Liverpool FC Forum

[A.B.]

Time for Cisse to let goals do talking

Sep 6 2005

By Ian Rush, Liverpool Echo


Djibril Cisse with the Super Cup

DJIBRIL CISSE can count on the full backing from the Liverpool supporters, but I'd like the interviews complaining about his situation to stop and the talking on the pitch to continue.

Cisse responded perfectly to speculation in the Super Cup final. Now the transfer deadline has closed, I don't see the point in him repeating how hurt he is the club considered selling him.

He's won a lot of sympathy, and The Kop is right behind him, so now he has to put the last few weeks to bed and concentrate on the biggest season of his career.

Cisse isn't the first player to feel as though he's got something to prove to his manager.

I felt the same way at the start of my Anfield career. There was a time I was put in the first team by Bob Paisley when my main motivation was proving the manager wrong and trying to impress enough to secure a good move to another top club.

Bob gave me the impression I didn't have a future at Liverpool, but it was all part of his tactics to make me a more selfish striker.

"You're in the side to score goals, so just concentrate on doing it," Bob and Kenny Dalglish used to say.

Okay, it's slightly different to the Cisse case because it turned out Bob had never tried to sell me, but I didn't know that until later.

I felt the same way Cisse does now. I thought I was available for transfer, then I had another chance to show I was a good player, and those who didn't think I was good enough for the club were wrong.

I didn't go making my thoughts public at the time. I let my feelings show in the way I played.

Cisse needs to be clever and do the same thing. If he scores lots of goals this season, those critics will disappear, and the Liverpool fans will get behind him even more if they see him keeping his negative thoughts private while he continues to play his heart out for the club.

He has to use this experience in the same way I did. I was determined to score as many goals as possible.

The more I did so, the happier the manager was, even if I have to admit making him look good wasn't exactly my main concern.

It's not that I wasn't still a team player, it's just that I knew that the more I scored, the more I contributed to our success and helped my own situation to boot.

If Cisse scores over 20 goals between now and May, no-one will be complaining about his overall game. Young strikers are in the team to score, as far as I'm concerned.

Cisse has worked tremendously hard to recover from injury and, for all his sense of hurt, he's still going to be a Liverpool player for the foreseeable future.

Whatever's gone on before, he has the chance to make sure his Anfield career lasts a long time.

He can make that happen with some fantastic performances, or he can try and use the last few weeks as an excuse for where it started to go wrong for him.

If the Super Cup is anything to go by, it looks as though he has already made up his mind to respond in the right way.

That could be good news for both the player and club.

-------------------------------

Perhaps Benitez is using the same tactic on Cisse as Bob did on Rushie?

[Mikz]

The thought never even entered my mind.But now you mention it .... It was different in Rushies day tho,there wasnt as much money floatin around.

[stoney]

Perhaps Benitez is using the same tactic on Cisse as Bob did on Rushie?

Although rafa is crafty, I doubt it.

[ry_math]

i agree! [quote]Although rafa is crafty, I doubt it.

[mighty mo]

cisse should read this advice from rushie

[bigmick]

I have got some sympathy with Cisse but ultimately, unless he absolutely uproots trees over these next few weeks I think he is gone. This period with Nando being injured will probably make or break his Liverpool career. It seems for all the World that Rafa doesn't rate him and a little birdie on here alluded to the persistant rumour that he'll be sold in January to make way for Kujit. This particular little birdie rarely gets it wrong and I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if this came to pass.
In a way I hope he takes his chance and stays 'cos despite the face we paid about double what he is worth, I quite like the fella TBH.