As opponents begin to nullify Brendan Rodgers' captain, how can Anfield’s most influential player be utilised more effectively? Have your say and vote on the former England international’s role for his club
Friday 19 September 2014 15:16, UK
Liverpool’s defeat by Aston Villa last weekend represented more than just a second Premier League loss in only four games this season; it represented a tactical dilemma for manager Brendan Rodgers.
Villa won thanks to their superior strategy. Gabriel Agbonlahor was tasked with man marking Anfield captain Steven Gerrard, he performed the duty superbly and his team reaped the rewards in a 1-0 victory.
It was in contrast to the majority of last season, as Liverpool came within two points of the Premier League title with Gerrard – operating in the latter half of the campaign at the base of his team’s diamond midfield – averaging the second most accurate long passes per game by an outfield player in the division.
The former England captain averaged 7.6 per match, with only Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka (8.5) averaging more, and that gave Liverpool the counter-attacking platform for Daniel Sturridge, who is currently injured, and Luis Suarez, who has since left for Barcelona.
However, against Villa, with 34-year-old Gerrard being denied space to operate, Liverpool were suffocated. This was a problem for Liverpool boss Rodgers but the greater conundrum was that the defeat by Villa was not the first time a team had nullified his skipper in that manner.
Chelsea used the tactic on Gerrard at the end of last season as they earned a win against the Merseysiders at Anfield which ultimately cost Rodgers’ club a first top-flight title since 1990.
And, given the success of that game plan in stopping Liverpool’s deep-sitting playmaker, West Ham United might subsequently consider using the tactic this weekend on Saturday Night Football, live on Sky Sports 1HD from 4.45pm.
What would you do with Gerrard? Click here to pick your first XI to face West Ham
Gerrard is going to have to find a different role. Does he move into the No.10 role at times? Does he play a wider role in midfield? I think it is going to have to happen.
Indeed, Sky Sports expert Gary Neville said on Monday Night Football: “I just wonder whether, now, teams are going to do this more and more. Why wouldn’t you? Stop the most influential passer getting on the ball and knocking those long passes forward.”
So, as Gerrard prepares to return to an Upton Park pitch where he scored two penalties to give Liverpool a 2-1 win last season, what does the future hold?
Sam Allardyce will not be the only manager who will potentially look to do a number on Gerrard and, with challenges such as the Merseyside derby to come before the end of September alone, Rodgers needs a quick solution.
“He’s going to have to find a different role,” Neville added of Gerrard. “Does he move into the No.10 role at times? Does he play a wider role in midfield? I think it’s going to have to happen.”
The No.10 role, swapping with the likes of Raheem Sterling or Philippe Coutinho, who would move right with Jordan Henderson dropping to the base of the diamond, is an option against West Ham.
Liverpool could keep that 4-1-2-1-2 formation in that scenario, with either Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini or Lazar Markovic providing the attacking partner for Mario Balotelli in the absence of Sturridge.
But does Gerrard still have the pace at his age for the necessities of that position? And would this take away from the threat of Sterling and Coutinho as No.10s, or waste Henderson’s excellent energy in deeper areas of the pitch?
Gerrard’s long passing skills would also be wasted if he was in a more advanced, No.10 area of the field.
However, he could use his passing over longer distances if he was moved to the right of midfield, a position in which he has operated earlier in his career.
Neville’s Monday Night Football co-expert, and former Liverpool vice-captain, Jamie Carragher said: “When you get Steven Gerrard in those inside right positions, we always talk about David Beckham’s crossing, he [Gerrard] is still as good as Beckham in terms of putting that ball in.”
Moving Gerrard to the right would certainly utilise his crossing and, in the current Premier League season, he already averages more accurate crosses (1.5) per game than any of his team-mates.
Gerrard is so influential for Liverpool to get the team playing from that deeper area. Liverpool now need to find a way to stop this. When people stop Liverpool playing, how can they then counteract that?
That is despite that average being significantly less than the most in the division this season by former Liverpool loanee Victor Moses (5.5) at Stoke City but obviously it depends on a team’s tactics and setup.
If Gerrard did go right, new Liverpool vice-captain Henderson would still have to be sacrificed into the deeper position in which he has found himself for England but it would allow the likes of Sterling to still take the favoured No.10 position.
Of course, these do not need to be permanent formation swaps and could be used intermittently in games. They are also just a couple of options. Liverpool, though, do have to consider their possible solutions, as Carragher concluded.
He said: “You have got to start thinking of different ways of setting up. People are going to start doing it now. He is so influential for Liverpool to get the team playing from that deeper area. Liverpool now need to find a way to stop this. When people stop Liverpool playing, how can they then counteract that?”
