Martin Kelly

[DannyMan2006]

Carra actually started off as a defensive midfielder (played there a bunch of times for England U21's) but yeah, he played RB for several years for us (and had a season where he mostly played at LB iirc).

At youth team level he started out as a striker

You wouldn't think so watching him play, though I guess he does no training on that aspect of his game what so ever.

[Fredo]

He's got the makings of a really good player and this so early in his career. Johnson's got a fantastic understudy and long term he'll probably be moved in the centre, replacing Carragher.

[murder_inc]

At youth team level he started out as a striker

You wouldn't think so watching him play, though I guess he does no training on that aspect of his game what so ever.

Me best mate played just off him when they were kids (under 11s I think) and swears he was immense. (And me mates a blue****e so no reason to blag.)

[DannyMan2006]

Me best mate played just off him when they were kids (under 11s I think) and swears he was immense. (And me mates a blue****e so no reason to blag.)

Would tally up as he joined Liverpool at a young age as a striker. Got to be good to be asked to go along and train with their coaches.

[murder_inc]

Would tally up as he joined Liverpool at a young age as a striker. Got to be good to be asked to go along and train with their coaches.

me mate got asked to go train with them too but he didnt quite make it. Too many injuries ended up ****ing him up, plus the fact we got him into his weed at 15 and hasnt stopped since (were 33 now ) think of barney off the simpsons were he doesnt drink then Homer tells him at college, "just one drink Barney" then he morphs into a raging Alcoholic, thats my mate.

[DannyMan2006]

me mate got asked to go train with them too but he didnt quite make it. Too many injuries ended up ****ing him up, plus the fact we got him into his weed at 15 and hasnt stopped since (were 33 now ) think of barney off the simpsons were he doesnt drink then Homer tells him at college, "just one drink Barney" then he morphs into a raging Alcoholic, thats my mate.

Shame for your mate, but funny

I know a few who should have made it but discovered drugs n booze. Damn shame.

[fin7]

interesting to see if Kelly can keep his place when Johnson gets back, he deserves a run in the team to see what he's capable off

[banditos]

I'd be tempted to put him in at CB for the easier home games. The sooner he's ready to take over from Skrtel the better.

[sean_lfc]

I'd be tempted to put him in at CB for the easier home games. The sooner he's ready to take over from Skrtel the better.

I wouldn't be so quick to put him in the firing line. Being a right-back, there's always the option of the second line of defense making amends for one's errors. In the middle, ****-ups can lead to goals - and that can really shatter confidences. We shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves here. He's been playing well, but he's also made mistakes, which haven't been highlighted as much due to the nature of his playing at RB.

[vlahka]

I'd rather he play then stress after another match of Johnsons poor placement on the field, which is pretty much every game he plays. Other teams play young players who are good so why cant we? He's played against chelsea and UTD and in both of those games he's excelled. We also have a massive problem where we ignore youth players and keep buying players who end up turning out poor and then buying another player as replacement. I really dont want to lose johnson to another team because he feels unwanted and frustrated at lack of first choice when he's already this good at the age of 20.

[sean_lfc]

I'd rather he play then stress after another match of Johnsons poor placement on the field, which is pretty much every game he plays. Other teams play young players who are good so why cant we? He's played against chelsea and UTD and in both of those games he's excelled. We also have a massive problem where we ignore youth players and keep buying players who end up turning out poor and then buying another player as replacement. I really dont want to lose johnson to another team because he feels unwanted and frustrated at lack of first choice when he's already this good at the age of 20.

Everyone was poor under Hodgson. I can't think of any player who played consistently bar Lucas. Give Kenny some time to get it right, Johnson will come good again, he's a great player, two-footed (!!!) and scores goals. That is what we want from a full-back. The defensive side to his game will be improved leaps and bounds under Kenny and - if rumours are to be believed - under Steve Clarke especially.

You say we ignore youth players, I think that's untrue. We've given lots of players such as Shelvey, Pachecho, Spearing, El Zhar, even N'Gog, Kelly, etc. games and they've improved. It's not all black and white, with youth players it demands delicate handling and managing and easing them into the cauldron of Anfield and away from home. Theirs playing demands bit by bit improvement, otherwise it will be detriment to their development, as happened with Insua, who HAD to play and his mistakes were magnified. Just because we don't have Owens and Gerrards and Fowlers coming through does not mean we aren't giving young players a chance. Carling Cup games, cup games in general help giving young players a platform to perform under less pressure and mental scrutiny, unfortunately we are now out of both. There is the Europa league and we have been playing quite a good bunch of youngsters there.

