Stevie G

[Red Astaire]

I think it was a noble idea of Rodgers to try it - it's a more imaginative and progressive idea than using a conventional DM there - but I just don't think it works when the opposing team targets it as a problem. The odd exceptional player, most notably Pirlo, of course, can collect and release the ball so quickly and precisely that even most man markers will struggle to blunt his effectiveness, but even he has been shut out of certain games because the position is so obviously limited in terms of location on the pitch (the mancs, for example, used Park Ji-Sung to stifle him through sheer persistence). It doesn't help that Gerrard remains a player with such an excitable football brain he can't help but also get dragged away into other areas, not actively but reactively, so he's essentially adding to his own incoherence.

An excellent post. And absolutely spot on.

 

[#roadred]

I'm one of those madmen who wish to see him further forward and whilst agreeing that his days of blowing away opposition midfields, bombing runs into their penalty area and 40 meter strikes are few and far between now, he still knows enough to pick a pass or organise attack which he could do more effectively from the middle third of the pitch, let Hederson, Allen, Manquillo, Can And Sterling do the running and ball winning. Stevies expertise has always been in attack not defence. I think BR got lucky when moving Stevie back because we had found Suarez so Stevies attacking flair wasn't missed so much, but now we have lost both the attacking Gerrard and Suarez and we are not scoring. The hollywood balls, whilst brilliant are quite often too easily read nowadays and most defences are well organised by the time they land. He is been asked to defend against & cover the runs of AM's, Wingers & Strikers who are normally the fastest players on the pitch which he can't do with his pace alone and he is getting shit for it which isn't fair. Even though the team and the club has to come first, it is not good to see him spending his last or second last season getting shit from the press because he is not a DM.

 

[peterhague]

Gerrard might well be able to make a good contribution as an AM, but that isn't the question. The question is, could he do it better than Sterling, or Lallana? Or Coutinho once he wakes up? Or Markovic once he settles?

That is the tough question that needs to be considered: is the team better for him being in it?

I'm not saying it isn't. My concern is more that I'm not sure it's one BR is even asking himself.

 

[6TimesaRed]

Past it.