Who leads LFC, now?....

The club goes on.... but at what level?

The past few years have seen us lose names like Carra, Agger, Kuyt and Reina.
Now, when Gerrard is gone, where/who is the spine? We have all agreed he was losing pace, but Its not just those that play on the pitch week in week out that are the basis of the spine.... the dressing room needs characters, senior words, arms around shoulders and COURAGE.

Who are the Senior players? Whose picking us up when we are 2-1 down at half time against the Mancs or bitters... someone that knows what the essence of those matches are all about.

Henderson, imo, has yet to develop into a leader...but he could be the one?
Skrtel.... Jesus could he be the most important player at the squad now?
Lucas.... senior, gives his all... does he have the ability?

Are we in a pickle? Its all well known that young squads struggle when put to the Kosh.... Leadership is key. Arsenal have gone through similar changes... but survived.

Imagine what the difference a Sami (at his peak) would make with regards leadership, within this current squad?

Where do we go from here? Bring senior players in? They wont be senior at LFC and understand the ethos....

Is the last vertebrae of the LFC spine leaving us in May?

On what players do we rebuild....

It doesn't need a senior player it needs the right player. We are devoid of leaders around our captain and now he's going it will create an even bigger void.

If it's not addressed we could really suffer, a team without true leaders is not a team that will succeed.

I see it so often in all walks of life not just football, where the leader is deemed to need to have seniority to get the respect from his peers to lead them. In reality you need the right man taking you into battle, if you get this right regards of age leaders will be formed around the catalyst and create a true unstoppable force.

I think we'll see leaders step up, it'll be a natural thing hopefully. Gerrard was so strong so it's only natural to think no one can fill the captains shoes, and they don't have to, they only have to fill their own shoes and that's all we can ask.

I think Sakho looks like the player who could step up and become a leader out of anyone in our squad.

I think we'll see leaders step up, it'll be a natural thing hopefully. Gerrard was so strong so it's only natural to think no one can fill the captains shoes, and they don't have to, they only have to fill their own shoes and that's all we can ask.

Ah ye Im not asking or expecting anyone to fill his shoes. No chance. Just struggling to see who we have left that will lead us well going forward.

I think Sakho looks like the player who could step up and become a leader out of anyone in our squad.

Thought about mentioning him. Could be a future captain, maybe not under Rodgers though.

I actually think it's a natural evolution of modern day football that teams are no longer defined by certain players alone. SG has been Mr Liverpool for over a decade now, that it's difficult to imagine us without him.

But that's not to say we need a direct replacement, or even an iconic, senior figure to be a leader of the club. I think the team needs to evolve to have several leaders on the field. I look at all modern day great football teams and this is true in all cases.

Barca is rarely talked about without Messi, but what they have strong characters all over the pitch including Xavi, Iniesta, Mascha and Pique...all of whom are leaders in their own right but work together to control games. Real and Munich are very much the same.

I'm an optimist, so I'm hoping SG's departure will allow players like Hendo, Can, Sakho and possibly Lovren (if he can get his arse into gear and start performing) to lead in every area of the pitch. They may find they can step out of SG's considerable shadow.

That said, I'm a little worried about the lack of leadership being displayed by any of them at the moment, though must be said, they haven't exactly had many opportunities to do so with Stevie always being the leader.

In terms of potential "leadership level" players, I think Lovren and Sakho COULD reach that level at some pt in the future.
Sterling perhaps. Maybe the Manquillo and Moreno... albeit differently. Can.. its guesswork at this stage. Likewise with Markovic.

But so many of the players - just have also-ran written all over them. I'm thinking Lambert, Balotelli, Mignolet, Lucas(due to cruel injries) amongst oyhers.

Players like Can, Markovic, Manquillo, Moreno, Lovren, Sakho, Sterling are atleast 3 years away from being highly dependable players. Infact some or even MOST of them may never reach the level traditionally expected of Liverpool.

To field a team without experience is as moronic and offensive as fielding a team without a goalkeeper.

