Carra

[Mike]

His performances this season have not been as good as in the past, seems to be showing his age. Maybe i am a bit harsh, dont get me wrong i love jamie and am a big fan but this season i think there have been a few glimpses of an ageing jamie.

Personally, i would like to see Agger and Skrtel put ahead of him as first choice CB pairing; let them gel into a great partnership.

Thoughts?

[Red_Polo]

Still our best CB by far and even if he wasn't our defence as a whole would hugely miss his organisational and leadership qualities if he was missing.

[Mike]

Still our best CB by far and even if he wasn't our defence as a whole would hugely miss his organisational and leadership qualities if he was missing.

Yeah i agree with his leadership, a big part of our defence is based on that, but as a defender, Agger and Skrtel would offer more.

I am not saying bench jamie right now, we need to give Skrtel and Agger more matches together as a cb pairing.

[dww]

I think the problem has been that neither Agger nor Skrtel (certainly second half of the season) has taken enough responsibility. I haven't seen any real drop in Carras performances - you just see less last ditch blocks/tackles because we have been playing better and been attacked less. The fact he is in the Actim team of the season would indicate he has been doing alright.

I think that people tend to see idealised versions of Agger and Skrtel in much the same way that people did with Babel until recently.

[Infadel]

He is, and has been, a great DEFENDER, but I think that if we are going to really progress we need that little extra from our defenders, a bit of "flair" if you want and Carra just isn't that way inclined. Having said that, I think his presence in the squad will still be valuable for a few more seasons.

Both Skrtel and Agger are capable of carrying the ball out of defence and setting things up, and Agger in particular will always get a few goals from open play. This is what we need.

Gone are the days when Jack Charlton said that the last thing you want in your team is a centre half who thinks he can play football - the reverse applies today.
Bring back Jockey, I say!!

[wavydavy]

His performances this season have not been as good as in the past, seems to be showing his age. Maybe i am a bit harsh, dont get me wrong i love jamie and am a big fan but this season i think there have been a few glimpses of an ageing jamie.

Personally, i would like to see Agger and Skrtel put ahead of him as first choice CB pairing; let them gel into a great partnership.

Thoughts?

You're on very dodgy ground here mate. As a general rule it's pointless trying to constructively criticise ANY player on this site. You are usually met with a tirade of statistics pointing to the contrary. Most seem to simply want to "get behind and support the current players", an attitude which is admirable, at any cost and refuse to even contemplate for a single second that any of them are no longer or ever were good enough to play for LFC.
It's seen as almost treason by some to say what you've said. It's a sad state of affairs when you can't constructively criticise your team's manager, players, tactics etc without being abused. Players like Bellamy, Pennant, Riise etc were all vehemently defended in the face of criticism on this site and yet when they leave it's OK to say what you like about them because they're no longer Liverpool players.
You're no less of a supporter in my opinion if you happen to dislike a certain player or think a certain player is past his best and have the balls to come out and say it. What harm is there in discussing it?

[-V-]

Load of bollocks. He's been quality as usual, he is the man who organizes everything in our defence and he doesn't get enough credit for our clean sheets. The only problem is that he has played too many games and barely got a rest this season and that affected him slightly towards the end of the season.

Most teams don't threaten us because Carra doesn't let them. Some people say he should be rested against the crap teams in the league but the fact is that we would be shaky at the back without him. Poorer teams who are capable to nicking the odd goal don't even come close to scoring into us because Carra is at hand to stop them

[Craig_H]

Still the best defender, had a very good season and i see no issue to address.

[Dhav]

Still the best defender, had a very good season and i see no issue to address.

I'd take issue with the bit in bold. I thought he was average this season, based purely on his own high standards, and the concern has to be that his age is starting to catch up with him. I do think his leadership and organisational skills are key to us, but when it is bordering on arguing with your own teammates then those can quickly become liabilities rather than assets. He'll need to start the season off well, because if he continues on a downward spiral he could find himself out of the team and below Skrtel and Agger in the pecking order.

[jono]

I think that his game has changed a lot this year. Gone are the moments when people pass comment about "nose bleed territory" when he passes the half way line nowadays as it is more and more common for him to push forward. Own goals aside, and he has always done that, he has a brilliant year.

[Craig_H]

I'd take issue with the bit in bold. I thought he was average this season, based purely on his own high standards, and the concern has to be that his age is starting to catch up with him. I do think his leadership and organisational skills are key to us, but when it is bordering on arguing with your own teammates then those can quickly become liabilities rather than assets. He'll need to start the season off well, because if he continues on a downward spiral he could find himself out of the team and below Skrtel and Agger in the pecking order.

He's been consistently better than Agger and Skrtel, who have both had worse 'dips' in form.

On what basis would Carra drop below them in the pecking order?
He's been better than both this season just gone. If he's slipped below his own standards, that would still leave him as being better than Skrtel and Agger.

[Dhav]

He's been consistently better than Agger and Skrtel, who have both had worse 'dips' in form.

On what basis would Carra drop below them in the pecking order?
He's been better than both this season just gone. If he's slipped below his own standards, that would still leave him as being better than Skrtel and Agger.

His distribution for one is absolutely abysmal and constantly costs us possession - that for one is a liability. In fact I'm beginning to get seriously pissed off with his constant hoofing. Agger and Skrtel have had injury ravaged seasons - given a chance I would expect this partnership to flourish.

[DannyMan2006]

I'd take issue with the bit in bold. I thought he was average this season, based purely on his own high standards, and the concern has to be that his age is starting to catch up with him. I do think his leadership and organisational skills are key to us, but when it is bordering on arguing with your own teammates then those can quickly become liabilities rather than assets. He'll need to start the season off well, because if he continues on a downward spiral he could find himself out of the team and below Skrtel and Agger in the pecking order.

Age catches up on every player eventually, the key for Carra is if he can adjust his game. The problem for Skrtel and Agger, is that an average Carragher is still better than both of them.

I'm happy with Gerrard as captain, but there were big arguments at one stage with good points raised for Carra taking over as captain. He is no doubt the leader at the back and his passion is always visible, making him very easy to relate to. The fact he is a scouser makes it even better.

There is no doubt in my mind that we would be a lot worse team without Carra in our ranks. And I have to say that all this going on about how Carra is at bringing the ball out of defence, I disagree. He is not in Aggers league in that respect, but he is at Skrtels level.

Personally I don't think we need more than one defender of Aggers ability, as only one can go forward at any one time. Even when playing teams who only play one up top, you still need a player to sit back and cover for him.

Personally I believe the best partnership as a whole is Carra and Agger, as they compliment each other perfectly.

BUT. Carra is not getting younger, and if Skrtel and Agger continue to progress next year, I can see this argument being nowhere near as clear cut this time next year.

I'm just delighted we are blessed with three fantastic centre backs.

[Craig_H]

His distribution for one is absolutely abysmal and constantly costs us possession - that for one is a liability. In fact I'm beginning to get seriously pissed off with his constant hoofing. Agger and Skrtel have had injury ravaged seasons - given a chance I would expect this partnership to flourish.

I was particularly pissed off at him hoofing the ball upto to Torres against Blackburn

[Dhav]

I was particularly pissed off at him hoofing the ball upto to Torres against Blackburn

Aye, pick one example of a hoof ball where it leads to a goal and ignore the dozens and dozens of hoofs he does every season that lose us the ball. That's me told.