Offering Steven Gerrard a new contract will take you guys backwards IMO he's not rubbish by any means but Is no where near where he was you need someone with his old pace In there and use him as a squad player... BR doing a great PR Job of licking his arse but tbh his career Is In decline now and would not be good enough to get Into the LFC team of 5-6 yr ago on this seasons form. Before you guys all turn the guns on me It's the same case with Dai Moyes bum chum Phil Neville(Not same league as Gerrard I know) he should not have turned out for us this season at all only Interested In passing sideways or backwards...He should be shot In front of the public outside finch farm lol You have Improved going forward under David Brent though but defensively poor at the mo...
Steven Gerrard has been world class since Lucas returned to the team. He plays differently now but has adapted brilliantly. His passing and off the ball movement is spot on. What he does in the team now is more subtle but very important and makes things happen. He is also a great leader and organizer in what is a very young squad. The young players need some one like Gerrard around. We have improve in attack and at keeping possession to. We also defend better from the front. But our defending over all has slipped a bit yes. The players are more composed in the final third. Players like Downing have really improved as footballers and over come major confidence issues, which suggests Rodgers is a very good motivator and mentor.
Fair point JK. Rodgers does deserve praise for managing to get something out of Downing - Sturridge and Coutinho are good buys and Henderson has stepped up. Just Allen he needs to get firing now!
Another point worth mentioning about Rodgers is the way he manages players fitness. To avoid players regularly missing games he gives each player individual training times to keep them fit and fresh. In the summer Rodgers was told that Gerrard and Johnson could only play one game per week. To avoid this they do less training and now play every game with out trouble. This is probably how the younger players cope so well to. in recent years our fitness levels have been quite poor. Gerrard, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel and Kelly all having fitness struggles.
It's great to see we actually stay focused the entire 90 mins of a game now and don't drop off with 30 mins to go. BR is only 40 so that's pretty young for a top tier manager. He seems to know what he's doing and what he expects from our team. I was unsure about him at first due to inconsistency (which we still have trouble with) during the first few games of the season but yeah he's growing on me.
Sorry, but that's absolute rubbish. In terms of goals and assists, he's having his best season in years as well as having played every minute of every PL game and even when he's not scoring or creating goals, his range of passing is right up there with the best. The only thing he doesn't do any more which he was known for was covering every inch of the pitch, but he's adapted to conserve energy alot more, whilst still getting into the box to score. You need to actually watch him play. Easily one of the best midfielders in the PL this season, although I accept he hasn't got many years left in him, two max, but certainly next season. I doubt his new contract would be much of a basic pay increase but perhaps more contribution based - like what we're trying to move towards. Agree with that.
so much has changed in the last 3 years comparing one year to the next is impossible If Rodgers had taken over the side Roy did we would have bounced right back into the top4 With Kenny in the middle and his buys (who should have been given another season along with Kenny) not necessarily fitting how Rodgers wants us to play as well as pressure to reduce wages then it's a whole new animal for a manager to contend with. I'm happy and like where we're headed. You can't just say same league position and one less trophy = worse. Well, you can say it but I think it's rubbish as the circumstances are so different.
Gerrard had a very slow start to the season IMO but his good form has coincided with the teams improvement in general come January (when Sturridge and Coutinho both arrived). I would go as far as saying that Henderson is crucial in our midfield and he should be starting. As Spearing said, Gerrard can't cover as much ground as before and he is easily beaten, and Lucas is still looking unfit therefore we need a dynamic workhorse in the middle. Henderson has provided balance to the team. My only concern is that even with a change of personnel in our defence, I expect us to still concede a lot of goals. The tactics just don't seem to be right and it leaves us incredibly exposed. I shared this concern before Lucas was back and didn't expect his return to solve our problem fully although it has helped. Edit: We need 4 points from the last 7 games to equal last seasons points tally. I'm pretty confident that we will achieve this and then some.
