I think Gerrard definitely has a role to play in the team, a massive role, I just don't think it's in that one smack bang infront of the back 4. A lot of this season he's been involved in a lot of our goals with his hollywood balls and set pieces, but he's also been involved in far too many of the defensive slips and cockups.
It's like Johnson, first and foremost for a right back, you'd want him to be able to defend, and if he can attack too, that's a big bonus. For a player sitting smack bang infront of the back for, you'd want him to be able to help out with defending, and gerrard doesn't seem to be able to any more, and a lot of the time his cockups as heaping pressure on an already ropey back line, they need help, not extra shit to deal with.
I'd really like to see gerrard not have the responsibility of helping out the back four, but play a little further forward and boss the midfield and be our play maker, and then if the defence get in the shit, we've got a boss DM to help them out and cover them and put in last minute tackles.
If we had a fantastic, schooled back four, it probably wouldn't matter a shit where gerrard was. But they're an inconsistant bunch of wankers that all need babysitting.