Team-mates need to ease Gerrard burden

Nov 15 2006 Red Watch by Andy Proudfoot, Daily Post

WHATEVER happened to the spirit of Istanbul?

The legions of new fans from around the world who were inspired by that heroic comeback, and who saw it reaffirmed in the FA Cup Final a year later, must have been utterly baffled as they watched the same club practically throw in the towel after going a single goal down at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday - and not for the first time this season.

Of course there has been changes of personnel, but the collective confidence borne out of experiences like those two memorable cup finals should surely survive an away defeat or two (or three or four...)?

Or could it just be that those comebacks were a triumph of spirit of just one man, whose indomitable resolve dragged those around him to heights they are otherwise incapable of?

Much has been made of the relative lack of impact that Steven Gerrard has had this season: he doesn't like playing on the right, he's fallen out with the manager, he's tempted by Real Madrid.

These of course are much better stories than the most simple and obvious one: he's just off-form. Whether he's going through a blip or just plain knackered, his level of performance has been well below the incredibly high standard he's set for himself; this is only to be expected from time to time.

So isn't he entitled to expect that, during these rare periods, someone else steps up to the mark to ease his burden? Or that the rest of the team give that little bit extra to compensate for any slight reduction in their captain's effectiveness? While it would be going too far to say we're a oneman team, we're certainly over-dependent on the skipper. Taking your lead from the captain is one thing, leaving everything to him is another.

Otherwise in years to come we'll be mourning the waste of the Gerrard years just like we frittered away the Steve McManaman and Michael Owen eras.

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