FOOTBALL

RAFA BENITEZ: DAVID NGOG NOT AS BAD AS THIERRY HENRY

DAVID NGOG: At the centre of Liverpool storm

Saturday November 21,2009

By Paul Joyce

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THE scenario sounds familiar: French striker faces an angry backlash after becoming embroiled in a cheating storm.

Yet while Thierry Henry’s reputation is in tatters after his handball against the Republic of Ireland, Rafa Benitez says David Ngog should not be pilloried for one blemish on his CV.

Ngog is set to spearhead Liverpool’s front line in the absence of Fernando Torres against Manchester City today for the first time since his dive earned a late penalty - and a 2-2 draw with Birmingham City.

The theatrical tumble over Lee Carsley left Ngog, 20, bearing the brunt of a barrage of criticism and Benitez admitted he had given the striker a pep-talk in the aftermath of the incident.

Benitez believes it would be wrong for Ngog to be forever branded a cheat as a result and added the sleight of hand Henry used in helping France reach the World Cup was more brazen.

“I’ve spoken to him and I think it will be a massive mistake [if he is labelled a diver],” said Benitez.

“I haven’t seen Ngog having any problems in any training session or in any other game diving. He’s a very honest player, a young player with quality and a good mentality. I could name 20 players who have these problems, but not Ngog.

“There is a massive difference between being the target of a tackle that makes you jump and fall over and touching the ball with your hand. It is totally different to me.”

Benitez said he has a code of conduct he wants his players to adhere to and took former midfielder Luis Garcia to task when he first arrived at Anfield for going to ground too easily.

Indeed, Benitez believes “bad tackles” remain the scourge of the English game and highlighted how the vitriol reserved for Arsenal’s Eduardo after his so-called ‘dive’ against Celtic this season outweighed the level of sympathy he received when breaking his leg against Birmingham in February 2008.

“There are bad tackles every week which are more dangerous for the integrity of the players than this situation,” he said.

“Think about some players who have been injured for months because of a bad tackle and yet everyone was talking about them for diving.

“I always tell my players to stay on their feet. Always we talk about the way to do things, the way we want to behave, the way we want to win, so they know.”

BENITEZ

21.11.09, 11:02am

Has anyone dared to tot up the incidences of cheating and done a demographic study? It does seem odd that very rarely do we see British players involved in this sort of thing.

• Posted by: saracen • Report Comment