Why can Alpha English players never say goodbye?

STEVE GERRARD - Alpha goodbyes

Having been a keen follower of football many years one is able to get a pretty extensive view of trends across time. Here today the Quiltyview looks at an ongoing issue in the game, which seems to afflict the English more than most. I am referring here to the way the game struggles to say goodbye to it's superstars. At this particular time the 'name in the frame' is Steve Gerrard but this particular situation is nothing new. I would go as far as to say that England has always struggled with the timing of saying goodbye to it's 'alpha' heroes.

STEVE GERRARD

Often these 'alpha' players are also the captain of the national side and there is a dilemma  regarding  about how long they should keep playing, especially for the England side. Most would agree that in the case of Gerrard he is not the force he once was...the dominant English midfielder for a decade. That said, he is still the Liverpool skipper and has adapted his game somewhat to sit that bit deeper and act as a screen for the defence rather than the box to box warrier in a red shirt. He is, to date, the only footballer ever to have scored a goal in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a Champions League Final. It has surprised some to hear that Liverpool didn't offer him any sort of contract extension or when they did it was very late in the piece. We hear that Gerrard will head to the MLS probably with LA Galaxy. The superiority complex of English fans finds this news hard to fathom.... after all 'what do the yanks know about football' especially as the persist in calling it soccer! The timing of this move for Gerrard is what is in question. Hot on the heals of Gerrard's contemporary Lampard, going, then staying, some are asking why is he being lost to the EPL so soon? 

LONG TERM TREND

None of all this is new in the English game. Over the years a similar struggles played out regarding the timing of retirement. Looking back I would say that players such as Kevin Keegan, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, Bryan Robson and David Beckham all come under this category of player. All heroes one and all.

GARY LINEKER - Off the shoulder, unstoppable

GARY LINEKER

Gary Lineker retired from international football with 80 caps and 48 goals, one fewer goal than Bobby Charlton's England record (although Charlton took 26 more caps to score his one extra goal). In what proved to be his last England match, against Sweden at Euro 1992, he was substituted by England coach Graham Taylor, in favour of Arsenal striker Alan Smith, ultimately denying Lineker the chance to equal—or even better—Charlton's record of 49 goals. He had earlier missed a penalty that would have brought him level, in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil. He was visibly upset at the decision, not looking at Taylor as he took to the bench. Here was a superstar of the time who provoked debate on when to go. 

KEVIN KEEGAN - Went out at the top

Controversy taking place within World Cup or Euro tournaments has been common. 

KEVIN KEEGAN

Other English superstars also struggled with stepping down in their own way. Kevin Keegan said he just wasn't prepared to play anywhere but at the top.  Keegan retired from playing aged 33 and moved to Spain. Why did he retire so early? "I could have hung back in midfield for another three or four years, but I thought, no. It was the best decision I made in my life. I was at the highest level and the only way was down. I call it the glass mountain – you can't climb a glass mountain," says Keegan.

BRYAN ROBSON - Midfield rock

Bryan Robson was another England 'alpha' who presented a mammoth problem finishing up. To me he is the closest to Gerrard in his situation.

He represented England on 90 occasions between 1980 and 1991, making him the sixth most capped England player of all-time, and had the eleventh highest goalscoring tally with 26. Robson captained his country 65 times, with only Bobby Moore and Billy Wright, at the time, having captained England on more occasions. 

BRYAN ROBSON

Robson continued his international career until 1991, also helping England to reach the 1990 World Cup finals for the second World Cup in succession, though, his role was limited as he once again suffered an injury in the second match (against the Netherlands) that was to keep him out of the rest of the tournament. Even more ironically, for the second World Cup in succession, England's revamped formation played better without their captain, whose place in the team was taken by David Platt during the knock-out stages as England came fourth. 

Robson claimed in his autobiography that in one of his last matches for England under Graham Taylor, he was played bizarrely on the left wing, even though he had never played there for club and no longer had the pace to get up and down the line at the age of 34.

ALAN SHEARER  - All round terror of defences

Yet another true England 'alpha' was Alan Shearer. After being named England's captain in 1996 and Newcastle's captain in 1999, he retired from international football following UEFA Euro 2000, having amassed 63 appearances and 30 goals for his country, plus 6 seasons as club captain. Debate over Shearer saying goodbye split the nation. How could the side survive after Shearer had dominated and terrorised for so long?

ALAN SHEARER

DAVID BECKHAM -The modern way to say goodbye....world tour.

Perhaps the 'alpha' most recently in peoples minds was David Beckham. The midfielder played his first game for Manchester United in 1992 and eventually rose to become captain of England's international team for more than 50 games, including several World Cup tournaments. He appeared in 115 matches for the squad. Beckham chose a slightly different path to the rest when saying goodbye internationally. He morphed into a worldwide traveling showpiece playing in various football markets as a marketers dream ensuring shirt sales would explode wherever he went. Beckham the alpha phenomena managed to say the right things wherever he went. Paying tribute to being an England international when he said.

"To this day, one of my proudest achievements is captaining my country. I knew every time I wore the Three Lions shirt, I was not only following in a long line of great players, I was also representing every fan that cared passionately about their country. I'm honoured to represent England both on and off the pitch" 

STEVE PERRYMAN - Some 'alphas' operate on a slightly lower level but are 'alphas' all the same.

STEVE PERRYMAN

Steve Perryman, a midfielder and later defender, played in a club record 866 first team appearances in all competitions for Tottenham Hotspur between 1969 and 1986 and is their longest serving player ever. Personally I saw his career from start to finish at Spurs and along with Glenn Hoddle is my favourite player ever. He was the undoubted leader of the side possessing grit and commitment in a team that sometimes attracted the 'soft southerner' tag from those in the cold harsh north. Perryman was Spurs through and through. In spite of this, his final season at Tottenham was one where we often saw him perform at a lower level than we were accustomed. He went from being a dynamic central midfielder to a very average right back. The fans were very uncomfortable with this situation and rightly Perryman moved on to play for Oxford United. Staying on too long can be a problem. In truth he ought to have had a spot 'upstairs' at the club but circumstances moved him away permanently after a short spell as Osvaldo Ardiles assistant at Spurs.

LIFE AFTER THE TOP

As Gerrard moves on to the next stage of his career it is probably the experience and solution offered by David Beckham that offers him the modern way forward. Steve Gerrard is a world name that will be able to offer leadership and marketability wherever he goes. It is just the English fans who struggle to see their 'alphas' say goodbye.

http://www.espnfc.com/club/liverpool/364/blog/post/2231733/stop-the-fuss-over-gerrard-leaving