The same arguments were being had about Carragher here around 2001-2002. I think Flanagan still has time to progress and should continue to be given chances.
I don't see any similarities between Carragher and Flanagan beyond they're both Scousers and played full back at some point. But to assume that Carragher made it because he was given time and to correlate that with Flanagan is a massive injustice to Carragher. He didn't make it solely because he was given time, Carragher was
always going to make it because his mentality and game intelligence are incomparable to most players. Look at how many positions he played before he ended up at centreback. You can't compare Carragher and Flanagan at the same age either, Carragher was already into his 3rd season as a guaranteed starter in a Liverpool squad that was winning Cup trophies and challenging for the title.
He's just signed a new contract, so he's clearly going to be given time to earn his starting place and prove doubters wrong, but that in itself is not a guarantee that he'll make it. I think he's an important part of our squad, and I don't suffer any doubts when I see his name on the starting sheet, and I'd rather see him at left back (when he get's his full form back) than Moreno, but that's more an indictment of Morena than anything else.
I'm still not sure why he was handed the captain's armband, there were 4 other candidates on the team sheet that I would have deemed more worthy, but Klopp reminds me of Popovich (Spurs coach in the NBA) in that he tries things out to test the response of his players, so I'll bow to his greater wisdom.