Warnock's half century
When Stephen Warnock stepped onto the pitch for the last seven minutes against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, it was his 50th appearance in a Liverpool shirt.
He very nearly quit the game after suffering three broken legs causing him to miss nearly four full seasons of football. With the help of the Anfield medical staff and his own grim determination to succeed, he finally broke through that mental barrier.
The 24-year old from Ormskirk has been at the club since 1998, but it was a full three years before he started training with the first team. He was a regular in the reserves earning great praise on a number of occasions but as he was yet to make the breakthrough into the first team, he was loaned out to Bradford City for two months to gain valuable experience.
His first team chances remained limited and he then spent the whole of the 2003/04 season on loan at Coventry City. He was a success there and won the fans’ player of the year award for his performances. He looked all set to sign permanently for the East Midlands club, but new manager Rafael Benítez gave him a chance to prove himself back at Anfield.
Rafa liked what he saw and gave Stephen his debut in the Champions League qualifier in Austria against Grazer AK. That season he went onto to make a total of 30 appearances on the left side of Liverpool defence and midfield, and narrowly missed out on a shirt in the Champions League final against AC Milan.
This season he has been a regular on the bench and started in 16 games so far. He continued to impress the boss and in August last year after the opening game of this season at Middlesbrough he was rewarded with a new contract. The contract was drawn up in the morning and signed in the afternoon. The very same month he received a shock England call-up for the World Cup qualifying games against Wales and Northern Ireland.
Yet to register his first Liverpool goal, his 50 appearances have come in the Premiership (31), Champions League (11), Carling Cup (5), FA Cup (2) and Club World Championship (1).
If Stephen starts playing more regularly for Liverpool he could well be an outside bet to make the final 23 for England’s World Cup campaign in Germany this summer.
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