Wilson implies Gerrard is a cause of Liverpool's bad form, which I don't believe is true. His return may well be a contributory factor, as players need to adjust and compromise their attacking play to suit his style, which takes a while, but he is not the main cause. I completely agree with Wilson's assessment at one point, though:
'the phenomenon of a big player dwarfing those around him, particularly when, as in the case of Henderson and Adam, they are low on confidence, is well-known. The tendency, understandably, is to give the ball to the star, to try to feed him at every opportunity: Cesc Fábregas described it happening at Arsenal in Thierry Henry's last full season, while an overreliance on Samuel Eto'o has clearly hampered Cameroon. Gerrard offers an excuse, an easy way for his team-mates to dodge responsibility.'
seems bang on, but surely places the blame for Liverpool's bad form at the feet of the inexperienced Henderson and useless Adam? We've been playing so badly because the players aren't of sufficient quality/experience/confidence to win games against Premier League sides. It's a sad state of affairs, but true. Henderson is promising, definitely, as is Carroll to an extent. But Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing just seem hopelessly out of their depth. Our form's been so disastrously poor because of long injuries to Agger, Johnson, Kelly, Lucas, Bellamy and Suarez's ban, however.
