Liverpool defender Daniel Agger recently made the surprising admission that he would quit Anfield if he continued to miss out on first-team action, but with Toure, Sakho and Skrtel all in the team on merit, it's hard to see where he's going to slot in. Anfield legend Phil Thompson believes there's a simple solution, however, and he's floated the option of playing the Dane is a slightly different position.
In his column on the 5-Times website today, Thommo suggested playing Agger as left-wing back in the 3-5-2 formation. He observed:
"You have to make space for Daniel Agger. He’s played left back before, he’s got a great shot, he’s good in the air and he’s a great footballer.
"I think you are assured goals and assists by putting him there [at LWB]. Aly Cissoko has done well but when you have a talent like Daniel Agger you have to find a way to get him in your team".
What a great idea! I genuinely hadn't considered that possibility before, and it clearly makes sense. As Thommo says, €18m-rated Agger has all the attributes to play the role, and one of his strengths in running with the ball, and being comfortable in possession.
The only thing that might be an issue is mobility: does Agger have the pace/stamina to get up and down the field for ninety minutes? The wing-back role requires constant movement and is possibly the most draining role in the 352 formation, and it would require a lot more running that the Dane typically gets through at centre-back.
Still, I'd love to see Agger given a chance there. If Rodgers is going to have 5 defenders in the team every game, then he might as well have as many forward-thinking, ball-player in the team as possible, and Agger is clearly s superior footballer to Cissokho. Plus, he's left-footed, which means he'd fit the role like a glove.
Perhaps Rodgers should give it a go this weekend against Arsenal. Start with Cissokho, but depending on how the game goes, bring on Agger at LWB and see how it goes...?
Author: Jaimie K
In his column on the 5-Times website today, Thommo suggested playing Agger as left-wing back in the 3-5-2 formation. He observed:
"You have to make space for Daniel Agger. He’s played left back before, he’s got a great shot, he’s good in the air and he’s a great footballer.
"I think you are assured goals and assists by putting him there [at LWB]. Aly Cissoko has done well but when you have a talent like Daniel Agger you have to find a way to get him in your team".
What a great idea! I genuinely hadn't considered that possibility before, and it clearly makes sense. As Thommo says, €18m-rated Agger has all the attributes to play the role, and one of his strengths in running with the ball, and being comfortable in possession.
The only thing that might be an issue is mobility: does Agger have the pace/stamina to get up and down the field for ninety minutes? The wing-back role requires constant movement and is possibly the most draining role in the 352 formation, and it would require a lot more running that the Dane typically gets through at centre-back.
Still, I'd love to see Agger given a chance there. If Rodgers is going to have 5 defenders in the team every game, then he might as well have as many forward-thinking, ball-player in the team as possible, and Agger is clearly s superior footballer to Cissokho. Plus, he's left-footed, which means he'd fit the role like a glove.
Perhaps Rodgers should give it a go this weekend against Arsenal. Start with Cissokho, but depending on how the game goes, bring on Agger at LWB and see how it goes...?
web polls
Author: Jaimie K
i would like to see agger given the job of def mid as for all the same reasons as lwb but there is not the same demands for pace and stamina. would also save a fortune if worked and help ease the burden on lucas
ReplyDeleteagger is even more clumsy than skrtel
ReplyDeletespot on mate, no way to put agger as left back
ReplyDeleteNot a chance. Agger is a footballing CB yes. But wing back? Definately not. A CB able to make runs from defence is a greaat asset to have, can relieve pressure and cause opposing teams real headaches, as long as his DM or full back is there to cover and understands that. Ferdinand in his prime was the master. But wing back is a completely different proposition. Let Agger work his way back into his right position if he's good enough. And if someone else is good enough to keep him out, thats only good news forLFC
ReplyDelete4-1-3-2 agger illori henderson lucas can be the 1 gerrard coutinho moses suarez and sturidge.The defence can swap around
ReplyDelete4-2-2-2 would be much more balanced against an offensive team like arsenal..
ReplyDeleteOne possibility is Johnson on the left and Kelly on the right with the normal 3 in the middle. Our best 3-5-2 performance was last match so we should not change anything. Coutinho can come onto the bench and give Cissokho the benefit of the doubt.
ReplyDeleteAgger at left wing back is Sakho at left back all over again. Why do this? Why set yourself up for failure? Agger can get back into the team at centre back, he should not just simply be accommodated and play out of position.
It shows why phil thompson does not manage a club. Agger is obviously not quick enough for the role. Glen Johnson Enrique and Cissokho have the pace for it and agger doesnt. Any1 who thinks agger could play LWB is deluded
ReplyDeleteDo you have the full transcript where he makes that claim that he would quit if he continued to miss out on first team football? I have read the following -
ReplyDelete"If I don’t play. If the manager doesn’t think I’m good enough, that could make me leave Liverpool."
