Steve Gerrard. The passer of 40 yards. He’s big and he’s f*cking hard. Steve Gerrard. Gerrard is and will be known as Mr Liverpool for the rest of his career and life but there comes a time for the manager to phase out the club legend in the twilight of his career. Gerrard is quickly advancing to such a stage in his career and Brendan Rodgers is going to have to make a decision as to when such an occasion can occur with Gerrard being a bit part player. Lucas Leiva’s presence presents immense comfort for Liverpool fans but needs a partner in the Liverpool 4-2-3-1. The ‘Welsh Xavi’ springs to mind and it should be Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva who make up the main composition of that Liverpool midfield under the Northern Irish manager.
In Zdenek Zeman’s first game of the season with AS Roma, he complained about the horizontal play of the team against Catania, as opposed to playing the ball vertically. When Gerrard is thought of, everything he does is vertical: directly towards the goal. Whether it be through passing balls straight to the striker, admittedly sometimes forced, or carrying the ball, Gerrard emits the philosophy of ‘right to the goal’. People take this as the Liverpudlian lacking in football intelligence but in actual fact, it is not true. Arrigo Sacchi stated it was his lack of positional awareness and tactical intelligence that hinders his chance of being considered as a world-class player. Gerrard has displayed these features before. Nonetheless, the crux of his game comes from his physical exertions – an admirable and influential asset of the game. These somatic capabilities are however on the wane, meaning someone has to be brought in as a replacement.
A revered recent Liverpool midfield partnership was that of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano. The overall balance of the team centred on the Spaniard and Argentine, give more truth to the double pivot name given to the two in the 4-2-3-1. Alonso was the distributor and Mascherano the tackler, alike to the Pirlo-Gattuso duo. Faith should be put into Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva to create a similar partnership.
Allen has found it tough going whilst he has taken residence in the Liverpool midfield. Performing well to start, the amplification of mistakes and the unforgiving nature of some fans have often seen him scapegoated. Passing the ball forward from a deep position with accuracy is an underrated prowess which not many possess. Because of this, players in Allen’s ilk are derogatorily referred to as a ‘crab’ – sideways passer. Given the importance of retaining the ball in front of the defence, Allen is playing his role well. Ignored and forgotten, Allen did not play this way at Swansea. Leon Britton was the metronomic figure while Allen was the player who hassled and harried the opposition. Of course, he was not out of his depth in keeping the ball but the role that he is being asked to play demands much more than this.
Something that Liverpool’s most loved Brazilian midfielder can testify is hard to learn. Lucas Leiva was adjudged a meaningless cog in the Liverpool machine. He has now, however, evolved into an accomplished defensive midfielder, although he still has improvements that will come with age. Lucas’s return to the first team has been met with rapturous excitement due to the consensual feeling that his distribution qualities enhance Rodgers’s circulatory possession game. An unrated aspect of his games as it is often overlooked to the disruptive facet of his play, not allowing the opponent to break through the midfield and impose danger upon the Liverpool rearguard.
Gerrard does more than this, though. If anything, the Englishman epitomises the concept of a tuttofare – ‘handyman’ in Italian; the all-round midfielder – to a tee. Are Lucas and Allen enough to bring about a relatively tranquil transition to a Mr Liverpool-less Liverpool? Bluntly, they are. Gerrard’s influence on the team transcends the defensive side of the game, the capabilities that two aforementioned players are best for. Playing Gerrard in the double pivot only restricts him a more disciplined role in the team, when he deserves to be closer to goal. It is a problem illustrated throughout the English game, playing a box-to-box midfielder in a withdrawn role, especially in the 4-2-3-1. Atletico Madrid’s exemplar performance against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup showed the parity between the tactics in the real 4-2-3-1 and the English’s interpretation of it.
Lucas Leiva and Joe Allen being partnered in the two defensive midfielder positions would be a step in the right direction. The same direction that would edge Liverpool closer to recreating what Xabi Alonso and Mascherano. Lucas, the conductor and Allen, the midfield hassle. Experience is a big role in the playing it correctly however Rodgers’s insistence on youth would further support the coupling of these two players. Lucas gets to carry on exceeding in his position whilst also being handed the mantle to be a deeper creative force in the team. Allen gets the chance to disprove the doubters that have amounted in his disfavour as he plays the same way with which he rose to prominence at Swansea City. Pressing the ball higher up the pitch and affecting the game further up the pitch, not performing as a box-to-box midfielder might I add.
Gerrard is a magnificent player worthy of being placed in the Liverpool hall of fame as an Anfield legend. He has given the club many memories that will live on, well past his career and even past his lifetime. Olympiakos, AC Milan and West Ham spring to mind as some of Gerrard’s best moments in a Liverpool shirt. However, for how long can a player live on these past glories? The Fenway Sports Group brought Rodgers in specifically to oversee a period of change in the club and Steven Gerrard may be a victim of this new regime. Jamie Carragher has already announced his retirement, pointing to the fact that the time for Gerrard may lay imminently ahead. Gerrard will always be big. He will always be f*cking hard. He will never lose that ability to pass from 40 yards away. In my opinion, it is time for Rodgers to start thinking in terms of utilitarianism – the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. Allen and Lucas fit the formation he wants to play, the best times of Liverpool recently has come with players similar to these two. It will be good for the team, the manager and the fans. Perhaps not for one player but in Liverpool, there will always be space for Steve Gerrard, Gerrard.
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