A brief guide to … Steven Gerrard, a man strong enough to carry LA Galaxy's hopes

Forget The Slip – LA Galaxy’s new man steered Liverpool through some testing times, and delivered plenty enough success along the way

With the Guardian’s unstoppable rise to global dominance (NOTE: actual dominance may not be global. Or dominant) we at Guardian US thought we’d run a series of articles for newer football fans wishing to improve their knowledge of the game’s history and storylines, hopefully in a way that doesn’t patronise you to within an inch of your life. A warning: If you’re the kind of person that finds the Blizzard too populist this may not be the series for you.

Anyone who only started watching soccer in April 2014 would be forgiven for thinking Steven Gerrard is a prize galoot. Here’s how things have panned out for him since then. He slipped against Chelsea, allowing Demba Ba to score, consigning Liverpool to a defeat which ultimately cost them their first English league title since 1990. He was a slow, leggy presence in a midfield which was overrun by relegation haunted Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-final. His grand goodbye to Anfield ended in abject defeat to Crystal Palace. And his last appearance in a Liverpool shirt was a humiliating 6-1 thrashing at Stoke, Liverpool’s heaviest loss since 1963. Hey, at least he scored a goal in that last one.

Continue reading...