Steven Gerrard is the last link to Liverpool's great European past - his Anfield abdication was always going to bring a sense of loss Steven Gerrard's last Anfield appearance was a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace
Gerrard is considered as one of the best to have ever played for Liverpool
His final appearance at Anfield was emotional for him and the supporters
By Oliver Holt For The Mail On Sunday
Published: 22:30, 16 May 2015 | Updated: 12:06, 18 May 2015
There is a beautiful gothic building on the corner of Blessington Road and Anfield Road near Liverpoolâs stadium that houses a pub called the King Harry. It is painted red and white inside, with touches of gilt, and yesterday, as they do every match day, Liverpool fans gathered there early.
A few hours before the game against Crystal Palace kicked off, David Johnson one of the heroes of Liverpoolâs 1981 European Cup Final triumph over Real Madrid strolled past on his way to a sponsor event at the Isla Gladstone Conservatory nearby. He cuts a distinguished figure now, his hair a brilliant white.
Nobody inside the King Harry much noticed him but they know their history in there. Two photos were prominently displayed high on one of the walls, either side of the giant television screen that had been showing Southamptonâs demolition of Aston Villa.
One was a yellowing photograph of Bill Shankly that looked as if it had been taken from an annual and placed lovingly in a frame. The other was an image of Steven Gerrard, his Champions League winnersâ medal clamped to his mouth in a kiss as he celebrated in Istanbul in 2005.
On a day laden so heavily with emotion and sentiment, it felt as if those pictures represented a beginning and an end. The greatness began with Shankly when he took over at Liverpool in 1959 and part of it at least ended with Gerrardâs last game in his Liverpool home on Saturday.
Gerrard, 34, is the only survivor of the team that beat AC Milan that magical night on the shores of the Bosphorus ten years ago when Liverpool won their most recent European Cup. He inspired the Miracle of Istanbul.
He is the last link to Liverpoolâs great European past. From Tommy Smith to Kevin Keegan to Graeme Souness to Kenny Dalglish to Mark Lawrenson to Alan Hansen to Ian Rush to Ronnie Whelan, the flame was passed to Jamie Carragher, Xabi Alonso and Gerrard and now there is no one waiting to receive it any more.
Not yet anyway.
So we came here yesterday to salute the Last of the Mohicans.
We came to remember a time when Liverpool were kings.
They may reach that peak again in the future but the landscape of English football has changed. Benefactors like Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour and managers like Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho have shifted the power away from Merseyside.
The sound of Johnny Cash singing âRing of Fireâ rolled around Anfield before the game yesterday to remind the fans of that glorious last flourish in Istanbul. Brendan Rodgers is taking Liverpool in the right direction again but it is hard to see them reaching the European summit again any time soon.
So there was a wistful tone to some of the music that played over the loud speaker system before the game, too. âWhatever happened to the heroes?â The Stranglers asked and R.E.M mourned that it was âthe end of the world as we know itâ.
It was a celebration, too, of course and the mood lifted considerably when Gerrard, who made his Liverpool debut in 1998, walked out on to the pitch before kick-off.
Both sides lined up to form a guard of honour for the Liverpool captain, who will begin a new career with LA Galaxy this summer, and there was a great roar when he emerged from the tunnel.
Gerrard walked down the line of Palace players, thanking them for the gesture and carrying his youngest daughter, Lourdes, in his arms. His elder children, Lilly-Ella and Lexie, walked by his side.
When the teams had shaken hands, Anfield treated Gerrard to one last rousing rendition of Youâll Never Walk Alone.
Banners glorifying Gerrardâs feats with the club were held up all over the Kop. As the anthem played, Gerrard knelt in the centre circle with his daughters.
Thoughts drifted back to occasions when Youâll Never Walk Alone has rent the air here in Gerrardâs presence. The night in 2005 when Liverpool and Gerrard overcame Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final was the most tumultuous atmosphere that many of us have ever witnessed.
It was not quite like that on Saturday. It felt more like a testimonial, a game that only really mattered because of what it meant for one man. âIs this a library?â the Palace fans at the Kemlyn Road End sang scornfully towards the end of the first half.
Gerrard is not the force of old, of course, and he was ineffectual yesterday.
So was his team. Palace fully deserved their 3-1 victory.
They outplayed Liverpool almost from start to finish, something which did little to cheer the home supporters about what lies ahead in the post-Gerrard era.
None of that dampened the crowdâs desire to give their skipper a fitting send-off. The Kop reclaimed the âSteve Gerrard, Gerrard, heâll pass the ball 40 yardsâ song from those who have bastardised it following his fateful slip against Chelsea last season. They belted it out again and again.
Part of their affection for him here stems from the fact that he is a local boy, a one club man who resisted the temptations of a move to clubs that might have brought him more silverware.
The arguments of those who mock Gerrard for the medals he missed out on by staying with Liverpool are rendered largely irrelevant by the great triumph of Istanbul.
Sure, Gerrard never won the league but he won the Champions League and at a club built on European iconography, that is everything.
âThe best there was, the best there is, the best there ever will be,â a club message said on signs that flashed up on the perimeter hoardings. Admirers of Dalglish and Souness might have something to say about that but it says enough about Gerrardâs ability that he should be part of the conversation.
Rodgers said last week that Gerrard has done more for the city than any politician and he was right. He was about as close to a reigning monarch as Liverpool ever got in the last 20 years.
As a footballer, he was a link to another era, a time of glory and pride, a comfort as others took Liverpoolâs place. His abdication was always going to provoke a sense of loss and mourning.
And so the sound of The Kinks serenaded Gerrard as he left Anfield. âThank you for the days,â they sang, âthose endless days, those sacred days you gave me. Iâm thinking of the days, I wonât forget a single day, believe me.â
The Kop, though, chose to cut through the sentiment
When Gerrard sidefooted a shot high into the Liverpool faithful behind the goal ten minutes from time, they chided him gently.
âWhat the f***ing hell was that?â they sang.
Gerrard gazed up at the great bank of football humanity that has been the backdrop to his life for the last 17 years and gave them the thumbs-up.
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