Liverpool FC Forum

fivecups wrote:

yckatbjywtbiastkamb wrote:is there a better defender in the country than martin skrtel right now?
he`s been tremendous this season and he`s starting to show real leadership qualities as well, it was martin who fronted evra when he celebrated in front of suarez at old trafford and generally no matter who we are playing any hint of trouble he`s first there to back his team mates up.
starting to weigh in with goals as well

Skrtel's our player of the season so far.

Am I the only one amazed that Agger has stayed fit for so long?

i hope you dont jinx him saying that mate! 
he has had a good run in terms of staying injury free though.
long may it continue!

stmichael wrote:so with agger out it looks like carra will be back in the side for arsenal at the weekend. just hope we don't start playing a deeper defensive line again although it wouldn't surprise me give walcott's pace over the top.

if this was say, wigan at home, i'd be tempted to start coates but not against arsenal and in particular van persie.

I'd prefer to see Coates actually. Carras time is over.

thought coates was one of the few positives today. looked a bit nervous but generally i thought he did ok. probably started because carra will play in the derby though for his experience. can't see coates being thrown into that furnace.

if kelly keeps performing as he did last night, johnson will struggle to get back in the team. could have easily scored twice.

If Skrtl was english he still wouldnt get a place in the national team

Martin Kelly was amazing last night. He was far more adventurous and effective in supporting the attack compared to Johnson.

i'm not suggesting that kelly should take johnson's place. i still think johnson is the superior player when fit but kelly is an excellent replacement. right back is arguably the strongest position in our team.

notable mention to carra aswell. i thought he played really well last night.

stmichael wrote:i'm not suggesting that kelly should take johnson's place. i still think johnson is the superior player when fit but kelly is an excellent replacement. right back is arguably the strongest position in our team.

notable mention to carra aswell. i thought he played really well last night.

Superior or not depends on consistency as well... Johnson may be superior skill wise but if Kelly continues to be effective every game no reason why he can't win the starting berth...

stmichael wrote:i'm not suggesting that kelly should take johnson's place. i still think johnson is the superior player when fit but kelly is an excellent replacement. right back is arguably the strongest position in our team.

notable mention to carra aswell. i thought he played really well last night.

Flanagan, Kelly and Johnson 
Kelly could probably move the the center when Carra retires, and we'll have a defense like this:

Johnson   Skrtel   Agger   Enrique
Flanagan  Kelly    Coates  Robinson

so here we are back again thinking that the problem is solved in defence with Agger-Skrtel working ever so well, but when Agger is injured we are seriously f*cked. Our backline is in dissaray, Skrtel looks lost without Agger and Carragher is not even the same player he was 3 years ago. Coates is still a young lad taking his time so we have to a bit patient with him but he did show glimpses of quality against QPR but still not enough time to judge. Plus we are so damn unlucky with out injuries at right back position, having Kelly and Johnson out at the same time isn't helping our cause. Flanagan looks like a fantastic prospect, but he is still young and inexperienced.

How do we fix this? Even when Agger comes back and we look solid again there isn't enough depth in our defence to cover our CB injuries, as much as Skrtel improved all season and he looked fantastic in the first half of the season he can't play with Carragher, its an awful partnership and its showing. We need another center back that would compete with Agger and Skrtel in the starting lineup, someone who is as good as Agger or Skrtel or better. If we look at realistic options in the market I think Nevin Subotic of Dortmund is an excellent candidate.

Kerry07 » Tue Feb 28, 2012 11:12 pm wrote:Skrtel has become a colossus. Theres no better defender in the league right now.

Hes taken his game to another level, also he seems to have become a much bigger personality. Whether thats the influence of Clarke i dunno. The back 4 and goalkeeper are completely sorted.

A month is a long time in football...