With Carra losing what pace he had, Aurelio and Agger more often than not on the injured list, Johnson and Skrtel erratic and the rest of the boys quite young, Enrique is the only consistently performing seasoned defender we have. Surely this is the area that needs to be focussed on to strengthen next. Kelly, Coates and Robinson all look like good prospects for the future but we could do with back up. Coates will take some time to adapt to the English game and Robinson needs to be introduced gradually. Kelly looks ready to play now but we are short. If Agger and Aurelio were fit (if my aunty had balls etc) they'd be top class but we just cannot depend on their fitness. I'd say at least another centre half is the next most important thing to look at. Realistically Agger Carra Aurelio and Skrtel should not be seen as regulars next season. Thoughts?
If fit why do you think he shouldn't be a regular? Compared to Skertel he is world class but I have really gone off Skertal now I think he is a danger to have on the park. My back 4 now would be - Kelly Carra Coates Enrique
I think we need to sign at least 2 centre halfs in the next 2 transfer windows, sell skrtel and ease Carra out. He will still make a massive contribution playing the same role as sami did a few seasons ago. I think Robinson is decent back up to Enrique and Kelly and johnson will battle with each other for right back
The future looks good for our defence the next 10 years we could we a solid back 4 of Flanno Kelly Coates robbo As for now I'm slightly concerned about the defence barr Jose
As I say, I would love Agger if he could stay fit but to be honest I've given up on him in terms of staying on the pitch. Sure, the ribs were a freak accident but you cannot ever depend on him being on the pitch for that many games in a row. With a 25 man squad I think it'd be better to cut our losses to have a player who you can rely on to stay fit. I don't know if stats can be gotten on how many games he has played for us in a row without getting injured? Similarly with Aurelio, he'd be worth his place in the squad if he was fit but we all know it's such a big if at this stage, and now with Enrique we no longer need him anyway for the amount of time he'd play.
Yeah the man is made of glass, would love to see him get it right as I think he is a top defender when on form and he can get forward too when the chance arises. Have massive hopes for Kelly being the next Carragher for us and hopefully Carra will train him in well over the few seasons. Still the best defender hands down at the club.
I agree with that - if u could rely on agger to say fit then u would only need t sign one. skertl is an embarrassment, carra is old and wilson is nowhere near ready. obviously the jury is still out on coates but whereas some people's 'gut' is that he's gonna be a hit i'm still undecided. only saw him a bit in the copa america but its a totally different game he was playign there...he really worries me when he is opulled out wide coz he tends to catch a bit of 'skertlitis' and looks rash when he goes to ground. he aint quick either unfortunately. so i think yeah we probably need two centrehalves, definitley one to parter a fit agger. i'd sell skertl if you could get a taker
With our current shortage of reliable centre halves why not start trying Martin Kelly out in his favoured position. When Johnno is back I'd like to see the Kelly and Agger (when fit) partnership for a couple of games, see how it goes.
You don't sit on the fence pal and that's to be commended but imo you have a habit of making everything black and white and very little is in football. Skrtel had a good second half to the season last year,and had a good season the year we came second. He lost his way a bit in between and whether he's of the required quality we need to take us forward is debatable. But an "embarrassment" he is not. It's like your comment on Lucas in the game thread for Wednesday. You stated the he had "zero ball retention capabilities" which is definitely wrong and not even up for debate and smacked ofa knee jerk reaction to me. I'm not saying you're not entitled to your opinion by the way,but merely challenging it.
For me it IS black and white - skertl is poor, end of. in my eyes anyway. he had a few games during the 'crest of a wave of euphoria' period at the start of kenny's range when he did ok, and a few odd games under rafa at the start but otherwise is a reckless tackel and red card waiting to happen. he's even weak in the air. he has shown me nothing in his time bar a few odd games thats he's worthy of a place in a team chasing a top 4 position. even david ngog, ryan babel and insua had the odd good performance...they dont warrant a place eitehr. I see his situation as very black and white...i jsut dont rate him. and if there is ONE place on the pitch you need consistency of performance in order to be successful its the heart of the defence...which is why were were most successful during rafas time with hyppia and carra in there, i.e very consistent. Ditto for terry and carvalho and rio and vidic. I like Lucas - but ball retention is wht the likes of xavi and fabregas and scholes do. and alonso. when they get it they pass it - then go back again and build little triangles - prod and probe, dictate tempo esp when under teh cosh...sometimes touching the ball 7 or 8 tiems in a move so as to break the moemntum of the opposition. i aint comparing lucas to those guys, thats unfair on him. he wins it and he gives it - thats it - but its often coming back twice as fast. my point is that you cant have him AND spearing intheir coz neither are excellet ON teh ball, whereas lucas, esp in the big games, is vry good WITHOUT it. so thats why i felt tehy had no ball retention ability - 61% posesion to teh opposition backs taht up. and in our twenty minute period of dominace in the first hand it was maxi and kuyt dropping in and getting on it to build the moves more than the 2 midfielders. thats what i saw. it aint a criticism of lucas, it just isnt what he does in there
HTML: As I said mate,if skrtel is good enough is definitely debatable. But I've seen him play many a good game for Liverpool so in no way do I think he's an embarrassment and that's the point I was calling you on. Ball retention Is by definition,retaining the ball and lucas does that brilliantly. I also disagree that he's not good on the ball. He makes intricate and precise passes which aren't eye catching but very important and his touch is as good as anyone in the squad. But what it looks like you're implying is that the reason we gave away more possession in the second half was because of lucas and spearing but they were on the pitch in the first half when we had good possession. Personally I think the main reason they had more possession was because we defended deeper in the second half. I agree the forward players were dropping deeper and receiving the ball more in the first half but if that was key to us having good possession then surely the fact they stopped doing that would be the main reason we didn't have good possession by your reasoning anyway. Apologies for going off topic there.
