VERSATILITY can be a bit of a dirty word in football, especially in England. Multi functional players who can fill a variety of roles within a team are seldom elevated to hero status among fan bases or celebrated in the media.
Take James Milner.
He has played at full back, on the wings, in central midfield and has even tried his hand up front for one of the best club teams in world football. Yet, to this day, if he starts a game for his country, people on this island usually groan. Ask the average British football fan what they think of a player like Milner and I expect the phrase ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ will make an appearance somewhere in most summaries. The general consensus that surrounds players like Milner is that they’re all right to have in a squad but not someone you would necessarily want to be starting every week.
We’ve had numerous players like this at Liverpool down the years. For the first half of his career Jamie Carragher was always set to be replaced by a ‘better’ full back but was worth keeping around because he could ‘do a job’ anywhere along the back four or even in defensive midfield at a push. Dirk Kuyt was regularly forgotten during the summer months of the late 2000’s whenever names like Ricardo Quaresma appeared in newspaper rumour columns. Who needed a hard working, unspectacular Dutchman who could play in any forward role when an eye catching Portuguese winger with a step over in his locker could be acquired for just £20m?
It’s always been curious to me that players who can fill a variety of roles are so often looked upon in a comparatively unflattering light until they ‘make a position their own’. How many times have we all heard the words ‘his versatility works against him’ uttered over the years?
Take Steven Gerrard as another example. He is one of the most versatile players you could ever wish to see. He’s played basically every position on the pitch for Liverpool at some stage or other yet, during his peak years, if he wasn’t allocated a central midfield berth by Rafael Benitez the media and many Liverpool supporters went into melt down regardless of how effectively he was performing elsewhere. It was almost portrayed as if Benitez was insulting Gerrard whenever he gave his skipper a place in the side other than the one he craved most.
Gerrard never seemed pleased when playing out wide despite the fact that he won the Player’s Player of the Year award doing so. Even when he lined up as a second striker and formed that deadly partnership with Fernando Torres it always seemed a safe bet that he would drop back into central midfield sooner or later. Personally I always got the impression that Gerrard was never completely happy in his own skin unless he was in the centre of the park dictating matters the way the most talented kids always do in amateur youth football. There is no doubt that many of his advocates and friends in the media saw things the same way. There was basically a lobby for Gerrard to be reinstated as Liverpool’s main midfielder for a sustained period of the Benitez era.
Maybe our brains crave just order like that. Perhaps there is a need to tie a player down to one specific role before we can truly see them as great.
Gerrard will be remembered by most as a central midfielder when he hangs up his boots despite the reality that his best years were not spent in that position. His defining game in Istanbul saw him occupy three positions over 120 minutes of football. He struggled in the first half of that Champions League final when he was in central midfield but in the second period he moved further forward and excelled before ending the game at right wing back where he nullified the dangerous Serginho. It summed up exactly how important his versatility was to Liverpool and how he was often best deployed away from the centre of the field.
To this day though, suggesting that Gerrard isn’t and wasn’t a great central midfielder can spark some furious rebuttals from people. He’s the best all round footballer I’ve seen play in a red shirt but I can immediately think of several Liverpool players from the past decade alone that I’d much rather have in the engine room than the captain.
Which brings me, belatedly, to my main point.
It may be early days but Liverpool look to have a rather special talent on their books. I speak, as the title suggests, about that handsome German bloke named Emre.
When he was signed in the summer from Bayern Leverkusen he was widely expected to fill a central midfield role on Merseyside. Six months on and that hasn’t been the case. The only position he’s actually had a consistent run in the side at is centre back.
That he’s looked so comfortable and full of class despite primarily occupying a role that no one was expecting him to is, quite frankly, incredible. So is the fact that he’s less than a year older than Raheem Sterling. Being 21 years old and playing for a new club in a new league in a position that isn’t completely natural must be taxing and yet Can looks like he’s been doing this his whole life. Still a kid, albeit a physically imposing one, he exudes the confidence and composure of a veteran and is arguably Liverpool’s most impressive centre half as things stand.
Against Everton on Saturday the imposing Romelu Lukaku was completely bullied. Can regularly dispossessed the Belgian striker and dribbled around him as if he was a training cone on several occasions. Dealing with Lukaku hasn’t been an easy task for Liverpool defenders over the past few years but the German made it look like shelling peas at Goodison Park.
On the ball, the drive and ability to power past players from deep that Can displays adds another vital string to his team’s bow. Against Bolton in the F.A Cup last week he shifted up the pitch into midfield, eased through the gears and dragged Liverpool into the next round of that competition. It was more understated and subtle than the Gerrard style rescue acts of years gone by, but every bit as impressive.
