Janet Yoxall takes a look at what Steven Gerrard could do next after news emerging that the Premier League legend is hating life in the US.
Steven Gerrard, at thirty-six years old, is a Liverpool legend. His sheer power and passion to win matches on his own has earned him admiration from fellow professionals. Known by his fans fondly as ‘Stevie G’, he graced the pitch at Anfield for seventeen seasons. A world-class player, he is loved by hundreds of millions of football fans around the world.
Gerrard left Liverpool Football Club at the end of the 2014/2015 season to join LA Galaxy. Steven signed an 18 month contract with the Los Angeles team that plays in the Western Conference of the MLS. When Stevie joined LA Galaxy, he talked about suddenly having the freedom to walk down the street without being recognised. Little did he know then what was in store for him.
Last season, LA Galaxy players flew almost twenty-two thousand miles for matches against their opponents. It is common knowledge that while with England, Gerrard had said he hated the travelling. Stevie wasn’t expecting to spend up to four days at a time travelling across the US for each match. He missed his wife Alex and their girls while away with his club. On top of the travelling, Gerrard was having to get used to playing on artificial pitches, as well as dealing with humid conditions. It wasn’t long before the famous Scouser was missing his friends and family back home in Liverpool.
During the MLS off season Gerrard was invited back to Liverpool to train at Melwood. Stevie was photographed talking to Klopp, which soon lead to rumours about a possible return to Liverpool for Steven.
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Latest reports suggest Stevie would be offered the role of coaching the U21 for Liverpool, a position he would relish back at his beloved club, while he completes his coaching badges. This would give Steven a chance to get to know Klopp see how his vision of the game impacts his training methods, while keeping his team fresh. Gerrard who has wanted to go into coaching for some time, has coached the U18 at LA Galaxy along with the England U19 team.
The FA have recently approached Gerrard to take up a coaching role at youth level. Liverpool’s legendary number 8 wants to pursue a career in coaching once he retires, which may be as soon as November this year when his contract is up at LA Galaxy. Stevie would be based at Saint George’s Park, our national football centre in Staffordshire. A state of the art complex where Steven would receive support in completing his training. Stevie could take this opportunity to pick the brains of other coaches at the complex to gain more knowledge and a better understanding of the other side of the game.
Since England’s woeful display against Iceland in the Euros, Roy Hodgson had no choice but to step down. With Hodgson gone there will be a shake up in the England camp. Gareth Southgate the England U21 manager has ruled himself out of the race to be the next England manager stating the job is a poison chalice that could ruin his career. It is believed that Southgate will leave his post as U21 manager once his contract is up, then he intends to carve out a career back in league football. The FA are turning to experienced ex England players for advice on who they should hire as the next England manager, Gerrard, Lampard, Ferdinand and Milner who is still part of the England team are being asked their opinion on the next appointment.
If I’m honest, I would like Stevie G to come back to Liverpool and play one last season then take up the role of coaching our U21’s. He could visit different clubs picking up tips or pointers of varying styles all relevant to managing a team. The FA offers more scope to learn in house making it an attractive alternative. The sky’s the limit.
Gerrard has options and he will weigh up what’s best for him and his family. No doubt he will succeed which ever path he takes.