Topic: Lost: Steven Gerrard's football skills... and other items including:

[Johnnyboy1973]

He should play out on the right - well it isn't really the right.

He should have his free role and not be played in the centre.

[Johnnyboy1973]

Just think that is a better team for retaining the ball and controlling the midfield, when we had our rocky patch against Porto at 1-1 it was because we weren't controlling the midfield and some of that has to be down to Gerrard.

Agreed. Primarily down to him being in the first row of the Kop a lot of the time.

[bigbear]

He was brilliant against Bolton and his form is 10/10 at the moment, so I wouldn't move him..

BUT......when Alonso returns to fitness I think Liverpool's best team - if we had to play Real Madrid for the Champions League tomorrow - has a central midfield of Xabi and Mascharano with Gerrard as attacking midfielder starting on the right.

Just think that is a better team for retaining the ball and controlling the midfield, when we had our rocky patch against Porto at 1-1 it was because we weren't controlling the midfield and some of that has to be down to Gerrard.

Horses for courses though, if we are playing anyone outside the top four of the Premier League, Stevie starts in the middle and can do what he did against Bolton.

-No criticism of SG, he is the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League and a bigger influence on his team than Lumpard.

I love to see Gerrard playing centre mid as i think he's at his best there and can mkae those straight runs on to lay offs easier.

However, in Europe i wouldn't play him there unless it's gung ho time.  It's more important to control the midfield as there are better quality hole players in the opponents generally and more sides play on the break.

I'd always play Masch and Xabi in Europe and let Gerrard be more loose from the right or in the hole or even in a 3 man centre midfield.

[b_joseph]

The role he had away @ Newcastle was perfect...not too deep and not forward enough that it left him playing with his back to goal.


If Rafa takes the risk...playing him at the apex of a triangle in the middle could be very effective.

At the end of the day, Stevie is a complex guy. Just dont play him too deep and dont stifle him in wide, wide areas.
Allow him to be instinctive and attacking...but not too much that it stops him from getting back and making good defensive tackles that build momentum and elevate the crowd.

A lot to ask, but he's worth it.

[Neil D]

With Gerrard playing just ahead of Masch and Alonso we will rule the world.

[tsgod1]

He should play out on the right - well it isn't really the right.

He should have his free role and not be played in the centre.

Againt the boltons of this world it's very effective so why not.

[-HH-]

While you havent said it directly you've pretty much said it there and said Gerrard cried his way to central midfield.

Yes, I have. Obviously part of the reason he's been moved around is because he's a talented player who can play anywhere. But that's part of why I think it's fairly clear he cried off playing on the right. He's our best right midfielder by some distance and yet I can only think of one good performance from him there last year and even then we lost 3-0. I also can't think of many games where he covered anything like the ground he did or put in the tackles he did or made the runs he did in 2005/06. It's part of why it was obvious he was crying off - simply because we know how talented he is and we know the workrate he's capable of.

[MightyLFC]

Yes, I have. Obviously part of the reason he's been moved around is because he's a talented player who can play anywhere. But that's part of why I think it's fairly clear he cried off playing on the right. He's our best right midfielder by some distance and yet I can only think of one good performance from him there last year and even then we lost 3-0. I also can't think of many games where he covered anything like the ground he did or put in the tackles he did or made the runs he did in 2005/06. It's part of why it was obvious he was crying off - simply because we know how talented he is and we know the workrate he's capable of.

Although if you remember, when he was moved back to the centre, for the large part it didn't make a hell of a lot of difference to his performances. Form....World Cup fatigue.....personal problems - all factors in his below par performances

[-HH-]

Although if you remember, when he was moved back to the centre, for the large part it didn't make a hell of a lot of difference to his performances.

No it didn't, but it made a difference to his attitude.

[Canada Loves Anfield]

Gerrard is our best player at the moment and we should be praying that he plays half as well as he has this season.

We have all been taken Steven for granted this season. What a year he is having....

