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Good Morning On the 15th April 2009 Steven Gerrard led his team out on to the pitch at Anfield. Not for a Cup Final, not even for a match. But for a service – and the 20th Anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. I came on to the pitch with him and with my colleague, the Catholic bishop of Liverpool, to take the service. As soon as the crowd of over 30,000 people saw him they roared. I’ve heard the roar of the crowd many times but never before from the entrance to the Players’ tunnel. Nor had I ever heard it standing next to the man for whom they were cheering. There was something in it akin to worship. Yes, it was mixed with the emotion of grief for the 96. Yes, it was soul-full with the knowledge that Steven Gerrard was himself wounded by the tragedy through the death of his cousin, John-Paul Gilhooley. But above all it was the sound of loyalty – loyalty to the families of the 96 and loyalty to a player who for 17 years has been loyal to his club and to his city. Such a similar roar filled the stadium on Saturday as Anfield marked the end of his career with Liverpool Football Club after 709 matches, 472 as Captain and 185 goals. Brendan Rogers, the Manager, in an interview with the ��ѿ��ý, tried to explain the man, and why Gerrard had turned down offers to play for other prestigious clubs. He summed it up in two words, “His home”! Nobody’s perfect but it’s his commitment to the club, his city and to local hospitals and charities that mark him out as local lad made good who goes on to look after his own people. In a game that’s been diminished into a battle of the cheque books, where few players have local connections, Gerrard’s loyalty inspires thousands of Liverpool kids. They fill the City’s many parks at the weekends dreaming of filling his boots one day. And without turning him into a secular saint it’s that loyalty which in today’s world feels so counter-cultural. This week they’ll be some of us who have to make life-changing decisions. We’ll take into consideration many factors. Loyalty may well be one of them – to family and to colleagues. And putting loyalty first may well come at some personal cost. There are some proverbs in the Bible that recognise that such decisions can be really difficult. One of them goes: “Let not loyalty and faithfulness forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour and a good reputation In the sight of God and all the people.”