Topic: Liverpool in talks with Steven Gerrard over return to Anfield

[gregorio]

If both parties had wanted it badly enough , a role would have been found

[Chakan]

If both parties had wanted it badly enough , a role would have been found

It doesn't make sense for Rodgers though to put Gerrard on his staff.

[Redman0151]

Gerrard on Real Madrid away, " while it was only a 1–0 defeat it did feel like BR had surrendered even before kick- off."

[Fiasco]

Gerrard on Real Madrid away, " while it was only a 1–0 defeat it did feel like BR had surrendered even before kick- off."

It did indeed. I honestly hope Rodgers has learned from that, and that he never does nothing like that again. A club the size of ours with it's tradition and history in that very competition should not be waving the white flag.

[TSC]

As one or two others have said it's not as if the backroom staff was replaced before Gerrard had decided to go and signed with Galaxy.  Having said that I think he should have been given a coaching role irrespective of timing.  Club should have simply created another coaching spot for him if it resulted in him staying.  But I don't think Rodgers would have wanted that at all.  Even before his role became as precarious as it did at the end of last season (and probably now).  Hopefully Gerrard ends up back in some capacity and isn't lost to the club for good.

[Fordy]

What managerial role would he have got? I'm pretty sure when he signed the contract with Galaxy no-one was considering letting go Rodgers team?

Spot on this.

If Gerrard didn't sign a pre contact with another club then he might of been part of the set up now.

[JerseyKloppite]

Let the guy have a break and come back to the club in a few years.

[OzBomber]

How long until the book comes out? Already seems like it will be a cracking read.

[tommy LFC]

Gerrard reveals in his autobiography – 'My Story', being serialised in the Daily Mail – that he was summoned to Rodgers' office before training a couple of days prior to the United match, with the manager telling him he would not be starting.

"'Okay', I nodded. 'I respect your decision'," Gerrard wrote. "We left it at that. I walked out and got ready for training. My mind was swimming. I couldn't believe it. It felt to me, then, like a classic case of muscle-flexing.

"My relationship with Brendan was too good for him to need to make a point to me. He was someone I respected and liked: his training sessions were among the best I had ever experienced while his man-management was excellent, generous and imaginative.

"But I wondered if this was his way of showing the press that he was strong enough to make a difficult decision."

Gerrard said the "anger in the caged animal grew and grew" during the first half of the match, leading to the red card. And following a "fair, but slamming tackle" on Juan Mata, Gerrard found himself coming face to face with Herrera.

The 35-year-old wrote: "I completed a simple pass as Herrera came flying in with his sliding tackle. His right leg stretched out invitingly on the Anfield turf. I couldn't stop myself.

"Without even giving myself time to think I brought my left foot stamping down on Herrera. I felt my studs sink into his flesh just above the ankle. It had to have hurt him."

[tommy LFC]

''I could have been a good squad player, a good sub, as well as getting management experience that money can’t buy.”

Sounds simple enough, why didn't it happen? He must have signed the Galaxy contract pretty early in the season?

And yet when he left he said it was because he wouldn't want to sit on the bench or be a squad player.

[andspecks]

And yet when he left he said it was because he wouldn't want to sit on the bench or be a squad player.

I'm confused here, did you not read what he said? He said he would have been content to be a squad player if he had compensation in a coaching sense. That's not the same as just being a squad player.

Also worth noting that he's hardly going to make the claims about coaching to the media while he was still a Liverpool player. He's probably been thinking this a long time, just because we're only hearing about it now doesn't make it less true. He's talked about wanting to go into coaching/management for years now. It's not been a secret.

[SquirrelandGman]

Sad. Really sad

[Fromola]

January 2015:

"It simply came down to the fact that the idea of becoming a squad player didn't excite me or motivate me," added Gerrard, who will earn about £6m over 18 months at LA Galaxy.
"I've never wanted to be a squad player. If I was missing games now, I'd be sitting out even more next season. I knew it would get worse and worse as time went on."

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Why would you offer him any kind of coaching role in the first team though? He has 0 experience as a coach and Rodgers clearly needed someone who could help improve certain aspects of our game, especially defensively. It may be a mixed start now, but I have more confidence in a group of coaches finding a solution rather than any with Stevie in it.

