Liverpool fans deserve better. Stevie Gerrard deserves better. Will it get better?
This weeks postbag sees a letter from one of the most influential players in English football. Soccerlens is very proud to be chosen as a sounding board by this particular individual.
Dear Soccerlens,
I am a twenty-seven year old footballer who has achieved nearly everything it is possible to achieve in the game. I am a veteran of sixty-five caps for my country and I am a loyal one club man for my beloved club.
I am loved and adored by the fans of my club who are amongst the most passionate in the country and I am recognised by most people to be one of my country’s only truly world class players.
Individually I have been named in the UEFA team of the year three times and the FIFPro World team of the year twice. I have been named the Champions League’s most valuable player and have won the PFA player of the year, PFA young player of the year and PFA fans’ player of the year awards. I have been named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and have been selected in the PFA team of the year an incredible six times, including the last five seasons in a row. I have been awarded the MBE.
With my team, I have won the Champions League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the UEFA Cup, the Community Shield and the European Super Cup.
“You should be very happy and proud,” I hear you say. Well, I am, but I would swap all of what I have won for just one thing. I want a Premier League winners medal.
Twice in the past I could have gone to Chelsea. If I had done, I would almost certainly now possess the one medal I want. I didn’t go because of my loyalty to Liverpool and my love of everything about the club. Of course, the one hundred and twenty thousand pounds a week contract for the rest of my career, making me the highest paid English player was also a slight consideration.
I am now committed to my club and am determined to win that elusive prize. This year we were eleven points behind the winners, last year it was twenty-one and the year before that it was nine.
The problem I have is that I don’t think the men who own my club have got the faintest idea of how to conduct themselves in public or behave like adults, never mind running Liverpool football club or taking us to Premier League glory. My manager is a fine man and a tactical genius in Europe, but he doesn’t seem to care about winning the one competition that the rest of us are all so desperate to win.
Whilst Chelsea have just signed a right back for sixteen million pounds and Manchester United are being linked with all the top players in the world, we have made a public show of being absolutely determined to sign Gareth Barry. Don’t get me wrong, Gareth is a fine player but is he really the man who can take us to the next level?
There are other great players at my club as well as me. Fernando Torres for one. OK, there is one other great player at my club. We also have a lot of very good players but we are just not good enough to compete with the other three top clubs in our league. I want us to spend a lot of money in the summer and turn us into a team capable of winning the league. I don’t think the owners or the manager are having the same thoughts.
What do you think Soccerlens? Can we win the Premiership? Will the owners start to behave like grown men and sort out their differences? Will the manager make the Premiership his number one priority?
The fans deserve better. I deserve better. Are we going to get it?
SG, Liverpool
Soccerlens reply
Dear SG,
You are indeed a very fine player. You do indeed deserve better, as do your club’s fans who have waited nearly twenty years for league success.
Sadly, you have asked four questions at the end of your letter and I don’t think you will be happy with my answers.
Can we win the premiership? No, I don’t think so.
Will the owners behave like grown adults? Definitely not.
Will the manager make the premiership his priority? He hasn’t done in the four seasons so far, so, no he won’t.
Will me and the fans get what we deserve? Will it be better? No.
Sorry SG. You do deserve better.
Any similarities to real people are entirely accidental.
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i agree 100% with gerrards complaints.we are so far linked with players that are simply no wheres near good enough.niko degen barry downing reira. I MEAN COME ON FFS u make a huge signing for 26mil and look what it does u spastic manager and owner we now proberly have the best striker in the world cause u spent big.im sorry but if we keep finishing 4th 5th then we will start to lose big players all 3 or 4 of them.DIC PLZ COME RESCUE US its time we won the league
The problem is Liverpool spend a huge amount of money on average players. Excluding Fernando Torres can someone tell me any other player that managed to make an impact in the Liverpool line-up that justify the millions of pounds spent behind them?
Rafa Benitez is a crap manager who rides his luck on UCL, hence Liverpool is always playing for 1 competition by winter.
Reading those statements above, both from Stevie & soccerlens, I really do feel Sympathetic to Stevie, for all of the hard work he’s done for the club. By bringing several different types of tophies back home, he has proven to be a great player, and also a great influnce & leader at Liverpool. But his long fantasies to lift up the Premier leauge trophy still had to be delayed..
I do know how SG feels right know, where he felt that he could win the trophy that man utd had just won recently. Because i too play football, but at school. And i consider myself to be much more better & talented than my friends, even at the whole region where i play. But football isn’t about a one man show, it’s about the team. Stevie G is right, Liverpool are lacking the Quality of players that they’re rivals Chelsea & manchaster united have.
