There has been much speculation this week that Inter Milan are going to make an audacious bid to prize Steven Gerrard away from Liverpool and it raises the question: Should Gerrard leave Liverpool?
Steven Gerrard is Mr Liverpool and it’s difficult to imagine him wearing a different kit next season. He’s been very loyal to his home town Club however, and has surely earned the right to consider his options after the Boardroom shenanigans every present inside Anfield this season.
Whether leaving Anfield will be good for his career is a different matter altogether and joining Inter Milan dosen’t seem a good move in my opinion. Jose Mourinho is a great manager and could get the best out of the England vice-captain, but he has already made it quite clear that he won’t be in Italy for much longer.
The list of English players that have been succesful in Italy isn’t that long, and I really don’t think the style of play in the Seria A would suit Gerrard. He’s all about the high energy, fast paced quick football of the Premier League, which gives him a competitive advantage and allows him to be the driving force. Gerrard doesn’t like slow football, which is propably one of the reasons he hasn’t performed as well for England as he has for Liverpool.
So let’s consider Spain. Real Madrid will definitely be interested in securing his signature but if Gerrard is serious about challenging for another Champions League medal then I’m not sure the Bernabeu is the best place for him either. Real are serial underachievers in the Champions League, and I don’t see this changing any time soon as they continue their policy of signing Galacticos without thought to the teams balance or defensive prowess.
At Barcelona Gerrard could really add to his medal tally. He would challenge for the Champions League season after season and would surely pick up a few La Liga medals along the way. Looking at the Barcelona team you would think that Pep Guardiola could slot Gerrard nicely into his side and have a dream midfield including Xavi, Messi, and Gerrard.
As for English Clubs I just can’t see Gerrard signing for a Chelsea or Man City. I feel that Gerrard is Liverpool through and through and if he’s to remain in England then he will remain at Anfield. He came close for joining Chelsea in the summer of 2005 but changed his mind at the last minute, and I can’t see him going back on that decision now.
So all-in-all if Gerrard wants to leave Anfield this summer then there is only one destination I would recommend, Barcelona. Whether the Catalans will make a bid for Gerrard this summer is at this stage uncertain. One thing is for certain however, if England and Gerrard have a great World Cup then you can bet your bottom dollar that all the top European Clubs will be trying to sign him up.
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Agreed, Barca would be the only sensible option if Stevie wants to move on and bag another ‘old big ears’, plus be in contention for a league title year after year. However, not sure how well he’d fit into the Barca midfield, which relies more on passing and technique, than pace and power. One of Gerrard’s biggest qualities is his leadership, whereas Barca already have a team of leaders – Puyol, Messi, Iniesta. I think the one missing element he could bring to this Barca team is the backbone and never say die attitude, not allowing them to sit back and surrender leads, as against the Gunners.
I think he would fit better into a Real midfield and his leadership qualities would be warmly welcomed at the Bernabeu, but as you said, he’d be mad to go along that path and join the neo-galicto circus.
Given his particular situation within the Premiership – Liverpool captain so would never go to United & having already turned down Chelsea twice – there isn’t much chance of him uprooting to another Premiership club.
Conclusion – Stevie must stay at Liverpool. Claiming the first league title for the reds since 1989-90, would be the culmination of a fantastic career.
Ross (completely unbiased scouser)
ps great website!
After studying the option that you have presented, I think that Gerrard would be better of spending his career with the Reds as he is their poster boy and captain marvel. Besides, we’re still waiting to see who’ll replace Benitez as their manager. I think his days are already numbered. So, with Benitez out of the way (and maybe Liverpool could tempt The Special One), this could only mean that Gerrard’s strutting his stuff at Anfield for years to come. But seriously, they NEED to get great players in and stop relying on him and Torres too much.