With the injury to Raul Meireles against West Ham last weekend, this question might not be immediately relevant, but the big talking point for the future maybe how the Portuguese midfielder interacts with the Liverpool captain in the heart of the Reds midfield. At Upton Park on Sunday, despite having Lucas, Meireles and Gerrard in the middle of the park, West Ham, with Parker, Noble, O’Neil and Hiztlsperger managed to isolate our central players, close down the player in the possession with unerring regularity and control the midfield areas.
With the quality of our midfield three then, how was this possible? If we talk solely about Steven Gerrard to start off with then, it would be fair to say that he didn’t have the best of games against the Hammers on Sunday. Much of it was down to his lack of match fitness but when Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish picked to start the 30 year old for the match, the one thing he would have expected from the player was to command possession and control the pace of play. In the centre of the park, he went missing all too often during the match and his display contributed greatly to the team’s lack of control of the match.
Certainly he will improve as he increases in match sharpness but it has been suggested on a number of occasions that he is far better suited to playing off the strikers these days rather than in central midfield. Many have sighted his positional indiscipline as to why he was moved further up field under Rafa Benitez, and although he is an all action midfielder who can tackle as well as attack the opposition, he skills are best used in the final third where he can create opportunities with a defence splitting pass or fire in a long range shot. Gerrard is said to prefer playing in central midfield but against West Ham it was clear he was too deep to affect play. Especially when he doesn’t dictate the game with his passing range like Xabi Alonso used to do, it is hard to justify keeping Stevie in his favoured central midfield role.
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I’m actually more curious as to how Kenny will pick his team and which formation to use when Andy Carroll is fit. Surely the plan is for Carroll to form a deadly strike force with Suarez but at the same time you cannot possibly play with just Gerrard and Meireles in midfield with no defensive midfielder. Playing Gerrard or Meireles out wide would be a complete waste of their abilities so there are only two ways to accommodate Carroll and Suarez up front and a midfield trio of Gerrard, Meireles and Lucas: 5-3-2 or 4-3-3 although I can’t see the former as a long term strategy.
In 5-3-2, Kenny could simply put the midfield trio together in central midfield with Carroll and Suarez up front. In 4-3-3, Kenny can take away a centre back and play one more up front, either Cole or Kuyt.
Can’t really see either Suarez or Carroll being a sub and there’s no way Suarez will be forced to play out wide so those two formations are the only realistic options that would get the best out of the current players. Kenny could still stick with 4-4-2 and play either Meireles or Gerrard out of position but I don’t think that would happen.
gerrad had his time now its time for raul to show what his made of.
Suarez played out wide at Ajax in a 4 2 3 1 formation. So you could have Meireles and Lucas in the middle and Suarez, Gerrard and Kuyt behind the striker.
The logical progression for the team in order to win Premier League titles is to play with left and rightwingers especially with a big centreforward. Gerrard’s time at the club should be bought to an end in the summer. His legs are gone and he has not the intelligence to play central midfield. If any club could be lulled into paying 15 to 20 million for him, then Liverpool should bite their hand off and take the money. This lack of match fitness excuse does not hold water. He had his pals with him in the stand on Thursday night against Sparta, I would be confident that after the game he and they spent several hours clubbing. This would have been ideal preparation for a crucial Premiership game at 1.30 on the following Sunday against West Ham.
During hodgsons time gerrard was the only plyer who played good..MOst of the goals and assists was by gerrard..he got injured from international and was out for a month ,got suspended ,again got groin injured..He hardly played a match undre daglish with 100 percent fitness and sharpness…i too agree the indicipline attribute sometimes he shows in midfield..But remember afterall he is STEVEN GERRARD ..HE ill BE BACK just wait for a few games
it was not long before he completely dominated the bolton match with a crisp first time assist to torres..DONT be fools by judging players from one game..we are lfc supporters a couple of games and steve g will be back..FORM IS TEMPERORY BUT CLASS IS PERMANENT always remember
The whole point in having intelligent hard working players is so they can be versatile. I think when any team plays with a recognised defensive/holding midfielder it is easier for the opposition to control the midfield. With Meireles and Gerrard both capable of offensive and defensive play then it should not be a problem playing them both together. Although in a 4-1-3-2 formation this shouldn’t be an issue anyway, I expect to see Charlie Adam as the 1 in this formation.
Hmm.. Time in the summer to get rid of a few e.g Maxi, Ngog etc. Summer time, we need to buy 2 speedy wingers, a left back, a third striker(young) and a holding midfielder. I think, although I love kuyt, he doesn’t actually do much in he “striker” position at this club and as we would have wingers there is no point to him.. Sell him on.
