Step away, Steven. For your own sake - by Chris Smith

[tlw content]

Amid the triumphalism that accompanies the endless re-telling of the Bill Shankly and Liverpool story, there’s a very prominent tinge of sadness.

Beneath those legendary sound bites regarding bastions of invincibility and the yearning for times when first was first, not fourth, is the inescapable knowledge that Shanks’ post-Liverpool life was shrouded in heartbreak.

The man who rebuilt Melwood – “a bloody shambles” when he took over - was eventually asked to stay away, when he had been unable to.

Parallels can be drawn between Shankly’s fate and the most recent addition to the Anfield Hall of Fame, Steven Gerrard.

A year after he revealed his decision to leave, it seems the skipper is also having real problems adjusting to life after Liverpool. Of course, there’s no chance of Gerrard being told he is no longer welcome at Melwood, but that same sense he is hanging on is, unfortunately, quite evident.

His presence in the Liverpool ‘Legends’ team who lined up against an Australian team this week really irked me… And not just because he actually earned a term that once meant something before the club made it interchangeable with ‘former player’ in order to sell tickets to meaningless friendlies either.

To me, Gerrard is above that. At least now he is. I don’t want to see him rolled out alongside the likes of even true legends like Rushie and Aldo, just yet because it damages the aura that still surrounds him.
 

For Gerrard though, it was clear he was simply desperate for another chance to pull on the red shirt, he cherished wearing so much, in any capacity.

In many ways, it’s like that part in Rocky II when, after being told he can’t fight anymore, The Italian Stallion goes back to help out at Mickey’s gym, because he has “gotta be around it.”

“You know, you're like royalty here, kid. You want those guys to see you carryin' towels and buckets around? Where's your dignity?” Mickey said, and to put it bluntly, I’d ask the same of Gerrard right now.

Because let’s face it, playing in the same team as Phil Babb and McAteer under a ‘Legends’ banner is akin to holding-up spit buckets and carrying dirty towels.

It’s demeaning to Gerrard, who truly is ‘royalty around here’

There’s plenty of time to play these games when he’s in his 40s.

Unless it’s a charity match, which this certainly wasn’t, he shouldn’t be mixing it those unfit to lace his boots, just so the club can cash in. Not yet anyway.

I mean, what’s next Steven? Chasing after the loose balls during the half time shoot outs, a la Alan Kennedy?

Yet this is far from the first unsettling evidence of Gerrard’s inability to readjust to life after Liverpool.

Interviews with friendly journalists following the end of the LA Galaxy’s season made it abundantly clear he still harboured dreams of playing for Liverpool again.

It came across as a desperate plea and it forced the brand new manager into the awkward position of having to say “he’s welcome, but to train and nothing else.”

If I were Klopp, looking to make his mark on the squad, Gerrard’s presence at Melwood in those early days would have been as welcome as a hamstring injury for every centre half at the club (wait a minute?!), but what was he to do? Say no? Not a chance.

And so Gerrard came to train with a big grin on his face and, sure enough, it all seemed rather awkward.

Now the club is seemingly scrambling to “find something” for Gerrard, in Klopp’s words, as the former skipper speaks of doing his coaching badges heading into his last year as a player.

To me, this is all such a shame, because when he left for LA last summer, he looked happier than we’ve seen him since Istanbul or Cardiff the following year. Finally unburdened from the expectation and responsibility, an encumbrance he shouldered so heavily for so long, the smile had returned to his face.

He spoke glowingly about being able to spend time in public with his beloved children, something that was impossible in Liverpool. He seemed to love bringing his friends over to share in his new life, while embracing sitting courtside at Lakers games and living that Hollywood lifestyle.

However, that seems to have eroded very quickly, with Gerrard desperate to reignite his association with the club he’d been with since the age of 8, even in ways that are clearly beneath him.

Listen, if it were up to me, he’d have never been allowed to leave under any circumstances. His departure and the circumstances of it are a sad story in of itself, but we can thank FSG, Brendan Rodgers’ astonishing arrogance and the gutless playing staff for that debacle.

Regardless, it happened. We all had to come to terms with it, no-one more so than the man himself.

For Gerrard, he may have left, but he hasn’t stepped away.