I'm not so sure we're as devoid of leaders as is being asserted here…

I've not been amongst those detractors of Gerrard who have lately been especially vocal. I've tried to keep his contribution in perspective even amongst a few sub-standard performances because, like any player, you take the good with the bad and there is a "net" positive with Stevie's influence to say the least.


That said, I've noticed more than one team performance in the past that clearly wasn't going to involve our captain, and the team bucked up and performed. Hendo comes to mind. Stevie will be missed as a true giant of this club, but he will be missed less on the pitch than he would have been in years past. It was always going to come to this and the game against Leicester makes me wish BR had had the assuredness to sacrifice Stevie and keep Hendo in the middle. It utterly changed our style and drained our influence in midfield, allowing them back into the game when we were 2-0 up.

Without Stevie to look to, our team has, in the past, been forced to look within to take it to the next level. It seems that too often in a game, the younger players look to him for inspiration and do things like pass to him when it makes more sense to get it to someone else.

I think it's more psychological than anyone's fault in particular. I have high hopes for this team, even without a true giant of the game like Gerrard.

To be honest I think Gerrard is the last in a dying breed of footballer .
The box to box midfielder capable of grabbing a a game by the throat and running it.
Vieria keane souness gascoine Gerrard  scholes these are just of the top my head .
Footballers now are just becoming super athletes and almost automons devoid of fight spirit passion.:-(

Lallana was given the armband at Southampton at a similar age to when Stevie was given it here. He could potentially be a leader but without being vocal, more of leading by example.

Lallana was given the armband at Southampton at a similar age to when Stevie was given it here. He could potentially be a leader but without being vocal, more of leading by example.

I actually thought about Lallana too, but really would prefer someone more vocal, someone who doesn't mind giving out sh*t to players when they're not tracking back, not organising themselves properly etc.

Having said that, if we had a Carra or Hyppia type at the back, you don't need a vocal captain. Really thought Lovren would be that, so disappointing so far from him.

It's probably a toss-up between Henderson, Lucas and Skrtel, though I'm not sure I'd give the armband to any of them.

Future - Flanagan?

I think some posts are right about the dying breathe of grass routes footballers staying with their boyhood club is well gone. Shame.
So we need the players to step up to the plate in Stevie's absense we could fill the void. Sakho, Skrtel, Lallana, Can (maybe), Lovren (eventually hopefully), Henderson and Lucas will all be key in the coming seasons.

One thought crossed my mind in work today, Hope we are not turning into a sinking ship, the way the side are playing lately.

we'll see in summer who will stand out

It's probably a toss-up between Henderson, Lucas and Skrtel, though I'm not sure I'd give the armband to any of them.

Agree. Henderson being full time captain of my club will depress me. He's been 2nd rate for the majority of his time at Anfield is the harsh reality. Lucas will probably be sold and Skrtel is brainless.

It'll feel like when Massimo Ambrosini became captain of Milan after Maldini - an acceptance of mediocrity had begun.

This should be our new spine following the summer transfer window...

Handanovic

Sakho

Cabaye

Sturridge

And the dots around the spine...

Handanovic

Montoya - Schär - Sakho - Moreno

Schneiderlin

Cabaye - Henderson

Sterling - Sturridge - Shaqiri

Lallana and Sakho have been captains

Reina, Agger, Carragher, Gerrard...they were all proper would-run-through-a-brick-wall captain material.

There's no one is this squad currently who comes close. Henderson is the closest, but he doesn't have the composure necessary to lead by example as a captain.

I wonder if the lack of comparable passion shown for the club is one of the reasons we've fallen so far this year. The only other player who showed that passion was Suarez.

Going off nothing but "vibes" over who I think could be a good captain out of the squad, I'd say Emre Can.

Loads of off topic content, deleted.

Agenda driven bullshit is boring to read.

This is a boss topic if people give it the time of day. The future on the pitch, who's going to pop up from the current squad?

Henderson is the clear favourite for me.

Flanagan bleeds Liverpool, and if he can continue playing with the confidence of last year, then why not?

P.S. When the hell is Flanagan coming back? We need his character desperately.