It was clear to see the lack of cohesion and understanding between both defenders - which is completely understandable and expected really.
He played well but has the experienced senior player at the back, he should have been organising the back line which was an shambles at times. Not bad for a eighth choice CB
Aye, well done lad, always liked Ninja.. However, he's a do'er not a leader, have someone next to him leading the line and he's in his element, when he has to lead himself, he can be found out. Thought Sakho, for all his lunges (ill timed at most) didn't too bad in first league game, away from home against a good, technically sound team.
He has a lot of positives in his game but there are also a lot of negatives, ok as cover but should not be starting every game. Toure Sakho should get the nod against Southampton if Agger is still out.
Agger and Toure should be starting pair - they've looked solid this season and provide everything we need. Composure on the ball and experience/leadership. Let Sakho get up to speed with the rest of the team and give him a few minutes here and there.
Skrts is the ****in' Slovak captain. If he's good enough for the National side, he should be able to organise the back line FFS. Same with Dagger.
Are they natural leaders, or are they picked to be captain because of their experience? I think they can lead by example, but they're not natural leaders. When Kolo came on, you could see him shouting, waving his arms, trying to get everyone to raise their game.
Personally, I would go back with Agger and Kolo. The defence seems to be a lot more assured with those two. They have a good understanding, their positioning - it works.
I would never pick a player on experience to captain. Think that is an idiot way to do things. Horses for courses. Leaders should lead and use experienced players for support. Once you start picking whoever is senior as skipper, you're asking for trouble. It'll piss off the talent who should be in line for the armband and mark the manager out as a man looking for the easy ride, not making hard decisions and standing by them.
Beware the "big club small nation feedback loop"; they are rated in their national team because they play for Liverpool, then we rate them for Liverpool because they play for their country. Skrtel had a bad season last year but if that was just a blip he was solid before.
Excellent point but feel he need to point out that Beckham was never a organiser, he was a leader by example. Of course, Skrtel isn't the latter!
Totally agree. Gerrard wouldn't have been made captain almost ten years ago if we went that route. The 2011-12 season is the odd one out and therefore the "blip"
gerrard is legendary by now. taking the captaincy off him is virtually impossible.... however.... its only an armband. if you watched toure's performance playing right back and urging our team to wake up you'd see what a leader does. just... have... more.... LEADERS!!!! skertl... insular performer, no team impact. toure... outging powerful performer... lucas, insular solo quiet man... not a leader.... get more encouragement and talking on the pitch... forget the armband.
Skrtel's now had two very good games despite people beforehand almost expecting him to **** up. He's a good defender (whether you want him first choice or not) and a great player to have in the squad at times like now when we have a few injuries. He's not world class, but he's good and will put in the effort. He also seems to be more mature in how he plays which showed massively compared to Sakho last night who seemed too eager to dive in and make the 'big plays' but left us exposed when they didn't come off.
