He's under the same level of intense scrutiny that Downing is. That indicates it's not injury-related.
I don't see him moving on, he's good enough when fit and some of his performances have been very good. Downing however I'm sure will move in January, unfortunately the fee wont be very much.
Think Andre Wisdoms emergence may have saved LFC a few quid on buyin another CB next summer, as I dont see Carra playin next season Money that can be spent on creative players
"Norman" seems a fantastic prospect. Just don't want to get too carried away like some of us did over Insua (I confess that I did). Hope he's not too good to be true, but on the face of it he looks tremendous.
Enrique has that worrying tendency to try something or make a bizarre back-pass. Say what you want about the likes of Finnan, but you could trust players like him not to lose you a match with a moment of madness.
I think Insua would have become a fine player for us had Purslow not sent him away for money reasons. Insua was treated unfairly. We ended up signing Konchesky and Poulson that summer. As for Johnson. I think he defends better at LB because he is less confident crossing etc with his left foot, so he plays slightly more reserved and holds back, making his tracking back easier.
Wisdom has been great and will only improve, I'd be amazed if he wasn't in the mix all season at this rate. I could also see Flanno being shipped out this summer - he seems to be going the same way other RBs at 'pool have gone in recent years (Welsh, Warnock) and never making the final step up. Wisdom has made a bigger impression already in that position than Flanno ever did imo whilst looking more confident (Flanno looks scared ****less every time he plays!), stronger and better on the ball. Still think we'll buy a CB next summer though unless BR is confident enough with Kelly and Coates stepping up, and by stepping up, I mean the possibility of having Kelly AND Coates starting against a team like City without seeping goals. Johnson/Wisdom Skrtel/Agger/Coates/Kelly Enrique/Robinson
Wisdom has been excellent for a while now and fully deserves his move up. As for him at full back I think we need to reserve judgement until he's had a few tougher tests. So far so good though. Suso again looks like a total natural. Anyone who's seen him play since he arrived couldn't fail to see how technically gifted he is and his vision is fantastic. Seemed to go off the boil for a bit last year (maybe confidence or niggling injury) but that didn't last long. Great to see him looking so assured and confident on the ball. I like what BR was saying about the youngsters can only be as good as the seniors around them too. Show's he's not obssessing about youth just using the best players available whatever their age.
Just going on the whole Johnson at LB thing, I do sometimes wonder why managers don't switch their full backs, especially now when you have wingers who play on the opposite wings (left footer playing RW). This means when the winger cuts in on their favourite foot, the defender is always then on their strongest foot, and it might force the winger down the line on their weaker foot. We saw Rafa do it against Barcelona with Messi. Played Arbeloa at LB so when Messi cut in on his left, he was going onto Arbeloa's better side. Back to Wisdom, has looked solid so far. Don't want to get too carried away, remember Flanagan also looked brilliant on his first few games but then faded and is now 4th choice behind Johnson, Kelly & Wisdom.
See, I don't believe Flanagan ever looked brilliant. Just ok, but with potential. Wisdom for me, however, looks great at RB.
When he made his debut and played against City when we beat them 3-0 he looked good. Strong in the tackle, comfortable on the ball but then last year when he played he looked shaky, and gave away fouls and seemed to have gone backwards. With the strength we have now I don't think he'll be here much longer unfortunately.
That's how I felt as well. This was my concern when bringing the youth into the first team - they would do ok, not make any mistakes and play it simple. Whilst this is good for their age, it doesn't add anything to the team. But instead, they have played very well and have contributed. They have rarely made mistakes, but they don't look out of place. My concern for Wisdom is that if he continues to play at RB, could he pick up the same injuries as Kelly? Someone mentioned that Kelly could be getting these injuries because his body is not used to playing as a RB as he is a natural CB, therefore he's not used to running up the wing as much. This is just speculation of course but a plausible reason.
Rodgers said Wisdom is natural built for a modern full back. Kelly is not naturally built that way. He is build big and strong like center back.