Perhaps he will now have to do that more often from here on in.
Lucas Leiva’s injury means there is a void to be filled in the heart of Brendan Rodgers’ side and neither Joe Allen or Steven Gerrard look as well suited to replacing the Brazilian and partnering Jordan Henderson in the engine room as young Emre does at present. A duo of Henderson and Can has most everything on paper. Legs in abundance, technique, presence and brains. It could be Liverpool’s central midfield for the next five years plus if they maintain their current upward trajectories, but moving Can into that role right now would come at a price as it would obviously mean he would no longer be part of the back three that has finally given this team a solid foundation of late.
He may not be a natural centre back, but Dejan Lovren or Glen Johnson taking up that position over the coming weeks should Can move forward isn’t a particularly appealing thought. Our outstanding young midfielder is simply a far better defender than the £20m Croatian or the fading England full back. That is simultaneously a huge compliment to the youngster and a damning indictment of the club’s current defensive options.
Brendan Rodgers now has a big decision to make with crucial games against Spurs, Southampton, Manchester City and Manchester United looming; is it time to unleash Emre Can in the middle of the park or is it more important to retain the stability and sense of calm that he is providing to a previously shambolic defensive unit?
Perhaps this is the beginning of what will become a recurring theme over the coming years. Maybe Liverpool fans are destined to debate Emre Can’s best position on a week by week basis and argue over where he is best utilised just as we did for so long with our captain during his best years. It’s entirely plausible that, with the skill set he already possesses, Emre Can will be a ‘utility player’ at Anfield and, despite the public’s often-times negative perception of such players, that would not necessarily be a bad thing.
If he doesn’t make one position his own for the next few years it shouldn’t matter. Javier Zanetti is a God in Italy and Argentina and he played in numerous positions all through his career. So too, have many other exceptional players down the years. As long as Emre Can is on the pitch, Liverpool will be a better team and that’s the main thing. It’s just a shame that this squad doesn’t have two or three of him right now because they sure could use them.
At this particular juncture I’m not entirely certain what Emre Can is going to be but one thing is for sure, it should be great fun finding out.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda
Great article… Emre is certainly a beast of a player and at that age….
Thoroughly agree with this. Can is obviously a good player with an abundance of potential. At the present moment, we should keep him at the back. I don’t see why we should compromise what appears to be a solid unit at the back, just to please the people who want to see him in midfield.
His time in midfield will come and can wait a bit longer.
I can’t beleive Bayern Munich allowed him to go to Leverkusen but that worked in our favour. Great player.
An unpigeon-holable player. Let’s embrace it. Best bit of business done in many years. We have a very very special player on our hands and only 21. Gotta keep hold!
having him play as CB make reds look solid bt we see reds grow into dangerous team when he step forward e.g bolton(fa) & chelsea(epl) games, & since transfer of his like havent happen, it is better to change playing formation & make him play as bottom tip of diamond midfield where underpressure he can slot into CB role.
The back 3 can’t change. If we switched to a four he might get a chance further forward but fixing one problem by creating another just doesn’t seem worth it. Agree he’s boss though.
Totally agree. He’s class. When we have other defensive options, I see him in the Yaya Toure role as the center of balance.
BR’s confidence in him to bring the ball out of the back, power through the midfield, and put his laces through the ball for a shot makes the side a lot more dynamic than it would be without him. Defenders having to deal with Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic, now Ibe is already a potential handful. Add in Can and it becomes a nightmare.
I hate to sound negative about any of the club’s players, but I’m still at a loss as to why Rodgers was so keen to re-sign Johnson. Age-wise, he’s on his last prime year. Best case scenario, he’ll re-capture his form in time for us to see that he no longer has the pace needed to be relevant in Rodgers’ game plan. Even as a stop-gap CB (and said role past this summer begs the question of what is to happen with Ilori), is he worth the reported wages?
The only thing I can think of is that the club sincerely believe there is a buyer for Johnson, and that by tying him down to a contract they can translate his eventual move to a cash infusion (however small).
Where Can is concerned, he is one of three players (along with Coutinho and Sterling) who I am desperate to see the club handle properly. Who knows, maybe in three years Liverpool will have capitalized on success and secured the revenues and accolades needed to bring in top names (and to afford to do so, as well), and we won’t miss those three moving on to different things. I suspect it won’t be easy, though, and the thought of our most promising youth jumping ship is terrifying to me.
