Kama Steven Gerrard si wa wakiwango cha juu kwa ulitaka kumsajili, Fergie?

Steven Gerrard amefunga magoli 100 katika Premier League akiwa kiungo wa Liverpool.

Gerrard akifunga goli dhidi ya Manchester United dhidi ya 2001

Takwimu hazidanganyi: Gerrard is on course to outscore Scholes and already has more assists, despite playing fewer Premier League games. He's way ahead of Keane but trails Ryan Giggs, despite playing far fewer games

 Hii ni kauli ambayo itakuwa na maswali tu, Kama Steven Gerrard siyo mchezaji wa kiwango cha juu ('top, top player' ) kwanini Sir Alex Ferguson alijaribu kumsajili?

Ki ukweli kabisa katika jaribio la kuimarisha kikosi na kufikia mafanikio  ndani ya soka la kingereza  meneja wa Manchester United alitaka kuchukua kila mchezaji aliyekuwa katika kiwango cha juu cha ubora ? Sasa kama haamini kuwa Gerrard kuwa ni miongoni mwa waliokuwa bora kwanini alionyesha nia ya kumsajili  kiangazi 2005?

Amenukuliwa Gerrard akisema 

'FERGIE WANTED ME, SO DID REAL'

Katika mahojiano ya mwandishi wa Matt Lawton na Gerrard nahodha huyo wa Liverpool amebainisha kuwa mzee Furguson alimtaka na kutoa sababu ni kwanini hakuondoka ndani ya klabu yake na kujiunga na United.

Mchezaji bora kwa mujibu wa Ferguson anatakiwa kufanya kitu muhimu katika wakati muhimu.

He is, after all, synonymous with two major cup finals.

Istanbul in 2005 and Cardiff in 2006 may be the most spectacular examples of how Gerrard proved he is a 'top, top player' - they were performances that took him to another level - but do not forget that he also scored in other showpiece events. 

Sir Alex Ferguson gets ruffled by Channel 4 News' Jon Snow

Revealed: In 2012, Gerrard told Sportsmail's Matt Lawton why he chose not to join Manchester United

Back of the net: Gerrard converted his 20th Premier League penalty against Newcastle 

Boy wonder: A young Gerrard tries to wrestle the ball from Leeds' Harry Kewell

Gerrard's Premier League goals

In Dortmund in 2001, when Liverpool completed their Cup treble, Gerrard burst into the penalty area to smash in a wonderful drive. In 2003, when Liverpool reclaimed the League Cup, Gerrard set them on the way with a thumping effort from 25-yards.

Liverpool's opponents that day, incidentally, were Manchester United.

It may not have been a simple task coming up against Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in their hey day but it is baffling to suggest Gerrard went missing whenever he played against them. 

At Anfield in March 2001, for example, Gerrard ran all over Keane and nearly uprooted the Anfield Road end goal with a 30-yard howitzer. At Old Trafford, meanwhile, he never retreated into his shell. When Liverpool recorded 1-0 wins at that venue in January 2002 and April 2004, Gerrard was responsible for setting up the goals.

We could go on but sometimes numbers are good enough to demolish an assertion.

Cheeky: Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Gerrard was not a 'top,top player' in his new autobiography

One-club man: Gerrard has stayed true to his word that he would be Liverpool for life 

Great debate: Paul Scholes (right) and Roy Keane were better players than Gerrard, claims Sir Alex Ferguson

Ever present: Ryan Giggs (right) has outlasted Scholes and Keane and has more assists and goals than Gerrard.

He gets my vote: Jamie Carragher said Gerrard was the best English midfielder in the Premier League.

So here we go. Gerrard has played 640 times for Liverpool and scored 161 goals. His England career has spanned 13 years, 107 caps and 21 goals. He was won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup (twice) and three League Cups.

Is that enough to constitute a 'top, top player'? Draw your own conclusions.

Up there with the best: Gerrard's Premier League passing figures are up there with the best

REALLY, FERGIE?

Sir Alex Ferguson seems to have made a slight U-turn on his opinions of Steven Gerrard. In an interview with the Sunday Times in 2004, Ferguson waxed lyrical about Liverpool's talisman.
He compared him to a young Roy Keane and claimed that - at the time - Gerrard was more effective than Patrick Vieira.
Ferguson said: 'He has become the most influential player in England, bar none. Not that Vieira lacks anything, but Gerrard does more.
'To me, Gerrard is Keane. He is where Keane was when Roy came to us in 1993. Everywhere the ball is, he is there.'

Captain fantastic: Gerrard's England stats (left) and who his 100 Premier League goals were scored against