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Don't worry, this isn't a "He's past it thread". The guy is still the best defender we have. However he's got to remember that defending isn't his only responsibility. He's also partly responsible for us keeping hold of the ball and he failed massively in the part of the game today. Far too many hopeful balls. If there is no option ahead of you, then go back to the keeper and start again. I know he's never going to be Beckenbauer but he just needs to make sure he doesn't cost us possession too much in these games.

He's taken some harsh criticism this season, and his hoofs drive me insane, but if we ever needed a defensive performance from the lad this was it. He was immense and was back to his very best.

Rafael Benítez defends Jamie Carragher as snipers point to diminishing pace | Football | The Guardian Jamie Carragher requires no indulgence. He knows time is drawing in and every error made in the Liverpool defence will be submitted in evidence against him. "I am 32 in January," he said recently. "It will happen one day." But not yet, believes Rafael Benítez. The inevitable, insisted the Spaniard yesterday, remains several years away. The Liverpool stalwart, like Sami Hyypia and so many other illustrious predecessors, is under scrutiny for a sluggish start to the season that reached a nadir at Upton Park last Saturday. Easily beaten for pace by West Ham's 20-year-old winger Zavon Hines, Carragher responded by conceding a 29th-minute penalty and fuelling a debate over the mileage left in his legs. The discussion was not confined to the Liverpool support in east London either with Carragher and Benítez meeting this week to review the 31-year-old's performances and personal data. Benítez's conclusion? One player is not responsible for Liverpool's susceptibility and the man from Bootle is vastly improved on the defender he inherited at Anfield five years ago. "You are a better defender at 31 than at 26," Benítez explained. "When you have five more years' experience you know the other players better, your movements and your position better. If you are physically fit like Carra then you can become a better defender. I knew Carra before I joined the club because we played against Liverpool for Valencia and I think he is a much better player now because of his understanding of the game is much better. "He can analyse the other players. He knows his best position. He can make mistakes like everyone else but he is also a talker, giving advice to the others, which is important. I am not worried if he made an individual mistake. The team has to protect the defenders better and find more balance. That is the key." The positive appraisal does not mask Benítez's concern at Liverpool's defending, however, and the in-depth analysis undertaken at Melwood this week addressed the issues that Carragher's performance at West Ham raised. "He is not more susceptible to pace now. I can guarantee you," insisted the Liverpool manager. "I was checking the data and he is quicker now than he was in August when we were doing the fitness tests. He is a player who is fit, trains really well, has no injuries and takes care of himself. He is in good condition and has a lot of years left to play. "I have been talking to him about his physical condition because everyone has been asking me. His fitness tests are better than the beginning of the season so there is no problem. Clearly, he made a mistake, but it's the team that has to improve defensively. I am not worried about him. We are scoring more goals and conceding more goals so we must find the balance that we have had before." The Liverpool manager refuted suggestions that Carragher's pace is a problem, with the defender's speed always more evident in his brain than his legs. "You cannot really improve your pace," he said. "If you are slow, you are slow, but Carra is quicker now because his game intelligence is better." Nor does Benítez entertain the idea that zonal marking, that perennial bug-bear, is partly to blame for the nine goals Liverpool have conceded from set-pieces this season. "We have made three mistakes from set-pieces, a free-kick wide and two corners," he added. "It's not because of Carra, [Martin] Skrtel or [sotirios] Kyrgiakos. Dead balls are always harder to defend but we need to do better in the air." Liverpool will record a sixth successive victory in all competitions should they overcome Phil Brown's troubled Hull City this afternoon, lest we forget, although Benítez did concede that the introduction of the adventurous Glen Johnson, albeit successful, has left his side more exposed on occasions. "I agree that was the case against West Ham," admitted the Liverpool manager. "The other day it was clear because Hines is a player with pace. Glen was going further forward and Hines was waiting for this. We were a threat in attack, and in the second half Glen was a key threat for us, but when we gave the ball away Hines was free and he is very quick. The centre- backs were exposed and Mascherano was going across to help. But we can manage and organise things a bit better. We must find a better balance and stop the counter-attack. It's not just one player."

But dare not But that attention seekinng Whore Red Nick is prepared to go where others wont and the question is a very simple one. Is Carra passed it? I was worried about him at the end of last season but put it down to fatigue. However his performance level this season seem to indicate that hsi best days are well behind him. So will Carra return to some kind of form or is he passed it Disscuss

I full expect Rafa to play the exact same team as the last two games. -------------Reina-------------- -------------------------------- Johnson---Carra---Skrtel---Insua -------------------------------- ---------Gerrard----Lucas------- -------------------------------- Yossi----------Kuyt--------Riera -------------------------------- --------------Torres------------ Seen someone shouting for Babel to start on the right on another thread. Personally I think he is far better on the right then left, and seems more comfortable there which I think he showed just a little with his appearance in midweek. But I fully expect the team above. Only change would be Mascherano coming in somehwere. 0-2. Torres, Gerrard.