Get in Stevie lad and show these Peppers how it is done

[Neil D]

Gerrard is our best player at the moment and we should be praying that he plays half as well as he has this season.

We have all been taken Steven for granted this season. What a year he is having....

Get in Stevie lad and show these Peppers how it is done

To be fair after his injury he was very poor for a month or so.

Getting back to his best now though.

[GreatEx]

Getting back to his best now though.

Getting back? I'd say he's already there. I can't imagine him playing any better, but if he does I may have to start wearing incontinence pads during games.

One thing that is certainly evolving is Gerrard's understanding with Torres. They are totally clicking now, and it's a wonderful sight to see two world class players synergizing (ugh, I've been in the corporate world too long... but for once it's the right word)

[b_joseph]

To be fair after his injury he was very poor for a month or so.

Getting back to his best now though.

The whole team was poor. Its hard to stand out when everybody is playing below their levels

[Neil D]

Getting back? I'd say he's already there. I can't imagine him playing any better, but if he does I may have to start wearing incontinence pads during games.

One thing that is certainly evolving is Gerrard's understanding with Torres. They are totally clicking now, and it's a wonderful sight to see two world class players synergizing (ugh, I've been in the corporate world too long... but for once it's the right word)

I think Gerrard is capable of playing better than he is now, for sure. He is on a great scoring run but at his very best runs games from start to finish. It is coming.

The whole team was poor. Its hard to stand out when everybody is playing below their levels

Few were as poor as Gerrard.

[Hank Scorpio]

To be fair after his injury he was very poor for a month or so.

Getting back to his best now though.

Agree.

Last season, I wanted Gerrard to get an extended run in CM, just to offer us more of a goal threat.  Having seen him play in CM this season, I do have to say that we lack a bit of cohesion, when does play there, however, he does offer that drive from CM that no other LFC midfielder can offer.

I would really like to see him play backed up by 2 CM's, which would probably mean, he plays on the right or with this, at times, lopsided 4-2-1-3.  I think Gerrard back on the right, for certain matches, would not be such a bad move, although we are yet to see that this season.

[b_joseph]

Few were as poor as Gerrard.

Be that as it may. They majority were still under performing.

Other Gerrard related topics: I think he finally got the pat on the back from Rafa ( mini-interview on the official site )

[Hank Scorpio]

Thought he put in a very disciplined performance last night.

Pick and chose his runs forward well and even limited his through ball attempts.

[LFCfan4Life]

Thought he put in a very disciplined performance last night.

Pick and chose his runs forward well and even limited his through ball attempts.

probably becuase we were 2-0 up and looked like we were going to win so he chose his runs carefully

hope hes like this on sunday becuase if last nights team goes out there on sunday i think well be onto a winner

but i think it will be finnan instead of arbeloa

[b_joseph]

Instead of playing like one of the best players in the world...

He is back to being the best player in the world....


Keep it going, Ste.

[Greg]

An extract from my post last week:

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=204641.0

Gerrard's best position:

This was quite hard to work out, because there were loads of different formations - and the fact that he got in every team. So I only used the four most popular formations (261 teams) to work this out. And I'm gonna treat the 4-2-3-1 the same as 4-1-2-2-1 here to simplify things a bit.

Central Attacking Midifelder in a 4-2-3-1               105                 40.2%
Right midfield in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1                       81                  31.0%
Central midfielder in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1                 45                  17.2%
On the right in a front 3                                      16                    6.1%
Up front behind the main striker                             9                    3.4%
Defensive midfielder in a in a 4-2-3-1                      2                    0.8%
Right back in a 4-4-2                                           1                    0.4%

---------------

He's played central midfield all season, and it's shut Andy Gray and Redknapp up. But now Alonso is back playing, there is not so much need for Gerrard to be playing in the middle. If you want to play your best players, then maybe Alonso should be in with Mascherano, with either Gerrard on the right or just behind Torres.

I was wondering if anybody knows how many times Gerrard has played on the right hand side of midfield this season? Has he played there at all? And if so, what games?