Stephen Gerrard

[NeilMcD]

I think they have no position now for Gerrard to be honest. As he does not have the discipline or ablility to play as a classic central midfield player. He is tactially poor and does not know how to control a game. It will be interesting to see what Benitez does with him. He may put him back right where he had his best season for Liverpool the season before last.

[drinkfeckarse]

I'm sure messrs Benitez and Capello have taken your comments on board Neil...

[tetsujin1979]

I think they have no position now for Gerrard to be honest. As he does not have the discipline or ablility to play as a classic central midfield player. He is tactially poor and does not know how to control a game. It will be interesting to see what Benitez does with him. He may put him back right where he had his best season for Liverpool the season before last.

There;s no way Benitez is going to drop his captain.
At worst he'll be moved out of central midfield

[Emmet]

I think they have no position now for Gerrard to be honest. As he does not have the discipline or ablility to play as a classic central midfield player. He is tactially poor and does not know how to control a game.

Is that a serious post ???

[Razors left peg]

Is that a serious post ???

I agree with Neil, Gerrard is a fantastic footballer but Neils points are fair

[Emmet]

Steven Gerrard lacks ability and cannot control a game ... nope, sorry. That's bull****!

[Razors left peg]

Steven Gerrard lacks ability and cannot control a game ... nope, sorry. That's bull****!

Its so much bull**** that his own manager doesnt play him as a classic central midfielder!!

[SkStu]

Neils points are valid - though Gerrard is a vital part of that Liverpool team, he is not, never has been and never will be capable of regularly controlling a game against anything other than low end premiership teams. Its proven.

[Emmet]

Its so much bull**** that his own manager doesnt play him as a classic central midfielder!!

What does 'Classic Central midfield' even mean? Centre midfield is when you play in the middle of the pitch - just because the word 'classic' is put before it changes nothing! Gerrard's versatility (which comes as a result of having ability to play the game!), in the context of the modern game, is tremendous. The guy has played at right-back, left midfield, right midfield, central midfield, and upfront as a support to the main striker. He has always delivered the goods to a standard far higher than what most of his peers would produce regardless of the position. I have a feeling he has also played at Centre-back a couple of times. He has dragged Liverpool out of numerous games they would have otherwise drawn or lost (in 2005 against Olympiakos and then against Milan in the Final for instance). Alex Ferguson has gone on record as saying he would have been a perfect replacement for a certain man from Cork and if Gerrard played for any other club he'd have made a concerted effort to sign him.

Obviously, he lacks ability and can't control a game

[Emmet]

Neils points are valid - though Gerrard is a vital part of that Liverpool team, he is not, never has been and never will be capable of regularly controlling a game against anything other than low end premiership teams. Its proven.

AC Milan aren't really a low-end Premiership team

[Emmet]

Put it this way - if Gerrard was Irish a lot of people here would be saying very different things about him

[Razors left peg]

Put it this way - if Gerrard was Irish a lot of people here would be saying very different things about him

Ive already said I think he is a fantastic player, but I dont think he can control games on his own from center midfield.

[eirebhoy]

I'd say Gerrard at age 15 and De Rossi at 15 would have been almost identical types of players. The English saw Gerrard's technical ability and played him high up the pitch to create. The Italian's saw De Rossi's energy and combativeness and turned him into a more defensive player. Not that you'd describe De Rossi as defensive. He's a complete all rounder which is what Gerrard should be.

[John83]

I'd say Gerrard at age 15 and De Rossi at 15 would have been almost identical types of players. The English saw Gerrard's technical ability and played him high up the pitch to create. The Italian's saw De Rossi's energy and combativeness and turned him into a more defensive player. Not that you'd describe De Rossi as defensive. He's a complete all rounder which is what Gerrard should be. It means he'd score a lot less but it also means England wouldn't look so clueless when they have the ball.

When Gerrard first started playing for Liverpool's first team, there were comparisons with Keane from damn near everyone. I think his own hero complex forced him to play further and further forward so he could rescue Liverpool when a game was going against them - hence all the shooting from long range and the very direct long range passing. He's now nothing like Keane, who was a highly efficient short range passer and a shield for the defence. It means Gerrard can't play a defensive role in midfield, which is why he's been paired with Alonso and similar for Liverpool, and why he's rubbish with Lampard for England.

[NeilMcD]

Steven Gerrard lacks ability and cannot control a game ... nope, sorry. That's bull****!

