05 Mar 2015 15:17:42
Watch the palace game last season with skrtl in defence. A crack in an aquarium can lead to an in building tsunami. If we want to win the league skrtl has to be dropped next season. He has had too many years to show he's not good enough.
This summer should be about the defence and goalkeeper. Moreno and Flanagan are potentially solid and we have loris to come back, toure, Sakho who has the ability to be top class and lovren who showed last season he could be top class. He needs another season but skrtl and Johnson who does look like leaving have never shown the ability to be good enough defensively.
If we want to challenge, we have to have as good as defence as forwards. Criminal we scored soo many goals last season and our defence leaked half as many. Can is a midfielder who should be given the chance next season to cement his place beside henderson.
05 Mar 2015 16:22:40
His name is Ilori with a capital i at the beginning, too many people get his name wrong on here, it's frustrating
05 Mar 2015 16:48:38
Not sure if you've been watching the same Liverpool side I have but Skrtel has been our best CB this season, with Sakho just behind
05 Mar 2015 17:09:01
I have been Skrtels biggest critic, the past 3 years I've wanted him sold because his positioning or lack of, means his partners often have to pick up the slack and we concede goals but in the back 3 he works better, he can play to his strengths whilst still leaving two centre backs to defend.
He has turned it around for me, I would still like to see a back 3 of Sakho, Lovren and Wisdom/Ilori going forward as I think Cans future is further up the field but Skrtel has done enough to stay the club.
05 Mar 2015 19:46:38
I have never thought of Skrtl as a good defender, but he has been very good this season and getting rid of him now would be a crazy move.
05 Mar 2015 20:36:53
I think Skrtel has played well the last 10 games or so but he is still so frustrating to watch. His lack of movement when we have the ball is appalling which often leaves either Mignolet or his other team mates around him without an easy option to pass to him. Kolo is the same. Emre Chan on the other hand is constantly moving into space to receive the ball and has instrumental in our improved form.
05 Mar 2015 21:01:05
I don't think you can sell him now.
This formation of 3 at the back really seems to suit him.
so if next season Brendan is thinking about 3 at the back, he has to keep him.
If he is planing on going 4 at the back then would he have full trust in lovren and sakho? I don't think so. It would be a huge and unacceptable risk after lovrens early form.
So he seems to have forced his way into the first team, I would be unwilling to change what seems to be working quite well. If it's not broken then you don't try and fix it (listening Brendan).
Johnson and Enrique need to be sold off though.
05 Mar 2015 21:16:12
So what if he had a stinker against Palace last season? It would be foolish to sell him now, except if you want another season in transition.
05 Mar 2015 23:12:11
Big Al what a joker you are my friend. I suggest you have a look at our games again an watch the graft skirtel put in.
06 Mar 2015 01:03:29
Skrtel's one of those defenders who will have an absolute cracker of a game or 2 and then the next game have an absolute nightmare. His positional sense is abysmal but he does do well when we actually have the ball.
Personally I'm not comfortable with any of our defenders but they seem to be doing well as a trio. My concern is what we're going to do next season. Buy another Lovren type player to replace Can and shove him further upfield or trust Lovren, Sakho and Skrtel, OR go 4 at the back?
I think Rodgers plan has always been to have the 4-3-3 formation and next season I fear he's going to forget that we've been brilliant with 3-5-2 and buy players with 4-3-3 in mind, like he did before this season.
06 Mar 2015 02:06:03
hes good in the centre of a 3 man back-line. he can't play in our back 4 though. unless we sit deep, he's going to be in trouble.
