Skrtel, and why I just don't rate him

[JohnDoe]

Here's hoping the thread bites me on the arse, gets bumped in a few weeks and I get laughed at.

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Yeah, he's massive, has a face only a mother can love, and eats babies for his breakfast.

But I'll tell you what, he's not that good and is our 4th best central defender in my opinion. Has a few very glaring weaknesses.

POSSESSION
He's not a good passer and he's never comfortable with the ball, so he eliminated the problem by almost never passing forward and keeps it very simple, which is the reason for his good passing record. Agger and Hyypia are just so better at carrying the ball and moving into attack. When Carragher's your partner, you don't need a no-nonsense hard man next to him, you need someone with finesse. Skrtel doesn't have that.

INTELLIGENCE
The guy must be the thickest member of the squad along with Babel and many times commits very silly fouls which put us in a precarious position. His decision making is not very good, and usually he makes up for that with his physical superiority. When we're facing a top side and need to sit deep, he does well because he's protected, but facing an inferior side requires him to be the last stop sometimes, and I just wouldn't trust Skrtel to be that.

AWARENESS
How many times have we seen him make a wild clearance? Top sides need defenders who are calm and collected and sometimes I get the feeling Skrtel's state of mind is "CLEAR BALL, STOP BALL, KICK BALL". I mean, I get it that it's sometimes a good thing to avoid getting into trouble. You can trust him to shut up shop, but in some games it's just not enough.

Anyway,
Get Agger back in the team.

[tommyg]

Kudos for putting your neck out there and i think i agree in part with some of those points. I think in a central defensive with Carragher his positive attributes as you said are rendered useless.

I think we need to see some games with him and Agger at the back, although i think Rafa would get stick from the fans for not playing Carra and also Carra provides a voice and the presence of a 'leader' in the defence(Rio at Utd, Terry at Chelsea etc), and im not sure who would step into that role with Agger and Skrtel at the back

[Warren]

Here are some stats on both of them, dunno if anything can be taken from this though, looks very much of a muchness

Agger-League Games started 10-Won 7-Drawn 2-Lost 1-Goals conceded 7-Booked 1

Skrtel-League Games started 17-Won 10-Drawn 6-Lost 1-Goals conceded 12-Booked 3

[Guest]

Carra is basically undroppable. Strange as I feel Skrtel's passing is decent enough and he can actually carry the ball forward with some penetrating runs. Maybe he's got an issue with his awareness and decision making but he's good at what he does and our excellent defensive record proves that.

Not many defenders are as good as Agger in bringing the ball out of defense but this is a very difficult skill. A defender has all in front of him in terms of seeing the play etc... but the risk levels are enormous and he needs to have a clear idea of what to do each time he carries the ball. It's a skill a defender needs to learn and to use it economically IMO, as we don't need a gung-ho type of defender who tries to carry the ball forward all the time. He'll get found out most times.

[-V-]

The only thing that annoys me is the lack of urgency our back 4 has in terms of getting the ball forward. They pass it about to each other for far too long rather than realizing we need a goal and moving the ball forward asap

[meffin]

his pass yesterday straight to their striker just outside the area was almost suicide

[Guest]

No one can be perfect isn't it? A defender's mistake is more noticeable than a forward's. He's been part of a team which has kept clean sheets galore, so credit must be given to him for that. FFS.

[Joe King]

Whilst Skrtel isn't as cultured as Agger, he holds great strength in that defence. Personally, whenever I see Agger come up against a big physical guy, I fear the worst. Against teams who play one up front and pack the midfield with five, Agger is very much needed to break down defences and won't be required to do a lot of work at the back whilst keeping the momentum of breaking the opposition defence down.

[red g]

bit harsh on the lad if you ask me remember the lad is still very young at only 23 and this is his first full season in the premiership

his decision making may not be the best but think back to carragher at age 23. I am sure the lad will grow to be a tower of strength at the back hopefully under sami's guidance and as long as we keep the silky skills of agger next to him think we will have a mighty fine centre half partnership for many years to come, not that i am advocating putting jamie on the sidelines yet!!

I also think skrtel will be happy to play back up to carragher/agger next season as well

[MrMichael]

Lickedlollipop's not going to like this thread one bit!

bit harsh on the lad if you ask me remember the lad is still very young at only 23 and this is his first full season in the premiership

his decision making may not be the best but think back to carragher at age 23. I am sure the lad will grow to be a tower of strength at the back hopefully under sami's guidance and as long as we keep the silky skills of agger next to him think we will have a mighty fine centre half partnership for many years to come, not that i am advocating putting jamie on the sidelines yet!!

I also think skrtel will be happy to play back up to carragher/agger next season as well

[Infadel]

I think it was Jack Charlton who said that the worse thing you can have is a centre half who thinks he can play football. Does that still hold true in today's game? I think it does - to an extent.

[Red_Polo]

Jack Charlton would say that though

Personally I think Skrtel is perhaps slightly overrated on here, but I don't agree with the initial post, he's a solid player and more comfortable on the ball than Hyypia. At his age he is likely to continue to improve and I'm more than happy with him as a signing.

[red g]

I think it was Jack Charlton who said that the worse thing you can have is a centre half who thinks he can play football. Does that still hold true in today's game? I think it does - to an extent.

i dont think it does, I would prefer an Agger over a skrtel every day of the week. it was all rough and tumble back on those days.

[Shaggy]

Skrtel is a terminator centre-back. He takes no prisoners, seldom takes risks, clears the ball whenever he gets the chance. To be honest that's what centre-halves should do - anything else (such as the qualities Agger possesses) is a bonus. I suspect Agger isn't in the side ahead of him because, while he has the additional bonus qualities, he doesn't do the basics quite as well as Skrtel.

[RedReet]

Jack Charlton would say that though

Personally I think Skrtel is perhaps slightly overrated on here, but I don't agree with the initial post, he's a solid player and more comfortable on the ball than Hyypia. At his age he is likely to continue to improve and I'm more than happy with him as a signing.

Think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. Solid player as you say, and the potential to be world class according to our captain.