With Gerrard out, Meireles has the perfect opportunity to show what he is made of in the middle of the park. Up until now he has invariably played either off the main striker or on the right hand side, and if Roy doesn’t inexplicably go with Poulsen and another midfielder in the centre against West Ham, then Meireles can finally get another go in his favoured position. Combative and with a good passing range, we need to see the £11.5million man at the top of his game if we are going to get through the next few weeks, without Gerrard, unscathed.
Although Joe Cole will be absent for the match against West Ham at the weekend, he is expected to be fit to play against Tottenham in ten days time. With Gerrard out, it could give Joe the opportunity to play in a more central position. Out of form previous to his injury, Cole has expressed on a number of occasions his desire to play more centrally to get involved in the play. To be fair to the former Chelsea man, he played reasonably well in the position behind the main striker against lesser opposition in the Europa League and in the Premier League he has so far not impressed playing on the left hand side.
Giving Meireles and Cole central roles in the absence of Gerrard could help spark both players into life, and it could mean that when our captain does return, he has two more players playing at the top of their game to help him push the Reds up the table. Gerrard’s injury may not be a blessing in disguise but it could just allow two of our underwhelming summer signings to make the impression they were expected to when they joined the club.
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With Lucas suspended and Stevie and Joe Cole out injured, our only options in the centre of midfield are Poulsen and Meireles. I doubt Hodgson will risk either Shelvey or Spearing so it’s quite likely that Poulsen will start alongside Meireles in the middle of the park. Poulsen has to up his game and his mindset has to be more offensive when we play West Ham at home. Maxi should continue on the right unless Hodgson is willing to push Johnson further up the field. Kuyt will play off Torres and on the left it will either be Jovanovich or Babel. We won’t have many options on the bench since three of our main men are out but I’d like to see Dani Pacheco given a chance, especially with Stevie and Joe Cole out.
meireles and cole are too similar to play together in the centre. spearing now injured. lucas suspended. this weekend got to be poulson and meireles. i’m hoping glen on the right of midfield, kelly behind him. maxi left, kuyt and nando up front.
now gerrard is out it’s a chance for cole to shine in the centre. also a chance that meireles and poulson can prove they are worthy of the shirt, which i hope they do.