Gerrard to leave Liverpool

[Uncle Leo]

Never said it wasn't, but I hate it when people suggest he wasn't as good as others mentioned because he never won a title.

I agree on that point. If we are going solely on league titles than Junichi Inamoto ranks higher than Gerrard, which is silly.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Personally speaking, don't think Gerrard would even feature in a top 10 of "best" Liverpool players! Not fit to lace Emlyn Hughes' boots!

I'm no Gerrard cheerleader but that's mental. The Scousers love nothing more than a spot of hyperbole, but they'd all rank him at least in the top three and with good reason.

 

[johnlattimerssponge]

Was never fit to lace Lampard's boots

Really !.
I think you will struggle to find any fair minded football fan agree with that comment. Whilst Lampard clearly won more medals at Chelsea if Gerrard had signed for them in 2005 his medal total would be more. Gerrard has IMHO been a more complete midfield player than Lampard has as he has been excellent in various different roles.

 

[OldBlueLady]

I'm no Gerrard cheerleader but that's mental. The Scousers love nothing more than a spot of hyperbole, but they'd all rank him at least in the top three and with good reason.

Really? Better than Dalglish, Hughes, Rush, Clemence, Heighway, Barnes, Callaghan? That's 7, so that would put him 8th, and there are probably more, and further back, players I've not included.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Really? Better than Dalglish, Hughes, Rush, Clemence, Heighway, Barnes, Callaghan? That's 7, so that would put him 8th, and there are probably more, and further back, players I've not included.

I really don't like Liverpool FC so am happy to defer to the experts on this one. All I have read so far suggests Liverpool fans would put Gerrard up there with Dalglish and certainly ahead of most of, if not all, the others.

Thinking about John Barnes, he was possibly unlucky that his peak years coincided with the European ban for English clubs so never got the chance to match the achievements of other Liverpool players but we know who we can thank for that.

 

[Fiftyone]

Personally speaking, don't think Gerrard would even feature in a top 10 of "best" Liverpool players! Not fit to lace Emlyn Hughes' boots!

You are Mrs Blue in disguise and I claim my £5.00..:omg:

 

[mrsblue]

Gerrard was a good player in an average Liverpool team for many seasons,I respect his loyalty which is very rare,for England he was vastly overrated .

 

[Berrichonne shrimper]

Our son is a liverpool fan because when he was about ten he said to me CAN I SUPPORT A GOOD TEAM AS WELL AS SOUTHEND so he did,he lives in Liverpool and works for Hawkeye with his main ground being Anfield and Gerrard is his hero and yesterday he was very upset but then he is only 21.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

A very fine player indeed, but I think the 'English game' will cope ok. Players come and go.

They do indeed.But great players like Gerrard tend to be missed even more in their absence.

Liverpool certainly won't find it easy to replace him.England certainly haven't.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Gerrard Departure

 

[EastStandBlue]

They do indeed.But great players like Gerrard tend to be missed even more in their absence.

Liverpool certainly won't find it easy to replace him.England certainly haven't.

It's been two and a half years since Gerrard last looked competent in an England shirt.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

It's been two and a half years since Gerrard last looked competent in an England shirt.

Or anyone at all since our early World Cup exit.

 

[EastStandBlue]

Or anyone else (for that matter) since our early World Cup exit.

I think you're confusing England with Fulham now, but that's besides the point as this thread isn't about either of those teams, it's about Gerrard.

Strip away the mawkish eulogising of a career that all but ended two seasons ago and what you essentially have is a player who has failed heed the warnings of the likes of Scholes and Giggs and adapt his game to what his tired legs are now capable of. Think it was Miguel Delaney who called it right; at 34 Paul Scholes was scoring against Barcelona in the Champions League. At the same age Steven Gerrard can barely muster anything close to an imposing performance in the Champions League, to such an extent he was dropped against Real Madrid.

