Steven Gerrard Is Staying At Liverpool – That Boy Has No Ambition

Ollie Irish

20th, July 2010

87 Comments

By Ollie Irish

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is going nowhere, because he is “very impressed” with new manager Roy Hodgson. Back off, Mourinho.

And by “very impressed”, I mean he quite likes the signing of Joe Cole. It doesn’t take much to please Stevie G, does it – one Chelsea reserve later and suddenly everything is coming up roses.

Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo: “It is a great signing for us. I know Joe well through the England set-up and have seen first-hand just how good a player he is.

“I’ve told him what a great club this is and I’m sure Joe’s the sort of exciting talent our fans will love to see.”

On the subject of his own future, Gerrard said: “I made it clear that I simply needed to concentrate on the World Cup and then have a decent holiday with my family.

“I wanted the chance to meet Roy Hodgson privately and having done so, I’m very impressed with his plans for the future.”

Translation: “Phew, thank God I don’t have to go to bloody Spain and learn how to speak the lingo and eat tapas and all that crap, la. Cheers Roy!”

Hodgson’s arrival, and Cole’s, is the perfect excuse for homeboy Gerrard to once again show his lack of ambition, his fear of really testing himself. Is he not tired of getting his hopes up before each new season? There’s not much hope this time around anyway – Liverpool can’t win the league in 2010-11.

In Gerrard’s shoes, I’d happily take a pay cut to move to a club like Real Madrid – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for an amazing team in an amazing city, but instead it seems small-minded Gerrard would rather play it safe and stay on Merseyside, swathed in regret for the rest of his playing career.

The insular attitude of England’s top players kills me.

Posted in Featured, Liverpool

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87 Comments

  1. Ollie says:

    And here it comes…

  2. Ryan Kam says:

    Jeez Ollie. A little bitter about Tottie losing out on JCole? You sound quite bitte

  3. Ryan Kam says:

    *bitter

  4. pete says:

    Ollie, thank God you’re not in Gerrard’s shoes then…

  5. Ollie says:

    @ Pete – Yeah, thank God. Imagine having to listen to that much Phil Collins.

  6. Ollie says:

    @ Ryan – I honestly don’t give a shit about you signing Joe Cole. I don’t think that’s where we need to strengthen our squad. You’re more than welcome to him.

  7. spectator says:

    swathed in regret is a bit harsh, no premier league ok…but a champions league, eufa cup and two fa cups is nothing to sneeze at. i also don’t know why you’d single gerrard out for a lack of ambition when really none of england’s so called golden generation has challenged themselves on the continent either. (beckham and owen don’t count, they’d become rubbish before they left).

  8. mat says:

    “to really test himself”?
    the lad’s won the champions league.
    that aside, the author of this article adds a whole new dimension to the phrase “lost in translation”.
    utter bollocks.

  9. Lee says:

    Your just a numpty reporter like the rest , who’s trying to drag Liverpool down, get over it. Good signing, we won’t get dragged down by certain idiots in the press who try to make out were no one.

  10. URS says:

    Ollie, your team will suck.

  11. Tom says:

    Ollie, please go and crawl under the rock you came from. Hope this helps.

  12. Lee says:

    Or idiot writers on the Internet .

  13. Shayne says:

    Ollie, shame your a bit sour that you couldn’t land Stevie a few seasons back, can’t land Torres this season and you swapped Cole for Benayoun.. hahahahahaha, your a sour t*ss head mate! Seems like you can’t just throw money at players to get them to jump ship anymore!

  14. Joe says:

    Haha

    ‘Lack of ambition’ He’s already won the same amount of european cups as real have in the last 8 years, so why should he leave the club he supports, in a city he loves, with fans who adore him, to go an start afresh?

    Or is Raul also shown ‘lack of ambition’?

    Fucking dope.

  15. Ryan Kam says:

    I just think that he’d rather help his home team win the league than win it for some Italian team. If anything, that’s being obscenely overambitious rather than being unambitious. He’s 29 and Liverpool have been making some great moves towards becoming contenders again. He has the opportunity of being a Liverpool legend, as opposed to a sub-Galácticos who’ll be discarded to the bench or worse in two or three years time. I’d say he’s making the right move.

