Topic: A Letter to our Captain

[scared_person]

I don't blame Stevie, he's a great player but clearly he lacks the discipline or game intelligence to define his own role.

Make no mistake he was given no orders tonight, he played like a ten year old kid, popping up all over the place and not in a good way. If he's played as second striker or on the flank this can be channeled into a positive thing, but if he's a centre mid it just ruins the balance and shape of the team. Lucas, Kuyt and Meireles didn't know what to do with themselves as Stevie veered across the midfield as he pleased.

I love Stevie and he's probably the best player I've ever seen wear the red shirt (except perhaps God) but he needs to be given a role and discipline. Roy gives him neither and its a fucking tragic waste of a wonderful footballer. Players should play and managers should manage them. The latter is not happening.

[Breitner]

I love you Stevie but you were a joke tonight. It's easy to understand the cynicism regarding his influence at the club when you see the team so lobsided just to accomodate him in the centre on his return from a long time out.

[cim-pim-param]

Can you record and show us the video from the dressing room after performances like this?
Please

[gandt]

our captain does not deserve our support, our captain is the reason why our best manager in a generation is no longer at the club.

[peterthompsonsgarage]

our captain does not deserve our support, our captain is the reason why our best manager in a generation is no longer at the club.

Jesus H Fucking Christ on a Fucking bike.

[refugee]

Dear Stevie

You are too good to be playing alongside some of the dross in this team. You have given your all and you are the most talented player in premier league history to have never won the league and I for one will forgive you if you decide to move on to a bigger team (every day Roy stays at this club, the list of bigger teams gets longer).

Sad Regards
David

[scatman]

I love you Stevie but you were a joke tonight. It's easy to understand the cynicism regarding his influence at the club when you see the team so lobsided just to accomodate him in the centre on his return from a long time out.

Have to agree with you Breitner, his positioning was fucking chaotic, players were all over the place as he swooned across the midfield from left to right, poor Lucas was left by himself on so many occasions, that still didnt help the fuckfest at the back where only Johnson actually looked like a defender(fucking hell, Johnson! some great far post defending especially first half)

[Billy The Kid.]

our captain does not deserve our support, our captain is the reason why our best manager in a generation is no longer at the club.

[minusone]

Dear Stevie,

Ask the question lad. Stand up in the dressing room and say to all and sundry "Why are we so fucking shit?".
I bet 99% of the non-English players will give the same answer.

Regards,

Captain Obvious

[Reeves]

Stevie la, I know you like that arm round your shoulder and the dressing room is warm now, but wouldn't you rather be challenging for and winning trophies?

Or do you really like a nice cuddle?

[Shakespeare]

Dear Steven,

Please stop playing yourself in central midfield. You are far better in behind the striker than you in central midfielder.
Plus, you broke up a central partnership that was beginning to gel together and looked quite promising.

Please take yourself out of there and play where you most benefit the team.

Your sincerely,
A pissed off Liverpool fan.

P.S. Stop taking corners. They're rubbish.

Dear Ozzy,

I play where the old git wants me to. Besides, I like playing in the middle. And in case you haven't notice, I'm 30, and I can't run as much as I used too. Playing on the right would only invite comparison with Kuyt.
Lucas and Meireles will have their time once I retire, I'm sure.

Yours Sincerely,
Your pissed off club Captain

ps: Who else, apart from Agger and Aurelio, that can pass accurately over 30 yards?

[snog]

Some bollocks talked on this website! The real problem is that although we do have some quality players they are in the minority and too many players around them are simply not good enough to wear the red shirt. A team cannot be expected to carry the deadwood that we have and achieve the success that we crave. I will be criticised for going against majority opinion but Rafa has to share some of the blame for our current plight and to bring him back would be a retrograde step. Hodgson has not done himself any favours and after tonight's inept and embarassing performance NESV must bring forward their inevitable decision to bring in a replacement. Timing could not be worse as we need to bring in some quality players during the transfer window. Stevie G & Carra have given the club years of fantastic service and although their powers are diminishing they still remain the heart and soul of the club. Without them the quality would reduce even further and frankly the flack they get on this website is disgraceful.

[The Jackal]

It would be interesting to know what happened at half time. Towards the end of the 1st half, it looked as if Miereles had moved to the centre, and Gerrard to the right, and we actually starte playing a bit better. Then second half it was back to how it started - with Stevie in the middle and Raul wide.. wonder what was said and by whom??

