Allen

[rurikbird]

To me it's the high pressing by the pair along with the attackers which is precisely the reason a player like Lucas becomes vital for us.
It's a highly effective, yet risky tactic.

True. We do need a Mascherano, a defensive player who can make decisive interventions when opponents finally break out of the box. But notice, in Barcelona Mascherano plays at CB, not at DM...

 

[juniormember]

True. We do need a Mascherano, a defensive player who can make decisive interventions when opponents finally break out of the box. But notice, in Barcelona Mascherano plays at CB, not at DM...

Isn't that because they prefer Busquets, a defensive midfielder?

 

[keniget]

That's right. But maybe things can change. I also don't see either Allen or Hendo being dropped in favor of Gerrard, if they keep playing well.

Perhaps. I'm struggling to see Gerrard in that Lucas role to be honest. He might be able to adapt but it just seems like a genuinely pointless exercise - you lose most of what Gerrard brings to the table and don't gain enough. If we want to replace Lucas with someone other than Allen then I think we need to buy in a solution.

I guess, like you say, it all depends on how they play over the next month. If they maintain the level they showed against Spurs then ideally Rodgers will be brave and bench Gerrard and use him as and when he needs him. There is also the option that he could tinker with the formation to play him - Henderson played out wide for example, so Gerrard could also play there (not that he'd like it if we are to believe the murmurings) swapping with Henderson during the game.

 

[rurikbird]

Isn't that because they prefer Busquets, a defensive midfielder?

Yes, but Busquets is not the most mobile type of DM, is he? His job is exactly what I wrote in describing the potential DM job at Liverpool – help to direct the traffic and put out a couple of fires per game, when opponents manage to break out of prison. He plays not because he is a better defender or tackler than Mascherano (he isn't), but because he is better at "directing traffic."

 

[RedStar]

To me it's the high pressing by the pair along with the attackers which is precisely the reason a player like Lucas becomes vital for us.
It's a highly effective, yet risky tactic.

It requires alot of hard unrewarding running to be effective though, does Gerrard still have it in him to press for 70 or 80 minutes a game, Im skeptical about that. You cant have a midfield where 2 press and 1 doesnt because the 2 pressing players will get knackered very quickly, so its a one in all in system you cant have special players with dispensation not to bother pressing.

The other feature of a pressing game is that a team needs to retain the ball very well or they will burn themselves out trying to win it back constantly, Lucas Henderson and Allen are not the most expansive midfielders in the world but they are low risk passers and regularly make over 90% of their passes successfully , Gerrards game has always been high risk high reward. If we are going to go down this route tactically and it looks to be suited to a majority of our players then there are big question marks over Gerrards suitability as he currently plays the game. My guess would be that he would need to dramatically increase his work rate which would probably lead to him playing every 2nd game, or come off after 60 mins when hes spent.

 

[rurikbird]

Gerrard's passing accuracy is at 87% so far this season (85% last season). Without looking at the stats, I'm pretty certain it's the highest passing % in his career. Considering the number of long passes he plays I think you can say he is a quite reliable and controlled passer now. And taking into account his number of assists and chances created, it's fair to say that he is the best passer in this team.

Lucas is at 91%, Allen 88%, Henderson also 87%.