  16. Dave says:

    Haha…it makes me laugh that you have nothing better to do than talk about another teams players.
    Get a grip and concentrate on your own team.
    I couldnt give a shit about your team or what they do and certainly wouldnt post an article about one of your players.
    Get a grip and support your own team.
    Tosser

  17. rs says:

    Oh shut up you Cockney Cunt.

  18. Kev T says:

    In his time at Liverpool, he has one every domestic and European title available to win bar one, plus has become the captain of his team and his country. He’s getting paid handsomely, he’s classed as one of Liverpool’s best players (and rightly so), and by staying he is destined to become an all-time Liverpool great. If Roy gets it right, makes a few correct signings, let’s see where we can finish! Steven Gerrard is one player you will never be able to attract. And that’s why you are jealous and bitter.

  19. Ryan Kam says:

    @Shayne

    Ollie is a Spur mate. Pretty big mistake to make, as the two teams more or less hate each other.

  20. Ollie Irish's arse says:

    bitter, bitter … very, very bitter [tut-tut]

  21. Ollie says:

    @ Dave – This isn’t a Spurs blog. It’s a football blog with a Premier League focus. And I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t post an article about a Tottenham player, because you wouldn’t know how. Cheers for dropping by.

  22. Jimmy says:

    Who would want to leave the greatest club of them all, Ollie doesnt seem likw the brightest man on earth

  23. john says:

    Ollie writes about sport for a bunch of people, including Goaly Moly, The Guardian and The Observer. He is the former editor of Stuff magazine and deputy editor of Observer Sport Monthly. He supports Tottenham (since 1981, baby) and has a crush on Tina Fey ,and he is also a cock.

  24. Steve says:

    As you were not born and bred, and supported Liverpool your whole life its not really a fair comparison to say what you would do is it?

    And clearly Joe Cole is a good signing:

    1. He’s English
    2. He’s free
    3. He’s a very good player

  25. Ollie says:

    Ah, the idea that I’m somehow bitter about Gerrard and Liverpool actually just made me laugh. Brilliant.

  26. Paul Davies says:

    Ollie, you are pretty pathetic,

    So a player doesnt want to go to a club that’s instantly successful and would rather stay at a team getting rebuilt and win something the hard way and he has no ambition? Yeah sure, whatever.

    You wouldnt understand that being a Chelsea fan who is quite comfortable buying up the league (read, shallow with no history), most people would respect players far more who go to or stay at a club that have to work hard than being bought into a team that doesn’t.

    So a player showing some loyalty to the club he loves is a bad thing, if only there were more players like him and less simple minded people like you about. Adios.

  27. Kev T says:

    All I will say Ollie is what have the Spurs players won in their time there? Get a grip and write something worth writing. One website that will not be getting revisited as your opinions, comments and general thoughts on the game are flawed and full of shite.

  28. paul compton says:

    So runaway with the young one from around the corner instead of staying with you wife ? You call it small minded but I think that says more about you.

  29. Mike says:

    A week ago Cole was the hottest player on the market. Good old Harry was crying in media every day begging Joe to come to Spurs. Now since he’s a red, he is just one Chelsea reserve player… And Gerrard is just commited to his boyhood club, one of the biggest clubs in the world and the most succesful club in England. One bad season doesn’t mean anything, just like one good season for Spurs. Cheers.

  30. Paul Davies says:

    even if your a spurs fan, you’re still a bit of a cock to be more than fair.

  31. Anfieldmyanmar says:

    Real Madrid ” it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for an amazing team in an amazing city” ha ha what a joke!, bought many SO CALLED top players ” then GOT F@@K by the Berca and Messi.

  32. Rob says:

    Why would he move?? and why would Cole join Spurs? he signed a 4 year contract – Spurs will only be in the CL for a couple of months.

