Gerrard brings back a different sense of deja vu

It’s been a long, hard and bitterly disappointing season. With the team not only failing to challenge for the title but also struggling to qualify for the Champions League after finishing 2nd last year, it’s left some fans longing for the “good old days”, back when we used to finish in the top 4 on a regular basis with little trouble under Rafael Benitez.

Perhaps this is best evidenced by the disgraceful decision to fly a plane banner over Anfield with the words “Rodgers Out, Rafa In” emblazoned in the sky (whoever it was who spent actual money making this happen should be ashamed of themselves; Liverpool fans should be above these kinds of things. Leave it to the United fans).

But little did we know it, we were actually given a sense of deja vu on Saturday against QPR. Not in terms of where we might finish; something simpler than that.

We were treated to what has become a very rare sight nowadays: a winning goal from Steven Gerrard.

The captain’s had his fair share of critics this season – myself included – and while concerns about him haven’t necessarily disappeared, they won’t be mentioned here. They’ve been covered enough times and certainly haven’t become any less depressing over time.

Seeing Steven Gerrard head in that winner was great for a litany of reasons. For one, it showcased that determination we’ve so often seen that has allowed Gerrard to grab the team by the scruff of the neck and drag us over the line almost by sheer willpower alone. When his penalty was saved at 1-1, I’d resigned myself to the fact that we wouldn’t win. Gerrard almost never misses nowadays; if he couldn’t score from the spot, what hope does the rest of this sorry bunch of lads have? But he kept pushing, and eventually he somehow got the goal that both he and the fans craved.

As he’s gotten older, this trait seems to have slowly dissipated – clearly it was this element that Rodgers wished to exploit against Man United, but we all saw how that backfired – so it was great for us to get what I assume will be our last reminder that Gerrard was and sometimes still is capable of doing this for us.

It was also nice to see Gerrard score a goal that wasn’t a penalty or the occasional free-kick. Okay sure, it wasn’t in open play and it would have been nice to see him score one last screamer from the edge of the box, but seeing as that was his first headed goal since last season’s derby 16 months ago, it was refreshing to see him nod one in from a corner. And as Stevie so keenly reminded everyone in his post-match interview, he’s scored plenty of important headed goals over the years; particularly that one at Istanbul that inspired one of the greatest comebacks in the history of football.

This was a stronger reminder of the good old days than anything that shitty plane banner could have mustered. Under Rafa, Gerrard would score winning goals on a regular basis, goals that would guarantee us Champions League football and on occasion a European Cup. The days when Gerrard would run about all over the pitch, putting out fires where he could. The days where he’d pick the ball up, run all the way to the opposition’s penalty area and smash in a screamer that no keeper could ever hope to match.

With everything that’s happened this season, it was a pleasure to see something that reminds us of the good old days. Back in the days where our only worries were how we’d go about winning our next piece of silverware. Or bringing in new players who were on the same level as Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

Fuck that plane; a pathetic attempt to remind fans of our recent past. Hopefully something that we never see ever again. A winning goal from Steven Gerrard? The best thing any Liverpool fan can wish for in 90 minutes of football. With any luck, we might yet see another. It’s the best reminder of this man’s incredible Liverpool career that we could ever have, a sight that I will never get tired of seeing.

So yeah. Fuck that plane.