I agree that he wasn't playing particularly well, not that he was terrible, which seems to be the consensus. I agree as well that the team performed better when Lucas was brought in at DM, and you're right that Lucas distributed better. I think that illustrates my point though. Clearly Gerrard can pick a pass better than Lucas. The fact that he wasn't doing so suggests a dip in form much more than that he simply forgot how to play.

I don't mean to say that Gerrard has been moping about, not putting in effort, sad about last May. I can see, though, how letting the league slip, clearly his last chance for his only title and storybook ending to a one-club, followed instantly by a dismal WC performance could put someone in a frame of mind where motivation is not easy to produce.

He will never be able to press properly the way our system demands and can't defend by means of pace, but neither do Allen, Lucas, and to a certain extent, Henderson. Allen and Lucas defend positionally; Henderson does so through his engine. I'd say that Gerrard has a good enough understanding of the game to position himself well if that's his only means of a spot in the starting 11. Gerrard also has the ability to offer more than either Lucas or Allen offensively (Allen was fantastic going forward against City, but that still isn't the trend, at least not yet).

If anything is going to motivate Gerrard to work, it will have been sitting out for 6 weeks and watching the team flourish without him. Surely he doesn't want to spend his last year at Anfield as a spectator. He absolutely has the quality to adapt to the deeper role, if that's what he wants to do. I'm honestly surprised that everyone is so adamant that he is finished. People were upset with the positive, somewhat disrespectful response to Johnson's not signing an extension. This is far beyond that.

TL;DR: Bobsled hates brevity.