We Need To Talk About Steven

At what point does Steven Gerrard go from a leader to a liability for Liverpool?

He’s undoubtedly one of the top five English players of his generation, arguably even the best (don’t think I’d go that far, though), but this is hardly the Gerrard of old. The Stevie G that I grew up hating and respecting in equal measures was a bounding attacking midfielder. A playmaker and a goal scorer. This new guy is a 34 year old deep lying defensive mid, often slipping into the backline to pick up the ball and punt it forward/flip it sideways. It ain’t working.

Last season he seemed to have a bit if a resurgence in his new role. He scored 14 goals and captained his side to second place in the Premier League. But… how much of that impact was due to having Luis Suarez there? Suarez chased down errant passes, finished off half chances and was generally the best player in England all season. Of Gerrard’s 14 goals, 11 were penalties. And also, he slipped that time.

It’s so glaringly obvious that he’s trying to follow the career path of the likes of Paul Scholes and Andrea Pirlo, settling into that deep role where he can get plenty of touches and play plenty of passes. Where he can dictate the flow and pace of the game. He’s not doing it, though.

If you watch Pirlo or Scholes, those guys hardly ever stopped moving. Sure, they both did their best to economise their movements, and Pirlo has somewhat of a lazy reputation, but that’s just because he never sprints. Scholes stopped sprinting too (except for the 2-3 steps before a trademark horrendous sprigged lunge) sometime around the time Roy Keane left. But when the ball was in his vicinity he was always floating into spaces, jogging past defenders and making an option for the return pass. When he had the ball he was looking to move it, and he’d tend to do so without dwelling on it.

Gerrard doesn’t do this. It really struck me against Chelsea how often he spends standing still. He stands around when he’s on the ball too, waiting for the right pass to open up where Pirlo would just play a little one-two with his centre back, keeping the ball moving and keeping everyone on their toes. Even a guy like Michael Carrick, he made his first start of the season against Crystal Palace last game and performed this role superbly, albeit only against Crystal Palace.

All Gerrard does is slow things down, bar for his occasional (and normally brilliant) quarterback passes. He’s waiting to react to what the game gives him, rather than controlling it like the masters he’s trying to emulate. I’d rather see him playing in behind the strikers where he can add the threat of his shot to proceedings. The other thing about Latter Day Paul Scholes is that Fergie constantly rotated him whereas Stevie G will probably play 45 games this season.

Steven Gerrard will always be the heart of this team and its most crucial team chemistry ingredient, but Liverpool seems directionless without Suarez and Gerrard isn’t controlling the game like he’s (unfairly?) expected to. At some stage it becomes more harm than good.

And Mr Rodgers Too

If you choose to rest your three highest goal scorers this season for a game against the defending Champions League winners away from home, then you’d better come out of the next one with something to shout about. Something better than a 2-1 loss and a penalty shout straw to cling to (more on this soon).

I wanna promote an idea: Brendan Rodgers is not a good manager. This doesn’t mean he won’t become one, or that he should be sacked immediately and banished to the antipodes to coach a Melbourne team in the A League. There’s plenty to work with and he seems like a self-aware fella. His media game is boring, continually saying ‘the right things’, but it’s just that: A game. Better to play it safe than to start ranting and drawing attention to yourself in the midst of a slump.

He’s made a number of signings, how many are good? The best players in this team were there when he got there; the Ghost of Gerrard, Skrtel the Neo-Nazi Turtle, Bubba Sterling and the comeback player of the decade, Jordan Henderson (he was sooo bad for a while, now he’s their second best player – behing Sterling - and a first choice England international).

Rodgers knew he needed to pad this squad for the Champions League but he made the mistake of buying for depth. He bought players that were good enough to compliment the guys he had when he should have tried for better ones and let the folks already there become the depth. That way you improve the overall standard of the team, instead of only keeping it stable. You can’t help but wonder if he was hesitant to do that because of the culture and style of play he developed with his first XI last campaign. Well that ship sailed, Mr Rodgers, when you were basically forced to sell the best player you’ll ever manage, Senor Suarez.