  33. Purple Aki says:

    This article implies that Liverpool isnt a great city! Come up north lad and i’ll take you down County Road and the Graftin. Then you’ll see what Stevie G’s staying for.

  34. Ollie Irish's mother says:

    Ollie! Stop playing on the computer, your dinners ready!

  35. Dave says:

    Ollie, you are so clever and witty with your ‘wouldn’t know how’ insult! I never suggested it was a Spurs blog, only that you are paying far too much attention to the players of other teams. What you call lack of ambition others call Loyalty.
    If we must look at players from other teams….go ask Gary Mabbutt how many medals he won the unambitious twat!

  36. owen says:

    peadohpiles

  37. Ryan Kam says:

    I don’t know what to say. I really enjoy your writing and site, but this is a bollocks article.

  38. RedMist says:

    He should be commended for loyalty not lamented for it!

    Michael Owens ambition (if that’s what it was) cost him! It cost him a champion’s league winner’s medal, another champion’s league final and an FA cup winner’s medal! It also cost him his first class football career!

    Why would you leave the team you supported as a boy where you’re idolised to be a potential bench warmer in the biggest football circus in the world?
    That’s not ambition! It career suicide.

  39. SlimCharles says:

    None of the ‘golden generation’ want to go abroad, and why would they? They earn more in the Prem and they can run around a lot to distract from their technical shortcomings. When they do get on the big stage, their record is terrible (see 2002, 2006, 2010 World Cups and 2000, 2004 and utter failure in 2008 Euros).

  40. PhilandoTorres says:

    Ollie, I reckon you’re going after the wrong player here. He plays for his boyhood club, which goes a long way to explaining his reluctance to move away.

    I think the English players who’ve moved around England a bit are the best candidates for moves abroad. Lampard was briefly linked to Barca a few years ago, for example.

    The laziness and lack of ambition comes from the belief that the Premier League is the best, so why move? Not to mention the fear that they’ll struggle in the more technically gifted, albeit slower paced, Spanish league.

  41. Mike says:

    It’s shocking that players are regularly abused for not being loyal, yet now Gerrard shows some loyalty… again… he is accused of being unambitious!

    Gerrard is Mr Liverpool. Why would he want to go anywhere else. He can get the success that he needs at Liverpool, plus staying where he is guarantees that he is the main star, the hero.

  42. PhilandoTorres says:

    Bit (read: very) depressing to read these comments. After all, Ollie hasn’t raped our mothers and shat on a Liverpool crest. It’s an opinion, for fuck’s sake.

  43. Ollie says:

    @ Ryan – Sorry, just my opinion, you know.

    @ Philando – I like Gerrard but it frustrates me that he plays it safe. I know he has a young family and he’s a Liverpool lad but he has the rest of his life to live on Merseyside.

    The rest of you – I wanted to compile a list of ‘Touchy Scouse pricks’ and now I can. Thanks for making it so easy. Now back off to Football 365 with you…

    Why does any anti-Liverpool sentiment make the author instantly a Cockney? Amazing logic.

  44. Ollie Irish's arse says:

    I’M TALKING SHIT

  45. Dec says:

    LOL!! Gerrard no ambition? Look at what he’s won at Liverpool

    Champions League
    UEFA Cup
    2 European Super Cups
    2 Fa Cups
    2 League Cups
    2 Charity Shields

    CL Runner up
    2 PL Runner up
    4 CL semi finals

    Probably more than the entire spurs squad put together, oh yeah I forgot, you get a prize for finishing fourth (failure at Liverpool). Joe Cole going to spurs, now that would have been a showing of no ambition

    Gerrard wants the PL title with Liverpool, no La liga title will make up for that, he’s got a good 3 to 4 years left in him due to his versatility so every chance he can still do it. It’s called loyalty!Don’t write Liverpool off this year, they’ve already signed Cole and Jovanovic, Maxi finished last season very well as did Aquilani so I think they’ll be dangerous going forward. WIth a new manager and 4 players involved in the WC final, morale will be high going into this season

  46. PhilandoTorres says:

    If anyone can stop being hysterical for long enough to give a shit, it looks as though Cole will wear the number 10 shirt, with Jovanovic now getting number 11.

