Liverpool fume at broken Gerrard promise

Liverpool are angry a deal they made with England over how much time Steven Gerrard would play against France on Wednesday was broken.

The ace midfielder was only supposed to play for an hour in England’s 2-1 loss at Wembley, but an injury to Gareth Barry meant he was required for longer in the friendly.

He was eventually forced off with a hamstring injury six minutes from full-time, prompting Liverpool’s fitness chief Darren Burgess to slam England’s hierarchy via his Twitter page.

“Unbelievable from all associated with England and English FA with regard to Steven Gerrard’s injury. Completely ignored agreement and past history,” Burgess tweeted.

“Completely amateurish and now we pay for their incompetence. Absolutely disgraceful.”

But England boss Fabio Capello hit back at the criticism and, although he admitted there was an agreement in place, he said it was wrong for clubs to think they could control how much time their players should spend on the pitch.

“We spoke with Steve and he said he would play one hour, but after Barry’s injury we had some problems,” Capello said.

“Barry was really injured so we needed someone senior on the pitch because it was a really young team. He (Gerrard) said he was good.”

“That was the reason he stayed on the pitch. If it’s possible, the players will play the time we agreed with the club.”

“They asked that he can play one hour if it’s possible. They can’t decide how long a player plays with the national team.”

“If it’s possible, he’d have played an hour. I understand why they’re upset and I’m also upset.”