Our defensive options: A review.

We just can't keep a clean-sheet at the minute, can we?

Daniel Agger's latest injury certainly won't help and neither will Martin Skrtel causing the fans to have their hearts in their collective mouth every time the ball comes near him. At half-time on Saturday, a win against Wolves looked a formality. Liverpool were 2 goals up and deservedly cruising. Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez were starting to click and all was well. Not for long. A Steven Fletcher goal in the 49th minute made for a nervy second-half for Liverpool. We did manage to get the win, but on another day we might not have.

So, what could Kenny do to tighten it up at the back? Steve Clarke is one of the best coaches around and was part of Mourinho's Chelsea who were known for their rigid unit, so the training methods are unlikely to be the root of the problem. It must be something else. Now, this is just a shot in the dark but I think there might be something in this: The likes of Skrtel are not good enough to play the amount of games they do.

Controversial? No, I didn't think so.

"But what about Jamie Carragher?" I see you tweet. "He's too old, too slow and just hoofs it" What would you do? Drop him and play Skrtel and Seba Coates together for a month? Disaster waiting to happen. Carragher has forgotten more about defending than Skrtel has ever known. He is the leader in that defence, he hates conceding and demands concentration at all times from whoever else plays alongside him, you only have to watch his reaction to Spearing after his mistake lead to the penalty in Brighton. That was a Carling Cup match that we looked to have wrapped up. The man HATES deficiency in his back-line, so much so that his anger warrants capital letters.

Lets imagine Agger is out injured until the end of the season, because as classy a defender as he is, he can't string 10 matches together without breaking, tearing, bruising or stretching something. Is Carragher alongside Skrtel, Coates or Danny Wilson going to be enough? No.

In my humble opinion, Kenny needs to invest in January. Skrtel just isn't good enough and should be sold. We need another leader in that defence to keep some authority at the back when Carragher does eventually start to get phased out. I know this name gets banded around a lot but I genuinely believe he would be perfect for the situation, and that man is: Christopher Samba. He's a leader; he's 27 so he is at a good age and hardly long term so he won't halt Coates and Wilson's progression.

I don't think Coates is ready to be thrown in as a regular starter yet. He's in a similar situation to Lucas, coming straight from South America having made a bit of a name for himself as one of the brightest talents in that that part of the world. Seba's performances in the Copa America earned him rave reviews; one journalist went as far as saying he is "twice the player of Phil Jones".  High praise indeed. But I think he needs to be eased in to European and more specifically, English football. Next season he may well be a regular starter, and a darn good one at that. But it's only early days for him yet.

Danny Wilson is in more or less the same boat albeit with more experience of European football. Arriving from Rangers last season with a pedigree as one of the brightest talents in the UK, he seems to have slipped under the radar. I personally think he will be a very good player but he just doesn't get any games. Bit of a funny one, Danny Wilson.

Anyway. That's about enough of me playing Football Manager. Over to you; what do you think? IS Carragher too old? Should Kenny persist with Skrtel? Let me know in the comments or Twit me @DanRobinson23.

My Hero #1: Lucas Leiva.

This is the first of a series of posts dedicated to our LFC heroes, I'll set the ball rolling with a personal hero of mine, Lucas Leiva. If you would like to contribute with your own post, contact me on Twitter @DanRobinson23.


It is well known by those I talk football with, be that at a match, at school or on Twitter, that I have a bit of a soft spot for Mr Leiva- and not without reason. His story is inspirational, coming straight from Brazil at the tender age of 20 it was always going to be difficult for him to settle in the North-West of England. After signing from Gremio for a fee of around £5m, Liverpool fans were expecting an exciting playmaker in the mould of Kaka or Ronaldinho.

"I am looking forward to seeing him score goals for Liverpool in the future and [we] believe he has the mentality and the character you need to do well in England"- Rafa Benitez.

Statements like Benitez's were hardly going to dampen those expectations. Since Lucas joined he was being trained to become a more complete player, to have a range of abilities somewhere in between Xabi Alonso and Javier Masherano. The disappointment of not being the player that the fans expected added with the pressure of being Gerrard, Alonso or Masherano hindered Lucas' first couple of seasons in England. Regardless, he worked away and tried to improve himself to become the player he knew he could be. The player Rafa knew he could be.

Lucas has had an exceptional last 18 months, both on a footballing and personal level. Winning over fans, pundits and doubters along the way. In March, Lucas became a father for the first time and signed a new long-term contract at Liverpool. Over 40% of Liverpool fans who voted in the official Player of the Season poll opted for Lucas, helping him win the accolade by quite a bit.

It's been a tough ride for Lucas Leiva but he has now become a key player for Liverpool Football Club and he is everything a proffesional footballer should be. Determined, hard-working and talented. Finally Lucas is showing his ability and becoming a fan favourite- and he can still get even better.

Craig Bellamy- The Wildcard.

Aggressive, outspoken, wind-up merchant. Journeyman.

Quick, driven, experienced. Talented.

At 32-years-old, its fair to say that Craig Bellamy has already had his fair share of headlines. The Welsh forward has played for 9 different clubs since making his debut for Norwich in 1997, making an impression at every one of them. The late Sir Bobby Robson once described Bellamy as "a great player wrapped round an unusual and volatile character."

Sir Bobby shared the opinion of most football fans. Bellamy is a hugely talented player but, as John Arne Riise would testify, prone to the occasional moment of madness.

So why is Kenny Dalglish risking bringing in such a character when the Liverpool squad's morale is on such a high? Bellamy, a Liverpool fan himself, has had a previous stint at the club and was sold (against the wishes of many supporters) to raise funds for the signing of Fernando Torres in 2007. Craig went on to have arguably the best season of his career at Manchester City (Via West Ham) in 09-10 as shown in the video below:

Despite being such an important part of Manchester City's team, he had a clash of personalities with manager Roberto Mancini and was left out of the 25-man squad for the 10-11 season, resulting in a shock loan move to Cardiff City. Born and bred a Cardiff boy, he became a instant fan-favourite and played a big part in Cardiff's promotion push, although the club ultimately failed.

Upon returning to Manchester in pre-season, Bellamy found he was still not in Mancini's plans and on transfer deadline day completed a dream comeback to Liverpool on a free transfer.

In one of the more interesting moves of the window, the question on many people's lips is: which Craig Bellamy have Liverpool signed? The figure of controversy that sparks trouble everywhere he goes, or the gifted former Wales captain capable of producing moments of magic?

One thing is for sure, Kenny Dalglish has always got a trick up his sleeve.