Source: Daily_Mail
JEFF POWELL: Not guilty, but now football fans will judge Steven Gerrard
A wave of relief surged across football's motherland on Friday as one of its shining knights was cleared of criminal thuggery and sent galloping on his way to yet more deeds of derring.[LNB]It was unthinkable that Steven Gerrard should be kicking nothing better than his heels in one of Her Majesty's over-crowded prison cells next summer while his England team strain for World Cup glory in South Africa without him.[LNB]The guttural roar of mindless acclamation to which the mob gave vent outside Liverpool Crown Court yesterday rang through public hostelries everywhere, from the chic salons of London town to the trattorias of Capello-ville.[LNB] Back to the day job: Steven Gerrard was back in action for Liverpool in a pre-season game against Merseyside rivals Tranmere[LNB]For Stevie G is the St George of English football. Yet it is this esteemed position he holds in the national psyche which makes this matter so disturbing.[LNB]St George should be slaying dragons, not getting caught up in a seedy nightclub brawl. Our hero should be rallying the nation to the cause, not getting himself acquitted by a jury of his Merseyside brothers and sisters in a celebrity trial. Tranmere 2 Liverpool XI 2: Gerrard celebrates with a trademark strikeLiverpool delight as skipper Steven Gerrard found not guilty over affray chargeLiverpool star Steven Gerrard puts pen to paper on new £25m four year dealLIVERPOOL FC
