Former Red Mark Lawrenson told FourFourTwo.com what role he believes Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will play this season:
“Since Liverpool lost [Xabi] Alonso, Steven has had to play a bit deeper. Outstanding player though he is, he just can’t make up 60 yards in five seconds, so the signing of Charlie Adam is basically to ensure there’s somebody to pass from deeper positions to enable Steven to get closer to the likes of Suarez and Andy Carroll. I think Steven will almost be like a new player when he comes back, because he’s been out for so long and they’ve sort of nursed him and tried to slowly ease him back in. I think the further forward Steven plays the better.”
It’s an age old debate among Liverpool fans and TV pundits about Gerrard’s best position. I used to knock my head against the wall every time I heard Sky pundit Andy Gray that Gerrard should play in a deeper role under Rafa Benitez. Needless to say that Stevie had his best goal scoring seasons when not playing in his supposedly favourite position, when he played wide right in the 2005/06 season scoring 23 goals and as an attacking midfielder in the 2008/09 season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions.
Rafa Benitez understood that playing in deeper central midfield roles, Gerrard wasn’t always disciplined enough to keep his position and help the team to keep its shape. Although Stevie was frustrated at not being picked to play in deeper areas so he could pepper the ball around with his long range passes, Rafa understood that Gerrard would be more useful playing further up the field where he could constantly be in attacking positions, without needing to track back to defend.
Totally agree with this article. Stevie and Luis could pull the strings for Carroll. Ideally, we’d still have Torres up there (controversial, granted) as a quick striker might work better with that formation. But Andy offers an obvious alternative style of play and with the ‘guile’ you mentioned further back in the formation, we could be looking pretty good.
We still need to get rid of a s***eload of players in fairness, and sure up that defense. I’m praying that Johnson can offer an attacking outlet too.
that load of duds kenny picked tonight to start the game is almost as big an insult to liverpudlians as the one hodgson picked against northampton, no matter how it ends, he is also betraying andy carroll playing this way, i am bitterly disapointed, we are insulting our fans. WHAT IS GOING ON. insua, poulson and degan would not get a place in many an amature team i have seen.
Gerrard for 10 Downing Street!!!
david why are you and a lot of others talkers think andy carroll is all that, but he is very pour (borrow the scottish tongue for poor). he has no intelligence to flow with gerrard and suarez. he is too limited. we need a more fluid striker to flow with kuyt, gerrard, suarez and aquillani in creativity. hoping that gerrard returns as you all seem to hope. and really i feel it gets to the other players in our team.
My lineup for Liverpool will be as follows:
Suarez Carroll
Kuyt
Downing Adams/Henderson
Lucas/Meireles
Johnson skytel Carrager Kelly
Reina