Topic: Gerrard Unbound

[Dr Abismo]

Yes I just read the Prentice article and was very disappointed with it. One of the obvious primciples of any sport, is that you stick with what works. Lucas and Meireles together in central midfield looks like a natural partnership that works. INstead of disrupting it by putting the admittedely brilliant Gerrard back in there, the obvious solution is to put Gerrard in one of the 2 positions in which he has excelled. Behind Torres, or wide right. I prefer wide right, because I think replacing Kuyt with Gerrard is the biggest upgrade available, and could transform our season now that central midfield looks sorted.

[Raul!]

Imagin the deliciousness of this:

Johnson        new CB (Soto or Skrtel will do) Agger      proper LB

Gerrard.      Meireles       Lucas       Maxi/new LW/Cole at his best

                                Aquilani

                                 Torres

[Dr Abismo]

Not bad Raul, but I don't think we'll be getting Aquilani back. Juve have an option to buy at a price much less than we paid, and he likes it there. We could try Pacheco there (his favourite position), and/or have a splash in January or the summer. Key position, worth some serious investment.

[Raul!]

Not bad Raul, but I don't think we'll be getting Aquilani back. Juve have an option to buy at a price much less than we paid, and he likes it there. We could try Pacheco there (his favourite position), and/or have a splash in January or the summer. Key position, worth some serious investment.

I agree that it's unlikely that he'll come back.  In that case, I'd get in a striker or play Ngog. Incidentally, Insua would be good enough at LB for me. My key buys would be at CB and LW. 

[liversaint]

Imagin the deliciousness of this:

Johnson        new CB (Soto or Skrtel will do) Agger      proper LB

Gerrard.      Meireles       Lucas       Maxi/new LW/Cole at his best

                                Aquilani

                                 Torres

Proper LB- Aurelio/ Insua?

[The Red Fireball]

That's a good read and a superb piece of reasoning. I have saying this for 4 years and more. Gerrard' s best position is not in the centre because he is required to be all things. Move him to the right. Meireilles is poor there but better in the middle. Choose from Babel, Cole, N'Gog or Kuyt with Torres. Buy a left winger. Buy a left back.

[ACLE]

That's a good read and a superb piece of reasoning. I have saying this for 4 years and more. Gerrard' s best position is not in the centre because he is required to be all things. Move him to the right. Meireilles is poor there but better in the middle. Choose from Babel, Cole, Ngog or Kuyt with Torres. Buy a left winger. Buy a left back.

Good call TRF it isn't Rocket science is it, left winger and left back needed soon. Are you reading this NESV? Oh and a new Manager please, one Mr Benitez may be available soon, please. Thanks Santa.

[filthy1980]

gerrard needs to get back in the hole behind nando or back to AMR . . .

he's 30 now and the way i see it only really will have the engine game in game out to play in the attacking 3rd for maybe 2 more seasons after this

at the age of 33 i think he should consider moving back through the team, maybe a year at DM, then i think he should transition to CB

at 34 he will still have enough pace to be a quick centre back and will hopefully have slowed down enough to begin reading the game properly

he'd be a ball playing centre back who's positioning might not be the greatest but could certainly recover well enough

there i think he could keep playing week in week out until 36 then wind down and retire at around 37 as a true legend with hopefully a few league titles in his back pocket

here's hoping eh

[poopscoop]

gerrard needs to get back in the hole behind nando or back to AMR . . .

he's 30 now and the way i see it only really will have the engine game in game out to play in the attacking 3rd for maybe 2 more seasons after this

at the age of 33 i think he should consider moving back through the team, maybe a year at DM, then i think he should transition to CB

at 34 he will still have enough pace to be a quick centre back and will hopefully have slowed down enough to begin reading the game properly

he'd be a ball playing centre back who's positioning might not be the greatest but could certainly recover well enough

there i think he could keep playing week in week out until 36 then wind down and retire at around 37 as a true legend with hopefully a few league titles in his back pocket

here's hoping eh

I agree in part, but this was one of the major gripes Benitez had about Gerrard: he has no discipline to his game. His natural game is to get in the action and he will go looking for it - to the detriment of his positional play. If you are setting up a team a la Benitez, which relies heavily on tactical play - you don't want a loose cannon doing as he pleases.
Until the club strengthens and Gerrard acknowledges that there are other players capable of putting the ball in the net, be relied to make a tackle or, indeed, pass accurately (Mr Poulsen, please pay attention.), then he is also going to see it has his role to drag the team along.
Hodgson doesn't play tactically and doesn't know how to construct a capable team. I believe Gerrard could take on Xabi's old role and do it well  - but he'll never do it under this manager.

[Rooster]

That's a good article and I'm glad it made it to the front page. Well worth 5mins of anyone's time, Gerrard Unbound...damn right!

[davidmc]

Great post, nail on head

[texaskopite]

This is such a spot on post ... I believe we looked a more balanced and fluid side when SG was injured and Lucas/Mereiles were playing together in CM. This may be blasphemy but if SG doesn't want to play in the hole, where I believe he can be superb, we should let him go ...

