It seems almost inconceivable that a player of Steven Gerrard’s ability will never add a Premier League medal to add to an otherwise full trophy cabinet. Having spent his entire career at Liverpool he’s played alongside some magnificent individuals, but never in a team that was collectively strong enough.
It got me thinking about the teammates that have come and gone since Gerrard made his debut in 1998, a fifteen year fantasy XI if you like. I found that there have been some weaknesses in the team that were prevalent throughout that period but nonetheless was able to come up with a match-day squad that could have competed with the very best in the world.
This is the team I settled on. Some controversial decisions maybe, but let me know what you think. They will line up in the 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-3-1 formations that Brendan Rogers has favoured in recent games.
Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina
For me, this was the easiest decision to make. To my mind, Pepe Reina has been Liverpool’s best keeper since Ray Clemence. Yes, Bruce Grobbelaar had a fantastic career for the Reds and he was capable of reflex saves that only an acrobat would attempt. But he was also prone to some incredible gaffes and poor decision-making at times.
Reina has had his critics this year but I would argue that he has still made less mistakes in this, an average season, than Grobbelaar would make in a normal one. He has been incredibly consistent over the years and his ability to sweep up behind the back-four is an underrated quality and something that has been essential to the way we play.
Like Grobbelaar, he has excellent reflexes and is better dealing with crosses than most foreign keepers who come to England. He communicates well with his defence and is able to maintain concentration during periods of inactivity.
His main contenders during the Gerrard era were Sander Westerveld and Jerzy Dudek, but Reina has been our best keeper and would be very difficult to replace if he were to leave this summer.
Liverpool