What do you do with Steven Gerrard? It is a debate that has been raging for most of the season and shows no sign of ending.
Steven is no stranger to being a hot topic of conversation but, in all the years I've known him, I am struggling to remember a time when he has been scrutinised to this extent.
Some critics believe he should be out of the picture. Others couldn't be without him. Where do I stand? Well, put it this way, if Liverpool were playing in a major final now, Steven would be one of the first names I'd put down on the teamsheet. My reasons would have nothing do with sentiment.
If Liverpool had a penalty or a free-kick in a dangerous area, Steven is the only person I'd want taking it. He's proven that against Ludogorets and Everton this season. He is also the man I'd pick to play a killer pass and the one I'd back over anyone else if he was racing through on goal.
The issue, however, is that at 34, he doesn't get into those positions as regularly as he once did. Furthermore, the dynamic of the deep-lying role he occupied last season has changed as Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have not been around to provide outlets.
After his outstanding efforts last year, he has yet to reach the same levels – who has in a red shirt?
Steven is not a great protector of a defence. He's there to start attacks from deep rather than shield a defence as Dietmar Hamann or Javier Mascharano did for me.
Now, though, his age is being tied in with his form. I know what it is like to reach such a stage. I remember playing in a game against Arsenal in March 2012, when Robin van Persie scored a winning goal in the last minute at Anfield, and dealing with critics saying I was finished.
A week later at Sunderland, Kenny Dalglish took me out of the team. We lost again, this time 1-0, but my replacement, Sebastian Coates, struggled and I was recalled for the next game, against Everton. Steven scored a hat-trick as we won 3-0.
It was after the Everton game I realised it was best that I'd been taken out of the firing line at Sunderland. There is a saying in football, 'You have your best games when you don't play' and that was the case at The Stadium of Light. Your situation changes and people want you in the team.
I found that again last year, when people were saying to me Liverpool would have won the league had I stayed. Who knows whether they were right?
I knew when the end was coming. I had 18 months left on my contract and I knew I wouldn't sign another. Like Steven, I was mentally tough. But when you hear constant references to your age after a poor performance or a mistake, it becomes draining.
You go into games wondering, 'Am I going to be physically able to get through this?'. In your head, you have no worries about reading and understanding the game but when your legs go, they do not come back.
Brendan Rodgers and his medical staff have done a superb job managing Steven's fitness. Now they must manage the amount of matches he plays – Brendan, himself, admitted in midweek that Steven can't play three games in a week to the level he would like. Steven will have had similar thoughts.
Over the next 18 months, Brendan will have to start to take him off and leave him out for his own good. People have questioned whether the manager has the resolve to do so but history shows he makes big calls. Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez, Pepe Reina and I will testify to that.
But that isn't a bad thing for Steven. Can you imagine the reaction inside Anfield with 30 minutes of a tight game remaining and seeing No 8 getting stripped for action? With space to exploit and energy to change the game, he could be a lethal weapon.
Alex Ferguson did it brilliantly with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, letting them miss the odd week, giving them 20 minutes from the bench and ensuring they were fresh for when he really needed them. That's what has to happen with Steven, who I am sure will sign a new deal.
Pako Ayestaran, Rafa Benitez's former assistant, summed it up perfectly once when talking to us about squad rotation. He said it wasn't important how many games you played in; what was crucial was the amount of good games you played.
Do not doubt Steven's ability to go on making contributions, but do not underestimate that he needs help. Take what is happening with Frank Lampard at Manchester City. He is surrounded by top players, is being used sensibly and his reputation continues to be enhanced.
Rio Ferdinand, by contrast, can't get a game for QPR. Who would have ever said that a player of Rio's quality would see his time out on the bench at Loftus Road? You need assistance when you reach that stage and Rio isn't getting it.
Steven's situation is somewhere in the middle of Frank and Rio. Liverpool need to sign a top defensive midfielder in the near future and it should not be that, on the 16th anniversary of his first appearance, he is still being looked to provide the inspiration.
When the end finally came for me, against QPR in May 2013, it was a relief. I also had the added bonus that I had been playing well and was able to finish on my own terms.
For his immense contribution, Steven deserves more. He might not do what the other members of Liverpool's top three all-time players did in their final appearances – Kenny Dalglish lifted the league, Graeme Souness hoisted the European Cup – but his journey has to end on a high.
