Liverpool legend Tommy Smith has paid tribute to club captain Steven Gerrard.
Smith wrote in the Liverpool Echo: "Steven Gerrard passed one of my proudest milestones last weekend - and I couldn't have been happier.
"I made 638 appearances for Liverpool Football Club, which puts me on the top 10 of long playing Reds.
"I watched Stevie make his 639th appearance against Crystal Palace last weekend, moving him up to seventh, and I don't mind losing my slot to a player I consider to be one of the best I've ever seen in a red shirt.
"I've been privileged enough to play alongside Billy Liddell and Kenny Dalglish, while I've seen a few hundred of Steven's performances first hand - and you honestly can't separate them.
"It's enormously difficult trying to assess the merits of players from different generations.
"The game changes, the style of football evolves and modern players are fitter than ever before - but Steven is definitely on the same team-bus as Liddell and Dalglish!"
