What they say about Stevie G
We asked famous faces and sportsmen to name their favourite Stevie G moments and opened the debate on whether he could now be labelled the greatest Liverpool player ever...
John Bishop...
"The goal he scored in the FA Cup final is my favourite moment - because there was nothing left. For me, at the end of his career we'll look back and say he's the best player who has ever played for Liverpool. Definitely the most influential. I know when you have done surveys Kenny always comes out on top but Kenny played with better players. Steven has played with Igor Biscan! He can change a game. You take your kids to the game and I always say to mine, 'Look at what he's doing when he hasn't got the ball.' It's his workrate and commitment and desire to win and his sense of responsibility. He knows he's playing for the supporters. He's there to give something back. Unlike some of the other lads he is not passing through. He lives there. He feels it when they win and when they lose."
Ricky Hatton...
"Every club in the Premier League would like to have seen Steven Gerrard in their shirt. He's done what he's done on the pitch, he's captained his country, he was rewarded with an MBE. He's a big-time player with a massive talent. How can you not like someone like Steven Gerrard? Even if I was a United fan, I'd find it hard not to like him. There's one thing about him and that's the passion he shows on the pitch - somebody with that attitude, I have no doubt he'd be a good boxer. He's four feet taller than me so I'd have to bob and weave to get close to him."
Brad Friedel...
"I would think so many people in the city of Liverpool look up to Steven Gerrard. He's come good in so many ways. He's an absolute true gentleman. I was very happy to see he never jumped ship and left Liverpool. The mark of a true athlete is when a home-grown talent can stay and persevere and in his case try to win that league title. It would have been a shame for himself and the city if he would have left. You can say he is one of THE Liverpool greats - but it'll be an argument until the day you die about who is the greatest. His talent, his workrate, his endeavour and his leadership qualities are what makes him special. He's got everything."
Jamie Redknapp...
"I was watching LFC TV a couple of weeks ago and they had a show with all his goals. I was with my little boy and he loves Stevie, absolutely idolises him. My personal favourite moment was when he came on against Everton (early in his career) as a substitute and was playing right-back. My dad was at the game and Steven stopped two shots on the line. Afterwards my dad said, 'How good is he! He's like Superman.' I said, 'Dad, wait until you see him play in midfield.' He is just an incredible footballer and there are so many great memories of watching him play. He is Superman. I wish I could have played with him more. Looking at the way he plays, it would have been a joy. He's one of those players who you give it to and they get on with it. He will go down as one of the greats - there's no two ways about it."
Joey Barton...
"For my generation he's probably as gifted a player as there has been in the Premier League, if not Europe, if not the world. We're fortunate in this era to have a lot of good players and Stevie is at the top of that tree. Liverpool have had some good players. Graeme Souness was as complete a player as I've seen. I'm good mates with Terry McDermott and he'd be disappointed if I didn't mention him. To be mentioned in the same breath as some of those great players who've played for Liverpool shows what a great player Steven has been and will probably continue to be for a number of years. He has everything. A lot of good players have strengths in one area and weaknesses in others. Stevie has a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses. He's very, very difficult to play against and that's the reason he's regarded as highly as he is in world football. I'll never forget the Istanbul game. He was the catalyst for Liverpool getting back along with Didi Hamann and a couple of others. As an Everton fan I was looking at it and thinking they'd maybe been beaten by a really good Milan side. To do what they did in the way they did it - it's one of those games that will live long in the memory."
Click on the play button to watch We Love Stevie G
Jamie Carragher...
"Istanbul and what he did 12 months later in Cardiff would be my moments - I couldn't split those two. And I'd have said he was the greatest player to play for Liverpool until Kenny became our manager. Now I've got to say joint first. So many times in his career he has pulled us out of the mire. Without him, how many trophies would we have won in the last 10 years?"
Harry Kewell...
"Steven is one of those players who is a leader. It was great playing with him and great playing under him. He always produced something in a game. Whenever you were down you could look to him, he was always running hard, shooting hard, tackling hard. He always gave players inspiration to go and give their best. He's just a great player. He's up there with the greatest players ever for Liverpool. The only thing Kenny has on him is the league title. If Liverpool can do that I'm sure he can be the greatest."
Steven Taylor...
"I just hate playing against him, especially when he comes up to Newcastle - he always seems to produce against us. He's a world-class player. He's in with a shout of being the greatest ever Liverpool player - 100 per cent. He's been loyal to them and a great servant. He's got all the things a top quality player needs. He's fierce, he can find a pass and he scores goals as well."
DJ Spoony...
"He's a very humble man. I thought that when I first met him when he was 18-years-old. He's a special player who respects his profession and he's brilliant at what he does. He's in the conversation about the greatest Liverpool player of all time. Kenny won so many titles and came back and did it as a manager as well, but he's got to be one of the top three of all-time - and bearing in mind some of the special players we've had, I don't think any of them will argue about who gets one, two or three."
Didi Hamann...
"The first goal in Istanbul would be my moment. That set us up. The first goal was the most important one because we knew then we had a chance of getting the second and the third. There have been many other moments though. The club has been fortunate enough to produce a lot of world-class players but if you look at Dalglish, Souness and Hansen - Stevie is up there with them. His contribution to the club has been absolutely outstanding. He's got all the ingredients of a top-class player - he's got a touch, he can pass a ball, he can score goals, he's dynamic, he has a talent to beat people, which not many have got. He just has an all-round game. He progresses and gets better every year. He's been one of the best players in Europe for the past five or six years."