Gerrard's last six months: What's the best course of action?

I thought it would be a good idea to have a separate thread for discussing Gerrard's last months purely from a football perspective.

What's the best course of action for knowing he'll be gone in 6 months?

---We can stick him in an attacking role and tell him to give us everything he's got for 60 minutes, but does that help us long term?
---We can make him an impact sub, enabling players like Henderson and Can develop a rapport and partnership knowing they're the future, but will that help us win trophies now?
---We can go out and splash cash on a top quality CM to arrive either now or in six months. And so on.

Thoughts?

Suppose the best way to utilise the last six months of his Liverpool career is to just play him when he fits the team just like any other player.
Myself and many on the forum are not a fan of the Lucas /. Gerrard midfield duo so that should stop as was seen against Swansea .

We're struggling for goals. Try him as a striker. It's not like he doesn't know how to score and he wouldn't need to run as much as a midfielder. Certainly a better finisher than Raheem. He may relish the chance until Studge is back...

Pick him if he's on form, don't pick him if he isn't.

^suggested that a bit ago .why not?
Would prefer him coming of the bench with 1/2 hr left or on at half time if struggling tbh.
With his shooting ability again why not?

Don't change a damn thing, if he's playing just enjoy and be privileged to see a true legend in action,
We all know he's not at his best but he's still the best player we have ,
And those lucky enough to be at Anfield should cheer everytime he touches the ball, and give a standing ovation whether he enters or exits the pitch.


YNWA

Best course of action = what is best for LFC.

No one is bigger than the club.

Best course of action would have been to not announce it half way through the season...

Pick him if he's on form, don't pick him if he isn't.

I want to say this but the last 6 months of Stevie's career here i'm going to be selfish and say play him whenever we can. I can't come to grips with not seeing him beyond this season

I want to say this but the last 6 months of Stevie's career here i'm going to be selfish and say play him whenever we can. I can't come to grips with not seeing him beyond this season

You can sit overnight over a crappy stream and watch him as much as you like 

You can sit overnight over a crappy stream and watch him as much as you like 

MLS is on ESPN here so i'll watch him still but it'll hurt.

Personally I would love the Reds to win a trophy, to mark the end Stevie's career at the club. Preferably the Europa league.

When does the MLS start and finish? Wouldn't be surprised to see him come back on loan or some mad sh*t like that.

and this to the OP.

Pick him if he's on form, don't pick him if he isn't.

Would hope it galvanises everybody to step it up a notch and have him finish up with a trophy in his hands.

Best course of action would have been to not announce it half way through the season...

To be fair to him, I think he's done it with the best of intentions. There was always going to be speculation about him, while a new contract wasn't signed, at least we all know now and the club can hopefully handle his leaving better than they have some!

I want to say this but the last 6 months of Stevie's career here i'm going to be selfish and say play him whenever we can. I can't come to grips with not seeing him beyond this season

Look mate, nobody loves Steven Gerrard more than me but the best for Liverpool has to come first. If Stevie isn't performing, which he hasn't been this year, then he shouldn't play.

However, final game of the season (hopefully a Cup final) we should give Stevie his final outing in the proper fashion.

We all know he's not at his best but he's still the best player we have ,

That says a lot about the squad mate , at 34yrs and he's making our 24yr old players look mediocre . I think it actually should be the other way around but i can't actually think of any of our players that can grab the game by the scruff of the neck like Gerrard could do .

That says a lot about the squad mate , at 34yrs and he's making our 24yr old players look mediocre . I think it actually should be the other way around but i can't actually think of any of our players that can grab the game by the scruff of the neck like Gerrard could do .

Not exactly true is it?  Seeing as though he has been mediocre at best himself....!!

A lot of people are confusing the Gerrard of the past to the current one.

Not exactly true is it?  Seeing as though he has been mediocre at best himself....!!

A lot of people are confusing the Gerrard of the past to the current one.

Your statement says it all mate , yes he's been a shadow of his former self yet he's still our best .What player on the starting 11 can you clearly say is better than him .

