Despite being one of the greatest players of this century and arguably Liverpool’s most influential player of all time, there is one honour absent in Steven Gerrard’s trophy cabinet that must surely haunt the former England captain at night – the Premier League trophy.
Liverpool’s famous talisman has broken records and has individual accolades to his name, but the Englishman has never won English football’s greatest prize. While that in itself does not tarnish his legacy as one of the best players in the Premier League era, it would sure sting him that players not half as good as him have more league medals than he does.
Here, we look at five terrible players to have more Premier League medals than Steven Gerrard:
#5 Anderson – Manchester United, 4 Premier League titles
When Anderson arrived at Old Trafford, he was not a bad player by any means. In fact, he came as one of the most promising signings of the window and even once put on a very good performance against Liverpool in the North West Derby which ultimately turned out to be the highlight of his time with the Red Devils.
Anderson has, astonishingly, won the Premier League four times – which is four times more than Gerrard, and even one more than Frank Lampard! The Brazilian did certainly benefit from the genius of Sir Alex Ferguson and an incredibly talented squad, and he himself did not play a great role in any of United’s triumphs.
#4 Mike Newell – Blackburn Rovers, 1 Premier League title
The current first-team coach at Accrington Stanley won the league in one of the most astonishing league seasons of all time as Blackburn Rovers emerged victorious in the 1994/95 season.
Newell was a striker and spent five years with the team and managed to score just 28 goals in 130 appearances – which tells you he was not exactly a prime Marco Van Basten.
Blackburn won the league in Newell’s penultimate season with the club as the duo of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton wreaked havoc across England. The striker barely did anything and even his career otherwise is nothing magical.
Ironically for Gerrard who tried so hard to lead Liverpool to the title, the manager that won Rovers the league was none other than Kenny Dalglish, who was also the last manager to lead Liverpool to the league title.
#3 Darren Ferguson – Manchester United, 1 Premier League title
The son of Sir Alex Ferguson was never the greatest of players, much like his old man in that regard.
Currently managing Doncaster Rovers in League Two, Darren played professionally for almost 18 years but never made his mark as a top player. Playing for Manchester United was the highlight of his career as a footballer and he just played the minimum amount of games required to qualify for a league title in 1992/93, and that too most of his appearances came at the expense of an injured Bryan Robson.
Darren is trying to build his CV as a manager but was never in the same league as Gerrard as a player. SAF did some pretty great things at Old Trafford, and helping his son win a league medal was one of them.
#2 Asier Del Horno – Chelsea, 1 Premier League title
The highlight of Del Horno’s only season with Chelsea was the red card he received due to a foul on Lionel Messi which effectively ended his career with the Blues. Not exactly a player you would include in an all-time XI list.
While Del Horno may not be as bad a player as Darren Ferguson (he has actually done well for himself in Spain), the fact that he spent only one season in England’s top division and performed woefully despite making 25 league appearances makes him an ideal candidate for this list.
While Stevie G spent more than a decade and a half with the Reds and yet could never quite reach the summit, Del Horno’s minimal contribution and lack of world class talent still saw him leave England with the elusive league medal as Mourinho’s men won their second league title in as many years.
#1 Stuart Taylor – Arsenal, 1 Premier League title
Only the second active player on this list and the only one still playing in the Premier League, Stuart Taylor is the ultimate no. 3 who currently plays for Southampton.
What this basically means is that Taylor has spent the majority of his life as a backup keeper and has earned a lot of bucks (and some accolades) while doing so. The story of his Arsenal league medal is especially fascinating.
Taylor had played nine games in the league before the Gunner’s last game of the season against Everton with the title already in the bag. Richard Wright started the game, and Wenger substituted Taylor in the 85th minute just so that he could be eligible for the league medal as the rule at that time dictated.
Overall, Taylor has made only 30 appearances for Arsenal and has won the FA Cup, two Charity Shields and the Premier League which would probably be one of the best game-to-trophy rations in English history. Eat your heart out, Stevie.
Honourable mentions
Luke Chadwick – Touted for big things when he came to Manchester United, the winger had a time to forget at the Theatre of Dreams as it was soon clear that he was not up to the Red Devils’ standards. The player still has a Premier League trophy to his name.
Oleh Luzhnyi – You have probably never heard of Luzhnyi and for good measure, as the defender arrived at Highbury way back in 1999 and could never adapt to the English game. Under Arsene Wenger though, he did reach the summit once in the league and has two FA Cups and Charity Shields to his name too.
