http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...ive_gerra.html
Time for Benítez to give Gerrard a wide berth
The root cause of Liverpool's poor form isn't Rafa Benítez's tinkering; it's playing Steven Gerrard in central midfield.
Scott Murray
October 11, 2007 12:04 PM
The received wisdom regarding Liverpool Football Club's current malaise, in a nutshell, for you, now, right here on Guardian Unlimited: Rafael Benítez simply can't stop tinkering with that team!
So there you have it. Pithy and precise, and everyone's saying it. Problem is, like so many handed-down truisms - eating up your crusts puts hair on your chest, carrots make you see better at night, whipping it out just before showtime is a foolproof method of contraception - it doesn't actually have that much basis in fact. Here's a different suggestion: rotation isn't Liverpool's problem at all. In fact, almost the opposite is the case, because the root cause of their patchy form is Benítez's dogged persistence with playing one particular player in one particular position all the time.
Steven Gerrard should not, under any circumstances, be playing in central midfield.
To clarify, Gerrard is a fine player. His strengths are manifold: goalscoring ability, pace, power, desire, determination, beginning, to, sound, like, Hansen, on, autopilot, now. But tactical discipline? An ability to dictate the play? An eye for the clever pass - and that means consistently, not just the occasional delivery to feet of a Hollywood ball? No. Nope. Yes - but no. In other words, for all Gerrard's world-class talent, he's simply not a player to place at the heart of a team.
When Manchester United built a side around a central midfielder, they did so around the ultra-dependable Roy Keane. A talented right-sided midfielder harboured ambitions to play there too, but was told by Sir Alex Ferguson in no uncertain terms to stay out of harm's way on the right, where his many talents would be utilised as and when - but never, ever depended upon to keep the team ticking over.
David Beckham's high-water mark of achievement - the seasons between 1998 and 2001 - were spent out on the wing. Yet amazingly, his signature performance is considered by many to be his 13,447km rampage around the middle of Old Trafford in an England shirt against Greece. Nice free-kick and all, but the main reason that dramatic last-minute intervention was required was because the scoring hero spent the majority of the match haring hither and yon in spectacularly undisciplined fashion, gaps appearing all over the pitch as team-mates attempted to cover. So he really wanted to play there? Tough. A decision from which Ferguson never wavered - and who, given Beckham's post-United meanderings, would argue with that assessment now?
It's an instructive comparison. Gerrard's appearance in the centre of Liverpool's midfield has had an undeniably unbalancing effect. Consider the club's recent run of form. Against Sunderland, Toulouse and Derby, without Gerrard in the team and two central midfielders in the centre of midfield, Liverpool scored 12 goals in three games. The 203 minutes after Gerrard's return to the middle? Three matches, one goal, no wins. So Sunderland, Toulouse and Derby aren't any great shakes? Well, neither are Portsmouth, Porto or Birmingham, teams Liverpool failed to put to the sword (unlike Reading, who were tonked for four, with guess who on the bench). Marseille and Tottenham are better sides - barely better, but better none the less - and look what happened there. Gerrard flailing helplessly, 40-yard passes sailing serenely into the dark of the stands, 11 men without drive.
If Beckham's signature performance snaps everything into focus, so does Gerrard's. With the player in the middle, Liverpool were stripped naked during that first half in Istanbul; it was only when Didi Hamann came on to wrest control of the midfield, and Gerrard was shunted into a less responsible role, that he had the astounding effect we know he can.
In fairness, Gerrard can show tactical discipline - once Liverpool drew level against Milan, he wasn't half bad for the last hour at right-back against Serginho - but then again he wasn't being afforded the responsibility of dictating the entire game. To be a top-level central midfielder at a major club, it's got to be the whole package at once, or nothing.
Liverpool have a perfectly serviceable central midfield partnership in Javier Mascherano, who scarcely has a peer in world football when it comes to harrying and tackling, and Xabi Alonso, who when even woefully out-of-form as he is, shames Gerrard with his range of passing. This isn't to say Gerrard doesn't have a vital role to play for his side: out right, or perhaps just behind the front man, positions from where he has posed - and can continue to pose - immeasurable danger. Just not in the centre. So he really, really, really wants to play there? Tough.
Gerrard has always argued his best - and most desired - position is in the middle. It's impossible to know what behind-the-scenes promises have been made to keep him happy at Liverpool - though if any deals have been brokered to ensure his continued presence at the club, they shouldn't have been. Benítez needs to give over his centre midfield to players who have the ability to dictate, prompt, playmake and pass. Being an incredibly talented and driven attacking midfielder doesn't necessarily mean a player can do this. Gerrard should be happy enough to play for - and captain - the club he supported as a boy on the right, or off the front man, or... well, wherever, really. Just so long as he's well away from the heat of the engine room.
