Bollocks MITO! Gerrard does far more than "just run forward" and you know it. As for Alonso, I think you'll find that he was greatly appreciated by the majority of us. As for Scholes, he was respected for nearly everything apart from his constant fouling under the banner "Scholes can't tackle". If you want Carroll to act as a target man, hold the ball up and lay it off to a colleague then you have to allow him time to make the ground again. It is the job of the winger to delay the cross until that position is achieved. Carroll may not be the fastest over the ground but he's at least as quick as any other player being asked to play as a target man. Blame Downing if you must blame anybody.
Why blame anybody...? IMO, Downing has not been as good as he could have been but I don't think constant accusations that his crossing is poor is fair. I am not standing up for Downing, nor am I pointing the finger at Carroll. As I said above, it takes two to make an assist. IMO, the team ethics need tweaking and hopefully, whether it includes Downign and/or Carroll or not, Brendon will be able to sort this out
Our players were playing that way for 3 years before BR came in. He can take credit for adding Vorm, Sinclair, Siggurdsson and Graham as they were his only additions (decent additions for us though!). Every other player was playing tika-taka under Sousa and Martinez, before he came. It will be interesting to see how he goes as I can't see the change in style coming immediately. It's more likely to be some sort of 'hybrid' to suit your current squad.
Actually I think it could be quicker than you think. This isn't a Chelsea squad made up of a bulk of players having played together, the same way for a decade being asked to try an alien style 5 years too late in their careers. The majority of the squad are young not even half way through their prime years, half the current team have not been together more than 2 years & the "difficult" aged players are in their last 1-2 years with possibly only one iconic enough to be a problem if they don't "fit" The rest BR can try to adapt to his specific vision of LFC (not barca or Swansea, they're different clubs with different agendas) if they can't hack it, well they're not his buys & the guys that bought them are no longer at the club. His style is heavily influenced by the Spanish experiment as has our youth & reserves so integration won't be that difficult. As has been discussed here. Are these players playing this style going to magically win the league? No, of course not, but it gives them a standard & philosophy to work to. We then have to trust as you have stated that BR can continue to spot talent successfully & bring it into the squad to replace & enhance over time. This is not a one year plan. It can't be & it won't be.
