Insua

[frank the tank]

i also think that agger might play left back for us at times.... to be honest, a defense of;

ARBELOA....CARRA......SKRTEL......AGGER

would be as solid as they come.....

[El Jefecito]

i also think that agger might play left back for us at times.... to be honest, a defense of;

ARBELOA....CARRA......SKRTEL......AGGER

would be as solid as they come.....

Agger, is not left back. I don't think he has ever played there and I think it would be a waste of his talent. In an emergency OK, but more often than that and you are wasting him. Insua, Fabio and Arbeloa are more than enough cover for LB.

[Craig_H]

Almost everyone is slow compared to Vassell. That's why we defend in zones.

BTW Evra is 26, Cole 27. It's unfair to compare a 19 year old with players with that experience.

He's only making a comparison in terms of pace though, isnt he? That's not unfair IMO.

[Craig_H]

Agger, is not left back. I don't think he has ever played there and I think it would be a waste of his talent. In an emergency OK, but more often than that and you are wasting him. Insua, Fabio and Arbeloa are more than enough cover for LB.

Agreed. I'd rather shift Carra to RB and Arbeloa to LB if it was necessary, Skrtel and Agger in the middle will be good and Hyypia can slot in where needed.

[El Jefecito]

He's only making a comparison in terms of pace though, isnt he? That's not unfair IMO.

Seemed broader than that to me Will defer if otherwise. But the general point stands, he's only 19 and will improve with age.

[Craig_H]

Yes indeed, and from what i've seen, he already looks capable of being understudy at LB, with Aurelio and Arbeloa taking the brunt of the role.

Sounds a bit harsh perhaps, but i'd stick my neck out and say that if Insua had been in place of Riise in the 2 CL semi finals, we'd be in moscow.

[El Jefecito]

Yes indeed, and from what i've seen, he already looks capable of being understudy at LB, with Aurelio and Arbeloa taking the brunt of the role.

Sounds a bit harsh perhaps, but i'd stick my neck out and say that if Insua had been in place of Riise in the 2 CL semi finals, we'd be in moscow.

Maybe. The thing for me is that every time he has stepped up a level he has been able to maintain the same level. He needs more games, there is not alternative to experience and playing w/Carra, Skrtel and Agger is very different than playing w/Huth. They'll cover his defensive defiencies and allow him to develop him offensive game.

[RedReet]

Sounds a bit harsh perhaps, but i'd stick my neck out and say that if Insua had been in place of Riise in the 2 CL semi finals, we'd be in moscow.

We looked a much better team as a whole when he came on for Riise against Birmingham. He keeps posession well and always looks to bring play forward, Reina certainly started a lot of moves through him yesterday.

[El Jefecito]

We looked a much better team as a whole when he came on for Riise against Birmingham. He keeps posession well and always looks to bring play forward, Reina certainly started a lot of moves through him yesterday.

Ablett mentined that he needs to work on his mentality. Not sure what that means, but to me it means that he can be even better than he is today. Which to me is backup for a first team place.

[DannyMan2006]

Yes indeed, and from what i've seen, he already looks capable of being understudy at LB, with Aurelio and Arbeloa taking the brunt of the role.

Sounds a bit harsh perhaps, but i'd stick my neck out and say that if Insua had been in place of Riise in the 2 CL semi finals, we'd be in moscow.

As Riise made the key mistake, you could claim that had any other player played at LB we would be in Moscow. But Riise is our 2nd best LB at this point in time without a shadow of a doubt. Rafa knows what Insua is capable of. But either way, he's not quite ready for big CL semis, alot of pressure in those games, and even Ablett said he needed to improve his mentality.

[Craig_H]

I think Riise's shot to pieces mentally now, and as far as LFC is concerned, there's no way back for him now.

[Le Chef]

Almost everyone is slow compared to Vassell. That's why we defend in zones.
BTW Evra is 26, Cole 27. It's unfair to compare a 19 year old with players with that experience.

He's only making a comparison in terms of pace though, isnt he? That's not unfair IMO.

In terms of pace he did look short and based on peoples perception of him on here I thought he would be quicker.
I think a lot of people have put an awful lot of faith in this kid (ala Vornin, Gonzalez etc) and he may flatter to deceive in the short term. The comparisons to Cole, Evra etc is they are where we would like this kid to be in terms of defending and attacking and this kid cannot offer us that as this stage.
He may get more games next season and I hope so, but in my opinion he is a good few years away of being at the next level.

[friedk]

In terms of pace he did look short and based on peoples perception of him on here I thought he would be quicker.
I think a lot of people have put an awful lot of faith in this kid (ala Vornin, Gonzalez etc) and he may flatter to deceive in the short term. The comparisons to Cole, Evra etc is they are where we would like this kid to be in terms of defending and attacking and this kid cannot offer us that as this stage.
He may get more games next season and I hope so, but in my opinion he is a good few years away of being at the next level.

Is it too much faith to expect him to be better than Daniel Alves?

Is it too much faith to expect him to have the dribbling skills of Lionel Messi?

Is it too much faith to expect him to have a better left foot than Maradona?

Or is it simply being realistic based on the 2 hours I have seen him play?

On a slightly more realistic note, my thought is that IF we do not strengthen in that position, a good pre-season and a few decent league performances could see him make that position his own before the end of the year. Unfortunately it is more a case of our weakness in that position rather than his current level that would make that possible. Although in the few times I have seen him he has always looked good enough and he seems the most likely of our reserves (at present) to make the step up.