Steven Gerrard - overhyped and misunderstood

Now I'm trying my hardest here not to come across as just a bitter Man Utd fan. But can someone please tell me what I’m missing? Can someone please tell me why Steven Gerrard is regarded as being among the best central midfielders in the world? Off the pitch, I laud him for his sense of spirit and passion, and he has been rightly praised by fans and the media alike for his shunning of Roman’s millions. Yet on the pitch, time and time again I have seen him put in wasteful, inefficient, selfish, and ultimately overhyped performances for both Liverpool and England.

After Tuesday's Champions League Semi-Final Second Leg tie versus Arsenal, Liverpool’s captain Gerrard was portrayed as a hero, who brought his side back from the brink of elimination with an 87^th minute match-winning penalty. Yet once more, any unbiased spectator of the game could tell you that Gerrard was ineffectual in Liverpool’s midfield, and clearly lacked the discipline needed to fulfil his manager’s orders and sit on the left flank.

After Benitez fielded Gerrard on the left wing and Kuyt on the right, only Kuyt rewarded his manager with a performance which made up for the lack of natural width in the midfield, battling his way through the muscle of Diaby, and the speed of Clichy down the right hand side. Meanwhile, Gerrard insisted on drifting inside, into territory where Mascherano and Alonso fought hard to assert control over the Flamini-Fabregas partnership, thus allowing Eboue to run riot in the huge holes his absence created.

With the ball at his feet, Gerrard tries too hard to make things happen. Time and time again he punts the ball needlessly crossfield, or tries to show his teammates how hard he is trying to win the game by blasting a shot over the bar and into the stands. Once in every ten attempts, he pulls off one of these "Hollywood" passes, or one of these shots even, successfully, and is hailed as a midfield magician, but after those nine attempts that are unsuccessful he is simply good ol’ Stevie G, who bleeds red and white, and whose heart beats along to the Kop’s chants of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

When he plays at his best, Gerrard should be considered one of the best in the Premiership, but when he isn't, there are so many players I would rather have in my team. It is clear that Gerrard is a very talented footballer, and in his defence the left wing is clearly not his natural position, so he should not be judged on this performance alone. On Tuesday night however, the flaws in his game were shockingly evident, and it irritates me when he is considered to be better than other Premiership players like Lampard, Carrick, Fabregas and Barry, who all have the discipline, composure and patience (all of which Gerrard lacks) required to play in the centre of the midfield, and who will all effectively sit in midfield, pick up the ball and play the simple passes all...day...long.