Our midfield trio today

[Spaghetti Legs]

The idea of playing Gerrard at centre back is just horrible in every way.

Why would we need or want to do that? purely to accomodate him in the team is the only reason i can think of.

 

[dmishra]

I despair at anyone who think Gerrard played well yesterday.

I'm probably Lucas' biggest critic here, but I'd have him playing holding midfield over Gerrard every single day of the week.

 

[Frogfish]

The issue for me is - Gerrard needs to be rock solid in defending if he is going to play there - and he needs to be very accurate with his passes

You mean like Lucas is ?

Lucas in that role rarely hits it long - which means technically we should retain the ball more often.

Only if you mean by bouncing it around between him and Skrtel/Agger until a hurried back-pass under pressure finds Ming kicking it into touch as good as any stand-off we've had in ...... oh.

Gerrard as the deep DM will be great from time to time - when he's given space & time to pick out passes on a big pitch against teams playing 1 forward & not pressing (the sort of games Agger gets clean sheets in)..... but if Rodgers decides to okay Gerrard in that deep role against top quality opposition - I think we'll get bent over, parted & brutally sodomised.

Don't agree with that bit either. Gerrard is a far better tackler than Lucas will ever be, he's still faster, he has far better technique and control and he'll win far more headers than Lucas too. Discipline is the only worry we've had about SG as a DM and I think he began to show yesterday that we need not be too concerned in that regard either.

 

[Pesam]

I didn't think Lucas played particularly well yesterday but he wasn't as bad as he usually he is against Stoke. Playing him further up the pitch will certainly stop us giving away so many dangerous free kicks on the edge of our box and who knows maybe he might actually prove effective further up the pitch - he can't be worse than he is at playing DM. Ideally though he should be dropped against Villa because we should hit them with all guns blazing...........

........................Gerrard.........Henderson..................
.........Sterling.............Suarez...............Coutinho
......................................Sturridge............................

 

[doctor_mac]

I definitely think SG attempted a few too many Hollywood passes, particularly so, as not one of them was successful. If he can rein it in a bit, then I'm sure he has the attributes to be successful in that position.

 

[Frogfish]

I definitely think SG attempted a few too many Hollywood passes, particularly so, as not one of them was successful. If he can rein it in a bit, then I'm sure he has the attributes to be successful in that position.

Actually there were a couple that were .. but still your point is valid.

 

[doctor_mac]

Steven Gerrard can’t have seen many games like it in his career. The Liverpool FC captain yesterday became the seventh player in club history to make 650 appearances and never could he have imagined the landmark would have come in such chaotic circumstances. A form of footballing bedlam broke out at the Britannia Stadium as thoughts of defending were left in the changing rooms and composure walked out of the ground early. Eight goals were scored but there could have been plenty more as Liverpool won at Stoke City in the Premier League for the first time and returned to the top four. But on a wild day in the Potteries, Liverpool will be thankful that their captain was calm. The skipper’s second half penalty was a fitting way for him to mark a special day but, it was also the icing on the cake of a significant performance. Too often, Liverpool have been a soft touch at Stoke. Roy Hodgson once said he never expected to win here with Liverpool because the Reds lacked bite in midfield. Previous Liverpool sides have shown a lack of appetite to grit their teeth at the Britannia. As pathetic excuses go it is up with the worst, but Gerrard was determined that on Sunday there was never going to be any suggestion that this Liverpool side would not stand up to the challenge. The 33-year-old did a brilliant job in shielding the Liverpool back four yesterday – and boy did they need it. Gerrard also reminded everyone just how he can dictate a game with the sheer quality of his passing. The captain has taken up a similar role before this season where he sits deep, marshals just in front of the box and controls the tempo of the game when he gets the ball. A string of well-timed and controlled challenges set the tone early on as Gerrard showed the way in a game in which Liverpool simply had to stay strong. Much of what went around Gerrard was pandemonium but he was always the steadying influence. The Britannia is so often a graveyard for Champions League hopes and with their top four rivals picking up wins on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers knew a victory was vital. And so should the Reds qualify for Europe’s top table at the end of the season then Gerrard’s display cannot be overlooked. He has been the inspiration for so many wins as a Liverpool player but few in recent seasons could be as telling given the importance of getting back into the Champions League is to the club. Understandably, Rodgers was fulsome in his praise for the Reds' captain afterwards. Liverpool flirted with defeat here, looked shaky and vulnerable on several occasions and a loss would have been an ominously bleak sign. But through a combination of fortune and flair, the Reds got themselves in front for the second time in the game and returned into Champions League positions. Some question marks still loom large over their credentials as a top four side but the win showed everyone that they are well and truly up for the fight. And they have Gerrard to thank for that. Daniel Sturridge injected some desperately needed quality as he linked up wonderfully with Luis Suarez in the final 30 minutes but Gerrard played the real starring role here. The captain was asked to do something similar earlier in the season at Aston Villa but yesterday’s display was a fine tune of that. “He is someone who fits the profile of that role,” said the Liverpool manager. “He does it a bit more with England and in his period out we had real success with a controlling player and two guys pressing. “I just feel it is perfect for him. He has the personality for it and he showed great leadership in there.” It was also a selfless performance and a display that, crucially, the team needed. The rain lashed down, the wind howled and the cold bit hard but Gerrard showed he is the man for all seasons. And the enduring quality of Liverpool’s captain is that in this reinvention his performance remains exceptionally high. For many reasons, this will be a game Gerrard never forgets. And neither should Liverpool.

