Liverpool have played well without Gerrard in the team
Steven Gerrard has returned to training but is Brendan Rodgers right to state he isn't guaranteed a place in the Liverpool line-up?
The captain has missed the last six matches with a hamstring injury and is set to be assessed before Liverpool's FA Cup quarter-final with Blackburn on Sunday.
Of course, it is common knowledge that these are Gerrard's final few months of a 17-year career at Anfield before the 34-year-old joins Los Angeles Galaxy at the end of the season.
Over the years it has been common place for Gerrard to be virtually guaranteed a spot in the starting XI whenever he is fit; however things are different this time around.
Liverpool have looked better this season without him and, during Gerrard's period on the sidelines, they have put together their best run of form.
Rodgers' team are unbeaten in the league this year and while the skipper was out they won five of the six games he missed, with the only loss coming on penalties to Besiktas in the Europa League.
The manager has said that "no one" in the Liverpool squad has a "God-given right to walk straight into the team" - a right that Gerrard has been afforded for the last decade.
But you cannot argue with the statistics: Liverpool have won all six Premier League games this season in which Gerrard hasn't featured and they averaged out 2.4 goals per game without him compared to 1.3 with Gerrard.
In his absence over the last few weeks, Jordan Henderson has taken the captain's armband and he stepped up to the plate and inspired Liverpool with some fantastic, Gerrard-esque displays.
Two quality strikes in successive games against Manchester City and Burnley have seen the former Sunderland man take the headlines and unsurprisingly be compared to Gerrard, as pundits and fans start to predict how Liverpool will cope without their midfield general.
It looks like Gerrard will have to adapt for the final months of his Liverpool career, as he could certainly just be a bit-part player rather that first-team starter for the rest of the campaign.
His role on the pitch has altered over this season and last, dropping deeper to something akin a 'quarterback' role at the base of a midfield diamond. While this was successful when they had Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge last season, it hasn't been anywhere near as effective this season and Rodgers has had to switch tactics.
The new game-plan that the boss has implemented seems to fit the likes of Henderson, Joe Allen and Philippe Coutinho, while Adam Lallana has also excelled in Gerrard's absence. It would be hard for Rodgers to replace any of them with Gerrard.
And what purpose would replacing a young, hungry and ambitious player with a veteran who is leaving in a couple of months serve? If Rodgers is thinking long term and trying to build a team for years to come, he needs to give these younger players the chance to gel.
Gerrard is probably a better footballer than some of those mentioned, but he doesn't have the legs to perform the gut-busting, box-to-box runs that he used to be renowned for. He will be a massive weapon to have from the bench to drive Liverpool forward and he is proven to rise to the big occasions.
It is hard to remove sentiment from the equation, given Gerrard's history with the club, so Rodgers has a difficult job to accommodate his captain over the coming months.
However, the way he has issued this not-so-thinly-veiled reference to Gerrard not having a "God-given right" to a starting spot does leave a bitter taste. It is a true fact; however such an iconic player at the club needs to be treated with the utmost respect.
He will still probably play a big role over the rest of the season, but not as the figurehead he has been at Anfield for more than a decade.
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