Ten Years of Memories

The tenth anniversary of Steven Gerrard’s debut in Liverpool’s first team has not gone unnoticed. A player of his calibre would have moved onto pastures new instead of battling to end an 18-year wait for the league championship. Not Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard’s decade in the Anfield spotlight has been a mixed one and it is fair to say that he has had his fair share of landmark moments.

Here are ten memories that have defined Steven Gerrard’s first ten years at Liverpool Football Club:

The First of Many - 5th December 1999

Over a year after making his first team debut Gerrard finally broke his senior duck, scoring Liverpool’s third in the 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Despite being rotated between central midfield and the left back position, Gerrard proved to then-manager Gerard Houllier that he had the potential to make the grade at Anfield with a well driven effort into the corner of Kevin Pressman’s goal after a mazy run.

Ric George of the Liverpool Echo gave a poetic-like insight into a player who would, four years later, be crowned captain of the side:

‘Gerrard didn't just step forward, he side-stepped, danced and dribbled past three defenders before finishing decisively. Gerrard is a wonderful talent, a young man with the steel of Stiles and the style of Souness. And he couldn't have chosen a better way to fire his first senior goal.'

One Wild Night – 16th May 2001

In a season that saw him crowned PFA Young Player of the Year ahead of Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Alan Smith and team mate Emile Heskey, Gerrard helped the Reds complete an impressive cup treble with a goal in the UEFA Cup final against Alaves.

In a dramatic game which became end-to-end in the latter stages, Gerrard struck early on with a well driven effort that sent the travelling Kopites in the Westfalenstadion into raptures and he admits that the goal gave him a huge confidence boost.

He said: “Scoring in the final against Alaves in Dortmund gave me the confidence that I could perform in the biggest matches. I was only young but I knew after that game that I could go on and score many more goals for Liverpool.

“The 2001 UEFA Cup final win over Alaves is a game none of us will ever forget."

Derby Delight – 15th September 2001

Gerrard has scored many goals against Everton in a red shirt but none as memorable as this. His equaliser in the 3-1 win at Goodison Park is remembered not only for his goal but also the celebration that followed.

Liverpool were one down after Kevin Campbell had breached the Reds’ defence early on until Gerrard capitalised on a poor headed clearance in the 11th minute. He ran to the far right hand side of the area and fired a blistering shot past namesake Paul Gerrard.

“I always love playing against Everton, scoring against them and beating them,” he said.

“I had many dreams as a young kid, one of which was to grow up and score against Everton. I just love the games and I think it's because there's such a strong fear of losing because of the stick we'll get.”

In this annual battle for civic pride, Gerrard’s Scouse pride surfaced as he ran down the touchline cupping his ear and sticking his tongue out at the home supporters in a gesture that has marked his name into derby folklore alongside his two-footed tackle on Blues’ defender Gary Naysmith a year later at Anfield.

Millennium Magic – 2nd March 2003

Liverpool versus Manchester United is a game that does not need much of a billing and a repeat of the 1983 League Cup final was no exception. In the 38th minute Michael Owen was pressured by Gary Neville in the Millennium Stadium. He lined the ball to John Arne Riise who cut inside to Gerrard. The future Liverpool skipper took one touch and pulled the trigger. With a little help of a deflection from the advancing David Beckham, the ball dipped magnificently into Fabien Barthez’s top left hand corner.

Take a Bow, Skipper – 15th October 2003

Ahead of Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Olympic Ljubljana in the UEFA Cup, Houllier stripped Sami Hyypia of the captaincy in favour of a local lad made good.

"The manager has always said I would captain the club one day but it was a shock yesterday when Gerard Houllier told me I was to be captain from now on," he said at the time.

"I was captain of my school side and I used to go along to Anfield to watch the team and I always looked up to people like John Barnes who captained the team during the 90s.

"I want to blossom into a world class player - something I'm not yet - and hopefully captaining Liverpool will help me achieve that ambition."

Gerrard took to the role instantly and some would argue that he has never waned on his responsibilities since that day five years ago.

Oh You Beauty! – 8th December 2004

Liverpool appeared to be heading out of the Champions League on a nervy Tuesday night at Anfield. The only way they would qualify for the group stages was by winning with two clear goals over Greek champions elect Olympiakos.

