Steven Gerrard is currently enjoying a revitalization of his form and as a result has become an integral part in Liverpool’s title chase this season.
Much of the credit for Gerrard’s resurgence should go to the tactical acumen of Brendan Rodgers, who permanently stationed Gerrard in the holding midfield role as a result of Lucas Leiva’s injury in the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa. Initially, the move seemed to be a makeshift tactical patch put in place to cover for Leiva’s injury. But the tactical switch was premeditated, with Rodgers first experimenting with him in the role in the 5-3 win against Stoke.
It was without a doubt a risky move; putting an attack minded Gerrard in the holding role would be seen by many as a move made simply to keep him on the field longer, and to make way for younger, more vibrant players as Gerrard slowly phased out of the midfield.
But the truth is that whispers had already started, regarding an “aging” Gerrard who was losing pace and flair in the midfield. The Gerrard of Istanbul was gone, and only glimmers of his greatness had been seen in the season, with a brilliant pass here and a burst of pace there. A move had to be made, and Rodgers made that move.
At first, Liverpool supporters had nothing really to look forward to in terms of the switch, with Gerrard putting in a couple shaky performances, playing awkward and unaccustomed to the position.
But after a couple of matches in the position he had made the role his own, and Brendan’s tactical risk was rewarded. Gerrard’s style in the role has been compared by many to the quarterback position in American Football, and for good reason.
Gerrard has made the most of his captaincy in this position, barking instructions to his team mates to shift here or there, and then cutting through defences with brilliant passing to frame the Reds’ lethal attack. His chance creation has been up there with the best, on both dead ball opportunities as well as when the ball is in play. His defensive effort has been solid as well, and this holistic culmination of gameplay had cemented his place in the position.
Most recently, Gerrard has been in scintillating form, taking home joint honors with Luis Suarez for March’s Premier League Player of the Month in reward for both his offensive and defensive contributions to the team.
But it’s not only Gerrard’s form which will be of paramount importance in Liverpool’s next four ‘cup finals’, as they have been labelled.
His ability to inspire the team and dispel complacency will be his biggest task coming into these next four matches. And thus far, he has done a brilliant job. At the end of the Manchester City match, which many dubbed a title decider, Gerrard quickly huddled his team together in an act of inspiration, and essentially told them to put this game behind them and bring the exact same intensity to Norwich.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Gerrard further elaborated on his mental approach for the next match, and talked of his pre match discussions with players going into the Norwich match:
“We have to treat Norwich like we treated AC Milan in 2005… we have to forget where we are and forget what we’ve done. We have to prepare for Norwich like it’s the last game of our careers.”
This is the mindset that the team will need to sustain if they wish to achieve what no Liverpool side has done for over 20 years. With Jordan Henderson out of the midfield for the next three matches due to a red card given in the Manchester City match, the importance of Gerrard’s role (physically and mentally) is magnified.
There are only a few matches left, and it remains to be seen whether or not Liverpool can maintain this run of form and win the Premiership. But one thing is certain: Steven Gerrard’s leadership and rejuvenated role in the midfield will be of the utmost importance in terms of bringing this team to Premiership glory.
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