Steven Gerrard

[TheStagMan]

14 hours ago, R.Bear said:

I didnt say that. But I do think Gerrard is the man for the job and I havent changed my opinion. You can keep saying 1 win in 7 but that doesnt tell the whole story but I know you'll respond with "results are all the matters" so we'll leave that there.

He's gotten us out of relegation trouble, he's made some very good signings and we have played very well at times. Yes short bursts and it hasnt come together for 90 minutes yet but give it time. If we start next season poorly then there will be no excuses.

But it says a lot that just saying it's not as bad as some people are making out is in someway "polishing a turd" is ludicrous.

You did say that. <EDIT> Here you go.....

14 hours ago, R.Bear said:

This is why I really like Gerrard. He handles himself so well in interviews and you really feel he knows what to do. Obviously its about results and the results have been patchy but they were always going to be this season. I expected nothing more than a mid table finish when he was appointed and I think thats where we'll comfortably finish.

I'm genuinely dumbfounded by the negativity in here and it reeks of entitlement and short memories. We have been an absolute joke for most of the the last decade, just because we have money, doesnt mean its an easy turnaround. We should have got relegated in our first season back and we're heading for it again when Smith was sacked. I think next season we'll be a force.

So, the only way we can be a force is if Gerrard turns things around and sorts this shit out. 

I have said 1 win in 7 in one post! (ooops, two now). Results do matter - but so do performances. 10 or 15 minutes here and there is just not good enough, we need to be stringing together a full game performance, not flashes of ability.

As for getting us out of relegation trouble.... Well.... We seem to be closer to the relegation zone than ever, but even under Smith I think there was very little chance of us being relegated, I still don't.  Signings.....that's a different discussion and not for a post match thread. 

The "Polishing a turd" comment was by me, and was in relation today's performance, which you seemed to be defending. Today's performance absolutely turd-like. Trying to defend it would be ludicrous.

[DCJonah]

45 minutes ago, jimmygreaves said:

No they aren't....

They're suggesting the manager following Smith should be a upgrade and capable of pushing this club towards Europe.

Is Gerrard that guy..... I'm not confident.

I also think a lot of people made a lot of noise about how much better we'd be without Smith. So they have to stick to the script. 

I think Gerrard has a higher ceiling but the expectations of Europe this season were laughable. The man deserves time but the last two games are very worrying. 

 

[hippo]

1 hour ago, MaVilla said:

thats one reason im happy to not remotely judge Gerrard until next season, when he has a summer window to bring in players he wants, and offload players he doesnt.

I think you are right though, i can see a blood bath in the summer.

I just hope...really hope....any poor form this season doesnt impact our chances to get Coutinho permanently, as for me, he and Buendia are the two players we should be building the team around.

So a free pass for Stevie G until next season then.

[Mantis]

Just now, Thug said:

Awfully selective?

Shall I go with the last 6 then? Smith had 3 points from last 6, Gerrard has 4.  Sound better?

You see the point you’re failing to grasp that I’ve said umpteen times now is that smith needed to go.

The point is, we’re not much better off now than we were then.

This is an observation.

The point is NOT that Gerrard needs to go. Quite the opposite. He needs to stay for the sake of stability.

The point is - we’re still shit.

The point is his system isn’t working.  The players aren’t performing.  But he’s seemingly making no adaptations to counter this, either before or during the game.  He needs to start doing this.

Why you hell bent on arguing against this?

 

 

Ok but if you go on last 5 then it's Smith's 0 points to Gerrard's 5, so this discussion is kind of pointless.

And of course Gerrard needs to make changes to the system - where have I said he shouldn't? All I'm doing is arguing against this idea that losing one game is somehow just as bad as losing 5 in a row.

[MaVilla]

4 minutes ago, hippo said:

So a free pass for Stevie G until next season then.

not a free pass, but an appreciation of the fact that he hasnt even had a single summer window to improve his squad, with players he wants.

Smith had trouble with the performance levels of this squad, it seems Gerrard is having similar issues, however, i think Gerrard will be able to attract much higher calibre players this summer, so im willing to see how it goes and give him some time, just as Smith was given time.

 

[Thug]

6 minutes ago, Mantis said:

Ok but if you go on last 5 then it's Smith's 0 points to Gerrard's 5, so this discussion is kind of pointless.

And of course Gerrard needs to make changes to the system - where have I said he shouldn't? All I'm doing is arguing against this idea that losing one game is somehow just as bad as losing 5 in a row.

Mate, the point is that YOU were the one being selective! YOU brought up the five game losing streak.  I just pointed out that if you expand a little bit then things look a lot different.

 

Youre hilarious. 

[Mantis]

1 minute ago, Thug said:

Mate, the point is that YOU were the one being selective! YOU brought up the five game losing streak.  I just pointed out that if you expand a little bit then things look a lot different.

 

Youre hilarious. 

How is bringing up the five game losing streak being selective? It was one of the main reasons why Smith was sacked.

[Tayls]

1 hour ago, R.Bear said:

What absolute garbage. Not acceptable? This is sport, anyone can beat anyone. Losing away to Man City is not a disaster.

