"Can you imagine the reaction inside Anfield with 30 minutes of a tight game remaining and [Gerrard] getting stripped for action?" he wrote in his Daily Mail column. "With space to exploit and energy to change the game, he could be a lethal weapon..." I don't think Carragher realised how right he would be....
That really is a load of bollox. There's maybe a point in there somewhere that we could argue but the author never manages to actually make it.
His argument appears to consist of: Gerrard is better because he played for a worse club that Giggs, Lampard and Scholes Gerrard is better because he has played more games this season than Giggs and Lampard in the season when they turned 35 He conveniently ignores the fact that when Scholes was the same age as Gerrard he was first choice CM for a side that won back to back PLs and came closer than any other to winning back to back CLs. And that Giggs was our PL winning CM in 2011, aged 37. Like you say luv, it's a pretty pathetic effort from a bloke who starts his argument telling people to put aside tribalism, and then is about as tribal and blinkered as can be
He conveniently ignores the fact both Scholes and Giggs where still wanted by the league champions at much older ages than Gerrard. Both had periods at 35+ when they where regularly getting in the team. Especially Scholes who at 37 was a key player. A player who made the whole team tic. Gerrard on the other hand is surplus to requirements at a far weaker team, and will only get the odd bit of game time to say his goodbyes to the fans. I remember the Liverpool supporters trying to claim Gerrard could play a Scholes/Pirlo role for them in his ageing years, and now they are all delighted he won't be available for 3 games As I told them at the time, Gerrard is and always has been a box to box midfielder. He's never possessed the technical talent of a Scholes or a Pirlo. Now his legs have gone, this is being proven as he has little skill to call upon
He is technically ordinary. Gave the ball away time and time again under Sven. England should have played Hargreaves and Scholes as midfield pair not Lampard and Gerrard. With Beckham wide and Cole on other. And maybe brought Lamps on to knick a late goal or Gerrard to change tempo. Or maybe a 433 with Hargreaves holding and Scholes and Lamps/Gerrard
In 2006 I'd have played Hargreaves and Scholes in CM with Gerrard on the right wing, Cole on the left. Gerrard had just spent the whole season there for Liverpool after being displaced by Alonso and Garcia in Liverpool's CM, so no idea why Sven thought he should play CM for England. Lampard ahead of Scholes and Hargreaves, with Rooney up front, or replace Lampard with Owen / Crouch and Rooney drops back to no. 10 We probably wouldn't have won the WC, but would at least have stood a chance.
Agree, but they would never had dropped Beckham to play Gerrard on right. Lampard would have been best played a sub to get a late deflected goal when Scholes tired. The team should have been based around Scholes not Becks, Lamps, gerrard, but he was born ginger
They're Henry's favourite memories too. In both incidents you can see him looking at Gerrard on the ball and thinking "he's going to try a backpass, goal for me". And I do love the own goal at #6 - free header in his own box and he plants it right in the top corner. Bet he wouldn't have managed that in the same situation at the other end!
You would have thought that after a couple of those back passes had gone horribly wrong, his manager(s) would have taken him aside and advised him to stick the ball in the stands the next time any thoughts of attempting a back pass entered his tiny scouse brain.
The own goal he scored was actually in a league cup final, not an FA cup final, but otherwise....good video
