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08th Feb 2017

There was a predictable reaction to Liverpool’s selection for Player of the Month

Jamie Carragher will agree

Darragh Murphy

After a January like Liverpool’s, it was always going to be a bold move to publicly announce a Player of the Month.

Abuse was always going to rain down on the club after a month which saw the Reds win just one out of nine games, with that sole victory coming against League Two outfit Plymouth Argyle in a replay of their FA Cup third round fixture.

It was a frustrating few weeks for supporters, who saw their club crash out of the FA Cup and Capital One Cup in a matter of days before their Premier League title aspirations all but evaporated before their very eyes.

But Liverpool’s main sponsor, Standard Chartered, dictate that a player must be selected each month for praise and a photo op.

Georginio Wijnaldum – come on down.

The Dutchman was picked as the best of a bad bunch this week and proudly posed with his award, saying: “It means a lot to me, of course. It’s always good for a player if you can win this kind of thing because you feel the fans like you and gives you a good feeling when they vote for you.”

Wijnaldum didn’t feature at all last week, when the Reds suffered a shock defeat at Premier League strugglers Hull, and Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher stated that Jurgen Klopp had made an error in starting Emre Can instead of Wijnaldum.

“I would take Emre Can out of the midfield. I don’t think it works as a two alongside Jordan Henderson,” Carragher told Sky Sports.

“I don’t understand why Georginio Wijnaldum was out of the side. I think he brings more energy and a bigger goal threat.”

And that was the overall sentiment in the altogether aggressive replies to the tweet on Wednesday evening.