The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson is no longer manager of Manchester United and that Frank Lampard no longer plays his football in Chelsea blue are reminders of one inevitable truth that even applies to football, nothing lasts forever. At the age of 34, Steven Gerrard is out of contract this summer. With the Liverpool captain and his club still a long way apart in contract negotiations could this be the end of Gerrard’s tenure at Anfield? And should it be?
It has been widely reported that Stevie-G has been offered a two year deal by Liverpool. Two year deals don’t exactly grow on trees when you’re a footballer in your mid-thirties, which would suggest that Gerrard’s issue is with money. Those same reports that claim that he has been offered a two year deal have suggested that he would have to take a hefty pay cut in order to stay.
Does this suggest that Steven Gerrard’s importance to Liverpool has decreased? You could certainly argue that this is what the club seem to be saying, if they think that he is no longer worthy of the salary that he once was.
There is no doubt that over his illustrious career Gerrard has carried Liverpool single-handedly on more than one occasion. This weekend eyebrows were raised when Gerrard was either dropped or rested for Liverpool’s win over Stoke on Saturday. Once upon a time, leaving Gerrard out for anything other than an injury would have been unthinkable. Times are changing, I guess.
The decision was more than vindicated when Gerrard starred in Tuesday night’s win over Leicester City where he capped a fantastic performance with a goal. Too much was made of a 34 year old being rested on a Saturday ahead of a Tuesday game. Wouldn’t you expect that? He is 34 years old isn’t he? Maybe this just shows that too much has been expected of Gerrard for too long.
He can be a big player for Liverpool, but perhaps not one who can carry them to wins on his own twice a week. But then Liverpool are trying to pay him a wage that reflects that he’s no longer the man in a one man team. Despite the pay cut I would imagine that the salary offered is still pretty favourable for a Premier League player. It just might be that he is no longer in that Yaya Touré/Eden Hazard/Wayne Rooney bracket when it comes to importance.
If Gerrard can’t agree to a compromise then it looks like he will be moving on in the summer, but perhaps that won’t be the worst thing for the former England captain. At 34 the offers that he would receive would still be substantial and varied. Big clubs in Italy would be keen, he can play in Spain, France or maybe somewhere else in the UK. And what’s more, he’ll be able to leave Liverpool at the height of his powers. The often overstated achievement of ‘going out on top’.
Then again, if Steven Gerrard signs a two year deal and has a similar decision to make at the age of 36, his options would be far more limited. Interest from big clubs in Spain, Italy and France will disappear. Even big clubs in England will have less of an interest. Especially if Gerrard’s contribution for Liverpool continues to decline over the next two years.
Suddenly Gerrard will be faced with the retirement home options. Qatar, Australia, India and most notably the USA. These are the places where Gerrard will look to ply his trade. And why wouldn’t he? 36 is old in top flight footballer terms but still pretty young to call time on your career.
Steven Gerrard is worth a new contract at Liverpool this summer. Who knows, maybe he is even worth a little more than Liverpool are currently offering. But not much more. From Liverpool’s point of view, big game players are hard to find. Match winners are hard to find. And they have let their fair share leave over the last few years. Steven Gerrard is still a match winner, even if he can no longer do it every week. There are still man of the match performances in Gerrard’s locker, just like the one we saw at Leicester City on Tuesday night.
The main thing that has come from all of this is surely that we shouldn’t be married to the idea of seeing Steven Gerrard in a Liverpool shirt. Frank Lampard plays for Man City, Joey Barton hasn’t been arrested for ages and Jamie Carragher now lines up alongside Gary Neville. Things do change, Liverpool fans will find new heroes to worship. It’s hard to imagine it now but they will, they always do.