People going way over the top in terms of Skrtel bashing off the back of last weekend.Put things in perspective ffs-yes,he had an absolute mare but he was played out of position against one of the top wingers around without having Dirk in front of him for protection.We were a man down for a large portion of him time on the pitch and the team was awful as a whole. Do I think he's good enough to play week-in,week-out long term?No.Not if we're aiming to be title contenders in the coming seasons.Do I think he's shit and an embarrassment etc.?Far from it. I'd compare him to Alex at Chelsea and would like to see him play a similar role within our squad.Excellent option to have as cover but not quite the level required for playing every week.
If all fit Glen Agger Coates Enrquie Backup Kelly Cara Skrtel Fabio Backup2 Flanagan Wilson ? Robinson I'd still use Cara but a well rested Cara and use Coates if ready
The Skrtel that used to eat nails for his breakfast has gone and isn't coming back. His attempt to win a 50/50 (in the air that bounced at least once) against Defoe was the final straw for me, out muscled and then rolled around the floor feigning injury, he's gone soft imo and should be sold as soon as decent offer is recieved. A decent player may reappear but its best for both parties that he has a change of scenery.
I don't think he was ever that hard in the first place to be honest.When he first signed people saw a skinhead CB covered in tatoos and got that idea in their head based on his appearance and not his style of play. I'm not going to defend his performance at Spurs-he was ****ing awful,but I still feel he'd be an excellent squad player.
id have Kelly in RB regardless of who is fit. prior to getting injured last season at West Ham he was for me our player of the season. the more games he gets the better he will get. i know Johnson may offer a bit more from an attacking perspective but a full back's priority role is to defend. Kelly aint half bad getting forward neither.
So you'd like to put the best RB at the club playing in a position he's NEVER started a senior game at ahead of a player who's played 600 games for the club and the player who as a CB was voted best young player in Copa America, and over Skertl who's getting stick for a game in which ironically he played outta position, makes sense
I dont think everything can be solely aimed at our defence. The midfield has been as big a failure in recent games, and if yer midfield plays cack, then your defence comes under increased pressure, and ours hasn't really stood up to that. Kelly at RB and Enrique at LB are both top notch. Centre-backs not so much. Coates will take time to settle in. For obvious reasons. Carragher is still a good CB imo. Playing every game is a no-no but if rested at times, he'd still be someone i'd pick for most important games. Agger is a good CB too, but injuries fcuk him up so much. Skrtel is too error prone for my liking, and thats in no way based on anything he's done at RB because you cant fairly judge a CB for games when he's played out of position. Overall, i wouldnt be hitting any panic buttons. The entire team hasnt played very well just recently, but its only a couple of games. When Coates beds in properly, and maybe if Agger can get more luck with injuries than previously, then in turn Carra can be rested the odd game and be better because of it, then there isnt a huge problem at all. Skrtel can fill in when we're stuck. He's a lot better than most 4th choice CB's at other clubs. The only game i've seen where we defended like headless chickens was the Spurs game. And in fairness, the midfield was putrid that day too. Plus we lost a player early on, etc... Its early days. Any good defence needs to get a bit of rhythm and consistency going. When we eventually get that, you'd be surprised how it can start to knit together nicely.
Right back isnt so clear cut for me, Kelly and Glen both get alot of injuries sometimes at the sametime. If possible I would want rid of two from Glen, Agger and Aurelio. All good players when fit but a settled back 4 is too important. Kelly struggles too with injuries. Coates,Wilson robbo & Flannagan all look good prospects but very untested. Carra is still more than useful but I feel due to his pase we cant press the ball high up the pitch. Enrique is lightning and strong as an ox, deffo not a weakness but I do worry about how often he doesnt put a tackle in example defoe goal. For me I would like to see Agger,Glen(both with better fitness) & Skrtel replaced if your talkin about challenging for titles. Wilson could do with a loan spell in the PL perhaps swansea or somewhere . For me I would go all out for one of the young CB's (Cahill or Shawcross) and build from there. Being Very critical but if your talking about being a top side again....Defence deffo needs strenghtening.