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Liverpool have not had the best of starts to the season. Having gained just a point from their first three games, it appears the team are struggling to adapt to Brendan Rodgers’ style of play. Even Steven Gerrard, the heartbeat of this Liverpool side for many years, looks lost in the new system. Here, the Life’s a Pitch panel discusses where Gerrard fits into his new manager’s plans.

The Daily Mirror’s Martin Lipton thinks Gerrard’s performance on Sunday against Arsenal left a lot to be desired. “He was looking to force every single pass. Whenever he got the ball he was trying to score and create a goal. Sometimes, actually, you’ve got to create the situation which allows you to create the goal. There was nothing natural and easy about his play, he was trying too hard to make an impression and it didn’t work. He’s not solely responsible for the first goal, but the genesis of the goal was his misplaced pass – trying to thread through a ball that was never going to make it.”

So how does Rodgers get his talismanic captain in tune with his footballing philosophy? Good management, says the Sunday Mirror’s David Walker. “They’ve got to have a mutual respect. Rodgers can say: ‘If you listen to me I’ll make you an even better player,’ and Steven Gerrard may or may not believe it. José Mourinho did exactly that with some established players at Chelsea and they bought into his philosophies. That is a great example of management.”

Watch the full video discussion by clicking on the play button in the image above.

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Watch Liverpool live on BT Vision:
Liverpool v Man Utd, 1.30pm, 23 September, Sky Sports 1
Everton v Liverpool, 1.30pm, 28 September, Sky Sports 1

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