which is why i said "ok" 9 games is not enough. it was a start but only that. thats why i need to see him do soemthing in preseason.. soemthing which starts by being solid and organised.
I think there must be a different Sakho you lads watched the last part of the season but he was ****ing awful when the pressure came on. Add to that his ****ing efforts in front of goal.......needs to improve massively.
Totally agree. But its inevitable that he'll be starting next season due to the money we paid for him and Rodgers wanting to justify spending that much on a player. So I think most of us have just accepted it, even though I'd rather see Agger start.
Most important is "Can they defend?" - If they can, scoring goals is a big bonus. Skrtel's goals won us more points than his errors cost us points. His goalscoring definitely offset his errors in my opinion. Now- had he been scoring goals and not doing his work defensively then I would say he wasn't a good defender. However, he did, for the most part, defend admirably (I think he was our best CB this season, when taken as a whole, even without the goals)- therefore, his goals amplified his season. You don't have to score goals to be a good defender- you can be like Carragher and never score a goal and still be a legend. It's not a defenders first job- it is however a good important trait to have. Hyypia was a good defender that could also score goals on occasion. I think his goal scoring added to his overall appeal. I'm beginning to ramble a bit but in summary: Goal scoring is definitely a huge plus- and worth taking into account when ranking a defender... AS LONG AS THEY ARE STILL DOING THERE JOB DEFENSIVELY. Skrtel made errors and got OG (as Carragher has)- however, he was for the most part still a great defender when defending and so I'm happy with his record.
Sakho was a monster for PSG and he will be for us too. Give him time to settle into a new country, new league, new team and develop an understanding with a new defensive partner first.
Varane is top class and has so much potential. I think Ilori can definitely go the same way. Sakho is still a young lad and he needs a real leader next to him while develops. Loven is decent and I think he speaks French as well so that could help Sakho.
How the mighty have fallen... Weren't you the one gloating in glee weeeeeee weeeeeeeee weeeeeeee when we're winning games 3-2s and 4-3s? You declared defence wasn't a concern then, whilst now... you're swinging pretty heavy down the other side.
Just because someone enjoys us winning games (even if it I 3-2 or 4-3) doesn't mean they don't want us to improve the defence and win 4-0 instead
Beware the gap between being happy and relieved at winning crapshoots AND gloating in glee, weeee weeee weeee, four to threee ... defence, let it be, let it be.
Sakho got benched at PSG in favour of Alex.......he looks more like Banbi on ice than a beast to me like
is he the ex Chelsea player, or am i thinking of another player? if he is, he is quite decent to be fair or was any way lol. Sakho has time on his side to improve hopefully,Alex is a lot older isnt he, so already established and experienced.
Yep same one mate The eyebrow didn't fancy Sakho. He may well improve but he looks a dud to me for £17m
i'll bet that sahko is hailed during world cup as said beast but the world cup with respect to it is not as high a standard as the prem until at least the QF and prob Sf stage. After all ost of the teams in it are not actually that good... like england
Gloating? I was the one saying not going for games in an attacking way would hurt us. What happened when we went 2-0 up against Sunderland then sat back? What happened when we went 2-0 up at Norwich...then sat back (and the same again at 3-1)? What happened when we went 3-0 up at Palace....then sat back? 2-0 up against City then sat back....fannying about with it at the back against Chelsea? The fact is our best performances of the season came when we didn't sit back whether that be from the start or after taking the lead. And yet you're still saying we should have sat back more often? I actually "declared" our defence was very much a concern hence why the last thing we should do is rely on it Not that facts ever get in your way eh bollocks. As I remember what you were suggesting was that these things can and should be fixed overnight (a common theme amongst certain armchair dwellers). I don't think they can be fixed that quickly, especially in such an attacking system. I'm not sure anything I saw in our games after your evening of inane ramblings suggested anything other than that I was absolutely spot on.
Good thread again just like the full backs one. Lovren for me we need that calm influence at the back and he's the right age.
I agree with Billy on the Sakho issue, he worries me. Not saying we should give up on him just that he really need to improve. I'd rather see Lovren and Agger or Lovren and Skrtel.
Sahko was pretty good prior to injuries, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and put his flaky form post injury down to lack of sharpness. I think his positional play, his aggressiveness on the floor and in the air are his best attributes, but for me he sometimes looks to eager to get the ball back and lunges in to the tackle too early. Nothing that can't be coached I guess. I do think with the right partner he could flourish, one thing is obvious though Skrtel can't be that man, as they're both as erratic as each other. So it really comes down to choosing between Sahko and Skrtel? I'd opt for Sahko, purely because he is the future of our defence, bed him in early, get some decent full backs to play either side of our CB's and I think we'll see a big improvement in all areas of our defence. Then it's up to Rodgers to decide whether we need an upgrade in the DM position, whether he sees Gerrard or Lucas there short term, or a young player to come in and take the position (possibly Emre Can?). Certainly needs addressing, Agger and Skrtel in theory are in their peak, so whether he see's Ilori, Wisdom, Kelly or even Coates as the future of the defence alongside Sahko we'll have to wait and see.
