Liverpool FC Forum

[JC_81]

Carra certainly won't disgrace himself as a holding midfielder, but he won't set the world alight either I don't think, and certainly not at international level.  He reads the game well and will protect the back four well enough, but his passing is just not good enough to play at that level in that position on a consistent basis.  Don't really see the point in Sven starting him there tonight.  How about dropping Rio and playing Terry and Carra at the back - Englands best and least mistake-prone combo in my opinion.  It'll never happen though...

[azriahmad]

Carra, for all of his attributes, will be out of depth in an unfamilliar role such as this, more so in a world class tournament.

Let Gerrard run forward and give him a chance of a more effective role. Find someone else to fill that defensive midfielder roel and give Carra a chance to play central defence with Terry.

[andy_g]

its all well and good to say find someone else to play the defensive midfield role so lets look at the options;

carrick - a very good player, a good reader of the game andf a good passer but not really one for getting stuck in and breaking up the play.

hargreaves - i don't see much of him week in week out and by all accounts he's one of the key players in the munich squad. he never convinces me for england though and just doesn't seem to have the bite to play DM.

gerrard - could obviously do the job, but what a waste of explosive attacking potential.

carragher - seems like a much better bet after going through the list. will make every tackle he can, won't stop trying and should be able to play a simple ball to one of the other midfielders (lampard, beckham, cole) coming deep to look for it.

i believe that england need to play a DM of some description to get the best out of gerrard, and maybe carra is the safest of all the gambles.

[KennyisGod....still]

I'm no England fan, so maybe i'm talkin outta turn, but wtf is erikson doin playin Carra in midfield? Does ferdinand really deserve his place before Carra? I dont think so. So, in that contaxt, are england really so short of footballers with class that they have to play a midfielder as a striker (albeit probably the best finisher at Liverpool), a defender as a midfielder (again, albeit the most committed player you could hope to see, no matter what he's asked to do) and rely on a scan and late late fitness tests to prevent possibly the most inexperienced actual forward line england have ever/will ever take to a WC finals? Somethin tells me the bookies are in for a boom time as all the fools that part with money too easily place bets on the english to win the WC.

Hope that don't come back to haunt me!!     

[whylongball?]

you know what i think?? Eriksson is a joke ...Carrager can only fill half the role which is the tackling part.. passing and movement?? i doubt it...imho for a 5 midfielders to work,like Chelsea, there must be fast wingers and other guys must be good at movement-off-the-ball to create space. Lampart too slow. so is Beckham. only SG offers real threat. and all of them tend to playn long passes rather bring the ball in. who's at the end to received the long passes? Owen? no way as he cant hold,at least not like Crouch

[whylongball?]

agree with most of you here on Carra should be paired with Terry. If erickson wants to experiment, Rio can play the defensive midfield role. At least he can read the game and pass well.

[EddieC]

If Sven wants to use any of the CB's in that role, it should be Rio. Defensively, Carra's got the edge on him, Where as I have to admit Ferdinand can pass the ball a lot better then JC. Don't know what Svens playing at, but this isn't as bad as his idea that Hargreaves is good.

[bigmick]

It's certainly an interesting move from a tactical point of view. The first thing it says to me if it really is Sven's starting X1 then it confirms a long held view that he really doesn't fancy Carrick, who would be the obvious pick for the holding role.
The other fella he normally goes for in the role, Ledley King is not on the plane so he's decided to go for Carra.

My suspicion is that secretly he hopes that playing Carragher will give us more fluidity, in that we could effectively play with a secure three at the back when in posession, allowing the significant attacking contibutions of Ashley Cole (still the only genuinely left footed player in the team) and to an obviously lesser extent Gary Neville to push on with impunity.
With this system he gets two double your money bonuses. Firstly when Neville does press on it allows Beckham to drift in off the touchline where at his age and with his mobility the feeling probably is that he can have a greater influence on the game, and secondly when Terry and Ferdinand press on from corners which will be a significant goal threat from our point of view, there will be the rock-solid insurance of Carra art the back should anybody break onto us.
The posters who have expressed resevations about Carraghers distribution are probably worrying unnecessarily in my opinion. I would expect that rather than Gerrard playing off the front man, him and Lampard would actually operate in tandem to bomb forwards and backwards, only this time with a holder in behind. Carraghers job will be to feed it into the nearest of these two which he is more than capable of doing.
More likely to be a problem in all probability is Carra having to deal with midfield players breaking onto him at speed with the ball. His defensive prowess is largely all about reading the game, upper body strength, getting right side etc etc which is what being a good centre-half is all about. In his normal position he should rarely have to deal with the problems he will face in midfield, holding or otherwise. Other than this concern that he maybe prone to conceding free-kicks in dangerous positions I think he will do a good job.
From a tactical point of view, given that I'm unconvinced by Carrick aswell I think it's a brave, interesting and correct move.

[Garymac]

Lets face it, Carrick had a bad game last week but he is a far better midfielder than Carra and would do the job so much better, i cant believe what ericsson is thinking of, Carragher will do a job but you need a bit more than that at international level.

I thought Walcott going was bizarre and really felt for bent who must have been fuming but imagine being Carrick now and a lad who hasnt played center mid for 4 or 5 years getting a game ahead of you.

Carragher is great at what he does but hes not a center mid, and Gerrard upfront is a bad move as well, He wants him to link up the attack but thats not Gerrard, he is better off when joining the attacks late and making runs from midfield, once again Sven is playing players out of position for no reason what so ever.

Its a massive gamble and its one id be suprised to come off.

[azriahmad]

Did Alex Ferguson not played Rio in a defensive mid position earlier on in the season when manure were having their injuries & off form spell? Or is it the case I got my memory mixed when they actually played Alan Smith as Keano's replacement? Whatever...Carra should play with Terry and Terry has a strong claim to be captain of the team instead of softie "hollywood" Becks, with Gerrard a close second only because Terry a bit more of a natural leader like Souness was when he was playing for us.

[stmichael]

this decision makes it even more ridiculous that scott parker isn't in the squad. he's by far the best holding midfielder in england. carrick doesn't put his foot in enough for me.

[dawson99]

Carrick isnt strong enough and i have to agree that parker should be there. hargreaves has been getting a lot of stick, we gotta rememebr that he has been playing for the german champions, and playing well if reports are accurate.

i thought jamie himself said that he wasnt good enough to play the holding midfielder role, altho i may be mistaken but sven is going a little loopy, but he is leaving soon so why not just muck things up a bit

[azriahmad]

Hargreaves is Sven's super-sub...when he needs an extra defensive midfielder, he subs an attacking player with Hargreaves. When he needs a more attacking impetus, he puts on Hargreaves.

I'm a Liverpool fan first and foremost and I'm not an Englishman, but I follow England with interest because of our Liverpool legion and I lived in England in the past. I really pity my English friends in this forum because Sven is tactically thick as Houllier. England will have wasted their best group of players necause Sven is tactically inept.

[dawson99]

houllier didnt do that bad with us and hes not doing bad in france either. tactically thick houllier? i could think of about 5000 worse managers.. and sven is near the top of that list, sven is a n0bber

[Mark 23]

Carra will do a job for you, and I think the way he will play tonight will be to make 3 at the back and let the full backs get foward.  Scott Parker is the one for the holding role, but Sven hasn't got a clue and he still plays Beckham who for me is .  Can't wait for this sorry mess to be over, can't wait for the world cup to finish and Sven to off