ONLY a day after the signing of Joe Cole, Liverpool fans can now continue to smile after Steven Gerrard spoke out to assure everyone at Anfield that he is committed to the club. Despite the midfielder signing a contract only last summer that would have seen him play at Anfield till 2013, Gerrard has surprisingly made the news with this statement of intent. Nobody really expected him to move did they? He didn’t exactly light up the World Cup, and at 30 years old his list of potential suitors would have been far fewer than say, five years ago.
Gerrard was only loosely linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, with Rafa Benitez’s Inter Milan looking the most likely destination should the Merseysider leave. Indeed it was Benitez’s predecessor Jose Mourinho who almost took him to Chelsea in 2005, after Liverpool saw off AC Milan in Istanbul to win the Champions League. Gerrard in the end stayed, and since has been Liverpool’s catalyst in their success ever since, though Chelsea have gone on to win the Premiership twice since he chose not to move. A league title has unfortunately continued to elude him ever since.
This isn’t the first time a talented player has chosen to stay loyal to their club in the Premier League, but only rarely has such a player failed to go and win the league at some stage. Ian Wright had to wait over five years till Arsenal won the Premiership, and even Cristiano Ronaldo went four years without winning the title. Gerrard however, made his league debut over ten years ago and is still waiting for a Chanpionship medal. He may well retire without one, in belief that it just wasn’t meant to be. He isn’t alone though.
There were some footballers with a grand reputation who, despite playing in the Premiership, never really contributed enough to warrant a trophy in the first place. For example, George Weah’s short stint at Manchester City and Chelsea at the turn of the last decade wasn’t entirely a worthless experience, but he did manage less than 20 games. Jurgen Klinsmann proved a surprise hit with a nation not exactly fond of Germans in 1994 when he moved to Spurs, but his one season ended in disappointment as they lost to Everton in the FA Cup Semi Final at Elland Road. Klinsmann would however return in 1998 to help Spurs battle successfully against relegation.
There are a hatful of players that moved to clubs just after their peak, where a Premiership trophy would have been well received, but not a necessity. Stand up Chris Waddle, Laurent Blanc, Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Gianluca Vialli and Ruud Gullit. Sit back down William Prunier.
Vialli and Gullit in particular were part of a Chelsea club that were going in the right direction, but Chelsea would only finally be crowned champions after the two had left. Unfortunately this was the case for two other stars of that Chelsea team in the late nineties - Gianfranco Zola and Marcel Desailly. Although these two still had undoubted class, in particular Zola, and contributed enormously to the improvement of Chelsea in that era, they both joined the club at 30 years of age, and had both already won domestic titles in Italy. They wouldn’t have lost too much sleep since leaving the land of the Premier League. Desailly has since starred as a popular ITV pundit during the South Africa World Cup, thankfully distracting viewers away from some of Gareth Southgate’s shirt choices.
One man who played in the Premier League but never showed a particular interest in even winning the Premiership was the hugely talented Matthew Le Tissier of Southampton. Gifted with unbelievable natural talent and a deadly right foot, Le Tissier could have bargained for a move elsewhere, and Southampton could have cashed in also, but he never really showed the desire to challenge himself at a bigger club. Le Tissier was often described as a luxury player - perhaps not disciplined enough in his work-rate to succeed at a more demanding level, and not ambitious enough to change such traits.
He is forgiven by almost all though, as Le Tissier ended his career a one-club player. He was the scorer of many a spectacular goal, indeed there really isn’t a finer thing on YouTube than THIS compilation of his greatest moments. What struck you most about Le Tissier was the consistency with which he achieved these feats, and you can only imagine what magical moments he may have conjured up if he had been involved in cup finals, last-day title deciders and European football. Sky Sports viewers have over recent years been subject to ex-England manager Glenn Hoddle preaching about the lack of flair in the England team, with Hoddle stating how our country does not allow for more expressive players to be part of our international side. Why then Glenn, did you omit both Le Tissier and Paul Gascoigne, England's two greatest creative players of the 1990's, from the 1998 World Cup Squad?
Le Tissier’s ex-teammate Alan Shearer is another player that could have achieved more medal-wise. Rejecting the chance to join Manchester United in 1992, in favour of Blackburn Rovers, Shearer could only stand and watch as Alex Ferguson’s players won back-to-back titles. It wasn’t till 1995 that Shearer finally won the medal he longed for and deserved, as Blackburn snatched the trophy away from United.
Shearer of course later rejected United again in 1996, in favour of joining his boy-hood club Newcastle United. Such honourable actions would be classed as ultra-rare in today’s modern game, though Newcastle were hardly struggling for relegation, and in fact had only lost out on the 1996 title on the last day. However, with United going on to dominate domestically ever since, and having achieved success in Europe, Shearer can only speculate on the trophies and medals he could have won at Old Trafford.
Gerrard isn’t alone in wanting to end his career as a one-club player. He certainly won’t end his career without medals. During his time at Liverpool, Gerrard has won two FA Cups, two League Cups, the UEFA Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and also the Champions League, to which he very almost won twice. It seems that Gerrard is fortunate to be at a club that holds success in European competitions as much value as success domestically, indeed Liverpool have still won the European Cup more than any other single English side. Perhaps though, Gerrard would have benefited more from a club more intent on winning a domestic title, giving him that Premiership medal he craves.
