The idea that Steven Gerrard doesn’t fit a ‘system’ is fucking ridiculous. In fact, this idea of Rodgers of introducing a revolutionary new ‘system’ is even more ridiculous. I am no Rodgers doubter, but the way people talk about him establishing this hitherto unseen high-pressing possession based philosophy is cringeworthy. It isn’t particularly new to the PL or even to Liverpool for that matter. We practiced a half-decent version of it under Benitez, and we shouldn’t assume that our players are so alien or ill-fitted to practice it, least of all one of the finest players of the PL era. This is Steven fucking Gerrard we’re talking about. His powers might be on the wane, but he’s always been good enough to play any ‘system.’
The problem, along with his waning powers, isn’t the system but the position he’s asked to play. He’s never been effective in a deeper position he’s been asked to play so far, and this is a problem Rodgers needs to identify and rectify immediately. I made a post last week where I said the first thing Rodgers needs to fix is the rigidity of the 4-3-3 he’s played so far (i.e. converting it into the more familiar 4-2-3-1 while going forward. Rodgers might have this notion of front six of 3-3 – two banks of three players which equal ability and on the same wavelength to attack as a unit and win back possession from the front – presumably what Barca do, maybe someone can confirm – but the fact of the matter is we don’t have the personnel for that currently, so he needs to improvise and stick to what the squad is far more familiar with). And to Rodgers’ credit, he did exactly that this weekend, except he got the personnel wrong. Gerrard should have been playing the AM role with Shelvey deeper rather than the other way around.
The reason really is very simple. Gerrard is a pretty ordinary central midfielder, and always has been. Central midfield is about sitting in the middle of the park, and rotating and recycling possession efficiently and endlessly. It’s about creating a fulcrum in the centre of the park, and making the sure the front 4, and the two-full backs can push forward together, maintaining shape. It’s not about moving the ball forward, it’s about moving your teammates forward. Xabi Alonso was a master at it, and Joe Allen is proving himself impeccable at it. Gerrard is largely rubbish at it. His instinct is moving the ball forward, not the team. That’s a quality you need in the final third, NOT in the centre of the park. Just watch a highlight reel of Gerrard’s performance against Sunderland – look at the number of times he receives the ball in the centre of the park, dawdles on it, waits for movement from the final, and attempts to play an incisive pass. That isn’t how you fucking play in central midfield. You never dawdle on the ball in the middle of the park – you lay it off, you find space nearby, you recycle possession quickly, and you make sure your front 4, and full-backs are ready to move forward. Gerrard playing central midfield is like a point guard who knows to run the fast-break but is completely clueless in a half-court set-up.
But that’s not his fault – he’s never been a CM. That’s not his skillset, he’s never developed it, Unfortunately, whenever he’s played at CM, he’s been lauded by the media or completely moronic pundits about how fantastic his passing ability is, or how he grabs the game by the scruff of the neck while playing central midfield. It started off as a desire to paint him as Liverpool’s response to Keane/Vieira, and then later as England’s midfield general. Fact of the matter is, he turned out to be a completely different player from both Keane and Vieira, and both Houllier and Benitez always preferred two of Didi, McAllister, Spud, Alonso as their midfield two, and Gerrard as their third. And rightfully so. He was the best damn third midfield of this generation. Better than Lampard, and better than Ballack, who were his contenders for the title then.
And IMO, he can still play that role, and play it well. It isn’t a role that requires legs, or running power, or aggression etc. Those qualities made Gerrard stand out in that role. But it isn’t what made him successful in the first place. In the midst of all those fantastic qualities, people forget how technically gifted Gerrard is. He isn’t just a wonderful athlete, but a wonderfully skilled footballer as well. 150 goals – that’s what he’s scored for us, and there’s this video on Youtube which shows all the goals he’s scored in his career. Here it is, in fact:
There’s stuff in there that the likes of Ronaldinho would’ve been proud of. I did a post a long time back about identifying the best attacking players of this generation using stats – goals and assists. 100 goals, 50 assists, and at least one 20 goal, 15 assist season. Gerrard was one of the few in that list alongside Henry, Ronaldhinho, Messi, Ronaldo. That’s a bloody rare distinction, and you don’t rank there by being an athlete alone. You get there having attacking ability in spades.
And that’s the ability he’s not lost, or is unlikely to lose ever. And it’s why he should always play in the final third. He’s an attacking midfielder, one of the best of this generation. And yeah, he’s no longer the athlete he once was, but he’s still the best attacking midfielder at the club, and that’s where he should play unless we're replacing him with someone considerably better.