Frankly, we have a load of ex-players, Fowler, Mcmanaman prominent among them, who've done very little with their lives post careers and are happy to piss about on tour with the club. I hope Gerrard's better than that, and if that's what he wants, actually gives coaching a proper go, starting with a much lower level club, and builds from there. Then maybe, just maybe, we might have a coach / manager of substance to call on later.

[YoungKopite]

"The meeting to discuss a new deal lasted 15 minutes - a very short time to decide the conclusion to my Liverpool career after 27 years."

Reading that hurts.

[Michel]

Steven Gerrard has revealed that Tottenham and David Moyes' Real Sociedad were among a number of clubs interested in taking him from Liverpool on a free transfer this summer.

Gerrard also had offers from Paris Saint Germain and Monaco, but didn't want to return to Anfield as an opposition player.

He said: "The first offer came from Beşiktaş, then managed by Slaven Bilic. Monaco were next. They came in strong. Paris Saint-Germain were also very keen. David Moyes called my agent a couple of times, to see whether I would be interested in playing for him at Real Sociedad.

"A few English clubs called but I wouldn't play against Liverpool. There was interest from Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino. It was good to know he still rated me.

"I was sure I could play in the Premier League for another year but there would not have been much of a buzz doing the same thing all over again with Tottenham.

"I was slightly interested in PSG and Monaco but how could I come back to Anfield if there was a European game?"

[Fromola]

Why would you offer him any kind of coaching role in the first team though? He has 0 experience as a coach and Rodgers clearly needed someone who could help improve certain aspects of our game, especially defensively. It may be a mixed start now, but I have more confidence in a group of coaches finding a solution rather than any with Stevie in it.

Frankly, we have a load of ex-players, Fowler, Mcmanaman prominent among them, who've done very little with their lives post careers and are happy to piss about on tour with the club. I hope Gerrard's better than that, and if that's what he wants, actually gives coaching a proper go, starting with a much lower level club, and builds from there. Then maybe, just maybe, we might have a coach / manager of substance to call on later.

I think Gerrard just expects/expected to walk into a coaching job here with a view to being the next manager, a bit like United with Giggs.

I'd rather he learned the ropes and cut his teeth somewhere else to be honest because there'd be more chance of it working out then. Nobody wants a Newcastle/Shearer situation.

[chanti]

My dream combo

Klopp and Gerrard

I can dream surely

[jimbo196843]

At the end of the day Brendan was damned if he did and damned if he didn't where Gerrard was concerned. If Liverpool had been flying last season then less would have been made of Gerrards exit and comments now.
It was never going to be easy when he left and maybe Rodgers feels Gerrard being there in another capacity would have cast a shadow over what he was aiming for.

[zabadoh]

Frankly, we have a load of ex-players, Fowler, Mcmanaman prominent among them, who've done very little with their lives post careers and are happy to piss about on tour with the club.

I'm sure you mean in terms of coaching or other involvement in serious football, but:

Robbie Fowler - Net worth £31 million (2014).  Well known residential property magnate.  There's even a song about it: "We all live in a Robbie Fowler House"  Runs a property school.
Steve Mcmanaman - Net worth  £12 million.  Sports pundit for various networks.  Invests in race horses.

Mind you, if I was worth £xx million and had links to the club, I'd take a few weeks off to piss about with them too. 

[andspecks]

Why would you offer him any kind of coaching role in the first team though? He has 0 experience as a coach and Rodgers clearly needed someone who could help improve certain aspects of our game, especially defensively. It may be a mixed start now, but I have more confidence in a group of coaches finding a solution rather than any with Stevie in it.

Frankly, we have a load of ex-players, Fowler, Mcmanaman prominent among them, who've done very little with their lives post careers and are happy to piss about on tour with the club. I hope Gerrard's better than that, and if that's what he wants, actually gives coaching a proper go, starting with a much lower level club, and builds from there. Then maybe, just maybe, we might have a coach / manager of substance to call on later.

Because he knows the squad better than anyone and every one of our players adores the shit out of him. He's got his B license at this point I think he said, so hardly walking in blind to what coaching entails. And the fact that he's only ever done his best to deliver for the club, has shown passion towards it and could help educate players on what it means to play for Liverpool. He has motivation that other coaches coming in cold wouldn't have since they don't have the same connection to the club as Stevie does.

