Jake Humphrey makes 'slip' joke at Steven Gerrard's expense then hits back at Twitter criticism
'Talking of slips...'
After all the adulation sent his way during an illustrious playing career for Liverpool and England, Steven Gerrard must have found life as a pundit strangely sobering.
Days after Neil Warnock's dig about Scousers not having windows, BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey chose to make not one, but two references to Gerrard's title-defining slip against Chelsea at the back end of the 2013/14 season.
Speaking about this year's Premier League title race after Tottenham's draw against Manchester City on Saturday, Humphrey asked Gerrard whether anyone could now catch Chelsea.
"Have they got a slip in them..?" Humphrey asked.
Gerrard replied: "I don't think so, they've got no distractions. Tottenham, Arsenal, other teams have got European football to concentrate on. Chelsea are just playing week in week out. We had that at Liverpool when we were favourites to go on and win the title, obviously everyone knows..."
If that first "slip" reference was subtle - which Gerrard appeared to acknowledge with a wry smile - then Humphrey followed up by making sure it was anything but, interrupting as Gerrard answered and blurting out: "Talking of slips."
While the atmosphere in the studio appeared to remain relatively jovial, on social media it was anything but.
As with all things mildly controversial, opinion was polarised on Twitter. On one half were those who thought it was "great banter", with the other half feeling Humphrey had crossed a line when talking to such a respected former pro.
But Humphrey - who tweeted that Gerrard had already proven to be an "excellent addition" to the BT Sport team - did not back down.
In response to a man called Dean who described the slip joke a "smartass comment" and suggested Gerrard might quit his punditry job, Humphrey hit back, saying: "Seriously? He has a thicker skin than that. He was already smirking after I'd used the word...as I left we arranged lunch together Dean.."
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