“He’s big and he’s fucking hard.”
He was our Captain. He was our Leader. He was our “Never-Miss-Set-Piece-Taker.” Now, he is our biggest regret.
When Gerrard left for LA Galaxy, I was pleased. I was excited to see a new team, a new Captain, going in a new direction.
Maybe the disappointment of the 14/15 season was partly down to Gerrard. After all, we always played better without him. 5-0 away at White Hart Lane, numerous winning streaks which he was never a part of…
But, since then, he has left a hole that not even Klopp can fill: Leadership.
Gerrard was never a great tactician. He was never, as many have said, a “thinker.” He was a “doer.” He led by example; taking often desperate and impossible situations and making them possible. Transforming hopelessness into hopefulness. Despair into success. Grief into joy.
From SAS to MLS, Liverpool Legend to US Commodity – as fans, this is difficult to accept… And yet, a break was required. The scars of the 2013/14 season were too much.
“He slipped on his fucking arse.”
The slip against Chelsea is something Gerrard will never forgive himself for. Ever.
This was the closest we had come to the title in 25 years and, although it is easy for us to say there were many reasons for not winning it; Gerrard will always feel responsible for not doing.
A recovery from this title-challenge could have been made, however, had Luis Suarez stayed.
Losing Suarez was a blow to everyone at the Club, but especially to Gerrard.
The situation was handled badly by Rodgers, who couldn’t convince the players that we could still be successful – something Klopp would have been capable of doing.
New Foundations
For Gerrard to come back, two things have to happen:
- A new project, with a world-class manager, building an exciting team. Check.
- Gerrard cannot play in midfield.
Jurgen Klopp is implementing a high-intensity, high-pressing, borderline-masochistic work-ethic at Liverpool.
Gerrard found it difficult enough to play 90 minutes consistently under Brendan Rodgers. It is almost impossible for him to be able to do this now, particularly within the midfield role.
However, the two positions which require the least energy in a Jurgen Klopp team are the centre-back positions.
Having performed once more as a world-class player in the “Regista” role in the 2013/14 season, Gerrard’s passing range could again be used to maximum effect if played at Right Centre-Back.
Picture this: Clyne, Gerrard, Sakho and Moreno. A back-four of forward-thinking, forward-passing, defenders, with two former Captains anchoring the middle in-front of Mignolet.
Gerrard would have license to press higher-up the pitch with Sakho dropping deep as a “holding-centre-back.” The midfield 2 of Emre Can and Jordan Henderson would function as a midfield 3 with Gerrard as a reversed-base. To place Gerrard here would allow him to function in 2 roles with half the effort.
Our set-piece worries would disappear. Our “not beating the first-man on corners” worries would disappear. Our leadership “crisis” would disappear.
Martin Skrtel is not good enough to play at RCB. Indeed, none of our currently available centre-backs are. We cannot wait until January to fix this. We definitely can’t wait until July.
Coming back to Liverpool as a player/coach in a new role would not just rejuvenate his career (LA Galaxy have just lost the MLS play-offs) but would rejuvenate our squad, lay the foundations for a future coaching career and might – just might – allow Gerrard to win that all-elusive Premier League trophy.
Come back, Steven. You need us.
Gerrard didn’t lose us the title by slipping… It was Rodgers who lost the title for us… His obsession with the 100 goals mark was naive… When you’re in front, you don’t do silly stuff… Consistency would have kept us in the race up till the end but alas, a so-called “tactically brilliant” manager lost it for us at the end with his tactical naivety…
I feel you’re wrong on two counts:-
Gerrard was and will always be a creator – not a defender. If he could not sustain a full 90 minutes he should have started the game supporting the front players; conducting set pieces. He should have been used for the first 50-60 minutes as an advanced midfielder where he did all his best work. Defence to Gerrard was a demotion to ‘pick and shovel work’.
Finally it was the managers failure to boost the defence with a midfield stopper and a top centre back that caused the wheels to come off our strong title bid. He was instead chasing wingers in the January transfer window.
Rodgers insisted on playing the ball accross the face of the 18 yard line instead of getting forward. Mourinho of course noticed this and set Ba to spring the trap and the blooming groundsmen had saturated the pitch in that area. End of story!
With all due respect this is an insane article.Gerrard as a defender is a bad idea to say the least.While it’s true Rodgers and Fenway could have offered him a new contract and a player cum manarial role a year before Klopp has lost numerous stars to Munich from Dortmund so Klopp is not God he is a human being!Everything said I do believe that Klopp is the right kind of grease to the wheel and I want to believe Liverpool can move on into a hopefully more successful post Gerrard era.YNWA
This is a shocking article.
Firstly, Gerrard didn’t lose us the title by slipping. Rodgers lost it by being tactically inept.
Secondly, Gerrard had about 10 good games as a regista. He wasn’t world class in the role. Henderson, Coutinho and Allen had to run themselves into the ground to cover his inability to run, or defend.
Thirdly, it’s nonsense to suggest that the CBs in Klopp’s team don’t have to run a lot. His desire to play a highline means the CBs have to cover a lot of ground, normally while moving at full speed.
Finally, Gerrard can’t defend. He simply can not defend. His positional sense is poor, his defensive reading of the game is poor and his tactical discipline is dreadful.
All of the following is utter nonsense:
“Picture this: Clyne, Gerrard, Sakho and Moreno. A back-four of forward-thinking, forward-passing, defenders, with two former Captains anchoring the middle in-front of Mignolet.
Gerrard would have license to press higher-up the pitch with Sakho dropping deep as a “holding-centre-back.” The midfield 2 of Emre Can and Jordan Henderson would function as a midfield 3 with Gerrard as a reversed-base. To place Gerrard here would allow him to function in 2 roles with half the effort.
Our set-piece worries would disappear. Our “not beating the first-man on corners” worries would disappear. Our leadership “crisis” would disappear.”
That defense would get embarrassed. Clyne and Moreno are below average defenders and Gerrard can’t defend. Lovren, as terrible as he is, is a far better defender than Gerrard.
Gerrard stepping out into a midfield three?? Have you seen a Klopp team play? Do you understand that that would leave only Sakho in a defensive position??
Gerrard was never a good corner taker, so he doesn’t fix that issue. He can no longer lead by example so our leadership “crisis” (we have nothing of the sort) would not be sorted. Gerrard was a liability last season. Can’t defend and offered nothing in attack. He offered absolutely nothing. He’d offer even less now and would be a shambles at centreback.
A truly shocking article. An embarrassment to this site.
Oh and “We cannot wait until January to fix this. We definitely can’t wait until July.”
You realise Gerrard couldn’t play for us until January anyway right??
This article is an embarrassment to this site. Pure nonsense. I’m sorry, I found it to be humorous at least. Not the best work from Anfield index. Come on mate!
Exactly. Who in their right mind would want Stevie gradually losing his dignity, being shoe-horned in as a centre-back? We all miss him mate but sometimes you just have to let go. No problems having him on the staff, learning under Klopp, or even working under Alex Inglethorpe and Steve Heighway but, on the pitch? Nah’, Let it Be (as someone once said, can’t remember who but maybe they had something to do with the city of Liverpool). 🙂