I know he comes across as a bit of a pleb, but in all honesty I'd rather just judge him on what goes on the pitch rather than what goes on off it. This whole 'he doesn't get us' jingoistic clap trap that is bandied about is a load of crap to be honest. I don't get most on here, but it doesn't make me any less of a fan and should that mean that I should stop supporting the club?
You know what mate, i'd agree with you utterly there if it wasn't for this:
We all knew that this season, at least the start to it, was going to be full of turmoil. Rafa was off, the sale of the club was a national drama of the most insane proportions and let's face it, as a fan base we were in a state of being very fucking angry all the time. Roy was brought in to "steady the ship" and be this excellent english manager who'd man manage way better than the last bloke. What we needed though was to hear it in the press that despite the turmoil, we were working hard to get back to where we belonged.....and that was that. That is all that was and is needed. I can accept a bit of rebuild under a new manager, always happens.
But what i can't accept is the seemingly continuous dumbing down efforts that have been going on since he's arrived. It's like we're basically being told on a weekly, sometimes even twice weekly basis to "forget the top 4, because we're actually shit, and you're all expecting far, far too much. You should be happy with 9th, even at the end of the season"
Now i'd like to think that most liverpool, fans can look at the teams above us, ie The mancs, chelsea, arsenal, Manchester City and spurs and say "you know what, they've got decent squads that are worth a fucking shit load and i'm not shocked that at the moment they're above us during the first season under new ownership and management" They're all more stable than us (well city aren't but they've so much cash that I put them in that bracket), they've all been much, much better run than us over the last few years (well the mancs haven't but they've won everything going with very few barren periods and infighting over the last 20 years) and have teams that their managers have built to compete both in this league and the champions league.
But what i want to hear from any liverpool manager is both defiance to the ones above us and above all else, optimism in the face of adversity. At the moment, what we've got is someone who's just playing the blame game to excuse a pretty fucking shite first half of the season.
Basically, I don't react well when i'm told that my expectations are too high, and always have been, which is what he's implying there. I never expected us to win or even challenge for the league, but i expect us to challenge everyone on the pitch that we play. We don't, we just look challenged on the pitch and it's everyone's fault but Roy's. Like i said mate, i'm all for balance, but I think i'm allowed to be a bit annoyed reading that drivel.