Would be more reassuring if he didn't back off and immediately concede the midfield. I'm not bashing Gerrard, he still has a lot to offer, but he's not defensively minded and I don't you can just put him there and tell him to get on with it, he needs a more capable defensive midfielder with him. Juventus get away with playing Pirlo because he has monsters like Vidal and Pogba to do the running for him. Hendo and Allen/Coutinho isn't enough.
About Bony I just don't know, we play with pace which is something he doesn't have. Yeah, he gives us arial strength which we obviously lack, but we don't play that way anyway. If we were to get him I think we would resort to the diamond formation and have him and Sturridge upfront, the 'BS' partnership. I just feel we would either play our usual game and it would pass him by or we would play to his strengths which stop ours, which ultimately happened with Carroll, we tried playing our game and he did nothing, then just lumped the ball upfront for him with no real intent which just didn't work.
Gerrard is fine in games where we are going to dominate and don't need a designated defensive midfielder. In those games where we play teams with midfield runners and who like to attack through the centre of the pitch, we need someone who is going to help win the ball and sheidl the back 4. Gerrard never was and never will be that player though.
Sorry Greez but i hate this type of thinking. When a player says he signed for a club because he want`s to play Champions League it is not based on one good season. I know this will come over as a wum to most of you because i am a Red Manc but it`s not, i have had this opinion for years. If |Norwich have an amazing season next year and end up third do you really think it will make a difference to the standard of player they can attract? this is a players way out of a club, not into a new club. Most, if not all players sign purely for money. When they join United or Liverpool it is because of the history and world status of the club "it is a dream come true to play for a club like ths", when they sign for City or Chelsea it is to be part of the "project" that they believe in (for Barca and Real see United /Liverpool). I could name many teams in many leagues where these statements/sentiments hold true but it would take too long. The one club that seems to be outside this at the moment is Arsenal but i don`t really know what kind of wage they offer.
Gerrard's legs have gone and the longer you, he and your manager continue to ignore this simple fact, then the better from my viewpoint and the reset of the PL
It' hard because some players will. Some players Norwich couldn't get now would go to them if they were in the CL knowing if they didn't get it again next year and that player had performed well enough, they'd get a move to another team at a CL level and a pay rise etc. Players aren't the smartest bunch, we all know that. We all know, had say Everton got ahead of Arsenal last year and got into the CL, a player that wanted regular CL football would still be more likely to get it going to Arsenal than he would Everton, but players are short sighted in most cases. They take the quick win and then angle for a move if things don't go well the following year etc. CL football is a huge draw, obviously if you're in every year you have more chance of signing a player than a team that has got in once in 5 years (maybe why Sanchez went for Arsenal over us, along with a couple of other reasons) but even just 1 season allows you to attract a different type of player.
Didn't you say that at the start of last season when statistically he had the best season in terms of goals and assists in years and we had the best season we've had in 6/7 years where he was the focul point of our midfield? Same could well be said about Barry... who you're planning on doing the same thing with.
Bit unfair really, at the time you had nobody who could pick Carrol out (unless you think Downing was that man) and nobody to collect the ball if you did. Now you have players like Sterling and Coutinoh to find this type of player and the same two plus Sturridge to feed off him.
On the same subject, Lambert is a much better player than Bony, his control is superb and his link-up play is top class as is his finishing. He is a very underated player simply because he is good in the air (seen by many as a battering ram), he is a very good footballer who i think may pleasently surprise you if you haven`t watched him much.
Nobody could pick him out because he was usually still in our half by the time we got into a crossing position!
