Liverpool FC Forum

by **JC_81** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:04 pm

RedBlood wrote:for me the biggest concern is carra i love the lad and no doubt since benitez has been here hes been one of the best in the world but this season he has shown signs hes on his legs are on the way out and the ease of whitch drogba shrugged him off at times today was not like carra at all

He always has a mare against Drogba mate. But I agree I think he's been on the slide for a while. Still a good defender, but as I said before, not the Carra of 2-3 years ago.

Personally I'd bring Hyypia back into the side for the rest of the season. He's not a long term option, but Skrtel's well off form and I'm not sure where Agger's head's at with all the contract wrangling. Plus we know Carra and Hyypia play well together. For six games, at the business end of the season, I think big Sami is just what we need right now with his experience.

by **RedBlood** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:08 pm

john craig wrote:
RedBlood wrote:for me the biggest concern is carra i love the lad and no doubt since benitez has been here hes been one of the best in the world but this season he has shown signs hes on his legs are on the way out and the ease of whitch drogba shrugged him off at times today was not like carra at all

He always has a mare against Drogba mate. But I agree I think he's been on the slide for a while. Still a good defender, but as I said before, not the Carra of 2-3 years ago.

Personally I'd bring Hyypia back into the side for the rest of the season. He's not a long term option, but Skrtel's well off form and I'm not sure where Agger's head's at with all the contract wrangling. Plus we know Carra and Hyypia play well together. For six games, at the business end of the season, I think big Sami is just what we need right now with his experience.

id rest skrtel and carra at the moment they are both having mares
id play agger and hyypia give the other two a rest

sami never lets us down and although hes not as quick as he use to be he reads the game better then any defender ive seen play
and id say to agger your fresh go out and prove you want a new contract

by **ken_job** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:13 pm

Yeah lets see more of big Sami. What a legend!

by **JC_81** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:13 pm

RedBlood wrote:
john craig wrote:
RedBlood wrote:for me the biggest concern is carra i love the lad and no doubt since benitez has been here hes been one of the best in the world but this season he has shown signs hes on his legs are on the way out and the ease of whitch drogba shrugged him off at times today was not like carra at all

He always has a mare against Drogba mate. But I agree I think he's been on the slide for a while. Still a good defender, but as I said before, not the Carra of 2-3 years ago.

Personally I'd bring Hyypia back into the side for the rest of the season. He's not a long term option, but Skrtel's well off form and I'm not sure where Agger's head's at with all the contract wrangling. Plus we know Carra and Hyypia play well together. For six games, at the business end of the season, I think big Sami is just what we need right now with his experience.

id rest skrtel and carra at the moment they are both having mares
id play agger and hyypia give the other two a rest

sami never lets us down and although hes not as quick as he use to be he reads the game better then any defender ive seen play
and id say to agger your fresh go out and prove you want a new contract

Reasonable shout. I don't think Benitez likes playing Agger and Sami together though - they both prefer to play as the left sided centre back. Plus Carra is not the type of player who likes being 'rested'. We'll see what happens, but it's pretty clear that whatever combination we play at the moment, Skrtel shouldn't be in it on current form.

by **Reg** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:30 pm

Big Mart's played well for 2 seasons, he's just going thru a rough patch. Agger & Skrtel is the future of LFC. Thats said I REALLY dont understand why Agger didnt start tonight.

by **tubby** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:32 pm

Maybe Strtel wanted Rafa to play him as a sign of good faith to make up for being so poor in the 1st leg.

by **KennyisGod....still** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:12 am

deep down inside i guess we all know Agger an Skrtel are our future CBs but at what point do we 'put Carra out to grass' in the same way we've put Sami out? Agger needs match fitness, with it comes more confidence and there aint many players that play blinders without confidence. Satdy wernt really a guide for Agger, it was a joke for a PL game and an insult to the Blackburn fans that came to Anfield. I wouldnt wanna face the goonies the way they're suddenly playin with Agger and Skrtel at the back as a pairin, but we have to start it somewhere.

Kinda hard to accept that Carra's maybe comin to an end. Suddenly I'm startin t feel bloody old.

by **freddies dead** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:51 am

KennyisGod....still wrote:deep down inside i guess we all know Agger an Skrtel are our future CBs but at what point do we 'put Carra out to grass' in the same way we've put Sami out? Agger needs match fitness, with it comes more confidence and there aint many players that play blinders without confidence. Satdy wernt really a guide for Agger, it was a joke for a PL game and an insult to the Blackburn fans that came to Anfield. I wouldnt wanna face the goonies the way they're suddenly playin with Agger and Skrtel at the back as a pairin, but we have to start it somewhere.

Kinda hard to accept that Carra's maybe comin to an end. Suddenly I'm startin t feel bloody old.

good post kid

by **akumaface** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:09 am

When I saw Sami plays, he is so good in his positioning. Not to mention he is a superb in the air. He seldom loses an aerial battle and was never get brushed aside by someone like Drogba. It is so hard to find someone that can play like Sami regardless of the transfer fees. Those kind of player just isn't out there. Skrtel is energetic while Agger is calm. They should be a very good compliment to each other but in the air, they are both weak. In reality, I think Agger is very likely to leave as I'm sure he can make even more money and also with the promise to be the starting CB. He has nothing to convince him to stay in Liverpool. So, the problem for next year is whether to find someone as backup or to replace Carra as the starting CB? Rafa got a good eye for defenders and we should be ok if we have the money.

by **Owzat** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:52 am

Reg wrote:Big Mart's played well for 2 seasons, he's just going thru a rough patch. Agger & Skrtel is the future of LFC. Thats said I REALLY dont understand why Agger didnt start tonight.

