5 Oct 2012

'It means everything' - Is this the biggest LFC gamble since Alberto Aquilani...?

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has spent 43% of his Anfield career on the sidelines recovering from various injuries, but today, the club ignored that history and handed the defender a new 'long-term' Anfield contract.

Reacting to the new deal, Agger - who has been playing through the pain barrier recently after fracturing his knee against Manchester United - pledged his support to the club for 'as long as the manager and the owners want me', adding:

"It means everything to me. This is where I want to be and I'm happy the club want me.

"I am really happy right now. I've never wanted to go anywhere else. I feel I am a part of this club - and I want to be a part of this club in the future.

"I like the way it is going right now with the style we're playing, and hopefully the results will come soon as well.

"The support from the fans has been unbelievable. The game when they were singing all the songs about me, it was difficult to focus on the game! It was such a good experience for me and I'd never experienced anything like it before. That is why I am so happy here. That for me is Liverpool Football Club"


In his press conference on Thursday, Brendan Rodgers admitted that he'd take a long look at Agger's injury history, and it's a testament to the Dane's quality that the club is willing to gamble on him despite the fact he's been injured for 24 months of his LFC career to date:

Daniel Agger Injury History at Liverpool FC

Agger's loyalty to the club is admirable, and if he can stay fit then it will be a huge blessing for Liverpool. I genuinely believe he would make a great Liverpool skipper at some point in the future, but Agger's injury history cannot be ignored, and as we saw with Alberto Aquilani, relying on a regularly injured player is not ideal.

With Skrtel and Agger both tied down to new contracts now, it seems Liverpool's central defensive partnership is secured for the next few years, though I have to be honest, I'm still not convinced it's the best possible partnership.

* As we've seen several times already this season, Skrtel is still prone to regular concentration lapses.

* Looking at Agger's history, it's highly probable that he will get injured again at some point, which will then disrupt the defence.

* Despite the presence of both Agger and Skrtel, Liverpool's biggest problem this season is conceding goals.

On the bright side, the more Agger and Skrtel play together, the more comfortable they'll become as a partnership, and there's definitely potential for greatness there. Whether that potential becomes consistently realised remains to be seen.



Jaimie Kanwar


21 comments:

  1. No gamble. He is a true footballer with a great Attitude. After Hyypia, we haven't got great defenders and Agger is the only one who can match Sami. I wish him luck and hope he ends his career with LFC.

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  2. Massive props to any player who knows the real value of loyalty to the club he thinks he belongs to, as opposed to success somewhere else.

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  3. With that in mind, the club should do everything to reward that loyalty with success.

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  4. Jaimie where do you get all these stats from?

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  5. he will probably continue to be injury prone all his career, his first injury whilst at the club was not inflicted on the pitch

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  6. liverpool4life5653:36 pm, October 05, 2012

    NO! He is class and he loves Liverpool I rather have players like that then players who just want ££££ he done quiet well last season and this season. So it's okay.

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  7. Any specific website where I can get to see several stats?

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  8. Gotta love "Dagger" !!!!

    He really is a person of character and he really means what he says unlike so many other footballers these days.

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  9. He is a class act and I think that the 'Injury prone' aspect is, right now, a risk worth taking. I think he is a far more stabilising player than Skrtel. If reports earlier in the year were to be believed, he had the opportunity to move elsewhere, but even though we were in a period of transition, he chose to stay with LFC. That sits well with me. Pity about the ghastly arm decorations though !

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  10. dont quite get it with agger & skertel both make far to many mistakes way overated

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  11. a good piece of news for a change lets get suso tied up to a long term contract now

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  12. jaimie said the other day the borini transfer as aquaman written all over it

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  13. I notice that the games played and games missed through injury for Agger add up to the total games played by Liverpool in the period. I'm sure there must have been games where he was available but just not picked in the 6.5 year period (particularly league cup games).

    Injury record or not, he's still the best CB at Liverpool so I'm delighted he's signed

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  14. jaimie how long did agger have left on his contract i didnt think it was long also i thought he only got 3 year contract not saying agger would but he cannot walk away without the club getting his true value now

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  15. well spotted no suspensions and what about carrager and hyppia

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  16. Agger is one of us. Am delighted he is staying and let's hope he stays fit.

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  17. LFC history, ESPN Soccernet, Soccerbase, EA Sports player performance index...

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  18. Yeah, I tried opta. They ask for money

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