BELIEVE the whispers and Steven Gerrard is finished at Liverpool FC.

Rubbish. The Anfield skipper might not be the lung-busting force of old, but he still has a massive part to play under Brendan Rodgers.

Gerrard is perhaps being undermined both by obviously altering his game to suit Rodgers’s new style of play, and the expectation that has forever been burdened on his shoulders.

But I wouldn’t be worried.

I’d just want Liverpool to get the best out of Gerrard, and for that Rodgers needs to get him into areas where he can utilise his passing.

Gerrard’s passing is one of his many strong points. He puts it in places where players want it. Even though he may have lost a half-yard of pace, you’d always find a place in the team for someone who is, by a million miles, Liverpool’s best forward passer.

Joe Allen is neat and tidy but he isn’t one to pass players in, he’s more a continuity player.

Take Gerrard out of the team, and Liverpool create fewer chances. Gerrard also sets the tempo, and if he’s charging around then other players are more inclined to follow suit.

Gerrard struggled to get into the game for the first hour at Chelsea, having been lost in the system used by Rodgers. You want Gerrard on the ball. He makes things happen.