I hate to say it, but he could take a page from his England teammate Gary Neville’s book, who seems to have had no trouble removing himself from the Manchester United bubble, after a similar timespan with the club, at least in a publicly-presented capacity.

Now’s the time for Gerrard, like Neville and Jamie Carragher to a lesser extent, to put a little distance between himself and his boyhood club for the good of everyone.

That means no training with the first team, no constantly talking about coming back in a different capacity and certainly no playing in these preposterously-titled ‘Legends’ matches.

The Return will come, of that there is no doubt, but both sides need a little space; a chance to feel like they were ever apart, in order for that return to really mean something … when the time is truly right.

Likewise Jürgen Klopp needs the time and space to develop his own culture at Liverpool without the massive shadow of Gerrard looming over what he surely still considers ‘his’ club and a squad who naturally still refer to as ‘The Captain.’

I thoroughly understand Gerrard’s difficulties, on a smaller scale. When I left Liverpool about 8 years ago, I was back up every single chance I got for two years. Eventually I realised I had to let go, because it was still dominating my life and preventing me from adapting and embracing a new place and time in my life.

By turning up at my old flatmate’s house every weekend and expecting a bed, I ran the risk of outstaying my welcome… of it becoming awkward. Maybe it did, but I was blissfully unaware.

As much as I hate to say it, Gerrard may not know it, but he is making it awkward.

By hanging on, he runs the risk of tarnishing what he had and, like Shankly, adding a sad epilogue of a man who couldn’t let go to what had been the greatest of tales.

For now, Steven, it’s time to step away… for your own sake.
 

Chris Smith

@byChrisSmith

Click here to view the article

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

Nonsense, IMO. He was over here training in the off season, was he not? Neville and Jamie aren't still playing professional football.

 

Far to early to be making any of the judgements made. Making something out of nothing.

[Gym Beglin]

Where to begin.

 

I mean, I agree with the sentiment, but there are shades of grey to this.

 

Firstly, I feel sorry for LA Galaxy fans, in fact all MLS fans. We treat their league like a joke, it's like we all feel he has gone to do panto for a season in LA. Their supports don't feel that way, they are actual football fans, what are they supposed to make of this? Same with Lampard, same with Drogba, this overtly mercenary attitude in the first place, but its amazing for these star players to come in and do it too.

 

I disagree when you say that Gerrard should not have been allowed to leave. I think it was important for him to leave so that the club got a chance to stand on it's own two feet again, however shaky, and begin the process of finding another local hero. Gerrard was a special player, but he wasn't THAT special. Bear with me when I say that, because we're talking about the pantheon of being one of the greatest players the league has ever seen, one of the best in the world.

 

We search high and low across Europe, the world, to find a player as good as him and we come up short. Turns out they breed them 9 miles away in Whiston. Fowler was born 4 miles away in Toxteth. Carragher was born 2 miles away in Bootle. Owen was born 27 miles away in Chester. McManaman was born 1 mile in away in Kirkdale. Aldridge was born in Liverpool, Mcmahon was born 9 miles away in Halewood.

 

This club NEEDS local lads to lead the club. It's vital, supports have no real frame of reference for the club to operate any other way. And somehow we're failing to develop these players that very fucking obviously exist, as the list shows. There wasn't a meteor that crashed into Liverpool 40 years ago that generated this super-breed of players.

 

For me, Gerrard should have a role at the club, when he's quite finished taking the piss out of the supporters of Los Angeles, and his role should be to work with the development team and find the next generation of local lads to take this club forward. He's young enough, in 20 years, to still be massively relevant to families of young players enough to get the likes of Ross Barkley signing for us and not the shite. He needs to be at the forefront of rejuvenating the local talent pool and overseeing massive development in youth facilities.

[Xherdan]

Just didnt feel right to me either. Not because of who he lining up with necessarily but because he be in our first 11 at the moment. 

[ZonkoVille77]

What a load of shite.

 

"I mean, what’s next Steven? Chasing after the loose balls during the half time shoot outs, a la Alan Kennedy?" Pure snobbery.

 

There's nothing wrong with doing that. He's not some God. Yes he's a legend but fuck me, what's wrong with wanting to stay associated with the club?

he should be welcome in any capacity. Telling him to step away from something he clearly loves is bollocks.

 

Fuck sake.

