Steven Gerrard

[Gibbo]

I still think he's the best we have in that defensive midfield position, although that doesn't say masses.

I actually think the change back to 4-3-3 has made it harder for Stevie, when we played the diamond the two midfielders next to him were a lot narrower, so he has Henderson and whoever else providing him a lot more support, now the midifeld is spread out a lot wider due to us pushing our wingers further forward and it leaves Gerrard more isolated, the mixture of this and teams sticking players right on him are making it harder for Stevie.

Personally I think the best course of action, if we can get a more functional defensive midfielder in would be to use him exactly how Barca are using Xavi now, bringing him on in his best position for half an hour or if needs be starting him there and taking him off in the later stages, I think this on the whole will see us get more from Stevie.

Also, I do think confidence will be low; the whole teams is and Gerrard will still has stuff like the slip on his mind. I'm fairly sure he will bounce back to some sort of form

[Norbs]

Mark my words, his defensive abilities will improve miraculously when he's doing it for himself. He's a maverick at both ends of the field

[Norbs]

I still think he's the best we have in that defensive midfield position, although that doesn't say masses.

I actually think the change back to 4-3-3 has made it harder for Stevie, when we played the diamond the two midfielders next to him were a lot narrower, so he has Henderson and whoever else providing him a lot more support, now the midifeld is spread out a lot wider due to us pushing our wingers further forward and it leaves Gerrard more isolated, the mixture of this and teams sticking players right on him are making it harder for Stevie.

Personally I think the best course of action, if we can get a more functional defensive midfielder in would be to use him exactly how Barca are using Xavi now, bringing him on in his best position for half an hour or if needs be starting him there and taking him off in the later stages, I think this on the whole will see us get more from Stevie.

Also, I do think confidence will be low; the whole teams is and Gerrard will still has stuff like the slip on his mind. I'm fairly sure he will bounce back to some sort of form

He's stagnating in his current role. Time won't heal this, especially being made to play the same role that he occupied when making that slip

[Gibbo]

He's stagnating in his current role. Time won't heal this, especially being made to play the same role that he occupied when making that slip

That's sort of what I meant with the whole Xavi thing

Bringing him on further forward will probably see us get a lot out of him - although I still think we need a DM in first, Gerrard offers more than Lucas.

[rodo]

it wasn`t supposed to end like this

[S-RED]

I have been banging the drum for him playing on the right/right back for the last 3 years; he would be great in that role, a much more suited role for a rolls Royce of a player with ageing legs

[G]

Our full backs are expected to be up and down the wing constantly throughout the 90 minutes. I really can't see how his ageing legs could cope. Like others, I've said it for a while if he isn't going to be played in an advanced position where his talents are unquestionable then he shouldn't play at all. I think he;d prefer to be there himself too, thats why he goes missing looking for sniffs of goal.

[vonk]

He might be getting bypassed by your Hazards, or other pacy players who play in the hole, but if you watch games after the fact, watch how many times he puts out fires. Ivanovic, at the weekend, skips by the hapless Lovren, then breaks another tackle and would be in on goal only for Gerrard covering. People need to closely watch how many times he is arriving in the box late to stop a shot.

I'm not saying he's the best defensive mid we can get, but I think Rodgers is playing him there because his legs don't allow him play further forward, and he feels that he needs Stevens ability to pass the ball in that area. Our centre halves have terrible distribution, and one of the key to our games is Gerrards ability to ping passes forward or switch the play. When we attack down one side and the ball gets filtered back into the middle to Gerrard, there is no-one better at spreading the ball wide to the opposing full back or whoever is available on the opposite wing. It's an effective tactic and for me it's the reason he's in the team. Take him out for Lucas, say, and you will be more solid defensively, but not as effective going forward.

[baitman]

He might be getting bypassed by your Hazards, or other pacy players who play in the hole, but if you watch games after the fact, watch how many times he puts out fires. Ivanovic, at the weekend, skips by the hapless Lovren, then breaks another tackle and would be in on goal only for Gerrard covering. People need to closely watch how many times he is arriving in the box late to stop a shot.

