I have feeling Gerrard needed this long rest after caring the team non-stop for the past 5 years or so.....So i think this injury has done more good than bad...I want to see him on the pitch so bad

@Messiakanino: thanks mate! !

@Donttreadonred: yes i would say one person i left out was Kelly . .

@Nishank: the thing is my friend even if he is not 100% his presence alone inspires the team . . his energy is something that since his absence can be seen amiss . . you would remember back in Istanbul the way he was throwing his arms around pumping up the whole team even 3-1 down! ! that is what the man brings about in the team. . LEADERSHIP! its like Kenny is a legend in the bench & Gerrard is the one who carries that tag on the field with that passion & ability that he & only he has. . you see in recent times our performances have been good no doubt but . .in times when we go down a goal or two who have lacked that enthusiasm to fight back . .look at the Sunderland game we were lead we lost it and never looked like taking it back . .this are moments when i miss Stevie G . . in his prime he would come in out of nowhere & blast it like Galatassary or West Ham! ! or in his worst form would just be there guiding others around! . . .being the best Central Midfielder in the toughest league ain't an easy job . .

Gerrard will thrive even more knowing that he no more has to carry the team alone.In a role free of shackles he would absolutely thrive imo.

Ah, Gerrard conversation arising... Whom would you drop from our current XI ?

A lot of options with Stevie back.

He can play in the hole (and put Suarez on the Right Wing or Striker) or can play Hendo's role. Could also play Adam's role, similar what he did against the Mancs.

Drop Henderson, let Gerrard and Suarez both float in behind Carroll, interchanging positions.

Yea i would agree to Hendo being the most probable option to be dropped once Stevie is back . .then again Kenny might just surprise! !

If Gerrard has got the legs, I guess he should be played on the right wing. Because Suarez will be wasted in midfield.

Gerrard - Lucas - Adam - Downing
Suarez
Carroll

Downing - Lucas - Adam
Gerrard - Carroll - Suarez
:?:

Hendo - Lucas - Adam - Downing
Gerrard
Suarez
:?:

Hendo - Gerrard - Adam - Downing
Suarez
Carroll
:?:

Or Adam dropped for Stevie?

I would drop Henderson and play Gerrard in an interchangeable position alongside Suarez.

Btw why wasnt Carroll wasn't even in the bench yesterday?Was he having any niggling injuries? Hope not.

BeautifulGame wrote:I would drop Henderson and play Gerrard in an interchangeable position alongside Suarez.

Btw why wasnt Carroll wasn't even in the bench yesterday?Was he having any niggling injuries? Hope not.

Honestly, Carroll hasn't been in great form in this season yet, could be that Capello just didn't fancy choosing him.


Our positive problem is that both Gerrard and Suarez are at their best in Attacking Midfield roles.

What about this:

Gerrard - Lucas - Adam

Suarez - Carroll - Downing
or
Kuyt - Suarez - Downing

Gerrard could roam forward more (similar to an Iniesta roel) letting Adam orchestrate from Midfield(similar to Xavi/Cesc now?) and Lucas can hold (Busquets/Mascherano).

Sorry for the Barca reference, but it was the best example I could think of. It's also similar to what Chelsea played under Ancelotti, before Torres threw a wrench into the system.

I still think we could've done better than Downing.Ideal line up

.........................................Reina........................................
Robinson...........Kelly......................Coates................Enrique
........................................Lucas........................................
...............Adam.....................................Gerrard.................
Kuyt.......................................................................Suarez.
.........................................Carolll......................................

donttreadonred wrote:What about this:

Gerrard - Lucas - Adam

Suarez - Carroll - Downing
or
Kuyt - Suarez - Downing

Gerrard could roam forward more (similar to an Iniesta roel) letting Adam orchestrate from Midfield(similar to Xavi/Cesc now?) and Lucas can hold (Busquets/Mascherano).

Sorry for the Barca reference, but it was the best example I could think of. It's also similar to what Chelsea played under Ancelotti, before Torres threw a wrench into the system.

4-3-3 could work out well as long as we don't become vulnerable defensively and/or can still win the midfield battle.
So 4-3-3 could do it as long as the players have got the legs to make it 4-5-1, i.e. the two wide attacking players come to MF to defend and help us bring the ball up.
I hope I made sense there lol.

ragbirjosh wrote:I still think we could've done better than Downing.Ideal line up

.........................................Reina........................................
Robinson...........Kelly......................Coates................Enrique
........................................Lucas........................................
...............Adam.....................................Gerrard.................
Kuyt.......................................................................Suarez.
.........................................Carolll......................................

