25 Jan 2008

Steven Gerrard's sneaky attempt to usurp John Terry as England Captain

In a self-serving statement of almost Machiavellian slyness, Steven Gerrard has sneakily announced his desire to usurp John Terry as England Captain under Fabio Capello’s new regime.

Gerrard’s latest comments on the issue dripped with hollow sincerity: "If the manager comes and asks you 'do you want to be captain?' then you say 'yes of course, but I don't want to put my name forward because we have our leader in John Terry and we have to show some respect”.

So, Gerrard’s idea of not putting his name forward is...putting his name forward indirectly! By saying ‘I don’t want to put my name forward’ he is doing exactly that, and he knows it!

Gerrard’s hollow endorsement of Terry included the immortal line ‘We have to show some respect’. Respect? That’s a laugh. Showing respect would be backing Terry without all the obvious subtext.

Gerrard’s focus on not putting his name forward continued: ‘Every England player wants to captain his country. But John is our captain at the moment and that hasn't changed as yet. So, we have to wait and see what the new manager decides."

If Gerrard had any class, he would have simply backed Terry to the hilt and said nothing else. Instead, he did everything he could to let the world know that he wants the Captaincy, and he wants it bad.

I’m sure many fans won’t bat an eyelid at Gerrard’s comments, but once again they expose his selfish ambition, lack of class and propensity for making ill-advised public comments.

His comments also expose the lack of unity and teamwork within the England team. If there was any real solidarity, Gerrard would have backed Terry without the cheap ‘come and get me’ subtext.

Such a lack of team unity is arguably part of the reason England’s overpaid ladyboys underachieve so much; they’re all in it for themselves and their own glory instead of looking at the bigger picture.

Gerrard's naked display of selfish ambition is no surprise, considering he believes that England games are more important than Liverpool games anyway. Just witness his comments before the ill-fated Euro 2008 game against Croatia – a debacle of a game for which, incidentally, Gerrard was captain:

"When I join up with England, these games are bigger than Champions League games or league games. You're representing your country. If you go to a major tournament and play well or achieve something as a team it's going to be a lot bigger than achieving something at your club."

After the ignominious Croatia defeat, I explained why I feel Gerrard is a poor Captain for England – my feelings have not changed.

As much as it would be great to have a Liverpool player captaining the national side, it’s best to be honest: Gerrard just does not have the leadership ability of John Terry, and that has been proven in his never say die performances for Chelsea and England.

I’ve said it once and I'll say it again: Gerrard is not a leader. He does not have the strength of character, the fighting mentality or motivational power to be a consistently effective Captain.

This has been obvious for years at Liverpool, and Gerrard’s lack of motivational impact is glaringly apparent in Liverpool’s current period of draw-infested drudgery.

Gerrard’s limitations were also obvious against Croatia last November, where England’s players were undone by dispiriting lack urgency as the Croatians were given all the room in the world to weave their magic.

I cringed in the pre-Croatia build up as Gerrard issued his rallying cry of how England had to ‘die out there’ and how the players had to ‘give everything they’ve got’. Gerrard does not have the motivational ability to inspire players to give it everything they’ve got!

Indeed, 'Captain Fantastic' barely said a world all night to his team-mates, and the real lack of proper leadership on the field was palpable.

All we ever hear from Gerrard re the national team is how much he loves England, and what an honour it is to Captain the team. So where was the passion against Croatia? Where was the much vaunted passion and inspirational leadership?

A real Captain would not have let the heads go down after Scott Carson’s howler, and would’ve had a quick word with the stricken keeper in an attempt to restore his confidence.

A real Captain would have fought tooth and nail to keep the confidence and self-belief flowing. Gerrard did none of these things. As per usual in the big games, whether it’s England or Liverpool, he hid and singularly failed to shoulder the responsibility.

Ultimately, I believe making Gerrard Captain of England would have an adverse effect on Liverpool. He has enough on his plate struggling to captain the club effectively, and the England job would be too much for him to handle.

And I don't think I can take anymore of Gerrard's 'inspirational' rallying cries before every England game...


2 comments:

  1. this article is just the mighty truth. If a game was to be won 3-0 by Gerrard's team, he would want 2 score all of those 3 goals.he is that selfish.Especially in England shirt, he just seems to be playing for fun. apparently, he is like " I am the Lord of creation in Liverpool, so I deserve to play for England. And thats all.No need to do sth extra"

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  2. That's rubbish Stevie has always inspired people but if the quality is not around you then sometimes you have to go out and do it yourself and score the goals you need but when you have 10 players around you that you don't really know or hardly ever see it's very difficult to motivate them.

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