Your statement says it all mate , yes he's been a shadow of his former self yet he's still our best .What player on the starting 11 can you clearly say is better than him .

Do you mean this year mate?

Coutinho and Sterling have been better than Stevie this season.

Think the announcement should take most of the heat out of the debate (on his future), and some of the pressure off BR when deciding to play/not play him. Which I think should be a good thing - as long as SG keeps his focus and doesn't take his foot off the gas, which am sure he won't, pro that he is.

Could we see SG starting fewer games as the season gets into the second half, and be used more as an impact sub ... with BR starting the transition now and focusing more on future CM combinations eg. Can/Hendo? Might make sense, could argue might be good idea to start adjusting to life without SG asap. But I'm not so sure he will - BR is constantly talking up SG so reckon the season will go on pretty much as it has so far - SG playing regularly, and starting the bigger games. Would hope that BR ends the SG/Lucas combo though, not doing anyone any favours that one.

And I'd expect Stevie to get a really good reaction from the fans ... the long farewell starts here...

To be fair to him, I think he's done it with the best of intentions. There was always going to be speculation about him, while a new contract wasn't signed, at least we all know now and the club can hopefully handle his leaving better than they have some!

yeah maybe handle it like Suarez. The club knew he would be leaving and had time to find a suitable replacement for him.

Oh yeah, that worked well...

Look mate, nobody loves Steven Gerrard more than me but the best for Liverpool has to come first. If Stevie isn't performing, which he hasn't been this year, then he shouldn't play.

However, final game of the season (hopefully a Cup final) we should give Stevie his final outing in the proper fashion.

I know mate. I'm just in denial.

Hello lads, My first post here. Awesome forum, so glad I found other people to talk about LFC with.

I think the #1 thing the club has to do with him is START him in EVERY home game, regardless of form or not. Stevie G has been a legend around Anfield and to think that people could go to a match and NOT see him would be tragic. I know myself, for example, am trying to get to Anfield for my first match and to see Stevie G in red. If i made all that effort to get there and he wasn't in the starting 11 i would be heart broken.

just my thought...

Do you mean this year mate?

Coutinho and Sterling have been better than Stevie this season.

If they are mate they'd want to start showing it in goals , as much as Coutinho creates his shots on goal are lame as are Sterling's . I know his legs are gone i'm not disputing it but can you honestly tell me any one of those lads will ever reach Gerrards level and if they can't does it not disturb you as to where we'll find ourselves if we can't find a player of his ilk . I'm looking at that squad and for the life of me i can't see 1 .

Its funny but I was watching MOTD with my son and of all people, Robbie savage said something that could work out for us playing our current formation. He pointed out that Can was playing at CB and it was so he can bring the ball out of defence better than Toure, which we all know. Savage said why cant Gerrard play in that position and TBH why cant he.

We're struggling for goals. Try him as a striker. It's not like he doesn't know how to score and he wouldn't need to run as much as a midfielder. Certainly a better finisher than Raheem. He may relish the chance until Studge is back...

He might be a better finisher but it would mean completely changing the way we play.

Our midfield is finally managing to produce quick throughballs on the ground that allow pacy strikers to run behind defences and finish; Stevie with age is now lacking the ability to accelerate in constant short bursts which is why we are constantly seeing him getting skinned in the middle of the park.

If we pplay him as a striker it will be to utuilise his long range shooting, hold-up play and heading ability. If we were good at lofted through balls and crosses, Lambert and Balotelii would have been knocking them in by the bagful.

Each MLS team will play 30 games one home, one away, against each of the other teams for a total of 240 games from March 25 to Oct. 24,

Does this mean once he had chosen a team to join he could, in effect, start playing for them straight after our season finishes in May?

If he doesn't then waiting until March 2016 to play competitive football again is a long time for him and his body.. isn't it?

Just saying like....

Each MLS team will play 30 games one home, one away, against each of the other teams for a total of 240 games from March 25 to Oct. 24, 2010.