I myslef as a liverpool fan feel disappointed that liverpool cant get the trophy that they say they are going to get this seasson. And also see Stevie’s determination gone to nothing. And i can see liverpool going nowhere if they dont get players with quality to play for liverpool. Because other clubs are catching up with that idea and signing other quality players as well. like newcastle, tottenham, everton, arsenal, portsmouth, and others. even though if liverpool dont sign quality players next year because they’re not looking for the BPL winners, but they’re fourth spot posittion could not be secured with the other teams breathing down their necks.
So i just hope, for liverpools next seasons campagin to be an enjoyable and also a camapagin where SG can finally end his longing dream to lift up th BPL trophy with other quality players beside him. Because with the determination that Stevie has whon, i think he deserve’s not only one title, but also quadrapple titiles, because he’s shwon something that not others can give, and he has shown it once it the champions league final against AC Milan. Where liverpool lost 3-0 in the first half, then made a draw 3-3 at second and won at penalities, and that is a huge flair & determination that stevie has shown. So i hope he can show that behaviour again, and win more tittles in the coming years in liverpool.
These people actually believe it was Steven Gerrard? Well 1 and 3.
May I reiterate; “Any similarities to real people are entirely accidental.”
Poor article, SL. Sort it out boys.
I agree with Tony.
Gerrard would never slag off Barry, they’re good mates! I also think Barry would be a good addition to the midfield, given how well those two played together for England.
I completely agree with the rest though. If you “add up” the quality of Liverpool’s squad it evens the other top teams in the premiership - I mean, five forwards: Crouch, Torres, Voronin, Babel, Kuyt overall is equal to Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Saha. But United have the better first team, because Ronaldo and Rooney starting with Tevez off the bench is far better than Torres, Babel, Kuyt on the wings with Crouch and Voronin off the bench.
Liverpool need an average player clear out. And for every 3 they get rid of, they need to buy 2 world class players. Then they’re in it to win it.
this article is a load of rubbish, theres more then 2 great players at liverpool, jamie c and mascherano are both world class, players. sorry but this was obviously written by a dirty mank
Raed - Javier Mascherano 17 million and Xabi Alonso 10 million. Sadly those are the only 2 players i can think of over 10 million (other than Nando) that have been worth the money.
I am currently 17 and have never even been alive for a Liverpool league win.
Stevie’s comments dont suprise me after all he is a fan like me and feels the same agony at knowing that Liverpool probably wont buy anyone 20mill+ were as spurs and sunderland are on a spending spree.
Gerrard is standing up for Rafa, Rafa is afraid of the yanks because they pull the strings but Stevie knows that they wouldnt dare mess with him, Tom Hicks said hes desperate to win the trust of the fans back well mr hicks there are only a few things you need to do.
1. Bring in atleast 3 players over 20million worth.
2. Stop bitching with your fellow american.
3. Stick with your promises about building a 70,000 seater stadium and dont reduce it!!
I hate fans who dont show faith in Rafa, if there’s one thing hes done in his reign here its bring in remarkable young talent.
1.Nemeth - A young hungarian striker who reminds me of Robbie. Hes already got an anfield goal to his name and trust me the kid will be in the first team soon.
2.Pacheco - The killer he is regarded in Spain but here he is known as the prospect. Only 17 and already looks like a World beater.
3.Bruna - Another “Next Messi”. Idk about that but he certainly isnt far from the level Babel is at now.
another few names Insua, Plesis, San jose, Darby.
I despair at the world sometimes.
IT’S NOT STEVEN GERRARD WRITING IT’S THE SOCCERLENS BLOGGER.
Hopefully that is clear enough.
I don’t think SG would said such thing. For me, as a loyal Liverpudlians he wouldn’t comments on his manager. Rafa is such a great manager with good tactical instinct. i don’t think players worth RM10 Mil above will ensure Reds win BPL. Team co-operation mixed with players talent plus manager tactical & technique are keys factors to bring reds success.
I find this article the funniest ever written for soccerlens…It’s been 18 years since they lifted the trophy.They ‘ll never do it with managers like Benitez and players like Yossi Benayoun, yossi island, kirby’s adventure , zenden , super mario bros , sonic , little nemo etc.
Gerrard is my best player and i often feel sorry for him i no how much effort he puts in why dont raffa sit down with him and ask wot players he wud like 2 play with i bet the players who he says i bet 90% of the players wud go 2 liverpool does anybody agree
i think he will win the prem 1 day but i think as a manager not a player
Seeing as this whole article is purely fictional and not the words of the great man himself (clearly), I find this page completely pointless. Do you actually think Steven Gerrard would write words like that, I don’t think so, and does anyone actually think he would leave the club unless he was forced to?
Who ever wrote this should find something better to do with their time because this obviously isn’t their forte, few of the comments are worth even thinking about as they are far from correct. Liverpool aren’t that far from a premiership winning side and big money is not necessarily a requirement as Wenger has proved time and time again.
My rating: minus 10 out of 10….