Word is he was told in no uncertain terms he wasn't guaranteed football by Rodgers next season and the pair have a had a raging bust-up. That simply wouldn't do for Captain Everything.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

. At the same age Steven Gerrard can barely muster anything close to an imposing performance in the Champions League, to such an extent he was dropped against Real Madrid.

Bit difficult to "muster" an "imposing performance" when you don't even get the chance to play. :dim:

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

No one can win a title on their own though and there's so many different variables which you need to get right to win a league title. Gerrard never won a title, but he once came very, very close to joining Chelsea, where he would most likely have gone on to be a key player in many title wins. His loyalty to Liverpool got the better of him and is something he should be applauded for. Loyalty barely exists in football anymore and it's easy to be 'loyal' to sides like Chelsea and United who will always be winning titles. Bit more difficult to remain loyal to a team who are nearly always written off before a single ball has been kicked.

The fact he never won a title is irrelevant and has no bearing on his ability as a player. Gerrard was special and we'll be hard pushed to find another English midfielder with the same ability as him for some time. The 'promising' midfielders coming through (Wilshere etc.) aren't anywhere close to being in Gerrard's league.

During his time at Liverpool Gerrard played alongside players such as Xabi Alonso (2 World Cup wins, a European Championships and multiple La Ligas), Didi Hamann (World Cup finalist and multiple Bundersliga titles) in midfield and with Luis Suarez (who literally single-handedly took Uruguay to the World Cup semi-finals), Michael Owen etc etc up front. He had talent around him.

The facts are for all his unfulfilled talent Gerrard was never consistent enough for a team to be built around him to win a title whereas his contemporaries Lampard and Scholes were both consistent and able to adapt their games for the need of the team which helped their teams win titles.

Whether Wilshire becomes a Gerrard or a Scholes/Lampard remains to be seen. I'm not completely sold on him either, but he's showing signs of improvement.

 

[johnlattimerssponge]

During his time at Liverpool Gerrard played alongside players such as Xabi Alonso (2 World Cup wins, a European Championships and multiple La Ligas), Didi Hamann (World Cup finalist and multiple Bundersliga titles) in midfield and with Luis Suarez (who literally single-handedly took Uruguay to the World Cup semi-finals), Michael Owen etc etc up front. He had talent around him.

The facts are for all his unfulfilled talent Gerrard was never consistent enough for a team to be built around him to win a title whereas his contemporaries Lampard and Scholes were both consistent and able to adapt their games for the need of the team which helped their teams win titles.

Whether Wilshire becomes a Gerrard or a Scholes/Lampard remains to be seen. I'm not completely sold on him either, but he's showing signs of improvement.

It seems your opinion regarding his consistency is not shared by his peers that played against him baised there votes over the years in the PFA PL team. As he was selected for the PFA team of the year on eight occasions — a record. Giggs, Patrick Vieira and Henry were chosen by their peers six times; Roy Keane and Frank Lampard were included five times, Paul Scholes twice.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

It seems your opinion regarding his consistency is not shared by his peers that played against him baised there votes over the years in the PFA PL team. As he was selected for the PFA team of the year on eight occasions — a record. Giggs, Patrick Vieira and Henry were chosen by their peers six times; Roy Keane and Frank Lampard were included five times, Paul Scholes twice.

I've never had much time for the PFA team. Chosen on reputation rather than performance.

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

I've never had much time for the PFA team. Chosen on reputation rather than performance.

So players in the PFA vote for other players based on their reputation rather than actually playing against them? :dim:

I don't think so.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

So players in the PFA vote for other players based on their reputation rather than actually playing against them? :dim:

I don't think so.

We've done this a hundred times. Half way through the season a ballot is opened. I'm not even sure that it's restricted to Premier$hite players, but even if it is, how much will a right-back know about who the best right-winger is? They've probably played them once when they are on the opposite sides of the pitch concentrating on the players around them. It rewards eye-catching performances (particularly at voting time) whereas league title winners medals rewards consistent performers.

 

[Ricey]

Is the fact 2 Bristol Rovers players got into the PFA League Two team of the season when they got relegated proof that it's a crock of ****?