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Article from the Evening Standard
Why can't london journalists just deal with the fact that he is staying instead of writing shite about threats and abuse. There always seems to be articles in the british meida which attempt to cast a very negative picture about both Liverpool FC and the city.
Here is the article:
Threats sabotage transfer
By Wayne Veysey, Evening Standard
29 June 2004
Steven Gerrard had a dramatic last-minute change of heart over moving to Chelsea after his family were subject to a hate campaign by furious Liverpool fans.
The Anfield skipper arrived back from Portugal on Friday night ready to seal a £30million move to Stamford Bridge, together with personal terms that would have doubled his wages to £120,000 a week.
But the move was sabotaged within 24 hours of the midfielder returning to Merseyside. He had already put in a written transfer request after meeting new Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez in Lisbon during Euro 2004 and had
told his England colleagues that he was moving to Chelsea. Officials from Anfield and Stamford Bridge had arranged a meeting for yesterday to put the finishing touches to the deal.
But Gerrard was concerned about the fallout from his move to London and the impact it would have on his relatives, most of whom live in Liverpool and are lifelong fans of the Anfield club. The England midfielder changed his mind partly because of the intolerable pressure his extended family faced, which included a series of threats and abuse in local newspapers and various websites.
His father, who had been fully behind him moving to Stamford Bridge, advised him under these circumstances that there could be serious repercussions if he did not stay at Anfield. This is not the first time that a high profile Liverpool figure has been forced to deal with personal abuse. Former manager Gerard Houllier was the subject of death threats earlier this year while Michael Owen, who is not as popular as local boy Gerrard on Merseyside, has admitted in the past to receiving dozens of threatening letters.
The same obstructive attitude shown by fans not wanting Gerrard to move down south could have a similar effect on a potential Wayne Rooney transfer this summer from neighbouring Everton. The England wonder boy, out injured for six weeks with a broken bone in his foot, has been linked with a move to Manchester United or Chelsea.
Gerrard, 24, who has been at Liverpool since he was eight, admitted yesterday that he was all set to move until he got back to his home city and realised just how much the club and supporters meant to him.
He looked shaken and unhappy at a press conference yesterday to confirm that he was staying. "I made it clear that I haven't been happy with the progress of the club over the past two years and for the first time in my career I really thought about the possibility of moving on," he said.
"But I came back home and spoke to my family and friends and listened
to what they had to say. "I talked with my dad, and my girlfriend and asked for a fourth meeting with Liverpool's chief executive, Rick Parry, and I went with the decision in my heart.
"I am 100 per cent committed to Liverpool Football Club. I love the club, I love the supporters and I have decided I can't turn my back on that. That's what it boils down to."
Liverpool have not increased the terms of the new four-year contract that their best player signed last November. Parry admitted that Gerrard had been on the brink of a record-breaking move to Chelsea when he revealed the details of a phone call on Saturday night.
His captain left a message asking Parry to ring him back urgently. "It was with some trepidation I made that phone call," said Parry. "I suppose I thought the worst, but he gave me an indication that he had gone to the precipice and couldn't make the jump. I can't tell you what he said, because it isn't printable, but he gave us hope by asking for a meeting.
"We sat down and talked on Sunday night, and then he came in on
Monday and said that he couldn't leave."
Parry added ignoring the real background to Gerrard's decision: "It is a triumph for traditional values. Let us just say that nice people can go to the precipice and still pull back because home-town values have prevailed.
"It almost restores my faith in modern footballers. I certainly had some sleepless nights and really this has come as a very pleasant surprise. We were never completely resigned because we hoped when he came back to his home city surrounded by his friends and family he would think again.
"When players are away on international duty, there is a different environment, different inf luences and pressures.
"There are always people whispering, and there will always be temptations. Stevie just said that, in the end, he didn't like what he had to do to make the jump.
"I think his family have played a major part."
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