With Gerrards replacement, you firstly have to decide which Gerrard it is you want to replace. Is it the Young Gerrard who ran with power and tackled anything that moved in front of him? Is it the later Gerrard who made box to box midfield play his own preserve? Or, is it what we hoped to see this season the mature player who sat behind 2 strikers who can play threaded killer balls, whip in crosses and has a lethal shot? All of them are very different.
In today's game the Young Gerrard would spend more time suspended than he did on the pitch. If it is the later Gerrard then Shelvey has shown some indications that he may develop in this way. If it is the mature Gerrard then I don't have a proposal.
Certainly the later Gerrard, and I do think Shelvey could be just as good as him. But will he get the opportunity to do that? I hope he does because since he's come in to the team he's bought something new and fresh, but will the demands next season force Shelvey to retire to the bench and not fulfill his potential while another midfielder be bought for the instant impact?