Are they good enough?

There’s an intriguing series of articles currently being posted on Tomkins Times entitled ‘Should They Stay or Should They Go?’ The aim is to prompt discussion as to which of the current crop of players should be kept and which should be shown the door come the summer.

The problem is, most of these decisions can’t be taken in isolation. For example, it would be easy to say “Sell Skrtel” but what if we don’t sign any other defenders this summer? With Agger’s injury problems and Carra getting closer and closer to retirement, do we trust Kelly, Wilson or Ayala to come in and be as good as or better than the Slovakian?

That being the case, I think the more pertinent question is ‘Are They Good Enough?’ (admittedly it’s not as snappy a title).

Of course, “not good enough” is something we hear all the time and it doesn’t actually mean an awful lot so I’ll quantify. We want Liverpool to be the top team in England and in Europe and for that to happen, they need players who are at least good enough to hold down a place in some or all of the first teams of Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea or even Man City. So if the players are good enough for those teams, they’re not good enough for us.

So here we go... Are They Good Enough?

Pepe Reina
Yes, absolutely. He is the best keeper in the Premiership and would easily displace the current keepers at any of those clubs. We need to keep him but the question is will he be prepared to stay at Anfield after two lousy seasons, five trophyless campaigns and with no European football in any competition looking likely next season?

Brad Jones
Certainly not good enough to be the first team keeper at any of the top clubs but the quality of reserve keepers is generally iffy so it’s not a given that they wouldn’t have him as a squad back up. I never understood why we bought him in the first place. It seemed like a complete waste of £3m and it seems he has now slipped behind Gulacsi as Reina’s understudy. To be honest, I couldn’t give a shit whether he stays or goes but I certainly don’t want to see him in our first team.

Glen Johnson
Yes. Whatever doubts some people have over his defensive reliability, he is after all England’s right back and was coveted by Chelsea when we signed him. I would imagine any of the top teams would be in for him if he was for sale. One to keep.

Martin Kelly
Yes. As good as any of the defenders Man Utd’s youth team has produced in recent years, Kelly looks destined for a career as a top player for club and country.

Jamie Carragher
Hmmm! Tough one. With his age, his lack of pace and his footballing limitations Carra would struggle to hold down a first team place at any of the top clubs. His career is clearly on the wind-down and personally I could quite happily live with never seeing another Carragher back-pass or hoof for as long as I live. He is a Liverpool legend though his reputation has been somewhat marred over the last year or so due to his meddling in club politics. I think he should stay on (if he can keep his beak out of club politics) but for as long as he is an automatic first team selection, our first team will not be strong enough.

Martin Skrtel
On his form since his recovery from the injury sustained at Man City in 2008, he would not get in to any of the top teams. The frustrating thing with Skrtel is that when we signed him, he looked like the next Vidic. At 26, he could still improve but I think the best he’ll ever be is an effective foil for a more cultured partner (the Henchoz to a Hyypia). I guess if there’s doubt then there is no doubt. He’s not good enough.

Daniel Agger
Yes he is good enough for any of the top teams. However, his injury record remains a major cause for concern. We need more defenders of his quality – ideally one or two that can stay fit as well.

Sotirios Kyrgiakos
No. I like the Greek. I really do. I like the fact he’s not very good yet makes himself surprising effective. I like the fact he is an attacking threat from set pieces and very handy against the Stokes and the Blackburns of the Premiership. However, witness the clumbsy penalty he conceded in Braga which ultimately knocked us out of Europe this season. We need a player who can bring all of Kyrgiakos’ good qualities and none of his many bad ones. That said, he remains a great bargain-basement signing by Rafa and will always be assured of a positive reception at Anfield.

Danny Wilson
It’s far too soon to make a judgement. So far, I’ve been very unimpressed but in fairness, he has predominantly been played out of position and in a struggling side as well.

Fabio Aurelio
No. Regardless of his ability, no club with any sense would give him a contract given his injury record. As for his ability, he’s useful but a squad player at best. Rafa was content to release him in the summer only for Roy Fucking Hodgson to resign him on a two-year contract. Says it all really. Prick.

Paul Fucking Konchesky
No! No! NO!!!! Never in a million years. PFK is shit and should NEVER have been signed by Liverpool Football Club. Hodgson is a twat.

Lucas Leiva
I reckon Lucas would feature regularly at some of the top clubs. He’s as good as the likes of Anderson at Man Utd or Mikel at Chelsea and has recently excelled in wins over both teams. As much as I like him as a player, I still would prefer to have him on the bench behind players of the quality of Alonso and Mascherano. When we have that, then we can challenge for top honours again.

