Mamadou Sakho

[Boogs]

He looks all out of control and gangly because of his height I think. He has received balls that have put him under immense pressure which have emphasised his ganglyness but he's far from ****e. A year now under his belt and more stable pairings at the back with him and he will shine IMO

[McDermotX]

He's far from ****e, and looks very promising. Looks a fine athlete and could become a mainstay in our defence for a long time.
Perhaps a little guilty of overplaying, or rather not taking the best option at times, but it's encouraging to see a CB who wants to pick out his teammates.....just needs to know when to and when not to so as to not add undue pressure to the back line. Has had the odd head rush moment as well and allowed himself to be pulled out from the back rather naively but they are few and far between.

More game time with a better defensive approach from us a whole will help IMO as it's clear he has a lot of the qualities required to become a very good CB.
Paid big enough money for him, and I think a lot of that was for the potential he has rather than him immediately coming in and being the finished article.

[G]

People are easily misled. I think he'll be one of our mainstays in defence for years to come.

[RichC]

as do I.

Fancy he will be a starter next season with a new partner at the back

[danperkins]

Sakho has done ok this season, still a bit raw & getting used to the pace of the league. Not quite convinced as others on here yet but he is not **** & wouldn't write him off just yet. Next season could really be a break through season for him.

Him and Skrtel don't work at the back so if Rodgers brings someone in... either Sahko or Skrtel with drop down to the bench. At the moment IMO if Rodgers brings another CB in.. they will partner Skrtel.

[ronanm]

We could do with a decent defensive coach as whoever is doing it presently needs replacing first.

[ric.williams]

good signing. he'll be fantastic next year. people forget how positive his passing is and only remember his couple of errors

[RichC]

If Rodgers brings in another CB it will be to play on the right to partner either Sakho or Agger IMO.

Skrtel had a good season on the whole but he makes some poor errors of judgement and I've never thought of him as a leader which is what we need back there.

[baitman]

If Rodgers brings in another CB it will be to play on the right to partner either Sakho or Agger IMO.

Skrtel had a good season on the whole but he makes some poor errors of judgement and I've never thought of him as a leader which is what we need back there.

if we get lovren he will play on the left hand side, and skrtel will play on the right. lovren will be the leader that skrtel needs to play along side.

[RichC]

I think we'll be looking at bringing in a right sided CB this Summer.

[dww]

I have to say none of our CBs have completely convinced me that they work well in our system. Sakho has had the least time to adapt and has looked no worse than the others so should be given more time. In the end I think you need a balanced CB pairing but also to look at the players around them. For me a big problem for all our defensive partnerships has been that the combination of attacking fullbacks, a progressive DM and a keeper who isn't great at coming out have left them with a lot of jobs to do.

I can imagine a situation where no change in personnel at CB but a change in the way we organize our defence or in the GK, fullback or DM positions would make us look more solid at the back.

[RichC]

The keeper question is a funny one as it's unclear if it's him that's uncomfortable with coming out or if it's down to the players in front of him aiding to the indecision.

Defensively the unit hasn't worked well as a unit and we probably need to replace 2 of the 4 players at the back which 2 is up for debate, personally I'd be looking at a long term partner for Sakho and a full back a la Azpilicueta as Johnson needs some real pressure put on him and the LB position needs sorting as well.

[dww]

The keeper question is a funny one as it's unclear if it's him that's uncomfortable with coming out or if it's down to the players in front of him aiding to the indecision.

Defensively the unit hasn't worked well as a unit and we probably need to replace 2 of the 4 players at the back which 2 is up for debate, personally I'd be looking at a long term partner for Sakho and a full back a la Azpilicueta as Johnson needs some real pressure put on him and the LB position needs sorting as well.

Good point about the interaction between CBs and keeper. I think we need at least one authoritative figure back there and at the minute I see none all to often.

[dww]

I also wonder if Rodgers or any of the coaching staff are good at defensive systems. Perhaps a change off the field might help, in the style of when Fergusson bought Maclren in as assistant.

[RichC]

It's a massive issue we need to fix; getting that player in could make all the difference to us at the back.