As a footballer, you never know when your time is up. I was away with Robbie Fowler in Australia last week and he still firmly believes he is good enough for the Premier League. Poor lad.
Steven Gerrard was very much a part of the Liverpool squad, during my final years at the club, but he took a while longer than Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen – his peers – to break into the first team.
As a young lad, he was the type of guy who would fall over and break his arm. He was accident-prone; always getting daft injuries. He was a bit fragile as a youngster but the club set out a training programme for him and, as he became a young man, he filled out a bit. There was never any doubt about his potential. It’s weird – as a senior player, you often get more enjoyment from seeing the younger lads coming through and scoring. He was just starting to establish himself in the team when I left.
The Gerrard most people see on TV is very similar to the guy, the mate, I know. He keeps himself to himself and always stayed away from the limelight. He lives down in Southport and has his own set of mates. He does a bit of charity work but most of his time goes into the club. He is always on the back pages, never the front. It is something I admire a lot about him.
Stevie had offers from clubs like Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Chelsea over the years but he stayed faithful to Liverpool. If you look at Xabi Alonso since he moved from Anfield (to Real then Bayern), and the success Chelsea have had, he definitely could have won leagues and European Cups with them.
Liverpool is a unique club in many ways, with a real family tradition. That would have influenced him to stay but, I think, winning the Champions League in 2005 helped him to stay. Of course, the Holy Grail was always the Premier League but he always felt the team were building towards that. He had great faith in Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez.
The precarious time – and one where he considered moving – was during Roy Hodgson’s tenure. The club looked as if they had no direction and Kenny Dalglish came in to steady the ship. Stevie rode the storm and carried the club for a few seasons. He has written himself into the Liverpool history books and is up there with Kenny as one of the club’s true greats.
As for guys like Carragher and Danny Murphy saying Liverpool should have kept him, I think the move is good for both parties. Stevie is the type of guy who would never be comfortable with sitting on the bench or being a bit-part player. Brendan Rodgers is trying out a playing style where his players press teams high up the park. That doesn’t suit his game any more and you found that Rodgers was starting him at the expense of guys like Jordan Henderson.
The Premier League is not the place to wind down your career. You have to be able to go the full 90 minutes or you will get exposed. By leaving at the end of the season, Stevie will keep his legacy intact.
I know he wants to get into coaching when he finishes playing so moving to LA Galaxy will give him a different feel for that. Liverpool fans have certainly not seen the last of the man.
