Why Gerrard did not sign for Chelsea

It could have been Gerrard. " Gerrard's potential departure to Chelsea really hit the fans hard last summer," said a source close to the club. "He symbolises the club, he's considered part and parcel of the city and it would have been the first time Liverpool had lost their best player to a rival British club. It was a real dagger in the belly of Liverpool fans."

As Gerrard prepares to face Chelsea in the Carling Cup Final on Sunday, one sure-fire certainty, whatever the result, is that it will be accompanied by intense speculation over whether he will be able to resist the lure of Roman Abramovich's riches this time around.

Liverpool firmly deny it, but Chelsea insiders insist an outline deal has already been agreed to sign Gerrard. Last year's U-turn looks like being no more than a stay of execution for Liverpool.

Despite claims that death threats against him and his family made him change his mind last summer, it was actually the Anfield captain's father Paul who persuaded him to stay for one more season.

Gerrard had made up his mind to join Chelsea while on England duty in Portugal during Euro 2004 and even texted Jose Mourinho and chief executive Peter Kenyon to announce his decision.

Sources close to the player say he was "less than a week" away from completing the move. "No contracts were drawn up or anything like that but mentally we were all prepared for it," said one.

But Gerrard's dad, a key figure in the player's career, had other ideas. Upon his son's return to Liverpool he delivered what has been described as "the mother of all earbashings".

The Liverpool board also realised last summer that the best way to get Gerrard to stay was to win over his family. Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry is believed to have held at least two private meetings with Paul Gerrard at the exclusive Royal Birkdale Golf Club to convince him that Steven's future lay at Anfield.

Meetings also took place among Gerrard's family to discuss his future and it was jointly decided that if he was to leave then it would not only affect him but also the way the family is viewed by fellow Liverpudlians.

The Gerrard name carries weight and respect within the city but the family feared this would have suffered.

John Williams, of Leicester University's Football Research Centre who is also a Liverpool season ticket holder and closely monitors events at Anfield, said: "The board mobilised his (Gerrard's) family to work on him. It was emphasised that this was more than about football and money, this was about family and loyalty and that Liverpool is where Steven belongs. The family, particularly Gerrard's father, implored him to stay."

Former Liverpool player Howard Gayle, who is still closely connected to the club and, like Gerrard, was born within the city, said: "There was a feeling that when Gerrard was in Portugal during Euro 2004 his head was turned by some people telling him that he needed to move on.

"Gerrard's dad soon put him right and had some serious words with him. He just told his son, look in the mirror, you are a hero around here, can you really turn your back on the club now?"

Gerrard was raised on the tough Bluebells estate in Huyton, where his grandfather still lives. He still visits the estate regularly and the family is well known within the local area.

A scruffy patch of grass, hemmed in by shabby terraced homes and flats is where Gerrard first learned to kick a ball. For youngsters that still play there, the Liverpool captain is a god, not only because he emerged from within their ranks but for the fact he turned down Chelsea's millions.

Both Gerrard and his girlfriend Alex Curran, who was also born locally and like him, comes from a big, close-knit family, remain regular visitors to Huyton, despite living several miles away in the archetypal footballer's mansion in Southport. The Gerrard family are incredibly private and shun the limelight along with the new trendy bars opening in Liverpool's dockside area, preferring instead the comfort of a local pub close to the Bluebells estate where it is not uncommon for Steven and Alex to also join them for a drink.

Gayle said: "For any boy born in Liverpool to play for either the reds or blues is the ultimate dream, you are one of the chosen few. But there's also more pressure on players like Gerrard.

"You are more accountable for your performances because you have lived among the fans and were raised with them. Given the number of foreigners within the Premier League there's even more importance and expectations on players like Gerrard."

Given these strong, emotional ties it was not surprising that both Gerrard's-family and the Anfield board exploited them in their efforts to persuade him to stay.

Reports that death threats were the key factor are considered laughable by Bluebell residents who insist that "they look after their own". They were not taken seriously and were dismissed by police.

John Kendall, a Bluebell resident who knows the Gerrard family, said: "The Gerrards are well known and popular members of the Huyton community. If anybody threatened them then I would have liked to have met them. There are a lot of big, important families in Huyton and they would not have allowed any harm to come to the Gerrards.

"Steven's a really nice lad, very down to earth, he's one of us. I can't see anybody threatening him or his family."

The reaction to Rooney's return last week, the graffiti on his old terraced house in Croxteth and the protection he needs every time he sneaks back for a night out with mates shows Gerrard what might have been.

This time, however, the mood is different. There is a sense of inevitability about his move and locals are prepared for Gerrard to leave for west London.

Gerrard's deal with his father Paul was that he would give the new regime of Rafael Benitez one more season and that if he was still unsatisfied at Liverpool's progress, he could leave. They feel he has given it one last shot.

"The reasons for giving Liverpool one more year are simply not there this time," said a friend of the player.

Williams added: "Steven is already in the departure lounge and if he was to go this summer it wouldn't be a big surprise to Liverpool fans. Many fans feel he's done his bit and that he should be free to go; it will hurt, but they are ready for it."