Anfield icons, former team-mates and esteemed adversaries - they've all had a thing or two to say about Steven Gerrard during the ten years he has been at the club. From Callaghan to Kaka; Pele to Rafa - we've compiled all the quotes that matter.

Phil Neal
"As a former right-back, I was very impressed when he played in my old position towards the end of the Champions League final in 2005. It speaks volumes for his ability that he could adapt quickly and stand out in that position. Rafa Benitez pointed out how dangerous Serginho was for AC Milan, he needed somebody to pin him down - and Gerrard was quite happy to do that. He really kept him quiet for the rest of the match. Stevie has such athleticism - he is brilliant. It's a shame we're not all built like that. He has that unique ability to play anywhere on the park and the way he reads the game helps him go forward. "He can spot danger early and his long legs have saved us so many times. It's phenomenal; I probably didn't have the ability to tackle like that."
 
Patrick Vieira
"Steven Gerrard is so powerful and strong. He can attack, he can defend and he can score. I really like him as a player and I think he can be one of the best players, a truly fantastic player."

Tommy Smith
"Nobby Stiles once told me that he thought Steven Gerrard was the nearest thing to Duncan Edwards and that is a tremendous compliment for a player. His all-action style constantly puts pressure on the opposition and he must be the best midfielder in the world."

After several hundred articles and seven books on Liverpool FC in the last few years, it's hard for me to find something new to say about its main protagonist as he celebrates ten years since his first-team bow.

But in recent times, Steven Gerrard's reinvention as a second-striker at least gives something relatively new to ponder.
 
Frankly, he's proven rather good at it, particularly when in tandem with Fernando Torres. They have an understanding that exceeds the sum of their parts, and those parts are of two of the world's undoubted best players.
 
I had to laugh (in dismay) at the Sky commentator's omnipresent knowledge in stating, in a critical tone, that "Liverpool fans are dying to see 4-4-2 with Keane and Torres", when the former was replaced by the latter.
 
This came before an equally bizarre statement from Andy Gray about such decisions determining whether Liverpool were going to be contenders, and Kopites wanting to see their team challenging for the title in the "proper way" (meaning with a positive attitude).
 
All this came with Torres and Gerrard having formed a devastating partnership in the past year, with so many games won when paired together. And it came minutes before the two combined for a chance which Gerrard inexplicably missed, and then brilliantly once again for the captain to score, while Torres himself missed a one-on-one and hit the post.
 
As a Red, I don't dare suggest that I'm talking for this collective known as 'Liverpool fans', because each of us is so different. But what we do all want is a winning team. And what we are getting, whether it is Keane, Torres, Kuyt or Gerrard up front, is a winning team.
 
We've seen combinations of all four, in different formations, and it's not worked badly so far, has it?