Will Carra play next year?

[Mr Tourette]

Carra is in the home stretch of his career and his lack of pace is becoming more and more evident but he's still got a couple of years left in him but agger and skrtel will become the preferred pairing. Skrtel has only played 11 games or so and will become very good player for us.

i agree. Agger appears to have it all. and skrtel looks okay so far - his natural talents and attributes should see the makings of a great pairing. But i strongly believe that carra has at least one season as the main man at centre half. Skrtel should wait his turn and irradicate his errors before being considered number one partener to agger. carras positioning and reading of the game means he is rarely caught out. The sheer number of times he gets us out of trouble or throws his body on the line to get a block in is unbelievable. Many are forgetting this.

[blacky]

TBH I thought Skrtl looked very ordinary against united. The lad still has a lot to learn. Start of next season Agger and Carra will still be first choice CB's but I reckon Carra will get a lot more bench time.

[Darkon]

I think Rafa has already showed this season that he prefers Skrtel before Carra in the middle of the defense.

He played Carra on the right a few times with Hyypia and Skrtel in the middle even that Arbeloa was fit.

So if Agger is fit next season and we buy a new right fullback then it will probably be a lot more bench time for Carra.

Don't forget to count the games he threw carra on the rb and skrtel as CB - it has only been against oppositions with big guys in attack. And as far as I recall it is only against Inter he did this, as having 1 ekstra big strong defender was very important...

For me Carra will keep playing the CB next season - he has had a slump as the rest of the team, no suprise there. He has put in so many great performances over the last many seasons, so at some point he is to get a run of bad form as every other player does. Gerrard has (a few times now), Alonso is now, Reina for a bit last season and so on...

woulden't put to much in it, he will get back to his own great self

[dww]

Carra is in the home stretch of his career and his lack of pace is becoming more and more evident but he's still got a couple of years left in him but agger and skrtel will become the preferred pairing. Skrtel has only played 11 games or so and will become very good player for us.

This talk of Carra being finished sounds like what everyone has been saying about Hyypia for the last few years and IMO is equally flawed as an argument. Carragher has had a few bad games in a season when he has had a serious injury. I would think there is every chance that he will be first choice next season for his organisational ability alone.

[The Birdman]

Carra was poor, what summed it up for me was we kicked off, passed it back to Carra who hoofed if 40 yards in the air and about 20 yards forward, he used to be a brilliant defender, this season he has still been good just a little below his high standards but he still can't pass the ball 10 yards to a team mates feet for ****.
He gets more exposed when we play Arbeloa at RB as he is more attacking than Finnan so leaves the space earlier, Rooney ran him ragged.

[dww]

Carra was poor, what summed it up for me was we kicked off, passed it back to Carra who hoofed if 40 yards in the air and about 20 yards forward, he used to be a brilliant defender, this season he has still been good just a little below his high standards but he still can't pass the ball 10 yards to a team mates feet for ****.
He gets more exposed when we play Arbeloa at RB as he is more attacking than Finnan so leaves the space earlier, Rooney ran him ragged.

To be fair to Carragher his passing improved some what when he went to right back for a few games. I think that it the middle he feels he is more often in a dangerous position. I really feel if we can more regularly take a grip of midfield and have a settled defense he will start to be slightly more composed on the ball.

[carlton]

This talk of Carra being finished sounds like what everyone has been saying about Hyypia for the last few years and IMO is equally flawed as an argument. Carragher has had a few bad games in a season when he has had a serious injury. I would think there is every chance that he will be first choice next season for his organisational ability alone.

Sami is 34 and Carra is 30 and they are constantly found out against forwards with pace not that they were ever blessed with great pace but its becoming much more noticeable now and I wonder how many games Sami would have played anyway if Agger was fit? Its no disrespect to say that Carra's career is winding down.

[Reece]

I think Alan Key is trying to take the crown of most negative poster now DJS is on "holiday".

Three threads on the front page, one titled "Have we gone backwards this year?", one questioning our away support, and one questioning Jamie Carragher.

Good stuff

[dww]

Sami is 34 and Carra is 30 and they are constantly found out against forwards with pace not that they were ever blessed with great pace but its becoming much more noticeable now and I wonder how many games Sami would have played anyway if Agger was fit? Its no disrespect to say that Carra's career is winding down.

I think it is an exaggeration, people read what they want to read into the situation in terms of pace. I doubt there has been much if any change in Carraghers pace this season. To me Carragher started the season looking a lot like he did the season before - got injured and has looked slightly off the pace since then.

I'm not sure that Carra/Sami was ever and ideal partnership but both were good enough to make it work in the past. This for me has been the first season where it has looked like Sami can't play every game (I have seen nothing to suggest that Carra can't do it at the minute) and consequently they have both looked less assured. Another problem is that we have chopped and changed teh defense a lot this year (largely through necessity and bringing in a new player in Skrtel) and this again makes it harder for someone like Carra who is an organiser and who's strengths lie in covering behind someone who is dominant at getting to the first ball.

Obviously Carra is no longer on the upwards trajectory as a player but I think alongside a player like Agger or Skrtel he would be fine for the next few years at least.

[Michael]

I said Carragher was on the way down at the end of last season ..... and i got grief for it ..... but I have been proven correct ....

He was very poor against united ... he is on his way out ....

where is the proof ...... simple ..... look at the pens he has or almost given away, that shows a player on the edge!

[Joe King]

Carragher's lack of pace does cost us quite a bit. We can't push up and force pressure on others, he makes rash decisions like 3 penalties this season and I almost forgot HOOF!

Besides all of them, he is a fantastic leader and shows more love to Liverpool than Gerrard as seen in the Merseyside derby this season when Carra ran the full pitch with a beaming smile to celebrate with Kuyt.

[Lecter]

Well, Skrtel has been better than Carra the last month. I don't know if it's because Carra isn't 100% or not, time will tell on that one, but if Carra don't improve then Skrtel should play in the middle and Agger is our best defender.

Carragher is our best out and out defender by a country mile

Agger might be more comfortable in possession etc but Carragher is a better defender

Carragher is also a better organiser than either Skrtel or Agger

For me defending isnt necessarily about individuals its about being a unit

[Lecter]

I said Carragher was on the way down at the end of last season ..... and i got grief for it ..... but I have been proven correct ....

He was very poor against united ... he is on his way out ....

where is the proof ...... simple ..... look at the pens he has or almost given away, that shows a player on the edge!

Or alternatively it shows a player covering too many positions

For me Carragher can only play his own game when Agger is fit, if Hyypia's playing he has to position himself to compensate for Sami's lack of pace, this invariably means Carragher has to take a position in no-mans land

Its been further complicated by having Finnan underperforming and making errors so hes pulled this way and that

I didnt think Carragher was great yesterday but neither was Skrtel or Reina.

As I say defending is about being a unit, thats in terms of collective positional play

[Frank Leroux]

Carragher is our best out and out defender by a country mile

Agger might be more comfortable in possession etc but Carragher is a better defender

Carragher is also a better organiser than either Skrtel or Agger

For me defending isnt necessarily about individuals its about being a unit

Carragher is a defensive rock, all you say is true imo....but...it can't be good for a team, these days, to have a player (even a defender) as uncomfortable on the ball as he is. It is almost inevitable that possession is surrendered when he has the ball at his feet.

If you wanted someone to stop you losing a game there are very few like him - if you want someone to help you go and win it though .

He will be playing next season but I do hope Skrtel finds his feet and learns his defensive trade from Carragher whilst taking over from him.

[Rafa Shankly]

carra has been poor this season,lets not write him off yet though.