Liverpool FC Forum

[onizukaeikichi]

he performed quite well especially against an opposition like chelsea shows that he might be ready to be utilised by benitez more often this season.

[ConnO'var]

His distribution, long and short is as good as any central defender we've had at Liverpool for many a year

the comparisons with hansen are inevitable. i said it when he brought the ball out from the back and started the move from which gerrard scored against the toon at st james'.

he seems to almost stroll through games. if he stays fit he'll be a superb acquisition. when you consider that we were linked with vidic and agger, we certainly got the right player and the better deal.

Yeah.... he does remind of Alan Hansen.

Does seem untroubled and unhurried doen't he?

At times a little too nonchalant  .... but he'll learn

High hopes for the kid...

[stmichael]

I think Agger was competent, he worked well with Carragher and distributes the ball well. Hyypia is getting slower by the day, he has been a great servant to the club but I feel this could be his final season for us.

All things must come to an end, and for Sami Hyypia it's no different. Like you said, this might just be his final season in the first team set up. Hyypia and Carragher are obviously first choice at the moment, but Benitez does have the power to possibly rotate the defence, even though the defence is usually the area we least rotate in out of the whole squad.

I wouldn't write Hyypia off, but I would say he is coming to the end of his career. He has one or two more seasons here and then we'll see Agger come through into the first team IMO. Agger for me looks very comfortable on the ball, and for a young player Agger has a good understanding of the game.

Add Paletta into the equation (who is a completely different style of centre half to Agger) and the future looks bright.

[taff]

I thought he was excellent but in reference to Taff's point, I thought he was at fault for the goal (I haven't seen the highlights and any analysis). To me Shevchenko peels off Agger and doubles up on Carragher. What causes the problem is a basic lack of communication between the three people involved, Agger, Caragher and Finnan. For me, Agger and Carragher should 'swap' strikers as Shevchenko peels and Finnan should tuck in as cover. As it was I thought Agger was guilty of ball-watching (though it was a clever piece of play by one of the best strikers in the World today) and Finnan wasn't alive enough to compensate. I only saw it though at the time with replays so if somebody has got a graphic which shows I'm talkng nonsense then fair enough.
Apart from that I thought Agger was excellent. His distribution, long and short is as good as any central defender we've had at Liverpool for many a year and in the after match celebratory shirt removal he looked to me like he'd bulked up a bit as well. I think he may overtake Hyypia at some point this season as a first choice centre-half.

From the TV I thought it was Finnan and let us not forget, brilliant play from a real world class striker

Nevertheless overall Agger does look good and werent there similar commenst when JC took over from henchoz full time.  Partnerships need time and the building of understanding, sometimes we are in danger of being over critical

But its not our fault its that bloody benitez and his relentless pursuit of perfection 

[Kingy354]

Agger seemed comfortable on the pitch yesterday and was impressive, which is a good sign seeing as the match was against the current Premiership Champions. He controlled the ball well and his passing & movement was generally good. From the looks of things, Sammi's definately got some competition.

[jkop]

given his performance, i don't really see any need to rush hyypia back for the sheffield united game although i presume rafa will.

I agree let agger play a few more games before bringing sami back i can see agger playing very well as i think he will be on a high after his winning performance against chelski.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Agger looked decent too me. He is clearly very comfortable with taking a few steps up and looking for team mate in a good position and he has a nice touch. Not sure about some of his positioning though, does tend to get drawn wide and sucked in by deeper lying players but that is something tactical that will improve as time goes by. He was very aggressive yesterday and came out on top against 2 aggressive strikers in the form of Drogba and Sheva. It clear why we paid nearly 6 Mil for him, he has an excellent chance of forging out a long career as a first team centre back at Liverpool.

I think he will rack up about 20 starts in total with him often being used when we play 2 games in 4 days because Hyypia struggles with this. But one thing is for sure, Hyypia is still the man in possession and if he has another awesome season like last Agger will have to wait.

The big Finn is still a quality centre back but we have a player who has the quality to replace him, another rosy situation built by Rafa.

[tubby]

He definatly looks like someone who could not only figure quite a bit this season bu can become a strong player for us for a while. And hes got the perfect role models on Carra and Sami. He seems to get injured now and then but im thinking maybe that was old niggles.

[NiftyNeil]

I thought Agger made a good account of himself yesterday. It always worries me when the defence gets changed, but he played well, is good in the air, and distributed well. Not bad considering the opposition.

[Billy_5_Times]

Hmmmm a rare semi-sensible post from our friend William five-bellies. Definately a step in the right direction.

It is actually William_10_bellies. Put on a bit of weight you see.

[vlady16.1]

i am happy to hear the report on agger. for some reason the game wasn't shown here but it will be this week. i find it funny that sammi is being counted out for his age alone but many people here clammored to get one of the relegated italians who are older.
anyway sammi is good for at least this year and it appears rafa has done it again. his replacement is here and finally we have real cover too. lets just hope this is just the start to a fine career.

[Alanay]

He looked very settle in that position. A winner at the back but not much involve in the attack (probably something he can work on if required). That goal by Scheva was very well timed and positioned, it's not his fault. Probably Finnan should close the gap, but then it's very difficult to mark (he has to worry about Robben also).

[Sabre]

The most amazing thing about this player is that he does things so naturally that he seems to be a veteran, and he's so young!

Doing that under the pressure of Anfield (Millenium stadium in this case) can't be done by just anybody. I think he's one of the best signings for the next year.

About the goal, we cannot blame the defence, the control was superb and the finishing was perfect. When you face that kind of strikers you just can try to control the midfield and not losing the ball stupidly so that you minimize the chances of the striker. But it will happen from time to time.

[anfieldadorer]

he's the most expensive defender we've ever bought in history, his latest performance starts to look like he's worth the price

[redsince2001]

looked class   the other day at cardiff......will serve us well in the years/decades to come