Gerrard was only loosely linked with a move away from Anfield this summer, with Rafa Benitez’s Inter Milan looking the most likely destination should the Merseysider leave. Indeed it was Benitez’s predecessor Jose Mourinho who almost took him to Chelsea in 2005, after Liverpool saw off AC Milan in Istanbul to win the Champions League. Gerrard in the end stayed, and since has been Liverpool’s catalyst in their success ever since, though Chelsea have gone on to win the Premiership twice since he chose not to move. A league title has unfortunately continued to elude him ever since.
This isn’t the first time a talented player has chosen to stay loyal to their club in the Premier League, but only rarely has such a player failed to go and win the league at some stage. Ian Wright had to wait over five years till Arsenal won the Premiership, and even Cristiano Ronaldo went four years without winning the title. Gerrard however, made his league debut over ten years ago and is still waiting for a Chanpionship medal. He may well retire without one, in belief that it just wasn’t meant to be. He isn’t alone though.
There were some footballers with a grand reputation who, despite playing in the Premiership, never really contributed enough to warrant a trophy in the first place. For example, George Weah’s short stint at Manchester City and Chelsea at the turn of the last decade wasn’t entirely a worthless experience, but he did manage less than 20 games. Jurgen Klinsmann proved a surprise hit with a nation not exactly fond of Germans in 1994 when he moved to Spurs, but his one season ended in disappointment as they lost to Everton in the FA Cup Semi Final at Elland Road. Klinsmann would however return in 1998 to help Spurs battle successfully against relegation.
There are a hatful of players that moved to clubs just after their peak, where a Premiership trophy would have been well received, but not a necessity. Stand up Chris Waddle, Laurent Blanc, Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff, Gianluca Vialli and Ruud Gullit. Sit back down William Prunier.
Vialli and Gullit in particular were part of a Chelsea club that were going in the right direction, but Chelsea would only finally be crowned champions after the two had left. Unfortunately this was the case for two other stars of that Chelsea team in the late nineties - Gianfranco Zola and Marcel Desailly. Although these two still had undoubted class, in particular Zola, and contributed enormously to the improvement of Chelsea in that era, they both joined the club at 30 years of age, and had both already won domestic titles in Italy. They wouldn’t have lost too much sleep since leaving the land of the Premier League. Desailly has since starred as a popular ITV pundit during the South Africa World Cup, thankfully distracting viewers away from some of Gareth Southgate’s shirt choices.
One man who played in the Premier League but never showed a particular interest in even winning the Premiership was the hugely talented Matthew Le Tissier of Southampton. Gifted with unbelievable natural talent and a deadly right foot, Le Tissier could have bargained for a move elsewhere, and Southampton could have cashed in also, but he never really showed the desire to challenge himself at a bigger club. Le Tissier was often described as a luxury player - perhaps not disciplined enough in his work-rate to succeed at a more demanding level, and not ambitious enough to change such traits.
He is forgiven by almost all though, as Le Tissier ended his career a one-club player. He was the scorer of many a spectacular goal, indeed there really isn’t a finer thing on YouTube than THIS compilation of his greatest moments. What struck you most about Le Tissier was the consistency with which he achieved these feats, and you can only imagine what magical moments he may have conjured up if he had been involved in cup finals, last-day title deciders and European football. Sky Sports viewers have over recent years been subject to ex-England manager Glenn Hoddle preaching about the lack of flair in the England team, with Hoddle stating how our country does not allow for more expressive players to be part of our international side. Why then Glenn, did you omit both Le Tissier and Paul Gascoigne, England's two greatest creative players of the 1990's, from the 1998 World Cup Squad?
Le Tissier’s ex-teammate Alan Shearer is another player that could have achieved more medal-wise. Rejecting the chance to join Manchester United in 1992, in favour of Blackburn Rovers, Shearer could only stand and watch as Alex Ferguson’s players won back-to-back titles. It wasn’t till 1995 that Shearer finally won the medal he longed for and deserved, as Blackburn snatched the trophy away from United.
Shearer of course later rejected United again in 1996, in favour of joining his boy-hood club Newcastle United. Such honourable actions would be classed as ultra-rare in today’s modern game, though Newcastle were hardly struggling for relegation, and in fact had only lost out on the 1996 title on the last day. However, with United going on to dominate domestically ever since, and having achieved success in Europe, Shearer can only speculate on the trophies and medals he could have won at Old Trafford.
Gerrard isn’t alone in wanting to end his career as a one-club player. He certainly won’t end his career without medals. During his time at Liverpool, Gerrard has won two FA Cups, two League Cups, the UEFA Cup, two UEFA Super Cups, and also the Champions League, to which he very almost won twice. It seems that Gerrard is fortunate to be at a club that holds success in European competitions as much value as success domestically, indeed Liverpool have still won the European Cup more than any other single English side. Perhaps though, Gerrard would have benefited more from a club more intent on winning a domestic title, giving him that Premiership medal he craves.
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