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Gerrard, we love you but it's time for you to go
Alex Chisholm
Roar Pro
23rd March, 2015
3
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Steven Gerrard is playing abroad, but is certainly no longer in his prime.
Alex Chisholm
Roar Pro
23rd March, 2015
3

This is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever written, but here it goes. Steven George Gerrard, you are good to go from Liverpool.

Now before you all jump on my back and tell me how I should not speak such blasphemy, I’m not writing this as an attack on Stevie. What I’m saying is that this is the right time for him to pull the curtain down on an outstanding and legendary career that sees the lad from Huyton as one of the greatest ever to wear a liver bird upon his chest.

You’ll talk to some fans that feel he probably should’ve hung up the boots after last season, but how could you? After one of the most crucial moments of his career where his ever-reliable legs – yes those same ones that have seen him single handily pull Liverpool from the mire on countless occasions – would go on to fail him in the penultimate game of the season.

I’m sure poor old Stevie still has nightmares about that slip against Chelsea. So how on earth could you leave your beloved football club after something so traumatic? Impossible.

Gerrard, although I don’t know him personally, would no doubt want to make sure he was not seen as a quitter, someone to throw in the towel, so he decided to play on. He obviously also feels like he’s still got something to give and rightly so.

He would’ve also wanted to make sure that someone could take over his mantle, to see someone step up to the plate and have the most unenviable task of filling those big, big shoes that he leaves behind.

Heading into this season with Daniel Agger (vice captain at the time) leaving for hometown club Brondby, it was even harder to see who should be vice captain let alone who should eventually go on to fill that massive Steven Gerrard-sized hole on the pitch.

Up steps Jordan Henderson. He has shone brightest this season and seems to be getting better and better with every game, after a less than inspiring start to his career with Liverpool.

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This would no doubt make leaving a little easier for Stevie as he knows there is someone there willing to drive the club forward, just as he did.

Of course it is still difficult to see how his beloved Liverpool could treat a club legend in the way they have reportedly done so.

Stalling on the new contract and letting him slip off to a deal with LA Galaxy just seemed wrong at the time. But it makes more sense when you remove the emotion from it.

Football is, unfortunately these days, a business and continuing to pay Gerrard an exorbitant wage for a player that is more and more likely to become a squad player due to his age and fitness just seems ludicrous.

Of course we all know Steven is not really just a ‘squad player’ but over this past season it has become increasingly apparent that it is difficult to find a spot for captain fantastic in the starting XI.

Last season saw Brendan Rodgers reinvent Stevie into a deep lying playmaker, similar to what Andrea Pirlo does at Juventus or his good friend Xabi Alonso does now at Bayern Munich.

The Chelsea game last season saw him found out in that position and numerous other sides did it to him this season as well, meaning he needed to be given a new role.

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Brendan tried fielding him next to Henderson in the new 3-4-2-1 formation Liverpool has been using during their current run of red hot form. Unfortunately though it seems to hinder both and Henderson thrives next to a more disciplined player like Joe Allen or Lucas Leiva.

Gerrard was even pushed further forward as one of the two attacking midfield players behind the striker and again it just didn’t seem to suit him. He looks a yard off the pace.

For all the negativity though, Stevie can still produce match-winning performances. The game against Leicester proved this when he netted a crucial goal from open play.

The big problem is that it seems as though he can only muster these match-winning displays against the smaller teams in the competition. When it comes to the big games, he seems to have lost his touch. But to be fair the amount of times he has won the big games single handily in the past he is probably allowed to have some off ‘big’ games.

The game against Manchester United recently showed this in spades. He lasted a staggering 38 seconds after making an utterly stupid challenge on Ander Herrera. It was a challenge that reeked of frustration at not only his lack of match time but also his increasing wane of power to control matches.

We know that Gerrard is his own harshest critic. You can also see when he is on the pitch that his brain is clearly telling him he can make that pass or get to that ball before his opponent but yet his ageing limbs seem to fail him.

He knows deep down that he needs to move on to allow his beloved Liverpool to evolve and we’ve already seen signs of that.

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Henderson has captained Liverpool during their brilliant start to 2015, where they had not lost a game – domestically – until the recent match against Manchester United.

It seems that players like Henderson and Philipe Coutinho have stepped out of the long shadow Steven Gerrard has long cast over Anfield. This is a great sign for Liverpool’s future.

As the saying goes, ‘nothing lasts forever’ and as much as die hard reds fans would have wanted, Steven Gerrard’s career was never going to last forever. It had to end someday and Stevie knows deep down he is doing the best thing for both himself and his football club. Yet again, captain fantastic has made the right decision at the right time.

You’ll Never Walk Alone, Steven George Gerrard.

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