Steven is no stranger to being a hot topic of conversation but, in all the years I've known him, I am struggling to remember a time when he has been scrutinised to this extent.
Some critics believe he should be out of the picture. Others couldn't be without him. Where do I stand? Well, put it this way, if Liverpool were playing in a major final now, Steven would be one of the first names I'd put down on the teamsheet. My reasons would have nothing do with sentiment.
If Liverpool had a penalty or a free-kick in a dangerous area, Steven is the only person I'd want taking it. He's proven that against Ludogorets and Everton this season. He is also the man I'd pick to play a killer pass and the one I'd back over anyone else if he was racing through on goal.
The issue, however, is that at 34, he doesn't get into those positions as regularly as he once did. Furthermore, the dynamic of the deep-lying role he occupied last season has changed as Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge have not been around to provide outlets.
After his outstanding efforts last year, he has yet to reach the same levels – who has in a red shirt?
Steven is not a great protector of a defence. He's there to start attacks from deep rather than shield a defence as Dietmar Hamann or Javier Mascharano did for me.
Now, though, his age is being tied in with his form. I know what it is like to reach such a stage. I remember playing in a game against Arsenal in March 2012, when Robin van Persie scored a winning goal in the last minute at Anfield, and dealing with critics saying I was finished.
A week later at Sunderland, Kenny Dalglish took me out of the team. We lost again, this time 1-0, but my replacement, Sebastian Coates, struggled and I was recalled for the next game, against Everton. Steven scored a hat-trick as we won 3-0.
It was after the Everton game I realised it was best that I'd been taken out of the firing line at Sunderland. There is a saying in football, 'You have your best games when you don't play' and that was the case at The Stadium of Light. Your situation changes and people want you in the team.
I found that again last year, when people were saying to me Liverpool would have won the league had I stayed. Who knows whether they were right?
I knew when the end was coming. I had 18 months left on my contract and I knew I wouldn't sign another. Like Steven, I was mentally tough. But when you hear constant references to your age after a poor performance or a mistake, it becomes draining.
You go into games wondering, 'Am I going to be physically able to get through this?'. In your head, you have no worries about reading and understanding the game but when your legs go, they do not come back.
Brendan Rodgers and his medical staff have done a superb job managing Steven's fitness. Now they must manage the amount of matches he plays – Brendan, himself, admitted in midweek that Steven can't play three games in a week to the level he would like. Steven will have had similar thoughts.
Over the next 18 months, Brendan will have to start to take him off and leave him out for his own good. People have questioned whether the manager has the resolve to do so but history shows he makes big calls. Andy Carroll, Luis Suarez, Pepe Reina and I will testify to that.
But that isn't a bad thing for Steven. Can you imagine the reaction inside Anfield with 30 minutes of a tight game remaining and seeing No 8 getting stripped for action? With space to exploit and energy to change the game, he could be a lethal weapon.
Alex Ferguson did it brilliantly with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, letting them miss the odd week, giving them 20 minutes from the bench and ensuring they were fresh for when he really needed them. That's what has to happen with Steven, who I am sure will sign a new deal.
Pako Ayestaran, Rafa Benitez's former assistant, summed it up perfectly once when talking to us about squad rotation. He said it wasn't important how many games you played in; what was crucial was the amount of good games you played.
Do not doubt Steven's ability to go on making contributions, but do not underestimate that he needs help. Take what is happening with Frank Lampard at Manchester City. He is surrounded by top players, is being used sensibly and his reputation continues to be enhanced.
Rio Ferdinand, by contrast, can't get a game for QPR. Who would have ever said that a player of Rio's quality would see his time out on the bench at Loftus Road? You need assistance when you reach that stage and Rio isn't getting it.
Steven's situation is somewhere in the middle of Frank and Rio. Liverpool need to sign a top defensive midfielder in the near future and it should not be that, on the 16th anniversary of his first appearance, he is still being looked to provide the inspiration.
When the end finally came for me, against QPR in May 2013, it was a relief. I also had the added bonus that I had been playing well and was able to finish on my own terms.
For his immense contribution, Steven deserves more. He might not do what the other members of Liverpool's top three all-time players did in their final appearances – Kenny Dalglish lifted the league, Graeme Souness hoisted the European Cup – but his journey has to end on a high.
