DEBATE
By Andy Sixsmith

Picture the scene. You are in charge of one of the country’s greatest football clubs. The team has made its worst start to a season in over 100 years with only one win in seven games. And to top it all off, your talisman, the crowd favourite and one of the club’s greatest ever players, is in form as poor as the club he has such an affinity for.

It is not the ideal situation for Brendan Rodgers and after another lethargic Anfield display against an admittedly committed Stoke outfit, there are further murmurs of discontent on the red half of Merseyside.

And at the hub of the club’s problems, is the form of their captain Steven Gerrard.

In a week where talk has centralised around Rio Ferdinand’s declining form in the twilight of his career, it can be argued the same could be said of the Kop legend.

Make no mistake, in the years since his first-team breakthrough way back in 1998, the 32-year-old has been the keystone to Liverpool’s cup successes, inspiring them to Champions League glory and wins on the domestic front, including a typically memorable captain’s display against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final.

Few football fans, let alone Liverpool supporters would forget such inspirational displays. But with the current plight Liverpool are in, historical sentiment must be disregarded.

It is important, at this juncture to remember the old adage, ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent’, so often true down the years.

But there are signs to suggest that the class Gerrard has displayed so consistently throughout his career at Liverpool is starting to fade as the legs grow weary and mind becomes less nimble.

Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Stoke was as typical a Liverpool display as you will see in modern times, creating several chances and dominating possession, but unable to break down Tony Pulis’ resolute side.

And when the side inevitably turned to their talisman for a much-needed injection of inspiration, Gerrard, as he so often has been this season, was found lacking.

There were glimpses of his old self – that ability to stretch play by pinging a quick, beautifully accurate pass ahead of a team-mate.

But such glimpses were all too fleeting, lost amidst a passing inaccuracy that has blighted and undermined Gerrard’s performances in this albeit fledgling domestic campaign.

The situation is not helped either by Brendan Rodgers having a plethora of midfield talent, waiting in the wings behind Gerrard.

The metronomic Joe Allen showed his captain the way once more, attempting 69 passes of which 91% found their target, a statistic all the more resounding in comparison to Gerrard’s own meagre figures of 73%.

Such a statistic would be dismissed, almost scoffed at in many other teams, but the philosophy that Brendan Rodgers is slowly but surely integrating at Anfield demands precision and an ability to monopolise and control possession.

Bearing that in mind, the differentiation between Allen’s and Gerrard’s passing statistics will be a factor at the forefront of the Ulsterman’s mind.

So where does he go from here? It is a conundrum that could ultimately make or break Liverpool’s season and subsequently, one Rodgers must solve imminently before the damage is too great to repair.

It also represents a balancing act for the former Swansea boss. While keeping the iconic skipper in the team could damage the club’s progress this season, dropping Gerrard in favour of less experienced personnel would damage his credibility with the faithful Kop.  

The waiting game could prove beneficial to the team. After all, this would not be the first time, Steven Gerrard has been written off and responded the only way he knows how – by upping his game.

But with the signs looming larger with each passing game that the Gerrard influence is waning, Rodgers must instead look to the future.

The likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Lucas Leiva, Nuri Sahin and Joe Allen form a potentially destructive midfield, packed full of solidity, fluidity and creativity; three aspects Liverpool are sorely missing right now.

And as well as providing those three crucial ingredients, such personnel can offer something that even Gerrard cannot – longevity.

The England midfielder, like Ferdinand, is in the twilight of his career now, whether fans care to acknowledge it or not and no man will be better aware of that than the fastidious Rodgers.

He may be in charge of one of the world’s most famous clubs. He may have at his disposal one of the club’s greatest ever players.

But Brendan Rodgers’ managerial duty is to bring the glory days back to Anfield. He must now decide whether he is willing to risk popularity and sacrifice sentiment to achieve that.

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Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was keen to highlight the “big plus” of the performances of his younger players during Sunday’s frustrating 0-0 draw with Stoke City.

The Reds failed to post their first Premier League home victory of the season as a resolute Potters backline held firm in the face of a second-half onslaught.

But, despite admitting disappointment at the result, the Northern Irishman insisted the manner of his side’s showing was encouraging.

“We’re obviously disappointed we didn’t win the game, I thought the attitude and the application of the players was terrific,” he told reporters.

“We stood up to the real physicality of the game, which was a big plus. If you can play against Stoke physically, especially with so many young players in the team and so many technicians, then you know you’re going to be alright in your other games.

“I thought as the game wore on we got into good spaces and areas of the field but just that final touch or final decision at the end of it didn’t quite allow us to score.