Does this mean once he had chosen a team to join he could, in effect, start playing for them straight after our season finishes in May?

If he doesn't then waiting until March 2016 to play competitive football again is a long time for him and his body.. isn't it?

Just saying like....

He can start playing for them mid season though, if he wishes to. Take a short vacation first. He's out of contract after this season, so he can start whenever he wants. Besides, from October till December is the play offs season.

He can start playing for them mid season though, if he wishes too.

okay... jeez,  he could end up with a title medal after playing for 4 months...madness !

okay... jeez,  he could end up with a title medal after playing for 4 months...madness !

Well yeah, allthough the finals for their title playoffs aren't untill december. But any player coming to a Premier League club in late january could win a title in 5 months too.

Hello reds, I would like to get a campaign going, so I'm visiting as many forums and fan sites as I can. As a mark if respect and to honour our captain, when next seasons home shirt is released I'd like everyone who buys it to have GERRARD 8 printed on the back. I'm hoping to get plenty of fans on board with this who can help spread the word. Thanks for reading my friends.

Well yeah, allthough the finals for their title playoffs aren't untill december. But any player coming to a Premier League club in late january could win a title in 5 months too.

True mate.. never thought of it the other way round..

It will be interesting how BR (is told) how to play him from here on in.. he'll need to be in top condition to play for his new club come May/June.. or will he turn up knackered for his first training session...
I'd rather the latter after bagging us a couple of Trophies..

This next month or so will shed more light on it i'm certain..

I think he should finish off, playing less minutes, but playing in an attacking C mid role. He can go out on a high then, where he can have a real impact on games, instead of being slated for being too slow to cover the ground at Def mid.
It can only be to our benefit, it's his natural role. I'm sure he'd be happier with it as well.

If they are mate they'd want to start showing it in goals , as much as Coutinho creates his shots on goal are lame as are Sterling's . I know his legs are gone i'm not disputing it but can you honestly tell me any one of those lads will ever reach Gerrards level and if they can't does it not disturb you as to where we'll find ourselves if we can't find a player of his ilk . I'm looking at that squad and for the life of me i can't see 1 .

No I don't think they'll reach Stevie's level but that's not a slight on them, that's simply how good Stevie has been for Liverpool Football Club. That doesn't mean though they won't be great players for the club as well though.

As for where we'll find ourselves when Stevie leaves, I worried a lot about that many years ago. At present though, I think we're much better suited to deal with his absence than we once where. While we may not find a like for like replacement for Stevie, let's be honest who in the world could replace him? We've got a couple of good players in the middle who can do a job for us. Henderson, Can, Coutinho is a good, solid midfield trio (in my opinion)

I've also for many years wanted us to sign Cabaye. He, to me, would be the best like for like replacement of Stevie.

He can play every game for me.... come on at 60+min and partner whomever up top. Would much prefer Gerrard to come on as opposed to our 3 current "cant find the net" strikers.

Danny and Gerrard up top could be great.

Wherever he is played, will be great to watch every last minute of him.

Each MLS team will play 30 games one home, one away, against each of the other teams for a total of 240 games from March 25 to Oct. 24,

Does this mean once he had chosen a team to join he could, in effect, start playing for them straight after our season finishes in May?

If he doesn't then waiting until March 2016 to play competitive football again is a long time for him and his body.. isn't it?

Just saying like....

Nah mate, MLS is a 34-game regular season, with playoffs at the end. So, at most, it's a 40 game season if you reach the final as a play-in.

Gerrard can join the league at any point. Most likely is he'll join in July.

I'd strip him of the captaincy with immediate effect and play him as a sub if needed.  To be honest we are a far better team without him anyway.

A great great player in his day but those days have now come to an end.

We can make him an impact sub, enabling players like Henderson and Can develop a rapport and partnership knowing they're the future, but will that help us win trophies now?

