Liverpool FC Forum

5 stars wrote:Here's something interesting on the Steven Gerrard front...

Meningitis scare for daughter of Reds skipper

Oct 24 2006

Liverpool Echo

STEVEN Gerrard rushed his six-month-old baby Lexie to hospital in a meningitis scare, it was reported today.
The Reds captain and his fiancée Alex Curran parked in an ambulance bay and ran into Whiston hospital carrying six-month-old Lexie, a newspaper report said.
Lexie was suffering from a rash and a temperature.
Hospital sources say she and her parents stayed overnight.
Yesterday Lexie was given the all-clear and returned to the couple's Formby home.

Reports say she had fallen ill on Saturday night while being baby-sat by Gerrard's family and doctors now suspect she had an allergic reaction.
A club spokesman said: "We don't have a comment, it's a personal matter."
Whiston hospital staff said they were unable to comment.

http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0500liv....ge.html

5 stars wrote:

s@int wrote:I posted that this afternoon in the Gerrard thread.

I hope shes ok though, and Stevie has enough problems without this.

Yeah same here, I hope he can clear his head for the Villa match. Must of been hard to deal with the idea that your child might have meningitis.

Here's Something from RAWK about Gerrard trying force the issue on Rafa about playing in his prefered position...

Gerrard, and his friends or advisors, believe that the general public are influenced by the media. They're quite right, any analysis on Sky Sports or the major football correspondents is generally repeated here shortly afterwards, almost word for word as if it were original thought. They want to bring public pressure to bear, to build a bandwagon to force the issue on Rafa.

The 'murmurings from the Gerrard camp' are scapegoating Alonso, who has actually outperformed Gerrard overall this season, and in the games where they've both been in centre-midfield - Gerrard squanders possession, shots and doesn't do half the tackling a centre-midfielder should - even an attacking one.

The beauty of unattributed briefings to the press, which lead to stories such as the ones above, is that you can always pretend that there's 'no evidence that Gerrard or any of his 'camp' are scapegoating a team-mate, Alonso (not that the Gerrard camp or their scribes provide evidence for "Alonso’s performance deteriorating with every game").

This story, like the ones SFX planted with The Times and The Telegraph in the build up to the contrived breakdown in his contract negotiations, is evidence.

Gerrard also put his own head above the parapet to make his point when he was promoting his autobiography, followed by his ghost writer who echoed him.

It was a very matey pre-recorded interview with John Barnes, to hook up with Gerrard's book promotion...

...They discussed his preferred position, and the variation in positions he's played in the last couple of seasons. Gerrard said he was always happy to be picked, wherever he played, but he believes his best position is central midfield, and he's confident Rafa would eventually see it his way too.

Then back to the studio, and Henry Winter yarns on about how 'talismanic' he is; the near Beatlemania surrounding his book signing; and how effective Gerrard is in central midfield (giving the Istanbul final as an example!!!), and how he's not so happy always being out on the right.

[Since then he's been picked on the left]

I wonder why that was...perhaps Rafa was making a point of his own?

Anyway there's far more evidence for the murmurings from the Gerrard camp and them trying to undermine Alonso's position, than there is for your opinion that Gerrard had a better game than Alonso against Galatassaray.

In that game he only made 5 tackles throughout (winning 2), Alonso made 11 (won 5); Gerrard lost the ball 7 times and only won it once (very poor for a central midfielder looking to secure that spot for himself), Alonso lost it 9 times but won it 7 times. Gerrard got forward and had his shots, he was much more interested in 'bombing on' (or emptying the midfield space as Souness put it) than tracking back when Galatassaray were flooding forward. Momo had to be brought in to shore up the gaps in midfield, and Souness was so shocked by Gerrard's performance he said it was all the evidence Rafa needed as to why he shouldn't play that position.

Galatassaray's second goal illustrates the point:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v....search=
From 7min 40sec:
The second one was a pass from Alonso threaded into Gerrard who let it go for a run Garcia was making inside against Galatasaray's defence. The ball was intercepted, Gerrard acknowleged misjudging the ball getting through to Garcia.

Once in possession, a foul from Aurelio on the half-way line to stop the counter was too late to stop the player laying the ball off. Galatasaray kept the ball, and now had the advantage as Aurelio and others were all far behind play. Agger has to move across to close down the space. Alonso tries to support him, and close down two in succession but can't get close as the ball is quickly switched infield then back left again.

Agger can't prevent the cross from the left. That's converted by a right midfielder who Finnan has tracked into the middle of the six yard box while another opponent breaking from centre midfield (who put the ball out to the left), has drifted towards the far post, he's caught between them 2 v 1.

The goal is converted by the cross over Carragher's head, met by the man Finnan was tracking, he's got between them. Alonso looks back upfield to see where the players who lost the ball have got to. Gerrard is about ten yards behind play, and Garcia in unknown location.

I care about Gerrard's performance on the pitch, I dislike the SFX inspired bullsh!t in the football media that surrounds him. He seems to have come to believe all that hype and I suspect it may be effecting his performance on the pitch, and his willingness to play for the team wherever Rafa picks him. He's far more interested in the spectacular shots and passes which aren't coming off and squandering possession and good attacking positions...Captain Hollywood blah blah... 

Gerrard has been poor this season, even when playing in his preferred position he's been far worse than Alonso, and to borrow a phrase from the Gerrard camp, that performance has been deteriorating with every game.

Okay, all of that was a little hard to follow but the gist seems to be that there is a debate raging--fueled by Gerrard himself according to some debates--about who's been poorer this season, Gerrard or Alonso.  As many will know, I've been defending Alonso a lot on this board of late (although not as boisterously as Lando ) so you'll guess my position on the debate.  Both are great players and I want them both on the park playing to the level they are capable of.  But, for me, Alonso has been the steadier performer this season and that Gerrard has been well below his own lofty standards, no matter where he's played--including in his preferred CM position.  People calling for Alonso to be dropped in favour of Gerrard at CM just won't see that the opposite shout has more validity based on current form: drop Gerrard in favour of Alonso!