Steven Gerrard will always be a Liverpool legend. There is no doubt about that. But this season the Liverpool captain just hasn’t been his usual dependable self.
After a few costly mistakes – including that awful sending off after 38 seconds against Manchester United – it is unlikely we will see a vast amount of Gerrard for the remainder of the season. Many fans are saying he has stayed at Liverpool for one season too many and should have retired from his boyhood club while he was still loved, admired and needed by the team. It is not nice to say about one of this generations greatest English players but sadly he is now seen as a bit more of a hindrance than a help.
After England’s terrible World Cup, Gerrard announced that he would be retiring from international football. Steven Gerrard’s current contract is set to run out at the end of this season and he has already signed for David Beckham’s old team, LA Galaxy. Many fans were surprised that Gerrard decided to stay at Liverpool for one last season expecting him to move in the summer transfer window.
So why did he decide to stay?
The first explanation of why he decided to stay was that he really badly wanted to lift the Premier League trophy. Gerrard has won the FA Cup, League Cup and of course the Champions League trophy in that famous match in 2005, but the one victory that has eluded him is the Premier League.
Last year was one of Liverpool’s best seasons in the last decade. Everything was going right for them and in the anniversary year of Hillsborough it looked like the writing was on the wall for a perfect remembrance for the 96. Everyone though the Premier League trophy could be theirs, neutral supporters everywhere were egging them on to do it.
This leads us nicely onto the second explanation; the incident which caused social media go crazy with memes, vines and pictures.
Gerrard got so close to finally getting his hands on that trophy until that fateful slip. While at the time it was awful for Gerrard – he was ashamed and gutted for himself and for the fans – but did that slip affect him more than we thought?
Maybe Gerrard decided to stay because he thought he could redeem himself. He was guilt ridden – and let’s face it – after seasons of brilliance, he didn’t want to be remembered for that one mistake.
Both the reasons, I suspect, played a part in Gerrard’s decision to stay and sadly it looks like that decision might not have paid off. While fans will always worship him as a Liverpool hero, this season has been one to forget.
With quite a bit left to do for Liverpool to try and secure a Champions League spot for next year, I don’t think we will see much of Gerrard for the rest of the season. Maybe he should have bowed out last year. I have a feeling he is regretting not getting on that plane to America earlier.
