Fair enough Bill - we'll have to agree to disagree because IMO, anyone who thinks Gerrard is still a good player needs their head testing. You assume that if we have '3 Joe Allen's', then we'll have 3 players who like to play it safe and risk free. Joe Allen is playing a simple game because he is sitting deep and protecting the defence, in a position which he isn't used to. If he was playing further forward, you will see a more attacking Joe Allen, one who will find more attacking passes and take more risks. He is adapting to what he is being asked to do. Henderson and Allen gave us a bit more stability but I would much rather than Suso playing in front of them in place of Gerrard. I know everyone will call me crazy - replacing the irreplaceable captain fantastic Steven Gerrard with an 18 year old Spanish kid. Suso has shown us that not only can he be tidy in possesion, he can also keep it, shield it, then drive towards the box, not afraid to shoot from long range and can pick out the clever passes. You may talk about Gerrard being the only one who plays the risky attacking balls, but stats show that Enrique has created more (or the same) number of clear cut chances as Gerrard despite playing less matches. I've had enough of the stat which says that Gerrard has created the most number of chances because most of his balls don't lead to proper chances on goal.
Billy, think we'll have to create a new midfield of you, me and Lucaaas with luv playing as a faux No. 9
Gerrard is and always be a legend. He is the most complete midfielder I have seen. Technically, very few can match him and even fewer can match his drive, his energy, his pace and his ability to win matches and turn up in the big games. But we've not seen the same Gerrard for 2-3 years now. People will say that injuries and old age have caught up with him. And I would say 'so what?' Do we allow him to keep playing at the expense of the team? Gerrard may be head and shoulders above everyone else but he does not fit into this team. As I've said before - we'll have to agree to disagree because no one is going to budge on this lol.
It would be very naive of me to say that Gerrard is the source of all evil, and everything that happened in 2012 is Gerrard's fault. But how does a team that was performing extremely well under Kenny in 2011 (without Mascherano and Alonso), playing brilliant football, scoring goals turn into a team that struggles to win at home and played terrible football in 2012? Fans will say that we played brilliant football under Kenny but only 2011 was decent. From 2012, it was terrible.
Jimmy, your last sentence says it all about this board. We can disagree without resulting to a slanging match - pity some of our visitors can't!
You're missing the point. This isn't an Allen vs Gerrard debate other than that in terms of yesterdays game Allen was so poor Gerrard and Henderson had twice as much work to do. Allen I can forgive a lot because he's playing in a position that doesn't suit him right now. You however won't afford Gerrard that same leeway. Ultimately it's the system that's wrong at the moment not the players. When you send out a team with 5 players out of their best positions something is seriously amiss. Suso as much as I like him would have brought bugger all to yesterdays game. He's another player who like Allen plays at his best with space and time to pick a pass. He wouldn't have got much of that yesterday. What we also lose then is any kind of knowledge, gamecraft and experience from the team (not something you can measure with stats). The things that you don't see when you watch games on tv. The organising, the talking, the movement that happens off the ball when the cameras aren't focused on that. Gerrard does those things and brings so much that many people just don't witness from game to game.
Fair point - but I think you're slightly harsh on Suso. Suso is an extremely classy player who is able to receive the ball in tight spaces, keep it, work a bit of room and then find a pass. He does it all with calm and compsure and makes it look so easy. This is a difficult skill, but one that the best players can do. Suso has impressed me everytime he has played behind the striker (even when he was taken off after 30 mins). In a game where we really struggled to keep the ball, we brought on Shelvey and Cole. Both impressed against Young Boys', but when we're up against a team that pressed as hard as Swansea, we needed players with quick feet and quick speed of mind which is why Suso would have been a better choice. Obviously, hindsight is a wonderful thing. But yeah - Gerrard has experience and we're definitely lacking that experience in attack. Personally, I think Gerrard should be employed in the front 3 or come on as an impact sub.
Furthermore to your point - Gerrard has played in a number of positions over the past 2-3 years it's the same old story, which is why I won't give him any leeway. We could play him deeper but I have doubts about his defensive capabilities but we could play him higher but I doubt his ability to play the killer balls, his long range shooting or keeping the ball.
Well you could look a lot further than the Lucas injury and Suarez getting a 9 game ban for that answer. Edit: add to that the fact we've played some lovely football this year...with Gerrard in the team. Granted results aren't flowing as with Kenny last year but we aren't playing badly. We should have beaten City, could have beaten Everton and Swansea but for bad offside decisions plus we've hit the woodwork more in one year than I can ever remember us doing in a decade. Also we all know the issues we have up front (and had last year). So explain to me again why Gerrard coming back into the team has resulted in all this.
People want the 24 year old Gerrard back but life's not like that is it. At one time Gerrard was head and shoulders above any other Prem midfielder of his type. He isn't anymore and maybe people still look at him as if he should be. Would I swap him for anyone else still? Not in our squad I wouldn't, not in a million years
Pretty sure you called me stupid, and effectively others, who have argued that Gerrard hasn't been playing well. Not your best moment mate
