Liverpool FC Forum

[only me]

Has Gerrard automatic pick as a starter becoming a problem in this LFC squad?. Stevie's main strength in this team is his ability to spread the pitch and deliver those long dead accurate passes ,however as he lost pace he is a liability in the DM role ,meaning BR always places another DM near him to cover for our captain diminished defensive coverage. Meaning we are basically losing a man in our MF ,If we could have settled for ONE dm ,likes of Hendo ,Allen or Can it opens the selection for another super talented attacking MF that can impact our game. I just can't see how between Lallana ,Couthinho ,Markovich ,Sterling they get any significant minutes...Especially if we rotate to a 2 strikers formation (Mario and Daniel)....Stevie is pretty grid-locking our MF and i don't see a way around it then dropping him to the bench.

[RedAnt]

I don't agree that his main strength is his passing. I'd say it was his influence, which is probably why he's still a first choice. I'd guess most of the players feel empowered by his presence on the pitch. That aside though I agree that he could have issues as a DM. Since it's not his natural position his decision making won't be aligned to the position and so his physical game will be more exposed with less pace and stamina to cover such problems. So an additional question would be: is he adaptable enough? I'm not sure. Personally I'd still play him more often than not. Hopefully Can will slot in nicely and give BR and Stevie something to think about.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Has Gerrard automatic pick as a starter becoming a problem in this LFC squad?. Stevie's main strength in this team is his ability to spread the pitch and deliver those long dead accurate passes ,however as he lost pace he is a liability in the DM role ,meaning BR always places another DM near him to cover for our captain diminished defensive coverage. Meaning we are basically losing a man in our MF ,If we could have settled for ONE dm ,likes of Hendo ,Allen or Can it opens the selection for another super talented attacking MF that can impact our game. I just can't see how between Lallana ,Couthinho ,Markovich ,Sterling they get any significant minutes...Especially if we rotate to a 2 strikers formation (Mario and Daniel)....Stevie is pretty grid-locking our MF and i don't see a way around it then dropping him to the bench.

I tend to agree, I don't think Gerrard brings enough to the table these days to justify him being one of the first names down on the team sheet. He hasn't got the positional sense or the athleticism to be classed as a top draw DM and even when he does weigh in with an impressive performance they are becoming more and more sporadic.
There's a reason you don't see many 34 year old CM's in the prem and the one's you do tend to be bit part players.

[crazyhorse]

Steven Gerrard is getting older.

But.

Steven Gerrard is the best passer of the ball at the club, and possibly the EPL.

Steven Gerrard is the most inspirational figure at the club since 1990.

Steven Gerrard is the beating heart of the squad.

Steven Gerrard is still the best midfield player at the club.

Nuff said.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Steven Gerrard is getting older.

But.

Steven Gerrard is the best passer of the ball at the club, and possibly the EPL.

Steven Gerrard is the most inspirational figure at the club since 1990.

Steven Gerrard is the beating heart of the squad.

Steven Gerrard is still the best midfield player at the club.

Nuff said.

1. Yeah he probably is.
2. Undoubtably true
3. It's not translating into performances though
4. No he is not

[crazyhorse]

Who is better? Hendo? Lucas? Allen? Can?

[parchpea]

Not a problem really but if you strip away the material beyond performance there is no way he would have got the contract
he did.

He is at the club now because of what he has done not what he offers going forward, the argument would be is should we be
putting his wage toward a player or players with more to offer long term rather than rewarding his loyalty.

At this point he is being paid to mentor and coach as much, if not more, than play games, but we are not as strong in centre
midfield as we would like to be anyway.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

Steven Gerrard is getting older.

But.

Steven Gerrard is the best passer of the ball at the club, and possibly the EPL.

Steven Gerrard is the most inspirational figure at the club since 1990.

Steven Gerrard is the beating heart of the squad.

Steven Gerrard is still the best midfield player at the club.

Nuff said.

Gerrard is not the best when we're under concerted pressure ,he's definitely not the best corner or free kick taker ,he is certainly not what drives us forward any more
nor does he possess the energy or vitality to impose his presence on our midfield from his designated  ,or should I say 'designed' position ,and he is most certainly not
Pirlo ..... It wasn't just our defensive back four that made our goals against column such unimpressive reading.