“So we’re disappointed not to win but as I said there were a lot of real positives from the game and our first clean sheet of the season which is important.”

Despite denying having seen incidents in which Luis Suarez was seemingly stamped on by Robert Huth and later appeared to dive in the box, the 39-year-old hit out at the media’s treatment of the striker.

“I think whatever Luis does, there’ll always be a problem,” he opined. “Whether it’s media or referees. I thought he was terrific today some of combinations and movement. It [diving] gets brought up every week.”

The former Swansea boss also refused to be drawn into criticising the opposition’s physical approach, which saw them receive six yellow cards.

“It was a physical game today but no complaints from us. I thought we stood up to it very well,” he continued.

“I thought the referee maybe at times didn’t see it that way and maybe didn’t give some decisions that he should have done but the bottom line is it was a terrific performance. It’s brilliant to see the young players cope in that type of environment and it really bodes well for us.”

Rodgers went on to hail the club’s fans for their continued support in the face of a poor run at Anfield over the last calendar year.

“A big appreciation to supporters,” he added. “This is a club which I believe has won only two Premier League games at Anfield in this calendar year and it’s been nearly a year since the club won consecutive Premier League games.

“So to still get the support and the backing of the supporters with that type of record, there are not many clubs would give that.

“They were right with the team right to the very end and I was very proud of the team and the supporters today.”

The Liverpool boss also insisted he has no regrets over loaning out Andy Carroll to West Ham, despite possessing a paucity of alternative attacking options on the bench.

“That’s gone and there’s nothing we can do with that. It was a difficult period in the summer but the window is shut, we have what we have,” he stated.

“I’m not one really that goes down the desperation route if I’m being totally honest. In my career I’ve won a number of games against big teams by continuing to play and waiting for those moments at the end of the game.

“I don’t really do desperation where it becomes a war in the last 10 minutes of the game by kicking it longer. For me we work with what we’ve got, we work to find different ways to score and then when January comes we see if we can revisit that.”

Liverpool failed to secure their first home Premier League win of the season as Stoke battled to a 0-0 draw at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts toiled in front of the goal, with Raheem Sterling, Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel all shaking the woodwork, but could not find the breakthrough against obstinate opposition.

Reds boss Brendan Rodgers elected to keep faith in the same team which recorded an emphatic 5-2 victory over Norwich last weekend, with youngsters Andre Wisdom, Suso and Sterling all handed another chance to impress.

Stoke, meanwhile, were missing Andy Wilkinson, who sat out the final match of the three-match ban for elbowing Mario Balotelli. Liverpool old boys Charlie Adam and Peter Crouch made the starting XI on their return to Anfield, but Tony Pulis was forced to omit Michael Owen through injury.

A bright start from both sides was marred on three minutes when Robert Huth appeared to stamp on Suarez while the Uruguayan lay on the floor after a collision. Fortunately for the German, referee Lee Mason and his assistants did not see the incident.

Suarez was soon back on his feet and causing problems though, and when his clever run and cut-back found Nuri Sahin, only a block from the unwitting Sterling prevented the Turk’s goal-bound shot from finding the bottom corner.

Liverpool’s staunch devotion to playing their way out of defence under Rodgers has already resulted in some embarrassing moments this season, and on 20 minutes Stoke almost forced another. Pepe Reina’s wayward pass gifted the high-pressing Potters possession some 25 yards out, and the Spaniard had to be at his most agile to tip over Michael Kightly’s ambitious lob attempt.

But the Reds recovered from that shock and committed wave after wave of attack before narrowly failing to go ahead as Agger struck the post after getting the slightest of touches on a cross from the right.

It was the nearest the hosts came in a frustrating half for the Anfield crowd, which they ended by voicing their displeasure with a referee who had shown plenty of leniency to the physical visitors.

With their manager’s words clearly ringing in their ears, Liverpool began the second period much brighter and almost broke the deadlock as Glen Johnson’s cross was desperately nodded away after some nice build-up work.

And Johnson was at the heart of the attack again as he latched onto a raking cross-field pass from Gerrard only to shoot narrowly over the bar in the box just moments later.

Despite their domination, the hosts were fortunate not to go behind when a three-way clash between Jon Walters, Wisdom and Skrtel meant a clever interception from Agger was needed to stop a cross into the box with a goal looking certain.

Liverpool subsequently stepped up their onslaught on the Stoke box, if not Asmir Begovic’s goal, and went even closer as Sterling struck the base of the post with a side-footed drive from inside the area.

However, they could not get past a determined Potters back line, even as Skrtel hooked onto the post in the dying seconds.