Friday, October 03, 2008

Stevie G Tribute - 100 And Counting...

I'm gonna do a round-up of some of the best goals Steven Gerrard had scored in his 400 odd games at Liverpool...

BUT! It's probably easier to put up all 100 of them here than to pick 10 and call them 'the top 10 Gerrard goals' because so many of them are just sheer beauty and you just can't seemed to rank them up. It's like putting 100 Angelina Jolies in your face and ask you to pick from 1 to 10!

So in no order, we go through the...let's just say...highly important goals that he scored in his Liverpool career.

Starting off with...where he started, with the jersey number 28.


1999-00: vs Sheffield Wednesday

This is where it all started. A familiar rampaging run through the heart of the Sheffield Wed defence. A sign of things to come? Most definitely. How exciting was it then, to watch the young number 28?



2005-06: vs West Ham United (FA Cup Final)

Nobody ever forgets this. This IS the Steven Gerrard final, written all over it. It epitomizes what Gerrard is about. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, pulling Liverpool out of however deep the shit is and a tinge of arrogance in his celebration. 3-2 down and he nicely timed it right on the mark when the stadium announcer blared out how much time was left.

It must have rung in his ears 'this is how little time you have to change it, so why not?' And God, did he let fly an absolute cracker that no Liverpool fans will forget for the next 20 years and more.



2004-05: vs Middlesbrough

I don't want to comment much. Just watch.



2000-01: vs Man United

Nothing better than to score against those scums, eh? And a nice one as well, looping over Fabien Barthez, albeit not that difficult....



2004-05: vs AC Milan (Champions League Final)

Another one that nobody forgets. One of those finals which should be captured in films and sold to Hollywood and outdo any shitty Ben Stiller flick. 3-0 down at half time and nobody gave us a chance. Hell, nobody gave us a chance at the start.

But he came, he saw and he headed in the first of 3 within 6 minutes. I'll always remember those arms flailing in the air and the look of confidence in him. It's as if he knew we were going to win. It's unfair to show just the goal he score so I'll put up the whole video.



2005-06: vs Aston Villa

Cracking goal! Finished with aplomb, just like any of his 'usual' goals and that, is out of this world.



2005-06: vs Everton

Again, it was scored against a bitter rival. Not just that but here, I am running out of speculatives to describe all his goals. Honest...



2007-08: vs Newcastle

A similar freekick to his 100th goal. Outside the box and an absolute thunderbolt. Even Shay Given was made hapless with that kind of shot.



2004-05: vs Olympiakos

The goal that made Andy Gray cream in his pants. 'OWWWW YOU BEAUTY!!' Indeed. If it didn't go in, I don't think we'll make it as far as the Champions League final and winning it. Probably one of the most important and spectacular goals ever scored by the skipper.



2000-01: vs Alaves (UEFA Cup Final)

Sadly, I can't find a video on it. But it speaks volume as a young Steven Gerrard parading his talent on a big stage (it was for Liverpool, back then) and to score in a cup final was pretty good.

Hope that you like it. I don't have time to make it all into a compilation but well, let this post bring you guys back some good memories. Nothing will take away the joy I experienced when Mr. G scored that goal in the FA Cup final.

What about yours?

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Milestone Night In Liverpool

Keane Breaks Duck As Liverpool Strolled To Victory

UEFA Champions League

LIVERPOOL 3 -1 PSV Eindhoven

Scorers:
LIV - Kuyt (4min), Keane (34min), Gerrard (76min);
PSV - Koevermans (78min);

It was a memorable night at Anfield even though fans turned up, expecting yet another routine win by Rafa Benitez's boys. A controlled, discipline performance was expected and what we saw last night was exactly that.

But hell, even Robbie Keane scored this time.

The Irishman finally broke his scoring duck of 11 games as he connected with a fantastic Fernando Torres cross and directed it into the bottom right corner of Andreas Isaksson's net. He finally could do his cartwheel celebration but this time, donning the jersey of the club he supported as a boy.

It was one of those nights where your gut feeling just tells you things and it happened. I'm sure everyone's pleased that Keane opened his account in a European night. His quality is proven but it just needed that touch of luck.

Earlier on, he was expecting a penalty as he was brought down by Timmy Simmons but the referee wasn't interested. And we thought it was not going to be his night, again.

Well, let's not forget about another milestone set by a great Liverpool player last night. It's none other than captain Steven Gerrard.

Only the 16th player to carry the honour of scoring 100 goals for Liverpool, Gerrard fired in his 100th with his usual thunderbolt right-in-the-back-of-the-net style. A freekick from 30 yards out didn't stop the skipper from sending out a homing-missile like shot into the net. It was as if the ball itself had in mind where to go.

Beautifully taken.

It was an icing on the cake for Liverpool as they strolled through the game without even moving out of gear 2 and looked comfortable and untroubled throughout. Though the gloss was removed when PSV hit back with a goal that somehow silenced the Kop, it was still a disciplined and controlled performance, just like any other Liverpool games recently.

Scoring early, as I mentioned before, is a boon or bane for clubs and thankfully, Liverpool didn't slip into complacency mode after Dirk Kuyt giving the home side the lead in just under 3 minutes.

How we always said that the Reds were profligate and impotent with cornerkicks, we finally made it work out last night. Gerrard's outswinger, Torres' ingenious movement and Kuyt's followup.

Isaksson should have done better. Looked more a routine save to me than anything. Who knows what might happen if it didn't go in.

But that's not the point. It probably round up a pretty satisfying week for the Liverpool fans as we taught our poorer neighbours, Everton, a good football lesson and getting all 3 points in the Champions League is definitely good news.

In the best start of the season we've seen in quite a while, it remains to be seen how consistent Liverpool can get. But seeing Rafa dropping his usual chop-and-change tactic, there might be a shift of ideology from the Spanish manager.

Probably, he begin to realise the mistake that he has been making for the past few seasons....