Liverpool fans must be going through quite a traumatic phase sprinkled with little dusts of joy, they all know that club legend Steven Gerrard is about to leave the club for the MLS yet even as they console themselves, they are seeing the team grind out results against good teams and in the course of the games also provide some headway as to how the team has evolved even through a difficult season.
GerrardThe defeat of Tottenham proved just that, even without the flamboyant and sprightly Raheem Sterling (who is having issues with his contract) in the starting line-up, there was an air of invincibility about this Liverpool side, the same Liverpool side who limped to a loss at home against Aston Villa a few months back, the same Liverpool side who were not getting those wins is now getting the results, they are rising up the table and now can be seen as genuine contenders for not only the top 4 but maybe one of the two cup competitions they still feature in, however there still is one story which broke out after the Tottenham game.
Leader out, leaders in
Steven Gerrard was substituted during the 3-2 win over Tottenham and the change was a forced one with news reports coming out that the Liverpool captain has suffered a hamstring injury and would be out for close to 3 weeks, these 3 weeks would be huge for Liverpool as they not only have league games but they have an FA Cup game in this weekend and the Europa League tie against Besiktas as well.
The injury to Gerrard might be a sore one, no one really likes to miss games due to injury and no one really rejoices when players get injured (and they shouldn’t) but Liverpool fans should not fret as they would have done a few seasons back, yes the loss of the leadership skills of Gerrard will be a miss on the field but this new resilient and young Liverpool team have what it takes to do well even in the absence of Gerrard.
The one man who should be penciled in to play in the role of Gerrard or at least shift into midfield is Emre Can, the “Tank” as Liverpool fans now call him thanks to a string of impressive performances in the middle of defence have made him a darling at Liverpool and he would love to be able to show just how good he is in central midfield.
Can would be given ample support by the likes of Henderson and Allen, in fact Coutinho can also play a role in midfield if it comes to that, plus there is a lot of support from the wingbacks like Moreno, Markovic and the rising stock of Ibe (who was excellent once again against Spurs). The loss of Gerrard at the end of the season might not feel that big if Liverpool can go through the next 3 weeks playing the same kind of football as they have been over the past 2 months, unbeaten in their last 9 Premier League games, they could help end Gerrard’s reign as the Liverpool captain by giving him the send-off he deserves, a winners medal.