[nonkiwi-nonblue]

Dear Ozzy,

I play where the old git wants me to. Besides, I like playing in the middle. And in case you haven't notice, I'm 30, and I can't run as much as I used too. Playing on the right would only invite comparison with Kuyt.
Lucas and Meireles will have their time once I retire, I'm sure.

Yours Sincerely,
Your pissed off club Captain

ps: Who else, apart from Agger and Aurelio, that can pass accurately over 30 yards?

Mate you can't honestly believe that he is better in the centre of midfield than Lucas and Meireles.
I love the guy. One of our greatest ever players and captains. But I just don't think he should be playing there.
And you can't tell me that Gerrard has absolutely no say in where he plays. Surely he has some pull and surely Roy would listen to him as the club captain and legend.
This thread is about Gerrard playing in central midfield when he is clearly not suited to the position.

[RobbyR]

442 is so yesteryear,
Roy H is a tactical tosser

get modern roy,
As for the Gerrard abuse, some idiotic so called supporters have very short memories.

[Purple Aki Fitness Club]

SG taking corners has always baffled me he's much more of a threat in the box.

or outside, waiting to put a piledriver in the goal

[Promised to never post on RAWK again]

Personally, I am worried by this small-club mentality that is being installed at our club ... Last night, the manager has abandoned a perfectly functional central midfield pairing, in order to accommodate our captain, who ''likes to play there'' ... I love Stevie, and I respect everything that he has done for our club, but if he continues to run this team, we are destined for failure ...

By the way, Gerrard is definitely the best at the 2nd striker role, in a 4-2-3-1 formation ... However, if the classic 4-4-2 formation is a given now, he should be played on the right, where has has proved to be effective in the past ...

[nonkiwi-nonblue]

As for the Gerrard abuse, some idiotic so called supporters have very short memories.

Mate who here is abusing Gerrard - apart from one poster (gandt I think, but it was hardly abusive)?
It's not a personal attack its just my opinion that he shouldn't be playing in that central position

[ziggyy]

What happens when Gerrard decides that he likes to play in goal and Carra decides that he likes to play as a striker or maybe take our penalties...

Our current Captain is much much better than Kuyt on the right and since Raul & Lucas have been playing very well together in the middle, shouldn't he help the team play well TOGETHER rather than allow the spineless owl to change a 'winning/drawing' formula....

Oh, and Raul's corners, much much better than his...

[Andy @ Allerton]

What? I hardly think Gerrard is the problem here.

Although we've been poor - we played as a team. Captain Marvel comes back in and we don't play as a team any more.

Said it all along and have been slagged off for saying it - but it's true. We do and have played more as a team without Gerrard - it's Mcmanaman syndrome - the players on there know they'll get a rocket if they don't pass to him - even when he's in a poor position and he tries to do everything himself. This is fine when he's on a earth-shattering rock and rolling storming run of form. When he's out of sorts, sulking and miserable it's a disaster.

[Shakespeare]

Mate you can't honestly believe that he is better in the centre of midfield than Lucas and Meireles.
I love the guy. One of our greatest ever players and captains. But I just don't think he should be playing there.
And you can't tell me that Gerrard has absolutely no say in where he plays. Surely he has some pull and surely Roy would listen to him as the club captain and legend.
This thread is about Gerrard playing in central midfield when he is clearly not suited to the position.

Mate, Gerrard's attacking instinct have been sharpened for so long under Benitez, I doubt he could patrol the middle of the park and be contented with it. So, to answer your question, I do feel that Lucas is more suited to that role. Now, here's the controversial bit - as much as I like Meireles, I have yet to see enough of him in the middle to actually make a proper judgement. Granted, he's been playing in a similar role for Porto and even Portugal in the recent past, but with us, I would say, what, 6-7 times (correct me if I'm wrong here) - so I'll need a little more time before being able to actually rate him fairly, and a little while longer on his partnership with Lucas (4 games, right?).

That said, you do have a point on Gerrard maybe having an influence on where he plays. But I seriously doubt he would go as far as telling/asking/requesting Roy to do so - things like that have a way of coming out in the open eventually (especially with Hodgy's blame-o-rama personality) , and he would not dumb enough to risk his hard earned reputation with such a blatant display of abuse of power.

However, even if he didn't, I'm sure Hodgy knows that Gerrard prefers to play there, so he would obviously try a preemptive appeasement policy there.

[anil]

Center midfield pairing are a combination, much like a center back pairing.

In their few games together, Lucas and Meireles have shown a better balance and innate understanding of each others games, as opposed to Gerrard and Lucas.

