Agger

[bobbyfallon]

Would not actaully be that bad to slide Agger in at LB.

He loves going forward and poses a real threat when given the room with the ball. Would not be afraid at pushing up and then tracking back.

Think about it boys, a left back that can defend well

now now mike dont be silly

a good left back should be good going forward beat the midfield by himself then then after an overlap beat the right back on the opposing team and get to the by line to deliver inch perfect crosses to the likes of keane who is 5 foot 4.

his defending duties should involve getting dragged into the centre to expose some space to the opposing right back to give him a chance get to the by line to put some crosses in (fair is fair)

he should be **** in the air at all times and speed is not essential.

getting injured for 3-4 games at a time is also an essential part of sqwad rotation

not really overly important aparantly - but in my opinion a left back .... should be able to use his ****in right foot

[Darkon]

This isn't true. Skrtle has shown recently that he is prepared to slow things down and advance from the back with the ball at his feet. Maybe he doesn't have the ability on the ball of Agger, but he certainly isn't scared of taking it forward.

Fair enough

Sure he goes forward a bit, but you won't see him cross the mid-line ligger agger does reguraly, and perhaps best examplified with the goal against west ham. Skrtle does go forward a bit, but nothing really comparable to Agger.

[Elvoz]

all this agger talk winds me up

I really like agger, he is a great player an has a good future ahead of him - noone knows whats going on behind the scenes so they make up rumours. I reckon if he was a known coke head or alchy the club would know and it would have been dealt with - for me those rumours are bollocks

Now he has had a year out, and it's going to take time to regain his fitness and form, and unfortunatley he is behind skrtel and carra at the moment who are playing well. He should be mature and professional enough to realise he if he wants to play for liverpool then he is just going to have to keep his head down, work hard, wait for his chance and then take it - i really really hope this is what he is thinking and all is ok.

but if he is thinking - na **** it, i haven't walked straight into the first team after injury and i think i should play every week regardless of fitness/form etc so **** it i can't be arsed being here i am off - then i don't want him

as i said i really like agger, and i'm pretty sure the latter is not the case - it's just people making complete mountains out of mole hills.

and i thought i was the only one

[Mike]

now now mike dont be silly

a good left back should be good going forward beat the midfield by himself then then after an overlap beat the right back on the opposing team and get to the by line to deliver inch perfect crosses to the likes of keane who is 5 foot 4.

his defending duties should involve getting dragged into the centre to expose some space to the opposing right back to give him a chance get to the by line to put some crosses in (fair is fair)

he should be **** in the air at all times and speed is not essential.

getting injured for 3-4 games at a time is also an essential part of sqwad rotation

not really overly important aparantly - but in my opinion a left back .... should be able to use his ****in right foot

Not asking for much then

[SB]

This isn't true. Skrtle has shown recently that he is prepared to slow things down and advance from the back with the ball at his feet. Maybe he doesn't have the ability on the ball of Agger, but he certainly isn't scared of taking it forward.

He's keen to come forward with the bal,l as you say, but only when the oppositions strikers drop deep. Against a side like scum who love to work hard in the final 1/3rd he's more prone to hoof it long. Against sides like stoke who played for a draw, the strikers don't put defenders under pressure so it can make defenders look more accomplished than they really are. Agger is much more comfortable coming forward IMO but Skittles is doing well. Agger is defo more of a goal threat and because Sami probably won't see much time on the pitch this season, we need that threat from set pieces.

[friedk]

It would be crazy to break up the Carra - Skertle partnership at the moment, that is the one part of our team that has been excellent this season. I think consistently changing the CBs is a recipe for disaster, no matter how good the replacements are.

When you consider the players we do have though, 5 3 2 or 3 5 2 is a strong possibility.

We could keep the Carra - Skertle combination and give Agger a sweeper role. If you throw Masch into the mix we have ample cover at the back with Carra able to protect the right side and Agger the left.

Xabi could slot into midfield as a playmaker which is his ideal role and SG can play his preferred CM with the freedom of an attacking midfielder behind a front two of Torres and Keane. Keane could also move in alongside Gerrard both playing just behind Torres.

On the left I would play Riera because he is fast becoming an essential part of our side and is completely different to any of our other players.

On the right against the top sides I would stick with Arbeloa, but against weaker opposition we have Babel (or Kuyt or Yossi or Pennant).

I think that makes sense

[dww]

I really think that a back 3/5 formation is a horrible retrograde step.

