Bar a sixth European Cup, one of the two will leave in the summer, I’m sure of it.
Dress it up all you like, many forums, friends and fans have tried, but these two men just don’t blend, either personally or professionally. The increasing urgency of the situation between them is growing, dare I say, even expanding, with every poor result, or twisted media comment that passes, it’s futile attempting to brush it under the carpet now, it may as well be addressed head on and some form of beneficial conclusion, hopefully met.
Rafa's cold, stubborn, rather robotic style of man management doesn't suit Stevie, either as a player, or as a personality, if he had any level of versatility whatsoever, Rafa Benitez would adapt his personal approach and deal with Gerrard accordingly, that is, after all, a fundamental element of being a top manager for a massive club, is it not ? Dealing with world class players, and ultimately keeping them happy at all costs, especially if you only possess ONE player, so 'head and shoulders' above the rest, in a squad littered with a who’s who generally labeled, ‘not good enough’, ‘might be good enough’ and ‘never were good enough’…..
In turn, Stevie appears over sensitive, self indulgent and has apparently started believing his own ridiculous, media fuelled, Andy Gray stimulated hype. Let’s face it, he’s arrogant, and probably has every right to be. At 26 years of age what he’s achieved for this football club, often defies belief, so if he wants his self-esteem massaged and his self-image pumped once in a while, either publicly or privately, **** it Rafa, break the mould, swallow your pride and treat the lad, he deserves it.
Perhaps a more fundamental question is, whether Stevie (or should I say Stevie’s ego) has ever recovered from the fact that Rafa was fully and unflinchingly prepared to cash in on the captain, merely weeks after such a pivotal role in the greatest night in this club’s history ? Parry and Rafa would have us presume Gerrard had been gratuitously swept along by his own raging insecurities over the stalling of his new contract, I don’t necessarily buy that, I think Rafa would have quite happily waved goodbye to the skipper that summer, after all, we are led to believe (to quote Balague) that Rafa had ‘given up’ trying to convince Stevie to stay put and it was a 3am, panicky phone call to Moores, declaring his love for the club, that eventually meant he followed his heart, not his head, and stayed at Liverpool football club.
I think Rafa knows he cant announce to the world he wants Stevie gone, the fans simply wouldn’t have it, so, slowly but surely, he’s forcing, squeezing Stevie out of the picture, it's sly, and it's an ambitious theory, but I for one dont think it's too far from the truth.
Where exactly would Rafa be without Stevie though, eh ? It’s an interesting question.
Probably without a European Cup and almost certainly without an FA Cup to his name, that’s for sure. You could even make a (strong) case to suggest that without Gerrard, Benitez would no longer be at Liverpool football club. Over dramatic? No, I don’t think so.
Quite where the ‘real’ Steven Gerrard lies, I have no idea. Rafa now claims Stevie is more ‘complete’ footballer, personally, I preferred him when he was rawer. The last six months of Houllier’s tenure for me represent Stevie’s best ever form, and that includes last season.
Where that brooding, brilliant, quasi feral scouser has gone, God only knows. Where are the (often two footed) tackles these days? I haven’t seen one for weeks, nay, months. Where’s the kid without a care for reputations or names, the fist pumping celebrations, the lung bursting runs. Has anyone even seen him even mutter a single word to a team mate on the pitch recently ?! **** that, has anyone even seen him smile ?! He has looked subdued, muted and rather limp, almost….dare I say it ? Resigned to something. He’s not happy. Not on the center, not on the left and certainly not on the right.
To sum up, in a round-about way, I strongly suspect, one of these two proud men, the scouser and the man from Madrid, will pack their bags and leave in the summer, for me, if your manager and your captain don’t get on, the only way forward, is for one of them to depart.
Whilst my heart hopes and prays it’s not Stevie, my head is perfectly aware it’s unlikely to be Benitez.
Dress it up all you like, many forums, friends and fans have tried, but these two men just don’t blend, either personally or professionally. The increasing urgency of the situation between them is growing, dare I say, even expanding, with every poor result, or twisted media comment that passes, it’s futile attempting to brush it under the carpet now, it may as well be addressed head on and some form of beneficial conclusion, hopefully met.
Rafa's cold, stubborn, rather robotic style of man management doesn't suit Stevie, either as a player, or as a personality, if he had any level of versatility whatsoever, Rafa Benitez would adapt his personal approach and deal with Gerrard accordingly, that is, after all, a fundamental element of being a top manager for a massive club, is it not ? Dealing with world class players, and ultimately keeping them happy at all costs, especially if you only possess ONE player, so 'head and shoulders' above the rest, in a squad littered with a who’s who generally labeled, ‘not good enough’, ‘might be good enough’ and ‘never were good enough’…..
In turn, Stevie appears over sensitive, self indulgent and has apparently started believing his own ridiculous, media fuelled, Andy Gray stimulated hype. Let’s face it, he’s arrogant, and probably has every right to be. At 26 years of age what he’s achieved for this football club, often defies belief, so if he wants his self-esteem massaged and his self-image pumped once in a while, either publicly or privately, **** it Rafa, break the mould, swallow your pride and treat the lad, he deserves it.
Perhaps a more fundamental question is, whether Stevie (or should I say Stevie’s ego) has ever recovered from the fact that Rafa was fully and unflinchingly prepared to cash in on the captain, merely weeks after such a pivotal role in the greatest night in this club’s history ? Parry and Rafa would have us presume Gerrard had been gratuitously swept along by his own raging insecurities over the stalling of his new contract, I don’t necessarily buy that, I think Rafa would have quite happily waved goodbye to the skipper that summer, after all, we are led to believe (to quote Balague) that Rafa had ‘given up’ trying to convince Stevie to stay put and it was a 3am, panicky phone call to Moores, declaring his love for the club, that eventually meant he followed his heart, not his head, and stayed at Liverpool football club.
I think Rafa knows he cant announce to the world he wants Stevie gone, the fans simply wouldn’t have it, so, slowly but surely, he’s forcing, squeezing Stevie out of the picture, it's sly, and it's an ambitious theory, but I for one dont think it's too far from the truth.
Where exactly would Rafa be without Stevie though, eh ? It’s an interesting question.
Probably without a European Cup and almost certainly without an FA Cup to his name, that’s for sure. You could even make a (strong) case to suggest that without Gerrard, Benitez would no longer be at Liverpool football club. Over dramatic? No, I don’t think so.
Quite where the ‘real’ Steven Gerrard lies, I have no idea. Rafa now claims Stevie is more ‘complete’ footballer, personally, I preferred him when he was rawer. The last six months of Houllier’s tenure for me represent Stevie’s best ever form, and that includes last season.
Where that brooding, brilliant, quasi feral scouser has gone, God only knows. Where are the (often two footed) tackles these days? I haven’t seen one for weeks, nay, months. Where’s the kid without a care for reputations or names, the fist pumping celebrations, the lung bursting runs. Has anyone even seen him even mutter a single word to a team mate on the pitch recently ?! **** that, has anyone even seen him smile ?! He has looked subdued, muted and rather limp, almost….dare I say it ? Resigned to something. He’s not happy. Not on the center, not on the left and certainly not on the right.
To sum up, in a round-about way, I strongly suspect, one of these two proud men, the scouser and the man from Madrid, will pack their bags and leave in the summer, for me, if your manager and your captain don’t get on, the only way forward, is for one of them to depart.
Whilst my heart hopes and prays it’s not Stevie, my head is perfectly aware it’s unlikely to be Benitez.
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