Jonjo Shelvey will square off against his former team-mates tonight when Liverpool take on Swansea City, and although the young midfielder is magnanimous about his Anfield exit, Reds legend Mark Lawrenson insists that the Londoner was never good enough to make it at LFC.
Speaking to the BBC over the weekend, Lawro delivered the following subtly scathing assessment of Shelvey, who cost Swansea €7m over the summer:
"It never really happened for him [Shelvey] at Anfield but I don't think he's really a top-six player.
"You can understand why he made the move - he will play regularly at Swansea and it's a good move for all three parties".
Shelvey has talent, but Brendan Rodgers clearly favours quick, skilful, technically gifted players, with excellent game intelligence, and lighting speed of mind. With the greatest respect to Shelvey, he is more of a classic rough-and-tumble English central midfielder, and such players are a dying breed in the modern game.
Whether that means Shelvey is not a 'top six player', however, is open to debate. It could be argued that he never had the chance to prosper at Liverpool. After all, with Steven Gerrard and Lucas automatic choices, and £35m worth of central midfield talent also in the squad (Allen and Henderson), it was always going to be difficult for Shelvey to get regular playing time.
Lawro is not the only ex-Red who doesn't rate Shelvey. Discussing the Swansea transfer during the 5-Times Podcast last month, Reds legend Robbie Fowler observed:
"On his day, he [Shelvey] was not a bad player, but he was top of pile for inconsistency. I’ve met him a few times and he’s okay, but I just thought he was bit of a liability. You’re waiting for him to get booked or sent off, and you can’t afford to do that".
Liability? That's a bit harsh. Shelvey is reckless in the tackle occasionally, and the red card against Man United last season is prime example of that. However, Steven Gerrard was similarly reckless exactly the same at the same age, and I don't recall too many people calling him a 'liability' for it.
In fact, with six red cards, Gerrard is the most sent-off player in LFC history (!), and every one of his dismissals came as a result of bad tackles. Granted, Shelvey is not in Gerrard's league when it comes to talent and quality, but 5 yellows and 1 red since arriving in 2010 doesn't make him a liability, surely?
Liability or not, let's hope Shelvey doesn't come back to haunt Liverpool this evening...
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Speaking to the BBC over the weekend, Lawro delivered the following subtly scathing assessment of Shelvey, who cost Swansea €7m over the summer:
"It never really happened for him [Shelvey] at Anfield but I don't think he's really a top-six player.
"You can understand why he made the move - he will play regularly at Swansea and it's a good move for all three parties".
Shelvey has talent, but Brendan Rodgers clearly favours quick, skilful, technically gifted players, with excellent game intelligence, and lighting speed of mind. With the greatest respect to Shelvey, he is more of a classic rough-and-tumble English central midfielder, and such players are a dying breed in the modern game.
Whether that means Shelvey is not a 'top six player', however, is open to debate. It could be argued that he never had the chance to prosper at Liverpool. After all, with Steven Gerrard and Lucas automatic choices, and £35m worth of central midfield talent also in the squad (Allen and Henderson), it was always going to be difficult for Shelvey to get regular playing time.
Lawro is not the only ex-Red who doesn't rate Shelvey. Discussing the Swansea transfer during the 5-Times Podcast last month, Reds legend Robbie Fowler observed:
"On his day, he [Shelvey] was not a bad player, but he was top of pile for inconsistency. I’ve met him a few times and he’s okay, but I just thought he was bit of a liability. You’re waiting for him to get booked or sent off, and you can’t afford to do that".
Liability? That's a bit harsh. Shelvey is reckless in the tackle occasionally, and the red card against Man United last season is prime example of that. However, Steven Gerrard was similarly reckless exactly the same at the same age, and I don't recall too many people calling him a 'liability' for it.
In fact, with six red cards, Gerrard is the most sent-off player in LFC history (!), and every one of his dismissals came as a result of bad tackles. Granted, Shelvey is not in Gerrard's league when it comes to talent and quality, but 5 yellows and 1 red since arriving in 2010 doesn't make him a liability, surely?
Liability or not, let's hope Shelvey doesn't come back to haunt Liverpool this evening...
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