Raul Meireles
Tough one. I think Raul would get into the squads of the top teams. After all, Chelsea recently signed Steven Pienaar and Raul is definitely better. I don’t think he is good enough to nail down an automatic first team place at any of the top teams but he’s a useful player for our squad so I’d keep him at Anfield.

Christian Poulsen
[Laughs out loud]

Jay Spearing
Sorry but no. Not good enough and never going to be. It’s always harder to jettison a player produced by our Academy but that isn’t an excuse for keeping one and even using one who will do well to make it as a Premiership player.

Jonjo Shelvey
Don’t know. It was clear that Kenny rated him before his injury and we know that Rafa lined up the signing even if Hodgson was Jonjo’s first LFC manager. I haven’t seen anything to suggest that he is the next Steven Gerrard but if he could be the next Darren Fletcher, he could certainly justify a place in our squad for the next few years.

Maxi Rodriguez
No. It’s clear there is some quality there and the player obviously has pedigree but we just haven’t seen enough from him in a year and a half at Anfield to justify a longer stay. He certainly wouldn’t attract any interest from the top English clubs.

Joe Cole
It’s understood that Chelsea wanted to keep him but weren’t prepared to meet his wage demands. I wish they had. Man Ure weren’t interested but Arsenal, City and Spurs were all linked. I suspect that if we were to make him available, none of those clubs would be interested after his season at Liverpool. I appreciate he tries hard but he is brainless as a footballer and I personally hope never to see him in a Liverpool shirt again.

Alberto Aquilani
Yes. Aquilani is a class player as he has shown in his year on loan at Juventus. With the Old Lady skint, it looks like Juve won’t be able to make his move permanent even for the ludicrously low fee Christian [Penis] Purslow offered them which gives us the option of recalling him or selling him for his true market value. Personally, I expect he will insist on a move rather than returning to Liverpool but given the choice, I’d like to see him playing for us.

Dani Pacheco
How can we know? His reputation is stellar but we’ve never seen him given a chance. People will argue that the lack of time given to him by three consecutive managers is evidence that he isn’t good enough and certainly in his few appearances this year he was unimpressive. However, I would just like to see what he can do with my own eyes before I make a judgement.

Nathan Eccleston
No. Sorry. Forget any idealistic scenarios where an Academy graduate comes good as a squad player. Eccleston is simply not of the required quality.

Milan Jovanovic
No. I can’t see him holding down a place at any Premiership team.

Dirk Kuyt
Yes. At his age, it’s questionable whether any of the top teams would come in for him although I suspect they’d be happy to have him in their squads. Kuyt has been a great servant to Liverpool Football Club and is as strong a contender for our Player of the Season as anyone else. He’s never been what people would call ‘World Class’ and yet has been a regular for Holland’s national team. I would like to think he’ll at least have competition for his place next season but for our sakes I hope that is at Liverpool FC.

David Ngog
Tricky. Is he any worse than Kalou, Bendtner, Owen or Jo? He’s been more or less frozen out since Kenny took charge which suggests the King doesn’t rate him. Certainly he is not good enough to hold down a place in any of the top teams but neither are the four squad players mentioned who are all at those teams. With age on his side, he may yet develop into a decent striker to have in reserve. I’d like us to keep him for at least another year but ideally I’d want us to sign another striker as well. If Ngog is good enough to force his way past Carroll and another striker, good for him and us.

Luiz Suarez
Yes. Already looks a star in the making.

Andy Carroll
Yes. It’s debatable whether he is ready to hold down a place in any of the top teams and certainly unlikely that any would have paid £35m for him, but I’m sure they’d all love to have him as an up and coming player. If he develops as is hoped, he could be one of the Premiership’s star strikers for years to come.

So to summarise, the players I think are good enough to play for the top clubs in England and whom we should definitely keep beyond the summer are: Reina, Johnson, Kelly, Agger, Lucas, Aquilani, Kuyt, Suarez and Carroll. Other players I think we should keep are Carragher, Shelvey,Pacheco, Meireles and Ngog. That suggests out of 12 out of 26 players need to be replaced. Clearly that is a tall order for one summer so the certainty is that some of those 12 will have to be retained and our transition from our current malaise to a team with sufficient quality to challenge for top honours will be gradual.

Personally, if no one I’ve said should be retained leaves, I would prioritise the following in order: 1 winger with pace (ideally for the left flank and Ashley Young would do nicely), 1 left-back to be first choice in the position, 1 central defender (Sami Hyypia Mk II), 1 other winger with pace (to play on the opposite flank), 1 central midfielder (may not be required if Aquilani returns), 1 striker, 1 back up left back (wouldn’t be required if we could get Insua to return although that is highly unlikely). After that, it would be a case of replacing the weaker members of the team in whatever order they can be replaced.

Of course, if someone like Reina or Johnson goes, replacing them becomes the first priority. Who’d be a manager!