Gerrard: We haven't been good enough – and it's the players' fault

F**k this statement, i'll make my judgement when we play spurs. We'll see if our team is capable of finishing in the top 4 in this game. A 1-0 or scraped win won't be good enough. We need to make a STATEMENT on the f**king pitch!! Score a few and have a confident performance from the backline. Dont f**king score and let spurs play for the rest of the game. I wanna see a big improvement ON the pitch

They should all be sat down in a room and played that quote, among other similar ones from Shanks, Paisley, Fowler, Dalglish, Rush etc.

Good point, though the supporters then and now are a different breed altogether, just like the players. Nowadays, stadiums are packed with day trippers - there are of course genuine fans who come from far away to support the team, but I'm talking about the people who turn up on a one-off trip to watch the game and take photos.

The right kind of fans are still there of course, but with ticket prices hugely increased and the bizarre way they are allocated that seems to encourage anyone but the people in the city to go, the people you saw in the clip are in a smaller and smaller minority.

This isn't in any way excusing the players, but would St John and many of our other old greats have been so keen to praise the thousands of fans who don't even know the lyrics to YNWA, or just can't be arsed singing it at all? Like I say, times have changed, and so has the mentality of many players and fans. The ones who are willing to bleed for the shirt are still there or course, but there are more mercenaries than the ones who stay loyal to one club.

In an entirely fictional reality, could you imagine the kind of player Gerrard would have been with the support the players got decades ago? I've always thought the players and fans of our club shared one passion, but as the years go by and the game changes, we have to accept that the game is more about money than sport and passion.

Anyway, after wandering massively off-topic, I would say that of course the players haven't been good enough, but we all know the problem isn't that simple and that many factors have contributed to our terrible form this season. I hope, however, that Stevie can lead our lads against Spurs, and put in the kind of performance that will raise the spirits of players and supporters alike. Whilst I don't put the responsibility solely on his shoulders, seeing the Stevie of old leading by example would be a tremendous boost for everyone.