Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has sympathy for Steven Gerrard over his Liverpool struggles. Gerrard was left on the substitutes' bench for 75 minutes of Saturday's scrappy 1-0 win over Stoke City at Anfield amid reports of a rift developing between the club captain and manager Brendan Rodgers.
"Something has gone wrong between the manager who nearly guided the club to a first Premier League title and one of the club's greatest-ever players," Shearer wrote in his column for The Sun.
"Have no doubt about it - Steven Gerrard was unceremoniously dropped at Anfield on Saturday. Forget about his age or being rested, or not being able to play every game... he was axed, plain and simple.
"I remember being in a situation at Newcastle when Ruud Gullit dropped me for our biggest game of the season at home to Sunderland. He did not even have the courtesy to tell me, I just read it on the board in the dressing room.
"He was obviously flexing his muscles as manager and maybe Rodgers is doing the same.
"Mind you, it did prove to be the last game Gullit had as Newcastle manager.
"That is certainly not the case with Rodgers at Liverpool and nor should it be. But surely if Liverpool have a big game, the first name on the team-sheet has still got to be Steven Gerrard - not (Raheem) Sterling, (Jordan) Henderson or (Joe) Allen, but Gerrard."