'could' and 'would' don't mean the same thing. He also mentions the managers thinking he's not good enough. So not quite the same as saying he 'would' leave.
Solid defences are built on stability and understanding. Constantly changing the personnel undermines this.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he is mobile enough to be a wing-back. That said, I don't really fancy Cissokho, so it is worth a go.
ReplyDelete3-5-2 is hurting us when we are joint 2nd in the league? Shoots itself.
ReplyDeleteKelly is very rusty at the moment. That said he was played at RB mainly to give him a taste of PL without much defensive responsibility just like Wisdom. They are both basically CBs, so I would like Kelly to replace Toure at some point in the season but not now. For Arsenal away, Johnson-Toure-Agger-Sakho-Cissokho should be our back 5. Cissokho is better than Enrique, I don't understand all this criticism of the lad.
ReplyDeleteHow did you come to the conclusion that he is not LFC material when he has played two games (at least those I watched) and played well on both occasions. He even created a header goal by LS. Cissoko like all the players who are currently playing is there on merit even though he got in as a result of an injury to our Spanish man.
ReplyDeleteI dont think you have been watching us play. If you have then you have been watching more our opponents than us. Open your eyes.
ReplyDeleteReal Madrid tried that against Barca with a more talented person (imho) in the form of Ramos and that failed spectacularly. Think again.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that. Kelly may be tall but when he initially came into the team and had a run of games he proved he was actually a right back. He has the ability to get up and down the flank and before his injury problems he was proving to be a good player for the club. However, yeah, in the future he will take up a central role.
ReplyDeleteWhy would you drop Skrtel when he is in fantastic form? What has Agger done to get back in?
IMO, Enrique is better than Cissokho. They are both very one sided but Cissokho is so one dimensional in that if he can't go down the left 100% of the time he seems to be stuck and not look comfortable. He is decent though and should certainly play instead of Agger at LWB.
Against West Brom at times Gerrard was bombing forward with the ball on a counter attack and looking over his shoulder thinking "where is Cissokho". Enrique has pace and power, and overall more aspects to his game.
I concur.It might work on a computer game but not in real life.
ReplyDeleteNot sure we will see Coutinho yet. Last match vs WBA Rodgers played a 1-2 midfield and it worked really well.
ReplyDeleteArsenal are without Flamini which means Ramsey will be covering for their defence and from what I have seen is that Ramsey prefers to play further up the pitch but when he needs to play a defensive role he is really really bad and hopefully we expose that weakness.
Also with them playing with one man upfront should not cause to many problems for our 3-5-2 formation. Our 3 big CB's should come out on top.
I would stick with the same team that played against WBA. There is no point in changing a winning team.
The only way this works for me is if we are playing a lob sided team and not asking Agger to do the work of a LWB but rather an old fashioned full back. I can't see him outrunning anyone or beating them on the byline. Has anyone seen much of Aggers crossing? Nar not for me, not at LWB. We would lack width on that side. I think he just has to wait for his chance and take it ith both hands when it comes. Toure has been a phenomenon since coming in but can he do it for a full season at his age? Will Skirtle have another dip in form. Will Sakho dip? These are the chances for Agger to get in the team.
ReplyDeleteNope. Totally disagree. Doesn't mean he is left-footed, he is suited to play left-back/wing back. Yes, he can dribble, but if you notice, his dribbles are most unsuccessful dribbles, always get intercepted/blocked. Stamina/fitness is one (which I feel Agger is lacking). But the crucial ones are the ability to whip in crosses and threading in the through passes at the right moment.
ReplyDeleteWe should not field a player to a position just because we need to keep them happy. If players are not happy and not willing to wait, then it's time to sell him. No player is bigger than the club. Perhaps Agger should look at Skrtel, see how he was dropped last season, but kept his head down, without even making any noises to the public, and worked his way back to first team. Agger now only sat out for 2-3 matches and already unhappy.
I agree, keep things the same.
ReplyDeleteLol, to be honest Jamie the fact you think that agger can play a wing back role in itself shows a poor assessment of not only Agger's attributes as a player but the role in itself. Only a situation where no LB is available you'd consider to play agger there as a defensive full back.. His physique, not just stamina, his reflexes, his positioning, His speed over a short distance are not even near what an attacking full back needs.
ReplyDeleteWhy would him come out and make a comment then? His statements are akin to threatening the gaffer or even worst, the club. Agger has got into his head that he is indispensable because he is country's captain, club's vice-captain, and wanted by Barca. He should be brought back down to earth, if he thinks he can simply waltz into the first team.