[an tha]

Load of shite

[Tossed and blown]

Really well written

[magicrat]

Blah blah blah  . Wish I hadn't bothered reading it and certainly doesn't warrant any in depth critique 

[DirkDiggledinho]

Nah, he can do whatever the fuck he wants. He's earned it.

[Chris]

Nonsense, IMO. He was over here training in the off season, was he not? Neville and Jamie aren't still playing professional football.

 

Far to early to be making any of the judgements made. Making something out of nothing.

 

Seriously though, why does he need to be training with us during the off season? It's not like Premier League players go somewhere to train during the summer is it? They rest up. At 35 you'd think he'd want to do the same.

[aws]

Excellent read.

 

It all seems a bit uncomfortable to me. Trying to work a premature return is not in his or the club's best interest.

[Tony Moanero]

Amid the triumphalism that accompanies the endless re-telling of the Bill Shankly and Liverpool story, there’s a very prominent tinge of sadness.

 

Beneath those legendary sound bites regarding bastions of invincibility and the yearning for times when first was first, not fourth, is the inescapable knowledge that Shanks’ post-Liverpool life was shrouded in heartbreak.

 

The man who rebuilt Melwood – “a bloody shambles” when he took over - was eventually asked to stay away, when he had been unable to.

 

Parallels can be drawn between Shankly’s fate and the most recent addition to the Anfield Hall of Fame, Steven Gerrard.

 

A year after he revealed his decision to leave, it seems the skipper is also having real problems adjusting to life after Liverpool. Of course, there’s no chance of Gerrard being told he is no longer welcome at Melwood, but that same sense he is hanging on is, unfortunately, quite evident.

 

His presence in the Liverpool ‘Legends’ team who lined up against an Australian team this week really irked me… And not just because he actually earned a term that once meant something before the club made it interchangeable with ‘former player’ in order to sell tickets to meaningless friendlies either.

 

To me, Gerrard is above that. At least now he is. I don’t want to see him rolled out alongside the likes of even true legends like Rushie and Aldo, just yet because it damages the aura that still surrounds him.

 

 

 

 

 

For Gerrard though, it was clear he was simply desperate for another chance to pull on the red shirt, he cherished wearing so much, in any capacity.

 

In many ways, it’s like that part in Rocky II when, after being told he can’t fight anymore, The Italian Stallion goes back to help out at Mickey’s gym, because he has “gotta be around it.”

 

“You know, you're like royalty here, kid. You want those guys to see you carryin' towels and buckets around? Where's your dignity?” Mickey said, and to put it bluntly, I’d ask the same of Gerrard right now.

 

Because let’s face it, playing in the same team as Phil Babb and McAteer under a ‘Legends’ banner is akin to holding-up spit buckets and carrying dirty towels.

 

It’s demeaning to Gerrard, who truly is ‘royalty around here’

 

There’s plenty of time to play these games when he’s in his 40s.

 

Unless it’s a charity match, which this certainly wasn’t, he shouldn’t be mixing it those unfit to lace his boots, just so the club can cash in. Not yet anyway.

 

I mean, what’s next Steven? Chasing after the loose balls during the half time shoot outs, a la Alan Kennedy?

 

Yet this is far from the first unsettling evidence of Gerrard’s inability to readjust to life after Liverpool.

 

Interviews with friendly journalists following the end of the LA Galaxy’s season made it abundantly clear he still harboured dreams of playing for Liverpool again.

 

It came across as a desperate plea and it forced the brand new manager into the awkward position of having to say “he’s welcome, but to train and nothing else.”

 

If I were Klopp, looking to make his mark on the squad, Gerrard’s presence at Melwood in those early days would have been as welcome as a hamstring injury for every centre half at the club (wait a minute?!), but what was he to do? Say no? Not a chance.

 

And so Gerrard came to train with a big grin on his face and, sure enough, it all seemed rather awkward.

 

Now the club is seemingly scrambling to “find something” for Gerrard, in Klopp’s words, as the former skipper speaks of doing his coaching badges heading into his last year as a player.

 

To me, this is all such a shame, because when he left for LA last summer, he looked happier than we’ve seen him since Istanbul or Cardiff the following year. Finally unburdened from the expectation and responsibility, an encumbrance he shouldered so heavily for so long, the smile had returned to his face.

