Liverpool FC Forum

[akumaface]

Both as they will be our backbone for the future and thus start the pairing the sooner the better.

[bigmick]

Depends on the opposition really. I rate both (although both have been disrupted through injury).

If it does "depend on the opposition", then in truth neither are top drawer. I do think sometimes we've all got a bit carried away with the semantics of rotation, the mind set which says if you play a fast player we'll play this bloke, if you play a tall one we'll play this one, and if you rotate and we rotate we'll have a competition to see who can avoid disappearing up their own erse for the longest.

It's all b0ll0cks. Good centre halves become better when they play regualrly. Good centre half pairings become better centre half pairings when they play together regualrly. Any gains from  matching attribute to attribute are far outwieghed IMHO by the desruption to the pattern. Does anybody seriously believe that if we got desperate and signed Cisse on a free, the Mancs would change their centre half pairing to counter his pace? If we parked the bus, would they drop Vidic because they needed a ball carrier? If we resigned Crouch, would they change centre halves to counter his hieght?

Not for me, you buy centre halves who can defend a lot, and play a bit. Once you've got them, you play them. It is the one position on the pitch IMHO that needless tinkering to has the most disruptive influence.

If a centre half is only good enough against certain types of opposition, he isn't good enough.

[JC_81]

Depends on the opposition really. I rate both (although both have been disrupted through injury).

If it does "depend on the opposition", then in truth neither are top drawer. I do think sometimes we've all got a bit carried away with the semantics of rotation, the mind set which says if you play a fast player we'll play this bloke, if you play a tall one we'll play this one, and if you rotate and we rotate we'll have a competition to see who can avoid disappearing up their own erse for the longest.

It's all b0ll0cks. Good centre halves become better when they play regualrly. Good centre half pairings become better centre half pairings when they play together regualrly. Any gains from  matching attribute to attribute are far outwieghed IMHO by the desruption to the pattern. Does anybody seriously believe that if we got desperate and signed Cisse on a free, the Mancs would change their centre half pairing to counter his pace? If we parked the bus, would they drop Vidic because they needed a ball carrier? If we resigned Crouch, would they change centre halves to counter his hieght?

Not for me, you buy centre halves who can defend a lot, and play a bit. Once you've got them, you play them. It is the one position on the pitch IMHO that needless tinkering to has the most disruptive influence.

If a centre half is only good enough against certain types of opposition, he isn't good enough.

Completely agree Mick.

You need to have continuity at the back and we haven't had that this season (due to injuries rather than rotation it has to be said).  Carragher is probably still our most reliable defender, so we should pick one of the other two from the start to partner him next season and stick with it.  I completely agree that we should not be rotating centre halves depending on the opposition.  Unless Skrtel gets his act together again soon, that player should be Agger.  I don't think there's much between them, but Skrtel needs to get out of this rut, he's been below par for a while now.