Until Aquilani is fit

[Tee]

Gerrard made his name as a CM and is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best CM in world football.

To question his quality and contribution from that position, in comparison to Lucas (who Gerrard would replace in CM) is just barmy.

[Shaggy]

He's **** at it. Gerrard being in charge of our game is a hindrance to our team and to himself. Lucas-Masch may not be exceptional but it's better than Gerrard-Masch. It really is. When you consider you'll be doing it by breaking up our strike force as well, it's just out of the question for me.

JD is getting a lot of stick for this but surely people can see what he means? His short passing is extremely erratic and, while he has an eye for a through ball, generally isn’t to be trusted in the middle of the park. Surely people can see this? We have improved both when Gerrard was moved to the right and transformed into a 2nd striker. Capello sees it, Benitez sees it…

[red g]

There's a difference between being able to pass and being able to make the right decisions. Gerrard doesn't need that burden, he needs to rip the other side to shreds 30 yards up the pitch.

but he cant do it on his own.

He was awesome at centre mid for a few seasons, was he not?

he might not make all the right decisions, he may knock more hollywood balls than is neccessarily.....but he is quite simply 50 times better than lucas in that role

[red g]

JD is getting a lot of stick for this but surely people can see what he means? His short passing is extremely erratic and, while he has an eye for a through ball, generally isn’t to be trusted in the middle of the park. Surely people can see this? We have improved both when Gerrard was moved to the right and transformed into a 2nd striker. Capello sees it, Benitez sees it…

but he is still better than lucas in said role

[Baracus]

Gerrard doesn't know how to distribute the ball.

He does, its just it has to be spectacular hollywood pass.

[JohnDoe]

but the strikeforce wont get any service!!!

If he gets good service, which he won't with Masch and Lucas.

Fixing a problem by creating a bigger problem isn't fixing the ****ing problem.

[red g]

Fixing a problem by creating a bigger problem isn't fixing the ****ing problem.

no its papering over the cracks which were obvious yesterday/

its not the long term solution for sure

[Guest]

That was 2 years ago, when Gerrard was younger. Now he's older I think it's ripe for him to 'start' entertaining thoughts of moving back into CM as I think long term, it's where he'll end up.

Gerrard's best position is no doubt as a second striker, but we could see the difference yesterday as soon as he dropped back there. He made things happen, he can play long and change the order of play with one touch of the ball, not many players 'see' things as early as him, that's why he's probably the best in the world at that.

Our ideal team IMO, would be someone like Villa with Torres upfront and Gerrard in CM. Until Aquilani is fit, then play Benayoun with Torres, that would be a good option.

[cream]

JD is getting a lot of stick for this but surely people can see what he means? His short passing is extremely erratic and, while he has an eye for a through ball, generally isn’t to be trusted in the middle of the park. Surely people can see this? We have improved both when Gerrard was moved to the right and transformed into a 2nd striker. Capello sees it, Benitez sees it…

Yes we all know Gerrard is better further up the pitch but he can also do a job in CM when we are desperate (like now). We had one of the best strike partnerships in the world on the pitch but the midfield didn't want to or were incapable of passing to them. No-one is saying we should move Gerrard back permanantly, just while Aguilani is unavaible.

[dww]

Well I know where people are coming from but I totally disagree.

We are more of a threat when Gerrard is closer to Torres. When he dropped deep yesterday, trying to do everything as he usually does in that position, I thought we were much less threatening than we would’ve been had he been playing off Nando. Yes at the time we improved but that was more to do with Yossi’s presence IMO.

He’s so much less effective in the middle of the park. I agree with John Doe – the key is getting Yossi in the side, and keeping Gerrard in tandem with Torres. They are a class pairing and capable of destroying anyone – we’ve seen it time and time again and you do not discard that after one rubbish performance.

Mascherano was awful yesterday, first half in particular. I thought Lucas was very good but until Yossi allowed him an outlet he was forced to deep covering Mascherano and he isn't the sort of player to try long, low percentage balls to get the team moving. The main problem wasn't central midfield but until Yossi came on the lack of intelligent movement to give options for the midfielders on the ball.

[Parm]

Lucas was fine yesterday, give him time.

Just play Benayoun instead of Babel and we'll look much much better.

I would go with that, Babel looked a bit out of sorts to say the least, Benni does deserve a starting role as he gets a huge amount of urgency into the game.

[JohnDoe]

no its papering over the cracks which were obvious yesterday/

its not the long term solution for sure

The solution is playing Benayoun. It allows us to keep the shape of the team as it is and doesn't break our strike force while getting in someone with the composure to organize attacks and keep possession.

We might need to move the ball quicker upfield but we'll keep it far better than yesterday. People are underestimating just how terrible Gerrard and Babel were against Spurs. We had no outlets going forward. Babel lost the ball every time he got it and Gerrard's passing was shocking, which makes it even more baffling to me that people are crying for him to be put in charge of our game.

Benayoun would have made a massive difference had he started and he will make a massive difference if he starts against Stoke.

There is no reason to panic and shuffle the team now, and Rafa won't.

[DannyMan2006]

keeping Gerrard in tandem with Torres. They are a class pairing and capable of destroying anyone – we’ve seen it time and time again and you do not discard that after one rubbish performance.

Problem is Shaggy, you can have all the dynamite in the world but without a detonator it's of no use to man or beast. For that reason I would drop Gerrard back into CM.

Lucas is a good enough player, but too similar to Mascherano. It's unfortunate to say but between them they offer no creative spark or imagination. If they can't get Gerrard and torres on the ball in a situation where they will cause problems then what's the point?

Had we created chances yesterday I would not be jumping to conclusions, but all in all we created next to nothing, only looking dangerous when Spurs dropped right back and allowed us space.

[saj]

For those who keep saying that Gerrards best role is behind Torres, we know that. But we're in a mini crisis in terms of having that creative edge from midfield. Carragher was having to bypass the midfield and was knocking it long to the strikers because Masch and Lucas have no creativity. I'm only saying put Gerrard in midfield temporarily and Benni in the hole until Purple Aqui is fit. Benni is ****e on the left but good in the middle and we desperately need someone who can carry the ball forwards from midfield as we don't have many decent passers. Gerrard and Benni can help us domnate midfield in terms of ball retention, passing and creating chances.

[Guest]

The solution is playing Benayoun. It allows us to keep the shape of the team as it is and doesn't break our strike force while getting in someone with the composure to organize attacks and keep possession.

We might need to move the ball quicker upfield but we'll keep it far better than yesterday. People are underestimating just how terrible Gerrard and Babel were against Spurs. We had no outlets going forward. Babel lost the ball every time he got it and Gerrard's passing was shocking, which makes it even more baffling to me that people are crying for him to be put in charge of our game.

Benayoun would have made a massive difference had he started and he will make a massive difference if he starts against Stoke.

There is no reason to panic and shuffle the team now, and Rafa won't.

How was Gerrard's passing shocking mate? He was one of our best players - again - yesterday, trying to make things happen and taking responsibility, even though not everything he tried worked. It just irks me when people have a go at him because he's played a sub standard game. He's a leader and someone who won't shy upon his responsibilities to try and dig us out of a hole.

Obviously there's no reason to panic [oh the irony]; you should have looked back at your reactions in the match day thread last night.