[Kenneth]

Fair enough

Sure he goes forward a bit, but you won't see him cross the mid-line ligger agger does reguraly, and perhaps best examplified with the goal against west ham. Skrtle does go forward a bit, but nothing really comparable to Agger.

This is true.

But Skrtel isn't scared of anything

[rage]

I really think that a back 3/5 formation is a horrible retrograde step.

i know you do dww, but i think various posters keep revisiting it as it means that we have better players in each position when we line up 352 rather than stop gaps in certain positions when we play 4231 or 442.

I do think that when we're chasing a game playing with 3 at the back and going for it should be something that we practice and use. I'd just as well lose 2 nil or 3 nil rather than 1 nil.

[Vermilion]

i know you do dww, but i think various posters keep revisiting it as it means that we have better players in each position when we line up 352 rather than stop gaps in certain positions when we play 4231 or 442.

I do think that when we're chasing a game playing with 3 at the back and going for it should be something that we practice and use. I'd just as well lose 2 nil or 3 nil rather than 1 nil.

Sounds totally logical to me.

[dww]

i know you do dww, but i think various posters keep revisiting it as it means that we have better players in each position when we line up 352 rather than stop gaps in certain positions when we play 4231 or 442.

I do think that when we're chasing a game playing with 3 at the back and going for it should be something that we practice and use. I'd just as well lose 2 nil or 3 nil rather than 1 nil.

I'd rather we released three from the back four and two defensive CMs in such situations which ultimately gives us the same attacking options if not more. I have no problems with the idea that we look to release more people forward I just think that back 3/5 based formations in fact encourage that less as the centre is over covered and too much is required of the wingbacks.

It is not an entirely merit less system I just think that we gain more with a holding midfielder like Mascher than a progressive CB like Agger, the inclusion of which seems to be the motivation behind people wanting the 3-5-2 type formations.

[rage]

imo our strongest team with all of our best players on the pitch at once. whether the formation works of course is another matter.

------------------reina---------------
------carra------skertl------agger---
-arbeloab----------------------aurelio
-----gerrard----masch---alonso--
-----------keane-----torres----------

i'm not rafa bashing here but the confusion is that we don't seem to have one formation that works with the players we have. 4231 worked last year then we bought keane and thats messed up the gerrard/torres partnership. rafa spoke early in the transfer window how he expected the width to come from the fullbacks this year then after the villa game where this failed to make any difference in breaking down a solid team he went and bought riera.

i don't think anyone has any idea of either what formation he'll use on saturday or who will play where hence a desire just to see our best players playing in positions they're comfortable in - hence 352.

[Paul12]

as much as i dont want to see carra at right back, i'd have to agree with you. the only other option is the 3-5-2 formation i keep going on about.

If you cannot play your best 11 players because they cannot all fit into the system, you either change the system or leave one of your best 11 out. You don't play a player out of position unless he is also the best player in that position. Carra is maybe our best RB defensively, but he is not our best RB attacking-wise. Also, I think he is our best CB, so not playing him at CB weakens the CB positions. Again, the question is do we want to strengthen our defensive RB at a cost of weakening our CBs and our attacking RB. I wouldn't have thought so.

[bobbyfallon]

imo our strongest team with all of our best players on the pitch at once. whether the formation works of course is another matter.

------------------reina---------------
------carra------skertl------agger---
-arbeloab----------------------aurelio
-----gerrard----masch---alonso--
-----------keane-----torres----------

i'm not rafa bashing here but the confusion is that we don't seem to have one formation that works with the players we have. 4231 worked last year then we bought keane and thats messed up the gerrard/torres partnership. rafa spoke early in the transfer window how he expected the width to come from the fullbacks this year then after the villa game where this failed to make any difference in breaking down a solid team he went and bought riera.

i don't think anyone has any idea of either what formation he'll use on saturday or who will play where hence a desire just to see our best players playing in positions they're comfortable in - hence 352.

thats the formation ive been banging on about for a year now. imo its much more attacking and accomodates agger and skrtel

[rage]

thats the formation ive been banging on about for a year now. imo its much more attacking and accomodates agger and skrtel

the only people that need improving on in that line up are arbeloa and also alonso imo. maybe degen if he's ever fit can play the arbeloa role and as much as it pains me to admit if we were to line up this way barry would be a better option than alonso.

when was the last time anybody won a league or a cup playing this formation anyone know?