If I was a manager this would be my thinking, but I would imagine Brendan will prefer to play him every other game.  I think it's vital that new players and new partnerships are developed.  I'd use Gerrard further forward and concentrate on developing a backbone in the side that we will use next season. 

I'd strip him of the captaincy with immediate effect

Before the announcement I was thinking about the captaincy issue, but now that it's all real I don't think it would serve any purpose to take the club captaincy off him and it would look vindictive.  It's not going to help us and will most likely make things worse.

Leave that as it is - what would we do if he suffered a cruciate injury?

Stop playing him for 90 minutes.

Let him boss it for an hour and then move Hendo or Can central.

That or stick with the Lucas/Hendo pairing.

He plays if his form merits it. Simply as that.

Personally in the immediate short term I'd like to see him as Brendan's impact sub and used further forward for the last 30 minutes or so.

He plays if his form merits it. Simply as that.

Personally in the immediate short term I'd like to see him as Brendan's impact sub and used further forward for the last 30 minutes or so.

I'd certainly use him further forward but I would switch between starting and impact sub. And in the Derby he plays centre mid for me.

He plays if his form merits it. Simply as that.

Personally in the immediate short term I'd like to see him as Brendan's impact sub and used further forward for the last 30 minutes or so.

I think this is a great solution if we are in the top part of the table. 4th-6th, sure, lets put a team out there to compete. But honestly i think he has earned the right start at anfield for the remaining games in this campaign. I don't think we are top 4 team this year. I don't fear relegation. So at that point whats the difference between 6th and 15th?

Put him in the Number 10 role, on the hour mark, coming off the bench for when Couts gets tired.

I'd strip him of the captaincy with immediate effect

Yeah let's just stick him in the reserves for 6 months as well eh?

I'd like to think Brendan will use the time to instill how we're going to play without him.  Use him by all means but not if it disrupts our usual game.

Yeah let's just stick him in the reserves for 6 months as well eh?

Well in all honesty it would have been far better if he just left now, how much respect will he command as captain when they all know he has half an eye on his new life in the US. He should have showed some class and waited until the end of the season instead of acting like a spoiled child and throwing his toys out of the pram just because the club don't want to keep him as the highest earner. Add to this the fact that he just gets worse and worse and the reserves might actually be an ok option.

If they don't respect Stevie at this point then it's them who should be in the reserves.

I'd play him as much as possible, but in the middle of the back 3 if we're going to stick with that. Aside from his passing ability he's stronger in the air then any of our centre halfs and probably a better tackler to

Can he play in goal? I'd bet a pound to a penny on he's better at it that either of our two other options.

We got to see Gerrard in a more advanced position today. Two goals, albeit against a side 70-odd places below us. Still, two goals that see us through.

Looking at our squad, there isn't a single player on the team that can hit a decent free kick. No one else would have scored his second. Stevie's set piece delivery is something that will need to be addressed because we're going to really miss it next season.

Stevie's set piece delivery is something that will need to be addressed because we're going to really miss it next season.

Apart from the corners.  Lallana and Coutinho both take better corners than him.  Hard to say that no one else in the team would have scored from a free kick because no one else really gets a go do they?  I'd imagine the two aforementioned could have a go.  No idea about Markovic, Balotelli etc.

This might sound crazy.

But i think Gerrard actually wants to go. He wants to try something new while he still can. He wants a break from the high pressure of playing for Liverpool. Sounds crazy i know. But he's a liverpool boy, playing for liverpool. At some point it must just be boring living in your home town your whole life.

As a brit living in america, moving here was exciting, a new adventure. I imagine his wife and kids are excited about moving to LA and enjoying the nice weather all year round. He might even be able to be 'fairly' anonymous. Go food shopping with his kids without a minder. Go to the park without a CIA style entourage.

I dont know. Call me crazy!

Apart from the corners.  Lallana and Coutinho both take better corners than him.  Hard to say that no one else in the team would have scored from a free kick because no one else really gets a go do they?  I'd imagine the two aforementioned could have a go.  No idea about Markovic, Balotelli etc.

