Skrtel, and why I just don't rate him

[JohnDoe]

And I bet he never misplaced that pass, I guarentee this thread would never have started.

Nah. My opinion on Skrtel has been brewing for quite some time.

[Bari]

Huh? It was at the half way line

And I bet he never misplaced that pass, I guarentee this thread would never have started. I thought he was immense yesterday. His passing was spot on and he brought the ball out of defence really well

you've been wanking over him, haven't you.

[Pippo]

Skrtel's chalkboard Vs. Fulham yesterday. Passes 69, Completed 67.

[SK]

he's a defender, not a midfielder, his job is to defend, and he does that very well...apart from that single misplaced pass near the halfway line, he was immense yesterday.

he'll gain more experience with age, that what all defenders do...but it's good to have an "animal" at the back, as much as it's good to have masch in midfield.

He, however does need to stop making silly fouls just outside the 16yard box, that put us under unnecesarry pressure, but i guess that comes with experience, as it did for Stevie, when he was younger and playing in a deeper position he used to makes those kind of mistakes

[squaddie]

he's a defender, not a midfielder, his job is to defend, and he does that very well...apart from that single misplaced pass near the halfway line, he was immense yesterday.

he'll gain more experience with age, that what all defenders do...but it's good to have an "animal" at the back, as much as it's good to have masch in midfield.

He, however does need to stop making silly fouls just outside the 16yard box, that put us under unnecesarry pressure, but i guess that comes with experience, as it did for Stevie, when he was younger and playing in a deeper position he used to makes those kind of mistakes

[BG1973]

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

---

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.

You're on a roll. After a thrilling victory the first two posts I open and you're criticising players in both of them.

Bizarre.

[JohnDoe]

You're on a roll. After a thrilling victory the first two posts I open and you're criticising players in both of them.

Bizarre.

Coincidence.

[saj]

Skrtel's chalkboard Vs. Fulham yesterday. Passes 69, Completed 67.

Ha ha. Pippo - does your statistical find mean this thread has partially failed?

[Charlie_B]

Sktrel's alright in my opinion, but not as good as Agger. I'd like to see Agger more, but I suppose with minimum 8 matches left, Rafa might be thinking "why change a wining formula now?".

I'd be a bit surprised if Agger and Carra don't start next season though, assuming Agger stays.

[SK]

Ha ha. Pippo - does your statistical find mean this thread has partially failed?

well he did **** up 2 passes...think we've established he's not prefect at least

[JohnDoe]

Ha ha. Pippo - does your statistical find mean this thread has partially failed?

well he did **** up 2 passes...think we've established he's not prefect at least

This thread isn't about one game, and besides:

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.

If you look at his passes, about half of them are sideways to Carragher, another half of them are sideways passes to Arbeloa, and barely any of them were for the players who should get the ball from the CB's (Alonso, Lucas).

[SK]

If you look at his passes, about half of them are sideways to Carragher, another half of them are sideways passes to Arbeloa, and barely any of them were for the players who should get the ball from the CB's (Alonso, Lucas).

well maybe, just maybe, he didn't pass the ball to either of them because there just wasn't a pass to make, be it they weren't making themselves avaliable for the pass, or fulham made it imposible to pass to them. anyhow he's a very solid defender in my eyes, and he's only going to get better, but no player is perfect and all have their failings

[SK]

i do think he made one or two runs forward with the ball before he misplaced that pass, and that pass seemed to take a bit of confidence away...but hey, he kept it simple from that point on, and that's all i can ask from a defender.

[Mattshark]

I don't understand this thread. How many shots from open play did Fulham have yesterday?

[JohnDoe]

I don't understand this thread. How many shots from open play did Fulham have yesterday?

Yeah, you don't

This thread isn't about one game.