I passed my opinion in post #56 When I responded with that link, I hadn't read back. I merely pointed out that ZZ had spoken about Gerrard, something bonnet had claimed to have never happened.
Actually no, bonnet said "Have we ever heard ZZ, Xavi etc etc say that Gerrard was difficult tp play against, or they wish could have played alongside him?" Never heard either of them say anything like that, probably because Gerrard would be the absolute nightmare CM partner for players like that! Off he goes again storming forwards, leaving Zizou and Xavi to cover for him whilst he passes it back to the opposition... I think the Scholes comparison comes from the fact that Scholes actually did spend the last seven years of his career, after Carrick arrived, playing very successfully in a deep lying role, winning the CL and multiple PLs, and continuing to influence games and drive the team forwards. Gerrard just hasn't managed the adjustment to the same degree because, as UIR said, he lacks the discipline and positional awareness to play such a defined role.
I wouldn't have StevieMe in my team (even now in these dire times). He is the symbol of failure, of decline, of letting trophies slip when they are within grasp. Too many negative reminders. He is just a poor man's half of Scholesy (and I mean the scholesy of the last few years)
Didn't Scholes always have a defensive minded player alongside him too though? He was never the defensive one himself. Not really fair to compare with Gerrard when Stevie is expected to do the "Mascherano" role whereas Scholes played the "Alonso" role. People seem to forget that Gerrard played as a CM in a 442/4411 under Houllier and basically dragged us through mud to get us in the CL!
