27 Aug 2012

Arsenal star admits: I want to be like LFC's Steven Gerrard. Possible...?

Promising Arsenal starlet Alex Oxlade Chamberlain has revealed his admiration for Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, a player whose playing style he hopes to emulate over the next few years.

In an interview with on Saturday, Oxlade-Chamberlain was asked if he modeled himself on anyone, and he responded:

"I think [I model myself on] someone like Steven Gerrard.

"I've been watching him since I was a young lad and back in his early days I remember he used to make bursting runs from deep all the way up front and get in the box and score goals. That's a side of my game I want to add: scoring more goals"


Gerrard isn't as mobile as he used to be but he still makes those bursting runs for Liverpool, and he still scores goals.

Alas, in the 3-0 opening day defeat to West Brom, Gerrard put in one of his worst performances in years, and the bursting runs were nowhere to be seen.

He upped his game against Man City yesterday, but his overall performance was still a little patchy, especially in the ball retention department. In the last two league games, Gerrard has given the ball away far too often. Consider the following:

* Gerrard completed 65 passes against Man City.
* 14 of those were misplaced (78%)
* Only Luis Suarez (77%) had worse passing accuracy on the day.

The rest of the team had higher passing accuracy than Gerrard. Examples:

* Joe Allen = 93.5%
* Jonjo Shelvey = 88%
* Fabio Borini = 86%

It seems strange to say it but the Captain is a weak link in the passing chain, and in my view, Liverpool need someone challenging Gerrard for his position in the team, because at the moment, he has no real competition.

Meanwhile, Andy Carroll achieved 25% passing accuracy in his 10 minute cameo. No wonder Rodgers keeps him on the bench...

Jaimie Kanwar


41 comments:

  1. I think Carrolls was that low due to how we played those 7 minutes. Probably flicks that didnt get to their man. As for Stevie, i think Nuri an the ermergence of Shelvey will challenge him.

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  2. Anupam Bhattacharjee10:15 am, August 27, 2012

    Jamie it seems you must bring up Carroll for sledging each and every time!!! :D

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  3. Who cares. He's a gooner . Lets pump up LFC players. Allen is a gun. Coates a bull.

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  4. I think Stevie is down emotionally, to be with Liverpool in dark times was loyalty but it depresses,if only we can get those good players from somewhere; the captain of the world would get encouraged and run again!

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  5. Ah relax. Steven was great yesterday. His job reverted to almost a breaker role after Lucas went off, and he was far more vocal and leader-like than I can recall for a couple of years. 

    I can understand when you criticise players for obviously playing within themselves, but I feel that your criticisms here are harsh and unfair. Without Gerrard's attitude yesterday, we'd have lost that game. I think you should acknowledge that before asking questions about his passing accuracy. 

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  6. I can't help myself. It's a sickness.


    Sent from Samsung Galaxy Note

    -------- Original message --------
    Subject: [liverpoolkop] Re: Arsenal star admits: I want to be like LFC's Steven Gerrard. Possible...? | Liverpool-Kop.com

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  7. Come on... Didn't the performance the boys put in yesterday give you any optimism for the season, especially after the WBA performance.

    If the team plays the same way next week, we will beat Arsenal and Man U at Anfield.

    Sahin and Assaidi along with 1 or 2 additions and Rodgers will have his team.

    Gerrard delivery for Skrtels goals was spot on. He also played a few good balls to open up play. He's defo not at his best but was at the Euro's with England's and one of their best performers along with Glenn Johnson - give it a little bit more time boys ... there were very good signs yesterday of the old Liverpool way of passing and pressing!

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  8. stevie done ok yesterday, and to answer your question who is there to challenge him?  noone sahin wont,diffrent type of player. shelvey no chance he,s hot and cold crap agaist hearts, stevie played poor against westbrom but to me and many he is still are best player  by a long way...

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  9. Joe Allen was once again the most accurate passer for Liverpool, completing 93% of his 46 passes. Allen wasn’t Liverpool’s top passer this time round, though, with Steven Gerrard attempting 65 passes. Although Gerrard attempted the most passes of any player in red, he only completed 78% of them. It also has to be noted that 47 of Gerrard’s passes were in the opposition half, 23 of them in the final third.

    It shows how your stats are misinterpreted Jaimie. You pass more in te final third, your percentage of successful passes will surely be lower.

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  10. Jaimie its not letting me edit my post for some reason to include this? Technical error mate?

    In terms of chance creation, Liverpool created 14 chances compared to 6 created by City. Of these 14 chances, 11 came from open play. Gerrard was Liverpool’s best creative player, creating 4 of their chances, 2 of them through set plays (one was an assist) and 2 of them from open play. On the other side, Manchester City’s most creative player was Yaya Toure, with the Ivorian creating 3, all from open play.

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  11. montenegro scousser11:02 am, August 27, 2012

    andy had 4 passes.

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  12. obviously he will make more unaccurate pass since he is the only one who seems willing to make an assist or make that killer pass to borini or suarez. the rest just play the safe game. everything still relies on gerrard shoulder and maybe more than ever now. instead of thinking of someone to replace him lets hope that sahin will share gerrards workload in the team. and people like jonjo n allen will upper their game, become more offensive and help gerrard.. but they will have to work much much harder in training to be able to play at a steven gerrard level coz right nw am sure if they try to play more offensive instead of doing what thy doing (passing the ball right left and backside), their passing accuracy will just be below 60% or even 50%. although he is just 75% in form, these ordinary players still cannot be compared to Gerrard.

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  13. Yes, and he misplaced 3 of those.

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  14. Hey Chucky - I don't see this means the stats are interpreted. At the end of the day, Gerrard misplaced 14 passes. Against West Brom, one of his MPs led to an opposition goal, and a similar thing almost happened at one point during the game yesterday. I don't see how it matters where Gerrard gave the ball away. Additionally, you're assuming that the majority of SG's passes were given away in the final third; that might not be the case.

