I have to say, Steven Gerrard’s latest comments about Manchester City have really caught my attention.
Because while plenty of Liverpool supporters have wondered whether the 2013/14 Premier League title could eventually be awarded to the Reds, Gerrard has made one thing very clear.
He doesn’t want a winners’ medal. He wants Manchester City to face serious consequences.
And I think there is a big difference between those two things.
Gerrard knows better than most Liverpool supporters how painful that title race was. Brendan Rodgers’ side came so close to winning the Premier League, only to finish two points behind Manchester City after a remarkable campaign.
For years, that has been one of the biggest regrets of Gerrard’s career.
But speaking on The Overlap, the former Liverpool captain made it clear that being handed a medal years later would not change how he feels about it.
“I’m not someone who’s going to sit here and say I would accept a Premier League medal or I want one that they’ve got,” he explained.
That tells you quite a lot about where his head is.
“Make them suffer like they have made everyone else suffer”
Gerrard was much more forceful when discussing what Manchester City’s punishment should look like.
He believes the club should face sanctions serious enough to set an example across football.
His proposed measures include a transfer ban and points deductions over multiple seasons, alongside stripping titles or marking historic achievements with an asterisk.
His message was blunt:
“Make them suffer like they have made everyone else suffer.”
He also insisted that the Premier League needs to be strong when deciding the punishment.
And this is where I think Liverpool supporters will understand his frustration.
It isn’t simply about what happened to Liverpool in one particular season.
It is about the wider consequences of financial rule-breaking and whether the competition is prepared to impose meaningful sanctions when a club is found to have breached its regulations.
If punishments are too weak to act as a deterrent, what message does that send to everybody else?
That is the question Gerrard wants answered.
Gerrard has accepted he never won the Premier League
There is something quite sad about hearing Gerrard speak so calmly about never winning the title.
For Liverpool supporters, the 2013/14 season remains a painful memory.
Liverpool scored 101 league goals, played some fantastic football and looked capable of ending their long wait for the championship.
Then came the final weeks of the season, when the title slipped away.
City eventually finished on 86 points, with Liverpool on 84.
Gerrard has spent years living with that disappointment. He has now said that he has come to terms with never winning the Premier League and does not want a retrospective medal to change that.
I respect that.
Of course, Liverpool fans would love to see the club’s achievements recognised properly if the final outcome of the case leads to titles being removed.
But I can understand why Gerrard would feel that receiving a medal now would not recreate what he and his teammates experienced on the pitch.
You cannot go back to 2014.
You cannot recreate the celebrations that never happened.
And you cannot replace the feeling of winning the title at the time.
A medal years later would never be the same.
This is bigger than Liverpool
One of the most important parts of Gerrard’s argument is that he does not believe this is only about Liverpool.
He pointed to the possible impact on other clubs, including Tottenham, Manchester United and Everton, as well as teams fighting at the bottom of the table or competing in cup competitions.
His argument is that if financial breaches affected the competitive landscape, the consequences could have been felt throughout English football.
That is why he believes the punishment needs to reflect the seriousness of the findings.
He also made a point of separating the players from the club’s leadership, saying Manchester City’s players were outstanding footballers who had lived those moments and deserved credit for their performances.
His criticism was not simply an attack on the individuals who played for City.
Instead, he questioned the responsibility of those running the club and the memories that rival teams and their supporters may have lost.
That is a more complicated argument than simply demanding that City be relegated or stripped of trophies.
And Gerrard himself acknowledged that the exact punishment was ultimately a matter for the authorities.
The Premier League has to get this right
For me, the biggest issue is what happens next.
Manchester City have denied wrongdoing and have appealed the commission’s findings. The final outcome and any sanctions remain to be determined.
That process needs to be completed properly, with the evidence and appeal considered fairly.
But if serious breaches are ultimately upheld, the Premier League has a responsibility to ensure the consequences are meaningful.
Gerrard believes a multi-year punishment would send a stronger message than relegation alone, arguing that City could simply return to the top flight quickly.
Whether the authorities agree with his proposed sanctions remains to be seen.
What matters is that the eventual decision is clear, proportionate and capable of protecting the integrity of the competition.
That is what supporters across English football deserve.
Gerrard doesn’t need a medal to make his point
I suspect many Liverpool supporters will always look back at 2013/14 and wonder what might have been.
I certainly understand why.
But Gerrard’s comments show that he is not chasing personal recognition or trying to rewrite his own career.
He has accepted that he never won the Premier League.
What he wants is accountability if the findings against Manchester City stand after the appeal process.
And his message is that any punishment must be strong enough to matter.
“An example needs to be set.”
That is the part I keep coming back to.
This should not be about giving Steven Gerrard a medal to make Liverpool supporters feel better about the past.
It should be about ensuring that football’s financial rules mean something.
If the rules have been broken, there must be consequences that reflect the seriousness of those breaches.
Gerrard doesn’t want a medal to erase his disappointment.
He wants the Premier League to show that nobody is above its rules.
And I think that is a message worth listening to.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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