Ross Williams – To be honest, I’m very much on the fence. On one hand, I’d love to see us bring in a new centre-back to replace Skrtel, who was hardly phenomenal last season, but in reality, that would be a really tough ask.
Acquiring a top level centre-half, in this market, is extremely challenging – unless you’re willing to break the bank, which we clearly aren’t.
Keeping hold of Skrtel may seem like a quick fix (and it probably is) but in fairness, he was the mainstay of our defence last season and one of the only genuine veterans we have left in the side.
I’d love for us to pick up a young, talented CB with the quality to replace Skrtel, but am I disappointed that we are retaining a solid, experienced defender for a fraction of the price? No.
Ben Smith – I was chuffed when I found out that Skrtel had agreed a new deal. He may not be to everyone’s liking, and I was critical of him on several occasions during the 2013-14 campaign because of his tendency to make head-scratching errors, some of which resulted in daft own goals.
But a lot of those mistakes were snuffed out last term and he was probably the most consistent performer in an underwhelming season.
Skrtel played 48 games for Liverpool in 2014-15, across all domestic competitions and in Europe, and showed so signs of wear and tear.
If we do play four at the back next season, I’m confident that if Sakho can stay fit, he and Skrtel can form a solid backbone akin to the Skrtel-Agger partnership that was once one of the best in the country.
At a time when other senior players are leaving and the future of Lucas Leiva is uncertain, the last thing we needed was to have to come to terms with an ever-present stalwart leaving the club.
Good business. And well in for turning down Inter to stay, Martin.
Jack Sear – I think Liverpool have done well to hold on to Skrtel. If he’d have gone? Who could the club have got to replace him that’s better?
It’s extremely difficult. It seems that there was a strong interest from Inter Milan, so it’s good to see him sign on.
Last season was arguably one of his best for the club. Let’s hope he can kick on again this coming season.
Dan Wilcox – It’s good news for Liverpool. In a summer where attacking options are clearly needed, and the budget is evidently tight, it’s important that someone like Skrtel is signed up and kept on board.
He’s been the club’s best centre-back recently, taking everything into account, and replacing him would have been a task the club didn’t need to take on.
The rumours of a pay as you play deal look like they were just that – rumours. That would have been a ludicrous move anyway, for a player who has been a key part of Brendan Rodgers’ sides over the last few seasons.
He’s capable of a mishap, of course he is, but there aren’t many defenders that are totally error free. Now just the small task of keeping Sakho fit to regularly partner him.
Oli Marecar – I’m not overly happy that Martin Skrtel has been offered a new contract but I’m not overly unhappy about it either.
Truth be told, he’s not a great defender. People will talk about his last-ditch tackles and his bravery to put himself about but the majority of times, those last-ditch tackles are a result of him being out of position.
However, I would rather he was in the squad than Dejan Lovren and Kolo Toure to some extent. Skrtel has experience and getting rid of him this summer would not have been a wise move as Liverpool are not really targeting a first team centre-back after dishing out £20 million on one last summer.
But now that he has signed a new contract, I would like to see Skrtel partner Mamadou Sakho in defence.
Ste Hoare – I’m not the biggest admirer of Martin Skrtel, I think he’s an average-at-best centre half, especially in a back two. As the centre of a back three, however, he’s really good.
Despite not being his biggest fan, I understand why Liverpool have given him a new deal.
For the second season running, Liverpool are losing a talismanic player (and their top scorer), and look to have a lot of other players who need replacing.
All but one of our strikers from last season were terrible, and the other couldn’t keep himself on the field due to persistent injury. It’s likely that all three of Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini & Rickie Lambert could leave the club.
Added to that, we’ve lost an experienced – albeit useless – right back in Glen Johnson, and the youngster set to replace him; Jon Flanagan, is out hurt.
There’s also potential that Raheem Sterling could leave too. That’s a lot of turnover, especially when most will be replaced.
So, it makes sense to keep some stability in the team and of all the problems Liverpool have, Skrtel is low down the pecking order.
Who is going to score the goals if Daniel Sturridge gets hurt? Who’s creating numerous chances to score? Who’s Mamadou Sakho’s back up? He gets hurt a lot and Dejan Lovren has been woeful.
In an ideal world the Slovakian would be upgraded, but we need to be wary of too much change at once. Like I said on social media today, replacing Skrtel now would be like replacing the dated furniture in your house while the roof is falling in and the pipes are leaking.
Sam Davies – Martin Skrtel has been ever-present at the heart of the defence for Liverpool since joining in 2008.
There’s no denying that we lack quality defensively since Jamie Carragher opted to retire and with Daniel Agger leaving, Skrtel would have been the natural leader in that back four, however this hasn’t been the case.
There’s no doubt that Brendan Rodgers needs to rebuild his defence and at the age of 30 we’ve probably seen the best of Slovakian and defensively we’ve been weak in recent seasons.
If Rodgers had moved Skrtel on I doubt that many fans would have argued, and now would have been the right time.
What do you think of this news, Reds fans? Were Liverpool right to tie Skrtel down to a new contract? Comment below.