Great player ( in the Karl-Heinz Rummenigge mould),
great hair.
Yes we Can.
He has a bit of everything doesn’t he? Genuinely two-footed too. From what I gather he was well thought of in Germany but not considered outstanding, because his generation of players are expected to be technically sound and tactically switched on: the Bundesliga’s a good market right now.
Versatility isn’t what’s at stake here, but the ability to master a position before going on to master another. I’m with Dave on this, Steven Gerrard’s a great player but not a great central midfielder, largely, I’d suggest, because a) he was so good that he could play anywhere, b) he spent much of his career feeling as though he had to do it all and, most importantly c) he was indulged when he was younger because he was so good. That’s not to deride him; he’s clearly given everything to the club, but to argue that he could have been even better had he been better coached when he was younger. We’ll never know, of course, it could equally be argued that he tried to do too much because we didn’t have enough good players alongside him, though Didi and Xabi weren’t bad. The point is, finally, is that it seems Emre is in good hands. He’s been given a good run at the back to adjust his game to the demands of the Premier League, that should help his game in the long term, as when he’s moved further forward he’ll understand the space between the lines better, what’s in front of him, what’s behind him. I’m not sure we need a player as explosive as Stevie in central midfield, we need another Souness, a controller, conductor and enforcer with a goal in him. Let’s hope Emre Can be that man.
Can someone please come up with a “Stand by your Can” chant, please.
We need a catchy one to belt out now that Luis, Carra and (soon to be) Gerrard have left.
“We’ll never love you like our Can, Can, Can”
Emre is so cool he is even named after the ne plus ultra of Krautrock bands,
Very good. He’s the best of our neu! signings….he rocks!
He’s a very faust player when he runs…
Well said, he’s top class. What a signing for less than 10m.
Maybe we should try Lovren in midfield…
Love him. Glad he’s ours.
And oh yeah-It’s BAYER, not Bayern. Leverkusen were the team of the workers from the Bayer corporation.
Let me put this simply.
Can will replace Gerrard in midfield next year.
Until we get a new defender it is safer to play him at the back.
Joe Allen will play in the Lucas/ Gerrard space until either is fully fit again and I actually think he will step up to the task.
Allen in the Lucas-shaped hole is possible but I much rather see Can there. It may be tempting fate but Lovren played on the right of the back three may even rehabilitate him as well !
“Toby Wong Toby Chong F-ing Emre Chan” .Mr White. Reservoir Dogs.
Emre Can …brings back memories of the great German center back Markus Babble….sadly left through illness …he was a great player …and Dietmar Hamman .
Can to replace the injured Lucas once the medical team assess kolo toure to see if he is ready to come into that position. From next season we’ll have Andre wisdom back – absolutely perfect for the rcb role.
Forgot about Wisdom. If he is to play that is definitely where he gets his games. Hopefully he can fulfil his potential as a proper Liverpool player because him coming in with Can moving up sounds like a seamless plan in theory. One for next season anyway.
Don’t remember the Quaresma shouts at all but it sounds mad. I thought people’s annoyance with Dirk’s limitations rather than just appreciating what he did do well, was that he wasn’t David Silva/Villa/who ever else was being brilliant for Spain at the time. Probably Jesus Navas as well, even though whenever you watch City they always look better with Milner playing over him. Might have my timelines wrong here but I vaguely remember Torres doing an interview (which looking back, was probably the first signs of his growing frustration with initial H&G belt-tightening) saying we should look at Silva, Mata or Villa before they’d moved on from Valencia.
Think Steve Graves called the Gerrard position stuff a ‘psychodrama’ in passing on a recent podcast and that’s probably the best description of the millions of ‘where should Gerrard play?’ discussions had the world over the past decade. The standout example of how mental it got will always be Andy Gray in the Sky studio raging that ‘Steven should walk into Benitez’s office and say “play me centre mid or I won’t play at all”‘ which I think might have been the year he had his highest scoring season capped off with the cup final named after him. There’s a video of it that should still be on YouTube – good for a laugh now but at the time…
I remember. Thing is, CM’s are supposed to contribute defensively, not just stand around while players run past them. I can’t remember when he stopped tracking runners, because he did when he was younger, but by 2005 that part of his game had already gone. The daft thing is that his strengths and weaknesses were highlighted for the world to see in one game: Istanbul. It was almost a perfect metonym for his career, highlighting both his strengths and his weaknesses. Needless to say, his strengths were in attacking and wide positions. Just try convincing the pundits….