I imagine Sakho trying to lead Martin "Own Goal" Skrtel, in broken English is akin to the blind leading the blind... deaf and dumb. With more time to gel with the team in off season and better English he might come good.
How do you reconcile your own opinions, I'm curious... On one hand, you say "we should build around Sakho, but he needs a leader beside him". On the other, you say "Skrtel has been our best defender (but he ain't that leader that Sakho requires)". So, Sakho and Skrtel cannot be paired together as our starting CB duo, correct? What CB duo do you have in mind then? (There are many other confused individuals that think like you. You're not the only one.)
If you read my comments about Skrtel you will see that I said he shouldn't shifted out until we have found his replacement. Its a squad game so more than two CBs are required. Its pretty simple stuff really. Plus, again if you read properly, I have said Sakho will BECOME a quality CB. That is not me saying the team should be built around him with immediate effect. Do Canadian schools teach English or are you having random pot shots at it?
Losing both Carra and Reina in one go was always going to be a problem. Mignolet isn't vocal either and for a team that's used to our goalies organising the defence, that needs sorting as well. If Reina had of been of retiring age with Mig coming in, he would have been a great coach for him.
He can answer for himself, I don't think he will be shying away. Me - I still favour Agger/Skrtel partnership.
BR is weak tactically and setup wise when it comes to defence. We have tried so many different defenders and combinations in his time now yet the result is always the same. That points to a systemic problem imo. BR doesn't recognise that Agger is our best CB and drops him for some reason. The stats alone make this fact patently obvious. BR isn't the best when it comes to judging how good a players ability/potential ability is (which is why he's not allowed to have final say on transfers and there's the famous 'committee'. Well, up until this new contract anyway I worried he's wrestled more control back now. Some of his targets have been ridiculous & FSG not impressed with HIS signings - Allen/Borini/Alberto) so misuses Agger. For this to improve enough to win the title, he needs to do a Whiskey-Face and recognise the limits of his ability and bring in a new Coach to work specifically with the defence to improve it. Even Carra could fulfill this role - but BR won't do this so pointless talking about it really. We also need to new tvp FB's. All ours are poor and if we were to bring in a boss new LB and RB you would instantly see an improvement in our defending. A top new CB would certainly help as well no doubt, but Skrtel, Agger (Who were joint 3rd CB pairing in the league under Kenny/Clarke) and Sakho are good enough with the right coaching and tactical acumen. Mignolet definitely exacerbates our defensive frailties too by below required ability to organize, come off his lines, distribution and communication.
Livtor... I'll apologise for my Canadian comment. It was out of order and uncalled for. Me being in a mood today doesn't account for comments like that
ermmmm... each time agger dropped out he was injured and he came right back in. fact is agger is unfit.. he's not the player he was physically.. you can see it when he stride up and he never shoots any more.. him and riise were a joy to watch let fly. when we defend we are ok, its when players creep forward and lose positioning that we just lose it. midfield control and full back physical ability is more in question for me
Agger has been poor individually and that's what he is judged on. However, he brings leadership and a calmess to those around him - which is why he is involved in the most clean sheets this season. The one partnership that worked this season was Agger and Toure. The one constant in the defence since then is Srktel. But not just putting the blame on Skrtel, but the CB's have zero support from inept fullbacks.
