For those of you still living under the Holidays/New Years Eve rock, Steven Gerrard will leave Liverpool FC at the end of this season. The 34-year-old English international indicated he will be heading to the United States, but did not indicate a team. Rumors have implicated the LA Galaxy as front runner to land Gerrard, with interest also from Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls.
Various media members and sources have indicated that it will be the LA Galaxy, with a reported 18 month contract worth $9 million. Since Gerrard is a free agent at the conclusion of the EPL season, a move would be on a free transfer. Gerrard would be a huge get talent wise for LA, a better option than a few other rumors. He fills the need in the midfield and can contribute to the attack as a playmaker.
So, should the rumors be true and Steven Gerrard is StubHub Center bound, what does it mean for the Galaxy? How does he fit into the squad?
Gerrard will be 35 by the time this EPL season ends. He would be joining midway through a grueling EPL season with Champions League. He’s played in almost every game for The Reds this season, and it’s hard to see that changing regardless of how well the team is playing. Likely, he’ll arrive in Los Angeles gassed. Bruce Arena knows how to manage personnel and Gerrard knows his body. I would err on the side of caution. This could delay his arrival to the line up or he might need to be eased in.
Furthermore, mid season DP signings can be a bit rough, both for the player and the team. Look at how the Red Bulls were in 2012 after Tim Cahill’s arrival, or Seattle in 2013 with Dempsey. Not having preseason to integrate him into the squad could cause some growing pains, but what’s an LA Galaxy regular season without being a hot mess until August? The Galaxy will need to have a good start to 2015 in preparation Gerrard’s arrival. Arena knows how to handle these situations. It might not be perfect but they will figure it out.
Because of Gerrard’s potential fatigue and the MLS learning curve, I don’t think the Galaxy will win the Supporters’ Shield next year. The Western Conference is going to be a war zone next year. LA is still a near-automatic lock for the playoffs. If the transition goes well, they could be neck-and-neck with Seattle like last year. If it takes more time, they could end up in the wild card. Not the end of the world.
Play the 4-4-2 and let him assume Sarvas’s role:
Gerrard’s been a central midfielder the majority of his career with Liverpool. After 16 years, he’s done a bit of everything in the midfield though. In the Brendan Rogers era, he’s been the holding mid of the diamond formation, been the box-to-box holding mid in the 4-2-3-1 (think Michael Bradley with the USMNT), the box-to-box in a 4-3-3, and your standard CM in a flat 4-4-2.
In the current state of MLS, a pure holding midfielder isn’t the best use of a DP nor the best use of Gerrard. If Gerrard’s coming to LA, he’ll be a major part of the attack. If Arena wants a simple plug in, then the Englishman fits the Marcelo Sarvas role in the patented 4-4-2 with the ‘Y midfield.’ I think this is a good starting point. Sarvas is 33 and he’s logged over 5,000 minutes in the last two seasons. Breaking up the Juninho-Sarvas pair is a bit of a concern, but the Galaxy did pretty well with Juninho-Beckham and Sarvas as a super sub. Gerrard is very different in style, but he’s still world class. He can be eased into the roll if he’s still tired from the EPL season. Sarvas has played on the wings infrequently in the past. All three of these players have a high soccer IQ, as does their coach. They’re more than capable of being the best midfield in MLS. Husidic (or even Walker) could easily sub in at times for either Gerrard or Sarvas to keep the old tired legs fresh.
My only other concern with this move would be the potential for Sarvas and Gerrard to split time if Sarvas’s main role is subbing in for him. Not because of the ego-clash, but because it’s inefficient. Donovan started every game and played 90 minutes. If all of 2015, Gerrard is going to need to be a 75th minute sub or is going to sit out a few games because he isn’t fit (be it by age or not having an off season), it’s an inefficient use of a DP. Sarvas isn’t the best LM on the Galaxy, but I think he’s capable of becoming just that.
Play him wide, preferably on the right:
Ishizaki and Husidic both played well at RM in 2014. Husidic was also a decent fill in at CM and LM when needed. When Gerard hasn’t been central, he’s spent more time on the right than the left. For a player of his caliber, you make adjustments to use him properly. With no player additions made yet this off season, I would put Gerrard on the right, make Husidic the starting LM and have Ishizaki as a sub. Gerrard won’t get as far forward as Ishizaki, but he’ll overlap with DeLaGarza/Gargan nicely. He may prefer to cut inside at times as well, a right equivalent to what Donovan did last season. The only problem I see here is the Galaxy lose their width. Husidic was almost a third central midfielder when he played wide.
Gerrard doing the same ruins the wide play LA killed teams with last year. Going up the middle could work out with all the talent there. Arena might have to force Husidic out of his comfort zone or move some parts around. Perhaps Gerrard wants to try playing on the left, which would get Ishizaki on the right. It could just require more effort from the full backs as well.
A change of formation:
Lastly, we could see Arena go away from the 4-4-2. The best option to me would be going to a 4-2-2-2 with Gerrard in a holding role or in a 4-4-1-1 with Gerrard underneath Keane and Zardes at LM. Juninho and Sarvas are used to exchanging roles and letting the other go forward or drop back to fit the situation. As previously mentioned, there could be concerns about Gerrard’s fitness. The Brazilians have done this with each other excellently, and to a lesser extent with Beckham. I see no reason why they couldn’t do it with Gerrard. The 4-2-2-2 would allow Gerrard to play centrally and play the #10 role at times. In the same way Sarvas and Juninho pair, Gerrard could become that third musketeer on role rotation.
The 4-4-1-1 would take advantage of Gerrard’s attacking prowess with less exhausting defensive responsibilities. The con to this is it forces Zardes into the midfield or to the bench. With MLS Cup being a rare exception, Zardes in the midfield has been a hot mess.
Overall, each of these options (and plenty other crazy formation changes) all have their pros and cons. When you bring in a player of this level, you want to play to his strengths, even if that tweaks everyone else’s role. Once Gerrard arrives in LA, a plan should be put to integrate him into the lineup taking potential fatigue and injury into account. Any changes should be done with the goal of minimizing new found weaknesses elsewhere.
The 4-4-2 with him playing Sarvas’s role and Sarvas being used elsewhere is the best starting point. Gerrard is capable of being one of the best midfielders in MLS in 2015. This is a good DP signing. He could provide as big of mid season bump as Keane did in 2011. This Galaxy coaching staff made it work with Keane and Beckham as well as countless role players. The transition might not be pretty at first, but they’ll figure things out in time for the playoffs. They always do.
Photo by Bill Twomey – Bill Twomey Photography
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