Reliance on Steven Gerrard Needs to Be Reduced to Prolong Liverpool Career

Liverpool take on Newcastle United at St James' Park this weekend, an opponent and stadium that has provided Steven Gerrard with many happy memories in his 17-year career.

Gerrard has found the net eight times against the Magpies, five times at St James' Park—two of those in the 5-1 thrashing at the end of 2008 that saw Rafa Benitez's side go top of the table.

Last season Gerrard scored his 100th Premier League goal on a penalty in a 2-2 draw at Newcastle.

The other goals at the famous Tyneside stadium arrived in 3-1 and 3-0 wins back-to-back in 2006 and 2007.

When Gerrard retires, these are the games, goals and images we'll recall. Such moments will be his Liverpool legacy.

Future

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On the eve of the trip to the northeast, Gerrard, speaking in an interview with the Daily Mail, explained that he won't be retiring at the end of the season—which is when his current Liverpool contract expires.

"I certainly won’t be retiring this summer," he said. "I will play beyond this season. We will have to wait and see if that’s at Liverpool or somewhere else. That’s Liverpool’s decision. If they don’t come then I will see what’s out there."

Such words should set alarm bells ringing among the Liverpool hierarchy. They simply cannot allow one of the greatest players in the club's history to walk away.

Similarly, manager Brendan Rodgers cannot afford Gerrard's final years to be shrouded by questions about Gerrard's role and place in the side. The Northern Irishman needs to manage his 34-year-old captain wisely.

Thus far this season, despite the increased rigours of Champions League football and thus three games a week, Gerrard has played every minute of every Premier League and European game.

Role

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In that same interview, Gerrard discussed his deep-lying playmaker role and admitted this: "It’s been different this season." Both Aston Villa (with Gabriel Agbonlahor) and West Ham United (with Stewart Downing) have man-marked Gerrard, and both sides walked away with all three points.

Without the attacking talents of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge to worry about, teams have been able to focus on Gerrard, nullify him and thus Liverpool have struggled for match-winners. Gerrard explains:

"

I’ve had loads of chats with Brendan about how to counter that if it happens, whether it’s by moving out of position or moving further forward into a ‘10’ position.

We did that in a recent game, and it worked really well, and my form has actually been a lot better since people started to try and stifle me.

I think you will see changes in my game. Brendan and I have worked some things out.

"

The problem is that Liverpool have looked flat and tepid in recent weeks, using the 4-2-3-1 system seemingly in order to allow Gerrard to move more freely, and thus Jordan Henderson replaces him in the deepest role when he does so.

A brief attempt to play Gerrard more advanced as the 10 failed against Queens Park Rangers, with Liverpool's cumbersome centre-backs Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren unable to pass out from the back.

Without Gerrard deep, there was nobody to play the ball out effectively, and this invited more pressure on to what is already a fragile defence, and Gerrard was moved back to the deeper role at half-time.

Reliance

Liverpool, even now, are just as reliant on Gerrard as they were 10 years ago, when he inspired that comeback in Istanbul and a year later when he did similarly in the FA Cup final.

Of course, Gerrard is one of the club's greatest players, so naturally it will rely heavily on him, but it's the over-reliance and continually looking to Gerrard to save Liverpool that needs to be addressed.

Frankly, it's about time somebody else stepped up to the mantle and started dragging the team forward. Alas, that was often Luis Suarez last season, but Liverpool must move on without him, and without going back to Gerrard for answers again.

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What Rodgers must do is protect Gerrard's legacy by becoming less reliant upon the legendary midfielder.

Instead, by failing to sign a defensive midfielder to take the pressure off Gerrard and provide a long-term solution to the key area in Liverpool's midfield, Rodgers has heaped the pressure back on Gerrard again this season.

Perhaps the boss sees Emre Can taking over that role long term, but you can't help wondering why Liverpool didn't sign Alex Song on loan from Barcelona, somebody proven in the role who can immediately impact the team.

That would have meant using Gerrard more sparingly but also more effectively, actually helping the player. He would be fresh. He could be an impact substitute.

This is how Chelsea handled Frank Lampard in his later years. Lampard started 21 and 20 Premier League games respectively in his last two seasons at Stamford Bridge, plus nine appearances in the Champions League. Last season he returned six goals and three assists. The season before last he hit 15 Premier League goals.

Such starting figures and goalscoring returns are what Liverpool should be looking to get from Gerrard.

Instead, fans are talking about Gerrard's struggles against teams targeting him in midfield and how the captain is struggling with playing three games each week.

By reducing Gerrard's workload and reliance, Rodgers can protect the player and his legacy, ensuring that his career at Anfield is prolonged beyond this season.