 

[StevieM]

I think you know that the slavering LFC nerds watching juddering streams on their computers (whilst simultaneously posting their outrage at their staccato glimpses of the game) know best.

I watched it in perfect HD on something close to a 120" screen - and I thought Gerrard was questionable as the DM.

🙂

 

[StevieM]

You mean like Lucas is ?



Only if you mean by bouncing it around between him and Skrtel/Agger until a hurried back-pass under pressure finds Ming kicking it into touch as good as any stand-off we've had in ...... oh.

Don't agree with that bit either. Gerrard is a far better tackler than Lucas will ever be, he's still faster, he has far better technique and control and he'll win far more headers than Lucas too. Discipline is the only worry we've had about SG as a DM and I think he began to show yesterday that we need not be too concerned in that regard either.

Our midfield has functioned well without Gerrard, maybe because despite their limitations they add up to a better unit.

Now let's deal in reality - our midfield without Gerrard did a fine job of taking on Man City & Chelsea away - yet we get brutalised by Stoke away.

Now.... I'm happy enough to give Gerrard a crack at that role - but it's not his natural game.

We will have problems.

The question I have, Is this Rodgers making a tactical decision to play Gerrard deeper or is this Gerrard "wanting" a deeper role?

 

[FoxForceFive]

I watched it in perfect HD on something close to a 120" screen - and I thought Gerrard was questionable as the DM.

🙂

Heh. As did I, although my screen is only 100" (sadface) as my living room is tiny.

I watched the game & was less than impressed with him.

However, I watched again earlier whilst the kids had their nap & I have to say I think I judged him too harshly, primarily I believe cos his wayward passing combined with my nerves & constantly thinking we were gonna throw it away tainted it in a big way.

When you rewatch it knowing the result you can look more impartially. He made some great tackles that few players could make, he stayed in the area you want him to be almost all the time & he clearly unnerved players simply with his presence at times. His short passing was actually better than I remember it being.

 

[StevieM]

I started re watching it when it was replayed on Fox Sports tonight - but as I switched it on Charlie Adams equalised....

.... so Battlestar Galactica it was...

🙂

 

[doctor_mac]

I watched it in perfect HD on something close to a 120" screen - and I thought Gerrard was questionable as the DM.

🙂

Flash bastard.

 

[StevieM]

Flash bastard.

Of course it was 3am and I was "working"... Not the fun bit.

 

[doctor_mac]

Of course it was 3am and I was "working"... Not the fun bit.

Ahh. So you were shattered and half-pissed and watching the match in between serving other drunk people.

*starts doubting the reliability of StevieM's judgement*

 

[Fabio]

I thought Gerrard was jarg.

Over complicated things and was needlessly sloppy

I made a post within the first 10 minutes of the game saying Gerrard seemed up for it and I was happy.

Then he went to absolute meh.

Either mascher cursed that position, or its impossible for anyone to look good in it since.

 

[Loch Ness Monster]

He played his normal type of passing. Which, from the position where he played, was far too risky and cost us a lot of possession. He will adapt as his awareness grows.

 

[Fabio]

He played his normal type of passing. Which, from the position where he played, was far too risky and cost us a lot of possession. He will adapt as his awareness grows.

Yeah, and with his recent apathy towards work rate, I've disliked his risky passing further up the field too

 

[Molbystwin]

I think Lucas has been in good form recently.

i must be alone in thinking this it seems.

 

[Modo]

I think Lucas has been in good form recently.

i must be alone in thinking this it seems.

or without an agenda

 

[mark1975]

Our midfield has functioned well without Gerrard, maybe because despite their limitations they add up to a better unit.

Now let's deal in reality - our midfield without Gerrard did a fine job of taking on Man City & Chelsea away - yet we get brutalised by Stoke away.

Now.... I'm happy enough to give Gerrard a crack at that role - but it's not his natural game.

We will have problems.

