RECENTLY Live4liverpool.com conducted a poll for all our readers to vote for who they think has been Liverpool FC’s Player of the Year for the 2011/12 season.
Readers could vote from a shortlist of 5 selected player’s who were deemed to have stood out in a season that promised so much, delivered two domestic cup finals and the first piece of silverware in 6-years, but ultimately failed to achieve the requirements of challenging for 4th place in the league.
The shortlisted 5 were then covered in detail by L4L columnist Tim Williams, who produced excellent player reviews here, whilst the voting commenced:
Early favourites were superstar striker Luis Suarez and defensive rock Martin Skrtel, whilst outsider Jose Enrique kept early pace, only to tail off – much like his debut season! Voting continued for the last month or so but with the poll closing the final results are in and a clear winner has been revealed!
Capturing over half of all your votes, step forward….Martin Skrtel!
L4L Player of the Year 2011/12 site poll results:
Skrtel: 53%
Suarez: 36%
Agger: 7%
Enrique: 3%
Reina: 1%
The big Slovakian enjoyed his best season to date at Anfield, establishing himself at the heart of the defence whilst weighing-in with a few goals at the other end of the pitch.
Earlier in the season, I caught up with Skrtel, interviewing him at Melwood after a training session. He was in relaxed mood and only too happy to chat to me, whilst (back in November), confirming that the team’s target was to finish in the Top 4, believing that he felt progress was being made at the club, and stating that Kenny Dalglish was “an inspiration”.
He continued answering questions on various subjects covering zonal marking systems, playing at right-back, his lucky number-37 shirt, and who he’ll be supporting at Euro 2012!
JA: With yourself, Carragher, Agger, Coates and young Martin Kelly at the club, there is plenty of competition at centre-back. Do you feel that Liverpool could comfortably switch to a 3-at-the-back system in the future?
MS: I think that is not a question for me but for the manager. But I think it’s only a good thing if he gets, for every single position, more players because then you have to work hard on the training [ground] and in the game as well because only 11-players can play and start the game. So I think that’s good for ourselves [the centre-backs] and for the team as well.
JA: You’ve occasionally been used in a right-back role for the club. How much does this differ from a central role and what, if any, adjustments do you have to make as a defender?
MS: [Laughs] It’s completely different you know because it’s completely different movement and everything so…I think I’ve played two or three games there and I just try to do my best in this position but I think I’m more comfortable in the centre-back [role] so I hope will be there for the future!
JA: You were signed by Rafael Benitez who preferred zonal marking over a more traditional English man-to-man marking system. As a European defender playing in the Premier League, which system do you enjoy the most?
MS: I think the personal [man-to-man] marker works better because you are given your man and you have to stay with him until the finish of the set-play, so I think that system works better than the zonal marking.
JA: You wear number 37 at Liverpool FC. Did you choose that number and if so, were there any particular reasons for doing so?
MS: Yes [smiles]. You know before in Russia [with Zenit] I play with the number-3, and also in the national team I play with the number-3. But when I came to Liverpool Steven Finnan was wearing number-3 so then I made the choice to take 37 because number-3 is my lucky number and number-7 is a lucky number for my girlfriend, so together it’s 37 and I’m quite happy with that number!
JA: Since joining Liverpool FC, in which areas do you feel you have improved most as a player?
MS: I think tactically and also physically because after I came here I had to learn a lot of things…how to play, how to do a lot of things on the pitch, because under Rafa we were working….everyday on the tactics based [approach] so it was helping me a lot. All of the football is much, much stronger and quicker here than Slovakia and also in Russia and so in this way I have had to learn a lot as well.
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JA: Who is the best striker you have ever come up against?
MS: Hmm…there’s a lot of them in England because the Premier League, for me, is the best league in the world with the best players in the world so…I can say Drogba, Rooney or Adebayor, but that’s only three of them! But in every single team you can pick one great player and a big star there.
JA: Martin Kelly, Jon Flanagan and Jack Robinson have all made the breakthrough to the first team squad in recent times. Are there any other youngsters that Liverpool fans should look out for in the future?
MS: Yes, you said those three but also we can say Jay Spearing or Nathan Ecclestone. I think the guys at the academy are doing a great job and we can see if any lads come in from the academy and train with the first team, you cannot see a big difference with them and between the guys from the first-team, so I think every single player from the academy can be, in the future, a Premier League first-team player.
JA: Is it true that you began playing football as a striker or winger? If so how did you come to play centre-back?
MS: Yes! [smiles] Yeah, I started playing as a winger then as a striker but when I [was] getting older and older I was going more back and back! [laughs] At 16 I played for the national team in Portugal and our centre-back got sent-off and another one got an injury so the manager just asked me if I can try to play centre-back, so I tried and I’ve stayed here until now!
JA: Rumour has it you were quite the Ice Hockey player in your younger days, is this true and do you still follow the sport?
MS: Yeah! When I was younger I was playing ice-hockey but now I don’t have time for that because all year I am here and also I think it’s too dangerous to play ice-hockey now! So I just try to watch it on TV and I like this game and really enjoyed it.
JA: At international level, who is your most talented Slovakian team-mate?
MS: Difficult to name. Hmm…if I had to pick just one…maybe [thinks more]…Vladimir Weiss.
JA: You were a team member of your country’s first appearance as an independent nation at a World Cup in 2010. What were your best memories and highlights of the tournament?
MS: It was a great summer and a great tournament for us because it was the first World Cup for Slovakia and I think we done well there. We got through from the group, but then we couldn’t beat Holland so…I think it was a great tournament and I will always remember that.
JA: Which other defenders in world football really impress you and who are your favourite players?
MS: The player I was always looking up to, to be like him was Fabio Cannavaro because, for me he was one of the best centre-backs, so he was the favourite player for me. And if you’re asking now? Favourite player…I don’t know because I don’t have favourite players now – all the big players are my opponents and I play against them so I just look at them as my opponents!
JA: Who is the best player you’ve played with or against?
MS: With…best player I’ll say was Stevie G, and against…Zinedine Zidane
JA: What is the best stadium you’ve ever played at?
MS: Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid.
JA: Finally, Slovakia unfortunately failed to qualify for next summer’s Euro 2012 tournament, so who is your tip to win the competition and who, if any, will you be supporting?
MS: [Thinks] I think Germany are quite strong now, and also Spain – they are the favourite – and also England, so I think one of those three teams will win the Europa Cup. And I think I will support England or Spain because I have team-mates there so, one of these teams.
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he is the right man, he deserve such
Av always praise him as defender n like his style of play
He great in air,lands n stops u at the time n possession
Keep it up Ma boy n plsssssssss stay for me