All this talk being generated on various blogs and articles alluding to the fact that Steven Gerrard may be a finished product is nothing short of pure and utter bullshit!
Steven Gerrard will be 31 come next May and if this speculation is coming to bear because of his age then I am sorry to say the speculators are wide off the mark. Let me make a quick comparison. Last Sunday saw the Roma vs Lazio derby in the Serie A in which Roma legendary 34 and-a-half year old captain Francesco Totti scored two goals and was the undisputed hero! Francesco Totti has, in the past 4/5 years, been playing intermittently because of various niggling injuries, but when he has played, he has been the catalyst that made Roma win games they should have lost.
Fine, now let’s take look at this objectively. It’s a fact that he has been an impressive servant throughout the recent Club’s history and on many occasions his heroics have pulled the Club out of quagmires and even often take it to glorious moments. Many have come and gone, managers included, but he remained. Had he gone to Chelsea, he would probably feel satisfied with the titles and silverware he would have won in the interim, but he stayed. More importantly, he has remained loyal during what may be described as the perhaps the most destabilizing times for the Club, which even saw it on the brink of administration. Many promises were made, most of them were broken, but he never abandoned ship.
If he is not the Gerrard that ran lung-bursting runs from post to post, that tackled everything in his vicinity and that was constantly within close proximity of the ball throughout the 90 minutes, then so what? Should we put this all behind us now and say, well, he’s past his time? Or should we now look at him from a different perspective, accept that he is our undisputed champion, and allow him to play the game his maturity allows him to play. If you ask me whether the Club should start thinking about someone to take over, I’d say why not? If anyone is suggesting that he is beyond his prime and we should take him out of the equation, then I say, you must be bloody joking.
Gerrard is what Lampard is to Chelsea, what Scholes is to Man Utd, what Totti is to Roma, what Xavi Hernandez is to Barca, what Del Piero is to Juventus , what Casillas is to Real Madrid, and the list goes on and on. They ARE the team. They are the point of reference which has nothing to do with their form or performance. They are the kind of players that have given their footballing life to their clubs and have become living legends.
It is a fact that Steven Gerrard is not having his best of seasons, and he may also not have been at his best these past few, but even though as fans we have a right to criticize whoever is not performing to the level we would wish and expect, I well and truly feel that although he can never be considered untouchable for the good of the team, it is for this same reason that we have to afford him the time to get himself back to being what he is best at….the team’s true undisputed captain and leader. He had the occasion and opportunity to pack and leave, for more glory, for more money, but he hung on in there and bit the bullet.
So Steven, take your time, we know your heart is in it. Show everyone you still have the passion, and silence your critics!