Steven Gerrard cupped his ears as he put his Liverpool side ahead with a sublime free-kick in a fixture he knows all too well. While the quality from a Stevie G dead-ball has never been in question it was the quality in the 34 year old overall play that has been criticised by one and all over the last few weeks. While the former England skipper hasn’t hit the heights of last season ever since that dramatic slip against Chelsea. It obviously must’ve weighed him down terribly over the entire summer and the dismal performance at the World Cup didn’t help his cause either. Back in Liverpool Red, normal service was supposed to be restored as Reds’ fans expected their skipper to slot back effortlessly into his quarter-back position of last year, only this time he has been caught out far too often.
Being man-marked out of the game, the Liverpool skipper’s utility as the base of the midfield diamond as been brought up in many debates. Never a defensive minded player, it is his defensive flaws that have been highlighted over the start of this season. While redemption of sorts was achieved by the near-perfect free-kick in the derby, the question Brendan Rodgers’ face in the not-so-distant future is whether or not to drop his captain when the likes of young Emre Can and hard-working Joe Allen return to full fitness.
Stevie G was never brought up to be a defensive midfielder. Even when he did operate in that position last season, he had the likes of Jordan Henderson and Joe Allen doing all the dirty work for him. Still the best passer of a football in the squad, unlike last season there is no Luis Suarez or Daniel Sturridge, for now, to make up for defensive errors by banging in the goals at the other end. While one may argue that the Huyton-born midfielder has carried Liverpool through the last decade, it would only be fair to say that Liverpool are a better side with the skipper not in the starting line-up.
Here is a bunch of reasons why:-
While Brendan Rodgers’ certainly has huge decisions to make once his injured stars are back, for now, Stevie G is still the best passer of a football on Merseyside and still one of the top midfielders around.
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