It has long been argued if Steven Gerrard is indeed, the greatest midfielder ever to grace the Premier League. His records and achievements over the course of his long and illustrious career speak for themselves. Often known for his leadership qualities, Steven Gerrard has been Liverpool’s savior on many occasions over the past 13 years of his career. His attitude towards the game and hunger for success truly make him one of the greatest players in the club’s famous history.
Since kick-starting his Liverpool career back in ’98, Steven Gerrard has played an amazing total of 556 games for his club, finding the back of the net 140 times. He was awarded MBE in 2007 and went on to add countless number of trophies and personal accolades to his name.
However, for many years Steven Gerrard remained the highlight of the team – and at times, the only one. He was often burdened by the weight of expectation but never did he surrender. Most Liverpool fans looked to him to be their savior, sometimes the players too. Gerrard was Liverpool’s only GO-TO man. He often became frustrated at the lack of big names in Liverpool’s squad of yesteryears which in turn resulted in their inability to compete at the highest levels. Gerrard always walked out onto the pitch with a level of expectancy only a few could handle, and yet he played his heart out week in, week out.
When Fernando Torres joined Liverpool in the summer of ’07, he instantly forged a threatening partnership with Steven Gerrard. With Torres’ arrival, Gerrard found in him a player who thrived on pressure and willfully shared some of his burden. Soon both players began to gel. In 08/09, Steven Gerrard scored 24 goals finishing as Liverpool’s top goal scorer. That season, the world saw a new Steven Gerrard – his attacking partnership with Torres being the prime factor.
Consequently, Fernando Torres was sold in the January transfer window of 10/11 and the 50 million pounds Liverpool received were instantly invested in highly rated Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. Moreover, FSG and Liverpool’s rich owner John Henry splashed heavy cash in the summer on other mercurial talent such as Charlie Adam, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing. To sum it up, Liverpool FC now has the financial backing to bring in quality players to help Steven Gerrard lift this club to dizzying heights.
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good article. i think everything is coming tigether nicely and for the first time since roy evans was in charge we have alot of game changers in our squad. hopefully gerrard will benefit from having less burden on him. am really excited to see an attacking brand of football next year its been too long.
its not all about presure any more the players around naw can diliver liverpool need this bite to come in when they play smaller tems it has always being our week point that should be look into as day preper.which them all the best lfc4life.
good article mate.. Gerrard is a legend in our hearts..!!!
he will rise with glory again with liverpool.
The Aging Gerrard !!!?
Holy fuck !!!!
He is only 31 & still in his prime for at least another 2 years !
So you can expect Steven Gerrard to play the best football of his career for 2 more years at least & you can expect him to play the best football in Britain for another 4 years at least .
The pressure is never off great players because truly great players like Ian Rush , Jurgen Klinsman , Dennis Bergkamp , John Barnes , Peter Shilton ,Mark Hughes , Kenny Dalglish , Tony Adams , Sami Hypia , Neville Southall , Matt Le Tissier , Bryan Robson , Graham Souness , to name a few examples are their own worst critics , they are always under the highest of high pressure because they never stopped working on their game .
Steven Gerrard is a truly great player & the day he stops working upon his game is the day he will retire from playing .
The challenge before Gerrard now at the dawn of the stage in his career where he has to readjust his game to suit his body which has endured 14 years at the top level of professional sport .
The weakest part of Gerrards game has always been his ability to Marshall the troops around him by barking orders .
He has always been able to lead by example but he has never been able to so far lead by doing nothing but shouting .
With Kenny back in charge Gerrard as captain & midfield General has to dictate games by ordering those around him to raise their games , calm themselves down or concentrate on their tactical instructions .
Perhaps this is the indiscipline that Rafa tried to express but got lost in translation for him ?
Roy Keane wasn’t nearly as talented a player as Gerrard but he was a much better midfield General because he had that Souness like angry psycho style of terrifying a tiring team mate to give it 110% until he hears the final whistle .
In these next 5 years a more mature , wiser Gerrard is going to emerge & a player who dictates games with his passing , Giving orders & reading situations before they develop is going to lead us to at least 3 titles & one Champions League over that time … Bet your Mortgage on it .
Good Article…I feel Gerrard have less weight to carry now…less pressure…good quality players supporting him, Adams…Suarez etc
steven gerrard still has some burden when he comes back bcos our attacking duo are nt doing any good.i hope gerrard will come back with a bang