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26Aug

“Rodgers must build his system around Gerrard”

Brendan Rodgers charmed English football with a beautiful passing game and a clearly defined system with Swansea last season, but will he be able to successfully replicate his popular philosophy with Liverpool? Having been stung by a shocking 3-0 defeat at West Brom last weekend, it’s clear that the Reds are a work in progress, and the Daily Mirror’s John Cross believes that rather than turning the Reds into Swansea Mark II, the new Anfield gaffer would be wiser to play a formation that suits his influential skipper Steven Gerrard.

“I think Gerrard is such a good player that you make the system work for him,” says John. “We all loved watching Brendan Rodgers and the wonderful job he did at Swansea, but it was such a set pattern and you wonder: where does Gerrard fit into that?

“Sometimes it’s not about the system, it’s about the players, and I think Rodgers has to find the balance between the two, because Gerrard offers so much going forward, leading and anchoring the team. I just think he has to make it work for Steven Gerrard, as well as finding that philosophy and moving forward with it.”

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

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  • Jonny

    Maybe ten years ago.

  • Pranay

    so the author is suggesting Rodgers build his team around a 32 year old injury prone player.How smart.

  • Bjarne Knudsen

    Gerrard is my idol, and he has been in loong time and he will be in loong time, but all respect the captain fantastic is become soon too old, i don’t like how he play football against albion. i just wait Jonjo Shelvey or Sahin to overtake Gerrard place. I hope i am wrong

  • JERMAINE

    Liverpool should build a passing system around one of the players that gives the ball away the most?
    I’m going to start using the DAILY MAIL as toilet paper. The reason why BRENDAN RODGERS got SAHIN and ALLEN was so they can keep the ball with LUCAS in the engine room. GERRARD will be played in a advanced roll reducing the risk of him giving the ball away so much in a BARCELONA like style system. If you can’t see that you don’t deserve to be writing for a newspaper.

  • JERMAINE

    DAILY MIRROR

  • Shane

    Nonsense. Gerard is finished. He’s slow, slows down the play, not very dynamic, can no longer go box to box. Why would you build a system around him? Rubbish.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Bill-Ward/1467560966 Bill Ward

    John Cross should stick to writing the pets corner section of the Mirror. His advice for Rodgers must have come from the brain of a hamster.

  • boon

    AT his age, for for LFC to progress any further than languishing in mid table, SG has to fit the new system of pass and move, and pass. His rampaging ways is no longer profitable. I am sori to say SG’s time has come. His hard ball pass has also got to stop as so far not many people can get to SG’s passes… I love the lad. YNWA>

  • midfielder

    wow a man like john cross coming out with the drivel of basing the entire future of liverpool football club on them all playing a pandering game to a man who has almost let his club down as many times as he has glorified them by his almost headless chicken tactics . Footballm is a team game and brendan is on the right track , !! we marvel at the spanish and we ought to marvel at the italians who crushed us 0-0 in the euros , we played the stevie G game against them and defendwed like the south wales borderers at rourkes drift , but we couldnt string more than one pass together between them ? the english game is terminally ill and only people like brendan can change things , God I wish tottenham had brendan in tow instead of the ”emporors new clothes ”AVB who has the management skills of an orphan gnat , we should all be watching and supporting a man who threatens to bring our game into the present . how can a senior journalist , enlist the skills of the least likely man to lead the system we need to be winners , that we could possibly find , wake up fleetstreet and wake up mr cross

  • ned flanders

    Ditto on all 9 previous comments.
    Cross makes as much sense here as when he talks of the MLS (always worth a good laugh).

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