Dudek takes up the story...
We travelled to Romania to play Steaua Bucharest in the UEFA Cup. It was a filthy night. We played on a rain-soaked pitch in freezing conditions and drew 1-1.
Normally, after a game, we did a warm down on the pitch so it was no surprise when we heard: âOutside in three minutes lads,â from Sammy Lee, a former Liverpool player who was one of our coaches.
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âYou kidding?â said Steven Gerrard. âWeâre going nowhere. Look at the lads, theyâre all freezing. Djimi [Traore] is shaking so much he looks like he's been wired up to the mains. Weâll do stretches in the dressing room instead.â
Lee wasnât having it. He started to argue with Stevie when Houllier walked back in: âWhatâs going on?â Stevie explained that we didnât want to go back out into the freezing rain so Houllier thought for a moment before telling Phil Thompson, Lee and all the rest of the staff to leave the dressing room.
âThis is what I like to hear,â he said. âSometimes you have to take the responsibility. You donât want to go? Fine. Stevie, lead the stretching in the dressing room. Itâll be the best for you all.â
This was the moment when I believe Houllier lost the Liverpool dressing room. He undermined one of his coaches and gave the power to the players. Sammy even came back into the dressing room and apologised to Stevie while we were doing the stretches! That said a lot.
Increasingly, Houllier had been trying to âmotivateâ players by making examples of them in front of the other lads. After another game he started going through the team. âWhereâs that player from Leicester City? Emile? Emile Heskey? Where are you? Remember when you used to get the ball, run through the defence and score goals? Where is that player now? Am I missing something? We paid a lot of money for you...â
Then it was Salif Diao: âDo you remember where you came from? Sedan. And do you know the difference between Sedan and Liverpool? I donât think you do. You donât appreciate the fact you play for mighty Liverpool now.â
Stephane Henchoz had problems with his Achilles tendon. He was doing all he could to get back on the pitch and had been a great servant for Houllier, especially when Liverpool won five trophies in 2001, but now he was on the receiving end of the managerâs anger.
âHow long are you going to be injured, Stephane?â asked Houllier. âYouâre taking your time to recover on purpose because weâre not playing well.â
âIâve just come back from the doctor. Iâve had another injection,â he replied. âHe says Iâve got tendinitis but this might help...â
âI know what Iâm seeing.â
Then it was my turn. He went back to the start of my Liverpool career and listed every mistake Iâd made, month by month.
âNovember 2002, Middlesbrough. December 2002, Manchester United. March 2003, Tottenham.â He chucked in a couple of other teams and yelled: âYou think because you were Man Of The Match when we won the League Cup you can act like a star? Youâre making mistakes which cost us points.â
âThatâs not too bad for the three years,â I snapped back, smiling as I did so.
âYou think itâs funny? Let me tell you this. If Chris Kirkland had been fit heâd have played in the League Cup final.â
Then he turned to Danny Murphy: âAnd donât think I havenât been watching you. You train like a grandad. Are you going to retire soon?â
But then he paused for a moment. Danny was part of a âtitledâ group at Liverpool, I suppose you might call it a group of players the manager favoured. âBut Danny, I liked your reaction against Bolton.â Danny had scored in that game and, realising he was a player he wanted to keep onside, he tried to soften the criticism.
Traore also got stick from Houllier: âSince you got your contract extension youâve stopped trying in training â youâre lazy.â
He concluded by addressing the whole group and displaying his paranoia: âI know what youâre up to. Youâre waiting for me to be sacked. Youâre playing badly to get rid of me. Youâll be sorry. The new manager will put most of you in the reserves. You wonât be laughing then.â
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