Steven Gerrard

“What’d you expect me to do?”

ssm — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:34:05 +0000

Unless you have been living in a cave (and if you have why the hell would you want to live in a cave, terrorist?) then you saw Gerrardinho hit a screamer to salvage 3 points against ‘Boro Saturday. Was there really any doubt when the ball was bounced to that lethal right foot that it wasn’t going to end up in the back of the net? I’ve watched the goal a dozen times or so, and read it impresses me each time. But should it really? This is by no means the first time this has happened. Youtube-tastic proof after the jump.

v. Olympiakos in the Champions League, only seconds away from elimination

v. West Ham in the FA Cup Final, only seconds away from elimination

and just to twist the knife to any ‘Boro fans reading, this gem from 2006.

The last isn’t wasn’t in the dying moments of the game, but it is another notch in the thunderbolt bedpost. And it was a bouncing ball hit from an audacious distance. People talk about dead ball strikers all the time, and the skill it takes to get the ball over the wall and under the bar. But how much more special are these goals? I’m not saying that great kick takers aren’t impressive – skinny Ronaldinho hit some beauties – but how often are free kicks conceded at the end of a close game in a dangerous area? Almost never. Rather it seems the ball is poured up field and dumped in the box where the ball inevitably gets nodded out by a central defender. And if you’ve got Steven Gerrard lining up that bouncing ball – tell your keeper to ~~bend over~~ get ready to get the ball out of the back of the net. Or if you’re Middlesbrough, tell your coach to get his best Eeyore face ready.

Champions League action is on deck for Stevie and the Reds, so watch this space for another Gerrardisimo moment (and maybe the introduction of the word Gerrardismoment to the footy lexicon!?)

Premier League Preivew – Stevie G Style

ssm — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:11:00 +0000

The 2008-2009 Premier League season is almost here my friends, and with the arrival of a new season of competition comes a new season of expectations. One could argue that the expectations are not higher for any team in the EPL than Liverpool (or maybe Tottenham, depending on who you talk to). These expectations fall hard on Rafa, but Captain Fantastic will bear the brunt of the on-pitch weight this season. After a very solid 2007-2008 campaign, Stevie will be absolutely desperate to improve on his effort from last season to finish the top of the table.

SG will need to be the “glue” of the team more than ever this year. With the El Nino-El Keano strike partnership still needing some work, Stevie will be looked upon to be the heart of the team for the start of the campaign. After suffering a groin injury against Valerenga two weeks ago, SG didn’t get any minutes in the Champions League ~~snooze-fest~~ game against Standard Leige this week. We can only hope that his groin is fully healed so he doesn’t face another injury-shortened season. On a related side-note, I hope that is that last sentence I write hoping the best for another man’s groin.

In all seriousness, Stevie will need to come out of the gates tomorrow and put in solid performances all season. If we lose him to injury or sub-par play for an extended stretch this season, LFC will end up in 4th….again. Sunderland are a good opening weekend match up, but they should not be overlooked. Hopefully they will serve as a suitable re-entry to competitive football for Gerrardinho.

In non-footy related news, Stevie finished construction on a gym that would eat my house this past week. The main Offside page had it posted a couple of days ago, but in case you missed it here it is again. Also recently reported via my Google Alert: Steven Gerrard splashes out on brand new Mini Cooper for wife Alex Curran’s birthday. Must be good to make £120,000 a week.

Steve Gerrard, Gerrard! He’ll pass the ball 40 yards!

ssm — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:27:46 +0000

Well lets get this show on the road! It’s with much pleasure and enjoyment I bring to you the new, shiny, (slightly Liverpool-biased) Steven Gerrard blog! I look forward to getting some good discussion going amongst the Stevie G aficionados (like myself) and even the Stevie G haters (like everyone who sucks).

I hope to post pretty frequently. My work does run into some random crazy periods, so that will hamper my ability to put up quality posts to a degree. So if you all do notice I’ve been “off my game” for a post or two: DEAL WITH IT! I’ve got a wife and dogs to feed! No, seriously though – I really do hope to keep this as current as I can, but things will undoubtedly get hectic for my occasionally. So bear with me.

I won’t consider this my first official post as there is no Gerrard-centric info in here. So to tide you over until the “first” post, enjoy Stevie G’s Top 10 courtesy of my good friends at YouTube. Leave me any comments of things you’d like for me to cover, discuss, or would just generally like me to know.

YNWA