On top of that, wasn't Kenny Academy director? So I would expect he will know a lot about the young players we have and will use them to the best of their abilities and know how to delicately balance them within the squad. Young players need to be confident at their early stages, you can see with all our senior players how detrimental a lack of confidence coming from management (Bodge) can be and how destructive it can be.

And I think your reading of the situation regarding Kelly (you wrote Johnson in your last sentence, but I think you mean Kelly), ie. 'I don't want him to feel frustrated at lack of first team chances' is quite frankly a load of bollocks. I bet he's completely over the moon to have played as much as he has played, to have produced the level of character, maturity and game performances that he has and I think he will most likely be very thankful for the coaching and the trust that has been laid upon him in being selected for first team football. Not every player throws his toys out of the pram if they don't get selected 'All the time, because I'm ****ing boss'. A lot of players, and Kelly strikes me as one of that ilk, are humble and will be coached in the mentality department as well as the football department on knowing that, although he might be playing well now, he will be dropped again. Because I believe our management (bar Hodgson) over the past 6 years have drilled our players into believing and knowing that it's a team game and the team comes first and individuals come second. You can hear it in all the interviews with our players, Torres, Reina, Gerrard, the whole lot, they always mention the team first, when asked by reporters 'So you played a great game and scored a goal blabla'. They ALWAYS mention the team and this mentality is surely stressed throughout our management team and I'm certain Kenny won't be different.

[RedReet]

At youth team level he started out as a striker

You wouldn't think so watching him play, though I guess he does no training on that aspect of his game what so ever.

Rafa also signed Momo as a striker at Valencia.

With Soto being used as a auxiliary striker by Roy, if Momo had still have been here we might have seen an attacking trio of…

>>>>>Soto
Carra>>>>>>Momo

[vlahka]

And I think your reading of the situation regarding Kelly (you wrote Johnson in your last sentence, but I think you mean Kelly), ie. 'I don't want him to feel frustrated at lack of first team chances' is quite frankly a load of bollocks. I bet he's completely over the moon to have played as much as he has played, to have produced the level of character, maturity and game performances that he has and I think he will most likely be very thankful for the coaching and the trust that has been laid upon him in being selected for first team football. Not every player throws his toys out of the pram if they don't get selected 'All the time, because I'm ****ing boss'. A lot of players, and Kelly strikes me as one of that ilk, are humble and will be coached in the mentality department as well as the football department on knowing that, although he might be playing well now, he will be dropped again. Because I believe our management (bar Hodgson) over the past 6 years have drilled our players into believing and knowing that it's a team game and the team comes first and individuals come second. You can hear it in all the interviews with our players, Torres, Reina, Gerrard, the whole lot, they always mention the team first, when asked by reporters 'So you played a great game and scored a goal blabla'. They ALWAYS mention the team and this mentality is surely stressed throughout our management team and I'm certain Kenny won't be different.

I didnt mean he'd run off this season, just that if it kept happening over a period of time. Some players get loaned out then decide they like playing every game with the other team. We've lost a few who were supposedly excellent players but we never actually saw much of them because they never got played. My brain cant remember the names at this specific moment. There was a right midfield player we had whos doing well at his new club.

But yeah, I do agree with majority of what you said

[IJM]

Given yesterday's performance, I think Kelly is at the point where he should be getting regular first team appearances. He looks far more solid defensively than Glen Johnson has ever been. I reckon Johnson should be made to earn back his place in the first team.

At the moment, I reckon our best defensive back four looks like:

Kelly----Carra/Skrtel----Agger----Aurelio

[banditos]

Given yesterday's performance, I think Kelly is at the point where he should be getting regular first team appearances. He looks far more solid defensively than Glen Johnson has ever been. I reckon Johnson should be made to earn back his place in the first team.

At the moment, I reckon our best defensive back four looks like:

Kelly----Carra/Skrtel----Agger----Aurelio

TO be a top side again we need to sort out this position. Neither are good enough (anymore) to be first choice in a solid defense.