Anfield legend John Aldridge has urged Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish to address three problem positions over the summer, and although this will inevitably cost money, Aldo believes that Liverpool already have a player at the club who could come in right now and do brilliantly in the right midfield position.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo yesterday, Aldridge argued that there are 'three big positions' that the club needs to strengthen:
"We need a goalscorer, a central midfielder with a big presence and a right-sided midfielder with guile"
I think most fans would agree with that, especially the right side of midfield, which is a perennial problem position for Liverpool. Aldo then suggested a possible solution:
"Kenny could solve one of those problems by asking Steven Gerrard to do a David Beckham for him. I think it would be a stroke of genius to play Steven on the right, give him a free role and get him to deliver great balls into the box.
"Steven would have to agree to it but he would do a job on that side, especially next season with Lucas to come back into the middle. It would release Steven to play further forward".
The suggested change would hardly be a 'stroke of genius' (!) - it's a self-evident adjustment that many fans have suggested countless times. Plus, it's not like Gerrard hasn't played there before. He spent the whole of the 2005-6 season playing on the right of midfield, and he had one of his best seasons ever for Liverpool, scoring 23 goals and providing 11 assists.
Clearly, it's a position in which Gerrard has the ability to excel, but would he still be able to have the same impact seven years later?
For me, Gerrard in the centre of midfield is a non-starter these days; he just doesn't have the tactical discipline to play there, and his attacking ability is arguably wasted playing so deep. He needs to play further up the field, either behind the striker, or - as Aldo suggests - on the right of midfield.
I think it would be a mistake to reply on Gerrard solely for that position though, and even if Dalglish does decide to play him there, Liverpool still need to sign another dedicated right-winger with genuine skill and creativity.
Jaimie Kanwar
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo yesterday, Aldridge argued that there are 'three big positions' that the club needs to strengthen:
"We need a goalscorer, a central midfielder with a big presence and a right-sided midfielder with guile"
I think most fans would agree with that, especially the right side of midfield, which is a perennial problem position for Liverpool. Aldo then suggested a possible solution:
"Kenny could solve one of those problems by asking Steven Gerrard to do a David Beckham for him. I think it would be a stroke of genius to play Steven on the right, give him a free role and get him to deliver great balls into the box.
"Steven would have to agree to it but he would do a job on that side, especially next season with Lucas to come back into the middle. It would release Steven to play further forward".
The suggested change would hardly be a 'stroke of genius' (!) - it's a self-evident adjustment that many fans have suggested countless times. Plus, it's not like Gerrard hasn't played there before. He spent the whole of the 2005-6 season playing on the right of midfield, and he had one of his best seasons ever for Liverpool, scoring 23 goals and providing 11 assists.
Clearly, it's a position in which Gerrard has the ability to excel, but would he still be able to have the same impact seven years later?
For me, Gerrard in the centre of midfield is a non-starter these days; he just doesn't have the tactical discipline to play there, and his attacking ability is arguably wasted playing so deep. He needs to play further up the field, either behind the striker, or - as Aldo suggests - on the right of midfield.
I think it would be a mistake to reply on Gerrard solely for that position though, and even if Dalglish does decide to play him there, Liverpool still need to sign another dedicated right-winger with genuine skill and creativity.
Jaimie Kanwar
nah thats to much like common sense!! shelvey could be a hero given the chance in centre mid with spearing doing the donkey work
ReplyDeletei wonder will the tv pundits and the british media criticise Kenny the way they criticised Rafa when he played him in that role??
ReplyDeletein fairness how many top premier league teams would have wee jay in their squad never mind their starting eleven we need too start thinking world class to even compete for the league in the future sorry but its fact
ReplyDeleteMy squad setup:
ReplyDeleteReina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Gerrard Lucas Adam
Downing Suarez Bellamy
or
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Kuyt Gerrard Lucas Downing
Suarez
Carroll
My Dream LFC squad:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Gerrard Lucas Adam
Lavezzi Soldado Suarez
We defo have a problem scoring goals.Even with so many money spent,we need to buy a goalscorer and another winger.Players been brought at summer havent played worth of the money we spent for them.More proven players please.YNWA
in all fairness, im talking about the present, making the most of wat we have. spearing looked a better player last season than he does this one i must admit. but hey you could only name a few that have had a decent season
ReplyDeleteThat's not a stroke a genius, it's just a case of employing simple logic. Give free roles to your most gifted and creative players, and restrict your limited players to more tightly constrained roles where they can focus on just doing one thing well.
