Dudek on Houllier

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: “Outside in three minutes lads,” from Sammy Lee, a former Liverpool player who was one of our coaches.

READ MORE: Rafa Benitez was a genius but cold and unfair — I wanted to PUNCH him

“You kidding?” said Steven Gerrard. “We’re going nowhere. Look at the lads, they’re all freezing. Djimi [Traore] is shaking so much he looks like he's been wired up to the mains. We’ll do stretches in the dressing room instead.”

Lee wasn’t having it. He started to argue with Stevie when Houllier walked back in: “What’s going on?” Stevie explained that we didn’t 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.

“This is what I like to hear,” he said. “Sometimes you have to take the responsibility. You don’t want to go? Fine. Stevie, lead the stretching in the dressing room. It’ll be the best for you all.”

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 ‘motivate’ players by making examples of them in front of the other lads. After another game he started going through the team. “Where’s 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...”

Then it was Salif Diao: “Do you remember where you came from? Sedan. And do you know the difference between Sedan and Liverpool? I don’t think you do. You don’t appreciate the fact you play for mighty Liverpool now.”

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 manager’s anger.

“How long are you going to be injured, Stephane?” asked Houllier. “You’re taking your time to recover on purpose because we’re not playing well.”

“I’ve just come back from the doctor. I’ve had another injection,” he replied. “He says I’ve got tendinitis but this might help...”

“I know what I’m seeing.”

Then it was my turn. He went back to the start of my Liverpool career and listed every mistake I’d made, month by month.

“November 2002, Middlesbrough. December 2002, Manchester United. March 2003, Tottenham.” He chucked in a couple of other teams and yelled: “You think because you were Man Of The Match when we won the League Cup you can act like a star? You’re making mistakes which cost us points.”

“That’s not too bad for the three years,” I snapped back, smiling as I did so.

“You think it’s funny? Let me tell you this. If Chris Kirkland had been fit he’d have played in the League Cup final.”

Then he turned to Danny Murphy: “And don’t think I haven’t been watching you. You train like a grandad. Are you going to retire soon?”

But then he paused for a moment. Danny was part of a ‘titled’ group at Liverpool, I suppose you might call it a group of players the manager favoured. “But Danny, I liked your reaction against Bolton.” 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: “Since you got your contract extension you’ve stopped trying in training – you’re lazy.”

He concluded by addressing the whole group and displaying his paranoia: “I know what you’re up to. You’re waiting for me to be sacked. You’re playing badly to get rid of me. You’ll be sorry. The new manager will put most of you in the reserves. You won’t be laughing then.”

The Manchester evening news or Liverpool Echo as it is laughingly called gives a full page spread of the Dudek memoirs and how he wanted to punch Rafa blah blah blah, also an article rambling on about Smalling's great potential blah blah blah.

Would stop the delivery only me Mrs does the crossword, which has gone F***ing weird as well cos she can finish it now.

Are we sure Jerzy didn't play for Everton, touch of the bitters about him.