I'm not saying he's the best defensive mid we can get, but I think Rodgers is playing him there because his legs don't allow him play further forward, and he feels that he needs Stevens ability to pass the ball in that area. Our centre halves have terrible distribution, and one of the key to our games is Gerrards ability to ping passes forward or switch the play. When we attack down one side and the ball gets filtered back into the middle to Gerrard, there is no-one better at spreading the ball wide to the opposing full back or whoever is available on the opposite wing. It's an effective tactic and for me it's the reason he's in the team. Take him out for Lucas, say, and you will be more solid defensively, but not as effective going forward.

a good post, but a few points to reply to...
gerrard putting out the fires.
if a proper dm was playing he would be making the intercept in front of the defence, if the attacker got past then the CBs or FBs would be in for the intercept.

its a fair point about gerrards distribution but that isnt reason enough for him to compromise so many other aspects of the team. lovren can either play or carry the ball from the back too.

if we did swap lucas for gerrard then we would/should be more defensively solid. the knock on of this is we should also be better placed going forward on the counter as we can better soak up pressure without the ball and hit teams on the counter.

we were so good at the counter attack last year, now its gone to ****. our midfield wont be so busy defending, they will be more likely to be ready to go and stretch the opposition and create space for team mates and add some numbers to our attack.

[RichC]

The thing is Lucas is less mobile that Gerrard hence the number of yellows he picks up in and around the box and I don't see how he'd help with transition from defence to attack either he's a decent passer but no more than that and if you factor in the lack of form from any other midfielder he's not going to get us on the front foot quicker.

There is not an easy fix but this misnomer that Gerrard is the route of the issues is wrong IMO

[baitman]

The thing is Lucas is less mobile that Gerrard hence the number of yellows he picks up in and around the box and I don't see how he'd help with transition from defence to attack either he's a decent passer but no more than that and if you factor in the lack of form from any other midfielder he's not going to get us on the front foot quicker.

There is not an easy fix but this misnomer that Gerrard is the route of the issues is wrong IMO

im not saying lucas [who maybe isnt the 'big answer'] is going to ping the ball about a la gerrard but he will give some solidity and a challenge 'in front' of the CBs so then the CBs can then pick up the loose ball or intercept.

to play a player just because he can distribute a ball better, but who may also fail to help cover the CBs is too much of a luxury, and obviously one that we can no longer afford now we dont have suarez and sturridge banging in goals for fun.

its time to tighten up and maybe compromise. the days of our outstanding flair play are gone. we need to be solid at the back because we aint scoring 3-4 goals very often.

[RichC]

I think that's why he's playing one up top tbh but that's not working either!

We need to find a system to suit the players we've got and it's not obvious what that is or even who should be playing as there are few that deserve to in on merit at the moment

[alonso14]

The thing is Lucas is less mobile that Gerrard hence the number of yellows he picks up in and around the box and I don't see how he'd help with transition from defence to attack either he's a decent passer but no more than that and if you factor in the lack of form from any other midfielder he's not going to get us on the front foot quicker.

There is not an easy fix but this misnomer that Gerrard is the route of the issues is wrong IMO

a defensive midfielders first job is to defend not think about starting counter attacks when we get the ball back. Being pre occupied with attacking is what makes Steven Gerrard a bad choice for that role.

Lucas might not have gerrards pace but a dm doesn't need to be a speed merchant, he needs to be able to read the game a step ahead of everyone else. In an attacking sense Gerrard does that really well but defensively he's a step behind.

As for counter attacking makalele was one of the best we ever saw at that position and you wont find many 50 yard passes into strikers but simple 5 yard passes to the right player in the right areas. Very few assists but plenty of assist to the assist etc....

[RichC]

He's not a defensive midfielder, he's not being played as one and he never has been under Rodgers

[baitman]

He's not a defensive midfielder, he's not being played as one and he never has been under Rodgers

but you can keep saying this, and it might be right, but the issue is that we now need a DM.