Liverpool can no longer be so dependent on Gerrard

In two months time Steven Gerrard will be celebrating his 31^st birthday, not old by any means but having just been ruled out for a month and facing the possibility of having surgery it seems Liverpool may no longer be able to rely on their great captain as they have done in years past.

It was not so long ago when Liverpool where considered a one man team but luckily that one man was Steven Gerrard. The 2005 Champions League final and the 2006 FA cup final stand about amongst the many.

The inclusion of Torres, Alonso and Mascherano moved Liverpool away from this status for a brief period but despite having more quality in the squad it seemed Gerrard was still a massive factor in any success for the Reds. In the 2008/2009 season arguably Liverpool’s best league showing in the last 20 years, they managed to go an entire season unbeaten at home and only lost two games in the league all season. They pushed Man United right to the wire that season and probably would have won the league if not for an outburst from their manager Rafa Benitez. His outburst and rant about Ferguson when Liverpool where top of the league and going strong one might say cost Liverpool the title that year.

Despite this, I’m sure the fact that Gerrard scored 16 goals in the league that year and an amazing 24 in all competitions show just how valuable he still was to Liverpool in their attempt to win the title.

I know Gerrard is not down and out yet and I’m sure he will return from injury and show spurts of his greatness once more, but as he gets older these spurts will become less frequent. So now more than ever it is crucial that Liverpool put a squad together that can rely on each other and not just one man.

The arrivals of Meireles, Suarez, and Carroll at Liverpool, together with players like Cole, Maxi and Kuyt have definitely improved the squad as a whole. Also with the youth players coming through showing real potential such as Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Kelly, Daniel Pacheco, Danny Wilson and most recently Raheem Sterling. It looks to me like Liverpool can look forward to a bright future.

The recent victory over United I’m sure was great for all Liverpool fans, but what stood out for me and made the victory seem even more great was how little influence Gerrard actually had on the game. I’m not saying he played bad but there were several better performances from his teammates. A more pleasing sign for Liverpool fans from this result was to see how little his influence was needed compared to past years, as other players stepped up to the plate and gave great performances such as Kuyt, Meireles, Maxi and my Man of the Match Luis Suarez.

Back on the 1^st of November Liverpool were in 13^th P10 W3 D3 L4 GD -4 12 points and as recent as the 5^th of January they were in 12^th P20 W7 D4 L9 GD -3 25 points. Just 9 games on and things are looking a lot better as Liverpool have climbed 6 places in the league to 6^th and are now on 42 points, they now have a positive goal difference and are improving every week with the probability of European football next season looking more and more likely.

Although Steven Gerrard is Liverpool and Liverpool is Steven Gerrard I for one believe that the less dependent they become on their captain marvel the stronger they will become as a team. I think one or two signings in the summer and taking a chance on a couple of youth players, next season we may see Liverpool be back where they truly belong and pushing not only for a top for finish but maybe even for their first Premier League title. I’m not quite sure what is happening at Liverpool at the moment but something is working, maybe it’s Dalglish? Maybe it’s the new owners? Or even the exit of Torres, but whatever it is something is making this Liverpool team gel.