Correct. Good post mate. Gerrard cult is right. You'd think he was bigger than the club the way some people go on. It's clearly getting to the time when he needs to move on for the good of the club. With Rodgers new philosphy around now would be the perfect time for him to bow out (Not on a high but leaving people with good memories) but I fear that he'll still be hanging around in 4 or 5 years.
I've had similar shite thrown at me before. I acknowledge what he did for us and how well he played but he's not been anywhere near that for over three years now. I'm a Liverpool Football Club fan. I want what's best for the club. I've seen heroes of our club come and go and every time we have a top player leave then someone else comes along. Dunno how old you are or how long you've followed the team but the club is important and players are transient. Even the best ones. Time for him to move on. I don't have to "hate him" to think that his best days are well behind him.
I think you're being a little harsh there, Andy. I do see where you're coming from, because Gerrard hasn't been at his deverstating best for the last three maybe even four years; he certainly hasn't performed consistantly at the level he did when he was 23-27, and he's guilty of being almost sloppy at times, and looking disinterested, but the man has been an absolute pillar at LFC over the last decade is you have to respect the guy for that.
I don't think he is to be written off yet. Yes his body has been battered over the years and he's had more than his fair share of injuries, pain killing injections and whatnot which will probably not stand him in the best stead now, at the twilight end of his career, but he is still an incredibly talented footballer. He'll still put in an excellent cross, is a fantastic finisher and is deadly in and around the edge of the penalty area. He may not have the blistering pace and dynamism he once did, but it's there in glimpsys and if we manage him correctly and he adapts his game slightly, he can still be very much part of a successful squad over the next couple of years in my opinion.
I think there are mitigating factors to his dip in form over the last couple of years. In Rafas last season he was injured a fair bit, didn't see many minutes to gain momentum and the team was suffering from the loss (and lack of replacement) of Xabi and the fact Torres had gone a bit cold. Since then, for me, he's been played out of position and in a team that has gradually decreased in quality since that brilliant season when we were pipped by United. I don't and never have seen Gerrard as a centre midfielder. Is he a complete midfielder? Yes, or at least he has been, but that doesn't mean he is the right man to be playing bang in the middle of the park or that it is his best position, because it really isn't and I don't care how much Stevie might want to play there, he shouldn't. It's niether good for him or the team.
I think with a Rodgers system we might see the brighter side of Stevie again for a short while. If he's played either behind the striker or part of a front three on the right hand side, we can really exploit his qualities once again, in the knowledge that the rest of the team are doing their job and he just has to be part of that team doing his. He still has an excellent eye for a final ball too and players like Suarez and Borini will want Gerrard on the pitch. We mustn't burn him out though, he will need rests.
Gerrard is still a goal and assist threat, but what we don't wanna' see is him marauding all around the park trying to re-live his mid-twenties, because that's when he will not only cause himself problems, but be to the detriment the whole team as well. I don't blame him for being frustraited and off the boil at times recently, he has still given his wonderful career for the club and still has something to offer. I don't see why he can't do something similar to Scholes or Giggs here, as he is every bit as talented.