The question I have, Is this Rodgers making a tactical decision to play Gerrard deeper or is this Gerrard "wanting" a deeper role?

I think this is missing far too many factors, one of them being that it was our defense that was brutalised more than the midfield, I think we gave a reasonably good account of ourselves, we got stuck in and didn't allow them to bully us, as we often do, Gerrard in particular was putting himself about and getting stuck in particularly in the first half. I think we had issues keeping the ball, which has been an issue in ALOT of away games this season, but once again our Achilles heal was our inability to defend balls into the box when we're defending deep.

Yeah, Gerrard over did the Hollywood balls (a few did pay off though), as said, that's something he needs to limit, and yeah I agree that Hendo/Allen/Lucas looked the sum of their parts more. Let's not forget though, this was Gerrard's first full Premiership game back, if he wained a bit in the second half after a pulsating 60 minutes, then that's hardly surprising. I thought he and Lucas handled the midfield pretty well. People look at a couple of mistakes of a lack of communication for two of the goals, fair enough, it was sloppy play, but our defense can't be permently reliant on over protection from the midfield, they have to earn their crust too and far often than is justifiable, players like Johnson and Skrtel are caught ball watching and continuously fail to read the danger. It's a two way thing, the midfield is there to work as a unit and recognise danger and cut it out, when that doesn't happen we have players who aren't good enough when exposed. Is that the fault of the midfield aswell? Clearly we lack a couple of players, particularly two full backs, a dominant centre half (Sakho?) and an equally commanding midfielder, but yesterday when the midfield needed those behind them to hold their shape and work as a unit and to COMMUNICATE, it didn't happen, once again.

 

[Spaghetti Legs]

I think Lucas has been in good form recently.

i must be alone in thinking this it seems.

You ain't alone.

 

[mark1975]

You ain't alone.

He has, I thought he played well yesterday, despite me taking the piss out of the stats. Henderson's doing the basics at the minute, covering ground but I still think he's looked a bit jaded in the last few games, like that knock has taken a bit out of him.

 

[Hansern]

I think Lucas looked more surprised then anyone else when he got into the Stoke penalty area.
He had that what the fuck to I do now look.

I'd like to try Gerrard with Allen and Hendo infront of him. That could be a decent midfield.
Thought Gerrard played well yesterday bar to many Hollywood balls. The midfield wasnt that much of a worry. Our full backs got murdered and Stoke attempted a record breaking 56 crosses

 

[hmmmmm1]

Always feel with Gerrard he is looking at spraying a 30 yarder rather than playing the simple pass.

So will be intresting to see if he can adapt to the new position by keeping things simple most of the time and throwing in the long range passes some of the time.

No doubt he has the talent and technical ability, just wonder if he has the discipline/patience.......

 

[doctor_mac]

He has, I thought he played well yesterday, despite me taking the piss out of the stats. Henderson's doing the basics at the minute, covering ground but I still think he's looked a bit jaded in the last few games, like that knock has taken a bit out of him.

Yeah, Hendo wasn't his normal effervescent self despite covering acres against Stoke.

 

[Rafiagra]

The beauty of having Gerrard in he deeper lying midfield position is that he has the strength and power that Lucas nor any of our other midfielders have.

Lucas is pretty weak and slow but reads the game well.

This whole 'quarterback' analogy for Gerrard doesn't help because it portrays his position as pulling all the strings and making things happen. However, that is at odds with creating a team ethos / unit, and the midfield v Spurs embodied how well that can work.

The deep lying midfielder role is ultra specialised and requires a helluva lot of discipline. I'm not sure Gerrard at 33 is ripe for that.

I'd rather see Gerrard interchanging with Henderson as the advanced midfielder getting in and around the box.

 

[keniget]

Sad as I am to say it, I think Gerrard and the team would be best served by him being rotated and coming on as an impact player.

Which means we need to buy someone.

 

[Dreambeliever]

I watched it in perfect HD on something close to a 120" screen - and I thought Gerrard was questionable as the DM.

🙂

beats my 60 inch HD tv in my house. I must get in for the Villa game or are you closed?

 

[StevieM]

beats my 60 inch HD tv in my house. I must get in for the Villa game or are you closed?

Nope - we'll be open.

 

[Mamma Mia]

We all saw Gerrard play some ambitious passes that didn't come off, but it seems to obvious to me that he was playing to instructions.

If Mr Rodgers wanted a DM to keep things ticking with simple passes he would have just left Lucas there. His post match comments suggest that he was happy with the way Stevie played the role and he specifically spoke of the way Gerrards passing range allows us to switch the play quickly and find spaces.

We're moving away from attempting pure possession football and I reckon we will be seeing a fair many more 'hollywood' balls in the coming weeks from the captain, with the blessing of the manager.