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It wasn't a knee-jerk reaction.

The best part of a week had passed for Brendan Rodgers to come to terms with the fact he would be denied the services of his frontline striker for a run of crucial Premier League and Champions League matches.

Yet the Liverpool FC boss didn’t hold back when questioned about Daniel Sturridge’s latest injury setback.

Rodgers’ fury at England’s treatment of the prolific frontman was understandable. “Easily avoidable” was his verdict on the thigh strain Sturridge suffered during a training session at St George’s Park.

Forget the fact that under FIFA rules Liverpool will be compensated for Sturridge’s wages during the period of his absence, they are still left counting the cost of the national set-up’s abject failure to handle their player correctly.

The established routine Sturridge follows in the wake of all Liverpool matches was ignored when he was put through an intensive training session on what would usually be a second recovery day. Shooting after sprinting half the length of the field led to him pulling up lame.

Rodgers stopped short of directly criticising Roy Hodgson, saying he had “probably been led by some of his sports science experts”. However, the fact that neither Hodgson nor any of his staff had bothered to pick up the phone and speak to Rodgers directly about what happened is disgraceful.

Despite the inconvenience of seeing your best talent jet off around the word repeatedly during a season, Rodgers is a supporter of international football. He believes the experience and prestige of representing your country can have a positive knock-on effect for Liverpool. He wants his players to achieve their dreams.

Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt revealed this week that Alex Ferguson made him withdraw from England duty during his time at Old Trafford. You won’t catch Rodgers doing likewise.

He may be Northern Irish but he has done a lot for England. The national team have benefited from how Rodgers has developed the careers of Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson, Jon Flanagan and Sturridge.

Hodgson, who will also soon be calling upon Adam Lallana, is heavily reliant on his Liverpool contingent as he tries to mastermind a new era in the wake of the shambolic World Cup campaign he oversaw.

Yet that relationship has to work both ways and at the moment there isn’t enough respect being shown towards Merseyside from FA headquarters.

A year ago Hodgson provoked anger among Kopites when he admitted he had put Sturridge into action against Germany despite knowing he had a thigh problem. “I might have been guilty of putting that resolve to the test but I don’t apologise for it,” was his arrogant and bewildering response.

On that occasion Rodgers felt Sturridge should have insisted he wasn’t fit to feature. This time around the player was blameless with his wishes to be eased back into training ignored.

Not for the first time Hodgson has let Liverpool down.

New book celebrates proud European history

This season marks the 50th anniversary of Liverpool’s first taste of European football.

To celebrate the achievements of the past half century, Dave Hewitson and Dave Hardman have written a book called ‘Places I Remember: Liverpool FC European adventures as told by the fans’.

It’s packed full of cracking tales from trips across the continent with stories from nearly every European away trip.

It’s already available via kindle and the print version will be on sale ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game against Ludogorets at Anfield. It costs £10 and can be bought in the HJC Shop and Hat Cap Scarf Or A Badge shop near the Flat Iron.

* Jose Enrique has been naming and shaming this week in LFC TV’s latest edition of ‘Team-mates’.

Worst dressed? “Sakho, 100%. You would think he’d bring fashion from Paris but he’s so bad. He mixes tracksuits with jeans.”

Biggest moaner? “Suso because he’s always tired. I say to him ‘you’re 21, how can you always be tired?’”

Toughest? “I wouldn’t like to play against Skrtel. He’s like a wall.”

Rodgers not keen on Blatter’s TV plan

If Sep Blatter gets his way the day won’t be far off when Brendan Rodgers is able to challenge a referee’s decision with the assistance of TV replays.

The FIFA president, who has shelved plans to step down next year, wants to trial a system in the 2015 Under-20 World Cup which is similar to what is currently used in America’s NFL.

A manager would have the right to challenge so many decisions per half but the on-field referee, who would watch the incident again on a monitor by the touchline, would have the final say on whether to change his mind.

The Liverpool boss is not a fan of the proposals.

He said: “What complicate the game even more?

“It’s not something I would be overly keen on. The game is hard enough for referees.

“I don’t think we need managers being able to call timeouts for things like that.”

* The Barbados Tourism Authority are bringing a taste of the Caribbean to Anfield’s Family Park today. There will be traditional Bajan cuisine and music.

The Reds joined forces with the BTA last month in a partnership which runs until the end of the 2015/16 season.

Mighty Red getting it in the neck

Nothing provokes a torrent of outrage quite like a six-foot Liver Bird.

A short story on Liverpool’s official website on Thursday confirmed that mascot Mighty Red has been handed “extra responsibility” this season. Social media sites instantly went into meltdown.

Apparently, “Mighty’s role will be to help escort the mascots off the pitch and back to their families, helping add to an extra special experience for the kids involved.”

The official line is that the touchline has been getting too crowded before kick-off so the decision was taken to stop families from standing there and have the mascot to usher them off instead.

The response from fans has lurched from “a disgrace to the club’s traditions” to “couldn’t care less, it’s for the kids”. I sit somewhere in between.

No, it’s not the end of the world as we know it but the cringe factor attached to seeing Mighty Red on the Anfield turf is off the scale. The concern is where will it stop?

After all when Mighty Red was launched in 2012 the club insisted he would only be used for community events. Kids worship heroes like Steven Gerrard, they don’t need foam birds to “enhance” matchdays.