by NANNY RED » Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:41 am
Good piece by Ollie Holt
Steven Gerrard arrest: Brawl claim is like poison to model pro
Oliver Holt 30/12/2008
It is hard to think of anyone less likely than Steven Gerrard to be facing allegations of assault in a late-night bar.
The Liverpool captain has matured into the epitome of the conscientious, committed, responsible kind of professional footballer.
He is the opposite of the spoilt, out-of-control, boorish minority of players who have given modern footballers a bad name.
Everything about him exudes honesty and courtesy and, of course, a fierce will to win.
And most of all, he has always felt a keen sense of duty to uphold the image of Liverpool FC, the great Merseyside institution he represents.
Involvement in this kind of incident, however marginal his role may turn out to be, will be like poison to him. He will be torturing himself for even being near a brawl in a Southport bar.
Gerrard shies from publicity and does not relish the limelight off the pitch.
He will also know this is just about the worst time for his focus on his game to be disrupted. His team are three points clear in the Premier League and fresh from a 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle on Sunday.
They were beginning to look as though they might be building the kind of momentum that could hold off the title favourites, Chelsea and Manchester Utd. And there is real optimism that the club side can win its first top flight title for 19 years.
And yet now Gerrard, who has a vulnerable side and often needs reassurance, has found himself caught up in nightclub mess.
He is Liverpool's most important player and the club's management and supporters will be hoping the furore quickly abates.
The consolation for them and for Gerrard is that recent years have shown it has become fashionable to accuse footballers of wrong-doing, often without any evidence to back it up. Modern players have become trophy victims for those seeking publicity.
Time and again, players have been subjected to lurid allegations only for charges to be dropped
Liverpool fans will be hoping their instincts about Gerrard are right and that he will soon be free to get on with his life.
HE WHO BETRAYS WILL ALWAYS WALK ALONE