Talisman?

[dave shelley]

Given the on-going love-in now that Steven Gerard has come to the end of his Liverpool career, it set me thinking about the players who have been given the title talisman.  If you can divorce yourselves from the fact that he was a cheating, dirty fecker at times, he really was a talisman for them.  He could rally the team (as he did in Istanbul), he could pop up with a match determining goal when it looked as though the game was going away from them.  He could work a dodgy free-kick or penalty and, was the player his team-mates always seemed to look to for inspiration.

It made me think that, in all the years I've been following the Villa, I can't really recall us having any player that we could genuinely call a talisman in the sense that Gerard was for Liverpool.  Manure had Bryan Robson as a talisman, and, dare I say it; Chelski have Terry *spit*.  Supporters of clubs up and down the country will all be able to tell you of players they thought were talismen for their clubs but, I'm really finding it difficult to put my finger on anyone who could have been ours.  I think Delph has the makings but needs to add more goals to his game.  I always thought George Curtis was inspirational but, talisman?  So I ask you, do/did we have a player who could be described thus?  I ask you to offer suggestions of players you have seen and not, players from back in the day of Charlie Athersmith et al.  And finally, does Gerard deserve to be remembered as a Liverpool Talisman?

[Risso]

Gerrard has been the very opposite of a talisman the last couple of seasons!

[dave shelley]

That's not the point though is  it?  Two seasons out of how many?  I'm no Gerard lover, it's what he brings to his team and the fact that I can't recall us ever having anyone like that.

[curiousorange]

I think the word 'talisman' could often be interchangeable with 'referee's mate'.

[dave shelley]

I've clarified it a bit.

[Risso]

That's not the point though is  it?  Two seasons out of how many?  I'm no Gerard lover, it's what he brings to his team and the fact that I can't recall us ever having anyone like that.

No I understand the point you're making, I just think it's hilarious that in their best chance of the title for 20 odd years, it was his slip that started the rot.

[Dante Lavelli]

We've had scarce few players who have stayed long enough to be considered a talisman.  Only gabby has been in the team long enough yet throughout his period - at best - he has been an understudy to other fan favourites:  carew > Barry > Milner > Benteke have all stolen his thunder.

[Tokyo Sexwhale]

Brian Little (as a player) was before my time - but he's revered, a one-club man, and a flair player - but was he talismanic?

[eamonn]

That's not the point though is  it?  Two seasons out of how many?  I'm no Gerard lover, it's what he brings to his team and the fact that I can't recall us ever having anyone like that.

No I understand the point you're making, I just think it's hilarious that in their best chance of the title for 20 odd years, it was his slip that started the rot.

Without him they wouldn't have been challenging though.

[supertom]

God? Took us within sniffing distance of two league titles and got us two league cups. Impeccable at the back, even when his legs were well gone. 7 years at the club and always excellent (player of the year in 93 too).

[Lucky Eddie]

Steve Staunton had 'talisman' potential - but he chose to walk away....

[thick_mike]

McGrath certainly

[Duncan Shaw]

I think our glory years in my lifetime have been due to a superb team ethic, hence no stand out Talisman as such.  Perhaps God in his time.  Maybe Benteke will become it over the next 5 years as he spearheads us to glory?

[pauliewalnuts]

That's not the point though is  it?  Two seasons out of how many?  I'm no Gerard lover, it's what he brings to his team and the fact that I can't recall us ever having anyone like that.

No I understand the point you're making, I just think it's hilarious that in their best chance of the title for 20 odd years, it was his slip that started the rot.

Without him they wouldn't have been challenging though.

Gerrard has been an unbelievable player for them, he has contributed so much to the club. For a start, he stayed there his entire career, dodging a much higher trophy count (including the league title, obv).

He's an absolute ****** of the highest order, I hate his face and his starfish diving as much as the next man, but you can't deny he has been one of the best players of the PL era, especially for Liverpool. Impressive for an Everton fan.

However, having said that, Risso is absolutely right. That's part of football - every fan of every single other team will have been absolutely pissing themselves laughing at that slip. It is moments like that that contribute almost as much to being a football supporter as watching your actual team does (esp for the likes of us in recent years).

The last year or two, esp this year (and our semi was a great example), they've allowed themselves to be overtaken by emotion and played him when he shouldn't have been anywhere near the team.

[passitsideways]

That's not the point though is  it?  Two seasons out of how many?  I'm no Gerard lover, it's what he brings to his team and the fact that I can't recall us ever having anyone like that.

No I understand the point you're making, I just think it's hilarious that in their best chance of the title for 20 odd years, it was his slip that started the rot.

Without him they wouldn't have been challenging though.

I'm not sure about that. 13 goals and 13 assists is impressive, but I'm pretty sure a majority of them came from penalties that Suarez won and from set-pieces. Beyond that, he spent all season being a laughable excuse for a defensive midfielder, as shown by how the worst midfield we've had in many years managed to stroll past him time and time again in that draw at Anfield until Lucas showed him how to do his job properly.

Great player in his time and I agree about the talisman thing, but I was really confident that we'd win the semi the moment I saw his name on the teamsheet.