 

He spoke glowingly about being able to spend time in public with his beloved children, something that was impossible in Liverpool. He seemed to love bringing his friends over to share in his new life, while embracing sitting courtside at Lakers games and living that Hollywood lifestyle.

 

However, that seems to have eroded very quickly, with Gerrard desperate to reignite his association with the club he’d been with since the age of 8, even in ways that are clearly beneath him.

 

Listen, if it were up to me, he’d have never been allowed to leave under any circumstances. His departure and the circumstances of it are a sad story in of itself, but we can thank FSG, Brendan Rodgers’ astonishing arrogance and the gutless playing staff for that debacle.

 

Regardless, it happened. We all had to come to terms with it, no-one more so than the man himself.

 

For Gerrard, he may have left, but he hasn’t stepped away.

 

I hate to say it, but he could take a page from his England teammate Gary Neville’s book, who seems to have had no trouble removing himself from the Manchester United bubble, after a similar timespan with the club, at least in a publicly-presented capacity.

 

Now’s the time for Gerrard, like Neville and Jamie Carragher to a lesser extent, to put a little distance between himself and his boyhood club for the good of everyone.

 

That means no training with the first team, no constantly talking about coming back in a different capacity and certainly no playing in these preposterously-titled ‘Legends’ matches.

 

The Return will come, of that there is no doubt, but both sides need a little space; a chance to feel like they were ever apart, in order for that return to really mean something … when the time is truly right.

 

Likewise Jürgen Klopp needs the time and space to develop his own culture at Liverpool without the massive shadow of Gerrard looming over what he surely still considers ‘his’ club and a squad who naturally still refer to as ‘The Captain.’

 

I thoroughly understand Gerrard’s difficulties, on a smaller scale. When I left Liverpool about 8 years ago, I was back up every single chance I got for two years. Eventually I realised I had to let go, because it was still dominating my life and preventing me from adapting and embracing a new place and time in my life.

 

By turning up at my old flatmate’s house every weekend and expecting a bed, I ran the risk of outstaying my welcome… of it becoming awkward. Maybe it did, but I was blissfully unaware.

 

As much as I hate to say it, Gerrard may not know it, but he is making it awkward.

 

By hanging on, he runs the risk of tarnishing what he had and, like Shankly, adding a sad epilogue of a man who couldn’t let go to what had been the greatest of tales.

 

For now, Steven, it’s time to step away… for your own sake.

 

Chris Smith

 

@byChrisSmith

Click here to view the article

Yer ma.

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

Seriously though, why does he need to be training with us during the off season? It's not like Premier League players go somewhere to train during the summer is it? They rest up. At 35 you'd think he'd want to do the same.

The suggestion was he's 'hanging on'. He just trained with the squad for a bit. Plenty of other premier league players have done it. I've never ever heard their fans complain or suggest that there's something wrong with the player or their motives. He's a legend and this is such a petty reason to have a pop.

[Saintslfc13]

I don't really get the point of this article, seems like a needless moan to me.

 

If he wants to play in a legends side who the fuck is anyone to tell him not too? He looks made up in that team photo, so good for him.

As far as him being around the club in training and that being "awkward" goes. I think the only people making it awkward are the cunts in the media when they ask about whether or not he's going to be loaned to us after it being made clear numerous times that he wasn't, by both himself and the manager.

[Frankenhooker]

Excellent read.

 

It all seems a bit uncomfortable to me. Trying to work a premature return is not in his or the club's best interest.

He trained with us to keep up his fitness... for a couple of weeks, before going on his way.

Mountain out of a molehill.

[jimmycase]

Oh fuck me. Yet another "let's have a go at Steven Gerrard" article.

 

The lad mustnt have anything to do with Liverpool you know because he left of his own choice. Didnt want to become a squad player you know.

 

No, he mustnt turn out for the legends either. He might take the attention off some of the other former players. And he cant settle in LA you know. Yeah, misses Liverpool big time and has to train at Melwood just so he can, you know, stay in the limelight.

 

Fuck's sake, give it a rest. The lad is a legend.

[Ipplfc]

Rather bemusing article,your reading far too much into this,he went to Australia with all his arl mates for a piss up and a game of footie.All money raised went to the Liverpool foundation