitude. Since when has four games unbeaten been a 'run' at Liverpool football club? since now, this season, since Roy.
I have liked a lot of his substitutions this season - they have made sense to me more often than some of Rafa's did last term. They are sometimes unnecessarily negative, but I will let that ride.
I suspect one of the reasons you are rightly suspicious of the media is their palpable bias against the team you love (and its supporters). Roy should, as our manager, therefore also be aware that actions such as publicly criticising players hands the media a stick to beat us with?
For me at least, nothing is more important than LFC - least of all the World Cup. In the wilderness summer we have just, and only just, survived, an optimistic word of defiance and unity was very welcome. Shame on the players who looked on and said nothing.