  47. KopThisMate says:

    Really, id thought that Real Madrid was retirement village for over the hill players. Its obvious Gerrard thinks that there is unfinished business at Liverpool, Like winning the PL. Don’t think for a minute that we cant do it you little ponce, we came close not a season before, and if it wasnt for the likes of rafa, we would have. So we had a bad season, SFW. Tots have had a what one good season in a sea of mediocrity. And even with the influx of cash that most clubs are throwing at our stars they want to remain at our club. No ambition, ha, i say that is ambition at its highest level. Loyalty, devotion to an idea, a premise that we can still compete at the highest level, and that out of all the negativity that wankers like yourself throw at our club, they are still ready to dig down and fight on. True Liverpool spirit, something you lot have no fuckin idea about. Madrid is the ManCity of Spain, throw as much money at players as you could possibly imagine with the premise that it will bring you trophies, which is total bs. You need a team of players mate, not players in a team. YNWA

  48. Alex says:

    @Ollie, whilst I agree with the sentiment, you must admit it was a little bit inflamatory! You must have expected such a backlash (especially from Scousers)

    However, this must be extended to nearly all of the England team (as you mention) who have been wanted from abroad.

  49. Joe says:

    Answer is Ollie you shithouse.

    Does Raul have ‘no ambition?’

  50. Alex says:

    Also…

    “eh eh calm down”

    ak ak

  51. Spurstar says:

    Why would Gerrard want to stay at liverfool anyway. Liverfools will NOT win back their lost CL spot to the mighty spurs for anytime soon.

    Just look at Joke Hole. Low on ambition low on class. Pathetic Scousers.

    Tottenham >>> LiverFools

    Enjoy channel 5 Liverpool GAYS. HAHAHA
    COYS!!!

  52. Touchy Scouse Prick says:

    Oi!

  53. Gibby says:

    You’ve snagged a few big ones the day Ollie. There’s plenty of players out there ‘playing it safe’.If Benitez was still there then i’d say he was kidding himself on. But with a new manager surely there comes, new ideas, new hope, new players. How many players has Awec F probably convinced to stay at the club because in the end it would be worth their loyalty. Real Madrid ruin players and in the 90’s it was AC milan. Buy the best players in Europe, stick their names on the strips and then bench the poor feckers. Maybe SG knows who else is coming in and even more importantly who’s feckin going .

  54. Andy says:

    He signed his new Liverpool contract last season so you should attack him for his so called lack of ambition back then.

    It wasnt a question if he was going to stay or not, it was purely media spin on his words during the England World Cup press conferences

    He hasnt came out today and stated I AM STAYING AT LIVERPOOL because he doesnt need to.

  55. Spurstar says:

    Spurs >>>> LiverPool Gays

    Rot in Hell Scouse Gays

    Coys!

  56. Paul Davies says:

    @Spurstar

    So you finished for the first time above Liverpool in god knows how long cos they had an awful season and that makes you better? hahahah wake up and smell the roses, you’ll get dumped out of the CL so early it’ll be hilarious.

  57. Willo says:

    @Spurstar

    How old are you? You type like you are 11 and just learnt a couple of rude words at big school

  58. Gord says:

    Yea I think Rooney should go to Spain too. After all its not as if he’s gonna win much at a club in debt of almost £1 billion, and have no substantial money to spend in the transfer market.

    Utd fans should be worried bout City taking their spot, after all City’s squad is prolly on par (maybe better).

  59. Rage Against the Church says:

    Cockney, Manc, Brummie? Its all the same to me…

  60. redscouse says:

    that ‘unambitious’ lad has won every honour in the game with us except the EPL which can still be done (by the way) you patronising twat – and whats going on with all this homophobic shit, some of you boys a bit unsure of your sexuality

  61. Gamblino says:

    STOP CALLING IT EPL!

