He has waned drastically in the past 2 years but there was a time when Gerrard was a force of nature
Attacking Midfield – Steven Gerrard
Hardly a surprise!
Arguably the greatest player ever to pull on the Liverpool shirt, alongside Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard has been the heartbeat and soul for Liverpool Football Club for over 15 years.
Along with Jamie Carragher, he represented the Scouse element of the team, ensuring the club kept to its roots and demonstrated the success of the academy, which was certainly flourishing in the 1990s.
Now the dynamics have changed, with the financial elements far more considerable and influencing the decline of young players coming through.
However, under manager Brendan Rodgers the lid seems to have been lifted somewhat, and hopefully the likes of Jon Flanagan and more can keep the local tradition flowing at Liverpool – as emotion and passion is everything.
And Gerrard has provided that in spades.
It still takes someone with special character, determination and ability to pull out the various miracles that he has performed over the years while at Liverpool.
Yet perhaps it was the passion to ensure success for his boyhood club that carried these moments over the line, allowing that strike in the FA Cup final of 2006 against West Ham to nestle in the bottom corner from 35 yards.
And that was not the only one.
Olympiacos, Inter Milan, Middlesbrough, Napoli, Aston Villa, Manchester United are just some of the teams that have experienced pain at the hands of Gerrard.
Furthermore, he enjoyed plenty of moments in the Merseyside Derby, including a hat-trick in 2012, and is nerveless from the spot, netting many crucial spotkicks in the title charge last season, particularly against Fulham, West Ham and Manchester United.
And who could forget the Liverpool captain lifting the Champions League in 2005
His finest moment personally though would probably be in Istanbul, with Clive Tyldesley’s commentary so memorable (Andy Gray’s ‘speech’ for Olympiacos was another special moment) after Gerrard began turning the final on its head, quite literally, before winning the penalty to bring the scoreline to 3-3 and then filling in at right-back brilliantly in extra-time.
He was among many heroes that night for Liverpool, but he began the comeback and took the game by the scruff of the neck to ensure Liverpool at least went down fighting – though ultimately it ended up being far greater than that.
The passion has sometimes led to mistakes unfortunately, such as the own goal in the 2005 League Cup final against Chelsea, the pass-backs to Didier Drogba and Thierry Henry and most recently the slip against Chelsea as Liverpool looked to win their first Premier League title for 24 years.
Moreover, his tactical discipline and recklessness can sometimes become apparent, experiencing a few dismissals against the likes of Everton and Manchester United, most recently only a few weeks ago which damaged our top four charge this season.
Nevertheless, the positives far outweigh the negatives, and at his peak he was the complete midfielder. Pass, shoot, tackle – he could do it all.
A complete and utter legend, Steven Gerrard will be missed, now more arguably for his presence off the field than on it, such is his aura as ‘Mr Liverpool’ and ‘Captain Fantastic’.
