Considering youre a Scouser who's seen it all. Wanted to guage your opinion on the influence Gerrard and co. had on the club. I swear online it's like Gerrard is seen as a saint and had done no wrong at the club. Don't get me wrong his exploits and carrying the club through its worst period will always be remembered. For me however as great as he was I'll always see him as unfulfilled potential who should have gone down as the greatest English midfielder, and we would have none of this Scholes and Lampard debate. You had Houllier who just placated him and his best period in his career came under Rafa and even then he moaned about playing on the right. It took ******* ten years until Trent to finally have quality delivery on the right hand side. Not to mention his insistence on playing in the middle of the park when his best came further upfield as the gaps he left behind with his positional indiscipline were detrimental to the team. I guess all this Messi talks is giving me De ja vu as yes Gerrard was the best player we had in a sea of garbage but I feel like he had insane influence at the club from picking managers (Hodgson really?) and a player being briefed on the clubs transfer targets (can you imagine management asking Hendo who he should sign). At times it felt like he was bigger than the club and he should have been phased out long before he went. Paisley by all accounts was excellent at knowing when to move players on no matter how big of a name they were. Anyway, wall of text just all this Messi talks is a reminder and I thought I'd ask your opinion.
Well for one are grateful for 2008/09 when Carragher and Gerrard lead a changing room revolt against Rafa to get him to open up and let them play or we'd never had had some of the brilliant memories we had that second half of that year when we should have pipped Utd to the league. Always blame Benitez for that for his sterile, point first attitude the first half of that season before the squad had enough.
As for his career being unfulfilled, not sure how anyone can reason that mate. Exactly what more could he have done on the pitch? I can't think of one single player who's had any more of an influence on his team the PL era to the extent Gerrard had with us. The problem was 99% of the time the other lazy ****** just sat back and expected him to do it all and get them out of the ***** time after time. He went on probably one season too many at Anfield. his legs had patently gone after he gave everything through 2013/14 and he should he called it a day a year before he did IMHO.
Not sure where you're getting he picked managers but he certainly was part of a team that totally stopped playing for the Hodge to get him binned. Rightly or wrongly, they all did that back end and nobody at Blackburn that freezing December night will ever have it Steven didn't purposefully sky the peno.
The transfer thing was just down to how poorly run the club was when they had to get their marquee player to try influence signings by selling the club to them. That was on the hierarchy at the football club at the time and a complete and utter joke.
I don't particularly care for Gerrard for whatever that's worth (and I want him
nowhere near the conversation for the next manager whenever Kloppo finally hangs it up) through personal run-ins with him way back when he was a complete arrogant ****. To be polite. But he does seem to have matured a heck of a lot since then and his conduct toward the general fan is a heck of a lot better. And I wish Jürgen would stop trying to involve him in most things when he's not even at the F club now. The squad singing 'happy birthday' to him in training not too long back was proper cringe.
I'll grant you he got his way over not being out on the right after a waisted season of it but I think this perception of his influence within the club is getting WAY overblown the more removed we get from him.
He was just the standout talent we over-relied on for many years who naturally garnered all the attention.
