Time to unleash the Gerrard?

Fabio Borini’s injury could not have come at a worse time for Liverpool. Out with a metatarsal fracture, the typical healing time is 6 – 8 weeks which means he will miss 15 – 20 games, out of which potentially, 11 Premier League games. This would not have been catastrophic under normal circumstances, given his indifferent start to the season with only 1 goal in the Europa League so far, but it leaves Liverpool with only Suarez as the senior striker. The backups are a bunch of 18 year olds, who might be talented, but cannot be depended on the goals Liverpool need for a decent season.

So let’s examine the options for Liverpool, given Borini’s injury.

Rodgers looks like he is going to play 2 different sides this season. The main first team in the EPL and reserves / fringe players in Europa League and Capital One Cup.

The Main Team:                                                          
Reina                                                                          
Wisdom / Enrique, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson             
Lucas / Sahin, Allen, Gerrard                                     
Sterling, Suarez, Suso / Assaidi                               

The Reserves
Jones / Reina
Wisdom, Carra, Coates, Robinson
Henderson, Sahin, Shelvey
Cole/ Downing, Yesil / Ngoo, Assaidi / Suso  

When Enrique is fit again, I would expect him to play in the first team and replace Wisdom. Johnson will, of course, move back to RB.

It's a no brainer that Lucas will be back in the first team when he's fit again, but Rodgers has a responsibility to ensure he has fully recovered before playing him again and not rush him like what might have happened during pre-season.

I think the only player who could be replaced by Lucas is Sahin although that is harsh on him given his excellent last 2 performances.

So this team is not too bad. Solid defense. Creativity covered with Suso and Suarez. Pace covered with Sterling / Assaidi. Solid midfield. Only one problem. Finishing.  

Below illustrates my main issue with this lineup. 

As we have seen in many games, Suarez receives the ball deep in the opponent’s half, and he likes to dribble off towards the right wing. The onus is on Sterling, Gerrard and Suso to get into the box for the cross / pass. What is happening though, is that Suarez ends up attempting extremely low percentage shots and getting frustrated, because of lack of options in the box.  Looking at Suso and Sterling’s physique, it’s highly unlikely that they will ever be the regular goal scorers and that is not their main role in the team. They are meant to be the providers. However, given Suarez’s ability and fondness to dribble, they will see less of the ball in the attacking third.

There is another possible first team that I would like to see which is below:

Reina
Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique
Lucas, Allen, Sahin
Sterling, Gerrard, Suarez

I remember in an interview while Rafa Benitez was Liverpool's manager, he said that he will convert Gerrard to a striker, instead of a defender when his midfield playing days are over.

“He is a great finisher and can score goals – so maybe he can play as a striker. “When he is older he might not have the same pace but he will have the same accuracy and still be a great finisher. He is still young, 28 for a player is the best age and I think that he will not lose his power and he will not lose his quality. As a player in terms of his physical condition and technical ability he will not lose these things, so he can only improve because he can read the game better every year. I don’t know how long he will be as strong as he is now. But if he can stay with the same energy and same power a few more years he will be better and better.” – Rafa Benitez, Dec 1^st 2008.

Taken from:  http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/sport/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2008/12/01/rafa-benitez-sees-striker-s-role-for-steven-gerrard-99623-22375129/#ixzz299Y7CZuR

I found that fascinating, and highly plausible. He is one of the top scoring midfielders, Liverpool desperately needs a striker and Gerrard could be the answer, playing out of position, as he has done so often for England & Liverpool. 

This is probably what Rafa would do, with the current resources. Let’s push our best finisher upfront, our best dribbler and creative guys to the wings and in Sahin, we have a guy who can ably deputize Gerrard’s midfield role. With this lineup, we will have a much more lethal player in the box that can finish with left foot, right foot or his head and the timing of his runs are impeccable. He is no longer restricted to reduce those surges into the box as Allen, Sahin and Lucas have the midfield sorted and he can terrorize the defenders in the penalty box alongside Sterling’s pace and Suarez’s trickery.

As anyone who has been watching the Being Liverpool series, Rodgers might see more of a striker in Shelvey as he's constantly telling him to get in the box. I would, however, resist that temptation. Shelvey has the potential to be the box to box midfielder to replace Gerrard and I think it could be backwards towards his development as a midfielder by playing him as a forward. Of course, he should continue to play as an attacking midfielder who always tries to get in the box but also has to play with his off the ball defensive responsibilities in mind.   

Of course, all this may only be till Borini's fit again and after that, I would like to see him take over the CF role, instead of being pushed wide. Also, apparently Liverpool have the option to recall Carroll back in January. I think this is a tough decision for Liverpool and Rodgers. If West Ham stay in the Premier League at the end of the season, they will have to buy Carroll for 16 - 18 million. Although this is nowhere close to the 35 mil (Thanks for that one, Damien) that was paid for him, it represents a fair value for a young English forward. And if that money can be spent on a Poacher Forward more inline with Rodger's style of play, would that not be better?