[red till i die!!]

simple answer      he is not a problem.
there are others within the squad who are more of a problem imo.
gerrard is the club captain, a legend who gave his life for us and the club. last season there were similar concerns but in the end stevie had a good season and while i do think rodgers needs to use him less he is still a big game player capable of changing a game.
there is no one else there atm who is a clear leader and i only have to think back to that woeful cup tie against oldham where we were headless till he came on. he might not have the ability to be what he was 5 years ago but he is still a leader nonetheless and the only one we have 
i do see the weak areas that has crept into his game and i would hope he doesnt play every game but he's far from finished.
its funny that the thread starter thinks gerrard is a problem but would want to sign eto who is probably older  i know he says he's 33    but still a fooking merc who couldnt give a toss about lfc as long as his ridiculous wage hits his bank account every week.
if i was a millionaire i bet i could sign eto on that wage to cut my grass and he wouldnt give a fook

[red till i die!!]

Steven Gerrard is getting older.

But.

Steven Gerrard is the best passer of the ball at the club, and possibly the EPL.

Steven Gerrard is the most inspirational figure at the club since 1990.

Steven Gerrard is the beating heart of the squad.

Steven Gerrard is still the best midfield player at the club.

Nuff said.

Gerrard is not the best when we're under concerted pressure ,he's definitely not the best corner or free kick taker ,he is certainly not what drives us forward any more
nor does he possess the energy or vitality to impose his presence on our midfield from his designated  ,or should I say 'designed' position ,and he is most certainly not
Pirlo ..... It wasn't just our defensive back four that made our goals against column such unimpressive reading.

honestly RBG it goes both ways    you cant deny his 14 goals and 13 assists either. for a lad that you had concerns about last season you have to admit he contributed heavily to what was a fantastic season.

[only me]

simple answer      he is not a problem.
there are others within the squad who are more of a problem imo.
gerrard is the club captain, a legend who gave his life for us and the club. last season there were similar concerns but in the end stevie had a good season and while i do think rodgers needs to use him less he is still a big game player capable of changing a game.
there is no one else there atm who is a clear leader and i only have to think back to that woeful cup tie against oldham where we were headless till he came on. he might not have the ability to be what he was 5 years ago but he is still a leader nonetheless and the only one we have 
i do see the weak areas that has crept into his game and i would hope he doesnt play every game but he's far from finished.
its funny that the thread starter thinks gerrard is a problem but would want to sign eto who is probably older  i know he says he's 33    but still a fooking merc who couldnt give a toss about lfc as long as his ridiculous wage hits his bank account every week.
if i was a millionaire i bet i could sign eto on that wage to cut my grass and he wouldnt give a fook

You have a pretty narrow thinking. I didn't say Gerrard was a problem! He is an Icon and a symbol of our team and he will ever remain so however.....You just demonstrated why we have a problem ,because he is considered an iconic figure BR doesn't want to touch him although it's evident his current positioning and form has an impact on the team ,argue that and not your personal sentiments to the poster.

BTW ,it's not an age issue it's a form issue ,Eto'o at his age and form would be a good signing as a backup striker. I didn't talk wages as this is handled by another "genius" Mr Ayre ...and i'm sure he can get us the best deal...(less he is still in Ukraine looking for Konoplyanka).

[aCe']