To the pro comments about Gerrard on this site, he is getting these injuries because he is on the slide. Look at the screwup he made in the FA Cup at Old Trafford. The sacred cow adoration for the likes of Gerrard needs to stop if this club is to start winning Premier Leagues again. Gerrard needs to be got rid of in the summer and Charlie Adam bought in. Gerrard and Meireles as the central midfield would be as big a disaster as Gerrard and Lampard as the 2 man central midfield for England.
Unfortunately not all our fans bother to find out how our new players have played in the past. They seem to cobble together a formation of player on the back of a cigarette packet and then think that’s what we should go with.
Suarez played on the left side of the 3 in a 4-2-3-1 for Ajax, and I think this is the right way to go. I also think if we have the right players we can play 3-5-2 or other variations of that formation.
My main concerns with the formations above are where to play certain player in the tactical setup. Now its clear KK wants to play a high intensity forward pushing game like Barcelona. Kenny got it wrong against west ham but that maybe because he had very little choice because of player availability.
I have exhausted my ideas on these pages about Carragher and Gerrard, but for the benefit of discussion I will air them again. In my opinion Carra should only be used when we need him and should not be first choice. Carragher plays to deep because of his lack of pace which causes major problems for us often leaving large gaps between our defence and midfield, and his composure and passing have long since left him. This is compounded even more when Gerrard is playing in front of him in the centre midfield when they both play in the same team together. As I said many time before, Gerrard is tactically inept and his ball retention is very poor. He often goes missing from his position at the wrong times and that leaves us wide open because Carragher is always playing to deep.
I would prefer to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, and with the players we currently have I would play them in the following positions barring injuries and suspension.
DEFENCE
GK=REINA best goalkeeper in the country
RB=KELLY good prospect, definite future centre half, tactically aware, good pace.
CH=SKRYTL good no nonsense centre half.
CH=AGGER best ball playing defender in the country when fit.
LB=JOHNSON good attacking fullback, done well at leftback.
CM=LUCAS most tactically aware player we have, good passer with high completion.
CM=MEIRELES showing good quality, tactically better than Gerrard.
AML=SUAREZ better coming from wide left as he did for Ajax.
AMC=GERRARD better when he doesn’t have to think and just plays, instinctually brilliant.
AMR=MAXI or KUYT both reliable, Maxi better technically and retains ball better.
ST=CARROL can’t wait for him to play, perfect for this role.
Some bold decisions have to be made at the end of the season. One of them maybe, is it time that we let Gerrard go? I would sell him if we get a good offer. Carragher in turn should also be allowed to leave if he cannot accept the fact he will not be first choice. Joe Cole should also be sold along with a few others to free some up some funds for re-investment.
Hopefully KK will go and sign some top quality players for us this summer.
Agree with you most of the way but would try Johnson on right wing and bring in a good left back. With Wilson as cover. In extreme injury circunstances Johnson could act as third choice left back with Maxi or Kuyt kept as squad players to cover right wing.
Totally agree with yur comments on Lucas, too many people are blind to the lads talent and contribution to the cause.
I would also like to see Johnson on the right, but at right back with a top class centre half that has pace (maybe Kelly) alongside him. Johnson could then make those surges forward without having a limited CH (Carragher) alongside who can’t cover for him.
I have always thought the balance of the team is important, but at this moment Johnson is doing a good job at LB/WB. It’s a pity Aurelio can’t seem to stay fit because he is a good technically gifted player we know can play at LB. I’d rather Johnson than Konchesky everyday of the week though.
The side below is the team I would like to see, and with only two more big signings. It might be difficult to persuade Aquilani, but it’s worth a try. This team would be well balanced and would also be technically and tactically proficient with a lot of intelligence. In the forward positions they would be able to interchange with each other which would be a great attacking threat.
Most importantly there would be no old guard to frown at them so they could play with freedom. I think that’s one more negative of having Gerrard and Carragher in the team. They seem to have the same effect on the team that Henry had on the Arsenal players before he left.
Gk= Reina (Cpt)
RB= Johnson
CH= Kelly the lad is nearly ready to play centre half
CH= Agger
LB= Fabio Coentrao?????
CM=Lucas
CM= Meireles
AML= Suarez
AMC= Aquilani
AMR= Eden Hazard?????
ST= Carrol
GK-Grobelar
RB-Phil Neal
CB-Hansen
CB-Hyppia
LB-Steve Nicol
LW-John Barnes
CM-Gerrard
CM-Souness
RW-Mcmanaman
CF-Fowler
CF-RUSH