ReplyDeletewhat a load of bollocks. he was was asked what it would take for him for him to leave liverpool and he pretty much replied that if he was no longer playing and the manager had lost confidence in his ability he could consider leaving. that is a totally legitimate response to the question. what is he meant to say. "there is nothing in the world that would ever make me consider leaving Liverpool"
ReplyDeleteagger nt LB coz he gat no enaf pace
ReplyDeleteI know him before LFC and so on etc. His state of mind while playing is troubling to me and from my experience watching and figuring football he is not the man who will make us a trophy winning team. He is about the same level as Enrique. They are different kind of players though. Right now i rather Enrique to make second choice LB in the hope we will come to develop in that position in long term speaking.
ReplyDeleteMore than that, my comment did support simply giving him the option to show what he can do with time.
Look he has quality in him but he is not fluent for some time now which is what this team needs deeply. Praying for an assist every now and then and after forgetting all the struggling doesn't get us anywhere for some years now. He has to be more fluent. He hasn't played fluent football for some years now.
Enrique is better defensively but he is very frustrating with the ball. Cissokho has better delivery and he will start making those runs once he settles down and has a run of games. Agger for me has proven over the years that he is better than Skrtel who always has a couple of dicey moments every game. Arsenal will make us pay. Here is a stat, we have not kept a single clean sheet this season without Agger in the team. Sakho for me is our best defender at the moment. So I would make a choice between Toure and Skrtel , Toure for me or Kelly. I am really sceptical about Skrtel.
ReplyDeletecome on 1 change is not gonna matter
ReplyDelete2 are always there
I don't think he has the mobility for it, and he isn't the quickest. Wing backs IMO need to be quick, and able to run at full speed for nearly 90 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI am no fan of Skrtel either but he has really played well since coming back into the team. I doubt he would have got a chance though if it was not for Toure and Agger's injuries.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't say he'd leave, Do some proper research, that's the second time I've seen yousay something that simply wasn't true in a week. Get it right.
ReplyDeleteFair enough but I guess you have to admit that Skrtel has not put a foot wrong this season. Done well to save his LFC career and he is so far being rewarded. If we lost last game then maybe I'd consider a Skrtel/Agger swamp, but because last match was our best performance using the 352, I'd keep everything the same.
ReplyDeleteAgger lack the pace to play left back!
ReplyDeleteAgger could play as Defensive Midfielder alongside Gerrard and have Coutinho ahead of them supporting Sturridge and Suarez. Alternatively, Agger can stop throwing his toys out of the pram, get back to working hard and try to dislodge Toure, Skrtel or Sakho at the back.
ReplyDeleteOr we cash in on him and then bring through Llori.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you have any idea what goes into preparing a team for an elite-level professional football match; honestly, making sure everyone gets a turn to play sounds more like primary school than the Premier League.
ReplyDeleteYou missed my point. We are already a very good squad & 2nd in standing. But it's not that we are 2nd for this 352 formation. We had a easier run of games & both MU & MC had a poor season start under new manager, hence we are 3rd now. But i don't think we 'll be able to sustain this run with 352 once we start to get into business end of the season. I don't think, we would have lost 2 points at SJP, had we played 4231
ReplyDeleteI dont get your point about Cissokho not being fluent for years when that hasn't shown in his LiFC games so far. Shouldn't a player be judged on what he is doing for LFC were he has one assist in 3 games matching Enrique who also has one assist but in 6 games.
ReplyDeleteSame could be said about Coutinho prior to Liverpool where he went from bright prospect in the eyes of Brazilians and his club side Inter to playing second fiddle to another emerging prodigy in Oscar and getting little playing time at club level.
Same happened with Sturridge too who even got some strong words from our captain about being in his last chance salon at a big side..
You now only need to look at the impact both Sturridge and Coutinho are having at LFC now so why should Cissokho not be given a chance to rediscover his best and not be written off after 3 games where he has hardly done anything wrong. if you watch his assist in an under 21 match on his comeback from injury you can clearly see he has decent technique but just needs match fitness.
I am not saying he is a world beater but so far he has done well for us and compares favourably to the contributions of Enrique and other left backs in the premier league so why should he be subbed because he was not doing well at Valencia?
I could understand ppl arguing for Agger to be played as a holding midfielder (who are pretty much modern sweepers anyway) but there nothing about his game to suggest that he is suited to playing at full back.
ReplyDeleteModern day fullbacks require a lot more actual footballing ability and agility rather than just defensive ability - the Southampton experiment should be the last time we see centre-backs shifted out to play as full-backs!
Thompson did manage our club to a second place finish though, which is as close as anybody has gotten us to the title in the last 20 years...
ReplyDeleteJust seen Liverpool unfortunately lose to Arsenal. Sakho is such a fabulous technician, lightening fast and arguably the best side way pass in the league one wonders why Barcelona didn't try to sign him instead of the injury-prone Agger who patrolled the back-line during the first games when they conceded so many goals.
ReplyDelete