The visitors had taken the lead with a Rivaldo free kick in the first half and despite goals from Neil Mellor and Florent Sinama-Pongolle, the Reds were heading straight for a place in the UEFA Cup. That was until Mellor nodded a Jamie Carragher cross back to the edge of the area in the 86th minute. Gerrard met it perfectly to rifle the ball home into the bottom left hand corner of the Kop goal. It guaranteed Liverpool’s qualification for the knockout stages and is also best remembered for the overreaction of ex-Everton player Andy Gray whose immortal words of ‘Oh you beauty! What a hit son, what a hit!’ still ring in the ears of Kopites on what was a special European night at Anfield.

The Miracle – 25th May 2005

One night in May three years ago has a very special place in all Liverpool fans’ hearts. Their team defied logic by overturning European heavyweights AC Milan to claim their fifth European Cup despite trailing 3-0 at half time.

A close range header from Gerrard set the ball rolling for what would later be known as ‘six minutes of madness’. The captain’s goal was not only the catalyst for the fight back but his motivational gestures to his team mates and the supporters as he ran back to his own half for the restart embodied his never-say-die attitude which culminated later that night in him fulfilling a lifelong ambition and holding the European Cup aloft in the Ataturk Stadium.

Looking back on that night in Istanbul, Gerrard said: “I think that goal gave us the belief to go on and save the game. At half-time it looked like we could lose 5-0 or 6-0 because we had been totally dominated, but my goal gave the players and the fans belief that we could still come back. That's why it was so important and the rest, as they say, is history.”

He added: “There's no other game I could select than the 2005 Champions League final. To be three goals down and come back to lift the trophy was amazing. I've seen the highlights many times since on the television and it's always brilliant to watch.”

Dancing with the Devil – 5th-6th July 2005

Despite lifting the European Cup two months previous, Gerrard was unhappy with the current state of affairs at Anfield. He had been promised a new contract in the close season but no one from the club had been forthcoming with even a proposed date for negotiations to begin.

Doubts started to creep into the Liverpool captain’s mind having rejected Chelsea’s overtures the previous summer in favour of staying with his boyhood club. On July 5th reports reached news agencies that Gerrard had handed in a transfer request, something club chief executive Rick Parry later confirmed in front of a national TV audience.

At the time Gerrard was frustrated and has admitted that it was the lowest point of his Anfield career. “In my heart, this is my club and I want to bring success here for the supporters,” he wrote in Captain’s Book.

“For their sake as well as my own, I never want to go through the events of July 2005 ever again.

“That was when I told Liverpool I wanted to leave. But I just didn’t want to let go of what I’ve worked so hard for and as everyone knows by now, I could never leave this club.

“I think that those few days in early July, 2005 where the most difficult days of my life. I know I hurt the fans at the time and they were entitled to their opinion.

“I had to explain why I was turning Chelsea down at a press conference in June 2004 and I had to put them through it all again a year or so later.”

Some Liverpool supporters washed their hands of Gerrard upon hearing the news and some burned a shirt with his name on outside the Kop for the benefit of Sky Sports News.

The following morning, after reported interest from Real Madrid and Chelsea, Parry went to work telling reporters assembled outside Anfield, “Stevie’s staying”, something the skipper backed up with a public statement later that day and an in-depth interview explaining the situation to the club’s relieved supporters.

The Gerrard Final – 13th May 2006

Almost a year on from the inspired fight back in Istanbul, Gerrard once again came to Liverpool’s rescue – this time in the FA Cup final against West Ham United.

"To be honest I thought we'd win the game comfortably but they made life really difficult for us and in the end we had to settle for penalties,” Gerrard confessed.

After seeing his team fall two-behind in the first half, Gerrard not only scored two of the Reds’ goals but he also was a more than able assistant for Djibril Cisse to fire home in the first half to reduce the deficit.

In the second half Gerrard played like a man possessed, scoring as Liverpool trailed the game 3-1. “It came at a good time for us and got us back on level terms after going a couple of goals behind. It meant our dream of winning the competition was still alive,” he said.

In the 90th minute, shortly after the fourth official had indicated how many minutes stoppage time would be played, Gerrard rifled home a 30-yard volley from outside the area to take the game into extra time and penalties.

“It was really horrible in the final minutes of the game thinking that I would soon be watching the West Ham players dancing around Cardiff with winners’ medals. That's why my goal was so important - it gave us extra time and the chance to go on and win it for ourselves.”

Despite leading Liverpool to their seventh FA Cup triumph the captain still plays down his heroics that day in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, insisting it was a team effort.

“I know I scored the two goals and that it has been labelled the 'Gerrard final', but that's unfair on the rest of the team. I scored the goals and may have got the man of the match award on the day, but we did it together.”

