Rate our Centre Backs

[Roboklopp]

Largely agree with Mr M, CJ/Marsh & Fernandinhio.

[Roboklopp]

Would add that we definitely need a convincing 1at choice 2 & that's not been done since the best business Houllier did with H&H. We were spoiled for choice 2 seasons back with Sami & Carra being younger, Skrtel playing better & Agger less injured. Really does show how deeply the disinvestment has affected us all over the pitch. CM was a black hole after Xabi & Masher left & we never replaced Keane up top until the Suarex purchase 2 years on.

[saj]

1.Carra (No1 for now but needs replacing soon) Shame he's getting old
2. Agger ( a must when fit ) Cracking player but his injury record is not so cracking
3. Skrtel (ever present last season but injured at present and handy ) Underrated player IMO - very quick and has moments of madness as does every player in the world. But for some reason, LFC fans blow it out of proportion
4. Kyriagos (last year for him I'm sure ) Not a bad defender when the games are crowded i.e. when playing Stoke City. But when a game gets stretched, he's ****ing useless. If we intend to play with a high line, then he should be nowhere near the first team
5. Wilson ( could be ready one day ?) He is truly a woeful player. He may be young but we have let better young centre backs leave the club in recent years. He will never make it
6. Kelly ( yet to be seen at CB but some think he's doing his apprenticeship at RB ) I think he's overrated as a full back. The way he backs off wingers is a joke. And he's not great going forwards. He's meant to be a centre back so time will tell if he's any good
7. Ayala ( I thought another year or so on loan would see him push on )Probably leaving the club. Comfortable on the ball and good at bringing it out of defence. Has lapses in concentration but definitely better than Wilson. Still not good enough IMO
8. Wisdom ?This guy is truly lethal and has the makings to be one of the best IF he can transfer his form from the reserves to the first team. Powerfully built, he's quick, very good in the air and a fantastic distributor of the ball. He can also play in multiple positions and is actually quite skillful
9. Sama ? never seen him play well I have but never take notice of him. But going by just his name, he sounds like a good player

[ric.williams]

1.Carra the organiser, without him we have no defense. Someone needs to take up this responsibility
2. Agger good player but always injured. sell
3. Skrtel serious liability. cant cope with many strikers. most he just throws to the floor
4. Kyriagos handy backup. great for teams like stoke
5. Wilson judging by what i've seen he is ****
6. Kelly i like the look of this kid but have only really seen him at right back
7. Ayala looks quite good but is slow
8. Wisdom ?
9. Sama ?

[JohnDoe]

1. Carragher- Our most reliable CB, but that doesn't say much, does it.
2. Agger- Our best defender but unreliable due to fitness.
3. Skrtel- A liability.
4. Kyrgiakos- I like him, but he's not very good.
5. Wisdom- Lad is going to be a top player.
6. Kelly- Has great potential but hasn't progressed due to injuries.
7. Wilson- Looked very far from being in the level of the first team. Needs to go on loan somewhere and get experience. Could become a good player down the line.

[dww]

I'm pretty concerned about our central defence... we don't lack bodies, but there's question marks over almost all of them. You can really divide them into 2 groups, established players and youngsters:

Agger is made of glass, shame as he's by far our best all round CB now when fully fit.
Carra's been a great servant but his lack of mobility is starting to get exposed more
Skrtel I've never been entirely convinced about, he's ok but not really ever going to be any better than that
Kyrgiakos is awful. Unless playing a team that hits long balls and has no pace or skill I'd never have him anywhere near the team

I'm worried about the upcoming season with these 4. Unless Agger stays fit its going to be pretty tough.

Kelly we've just not seen at CB yet so its hard to judge but he's defo got promise
Wilson I think needs more first team action to help his development; I'd send him out on loan if we think we've got cover.
Ayala looks like he might be getting sold
People at the club rate Wisdom but its impossible to tell if he'll make it yet.

We've certainly got players coming through, its just a question of whether they get opportunities and then whether they can then take them.

I mostly agree with you here. I said before the summer I thought sorting out our CBs should be a priority. I'm not sure the problem lies with any of the individuals so much as the inability to make a balanced partnership of any sort from the players we have, especially when Agger is injured. I'd have looked to sell Kyrgiakos straight off (I wouldn't go as far as you but he is both the least talented and hardest to partner of all the CBs we have).

Personally I think Skrtel looked a lot better for a consistent run of games last season and would settle for finding a partner for him - I think the qualities he lacks (aerial ability and the ability to move the ball constructively out of defence) are ones that we need to address generally and a player that worked well with him would make a decent partner for all the others.

I also think we need to think of the CBs in terms of the back 5 (back 4 + DM). If we play Lucas as DM we need a player who either is capable of carrying the ball into midfield or who has Hyypia's ability at long passing from deep. It would also help if both fullbacks could move the ball with minimal risk into midfield - too often Johnson in particular play high risk balls on transition and gifts the opposition possession in dangerous areas.

