Video: Steven Gerrard v. Newcastle

What impressed me most about Gerrard in these 2 cameo performances is how fresh he looks. He doesn't look like a 31 year old more like a 21 year old.

I feared that his best days were behind him and that injuries meant his shelf-life was very short. Fingers crossed that this extended break will give him several more years at the top.

I also thought we looked better with Louis Suarez not playing. For too long we have relied on this one player to create most everything in the final third. The pressure seems to have negatively affected his accuracy. The chance that Bellamy took to equalise - I wouldn't have fancied Louis on current form. Likewise the free-kick he converted.

If Suarez does accept his current ban - I am very hopeful that Bellamy, Kuyt, Maxi and Carroll can more than adequately fill his absence. Of course the return of a fit Steven Gerrard makes a huge difference. We have relied on him for a long time but is that so different from other leading clubs.

Fact is though we have a better squad than at any time since 2008 and 2009 with one key
difference. We have more strikers at our disposal. We shouldn't face the next six weeks with anything other than determination if Louis Suarez is unavailable. We should view any ban the same way we would his injury. An opportunity for other squad players to prove their worth and moreover for a unified team to not make excuses but make progress.

gerrard has an auror about him that makes everyone around him start playing good football... the man can deliver a true world class quality game winning pass. He has a strikers composure infront of goal, a defenders tenacity when defending, a playmakers ability when in the midfeild.. the complete footballer. Players like gerrard, sneijder, xavi, are very rare.

One of the good things to come of the enforced, lengthy layoff is that Gerrard used to dominate his teammates too much (eg one Lucas Leiva). With the team having to improve in his absence it's allowed him to come back in as an exceptional player & captain but not at the expense of anyone else (except Adam of course).

There was one passage of play where Henderson and Gerrard were going for the ball...Henderson took over and instead of playing the easy, obvious ball to Gerrard, played a ball to Johnson on the wing which progressed play...

...this is a good thing!

On top of the fact that Gerrard has precise crosses he has his timing down perfectly.  It seems no one else understands this.  Downing creates good chances at times, but he continually does the same obvious crosses that the defense is ready for.  I think if Jose, Glenny, Stuey and maybe even Luis can get this down, Carroll, once he finds his finishing boots again, may look like a 35m striker.  

We need more of those Beckham early crosses right to the foot or head.  So far this season all I've seen is run to the corner, try and pick someone out and then try to hit it perfectly.  By this time the defense can locate the ball and get ready to defend it.

It's great to get an outstanding CM back to go along with our two decent ones (Henderson, Spearing) and Mr. Inconsistent (Adam). Against City, I'd be happy with any three of them starting, and it might even be a good idea to leave Gerrard on the bench again -- based on what we saw from City today and the fact they have almost no recovery time, a fresh Gerrard coming off the bench could be an amazing advantage.

This is such a strange time to be a Liverpool fan. Feels so close and so far at the same time, not being in the top 4 at all but still only 2 pts behind. Rumors about spending 7m on Cahill or 24m on Bent...it's great to think we still have money to spend, but to spend that much again without getting top talent, is it a waste and British preoccupation again or just the best we can get without CL? For 24m I'd much rather have Soldado/Damiao than Bent, ffs!

Please, no Bent.

Yea, but I'd rather have Bent imo.  I think he'll get goals as soon as he gets here.  He's the poacher that could be really useful to us right now.

At the reported 24m and with his age nearing the wrong end of 20 you really think that's the best we could do? His wages wouldn't come cheap either. 

I'd really like to think we could do better than that. A punt on a not so well known / developing player just might prove more value, have to agree on Bent as a known finisher but really hope it doesn't happen.

I'm not saying he's top of my list.  Mind you, I would love to be able to buy Cavani, Higuain or someone of that stature, but I just don't see that happening.  Bent's a goal scorer and he's not too old yet.  He's in his prime and he'd be a starter in our team for sure.  

Agreed that he'd not be top of the list stuff, but even in January or even in the summer, 24m should be top dollar for a top striker and I just don't think we should be settling for someone like that. Thus my opinion that a possible 5-10m punt on a younger and up-coming player would probably be my preference. 

It was a good game to grab all 3 points. Everyone else except Arsenal dropped points

I'm a bit on the late side, but happy new year to all those here, both on the blog and that I talk to on twitter; you make the rollercoaster of emotions that sport evokes bearable. 

There's a reason Stevie's called Captain Fantastic, and he puts in a solid case, once again, for why he's still deserving of that title. Adam makes me nervous, Stevie makes me feel a lot more confident (or at least less neurotic) about a match. Simple as.

I hope Man City losing today will affect their confidence somehow, and with that we will able to nick a win at Etihad this Tuesday. YNWA and a happy new year to all especially to Ed and Noel ;)

Happy new year to all of you,Fastrail you are right I sse City plzyers hammered for at least 48 hours which is quite enough to take them down on due time just before they emerge from this incredible defeat.
And if we defeat them at Etihad Stadium it would be a huge boost for our morale for all the remainder of the season.Let's go get them but please without Adam as a starter.