06 Mar 2015 03:29:40
I don't agree when people say martin's positional sense if wrong. It's not. He lacks pace so he makes up for it by correctly positioning himself deeper. He would be WRONG to stay tight to speedy attackers as they would just turn and run in behind with ease. Look at Patos goal a few years back with AC Milan. Yes it leaves a gap between the opposition forward and the midfield and let's the attacking midfielder have more space, but it is the defensive midfielders job to cover those spots. Gerrard didn't do it, that's why Martin has looked so good behind Lucas. Wrong positioning is when lovren decides to leave massive gaps between the fullback and the center back. That leaves a gap and either allows the opposition forward a 1v1 or let's the opposition striker to run between the full back and center back. That's a much harder problem to tackle. Tell the fullback to pinch in, risk leaving the opposition fullback free. Let lovren close his gaps, leave the striker in a one on one with the center back. All potentially bad problems. So it's wrong to say Martin is our worst defender, when it's truly dejan that is currently. I do wish both the best though.
06 Mar 2015 09:29:58
People have disliked you post al because they are forgetting the beginning of the season. He was terrible for the 1st half of the season.He's playing well not because we've pretty much gota 5 man defense, with Can or Sakho as the ball player rather than himself.
Sakho forces him up the pitch and communicates with him where he needs to be and who he is picking up, you can see him doing this on tv and at anfield. I believe if we revert to a 4 man defense again we'll look terrible, this is exactly what happened vs Besiktas and Martin panicked in defense and sat deep.
A lot of his last ditch challenges are often of his own making for poor positioning defensively by not getting over quick enough to cover. He's simply NOT good enough to take the club forward
06 Mar 2015 10:52:52
Skrtel is always going to split people because so often he digs us out of holes and plays exceptionally well on TV, but he's always constantly out of position and constantly tiptoeing the line between challenge and assault. He needs to have at least one defender with an eye on him at all times, preferably constant instruction from the GK as well. The idea of him as a captain candidate is laughable. But with that set-up around him, in most games he can be boss.
So I guess the question is are we better off with someone who needs managing for the entire game by his colleagues but is great when managed, or do we need someone who isn't as good at their best but is much more self sufficient and can be trusted to make the right choice on their own a lot more? Wouldn't like to make that call but considering out current team, I'd say get rid after a good season where he's worth something. If we got a particularly commanding keeper then that would change though
06 Mar 2015 12:39:29
Skrtl is a good no nonsense defender, I would argue that having Gerrard as the defensive midfielder in front of you offers very little in the way of protection meaning that he was constantly exposed.
Look how he has played when either Lucas was playing in front of the defence or when Gerrard hasn't been playing in Centre Midfield, the stats are very telling. Personally I would keep him as he is still in good nick, he is combative and loves a battle.
Behind an effective midfield he is a good defender, behind an ineffective midfield it puts too much on him, which is the same for any centre back.
06 Mar 2015 14:15:16
Staying deep is not being out of position. It is compensating for lack of pace
06 Mar 2015 15:29:27
Anfield, he's too afraid to get close to his man unless it's a big striker. sitting deep so that sakho and the other do too. Allowing pressure. trying to get the rest of the defense to form the line and restrict the offence to shooting outside the 18, it's why at the beginning of the season, teams were having a ludicrous amount of shots on target at Mignolet.
He doesn't cover Johnson well at all, he's too afraid of going to far right, because he doesn't talk to Lovren or Sakho and tell them to come across to close the gap, and we conceded ground down the wing.This is all poor positioning.
He's often too slow to get close to his man, and allows attackers to turn with ease far to often.
06 Mar 2015 20:22:46
Incorrect. Bad positioning would be staying tight to a man who will turn him with ease. Big strikers don't turn and sprint in behind do they bob? You basically reinforced what I said. The gaps left between the defence and the midfield, where the opposition takes shots from, are supposed to be covered by the defensive midfielders. Look at Matic or our very own Lucas. He is a very good defender and it pains me how people seem to think its okay to spew feces on martin's name. ESPECIALLY when the insults are incorrect. How can you blame him for the influx of shots when his position requires him to be INSIDE the box where the majority of attempts on goal are via the noggin(which he is very good at winning).
07 Mar 2015 21:15:29
well if you truly think Martin Skrtel is a top notch defender andthat he doesn't do what I say, then go along your merry way