Then in another post you talk of us going down. I think you've had enough internet for today my friend.

It becomes a disaster when we play like we did and lose to the teams around us that we really should be beating if we have any ambition at all.

Unfortunately accepting defeat has been engrained in our mindsets now after so many years of disappointment, we as fans really need to move away from it. Losing is shit. It’s not fun, you don’t get anything by losing, and it’s not something to be happy about. 

Win a ******* football match. That’s all they have to do, maybe show a bit of passion along the way. 

If you are happy accepting defeat then maybe it was a great result today for you. However, I’m not, and that ‘performance’ was unacceptable. 

[MaVilla]

Just now, Lerner&#x27;s Driver said:

Watford next. We can't not win that, surely?

ye impossible to lose to Watford.

We absolutely spanked them earlier in the season.

oh wait.........

[ferguson1]

First true test for Gerrard since being here, as people are now questioning him already.  I hope he sees a reaction in training and I hope he’s ruthless in his selection next weekend.

Nobody should be guaranteed a start.

[Zatman]

3 hours ago, Mantis said:

Yep. This is what gets me. Gerrard is rightly coming under a lot of scrutiny for his tactics and the way we're playing but suddenly history is being rewritten and the sacking of Smith is being made out to be this catastrophic error.

Maybe because Smith was a qualified manager and Gerrard is learning on the job

[Mantis]

Just now, Zatman said:

Maybe because Smith was a qualified manager and Gerrard is learning on the job

A "qualified manager" who had is in near-relegation form in 2021 until he was sacked, so not really sure what that's got to do with anything? Not a defence of Gerrard by the way.

[Zatman]

Just now, Mantis said:

A "qualified manager" who had is in near-relegation form in 2021 until he was sacked, so not really sure what that's got to do with anything? Not a defence of Gerrard by the way.

You don know better managers have had bad seasons as well. Where was Chelsea when Mourinho got sacked? Klopp has a relegation on his cv

Smith isnt a better manager than them but better managers have been sacked

Gerrard has been a poor appointment so far, wouldn't have got the job if his name was Michael Beale or Steve Cooper

[Mantis]

1 minute ago, Zatman said:

You don know better managers have had bad seasons as well. Where was Chelsea when Mourinho got sacked? Klopp has a relegation on his cv

Smith isnt a better manager than them but better managers have been sacked

Gerrard has been a poor appointment so far, wouldn't have got the job if his name was Michael Beale or Steve Cooper

So us being poor for most of 2021 under Smith is just "a good manager having a bad season" but Gerrard isn't even allowed a bad few games? Ok.

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, Mantis said:

So us being poor for most of 2021 under Smith is just "a good manager having a bad season" but Gerrard isn't even allowed a bad few games? Ok.

What has Gerrard done to earn such relaxation. He won one trophy in Scotland out of 9 vs Neil Lennon.

People have questioned his credentials from the start and got brushed over because he is Steven Gerrard. Its dreadful and Sherwoodesque except he tried to attack. Its more McLeish football, actually I bet McLeish had more shots on target vs Newcastle when he was in charge

[Mantis]

3 minutes ago, Zatman said:

What has Gerrard done to earn such relaxation. He won one trophy in Scotland out of 9 vs Neil Lennon.

People have questioned his credentials from the start and got brushed over because he is Steven Gerrard. Its dreadful and Sherwoodesque except he tried to attack. Its more McLeish football, actually I bet McLeish had more shots on target vs Newcastle when he was in charge

What relaxation? If this carries on then there will be serious questions raised and rightly so, but it almost seems as if you're judging the two managers by completely different standards.

[MWARLEY2]

Seems that this system of his is maybe getting found out. Maybe not and we are just in poor form but we have to consider the former.  Watford now means so much more than i ever thought it would 4 days ago. He needs to get a really strong performance out of his players . Lets see if it happens as his players are coming out for the first half and continually struggling in the first 30 minutes Everton aside. I still believe in Gerrard but am getting slightly worried about what is continually happening. 

[Thug]

22 minutes ago, Mantis said:

No to both, and I don't even know why you're asking me that as I've never indicated otherwise.

And I didn't bring up Smith - just responding to the people who think our current failings somehow make Smith better than he was in his final months with us.

My biggest gripe with smith was his persistence with players when they were quite obviously out of form.  The Drinkwater and Barkley scenarios were pathetic.

Gerrard seems similar in that he’s hesitant to make a change.  We’ve got qualified options on the bench.  Use them.

[Zatman]

2 minutes ago, Mantis said:

What relaxation? If this carries on then there will be serious questions raised and rightly so, but it almost seems as if you're judging the two managers by completely different standards.

Well Smith was brought in to get us uop and stabilise us

Gerrard was brought in to bring us forward so yes different standards and not an actual experienced manager 

[Mantis]

Just now, Zatman said:

Well Smith was brought in to get us uop and stabilise us

Gerrard was brought in to bring us forward so yes different standards and not an actual experienced manager 

Even managers who achieve their goals and take their clubs to the next level go through bad patches like this. Not saying Gerrard will achieve that, but certainly changing manager now would be ridiculous.