Sam Allardyce said something interesting about The Great West Ham Charge up the Table of Early 2014/15 (as it shall be forever known after they slip back down into the mid-season grind), specifically about himself, actually:

"There are two types of coaches. There’s coaches like me who weigh up the opposition and ask the team to adjust. Fergie was similar. Jose [Mourinho] is similar. Then there’s Arsène, who won’t adjust. There’s Brendan [Rodgers], who looks like he won’t adjust. There’s Manuel Pellegrini, who looks like he won’t adjust, even in the Champions League. He seems to favour what he’s got. City are quite open.  Their [Wenger/Rodgers/Pellegrini’s] philosophy is different to ours. Ours is more about who are we playing against. Their philosophy is more, ‘We always play this way’, and they won’t change, they carry doing on the same thing. That’s why you can beat them.”

To be fair, one of the most successful coaches in the game today is the same. Pep Guardiola and tiki taka football are a combined package and if you don’t like it then you can shove it. His coaching comes with his philosophy.

Arsene Wenger’s career seems to me like the best possible upside for Brendan Rodgers. Except you can count out all the early trophy hauls because Rodgers has already sold his Thierry Henry. That’s what happens when your superstar forward is less of an artist and more of a psychopath. Sir Alex Ferguson found the middle ground with Eric Cantona (then displayed the whole ‘adaptability’ thing in transitioning beyond – that and an unrepeatably stunning youth team haul, anyway).

I wrote somewhere or other at the start of the season that if Liverpool make it through the group stages of the Champs League then they won’t qualify for it next season. They’re not equipped to handle to balancing act. It doesn’t look like they will qualify, but the experience of the group stage will still be crucial for a developing squad. We don’t yet know if Mr Rodgers can become a long term manager, a figurehead for a new dynasty. We don’t even know for sure that he’ll see out the season (hysteric overreaction alert!). Tell ya what though, Liverpool haven’t been this fascinating in years.

Aww, Ref!

This is what Brendan Rodgers was complaining about after losing to Chelsea. Did Gary Cahill handball this? I mean, it hit his arm, but was it a penalty? Any manager who blames an entire result on a possible handball from a blocked shot in the box not being given as a spot kick is deflecting criticism as far as I’m concerned. It was literally a long shot. But in an isolated capsule of refereeing, let’s have a closer look…

Nah, just desperation. It clearly hit his arm, but that shouldn't automatically make it a penalty. The arm’s not in an unnatural position, and even if it did block a shot, I’m fine with this being ignored. Handballs like that just seem way too tinny. Try creating an actual chance in the game and then I’ll listen. I thought Anthony Taylor had a very good game refereeing, actually.

Other Liverpool vs Chelsea Observations

• Diego Costa is a first class troll, as well as a first class striker. What a beastly fellow. I love it.
• Eden Hazard is slowly developing into a 90 minutes player.
• If Brendan Rodgers thought he could out manage Jose Mourinho in a one-on-one, then he was sadly mistaken.
• Man, but wasn’t Glen Johnson just bloody awful?
• Cesar Azpilicueta on the other hand. All class.
• Chelsea couldn’t hold on to a late 1-0 lead against Manchester United a couple weeks back. Perhaps the way they sat back at the end of that one got to them, because they were anything but timid at the end at Anfield. In fact, there seemed to be free reign for the forwards/attacking midfielders to foul as often as they wanted.
• I’ve completely changed my mind over Goal Line Technology. It’s quick, unobtrusive and always correct. Best of all you never even hear about it anymore. Sorry, GLT, I was dumb.

Mario, Mario

To the tune of ‘Smelly Cat’ by P. Buffay

Mario, Mario

Whaaat are they feeding you?

Mario, Mario

It’s not your faaault

Inner City Pressure

If it wasn’t for the immaculate Sergio Aguero, City probably would have lost to QPR. That’s embarrassing. Without David Silva they just seem so unimaginative. A disastrous Champions League loss midweek has basically knocked them out of that cup, and their EPL form is doing them no favours. The most glaring thing about them at the moment is how slow they play at. You can almost hear the yawns from the opposition keeper. They’ve always kinda sorta played this way, but with the odd injection of impetus from Yaya or a silky bit of David Silva-ry to provide a raft of goals. Do they need a little more adaptability too, maybe?

North London Blues

Yada yada transfer market failures, blah blah defensive problems, la de da dropped points.

It’s all true and it’s all boring to rehash once more. Arsenal need defenders and they need to balance their team philosophy. For some unimaginable reason, Nacho Monreal was marking Wilfried Bony and Bafetimbi Gomis, a pair of hulking beasts. Gomis just destroys lil Nacho for the winner here.

But at least Spurs weren’t any better.