    Re the editing - that's strange. I'll look into it.

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  15. and y dont you say gerrard touched the ball more than anyone, made more offensive passes and more accurate crosses than anyone. he is the only one who is not afraid to take the riks and make things happen. so obviously his % of unaccurate pass will be higher than the rest.

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  16. It also has to be noted that 47 of Gerrard’s passes (completed) were in the opposition half, 23 of them in the final third.

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  17. It also has to be noted that 47 of Gerrard’s passes were in the opposition half, 23 of them in the final third.

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  18. Joey - Gerrard did not make more accurate passes than anyone; Joe Allen ruled the roost there.

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  19. montenegro scousser11:32 am, August 27, 2012

    yes, but 4. can you judge someone by 4 passes? off the bench, with the shocker goal just conceeded. and his header towards coates almost went trough(would have been a goal). and after first cross toward him(5 sec later) suarez was alone in the box with two man on andy... thirty minutes for him per game would be enough to chip in with assist or a goal...

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  20. you didnt read it properly mate.. i said most accurate crosses and more passes than anyone with 65 and 47 of these accurate passes were in the opposition half, 23 of them in the final third.

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  21. It's a case of teaching an old monkey a new trick. ( I am just giving an example and please don't start with " I am calling SG a monkey) He has been in LFC forever playing a different style he is accustomed to. All of a sudden to adapt to a new style will be difficult. The youngsters will learn and embrace this with ease. Give SG some time and I am sure he will deliver. 

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  22. jaimie you never like to admit it when a good point is pointed out. A killer pass is harder than a 5  yard pass and the closer you get to an opponents goal the tighter the team marks you. And as stated the important pass made a goal while skirtel with a higher percentage scored from stevie G yet cost us a goal. Stevie  had a very good game yesterday. The whole team did and subs.

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  23. It just shows how irrelevant stats can be, if Borini's passing percentage can be hailed as if proof that he had a better or more influential game than Gerrard.

    And I can't remember Carroll even attempting many passes, much less failing to complete them. Unless we're counting him winning a header but it going to the opposition as a misplaced pass.

    Pass completion percentage is probably one of the more pointless stats being tracked since the whole 'distance travelled per player' stat started being revealed by Sky!

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  24. Hello mate, i didnt assume anything at all, it was on the EPL site i cut and pasted it, and it goes without saying that the further up the field your passes are then the more they are cut out. Taking nothing away from Allen but his where a lot safer most of the time, from deeper.

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  25. sahin is just a temp fix, wanted to go to arsenal . we paid a 7 mil package for him. hissalary is 2.2 mil. we offered 2 mil more than arsenal and he only  came cos wenger wanted a deal to sign him full time after the loan. liverpool missed a trick there, we should of then offered same as arsenal to get him. 7 mil for a season is quite alot.

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  26. wat gets me is hes singing now how much he loves liverpool

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  27. Does it say on the EPL site that the majority SG's passes were given away in the final third? I agree with you that more passes are likely to be given away in the final third, but that's not an absolute certainty though.

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  28. good point, glen hoddle prefered working with kids more cos he said the older ones find it harder to adjust.

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  29. Looks like a certainty to me mate http://www.eplindex.com/18082/lfc-statistical-analysis-liverpool-2-manchester-city-2.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lfc-statistical-analysis-liverpool-2-manchester-city-2 BOOM

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  30. I can't help it either, he is awful. A simple pass is task he cannot accomplish, wish he gets sold! 

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  31. Yes, good stats :-) Though there's only a 1 pass difference between Gerrard's successful passes in his own half and final third, so I wouldn't say it's conclusive. Still, a misplaced pass is a misplaced pass, and for me, Gerrard is giving the ball away too much. His misplaced pass led to Agger's sending off/the penalty in the first game, and another misplaced pass in midfield led to City's equalising goal yesterday.

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  32. Andy Carroll does not have a role in this team, simple as. He is awful in fact atrocious and would much sooner see the back of his shirt out Shankly gates. I do not understand peoples fixation with him. He is terrible.

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  33. U really don't like Gerrard do you...

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  34. One of Gerrards " misplaced " passes would've been the ball into the box that led to the corner from which we scored , stats don't tell it all , but you keep knocking Stevie if it makes you feel clever

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  35. Gerrard should not be excused for his poor pass completion rate, its true that the game before saw Gerrard actually contributing to the general malaise within the team, something i found quite painful to watch tbh, definitely upped his game against City and the team looks to be playing much better, personally i think he can and WILL do better re his overall passing game.

    Still got plenty to offer the Club and i wouldn't be wrinting him off just yet....

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  36. What about the way he attacked a contested ball? With as much passion as he did when he was 19. He is our captain and he is a Fucking legend. That is all.

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  37. What happened to my comment ?

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  38. Apart form a few blips here and there ,which i know won't happen again , i am very impressed with yesterday's performance . If we consistently play attractive football minus the blips  i am going to have a good time watching my beloved Liverpool play.I still think we need a potent goalscorer .....but who....????

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  39. I suppose you consider Gerrard's ball into the box that led to the corner that led to the first goal was a misplaced pass cos I imagine it would be as a stat .

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  40. Rafa Benitez once said a time will come when captain fantastic will not be as influential a midfielder when he loses his pace but he will have those finishing skills and lethal shots and at that time may be he can play further up on the pitch and be a striker. I think Rodgers should try this approach with Nuri, Allen and Lucas in midfield. 

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  41. It was one of Gerrard's misplaced passes that gave away possession resulting in the first Man City goal. Stevie G is now a 1 good game in 5 player, it's really sad to see.

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