SouthCoastShankly » Wed Apr 23, 2014 2:49 pm wrote:Not at all. I draw the line at calling them flops though.
Flanagan and Skrtel have been immense this season. Few would argue.
Johnson - Big let down. Great going forward but defensively awful at times. I reluctantly accept he's probably never going to be the player we need him to be.
Cissohko - Less said the better.
Agger - Injury prone and looks weaker, physically, that he ever has.
Sakho - Good squad player and potentially a first team regular. However not a good as Skrtel: aerially, distribution or tackling.
Mignolet - Not the best but definitely not as bad as you make out. His biggest weakness I see is that he is too reliant on the defence as a whole having a good game. You rarely see him standing out from the rest when things go pear shaped. Reina did offer that.
If Rodgers can sign another fullback and CB to partner Skrtel. I think our defence will tighten up dramatically. I would love to have Reina back but I wouldn't advocate spending money on replacing Mignolet. The money is better spend elsewhere.
Lemme give this a go.
Flanagan: Has all the will in the world but he's still not good enough. Honestly, he's been solid (largely) if unspectacular and h's yet to cost the team points. He's a 3rd choice type of player imo.
Skrtel : Is having his best season in a liverpool shirt. Still, he makes way too many mistakes and his positioning is too suspect for him to be considered a reliable long term CB option ina title challenging side.
Agger: Being a neat and classy ball playing defender aside, his positioning and concentration have not developed enough since he joined the club. Could have been a top CB if he had developed but being injury prone and not blessed with pace, I cant see him offering much more than he has. Fan favorite and all, but he looks the most likely to give way if we decide to bring someone in in the summer.
Sakho: I was probably the biggest advocate of the idea of us signing him and my opinion is still unchanged. He is yet to win all the supporters but I completely believe that in this lad, we have a world class CB in the making. I expect our defense to be built around him.
Enrique: Missed the entire season through injury but remains the best fullback at the club imo. Such a long lay off is bound to have its toll on the guy but I sincerely hope to have him somewhere near his best next season. Certainly good enough for a starting spot.
Johnson: Johnson is not a player I like criticizing. I remember disagreeing with Stu in the beginning of the season about what Johnson brings to the table and -despite a string of disappointing performances from him- I still think that what he brings to the table is better than what others like Flanagan and Kelly at RB offer. The shape of the side with Johnson in there ad our ability to control the ball in the final third of opposition are both better with him in the side. Defensively and in terms of attacking impact, he has declined and quite frankly doesn't offer enough. If we can bring someone in then excellent. If not then I dont think it will be as big a problem for us as some envision.
Mignolet: For me, he has been the weakest link in our back 5 this season. And yes, I do include Flanagan in that comparison. He has been a step down from Reina (and Reina's FORM had dropped in the last season before his departure) and the sooner we bring in a replacement the better.