Coutinho never beats the first man on his corners. Agree on Lallana's corners though -- they're quality.

We saw Suarez take free kicks ahead of Gerrard plenty of times, to be fair. In the matches Gerrard didn't play and others took free kicks, they were terrible. Henderson thinks he can take him, but he can't. Balotelli is probably the next best option as he used to take them at City and AC Milan -- that's assuming he's still going to be a Liverpool player next season, of course.

balo takes good freekicks and pens
 

We got to see Gerrard in a more advanced position today. Two goals, albeit against a side 70-odd places below us. Still, two goals that see us through.

Looking at our squad, there isn't a single player on the team that can hit a decent free kick. No one else would have scored his second. Stevie's set piece delivery is something that will need to be addressed because we're going to really miss it next season.

It WAS against a lower team mate, but who else would have scored them if he hadn't? In my opinion he's the only player at the club (with the possible exception of Sturridge) who would have scored the first. We have absolutely NOBODY who attacks the space like he did there. I still see some people calling Lucas "the most important player at the club", or other players as the "next big thing" as well as saying Gerrard's "past it". The uncomfortable truth though is that Gerrard is still capable of doing things which the vast majority of our other players aren't.

I think its interesting though out this whole season up until the end of the last prem league game most people were saying DONT START GERRARD ! HES PART IT THE TEAM LOOK BETTER WITHOUT HIM. Him and Lucas are too slow in CM, he's past it etc etc etc

Now suddenly we're gonna be relegation fodder without him.

I mean there is really no middle ground with footie fans!

Well in all honesty it would have been far better if he just left now, how much respect will he command as captain when they all know he has half an eye on his new life in the US. He should have showed some class and waited until the end of the season instead of acting like a spoiled child and throwing his toys out of the pram just because the club don't want to keep him as the highest earner. Add to this the fact that he just gets worse and worse and the reserves might actually be an ok option.

Your opinion is w*nk.

Gerrard's last six months: What's the best course of action?

How about

Get on their knees,
Tell him they are sorry they didn't think it appropriate to have a contract waiting for our greatest ever player when he returned from the World Cup
Explain they are sorry they didn't see fit to bring up the subject of a new contract even after the skipper announced he was quitting international football to prolong his commitment to LFC
Offer him a 2 year deal
Pay him what he's worth
Oh and say sorry....

It WAS against a lower team mate, but who else would have scored them if he hadn't? In my opinion he's the only player at the club (with the possible exception of Sturridge) who would have scored the first. We have absolutely NOBODY who attacks the space like he did there. I still see some people calling Lucas "the most important player at the club", or other players as the "next big thing" as well as saying Gerrard's "past it". The uncomfortable truth though is that Gerrard is still capable of doing things which the vast majority of our other players aren't.

And yet bizarrely so many of the posters on here seem to think it's for the best that he goes or go crazy when he starts games.

Well in all honesty it would have been far better if he just left now, how much respect will he command as captain when they all know he has half an eye on his new life in the US. He should have showed some class and waited until the end of the season instead of acting like a spoiled child and throwing his toys out of the pram just because the club don't want to keep him as the highest earner. Add to this the fact that he just gets worse and worse and the reserves might actually be an ok option.

I wouldn't interpret it like that at all and I'm surprised that you have. The speculation would have raged on for the rest of the season if he hadn't announced his plans to play in the MLS. He would have been asked the question repeatedly, as would the manager and clubs from abroad would be making advances (and leaking them to press) to try to sign him as soon as we got into January. As for your comments about being the highest earner, it's speculation isn't it? You don't know that is what he was demanding. Maybe he wanted a two year deal? Maybe he wanted more money than was being offered? Maybe the offer they made was very low and he considered it to be an insult. It's all speculative. But for my mind the club have made a mess of it, they could have dealt with it far far better. It was clear in the summer that he wanted to stay, was looking forward to it, was waiting for the club to sort something out and now he is leaving.