Source: Daily_Mail
Players can't always be saints, says Hodgson in support for City bad boys
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has some sympathy with under-fire Manchester City strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Craig Bellamy, insisting it is unrealistic to expect footballers to behave like saints all the time, particularly when passions run high and the adrenaline is flowing.
Adebayor was charged and banned over his antics against former club Arsenal while strike partner Bellamy was warned about his future conduct following a clash with Manchester United supporter Jake Clarke during Sunday's explosive 4-3 derby defeat.
Hodgson, whose Fulham side face Manchester City in the Carling Cup tonight (Wednesday), said: 'How saintly can we expect players to behave in the face of sometimes quite unnecessary provocation?
'We have had the debate a lot lately with Adebayor. Everyone seems to be taking the line that there is no justification, that players have to be bigger than that, which I quite understand.