C’est Magnifique! – 16th September 2008

Liverpool travelled to Marseille in the Champions League group stages for the second time in two seasons and Gerrard gave yet another match-winning performance.

After falling behind to Lorik Cana’s opener, Gerrard took the initiative to score a superb long-range effort to draw level which he followed up a minute later by scoring his 99th club goal from the penalty spot to hand Liverpool all three points.

 

Liverpool travelled to Marseille in the Champions League group stages for the second time in two seasons and Gerrard gave yet another match-winning performance.

 

After falling behind to Lorik Cana’s opener, Gerrard took the initiative to score a superb long-range effort to draw level which he followed up a minute later by scoring his 99th club goal from the penalty spot to hand Liverpool all three points.

Time to call off the call-ups

Fernando Torres has become Liverpool's latest high-profile casualty after suffering his fifth hamstring injury in 16 months and his manager Rafael Benitez has been very quick to lay the blame at the feet of the Spanish FA.

Benitez, a Spaniard himself, has criticised Vicente del Bosque, manager of the national side, for calling up his striker for the friendly with Chile last week.

Despite the injury being discovered after the Champions League win over Marseille on Wednesday, Benitez is of the opinion that lightning has struck twice after Torres sustained the same injury during Spain's World Cup qualifier with Belgium last month which saw him sidelined for five games for his club.

"He has been injured now three times while with the national team and it is something we have to analyse," Benitez said.

"We know they are doing something that is maybe not the best for the player."

Torres’ injury comes on the back of a turbulent time for relations between club and country. The age-old debate reared its ugly head once again as Steven Gerrard was forced to drive to Hertfordshire to be assessed by England coach Fabio Capello despite suffering a groin injury in Liverpool’s 2-0 over Bolton Wanderers 24 hours previous.

Arsenal’s Theo Walcott became the most notable casualty of the England call-up when he dislocated his shoulder on the eve of the friendly with Germany as he trained in the Olympiastadion.

The injury has seen Walcott sidelined for three months and Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger, clearly incensed by the decision to call Walcott up for the game, believes that FIFA should mediate compensation packages paid to clubs for injuries sustained by their players whilst on international duty.

“There should be compensation, of course. I believe at the moment it is a subject studied by FIFA,” he said.

“There have been some agreements and the overall issue is about how the players can be paid by the club and play for somebody else. That is a basic way of thinking.

“That is why sometimes it happens that you do not see the player for three months and the clubs pay them. You have to find a reasonable agreement."

Despite summoning Gerrard to the England team hotel to verify the legitimacy of his injury, Capello saw fit to omit Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney from the squad after they were not named in Manchester United’s side for the 5-0 win over Stoke City. However, the pair featured in United’s next Premiership game away to Aston Villa the following week.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to rest his players, regardless of whether or not they were recovering from minor injuries, was a decision that paid dividends for him. It was not in his interest for the duo to feature in the game.

Diehard England supporters have taken issue with the win in Berlin being termed as a meaningless friendly despite ten players withdrawing due to injury.

With the increase in injuries sustained on international duty players should, to paraphrase John F Kennedy, ask not what they can do for their country but ask what their country can do for them.

Fair Play to UEFA?

UEFA have come in for sizeable criticism amongst Liverpool fans in the past few years. Firstly there was the Athens debacle in which supporters of the Anfield club were branded 'the worst fans in Europe' - a statement which was later revoked by the federation's president Michel Platini.

The scandalous handling of the club's Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid followed suit with the Spanish side told to play their tie against the Reds a few hundred kilometers from their home after being found guilty of racist chanting to Marseille player and supporters at the Vicente Calderon.

However, despite their previous failings, European football's governing body should be commended for their handling of the incident which saw Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard pelted with missiles as he took a corner in the first half.

UEFA are investigating the incident and have praised Gerrard for his restraint as missiles were fired from the visitors' section at him.

This appears to be due to a possible change in attitudes at their Swiss headquarters where it was previously thought that all English clubs were the scorn of European football given the examples set in Athens last year and Moscow this May.

Perhaps UEFA have realised that Marseille fans were quite self-righteous to be bleating about racist chanting by Atleti supporters when they themselves are not holier than thou.

Maybe the alleged monkey chanting was more a reference to the behaviour of Marseille's support rather than it was to ethnicity.

The general perception of Marseille fans from Liverpool supporters who visited the Stade Velodrome as well as that of neutral visitors to the French port is that the club's support is highly-strung and hooligan-like.

