Former Liverpool striker Ian St. John tells 5Times that Steven Gerrard is key to Liverpool’s success and replacing him should be Brendan Rodgers’ focus in the coming crucial transfer windows.
St. John, a decade-long fixture at Liverpool during the 1960s, sat down with ex-Reds manager Roy Evans and retired midfielder Jason McAteer for this week’s 5Times podcast.
Reflecting on Liverpool’s current run of wins, the trio identified having a settled squad as a main factor to this.
St. John said: “Of course no one wants to pre-empt [the title]…but they’re playing with such confidence, and we’ve got a settled team. First time we’ve had a settled team for a long time, it’s week in week out, as we used to do…Which means, everyone’s playing well…they all know their roles; and with Steven Gerrard directing the traffic from this new role of his, since that’s happened we’re looking so dangerous.”
This settled, successful feeling within the squad is reflected in the atmosphere around Anfield and in the team, says Evans: “Brendan and his backroom staff have done a great job…The players look like they’re enjoying playing football.
“They’re all great players, but at this moment in time, the team is doing what it’s supposed to do: playing as a team.”
St. John concurred: “[In a winning team] you want to get back out there, you want to be in that atmosphere.”
As St. John referenced Gerrard’s new role, McAteer – directing proceedings – turned the focus onto Liverpool’s captain and his effect on and place within Rodgers’ tactical game, declaring: “[Possession] certainly helps you to score goals, because you have the ball. But possession doesn’t win you football matches, goals win you football matches.”
St. John linked Gerrard’s new role as a deep-lying playmaker with a shift in attacking emphasis: “No one can see a ball like Steven Gerrard…Lucas and Allen, none of them can see that ball. Steven can see it, which speeds the game up, and all of a sudden we went from pedestrian football in the middle of the park to…a dynamic football.”
Gerrard has been in inspirational form for Liverpool of late. Photo: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda.
With this in mind, and turning to summer reinforcements, St. John underlined the importance of signing a successor to Gerrard in the near future, with two Bayern Munich stars his ideal targets.
“With Steven not getting any younger going into next season, we’re going to look for a player as good as him in European football – maybe world football. It’s going to cost a lot of money, but we’ve got to get one like him. We see Bayern Munich, with their midfield players – [Bastian] Schweinsteiger and [Toni] Kroos – and that’s the way we’ve got to look at this, we can’t go and get job-lots as we’ve done in the past…it’s got to be selective: quality, top-notch players.”
The 5Times podcasts are a weekly effort and feature ex-Liverpool stars and legends talking about the club’s current issues, with plenty of stories from the past. This week’s podcast, in its entirety, can be found below.
petikan dari Liverpool FC, This is Anfield, Teamtalk
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