The generous quotes, personal and team awards, although plentiful do not include one important thing, a league winners medal. Gerrard surely would have had at least a couple of these had he joined Chelsea when Jose Mourinho came calling in 2005. It looks unlikely at this stage in his career to end with an elusive Premiership Winners medal in his trophy cabinet. The club, and Gerrard has been looking to get back to winning ways in the domestic game every since the early 1990's. Gerrard has enjoyed some great success in domestic cup competitons (includung the Gerrard FA final against West Ham in 2005/6) but he longs for the league title for his home town club as do the clubs new owners who have set about making that happen after taking over from the disasters reign of Hicks and Gillett.
With Brendan Rodgers now at the helm after taking over from King Kenny, Liverpool is in a rebuilding phase. The squad has been overhauled to suit Rodgers preferred system and style of play (a possession based 4-3-3). Rodgers demands great work rate, concentration and commitment to the greater good which has seen many comings and goings this summer. The main ones being the loan move of Any Carroll to West Ham, the sale of Charlie Adam to Stoke, and the freezing out of Jordan Henderson (all players who didn't fit into Rodgers system or plans) and various new technical players arriving at Anfield, including Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin and Fabio Borini. As the new boys set in, there is a legacy of the old guard that Rodgers looks keen to shake off to show he is the man in control at the club although he was undermined by FSG on the final day of transfer action. Rodgers, after getting rid of Carroll expected to get the American Clint Dempsey in from Fulham, the Liverpool owners wouldn't bid more than £4 million and instead watched their manager's prime target join cross town London rivals, Spurs, for a meager £6 million. They also turned down the option of signing Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge on a permanent deal, all this frugal transfer business after FSG had previously let Damien Comolli and Kenny Dalglish splash the following...
| Player | Signed | Cost | Came from |
| 31 January 2011 | |||
| 31 January 2011 | |||
| July 15 2011 | |||
| 9 June 2011 | |||
| July 2011 | |||
| 30 August 2011 |
This reversal in transfer policy looks to mean the New Englander's don't want to splash anymore cash. Rodgers has spent close to £30 million bringing in talent, but also made £10 million selling, loaning and cutting the wage bill. What does this mean to Liverpool's captain...
Gerrard's spot in the team looks the most troubled it's been since his full debut. Even during the summer sagas that previously played out with Gerrard and Chelsea his place in the Liverpool starting XI was never really in question. Other than suspensions and injuries, Gerrard has been a constant starter from Liverpool, and his passion, ability and leadership has made him, rightly so, the face of Liverpool. Liverpool's terrible start to the season (including an opening day defeat at Liverpool's old assistant Steve Clark's WBA, and a poor home defeat last time out at Anfield against Arsenal (who hadn't scored in their 2 previous games) has got some fans worried. More worrying is the lack of cohesion between Gerrard and his teamates so far. Liverpool's only goals coming from set-pieces against Manchester City (Srktel - from a corner, Suarez - from a free kick). Gerrard has given the ball away too often and this has directly lead to a couple of goals (one against West Brom and one against Arsenal). His movement is sporadic and often too direct and reckless for Rodgers system, leaving holes punctured throughout the midfield 3 (similar to what happens to England when Gerrard plays with Lampard). His roaming, marauding style of play makes him a fans favourite and means he gets the opportunity to shoot plenty and arrive at the edge of the box to create or score. Now there is a more rigid system based on standardized teamwork rather than individual players showcasing their talent and driving the rest of the team forward he looks lost at times. Gerrard is a fantastic player, and I don't think Rodgers can drop him without losing the dressing room and the support of the crowd, but I think he would if he could, to suit his system better. Sahin looked rather off the pace but comfortable in possession in his debut against Arsenal, Allen is the midfield lynchpin who keeps the ball moving, then there's Gerrard. His long diagonal passes, drifting movement pulled the team out of shape, and although he likes to drive forward he was pretty ineffiecient at linking up with Suarez (misplacing a pass led to Podolski goal) Sterling, or Borini. With Lucas out injured and the Liverpool squad pretty thin Gerrards position is safe for now, but unless he gets to grips with the system quickly or Rodgers adjusts it to get more out of Gerrard (very unlikely) this could see the frustrating end to what has quite simply been a fantastic Liverpool career for Super Stevie G. The lack of quality throughout the squad -Downing looking impotent, Maxi Rodriguez gone, Henderson average, and no new blood to challenge the Captain's place means he's going to play. Sadly for Stevie, and us Liverpool fans, we need him more than ever and in this system, he just doesn't look like half the player he can be.
Club
- FA Cup (2): 2000–01, 2005–06
- League Cup (3): 2000–01, 2002–03, 2011–12
- FA Community Shield (2): 2001, 2006
- UEFA Champions League (1): 2004–05
- UEFA Cup (1): 2000–01
- UEFA Super Cup (2): 2001, 2005
Individual
- FWA Footballer of the Year (1): 2009
- PFA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2006
- PFA Young Player of the Year (1): 2001
- PFA Fans' Player of the Year (2): 2001, 2009
- PFA Team of the Year (7): 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Premier League Player of the Month Award (5): March 2001, March 2003, December 2004, April 2006, March 2009
- Liverpool Top Goalscorer (3): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
- Ballon d'Or Bronze Award (1): 2005
- UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1): 2005
- UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (1): 2005
- UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (1): 2012
- UEFA Team of the Year (3): 2005, 2006, 2007
- FIFA/FIFPro World XI (3): 2007, 2008, 2009
- FA Cup Final Man of the Match (1): 2006
- Goal of the Season (1): 2006
- England Player of the Year (1): 2007
- Member of the Order of the British Empire: 2007
- Honorary Fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University: 2008
- BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award – 3rd Place: 2005
Source - Wikipedia
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