This is how I see it, Gerrard is as important to our style of play as any other player. I fact, I think his importance to the side has probably increased since his change in position last season. Perhaps this is illustrated most clearly when someone like Lucas is drafted into the starting 11 and asked to share what is now widely referred to as the 'Gerrard role'. I think to a large extent, the reason why many seem to think that Gerrard is no longer good enough is down to a lack of understanding of what he brings to the side when we are ON THE BALL. The one thing I'll agree with from the comments above regarding Gerrard is that his ability to cover spaces when sides run at us has probably decreased and thats understandable given his age. But thats just one side of things.
Our style of play is largely dependent on our ability to bring the ball out from the back and allow the fullbacks to push higher up the pitch and provide us with width. To do that, we need someone in the middle of the park who comes deep, receives the ball and has the ability to pick a pass under pressure without causing us to lose possession more often than not. Sounds simple in theory but when you look at how the likes of Lucas and Allen (who have both tried playing the role) have fared in comparison to Gerrard, it illustrated the gulf in quality and the importance of Gerrard's presence in that area of the pitch.
My only worry is with what BR decides to do with the midfield alongside Gerrard. I agree that defensively, we can do with that extra bit of protection that the likes of Lucas, Allen, and Can would provide if picked alongside Gerrard and Henderson. However, having them drop as deep as Gerrard and attempt to dictate the play from deeper in the way Gerrard does just makes us way too easy to press and a little short in numbers higher up the pitch. It also reduces our creativity on the ball and our movement off it but these implications are clear for all to see. The most important reason I wouldnt want to see a repeat of that though (Lucas playing way too deep and receiving the ball from our CBs and FBs almost as much as Gerrard does) is the fact that it limits the most important aspect of Gerrard's game; i.e. his passing. His ability to control the game is largely dependent on the amount of touches he gets and that is directly related to the amount of freedom he has to move across in deeper areas to receive the ball from the CBs, the LB, and the RB with midfield options to pass to ahead of him (rather than beside him).

So to answer the question at hand, no. He isn't a problem. We'll concede more playing him (and the side) the way we did in the second half of last season, but we're also a much better side going forward for it.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

I think this 'controlling the game from the quarterback position' is over hyped, how many times do we completely dominate the midfield from whistle to whistle? Even last season when we were running riot against teams that was mainly due to our forward line being ruthlessly efficient.
If we were constantly bossing the midfield during games there wouldn't be a problem but the fact remains that there have been too many games like last week where average teams force us onto the back foot.
Gerrard is a great passer but I'm not sure we need a deep lying QB in the side, when Alonso was spraying passes around from deep we didn't have many other creative players or players who could go past a man in the team, Rafa's side had a tremendous spine but the rest were very workman like so it was down to the players in that spine to make something happen.
But now we have creative players galore like Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic, Lallana etc and what they need is not someone behind them spraying 40 yard passes everywhere but someone behind them who will stop the opposition dragging them back to the edge of their own area on defensive duty where they don't want to be. Our creative players want someone behind them who will win the ball high up the pitch and someone who will build a platform that allows them to play in the opposition half, not our half.
Let's face it this QB position has been engineered for Gerrard because he hasn't got the legs to play anywhere else, sentiment is coming into our decision making.
Has Steven Gerrard been a great player? I don't think he has been a great player I think he has been our greatest player but no one no matter how good they are can avoid the effects of Father Time.

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

honestly RBG it goes both ways    you cant deny his 14 goals and 13 assists either. for a lad that you had concerns about last season you have to admit he contributed heavily to what was a fantastic season.

Red, I've detailed my reservations pertaining to Gerrard's role in cushioning our back four ,and I have also afforded him the praise for his contribution last season,but in
terms of his importance to the team I fail to see how his inclusion is based on nothing more the manager accommodating for his age and his waning influence on our
overall pressing game.

[only me]

I think this 'controlling the game from the quarterback position' is over hyped, how many times do we completely dominate the midfield from whistle to whistle? Even last season when we were running riot against teams that was mainly due to our forward line being ruthlessly efficient.
If we were constantly bossing the midfield during games there wouldn't be a problem but the fact remains that there have been too many games like last week where average teams force us onto the back foot.
Gerrard is a great passer but I'm not sure we need a deep lying QB in the side, when Alonso was spraying passes around from deep we didn't have many other creative players or players who could go past a man in the team, Rafa's side had a tremendous spine but the rest were very workman like so it was down to the players in that spine to make something happen.
But now we have creative players galore like Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic, Lallana etc and what they need is not someone behind them spraying 40 yard passes everywhere but someone behind them who will stop the opposition dragging them back to the edge of their own area on defensive duty where they don't want to be. Our creative players want someone behind them who will win the ball high up the pitch and someone who will build a platform that allows them to play in the opposition half, not our half.
Let's face it this QB position has been engineered for Gerrard because he hasn't got the legs to play anywhere else, sentiment is coming into our decision making.
Has Steven Gerrard been a great player? I don't think he has been a great player I think he has been our greatest player but no one no matter how good they are can avoid the effects of Father Time.

Great Post!