Gerrard: Panacea or Placebo?

Just how important is Steven Gerrard to Liverpool? Opta investigate.

Many Liverpool fans are currently hoping that club captain and midfield general Steven Gerrard does not decide to leave the club in the near future.

The England midfielder is lauded as the key figure in the Liverpool side and a club talisman but the stats show that The Reds actually have a slightly better win percentage when Gerrard is missing from the starting XI.

 

Gerrard became a Liverpool regular from the start of the 1999-2000 season and, since that date, The Reds have won 50.6 percent of games in which he has started.

In the other matches, that percentage creeps up to 51 percent - hardly a huge gulf but it does suggest that Liverpool do not miss Gerrard too much when he is absent or named as a sub.

Liverpool's loss rate is higher when Gerrard is absent but again, the difference is not huge.

All of which gives succour to those who believe that the team is more important than any individual in it.

Gerrard may very well depart Anfield in the future but the club will certainly live on.