None of us have seen what Stevie brings as a coach yet, so you can't claim he'd be shit and you can't claim he'd be brilliant, but we know him well enough to know the attitude he'd bring towards it. I personally would find that comforting, a player who has given his all for us over the years, made legitimate sacrifices to stay at our club, coming in to try and help develop the team around him. Every player we have currently has talked of how much Stevie has helped them in their time at the club, so in that sense he's already shown what he can bring.

But yeah, why should we bother giving him a chance.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

I'm sure you mean in terms of coaching or other involvement in serious football, but:

Robbie Fowler - Net worth £31 million (2014).  Well known residential property magnate.  There's even a song about it: "We all live in a Robbie Fowler House"  Runs a property school.
Steve Mcmanaman - Net worth  £12 million.  Sports pundit for various networks.  Invests in race horses.

Mind you, if I was worth £xx million and had links to the club, I'd take a few weeks off to piss about with them too. 

Yeah, in football re Macca, Fowler. I'm well aware of his property business from years back. Good for him, and obviously he has some acumen for it, but a multi-millionaire having had his millions invested well isn't really a big deal for me. Now if  he had built to that from starting out as a lowly estate agent, respect.

[lamonti]

Think he's embarrassing himself with his eagerness to tell tales in this book.

[b_joseph]

"'Okay', I nodded. 'I respect your decision'," Gerrard wrote. "We left it at that. I walked out and got ready for training. My mind was swimming. I couldn't believe it. It felt to me, then, like a classic case of muscle-flexing.

Whether you back BR or not...that is why it was best for Stevie to leave and hopefully come back in the future. It wasnt a power play, it was the right thing to do...players arent always clear eyed with this stuff. If he was, he would have seen it that way.

Think he's embarrassing himself with his eagerness to tell tales in this book.

It does feel a little quick..especially when the MLS is in the business end of its season. Hopefully it wont be a distraction to any of his teammates,

[UntouchableLuis]

Bit of a scathing attack on Rafa today. Mainly to do with his facts speech. He says Rafa was humiliating himself and seemed very bitter.

He does say Rafa was the best tactical manager he had but he didn't have any personal relationship with him. He also says Rafa spent too much time fighting with owners etc but then he claims Mourinho would have been perfect for us....

Bit of a shame and seems like sensationalist nonsense to sell a book.

[chanti]

Bit of a scathing attack on Rafa today. Mainly to do with his facts speech. He says Rafa was humiliating himself and seemed very bitter.

He does say Rafa was the best tactical manager he had but he didn't have any personal relationship with him. He also says Rafa spent too much time fighting with owners etc but then he claims Mourinho would have been perfect for us....

Bit of a shame and seems like sensationalist nonsense to sell a book.

Same feeling here.

[Smudgester]

Does he come clean about his role in replacing Rafa with Hodgson ? No, didn't think he would.

In January, Gerrard said he had zero ntention of being a squad player and was still fit enough to play EVERY game. Now he says he would have been more than happy to do it ?? I cry bullshit - looks like someone has got a book to sell.

Everyone knows he wasn't happy at not playing the away game to Real Madrid - even though, like half team, on his performance in the home leg, he didn't deserve to play - but he is now taking cheap swipes at the current manager about it ??

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

He was a great footballer, never spoke much sense.

[rafathegaffa83]

Gerrard's opinion of Rafa has always felt bizarre to me. He always states he prefers those managers he could talk to and yet about Capello he says:

"A lot of England players were scared of Capello and they hated his strict rules. I actually didn't mind them because I felt a connection with the man. Capello kept his distance but I went on to the training pitch each day believing I would learn something new from him. He had achieved so much.He had a weird way of expressing solidarity with his best players. He would never communicate it verbally. Instead, he would walk over and give me a shoulder charge. A bump of shoulders was Capello's way of showing you that he appreciated you as a player. I already knew that because he always picked me in his side. But I'm not sure he saw me as a leader — or as powerful a leader as John Terry or Rio Ferdinand. The only real downside to Capello was that he would never show any love towards the squad."

Doesn't sound too dissimilar to Rafa in fairness. To be honest, I've often wondered with re: to Rafa if Gerrard's dislike stems from the fact unlike other managers (Hodgson, Houllier, Rodgers), he never pandered to him or stroked his ego on a regular basis. Given Rafa's success while here, he's also perhaps the only other figure whose name would be sung as regularly and heartily than Gerrard's. As for the Rafa fighting with the owners stuff, Gerrard is naive, if he doesn't understand how important that was. Even the likes of Reina and Torres were piping up in that regard.