As much as Platini is despised amongst Liverpool's support following the cock-ups that have occurred during his time as president of UEFA, credit should be given to him and his federation for taking the initiative to clamp down on anti-social behaviour in the game.

Throwing coins is an act that cannot be defended in any way, shape or form. Similarly with the players who retalliate by throwing coins back into the ground, as Didier Drogba did to Burnley supporters recently, are not exempt from scrutiny.

There can be a certain degree of sympathy with the players who do react to having objects fired at them however, despite n the hostile atmospheres that players find themselves in, they are role models who have to maintain a certain degree of professionalism in their job.

Whilst UEFA have credited Gerrard for his composure in what was an uncomfortable situation for the Liverpool captain, UEFA themselves should be credited for enforcing their Fair Play scheme by clamping down on such idiotic behaviour despite their previous mistakes.

Different team, different result, same old story

The tidal wave of frustration continued to flow from the stands tonight as Liverpool once again failed to match expectations with a scrappy 1-0 win over Marseille.

Several key players who had underperformed against Fulham on Saturday continued to spiral into decline. Xabi Alonso’s passing and Javier Mascherano’s tackling were called into question on more than one occasion and rightly so.

Alonso, supposedly Liverpool’s most in-form player this season, struggled to maintain the passing that has seen him return from the Anfield exit door to lead the line in central midfield.

Mascherano appeared to be still suffering from the hangover he showed against Fulham following his debut at captain of Argentina. Despite showing signs of improvement on Saturday’s effort, he ran around and tackled like a man possessed – frantic and frustrated. This was not the Mascherano that Rafael Benitez paid over £15million for in the January transfer window.

However the midfield pairing were not the strongest culprits in what was a frustrating night for the home supporters.

Even the return of Steven Gerrard, who scored the goal that booked Liverpool into the Champions League knockout stages, seemed to add very little to the team’s performance.

That said, Gerrard did not have the best of games but was the sole candidate for the Man of the Match award in a game where Liverpool almost gave away their slender advantage on numerous occasions.

Marseille threatened on several occasions and everyone sensed that it was only a matter of time before they would take advantage of the space Liverpool allowed them – the Liverpool fans knew it, the Liverpool players knew it, even the elderly nuns who pray outside the ground whilst the game is going on knew it. Yet Liverpool failed to learn from their mistakes.

Fortunately for the Liverpool defence they were unable to convert their chances and that, combined with Pepe Reina and Jamie Carragher’s repeated rescue acts, saved the blushes of Daniel Agger and Andrea Dossena after failing to contain attacks from the French side.

Agger has lost confidence following his injury lay-off which had made him more error prone. Despite this he has proved that he can bounce back from his mistakes as he proved by following up the stray pass that led to Wigan’s equaliser at Anfield last month with an assist for Albert Riera less than a minute later.

Dossena, however, has come in for a sizeable amount of criticism since his summer move from Udinese. At £7million he is Liverpool’s most expensive defender and the honeymoon period has long passed.

Liverpool’s long ball tactic wore painfully thin in the latter stages of the second half as Fernando Torres was expected to chase every stray ball fired up field.

The striker, still to recapture his form since suffering an injury on international duty in October, was visibly frustrated as balls were hit aimlessly into the visitors’ half.

The introduction of Yossi Benayoun offered very little and questions were asked as to Benitez’s motivation for winning the game.

It appears that the Spaniard is keeping one eye on Europe in the hope that it will serve as an appeasing alternative should his side’s title bid fall prematurely short.

Liverpool supporters have been indebted to Benitez since the 2005 Champions League win in Istanbul, however that one night in May three years ago seems to have split opinion amongst Liverpool supporters of the manager as the club goes in search of their first league title in 18 years.

Benitez is seen by some as a man who can do no wrong as a modern day Bill Shankly based on his achievements in his time thus far at the managerial helm, with the miracle of Istanbul seen as the pinnacle of his Anfield tenure.

The signings of Torres, Mascherano, Reina and Alonso, combined with three finals in his first three years and a Champions League semi final exit last season are seen as part of the 'In Rafa We Trust' philosophy.

Even during his turbulent period with George Gillett and Tom Hicks - the club's co-owners - the supporters stood by him, even marching en masse to attempt to safeguard his job amidst strong rumours that behind the scenes the Americans were preparing to wield the managerial axe upon him.

Others believe that Benitez is on borrowed time with cup success papering over the cracks of domestic inferiority which has seen rivals Manchester United step closer to equalling Liverpool's 18 league titles.

