This is in no way even a hint of justification for the breaching players’ crimes, nor any kind of explanation, but it is a question:

What do Jordan Jones, George Edmundson, Bongani Zungu, Nathan Patterson and Calvin Bassey all have in common?

Steven Gerrard doesn’t rate/play them and didn’t show any real interest in them.

There is no denying our manager has always had his favourites, and he sticks by them through hell and high water, but what of the players he doesn’t favour?

Is there any coincidence all these breaches have been from players who barely played?

Before I go on, in no way am I criticising Gerrard for having some players he prefers over others, but there’s no denying that there’s a group of players the manager definitely favours, and a group he doesn’t, for right or wrong, and the guilty parties in all of these breaches have been players barely even on the fringes of the first team.

What are we saying is the reason? A possible lack of professionalism from these lads – they know they’re not the toast of the boss, and they’ve committed these breaches potentially due to unprofessional apathy at their situation.

Would James Tavernier, Connor Goldson or Steven Davis be caught dead doing something this dumb?

Absolutely not. Because they’re incredibly professional.

But evidently the guilty 7 aren’t, and they’ve deeply let their team mates down and the club, not to mention any risk they’ve taken by coming in close contact with people in their civvie life and of course other teams.

Complete lack of discipline and complete lack of professionalism.

And none of them will ever play for this club again.