For me, on form, Gerrard does not deserve to be in center midfield. 

[theblackhumor]

I just think he has such a big role at the club that everyone relies on him now. There has always been a heavy reliance on our captain for a long time now but now that results have gotten so bad sometimes our players just passes the ball to him expecting him to create something.

[main-stand-molby]

Please let Miereles take set pieces.  Please.

That is all.

[callanlfc5times]

Get off his back for fuck's sake.

Roy prefers a 4-4-2...so where else is Gerrard going to play?

Hodgson clearly wants two recognised strikers upfront, so it's not Gerrard's fault.

And this "Stop playing yourself" bit is the biggest crock of the post.

On the fucking right, where believe it or not he's a massive fucking threat and offers balance to the system especially with Raul and Lucas in the middle. YES RAUL IN THE MIDDLE PLEASE.

[lankyguy007]

Anyone else think playing Gerrard centre mid in a 4-4-2 is his THIRD best position.

[Didi_ram]

When Steven wasnt there,we absolutely hammered West Ham and Villa with superb passing and movement.Now,Roy shifted Raul to the right to accomodate Gerrard,to put him in a position which does not suit him.
What kind of a manager is this-influenced by player power?
Had Raul played in the middle,and Gerrard on the right or in the hole,we would have beaten Wolves with ease.

[The 5th Benitle]

Anyone else think playing Gerrard centre mid in a 4-4-2 is his THIRD best position.

If that. I reckon he's a much better LM and RB than he is a CM.

[Cadno]

How did HE break them up. Does he choose the team? No.

Probably not, but as captain of the team he should have pointed out that playing Kuyt and meirales in positions that were clearly not suited to was not good for the team. But stevie got to play where he wants to play so I don't think he cares about much else

[Redeye]

This is Hodgson's decision - leave the captain out of it.

[Breitner]

This is Hodgson's decision - leave the captain out of it.

6 weeks out and straight back into the centre to unbalance a blossoming midfield? As bad as Roy is I find it hard to believe. Again, I love the lad but he can be a selfish so and so at times. Might have worked had Maxi played instead of Kuyt, mind.

[The 5th Benitle]

This is Hodgson's decision - leave the captain out of it.

You honestly believe SG hasn't been in Roy's ear about playing CM? Come off it.

[nonkiwi-nonblue]

exactly.
whether or not you want to realise it, he has some say in where he plays.

[Something Else]

SG taking corners has always baffled me he's much more of a threat in the box.

I agree, he is actually decent in the air, and would be our 2nd or 3rd best arial threat, plus he is dross at corners, always has been always will be, why I just dont know.

[The 5th Benitle]

I agree, he is actually decent in the air, and would be our 2nd or 3rd best arial threat, plus he is dross at corners, always has been always will be, why I just dont know.

Again, because he has too much influence.

[berrno3333]

Please your M.B.E  will be in the post when the snow deserts Liverpool,or you ,silly me.
I thought the two were just the same.

PS,pick up the armband from the backdoor ,if you please.

[steveeastend]

Doubt he gives a shit what fans say to be honest.

I fear you´re not that far off.

[RyanBabel19]

6 weeks out and straight back into the centre to unbalance a blossoming midfield? As bad as Roy is I find it hard to believe. Again, I love the lad but he can be a selfish so and so at times. Might have worked had Maxi played instead of Kuyt, mind.

The same Roy who claims Meireles was no better at CM alongside Lucas than he had been in the previous games playing at RM ?

I dont think people realise just how bad roy has been. Gerrard can be selfish but people are basically suggesting he is the manager, he decides everything :/ He shouldnt say he likes to/wants to play at CM but should be telling the manager who to play where asif thats better because its not directly regarding himself, madness.

Dont seem to remember Gerrard complaining about playing at AM once under rafa, correct me if im wrong though im not saying he never did, he may well have but i personally do not remember him doing it atall.

[steveeastend]

That said, you do have a point on Gerrard maybe having an influence on where he plays. But I seriously doubt he would go as far as telling/asking/requesting Roy to do so - things like that have a way of coming out in the open eventually (especially with Hodgy's blame-o-rama personality) , and he would not dumb enough to risk his hard earned reputation with such a blatant display of abuse of power.

I don´t wanna destroy your dreams but this happens so often in football you wouldn´t imagine. And in this case you can bet your arse that it happens that way. Gerrard says were he wants to play since Roy arrived. Same with Carra.

[iga]

Put him on the right. If he doesn't like it, tell him to fuck off.