Last season’s civil war with the Americans saw him exempt from criticism as Liverpool slumped back into the all too familiar fourth place despite an impressive start to the season.

This season he had experienced a far superior run with a defeat at Spurs and draws against Fulham and Stoke City serving as the only blemishes on an otherwise impressive win record.

After supporters vented their frustrations at his team for two consecutive home games, Benitez does not have any genuine excuses to hide behind should Liverpool fail to better their previous achievements during his Anfield reign.

Another one of those Main Stand days

When I was younger I occasionally ventured round to the Main Stand of a matchday with my dad. It was to sort out tickets and whatnot with distant relatives instead of gawping at the likes of Patrik Berger as he pranced through the Players' Entrance.

Usually on these days Liverpool would put in a sub-par and frantic performance with a defeat usually the end product. Southampton in 97/98 stick outs as the prime examples.

Coincidentally the usually subdued inhabitants of the Main Stand would pipe up, bemoaning the team's performance and calling for Roy Evans' head.

Saturday was another one of those days except now it wasn't just the Main Standers that spoke out, there were a good few frustrated voices coming from the Kop too. Even the new Kemlyn Road stand (or Centenary Stand as it's now known) got involved with one old timer getting as good as he gave when he gave an earful to Jamie Carragher.

No matter how many times you watch it, analyse or sympathise with them, Liverpool were poor to say the least and the abuse the players and the manager received inside Anfield on Saturday afternoon was nothing short of warranted.

Benitez's decision to play Robbie Keane was as questionable as the decision to sign him in the first place. Robbie can bleat on all he likes about his dream move to Anfield and how he aims to prove himself but if he's not going to back up those words with actions then he's just setting himself up for a massive fall.

The problem with Keane is that since he joined the club he's been like a completely different player. Where beforehand at Spurs and Leeds before them he would hit the ball first time when it came to him for a goalscoring opportunity, he's now taking an extra touch or two and nine times out of ten he's losing possession and missing sitters. He even did it with the two goals he scored against West Brom earlier this month and if the truth be told the relegation certain Baggies made him look good by comparison to his previous performances in a red shirt.

But it was back to business on Saturday for Keane and he wasn't the only one in what someone behind me described as a game where Liverpool were 'not at the races'. Hopefully Benitez will follow up his comments and drop Keane to the subs' bench because doesn't fit into the formation or style that his team plays to.

Lucas Leiva came in for some pretty strong criticism and whilst the manager has refused to lay blame with any one player and contrary to what Fabio Aurelio said earlier today, they were in desperate need of Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool have been accused of being a team wholly dependant on Torres and Gerrard but this theory was proved wrong in the five games the Spaniard missed between last month and this. The absence of the Liverpool captain against Fulham was sorely missed. It begs the question of how Benitez would have coped had Gerrard moved to West London in the two summers where he was courted by Chelsea in a saga that saw the Huyton-born midfielder hand in a transfer request in July 2005 - less than two months after lifting the European Cup.

Despite the chest-beating celebrations and 'holier than thou' mentality, Gerrard has been the club's driving force for the best part of five years. Ever since the dark days of Houllier's reign he has continued to drag us out of some pretty unpleasant situations with Olympiakos, Istanbul and Cardiff being the most notable inclusions.

The FA Cup final against West Ham was where Gerrard came into his own. It was a game that Liverpool didn't even look like they could win against a West Ham side who were determined to fight tooth and nail to take the cup back to the East End. But the captain's grit and determination saved face and led his side to the trophy via extra time and penalties. Some would argue thatit overshadowed Istanbul as his finest performance in a red shirt.

Saturday's draw was also a tell-tale sign of how the international breaks, no matter how little, take their toll on players representing their country.

Dirk Kuyt and Albert Riera - usually tireless workers throughout games - seemed highly fatigued even in the early stages of the game. Javier Mascherano, fresh from captaining Argentina to a 1-0 win over Scotland in midweek, also looked out of sorts and was no doubt relieved when he was replaced by Xabi Alonso.

The introduction of Alonso, as much as it was being called for by supporters, was also greeted with disgust that it was not Lucas Leiva's number on the fourth official's board.

The Brazilian had one of his poorest games for Liverpool, giving away possession regularly with only a handful of his passes reached their intended targets.

Michael Ballack has written off Liverpool's chance to win the league because they are a team only suited to the Champions League. Based on Saturday's performance there might be some validity to his words.