  62. mike says:

    Gerrards ambition is to stay and win the league with liverpool….the most succesfull club in british history with “FIVE” european cups.

  63. Jai says:

    Ollie, you’re pathetic!! Its not that SG doesnt have ambition but its he has LOYALTY in hi life. And you say a wonderful club and city Real Madrid? ehhhh Bloody money minded people!! So desperate to get their galactico era back by buying top players in Europe and benching them.

    @spurstar, Dude its been over 40 yrs you guys saw CL and one season where WE performed BAD (not that you did good) and missed on CL and you think its gonna be there foreva? hahah I bet you wont even go further then september in CL and will make yourselves look like idiots.

    BOTTOMLINE IS WE OUTPLAYED CHELSEA IN MIDFIELD BATTLE.
    5MIL FOR 30 YR OLD BENAYOON COMPARE TO FREE 28 YR OLD COLE!! PLUS HE IS ENGLISH AND CAN PLAY CENTRE AND ON EITHER FLANKS.

  64. torres! says:

    Wai! Spurstar, you puntet pukimak bakayaro! spurs didnt have history, just a medium size club! Shudup! you fool! sohai!

  65. torres! says:

    you Spurstar, you really a ham kar chan! ur face looks like ‘Loke chat tau’ that’s why you dont have girls to tiu! really charm you! Teme wa bakayaro!

  66. redscouse says:

    whats wrong with EPL?

  67. footy fan says:

    A very poor, anti Liverpool attack. Manc by any chance oliver?

  68. paulo says:

    There are some player that loyalty to a club means more than buying trophies and earning more than they deserve. Liverpools steven gerrard and jamie carragher are a dying breed in the game when the going gets tough. The money grabbers go and the loyal ones stay. More than you can say about many players these days.

  69. Alfie says:

    Ollie you should be showing a little more respect! Although some of the comments are a little harsh I have to say I agree with some of the more mature remarks.

    I’m a Spurs fan of 40 years & I wish we had World Class players like Gerrard & Carragher who show extreme loyality through tough times, we’ve had a few over the years but either through the club giving into a nice transfer fee or the player getting disenchanted they leave, hats off to you Gerrard & to the Liverpool board for not giving up

  70. sue peace says:

    Fantastic news. Im proud of Stevie in all that hes done for Liverpool and if he has decided to stay doesnt mean hes unambitious, most people would love to have achieved what he has in their lives. His loyalty is admirable! Why go to Madrid to spend half the season on the bench! Good to see a player not ruled by his ego!

  71. Jason says:

    By “no ambition” do you mean that instead of going to Madrid where he would have it easy with guaranteed CL, be one of two teams legitimately competing to win la liga and be one of a score of super stars, but his “lack of ambition” instead makes him stay in his home town and takes the responsibility of being captain and a truly key player to the success or failure of his club and wanting to win honors only with his lifetime club Liverpool. Its called loyalty and class. Gerrard has chosen the hard route and should be respected for that and he will be remembered along side the likes of Rush and Danglish for that loyalty. Horrible article.

  72. Tom says:

    Do Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs all have a lack of ambition? All won everything with Man Utd a long time ago, yet stayed for their whole careers. How come that’s loyalty? Gerrard is a lack of ambition? Maybe he wants to fight for that PL winners medal at Liverpool.

    Ahhh Loyalty to your boyhood club, a concept that’s lost amongst the SkySports generation who aren’t happy without big transfer stories daily.

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  74. Josiah says:

    I think it’s a smart choice by Stevie G. By staying at Liverpool, he can possibly carry the team. He doesn’t want to be like Lebron James and go where loads of other stars are just to win. He wants to have a legacy, and I think it’ll happen. Not to mention Liverpool fans will love him even more for staying.

  75. Marvin says:

    I think it is very coward decision for Steve. English player are really no so good, but they have a media that sell them as big stars (World Class what they say), and they are not.

    So, if he went to R.M., then he has to fight and show with real world class player and he can’t do that. At home, he is important for the club so they could bring local fans whom always tend to look for the only couple of English players that play.