ReplyDeleteGiving Dirk Kuyt (or Jordan Henderson) the freedom to roam around the pitch from the right hand side and carry the teams creative burden is just ridiculous, and even more ridiculous is deploying Gerrard as a holding midfielder.
Gerrard does have the discipline to play as a central midfielder (he is far more disciplined for Adam in the role btw!) with a holding partner (like Toure next to Barry/De Jong), but deploying him as a defensive midfielder means that he is effectively taken out of the game by our own manager!
Spearing is utter garbage...and the only reason he gets any playing time is bcuz he is a local lad and one of Dalglish's pets. He is a bottom of the table player at best..Lets face it.. you don't earn playing time on this team with you're skills on the pitch.. you just make sure your a Dalglish favorite and then you're guaranteed a start no matter how horrid you play
ReplyDeleteYour selections fall down simply by having Adam in there!
ReplyDeleteI disagree yahoo Adam has been the best buy for his services against the price tag payed for him which is more than i can say for the rest of our signings, and for some reason i think that we look like we play alot better without Gerrard in the middle, maybe they rely too much on him to do something creative when he is playing.
ReplyDeletePlay Gerrard behind the striker or on the right and Henderson in the center of midfield.
ReplyDeleteYes, anyone touting Spearing for a place in the team is a clown, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteGerrard is a defensive midfielder at best nowadays as well. Until he shows he has regained the energy that he had before all his injuries, a sitting role should be the most that we expect for him. Would sooner see Glen Johnson on the right side of midfield.
Some of Aldridge's comments are embarrassing, quite frankly. He's such a sycophant, it's enough to make you want to throw up, quite frankly. Stroke of genius? Gerrard was disrespected in losing the England captaincy? A bit over the top.
ReplyDeleteI think there are better players in the attacking midfield role, to be honest, Gerrard is not a Fabregas or a Mata, the kind of players I would sooner have as the attacking midfielder, even a Suarez. And until he shows he can stay fit and still possesses the energy, I think we should ask him to refrain from his Roy of the Rovers routine for a while. Aquilani played for Milan at Arsenal the other night, played some nice passes and created one great chance. I think strikers find that easier to play with than someone doing a bull in a china shop routine and rampaging through the opposition. Gerrard still has some good performances in him but I think his best days are way, way behind him and we should resist the temptation to do what we've done with Kenny and Carragher, idolise someone to the detriment of the team because we don't see when they are past their best.
ReplyDeleteSoldado would be ideal with Suarez. Pure goal scorer of tap ins, exactly what we need
ReplyDeleteBlackwog - Your comments are always welcome here, but could you possibly change your username to something less inflammatory? As I'm sure you appreciate, 'blackwog' has negative connotations. Thanks a million.
ReplyDeleteSteve G's best possition is central midfield. The problem we have had is we have not had a good enough holding midfield player since Haman to let him play there. It took both alonso and mash to replace him.
ReplyDeleteSpot on - we need a goal-hanger! To be honest, I wouldn't care if we got a striker who does nothing for most of every game but scores 20+ league goals a season. At the end of the day, a striker's job is to score goals, and if he's scoring 25-30 a season but doing very little else, who cares?
ReplyDeleteSpearing has excelled in his role in my opinion. He won't score goals or play 60 yard passes, but he holds the midfield line well, and is the best alternative to Lucas we have. I would argue his case to get into any premier league sides best 11 from 20th-8th so he's nowhere near as bad as some people think.