I said he lacks the ability to be a classic central midfielder. He does not have the tactical nous or discipline to control games like say Scholes does or Keane did. Why did England struggle with him and Lampard. Why does Benitez play him right sided midfield or just behind Torres. Because he does not trust him to play in the centre. But if you wanna think in a world where Jaimie Redknapp and Andy Gray are for the millionth time go on about that Gerrard has all the attributes to play centrail midfield at the top level, than fire away.

Gerrard is a top player but he is not suitable to be playing in a 2 man midfield as he is not tactially aware enough and does not appreciate the benefit of a 2 yard pass or a 5 yard pass and plays way too many Hollywood balls.

[RivaldoBabb]

Don't get all the hype about Arshavin he's been around for years and did nothing up until winning the UEFA cup last season (the Carling Cup of European football). He had two good games in the Euros and was absolute pants in the final one. To put things into perspective Gary Breen played a stormer in at least 3 of his 4 games in the WC in 2002. Any manager would be insane to buy Arshavin for the prices being touted.

The hype surrounding him baffles me to be honest. He must have a top PR relations team.

I tend to agree with you YoungIrish, you cant hype up players because they caught the eye in a second rate European club competition or over a 3 week period at an international tournament. Karol Porborsky is another example of a player that looked world class for a couple of weeks and turned out to be a bag of s***e.

I said he lacks the ability to be a classic central midfielder. He does not have the tactical nous or discipline to control games like say Scholes does or Keane did. Why did England struggle with him and Lampard. Why does Benitez play him right sided midfield or just behind Torres. Because he does not trust him to play in the centre. But if you wanna think in a world where Jaimie Redknapp and Andy Gray are for the millionth time go on about that Gerrard has all the attributes to play centrail midfield at the top level, than fire away.

Gerrard is a top player but he is not suitable to be playing in a 2 man midfield as he is not tactially aware enough and does not appreciate the benefit of a 2 yard pass or a 5 yard pass and plays way too many Hollywood balls.

Sorry, this post is ridiculous...
You do not get a more complete midfield player than Steven Gerrard. He has it all and has been the top midfielder in the premier league since Roy Keane left Man Ure, bar none. If only he was Irish.

[NeilMcD]

I tend to agree with you YoungIrish, you cant hype up players because they caught the eye in a second rate European club competition or over a 3 week period at an international tournament. Karol Porborsky is another example of a player that looked world class for a couple of weeks and turned out to be a bag of s***e.



Sorry, this post is ridiculous...
You do not get a more complete midfield player than Steven Gerrard. He has it all and has been the top midfielder in the premier league since Roy Keane left Man Ure, bar none. If only he was Irish.

Ha ha, more complete midfielder than Gerrard, I can name just a few that are playing now. Scholes, Xavi, Fabregas. Anyby who knows anything about controlling the tempo of a game or dictating the pace of it and playing short passes and keeping possession and wearing down the other team will realise that Gerrard is found wanting time and time again in this area, along with Lampard. Hence why England always fail at the knock out stages because they have nobody to dictate the pace and flow of the game. Gerrard is your man for the dramatic, the last minute screamer or the thunderbolt from outside the box, hence the reason he is not trusted by Benitz to play as a central midfielder but as the man behind the striker or when he scored loads of goals, out on the right wing.

[Razors left peg]

Ha ha, more complete midfielder than Gerrard, I can name just a few that are playing now. Scholes, Xavi, Fabregas. Anyby who knows anything about controlling the tempo of a game or dictating the pace of it and playing short passes and keeping possession and wearing down the other team will realise that Gerrard is found wanting time and time again in this area, along with Lampard. Hence why England always fail at the knock out stages because they have nobody to dictate the pace and flow of the game. Gerrard is your man for the dramatic, the last minute screamer or the thunderbolt from outside the box, hence the reason he is not trusted by Benitz to play as a central midfielder but as the man behind the striker or when he scored loads of goals, out on the right wing.

Ive been getting hammered from all my Liverpool fan mates for years for saying those exact things... delighted to finally see that someone has the same opinion

[seanfhear]

I thought that gerard was the real deal a few years ago but it has to be said that he does not control games as well as say roy keane.He is a better attacker than keane but I dont know if its discipline or what but he does not command midfield as well as it looked like he would a few years ago.Maybe he still can.

[Metrostars]

Despite his occasional heriocs, he does have the tendancy to go missing in some of the big games e.g. the Man Utd game at Old Trafford last season and the CL semi.