As for the coaching stuff, again it comes back to the contradictory nature of Gerrard the individual. He seems to do one thing and say another thing at a later date that contradicts his earlier actions. The fact he's still miffed that he was subbed in a derby, that we won, as a result of him being subbed, speaks volumes.

I'm actually glad he wasn't offered a coaching spot. The fact he also felt he deserved a spot ranging from assistant to a regular coach also says a lot. If he wants to come back here as a coach, it should be like the way clubs like Ajax do things, in which top players will come back as coaches, starting right at the bottom at youth level and work there way up if they show progress. Gerrard gave a lot to the club on the pitch, but that doesn't mean we should be building our future around him being manager, when he hasn't shown much inkling as to why he could or should be. It's surprised me recently how much Man Utd have been trying to groom Giggs as Van Gaal's successor. It's a romantic notion, but football doesn't work like that.  Certain players show that they could be good managerial material. Xabi Alonso for instance. I haven't ever really felt that with Gerrard, but won't be surprised if one day he is given the job without really having the necessary acumen.

[Lemieux]

He can't help himself sometimes..

[placidcasual]

Having read what he said about Rafa I'd be wary about his ability to be a manager.

[Samie]

Having read what he said about Rafa I'd be wary about his ability to be a manager.

You can't actually say that till he actually you know manages.

[JoeCole]

So are they going to leave anything for us to read in the book or can we expect the remaining few pages to be posted in headlines between now and its release as well?

[pink-radebe]

Fighting with the board, other managers and the press wasn't the Liverpool way.

If fighting for the fans and defending the club isn't the Liverpool way, I don't know what is.

[Anywhichwayicant]

Where are all these quotes coming from? Is there a new book on the way?

[Fromola]

Bit of a scathing attack on Rafa today. Mainly to do with his facts speech. He says Rafa was humiliating himself and seemed very bitter.

He does say Rafa was the best tactical manager he had but he didn't have any personal relationship with him. He also says Rafa spent too much time fighting with owners etc but then he claims Mourinho would have been perfect for us....

Bit of a shame and seems like sensationalist nonsense to sell a book.

He's always been a strange character Gerrard.

Just waiting to read the inevitable Hodgson love in and how the fans didn't give him a chance.

[El Lobo]

Maybe feels a little...jealous? I dunno. Seems weird.

[KiNki]

Lol the audacity to have a different opinion than the fans.

I thought the Rafa facts speech was correct factually but delivered incorrectly, perhaps should have been delivered with a smile, a gentle jibe, like kennys you get more sense from my daughter jibe at fergie, not with the bitterness and venom, specially when the media are owned by these bells, it's as bad as van gal West Ham facts.  Cringy stuff.

Sg in the dressing room perhaps better positioned to see the effects the facts speech had on the players, did it help or hinder? Did it create positive discussion in the media or knowing how much the media were in fergies backpocket create added pressure on all of us.

As for Rafa being cold, so what, I don't think fergie was a hugger either, houllier was a former teacher and knows something about handling temperamental teenagers, and that's what sg was at that time, houllier trusted him, supported him, and helped progress his career, from melwood to captain of course he's gonna sing his praises.

As for the board, again I agree, I think it's fair to say Rafa got lost in fighting the board when he should have focused on coaching.  The day after the champions league final he's blasting the owners over spends, when most of us are licking the wounds about the evening before and what cudda shudder been done the day before. It was knee jerking when a period of calm reflection and clear head before approaching the owners was required.  Rafa was experienced enough to know this having fought with valencias board.

I think he's also telling it how he sees it with Bren and training, again no biggie, it's horses for courses, but I think he's disappointed/hurt at Brendan for not trusting him with a coaching job.  Perhaps he'll look back on this recent event as a blessing as a period away sometimes gives a chance to reflect and reassess goals and ambitions.

[bigbear]

Think he's embarrassing himself with his eagerness to tell tales in this book.

Me too. I'm tired of hearing his voice now. He's massively changed his stance here about being a bit part player and i dont doubt if he'd said i'm happy to be a squad player and help out as needed on the coaching side and take a 100k a week pay cut that the club would have said yes. Instead he plays the retrospective wounded soldier routine.

[Cattive Maniere]

Stevie giving the rags a field day to bash Rafa and the club ..