Thinking the unthinkable...

alias75 · October 25, 2007

I want to start this by saying a fully focussed in form Steven Gerrard would get into any team in the world, when hes on form hes by far our most influential player, however what this team doesnt need is a Steven Gerrard that is going to sulk if he doesnt play in the middle, or is going to cause unrest with the manager.

You look how Arsenal have blossomed with the departure of their best player and biggest influence and you cant help but wonder if a similar thing would happen here if Stevie was sold or decided he wanted to try his luck overseas. you look at our better performances this season, Derby and Sunderland where gerrard didnt play and in those games albeit against poor teams there was much bigger contributions from many different players. Of course you can also point to games like Chelsea where Gerrard played well but the key question is, is Gerrards presence in the team restricting the other 10 players?

Of course Gerrard is going to have good games, hes our best player he should do but is he doing it often enough and overall are we better off with him or without him? The obvious first response would be of course you'd rather him in your team than not, but up until this season id have said the same about Henry and Arsenal but you look at how his leaving has positively affected them and cant help wonder.

I think it is clear when Stevie plays through the middle theres too much of an onus on him to do something, he tries too many killer passes and takes too much responsibility on himself, similarly the other players automatically look to him instead of taking responsibility themselves if Stevie isnt playing well and all our play goes through him the team wont play well.

Maybe a part solution is to play him wide right, im certainly in the school of thought that thinks he should play there, not only is it his most productive position (imo) but i also think we're a stronger TEAM with him out of the middle.

2 seasons ago the thought of Sevie leaving would fill me with dread, but i think we're quickly coming to the point where either Stevie goes or Rafa goes and in that scenario im sorry but Rafa is much more important. Reading between the lines you have to believe Rafa wouldn't be too worried if Stevie wanted to go, of course hes never going to say that because of Gerrards standing with the fans but im really starting to think Gerrards presence especially in the middle is holding us back, his game hasnt developed as much as it should by now, Fabregas whose only 20 is able to control a game from the middle in a way Gerrard simply cannot.

Falconhoof · October 25, 2007

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