Former Manchester United first team coach Phil Neville has heaped praise on outgoing Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, saying that the 34-year-old was the binding force of the Reds and they will be significantly weaker without him.
Having announced his departure from Anfield at the end of the current season after playing 17 seasons with the Liverpool first team, Gerrard will play his last game for the Reds when they play Stoke City this weekend. He will be joining MLS outfit LA Galaxy.
Neville, who enjoyed a decade-long career with Manchester United before joining forces with Liverpool’s local rivals Everton, is bewildered by the Reds’ decision to let Gerrard go and added that their opponents will be more confident in facing the Merseyside outfit without their talismanic captain in their ranks.
“I still can't believe Liverpool have let Gerrard go”, the 38-year-old was quoted as saying by the BBC.
“If I was another club in the Premier League, I'd wake up the morning after he was gone and think that if I was going to play Liverpool now without Steven Gerrard I'd fancy my chances.”
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The former England international further added that most teams tried to neutralise the legendary midfielder when they came up against the Reds.
"With Steven Gerrard in the team, even though you may think he has had his best days, you still think he could come up with something special.
"We always felt if you stopped Steven Gerrard you stopped Liverpool. That's the way Everton looked at it, the way Manchester United looked at it.
“He was the one who, if he wasn't scoring, was passing the ball over the top.
"You couldn't handle Gerrard totally because he had so much power."
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