    Premier league is really no different from la liga. In 16 years, they have been only two champions;

    Titles

    Manchester United (13) and Chelsea (3).

    Those leagues are the same crap, only in very stupid people can really see a different.

  76. ste says:

    So you are having a go at someone who is refreshingly remaining loyal to his club? Something of a rarity these days. The mind boggles.

  77. Red says:

    What a cuntish bit of writing that was. So he stays with his boyhood club and Suddenly he has no ambition? You are a muppet.

  78. Liverpool says:

    Ollie, i normally like your website but you come across as a right cunt in this article.

  79. Meji says:

    I like how Ollie approached this article. I like Stevie G too. But he can be overrated at times. I don’t blame him for not going to Madrid. Why would he? I’d rather retire a legend in my own town – take my big hefty paycheck week in and week out.

    People wonder why players stay one place their whole career. It’s not a question. If everything is right – it’s your hometown – you’re still wanted there – getting paid plenty – why would you ever leave for uncertainty elsewhere?

    If he goes to Madrid…now he’s competing for a spot – everyone in Liverpool is going to hate him – his pay might rise (or might get cut) – he’d have to worry about moving his family – and the Spanish media all over his ass. I’d stay at ‘pool too. He never had plans to leave anyway

    Remove the football and think about it as a high paying job. Would you prefer one at home or abroad?

  80. clivemerritt says:

    Why on earth would he want to go to real madrid???? for a start they will probably for the next 10 years be living in barcelonas shadow so theres no ambition there is there, he may as well go to man city and live under uniteds shadow for the rest of his career, spain won the world cup with how many barca players in their team, real madrid are going nowhere fast, they will forever finish 2nd in that league because La Liga is a poor league to play in with no real competition, i find it more ambitious to be part of a liverpool team that has got to rebuild itself from the ground and steven his self knows his form was really poor last season by his standard..madrid offers no ambition but a tax free wage and a beach life, 80 million for ronaldo, 30 million for alonso, 50 million for kaka, and they won nothing, how very ambitious, another money club going nowhere, barca will always reign in spain, so whats the point, become a legend at anfield forever and who knows, in a year or 2, liverpool may do something very special, thats ambition…not walking into a team full over payed good for nothings who cant challenge a real footballing team like barca, to many ego’s dont make champions!!!

  81. Dave says:

    Some touchy redshite on here today. Always been the same every last one of them. Dont like it up em. OK at dishing it out but cant take it back. Dream on you dregs “This could be ur year” My arse.

  82. llks_18 says:

    @spurstar.. You sound more like a faggot than an actual supporter.. I also have a mate who’s a spurs fan, but we talk realistic instead of going over the top..
    And @Ollie, your article is open ended, credible it may be, but wen a certain Fabregas is itching to move to his home Barca,you can hardly blame Stevie G for not wanting to move.. I actually praise him for not moving in these difficult circumstances and ready to play for a manager who has the right footballing philosophy, rather than going to play for Mourinho{who no doubt is gr8}… but is f***** defensive… Just my opinion..

  83. lisa jane says:

    Shut the fuck up no some people just believe in sticking to the plan and living in there home town with there family you people need to get a job and stop being looses i mean yer cause if he drags his immediate family half way across the world just to please you so he can say he played in white and not red must be evetonians on here i no i didnt spell it right thats because you might as well not egisist
    he is staying and we are going to win cups cause un like all you nob jobs steven gerrard is commited to liverpool and vice versa and we are going to win cups and you are going to be sick so i suggest you go and entain yourself with something else like a job sorry looses you loose reds win ha ha ow and if you seriousley think ste gerrard has lost his skill well its going to be really funny when we light a tornado under your blue asses then again i suppose when you dont win anything for all those years you become bitter and twisted guess its jus something that happens when you dont win anything for years lol iamlmao

  84. lisa jane says:

    we won it 5 times and were going to win it again and the league believ in yourself believe in your dreams and they will come true xx

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