ReplyDeletecarroll needs to play ever game to the end of the season and if the donkey cant get all least 8 goals then take the first price that come in for him and put it towards a half decent goal scorer cause at the minute there are better players in the lower leagues than him
ReplyDeletePlay johnson on the right of midfeild if not Gerrard? Just play one of them in this position,both can beat a man,cross and shoot.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Gerrard have to agree to it anyway???????????
are you having a laugh Adam is shocking
ReplyDeleteThere are better players in an attacking role, but none of them are at LFC. And Suarez can't pass so why you think strikers would prefer him supplying them than Gerrard is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteAnd my point was that he is being asked to refrain from his Roy of the Rovers routine. But to his, and our clubs' detriment
Being the best available option and excelling are two totally different things...
ReplyDeleteWell, that's true, we moved on Aquilani, we signed Adam and Henderson instead of paying what Chelsea paid for Mata, so I'm not surprised that Gerrard is still our best attacking midfielder, that, I think, is one of the problems, not the solution.
ReplyDeleteAgree, Johnson on the right side of midfield. Not sure Gerrard can still perform to the same level in that position as he did 7 years ago.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to Shindu first Adam cost us what 8mill (anybody correct me if im wrong) compared to Hendo 17-20, Downing 20, Carroll 35... so Shindu He has done as much as the others i've just named, i rest my case. As for Jamie i'm sorry if i have offended you or anybody else with my user name but it is a name that i call myself and i am black with greek heritage so if i can get on with life not worrying about a name than i think the rest of you should to because people should really be concentrating on the real issues. If there is someone out there that is a racist then my name will bring the best out off them and i will know exactly what sort of scum i am dealing with, and lets not forget racism is not just directed at black people.
ReplyDeletePlay Johnson on the right of midfield is all nonsense!next time you would say Enrique on the left wing,which is hopeless!Everyone knows we need Xabi/Xavi types in midfield,a Figo type on the right of midfield and a soldado or a Higuain.scot Sinclair and Dyer are to be bought.
ReplyDeleteNo its not, Johnson scores goals and has a good shot on him. Enrique doesn't. If I thought that Enrique was an option on the left, i would have suggested it, because, unless you hadn't noticed, Downing has hardly set the world alight.
ReplyDeleteIs it a term that they use in Greece often?
ReplyDeleteRacism is directed at many people, included people at themselves, it seems. Actually, whatever you do decide to call yourself, in the privacy of your own home, i think the name does go a bit far and, sure, we can all hate each other's user name, but yours has obvious reasons to cause offence, to be honest. Considering that we are all faceless people on the other end of a keyboard, our origins are irrelevant, I can say I'm a martian, does that mean i can then say whatever i like?
Our origins are irrelevant? really i am sorry you feel that way because our origins as far as im concern is our history and it ties us to where we come from. Now the greeks have been called wogs for a long time there was no press coverage there, Italians called dago's again no press Asians, French etc... so why is it when someone uses the word black or negro there is this need to crucify those that use it, has anyone thought to have a go at all the black Americans or all the other black people who are constantly calling on their friends "hey nigger" you say that racism is directed even at ones self well fuck me i think about 65% of the black population in America are racist or is it only when its written not spoken.
ReplyDeleteI see a lot of people commenting on the Suarez incident and now my name, why is it when the word black is used to describe someone there is such an outcry for justice but yet we can hear the word NIGGER in every number one hit rap song in the music industry or in every blockbuster movie that comes out and nobody says boo. Oh yeah for the record Suarez said black not nigger just to clear that up.
The word being refered to as having negative connotations would be "wog" not "black" so get over yourself you muppet.
ReplyDeleteIt's actually 41.3% of the black population in America that is racist, plus 41.3% of the white population and coincidentally enough, 41.3% of the brown population too. I haven't checked the figures for the yellow population recently so will give that one a miss for now.
Btw, for the record, you don't know what Suarez said - get over yourself.
Dalglish did actually play Enrique ahead of Johnson on the left...
ReplyDeleteFor someone that has not checked figures you sure know how to talk shit and the word wog (f$%^k feature) use to be derogatory in Australia, depending on the context in which it is used but i guess you are only able to take it in an aggressive manner, i am sorry that you and whoever else, it is offending can not get over your righteous selves but my family and i have moved on to more important issues in life.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Suarez comments well it is public knowledge that he used the word Negro a number of times, so here is some more homework for you look up what Negro means in spanish.
ok. maybe it could work but it would be desperation.
ReplyDelete