Liverpool FC Forum

[Smeg]

The people who wrote the article need a dig... simple.

[Cool Hand Luke]

A key theme amongst the pro Gerrard in central midfield lobby is that WHEN he plays well in the middle he is awesome, but how often does he play well? Not nearly enough for me and when one of your central midfielders is not playing to a high enough level and his tactical game is below par then the team suffers big time.

[tubby]

Well he did score 23 goals from the right didnt he? To be honest I wouldnt mind seeing Babel being played in a more central role.

[Lando_Griffin]

A key theme amongst the pro Gerrard in central midfield lobby is that WHEN he plays well in the middle he is awesome, but how often does he play well? Not nearly enough for me and when one of your central midfielders is not playing to a high enough level and his tactical game is below par then the team suffers big time.

I have to agree.

Gerrard hasn't justified his central midfield spot. One good game out of 10 doesn't make you a top-class centre mid.

Either shift him out to the right and allow him to float about a bit, or sit him at the forward tip of a central midfield triangle, thus:

                                          Reina

             RB                 CB                  CB               LB

                         Mascherano           Alonso

Pennant                             Gerrard                        LW

                                        Torres.


It's his best position in my book.

EDIT: Good point Sabre!!!!!

[Ciggy]

He needs to pull his finger out of his @rse whether he plays left, right, or central.

[Lando_Griffin]

He needs to pull his finger out of his @rse whether he plays left, right, or central.

This much is true.

[Sabre]

Sabre whispers to Lando that there are 12 players there.

I like Gerrard in that schema with one striker. But not exactly as a second striker which has another role, but as an attacking midfielder that DOES come often deeper to gather balls when the oppo puts many men in the midfield.

That is, I like Gerrard in the middle when he has someone reliable behind to cover his back (I like Gerrard with a true holding midfielder like Alonso or Hamman and even Mascherano). But if you play 2 strikers, then the other midfielder HAS to  focus in keeping his position.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Gerrard playing off a striker limits too many of his best qualities and you have to find quite a unique and specific player to play up front if your only going for 1 up there, so the plan to play Gerrard as the most attacking of 3 central midfielder is not a good one for the team.

A central pairing of Mascherano and Alonso is the best in terms of ball retention and ultimately that is how top teams control games.

[redhayesy]

fecking bu11shit artical end of, imo
Gerrard is & will continue to be our engine room!
& that has to be in centre midfield as long as he has quality beside him week in week out!
the reason why this artical has come about is
the fact that he hasn"t had stability around him
so far this season, feck the "r" word it"s a fact!!
because the expectation is so high -& i agree it should be
he cannot be in 2 places at once.
if the wingers did there job in the first place, which is where
gerrard seplys the play in the first place, then our creativity
play would be fecking alot better than it has been in the last
few weeks, i honestly think that switching gerrard to the right
side of midfield will only make matters a whole lot fecking worse
especially with the derby next game, he needs to be in the middle
& in the thick of things to lead the team ect, all i will say is that
he really needs to get hold of the players who have never played
in a derby as important as this!! & let them know failier is not an option!!
gerrard is a fantastic captain imo & to play him in his rightfull position
is the only option that makes sense.
when a player or a team isn"t playing well, give them the opportunity
to put it right! don"t change it for the sake of it!
that is what makes an LFC player what he is, & if he doesn"t fight for his
place then bring on the "R" word who ever he is.

[Scottbot]

Not sure why everyone is slating the article? The Beckham bit is a bit weak but i kind of get what he's trying to say, which is (as far as i can see) that players like Gerrard and Beckham are better playing a little further forward, with less tactical constraints while leaving the middle ground to your less spectacular Roy Keane/Xabi Alonso type players.

I do wonder if Rafa will play him on the outside sooner or later if results don't pick up. Whether you prefer him on the right or in the middle (FWIW i was a big fan of Stevie on the right but felt it was right to bring him back inside when we slumped last season) you can't argue with the numbers and performances that season, his best by far.

Also, why there is far more to it, the goals scored column this season with and without Stevie does make interesting reading.

[redhayesy]

i don"t  give a feck whether he scores or not! as long as the team play well
& create chances to win a game, with gerrard in the centre of midfield
he can dictate the the way in which we create chances, & then be in
the face of the opposition if the play breaks down, imo playing him on
the right side of mid isolates him to much to have an impact on our
performances  in the last few games.

[Kharhaz]

Rafa should try him on the right and if he doesnt like it then try dropping him for a few games. Maybe Gerrard is having an influence on the team for the wrong reasons.

[redhayesy]

Rafa should try him on the right and if he doesnt like it then try dropping him for a few games. Maybe Gerrard is having an influence on the team for the wrong reasons.

end of

[account deleted by request]

Sabre whispers to Lando that there are 12 players there.

I like Gerrard in that schema with one striker. But not exactly as a second striker which has another role, but as an attacking midfielder that DOES come often deeper to gather balls when the oppo puts many men in the midfield.

That is, I like Gerrard in the middle when he has someone reliable behind to cover his back (I like Gerrard with a true holding midfielder like Alonso or Hamman and even Mascherano). But if you play 2 strikers, then the other midfielder HAS to  focus in keeping his position.

In England an attacking midfielder would have more defensive duties than a second striker, whereas in Spain I think the line is a little more blurred between the two roles. Which one are you meaning? I think Gerrard has no real problems playing attacking midfielder (drops deeper to create space etc) but I don't think he could cope too well with second striker (back to goal, turning with the ball etc)

Most of the time I have seen attacking midfielder work well in England its been in conjunction with 2 strikers and no wingers. i.e.
       CM    DM     CM
                AM
   STRIKER      STRIKER

Either like that, or in the classic diamond formation.

[Kharhaz]

Rafa should try him on the right and if he doesnt like it then try dropping him for a few games. Maybe Gerrard is having an influence on the team for the wrong reasons.

end of

Sorry I forgot, Gerrard is untouchable. He should stay in the team. Even when hes been poor its Steven Gerrard for christ sake ! silly me....