CREDIT: BISER TODOROV
Star player Steven Gerrard will be putting his Liverpool jersey away and making a move to L.A. Galaxy in July.

On New Year’s Day, the rumours started to trickle in: “Steven Gerrard is leaving Liverpool,” “Gerrard to join MLS at the end of the season,” read the tweets to the disbelief of myself and Reds supporters all over the world.

It seemed like the usual January rumours, but the man himself confirmed it the next day. It can’t be said enough – he is the last oneclub man left in England, and his departure from his boyhood team is a blow not only to Liverpool Football Club, but to English football as a whole. Three weeks later, and it still hasn’t quite sunk in that come July, he’s going to be pulling on the white of the Los Angeles Galaxy, not the red of Liverpool.

Having made his debut as a skinny teenager in 1998, most people took it as a certainty that Gerrard would see out the end of his career on the same turf that he had started on so long ago. Coming off one of his – and the club’s – most successful seasons in recent memory, it seemed that Gerrard was set to finish off his waning years in style.

It sounded perfect, which any Liverpool supporter knows, that’s not how the club likes to do things, as the season has been woefully underwhelming in nearly every aspect. The players can count themselves fortunate that they find themselves still within touching distance of the top four places. That’s not what contributed to Gerrard’s decision to leave though. He’s a passionate footballer who has started games week-in, week-out for the entirety of his career. But he’s also 34 years old and in the fast pace of the competition, his legs are beginning to show it. It has already seen him dropped to the substitutes bench on several occasions this season, most notably against Real Madrid in the club’s short return to the Champion’s League.

In typical Gerrard fashion, he announced his departure humbly, waiting for the longest period between matches so the media circus surrounding his move did not distract him and his teammates for the important second half of the season. With the team currently sitting in sixth place and facing a fight to remain in the top four positions, Gerrard would love nothing more than to put his head down, do his work and leave his club in a position to move forward in his absence. A Liverpool F.C. without Gerrard is unfathomable. There is an entire generation of supporters who were born into his time and have never known anything else. Hell, even I can hardly recall the days before he was commanding the midfield. The thought on supporters’ minds all over the world is, of course, “How will Liverpool cope without him?”

As perhaps the man to have the most influence on a team’s results for so many years, it’s fair to wonder where the players will look for leadership in the absence of a player who embodies the team he plays for. But despite the struggles this season, the future doesn’t look all that grey. The captaincy will likely pass to Jordan Henderson, a player who has fought tooth and nail to go from transfer listed to vice-captain and one of the most important players in the team. As the former captain of the England U-21 team, he is not short of leadership experience, and the manager seems to have every confidence that he will step up and lead the players into the future.

As for Gerrard, there will be some tears shed on his last game, by him, by me and by millions around the world. He’s a special player, the sort of athlete that I’ll be showing videos of to my children. As sad as it is for him to leave, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy in July will give him a chance to unleash his genius upon a league that is, in all honesty, far below his talent level.

Thanks for the memories Stevie.