[The Bill Hicks Appreciation Society]

Spot on Yorky, great analysis.

[The 5th Benitle]

The Blackburn game just proved this post to be spot on, in every detail. Lucas was having to cope with three Blackburn midfielders by himself.

[Ikki.Fenikkusu]

I agree with much of the article except the part that paints Gerrard as some da-da idiot who can't keep his position. It belies that for much his career, especially his formative years, the box-to-box midfielder was en vogue. It is since around 05 that we have specialist enforcers and passers (Xabi-Masch, for example). So painting it out as "he can't do as well in the middle" is disingenuous because what is being asked of him has changed and for most of that time where this change in tactic has come he has played mostly SS, AM, LM and RM.

Also, this crap about him always going for the Hollywood ball or doing too much is overstated so much it's cliche - and wrong. Yes, he does it more than other central midfielders yet his passing completion rate is comparable with Lampard and Fabregas - neither whom people would consider wasteful. Players like Lucas, Masch and Xabi have far higher completion rates, sure, but that is because it is their duty to sit deep and dictate - and not do much else. Gerrard would be wasted in that role, if he were played in the middle.

And the reason he was shifted out had little to do with not being good enough. Rafa himself explicitly said that. At the time Gerrard was put out right we had tried several combos involving Nunez and even Cisse to accomodate Gerrard and Alonso in the middle. The reason he was put out wide is because none of those guys did well, whilst Sissoko-Alonso were more than good in the middle. It allowed us to have our best XI on the pitch, rather than putting Gerrard in his favoured position.

[The 5th Benitle]

I thought David Prentice would know better,

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/12/10/dave-prentice-liverpool-fc-s-fernando-torres-leads-a-new-trend-of-modern-football-dads-100252-27801089/4/


Steven Gerrard will be available for selection very soon after injury and, like Kevin Sheedy before him, when the Liverpool captain is fit he plays.

There is a compromise.

If Gerrard was used as an auxiliary striker behind Fernando Torres, in the role he has performed so magnificently for much of Torres’ time at Liverpool, Lucas and Meireles could continue in the centre.

Of course he could, but he shouldn’t.

Steven Gerrard is too good, too influential and too valuable to Liverpool’s cause to be a compromise option. At this stage of his career he needs to be played regularly and consistently in his best position – and that’s central midfield.

Unfortunately that means someone will have to make way.

Kevin Richardson was famously dropped in the run-in to Everton’s 1984/85 title winning season after scoring both goals in a crucial 2-1 win at Southampton.

And the same scenario should unfold at Anfield.

Roy Hodgson will probably deliver the words more sensitively than Sir Alan Sugar would, but the message should remain the same: “Lucas Leiva – you’re dropped!”


Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/12/10/dave-prentice-liverpool-fc-s-fernando-torres-leads-a-new-trend-of-modern-football-dads-100252-27801089/4/#ixzz17hV3JwvG

I'm just quoting this again because it's one of the worst football articles I've ever seen.

[Lush is the best medicine...]

I'm just quoting this again because it's one of the worst football articles I've ever seen.

kinda proves the original post right that - gonna be interesting to see where he fits in next year

[exiledinyorkshire]

I hope on the right of a midfield 3.

[anfieldtours]

Awesome post OP, completely agree. Lucas is the way we should be going in the centre

[Yorkykopite]

Terrible to see Steven Gerrard playing so deep again. Come on Kenny. Untie him.

[Rohit]

Terrible to see Steven Gerrard playing so deep again. Come on Kenny. Untie him.

Stark contrast to spurs where we saw the real gerrard against a superior midfield aswell.

[vitch]

And what's more he not even that good playing further down, he doesn't track runs and anticipates passes like a true defensive mid. So it doubly penalizing us to have him play there. He really should not cross the halfway line.

The coaching staff need to drill Henderson into how to make tackles and leave him down there for the time being (of alternatively drill Adam into how not to dive into tackles).

Really I wish KK would ring up Rafa, so that he confirms him what a fool's errand it is try to fit Gerrard into center midfield.

[scatman]

I think he can play DM, more effectively than Spearing for sure, problem is we need him elsewhere

[b_joseph]

I think he can play DM, more effectively than Spearing for sure, problem is we need him elsewhere

Thats the issue. As a squad, we are in a position where we need him in about 3 different places...yet at this stage of his career, he can no longer play like 2 or 3 different players because his movement is so restricted.
Ideally, Spearing and Henderson would have been able to form a solid duo in the middle and that would have allowed Stevie to play closer to Suarez. In reality, nothing worked and we were on the back foot from the start.

98 total passes for Carrick - 94% completion
95 total passes for Scholes - 92% competion
87 total passes ( team leading ) for Stevie 86% completion

Considering how high up the pitch they were, thats a really impressive number for Carrick and Scholes.

[Flinstone]

looked good right mid didn't he?

we wouldn't have so many problems with the wings if we played him there