But if that doesn't make him happy, Liverpool should consider what to many might seem unthinkable: they should cash in, and get rid.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...ive_gerra.html
Time for Benítez to give Gerrard a wide berth
The root cause of Liverpool's poor form isn't Rafa Benítez's tinkering; it's playing Steven Gerrard in central midfield.
Scott Murray
October 11, 2007 12:04 PM
The received wisdom regarding Liverpool Football Club's current malaise, in a nutshell, for you, now, right here on Guardian Unlimited: Rafael Benítez simply can't stop tinkering with that team!
So there you have it. Pithy and precise, and everyone's saying it. Problem is, like so many handed-down truisms - eating up your crusts puts hair on your chest, carrots make you see better at night, whipping it out just before showtime is a foolproof method of contraception - it doesn't actually have that much basis in fact. Here's a different suggestion: rotation isn't Liverpool's problem at all. In fact, almost the opposite is the case, because the root cause of their patchy form is Benítez's dogged persistence with playing one particular player in one particular position all the time.
Steven Gerrard should not, under any circumstances, be playing in central midfield.
To clarify, Gerrard is a fine player. His strengths are manifold: goalscoring ability, pace, power, desire, determination, beginning, to, sound, like, Hansen, on, autopilot, now. But tactical discipline? An ability to dictate the play? An eye for the clever pass - and that means consistently, not just the occasional delivery to feet of a Hollywood ball? No. Nope. Yes - but no. In other words, for all Gerrard's world-class talent, he's simply not a player to place at the heart of a team.
When Manchester United built a side around a central midfielder, they did so around the ultra-dependable Roy Keane. A talented right-sided midfielder harboured ambitions to play there too, but was told by Sir Alex Ferguson in no uncertain terms to stay out of harm's way on the right, where his many talents would be utilised as and when - but never, ever depended upon to keep the team ticking over.
David Beckham's high-water mark of achievement - the seasons between 1998 and 2001 - were spent out on the wing. Yet amazingly, his signature performance is considered by many to be his 13,447km rampage around the middle of Old Trafford in an England shirt against Greece. Nice free-kick and all, but the main reason that dramatic last-minute intervention was required was because the scoring hero spent the majority of the match haring hither and yon in spectacularly undisciplined fashion, gaps appearing all over the pitch as team-mates attempted to cover. So he really wanted to play there? Tough. A decision from which Ferguson never wavered - and who, given Beckham's post-United meanderings, would argue with that assessment now?
It's an instructive comparison. Gerrard's appearance in the centre of Liverpool's midfield has had an undeniably unbalancing effect. Consider the club's recent run of form. Against Sunderland, Toulouse and Derby, without Gerrard in the team and two central midfielders in the centre of midfield, Liverpool scored 12 goals in three games. The 203 minutes after Gerrard's return to the middle? Three matches, one goal, no wins. So Sunderland, Toulouse and Derby aren't any great shakes? Well, neither are Portsmouth, Porto or Birmingham, teams Liverpool failed to put to the sword (unlike Reading, who were tonked for four, with guess who on the bench). Marseille and Tottenham are better sides - barely better, but better none the less - and look what happened there. Gerrard flailing helplessly, 40-yard passes sailing serenely into the dark of the stands, 11 men without drive.
If Beckham's signature performance snaps everything into focus, so does Gerrard's. With the player in the middle, Liverpool were stripped naked during that first half in Istanbul; it was only when Didi Hamann came on to wrest control of the midfield, and Gerrard was shunted into a less responsible role, that he had the astounding effect we know he can.
In fairness, Gerrard can show tactical discipline - once Liverpool drew level against Milan, he wasn't half bad for the last hour at right-back against Serginho - but then again he wasn't being afforded the responsibility of dictating the entire game. To be a top-level central midfielder at a major club, it's got to be the whole package at once, or nothing.
Liverpool have a perfectly serviceable central midfield partnership in Javier Mascherano, who scarcely has a peer in world football when it comes to harrying and tackling, and Xabi Alonso, who when even woefully out-of-form as he is, shames Gerrard with his range of passing. This isn't to say Gerrard doesn't have a vital role to play for his side: out right, or perhaps just behind the front man, positions from where he has posed - and can continue to pose - immeasurable danger. Just not in the centre. So he really, really, really wants to play there? Tough.
Gerrard has always argued his best - and most desired - position is in the middle. It's impossible to know what behind-the-scenes promises have been made to keep him happy at Liverpool - though if any deals have been brokered to ensure his continued presence at the club, they shouldn't have been. Benítez needs to give over his centre midfield to players who have the ability to dictate, prompt, playmake and pass. Being an incredibly talented and driven attacking midfielder doesn't necessarily mean a player can do this. Gerrard should be happy enough to play for - and captain - the club he supported as a boy on the right, or off the front man, or... well, wherever, really. Just so long as he's well away from the heat of the engine room.
But if that doesn't make him happy, Liverpool should consider what to many might seem unthinkable: they should cash in, and get rid.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/20...ive_gerra.html
Bring Back Pako
Oh dear
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