Topic: #GERRARD8 - The Man who could do Everything

[PROPER crazyemlyn72]

"you'll miss him when hes gone".  goddamn never a truer word spoken. fuck i miss him.

[Desert Red Fox]

Beautiful piece, Yorky. I'm afraid my own words cannot do justice to your own post and to Steven Gerrard himself.

[Marty 85]

Well put Yorky. Very concise and to to the point. I read it with pace.

Says alot when we've had the likes of Alonso, Torres, Suarez to mesmarize us week in week, but that's not the best part. The best part is when we have players like Kenny, Rush and Gerrard who the camera can zoom in during a close up and we know they'll always be legends because of their affinity with our club and nobody elses. It's what makes this club special and it'll continue.

[Red in Korea]

Tears in my eyes reading that Yorkie. Superb stuff. Thanks for articulating so well what we all feel.

[ThePoolMan]

Excellent write up by the OP. Couldn't have said it better.

[RedMichelFerri]

Thats an amazing OP. Greatest liverpool player since I started watching footie. Hope club and Klopp has plan to get him in some role. He will be amazing for current and young players. They can learn a lot from him.

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Wonderful read.

[Salty Dog]

Thats an amazing OP. Greatest liverpool player since I started watching footie. Hope club and Klopp has plan to get him in some role. He will be amazing for current and young players. They can learn a lot from him.

Agree with all of this. Absolutely amazing tribute to the greatest Liverpool player I've had the pleasure of watching.

Thanks for all of the wonderful writing you contribute to this site Yorky.

I've forwarded a link to my friends who I think would appreciate such a well-written piece.

[BOBSCOUSE]

Much man love for Steven Gerrard, more than I can put into words - I just know that he has given me some of the best memories I've had as a Liverpool supporter of over 30 years.

Captain.  Hero.  Legend.

[skipper757]

A link to tributes to Stevie from Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/comments/5epiez/tributes_to_steven_gerrard_from_the_likes_of_kaka/

Other quotes I really liked:

Daniele De Rossi quotes over the years:

"Steven Gerrard is my idol. He has been at the pinnacle for ten years," De Rossi said. "You see Gerrard defending and attacking. I would like to be able to play more like that.

“As a youngster Gerrard was really a reference point for me, an idol for what he did on the field, but above all off it."

Claudio Marchisio on Gerrard's retirement:

"I watched you on the TV as a child, I admired you and studied your every move. For me one of the strongest and most complete midfielder players that I have ever seen and ever met on the pitch. A legend and an emblem of your club. An example both as a person and as a player! Good luck with everything"

-----------------------------

A true colossus who impacted so many in the footballing world, both Liverpool and otherwise.

Indeed "The Man Who Could Do Everything."  Well said.

[Yorkykopite]

Just enjoyed this all over again. Steven Gerrard - a genuine giant of the game.

I was bored on the train yesterday and I happened across a youtube of all of his goals for Liverpool. 16 minutes of beauty. He really was the man who could do everything. But aside from the quality of his goals, the skill required to pull off some of those strikes, the intelligence required to know exactly where to place that glancing header, the thing that really stood out for me was his unwavering DESIRE to get to that ball before anyone else. In his earlier days especially, he was on to every loose ball like a shot. He scored those goals not just because he was so fucking good with a football at his feet, but because he just wanted it more than the rest.

Inspirational.

Thanks for the comments folks. It's appreciated.

I thought, Rhi, how weird it is that it takes 16 minutes to see all his goals. In one sense it's no time at all. In the footy sense it's a life-time. But I like the idea of "16 minutes of beauty".

You've touched on the two central things about Gerrard though. 1. Desire 2. Technique.

I agree with you that he had no right to get half of his shots away. Determination was a huge part of it - "I can do this better than you can because I can try harder". The goal in front of the Kop against Inter Milan - done for Shanks surely - epitomises this spirit more than any other.  But technique was the other part. Look at the way he wraps his foot around the ball - a moving ball for godssake - in so many of those strikes. That's difficult. Gerrard rarely blasted the thing over the bar, even when reaching for it because he was running full pelt. Most players do. That tells you something about the man's skill.

[No666]

Interesting you mention desire and that Inter Milan goal. One of the random things I remember from the post-match reports was Dirk Kuyt saying he was ready to settle for 1-0 but Gerrard told him he wanted a second. Gerrard wanted it, he scored it. Before his body went, he was simply his own wish-fulfilment machine.

[God's Left Peg]

Desire. Technique.

Although I am happy, in my own inarticulate way, to have the man boiled down to those two words, it would be not nearly as moving and enjoyable as the OP.

He is absolutely one of a kind; I live in hope that he won't be the last.

[ac]

Top notch read. Take a bow Yorkykopite.

[Medellin]

Fucking belter that Yorky. 

Took me a while to accept there was a better player than Kenny who served our club,i got there eventually-for me..Steven Gerrard is the best player i have seen don the red shirt.

Shortly after breaking into the 1st team..a lad who worked with us showed me a vid of them playing together for Whiston juniors in a final..you could see the quality then at such a young age.
I may still have that somewhere in the loft,will have to dig it out..

Edit:2
From about 3 mins is the game i was on about.

<a href="https://youtube.com/v/NzM-et4JZ8g" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://youtube.com/v/NzM-et4JZ8g</a>

[redtel]

Sublime review of Stevie G  Yorky.

Really enjoyed the Whiston Juniors clip. I saw his pictures on the clubhouse wall last year when taking an under 11 team there.

Best thread this. Only on RAWK.