With the news breaking late Tuesday night about Steven Gerrard’s potential return to Liverpool, my head was reeling. I didn’t – and still don’t – know quite how to feel about it all. I’m part elated; part skeptical; part terrified about how the doomsayers of the LFC fanbase might take to battering the man on social media, having influenced his decision to leave last season with their fickle criticisms and negativity.
Let’s focus on elation for a second. The mood around the club after eight games of the Premier League season was anything but. The performances were aimless, the supporters restless and Brendan Rodgers couldn’t decide which mask he wanted to parade. We were missing a leader. And desperately.
For 10 years, from the highs of Istanbul to the lows of our 6-1 defeat at Stoke last May, Steven Gerrard was Liverpool Football Club’s leader. He came roaring out of the tunnel in Turkey to inspire an unbelievable triumph against all the odds all those years ago. He was the man sprinting the ball back to the centre circle at the Brittania, in steely defiance to the lost cause it ultimately was.
On that paragraph alone I could rest my case and pronounce his return a resounding positive. However, being a pragmatist, there are other factors to consider. When Gerrard left last season, it was on the back of what could be described as his poorest year in a Liverpool kit. There was an absence of a world class talent in the squad that he had grown accustomed to playing alongside in his career as a Red. Too much of the club’s burdens were placed upon his shoulders, and at 35, he no longer possessed the energy to match his will and passion.
The argument was made in mitigation of Gerrard’s leaving, that Jordan Henderson – who had been accused of playing within himself when on the pitch with Gerrard – could grow into the midfield role he was being groomed for since he came to the club. If Gerrard is to return in a playing capacity, what then of Henderson, having been given the captain’s armband in the summer? Would he return to the tame, ok-but-not-great performances that plagued patches of his season, living in Steven Gerrard’s shadow?
These are the metaphorical sticks that the doomsayers I mentioned will be wielding in anticipation for the first signs of cracking, should he arrive back in Liverpool with his playing boots laced. Let me clarify my meandering by stating that I do not want Gerrard to return as a Liverpool player. The memories he gave me as a Red will live forever, but that ship has sailed. He just can’t give us what we would expect of him and I don’t want to give anyone the justification for slating a living Liverpool legend and my favourite player of all time.
There exists, however, the possibility that Jurgen Klopp has reached out to Stevie G with a place on his coaching staff in mind. Gerrard is currently pursuing his UEFA B licence and has spoken recently about coming back to the club to manage. This is a narrative that makes me much happier. It’s always the opinion of the armchair fan that a former player in the dugout is never a bad idea. Then who better than arguably the most iconic former player the club has ever known? If Gary McAllister put a smile on a lot of Kopites’ faces, imagine the reaction to the news of Steven Gerrard returning to a coaching role.
It is something that Gerrard has been passively preparing himself for, for some time now. In May, he told Jason Burt of the Telegraph:
What I have tried to do over the years, with managers I have worked with, is take little bits and write notes…whether that be good or bad, try and log it all and take a little piece from the good ones I have worked with…there’s some important stuff in there that might help me in the future.
He has also said that he would remain a supporter all of his life and we need that kind of person at the club. There have been a lot more positives recently under Klopp and the German will recognise that there is an opportunity to foster a passionate Liverpool Football Club once more by bringing back a man that defines it. Whether it be to train and stay fit while MLS hibernates for the winter, or to learn from one of the best in the business, this Red is longing to see Steven Gerrard back at Liverpool Football Club.
