Martin Skrtel

[RP]

The thickest (in terms of a footballing brain) captain we have ever had. IMO.

[ali]

The thickest (in terms of a footballing brain) captain we have ever had. IMO.

 

Appointed by the manager

[Cheesecake]

Ruddock was thicker, well wider anyway, not sure if he was a captain at any stage though. Oh and Julian Dicks, I'm sure he was captain at some point...

[RP]

Appointed by the manager :unsure:/>

 

 

 

People talk about Brendan having a blind spot - if he does, then this is it.

[Boca]

Ruddock was thicker, well wider anyway, not sure if he was a captain at any stage though. Oh and Julian Dicks, I'm sure he was captain at some point...

 

Did you miss the bit in brackets?

[Davvo]

Appointed by the manager

 

Interested to know what it is that you seem to have against him, is it just your perception of him from press conferences, or word of mouth from colleagues ? You seem pretty sceptical.

 

 

Agree with the Skrtel blindspot by the way.

[Raj]

Didn't think he did that much wrong last night. Couple of wobbles aside

Certainly no worse than Lovren has been for us

[Hassony]

Didn't think he did that much wrong last night. Couple of wobbles aside

Certainly no worse than Lovren has been for us

 

played well yesterday, looked our best centre back partnership this season (which says a lot about the 40m we spent on Lovren and Sakho)

 

and was the obvious captain, wasn't the first time he captained the team anyway I don't think

 

 

 

[RedHarvest]

That touch, 1st half, on the edge of our box last night that let Benzema(?) nick it off him was one of the worst I've seen from a professional footballer

[The_Adder]

He is very poor along with Johnson and (so far) Lovren.

[RP]

The touch on the edge of the box was appalling - and then his judgement to make a foul on the edge of the box in the second half when it was completely unnecessary (unlike Moreno who some might think did the same thing ... but he had good cause and it was an excellent foul).

 

Could have been so costly - but I accept that they weren't and he 'got away with it' again. I also accept the argument that while he keeps 'getting away with it', then there's no harm done, other players do the same yadda yadda ... but his lack of footballing intelligence is becoming more apparent, I think.

 

That touch, 1st half, on the edge of our box last night that let Benzema(?) nick it off him was one of the worst I've seen from a professional footballer

 

 

 

Exaggeration like that doesn't foster reasoned debate, IMHO.

[Nebraska Red]

The touch on the edge of the box was appalling - and then his judgement to make a foul on the edge of the box in the second half when it was completely unnecessary (unlike Moreno who some might think did the same thing ... but he had good cause and it was an excellent foul).

 

Could have been so costly - but I accept that they weren't and he 'got away with it' again. I also accept the argument that while he keeps 'getting away with it', then there's no harm done, other players do the same yadda yadda ... but his lack of footballing intelligence is becoming more apparent, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Exaggeration like that doesn't foster reasoned debate, IMHO.

 

you have a humble opinion

 

;)

[Conrad]

did plenty right last night, and reads the game pretty well, which suggests he has a pretty reasonable football brain to me. Made a couple of crass errors, but there we go. He's not top drawer. He's still better than Sahko and Lovren.

[RP]

He's still better than Sahko and Lovren.

 

 

I guess that's all that really matters to us at the moment ... personally, I'd rank him 3rd of those three.

[Earl Hafler]

The touch on the edge of the box was appalling - and then his judgement to make a foul on the edge of the box in the second half when it was completely unnecessary (unlike Moreno who some might think did the same thing ... but he had good cause and it was an excellent foul).

 

Could have been so costly - but I accept that they weren't and he 'got away with it' again. I also accept the argument that while he keeps 'getting away with it', then there's no harm done, other players do the same yadda yadda ... but his lack of footballing intelligence is becoming more apparent, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Exaggeration like that doesn't foster reasoned debate, IMHO.

 

 

What about when he left Ronaldo completely unmarked ? End of the 67th minute http://livetv.sx/redirects/playvideo.php?id=215947

 

Can't have him as a long term player. Just too many inconsistencies and panic moments.

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

The touch on the edge of the box was appalling - and then his judgement to make a foul on the edge of the box in the second half when it was completely unnecessary (unlike Moreno who some might think did the same thing ... but he had good cause and it was an excellent foul).

 

Could have been so costly - but I accept that they weren't and he 'got away with it' again. I also accept the argument that while he keeps 'getting away with it', then there's no harm done, other players do the same yadda yadda ... but his lack of footballing intelligence is becoming more apparent, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Exaggeration like that doesn't foster reasoned debate, IMHO.

 

I wouldn't call it exaggeration myself. It was in the school of 'he trapped it further than most of us could kick it' territory

[Case]

McAteer.

[Leo No.8]

Think Skrtel is just a bit too hit and miss. He'll make some brilliant challenges, goal line clearances and was the top scoring defender in the league last season. But then he makes some absolutely horrendous errors, and not just now and again but on a fairly regular basis. It makes things a bit unpredictable back there - I don't mind him but I'd swap it for 'steady' and 'reliable'' if we could find it. Was hoping we'd get those from Lovren - maybe we still will, but not so far.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Leo No.8

[Case]

Skrtel is miles better than Lovren.

[meepins]

Skrtel is miles better than Lovren.

In what regard is he miles better?

 

Better athlete? Is he superior aerially? Read the game better or organise a defence better?

 

I would say no.

[Hassony]

In what regard is he miles better?

 

Better athlete? Is he superior aerially? Read the game better or organise a defence better?

 

I would say no.

 

He's been miles better this season, not to say he's been excellent (think he's been ok though), but Lovren hasn't shown any quality at all so far, nothing to suggest that he's worth what we paid for him

 

but of course, it's still early days for Lovren, so we live in hope

 

 

 

[meepins]

Players who don't particularly enjoy defending. Pressing the opposition for the ball is one thing but we're bad at defending.

 

The linchpin of our defence is Skrtel, a player who doesn't read the play book. Just does his own thing. Gets praised for the blocks, sometimes makes a crucial tackle but other players suffer. Either replace him or build round him - the latter means a more defensive right back and on defensive set pieces, he's the defender who targets the ball and others mark a zone or man, whichever style Rodgers goes with.

 

Replacing him is a better solution.

Yes and despite him having a stinker at the moment, I think Lovren is the man brought in to replace him. There are other players around him who could arguable be gotten out first (Mignolet, Johnson) but I would definitely be trying to build from a Lovren-Sakho partnership.

It would be strange to identify a problem, drop all that money on it and then not give them a run together to get some consistency.

[The_Adder]

Skrtel is miles better than Lovren.

 

He is equally good at being bad at defending.

[Hassony]

He is equally good at being bad at defending.

 

[richwilks]

Thought Skrtel looked decent against Costa on Saturday. Lovren is struggling big time.