he played under Rafa, Kenny, Hodgson and Rodgers... he must have convinced at least them..
I think Skrtel is a very effective defender, but it's often because he seems to react well to a situation. The best defenders, the "world class" defenders, if you like, position themselves in advance of the play so that they don't need to react as much, they anticipate. Sami Hyypia was an amazing centre back, but you rarely saw him fly in with a last minute tackle. Carragher, towards the end of his career, was similar, making fewer of those late interceptions, and spending more time getting himself and his team mates into the right places.
For me, a player like Skrtel, and I do think he is a very good player, doesn't quite have that ability to read the game, he needs someone alongside him to tell him where to be. If you have that other player, then you can use someone like Skrtel very effectively, but that other player needs to be both aware and vocal.
The fact Skrtel has played so many games is down partly to him being consistent and reliable. You generally know what you're going to get from him. He will make a few mistakes, but he will also pull off the last-ditch tackles often enough to balance that out over a season. What you will find if you look back over his Liverpool career, though, is that there has never really been a long period where he has been the undisputed first choice in his position. When he signed, it was supposed that he and Agger would complement one another perfectly, that Agger's fine ball control and Skrtel's mobility and ball winning would dovetail into an idea partnership. Injuries to Agger were one reason that never materialised into the long-term partnership Rafa was hoping for. But even when Agger was fit, there was Carra, who really became the dominant fixture in the middle after years at full back. By the time he left, it seemed clear that Rafa saw Carragher and Agger as his first choice combination.
It's not that long ago that Skrtel was reportedly looking for another club in the Champions League, with suggestions of an oil money fuelled move to Anzhi, Zenit or another big Russian/Ukrainian side. He stayed and barely got a game. It was a bit of a surprise that he chose to stick around after that, but he ended up back in the side and has rarely been dropped since. Despite that, we've spent a huge amount of money on alternative centre halves. Rodgers, even more than Benitez, has an ideal of footballers who pass their way out of trouble, who move the ball out from the back. Skrtel, in my opinion, keeps playing because he is in form and others aren't, not because he's a natural fit to Rodgers' plans.
Should we end up at a point where Sakho and Lovren get into the side together, gel and hit some form, I think it will be almost impossible for Skrtel to get back in the side. It's not that he isn't a very good player, at what he does, it's just that what he does isn't what the boss might ideally want him to be doing.
Sakho looks much more like a Brendan Rodgers defender. He is more comfortable in possession (whatever nonsense you hear) and plays with his head up, reading the game and anticipating rather than reacting (of course, he can still slide in when he has to) Whether it's a language issue, a personality thing or whatever, I think the plan will be to get him into the side sooner rather than later, and it should be beside Lovren, rather than Skrtel.
