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Building for the future is an admirable plan. The only problem is that when you are always looking so far ahead you can neglect the present.

Steven Gerrard’s decision to call time on his Liverpool FC career has brought the club’s transfer policy back into the spotlight once again.

The Reds are losing their jewel in the crown. When Gerrard heads for California this summer Liverpool won’t just part company with their only genuinely world class player and their inspirational captain. They will also wave goodbye to a wealth of knowledge and experience.

The fear for Kopites is how the club will go about replacing him.

Will owners Fenway Sports Group recognise the size of the void left by Gerrard’s departure and spend big to bring in a dominant midfielder of proven quality? Or will Liverpool once again take a punt on a young, hungry player with potential unfulfilled?

Common sense says it has to be the former but recent history suggests Brendan Rodgers may have to polish another rough diamond rather than pluck the finished article off the shelf.

The balance between youth and experience has shifted massively since Rodgers’ appointment in the summer of 2012.

Stung by inheriting the bloated contracts of under-achieving high earners like Joe Cole and Alberto Aquilani, FSG tasked Rodgers with chopping back the wage bill.

That was understandable to a degree. Cole and Aquilani were certainly never missed but the problem is that the drain of experience and nous has continued unabated. It has swung too far the other way.

Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez also went in 2012 and then 12 months later Jamie Carragher brought the curtain down on his remarkable Reds career.

Last summer Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger and, most crucially, Luis Suarez headed for the Anfield exit door. In five months time Gerrard will join that list.

Players haven’t been adequately replaced – the recruitment of Mario Balotelli following the sale of Suarez being the most glaring example.

FSG’s desire for Liverpool to sign players aged 24 or under is no secret. Out of the nine deals the club did in the transfer market last summer only Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert didn’t fit that criteria.

In the current set-up the only players aged 27 or over are Gerrard, Martin Skrtel, Lambert, Glen Johnson, Kolo Toure, Brad Jones and Lucas Leiva. Gerrard, Johnson, Toure and Jones are all free agents this summer.

Few in Rodgers’ squad are at the peak of their powers. Most are rookies still adjusting to life at Anfield.

Pundit Andy Gray claimed this week that’s the way the Northern Irishman likes it. Bizarrely, Gray argued that Rodgers doesn’t like having “big personalities” around him and prefers to nurture young talent.

That’s nonsense. He seemed to do okay with Suarez for company.

As a club Liverpool have struggled when trying to compete at the top end of the transfer market in recent years. They missed out on the likes of Alexis Sánchez, Willian, Diego Costa and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. They have been out-bid both in terms of fees and wages.

What’s clear is that a re-think about the club’s strategy is required. There comes a time when you have to buy for today rather than tomorrow.

Culture shock for the Press as much as the players

This week’s FA Cup tie against AFC Wimbledon proved to be something of a culture shock for Brendan Rodgers and his players.

Staff at the ambitious League Two club were warm and welcoming but Kingsmeadow, which the Dons share with Ryan Premier outfit Kingstonian, was a world away from the luxuries of life in the top flight.

There was the bizarre sight of Rodgers conducting his post-match press conference in the adjacent sports centre while a gym class was continuing across the corridor.

Reporting on the game also had its challenges. After asking a steward for directions to the press overflow section, I was told: “You need to get on top of those toilets. Just past the burger van you should find a ladder.”

He wasn’t joking with a temporary structure having been built for the occasion on top of the gents.

The problem was with it set back from the pitch and located right in the corner, one penalty box was almost completely obscured by the stand behind the goal.

Liverpool FC historian Ged Rea unearthed a couple of statistical gems in the wake of the Reds’ unconvincing 2-1 victory.

Wimbledon’s James Shea became the 100th different goalkeeper to be beaten by Steven Gerrard in his Liverpool career.

The crowd of 4,784 was also the lowest attendance for a Reds match since they took on Kosice away in September 1998.

You have to go back to Stoke away in 1961 (4,463) for the last time Liverpool played in front of so few supporters on English soil.

Spearing set to miss out on Cup tie

Jay Spearing could be denied a dream return to Anfield later this month after being put up for sale by Bolton Wanderers.

The 26-year-old midfielder has been told he’s surplus to requirements by boss Neil Lennon, whose side face Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup on January 24.

Spearing initially joined Bolton on a season-long loan in the summer of 2012 and after being crowned Player of the Year the deal was made permanent for £1.5m as he penned a four-year contract.

He went on to be appointed club captain but has fallen down the pecking order under Lennon and hasn’t started since the game against Norwich City in October,

Lennon says a move away from Bolton could suit both the player and the club.

“He has found it difficult to get in front of Darren Pratley, Neil Danns and now Liam Trotter,” Lennon said.

“He understands our position so he is not making waves. I am not patronising him – he is a very good professional. He has not given me one day’s trouble and he is brilliant in the dressing room. He may feel he needs to go and play so we will have to weigh that up.”