I thought Agger might have started last night, he had a poor game and several times he looked panicky in possession whereas I reckon Agger looks much more composed in possession at the back. Just as well we got the penalty for the "foul" on Alonso, wasn't it Skrtel ballooning the ball over the bar from six yards? And was it Skrtel not making much of a challenge on Drogba that saw the ball go in off Reina? I'm not suggesting Skrtel is to blame for the defeat, but he was less than convincing last night.

Not so sure this notion Carra should be "put out to grass" is correct, I think he's a much better defender than Skrtel even though Skrtel does have age on his side. Both make mistakes, but I'd rather see Carra on the ball and in last ditch tackle situations or heading the ball away, I think Skrtel panics too much and too easily and gives away silly free-kicks. It's hard to believe Agger and Skrtel were born within three days of each other, I hope we do retain Agger and he gets more chances in the rest of the season or he may well decide to leave in the summer.

by **KennyisGod....still** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:10 am

Owzat wrote:
Reg wrote:Big Mart's played well for 2 seasons, he's just going thru a rough patch. Agger & Skrtel is the future of LFC. Thats said I REALLY dont understand why Agger didnt start tonight.

I thought Agger might have started last night, he had a poor game and several times he looked panicky in possession whereas I reckon Agger looks much more composed in possession at the back. Just as well we got the penalty for the "foul" on Alonso, wasn't it Skrtel ballooning the ball over the bar from six yards? And was it Skrtel not making much of a challenge on Drogba that saw the ball go in off Reina? I'm not suggesting Skrtel is to blame for the defeat, but he was less than convincing last night.

Not so sure this notion Carra should be "put out to grass" is correct, I think he's a much better defender than Skrtel even though Skrtel does have age on his side. Both make mistakes, but I'd rather see Carra on the ball and in last ditch tackle situations or heading the ball away, I think Skrtel panics too much and too easily and gives away silly free-kicks. It's hard to believe Agger and Skrtel were born within three days of each other, I hope we do retain Agger and he gets more chances in the rest of the season or he may well decide to leave in the summer.

Thats why I feel its an awkward situation Owz, I dont think he's ready to go yet, but at some stage we have to start bloodin a new pairin. Do we trust in Carra, who aint the player he was in 2005 (check the Sundyland game wen Jones turned him inside out early on as 1 example) or do we throw A & S in and see where it takes us? I doubt it could be thisseason, we can't be takin chances this close to a possible title, but next season early on, gainst some of the alleged lesser teams?

by **Owzat** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:18 am

I think we can do better than Skrtel, Carra rescues us enough times in a game that I would want another Carra and Carra at his best is better than Skrtel (IMO anyway) You have to wonder how significant the Drogba/Reina goal was in the tie, and if Carra wouldn't have got a toe to the ball and put it out instead of letting Drogba get a shot in. Reina was caught out, that wasn't significant in terms of us needing to score three, but it lifted them having been under the cosh most of the 1st half

by **KennyisGod....still** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:35 am

i'd agree with that one, seemed insignificant at the time really, in the whole sphere of things. I'v loved Carra since he started with us - his attitude, his will to win, his desire for the club evrythin. I'm findin it hard to accept he's agin cuz it seemed he'd go on forever. watch the re-run of istanbul an the guy seems indestructable. I dont wanna see him taken too far, and embarrassed by cheatin fecks like Drogba but then i dont want us to outsmart ourselves by replacin him with lesser players. an unfortunately at the minute Skrtel's a lesser player.

by **tubby** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:44 am

Carra is one of the players like Hyypia - Evergreen. He never gets old.

But I agree Skrtel is not the natural replacement for Carra. Id like Carra's replacement to be homegrown too, a local lad if possible. Although I can't see Rafa selling Skrtel. The only way I see another CB coming in is if Agger leaves and I think that alone would be a bad move as Agger is a good defender and has the potential to become a top class CB like Carra.

by **Well Red** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:31 pm

bavlondon wrote:Agger is a good defender and has the potential to become a top class CB like Carra.

I think Agger is much more in the Ronald Koeman mould of defenders who can carry the ball out and cause danger to the opposition with decent ability to dribble, not being afraid to spread the play with a neat pass and then make a forward run, and even to have long shots (vs West Ham, Chelsea and Blackburn for example). If we're going to keep the lad and use him in this way then it could be potentially a very useful weapon - especially in games when teams come to Anfield and park the bus as it means we can regularly push the squad up and effectively play the proverbial ten yards further up the park, pushing the holding midfielders forward.

The issue with this is that if Agger is to be regularly first team then he also has to demonstrate discipline in games against top sides, and at times when we're only one goal up and "lesser" teams push us back for the last nervy minutes of a game. I'm not convinced that he has the positional sense to do that yet because he seems so keen to get involved in the play and not hold his CD position or track back quickly enough.

There's nothing to prevent him from playing his natural game, of course, were we to have a rock at the back alongside him in the 2004-5 Carra mould. Is Skrtel that man now? No. Could he be that man in a couple of season's time? Certainly - but (given a pre-season to get himelf fully fit) Agger is a great attacking defender now, can we afford to wait for Skrtel? :kungfu:

Well Read, Well Red

Liverpool FC Forum

MARTIN SKRTEL - Official Thread

Who is online