While I don't disagree that there are probably better players out there than downing at that position, i'm very satisfied that we have him... and this lineup couldn't be farther from my ideal. kelly starting at cb? him and coates over agger/skrtel/carragher? robinson over glen? the rest is justifiable at least (i'd agree with most of the midfield, although i'd rather see downing start than kuyt, and possibly rotate kuyt with carroll up top), but i'm seriously confused by your defense...

stevieg8 wrote:

ragbirjosh wrote:I still think we could've done better than Downing.Ideal line up

.........................................Reina........................................
Robinson...........Kelly......................Coates................Enrique
........................................Lucas........................................
...............Adam.....................................Gerrard.................
Kuyt.......................................................................Suarez.
.........................................Carolll......................................

While I don't disagree that there are probably better players out there than downing at that position, i'm very satisfied that we have him... and this lineup couldn't be farther from my ideal. kelly starting at cb? him and coates over agger/skrtel/carragher? robinson over glen? the rest is justifiable at least (i'd agree with most of the midfield, although i'd rather see downing start than kuyt, and possibly rotate kuyt with carroll up top), but i'm seriously confused by your defense...

Sorry man , made a mistake there meant to be johnson at rb not robinson.Kelly in his 14 professional starts has shown the consistency and potential to be a GREAT cb imo. Coates starting is wishful thinking but if what has been said about him is true then... I can see him as a starter or at least rotation.

It's tough , cuz we have a lot of good defenders but none who we can really say are clearly better than their competition. The only way to work out the best defense is probably experimentation , however , I dont think kenny will risk that , so we'll just have to rely on his judgement.

He has only had a single start in the first team at the CB position. That also in a friendly. And he wasn't great that day. He's performed well at RB, but there is no way I'd start him in the center.

@stevieg8 - The last time we had good width was when Riera was here. I really liked his playing style as well. If it wasn't for his tantrums and BS towards the end of his career with us, things could have been different.

With that said, I'm loving Downing so far. Give it a couple more games to get on everyone's wave length, and I believe we'll have a solid team.

We really need Carroll to work very hard at settling in though. He still doesn't look quite there yet.

Carroll needs to use his strength better....We're wasting his ability by just crossing and letting him do all the work....He's not that bad on the ground to be truthful but he does need to improve in that area.....And as some of you already mentioned he needs to work harder on the pitch as well

The full backs need to get up and send in more traditiona crosses than the daggers Downing and Adam try to send him, Caroll looks uncomfortable with the angles.

Art Morte wrote:

BeautifulGame wrote:I would drop Henderson and play Gerrard in an interchangeable position alongside Suarez.

Btw why wasnt Carroll wasn't even in the bench yesterday?Was he having any niggling injuries? Hope not.

Honestly, Carroll hasn't been in great form in this season yet, could be that Capello just didn't fancy choosing him.


Our positive problem is that both Gerrard and Suarez are at their best in Attacking Midfield roles.

Unless i am mistaken England had Defoe ahead of Carroll on the bench.Unless its due some injury its a daft decision as usual from Capello.Not complaining.

Carroll's going to have to fight for his spot. Kuyt playing ST is amazing. Unsung hero.

Given that Kenny has mentioned his preference for the 4-2-3-1 several times and that that formation is the one being used through the club at the youth and reserve levels, I would be very surprised to see us move away from it. Also, it's the formation we've used in all of our matches so far, though it has been a very flexible version.

The players we've signed were done so largely because of their chance-creation stats. Downing can switch wings, Gerrard and Suarez will float freely in behind Carroll and Johnson and Enrique can provide extra width when necessary.

That's one of the reasons I didn't like Downing , Suarez loses a lot of his effectiveness on the right and so does Downing.

Huh? As stated multiple times, Suarez would have a free role, he'd simply start on the right. Also, Downing has demonstrated again and again over the past season or two that he can play on the right and that he's not as one-footed as some suggest.

Downing is very good technical player and can play on both wings as well as in the middle behind the striker.So he wont restrict Suarez in any way infact will make Suarez even more effective by often switching positions with him.

What happened to Martin Kelly!!! Last season he had 23 (starts & subs) compared to only 8 so far this season.

True Glen has been available. But I think with more than half the season gone, he should have got few more games.

After the kind of take-off he had last season he needs more games to maintain the development.

Our defense is one of (if not THE) best in the League... perhaps Dalglish considered consistency to be a factor in that?

It's not particularly hard to see why, if the first choice RB and LB are constantly fit, the back ups don't see as much game time, is it?