If we keep Wilson, Ayala and Sama at the club for the whole season we should at least look to play them in the league cup. Other than that I think we should look for at least 3 month loans to the Championship or PL for all of them.

[Mostar]

We need 1 or 2 CBs in next year or so.

When fit Agger is top,top player but his injury record is very concerning and likely to continue.

Carra is not getting any younger and should be phased out immediately as his lack of mobility is becoming an issue.

Skrtel is too inconsistent and I actually agree with Saj that he is underrated and if he can step up he could be top, top player.

Soto is already liability and if it wasn't for injuries last year he would have been gone this year as we would not exercise an extra year option.

Wilson needs to go on a loan as he is not ready for this level yet.

Kelly needs to play more in CB role and really needs to improve in heading the ball department.

All in all we need serious improvements and we should start this summer with at least bringing one 1st choice CB.

[Neil Young]

With talk on here that we need a new CB I'd like to know where people rate each of our CB's at present.

Hull are sniffing around trying to buy young Ayala and i thought he was highly rated by some on here ?

So I've probably forgotten some but to my knowledge here's our CB's and I'd like to know where you rate them in order of being ready to play in our first team.

1.Carra (No1 for now but needs replacing soon)
2. Agger ( a must when fit )
3. Skrtel (ever present last season but injured at present and handy )
4. Kyriagos (last year for him I'm sure )
5. Wilson ( could be ready one day ?)
6. Kelly ( yet to be seen at CB but some think he's doing his apprenticeship at RB )
7. Ayala ( I thought another year or so on loan would see him push on )
8. Wisdom ?
9. Sama ?

So who have I forgotten and where do you rate them in order .

I do think we need one CB now with Carra getting older, Agger's injury record and the Greek's age all lead to at least 1 new player being needed.

Not in the order listed above but:

6/10, 4/10, 92%, $7,947,320.64, don't know, 3 stars, , , poodle.

[Suarez]

We have by far the worst back 4 of the so called big clubs. Carra has been immense but we now need to be looking at the future.

Skrtel is very average and his positioning can be dreadful.

I would sell Agger in a heartbeat but he'd never pass a medical. You need consistency at the back and a telepathic understand between the two centres and you'll never get that with Agger sat in the sick room.

I'd personally keep Glen even though his defensive qualities are suspect. If we have a strong centre and left bac, they should be able to cover and he offers us so much going forward.

[Chazza]

We have by far the worst back 4 of the so called big clubs.

Worse than Arsenal?

[Exiled_red]

1. Carragher good defender, gives his all and is the organizer of the defence, but age is catching up with him.
2. Agger is a great defender an would be first choice if he could stay fit.
3. Skrtel has up and down patches, I think he's a decent all round defender but doesn't excel at anything. And seems quite prone to mistakes.
4. Kyriakos is a monster in the air, but a liability on the ground, useful to have for games aginst the likes of Stoke.
5. Wilson has really struggled in his time here, I think he needs to go out on loan and get experience somewhere.
6. Kelly is a good right back, but I worry about his arial ability if he were to be moved into the centre. I think he'll continue at full back for now.
7. Ayala, I thought he was decent in the few games he played a couple of years ago, but I've not seen him since so am unsure how he's progressed. Anyway I thought he was leaving?
8. Wisdom I haven't really seen.
9.Sama I haven't really seen.

Basically we're relying on the first 4, one of which is injury prone (Agger), another is only suited to certain types of games and is an accident waiting to happen in the others (Kyriakos).

I don't believe any of the others are close to challenging for a first team spot.

We need to sign someone this summer!

[Mostar]

We have by far the worst back 4 of the so called big clubs. Carra has been immense but we now need to be looking at the future.

Skrtel is very average and his positioning can be dreadful.

I would sell Agger in a heartbeat but he'd never pass a medical. You need consistency at the back and a telepathic understand between the two centres and you'll never get that with Agger sat in the sick room.

I'd personally keep Glen even though his defensive qualities are suspect. If we have a strong centre and left bac, they should be able to cover and he offers us so much going forward.

Off the topic but you cannot let go Torres can you

New great name but your avatar will take some time

[SB]

Re Skrtel. I agree with you and feel he did well last season with getting a good run in the side.

As for the rest of your analysis

[SB]

Not in the order listed above but:

6/10, 4/10, 92%, $7,947,320.64, don't know, 3 stars, , , poodle.

Is that like the lowest rating of all ? I mean no-one likes a poodle right ? right ?

[RedReet]

Is that like the lowest rating of all ? I mean no-one likes a poodle right ? right ?

Hmmmmmm, not exactly.