The Best and Worst of Gerrard’s Teammates

The Liverpool legend details his thoughts on the best and worst that Liverpool had to offer throughout his career in his autobiography.

It’s always fascinating when a player that has been so pivotal to their sport releases an autobiography; a candid look into their career and what was really going through their head.

All has been laid bare in his new book, which sees him talk about his frenzied 38 seconds against Man Utd last season, which saw him stamp on Herrera’s ankle. He also delves into some juicy details about the best and worst players that he’s played with at Anfield.

What Stevie G really thinks of the top players

As well as giving an insight into Steven’s emotions after Liverpool lost the title race, he also unveils what he thought of previous managers and players.

Liverpool have looked deflated since they came painfully close to taking the top spot, and since losing Gerrard and Suarez, they haven’t recaptured their form.

It seems that Gerrard felt frustrated at Liverpool’s inability to hold on to their elite players. He was very quick to praise Suarez, Torres and Alonso, outlining that they are some of the best players to ever share a shirt with him. However, these were players that were sold at the top (or very near) of their game. Alonso was famously shipped to Real Madrid, Suarez to Barca, and Torres to Chelsea.

Gerrard has branded Rafa Benitez as silly for selling Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. He sings the Spaniard’s praises, saying that Alonso was the best central midfielder that he has ever played alongside.

It would have been great to see Alonso and Gerrard stick it out together for a few more years, in what was one of the most commanding central midfield partnerships in recent memory.

He was less than complimentary about much loathed bad boy El Hadji Diouf – even comparing him to another player who had a disappointing spell at Anfield, Mario Balotelli.

Liverpool’s common problem

It seems to be an issue that Liverpool can’t compete with the other giants of Europe when it comes to battling for the top players’ signatures. It still bewilders many why Gerrard still isn’t playing at Anfield, despite still clearly having enough juice in the tank to compete in the top flight.

But this highlights that Liverpool need to get better at retaining their top talent. Torres left them at the peak of his goalscoring ability and has faded into obscurity since. Maybe it’s been all of the transfers and unsettling travels that disrupted his flow – who knows – but when another of your top scoring strikers leaves after setting the Premiership alight, then you have issues.