Liverpool FC Forum

[MilitiaRusher]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

[bigmick]

It's a good job players don't read the forums it would destroy them. Saying that "take away his goals and Garcia has been sh!te" is a bit like saying take away Carra's tackles and he's been sh!te. It's daft and silly.
Yes he's lightwieght, yes he gives the ball away too often and yes, he scored home and away against Leverkusen, he scored against Juve (not a bad goal as I remember) and he scored against Chelsea. Actually, come to think of it he didn't score in the final so you may have a point, maybe he is sh!te after all.
This is one guy who needs and deserves time to adapt. He's shown you all lads that he can play so sit back and enjoy, he's going to become a fantastic player for us.

[laza]

It's a good job players don't read the forums it would destroy them. Saying that "take away his goals and Garcia has been sh!te" is a bit like saying take away Carra's tackles and he's been sh!te. It's daft and silly.
Yes he's lightwieght, yes he gives the ball away too often and yes, he scored home and away against Leverkusen, he scored against Juve (not a bad goal as I remember) and he scored against Chelsea. Actually, come to think of it he didn't score in the final so you may have a point, maybe he is sh!te after all.
This is one guy who needs and deserves time to adapt. He's shown you all lads that he can play so sit back and enjoy, he's going to become a fantastic player for us.

Give a player a bit of time to adjust to the premier league, thats bit of a cliche isnt it    ....just joking
Garcia is mercuial type of player who  I think will always do things that make fans groan but least he continue to take the risks and not play safe and when he on song, he is a match winner and you need those sort of mercuial players in your squad

[Ace Ventura]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

Disagree with most of this, Garcia's shooting is the one aspect of his game that is generally spot on, i dont remember many shots that have ended up in the stands.
I do remember strikes from outside the area against Charlton, Juventus and Spurs.
Alonso away to Juventus, on his comeback game won so many tackles and never backed out, i know that wasnt the Premiership but he gave his all.
Nunez oming to terms with the physical aspect of the premiership next season ?
That is the only aspect that he seems to be ok with...technically he has struggled but he gets stuck in, he is not like a spanish player at all...more a first divison engliash player.
Josemi was 2 million not 3.

[MilitiaRusher]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

Disagree with most of this, Garcia's shooting is the one aspect of his game that is generally spot on, i dont remember many shots that have ended up in the stands.
I do remember strikes from outside the area against Charlton, Juventus and Spurs.
Alonso away to Juventus, on his comeback game won so many tackles and never backed out, i know that wasnt the Premiership but he gave his all.
Nunez oming to terms with the physical aspect of the premiership next season ?
That is the only aspect that he seems to be ok with...technically he has struggled but he gets stuck in, he is not like a spanish player at all...more a first divison engliash player.
Josemi was 2 million not 3.

Yes, I can agree Garcia has been scoring some spectacular ones, but you cannot hide the fact that he misses the target very often. Just in the first half of Istanbul, it is clear that he missed a target awfully once.

[Ace Ventura]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

Disagree with most of this, Garcia's shooting is the one aspect of his game that is generally spot on, i dont remember many shots that have ended up in the stands.
I do remember strikes from outside the area against Charlton, Juventus and Spurs.
Alonso away to Juventus, on his comeback game won so many tackles and never backed out, i know that wasnt the Premiership but he gave his all.
Nunez oming to terms with the physical aspect of the premiership next season ?
That is the only aspect that he seems to be ok with...technically he has struggled but he gets stuck in, he is not like a spanish player at all...more a first divison engliash player.
Josemi was 2 million not 3.

Yes, I can agree Garcia has been scoring some spectacular ones, but you cannot hide the fact that he misses the target very often. Just in the first half of Istanbul, it is clear that he missed a target awfully once.

he missed the target badly once ?
That must mean his shooting is poor

[MilitiaRusher]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

Disagree with most of this, Garcia's shooting is the one aspect of his game that is generally spot on, i dont remember many shots that have ended up in the stands.
I do remember strikes from outside the area against Charlton, Juventus and Spurs.
Alonso away to Juventus, on his comeback game won so many tackles and never backed out, i know that wasnt the Premiership but he gave his all.
Nunez oming to terms with the physical aspect of the premiership next season ?
That is the only aspect that he seems to be ok with...technically he has struggled but he gets stuck in, he is not like a spanish player at all...more a first divison engliash player.
Josemi was 2 million not 3.

Yes, I can agree Garcia has been scoring some spectacular ones, but you cannot hide the fact that he misses the target very often. Just in the first half of Istanbul, it is clear that he missed a target awfully once.

he missed the target badly once ?
That must mean his shooting is poor

ok fine. I could have raised more examples. but definatly, he isnt the most accurate in shooting... could you raise examples where he gets his shooting spot on?

[banana]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

Must disagree with most of this too.

Garcia is not a bad finisher, he has scored many good goals from various positions. He has used his left foot, his right and his head. And you discredit his abilities by saying:
"Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities."

Isn't this just a proof of how important Garcia is? His deep runs, his tremendous work ethic, and his excellent reading of the game enables him to get the ball in good positions? I remember with dread all the stationary holding midfielders we have had over the years, without stamina and willingness to make those runs. Murphy and Diao for instance.

Alonso is in my opinion an excellent all round midfielder. When you discredit his defensive skills I must strongly disagree. He positions himself brilliantly and he is excellent at closing down the opposition. His defensive contribution is in my opinion just as good as his creativity and passing. I can't see how you have come to the conclusion that he gives away possession to the opposition? This really puzzles me.

Josemi/Nunez: Both need more time to adapt. Long injury spells have ruined their season. Let's give them next season to show their worth. Also remember that Nunez + Josemi were cheap aquisitions. £ 2 millions combined.  for 2 squad players is a fair trade if you ask me.

[Rafalution]

Uh...... OK felllas he made a mistake but can we get to my point!!!

Are you all happy about the huge influx of apparently only Spanish players, again dont get me wrong, thier players are wonderfully gifted but can they handle the likes of birmingham and blackburn etc. I personally dont think!!! so look at our league performance? YES we had injuries but because of those injuries we brought the best out of the likes of Biscan and Traore not to mention Finnan( Rafa u genius!!) However though we still ended up 39 points behind Chelsea? Liverpool style suits Europe simple. Now we need a formula in the premiership and i dont think more Spanish based players in the prem is way forward?

Last year i was on my hols in Barcelona and watched Bar v Real (fantastic!!) But they just dont challenge,and actually became frustrating no sh*t! Tackles, especially premiership ones, do not exist!! And not to mention our football grounds look like a five a side pitch in comparison to Spains.

The mentallity is simple your allowed to look like Pele with relatively no pressure until you reaach the goalmouth a stark contrast to brum whereby you touch the ball and its a "blo0dy act of war!!!!"

I am totally happy with the influx of players coming in from the Spanish league so long as they are quality players like Alonso and, to a lesser extent Garcia.
I think Josemi will prove his worth over the next year, although I cannot see Nunez being anything more than a squad player, but hey, he didn't cost us anything so we haven't lost a lot on him.

I don't necessarily think it's a case of the Spanish players not being used to the physical nature of the game (La Liga is full of South American players who know a thing or two about physical play. Some of them are much more physical in fact than english players). I think it's just a case that they are bought up playing the game relying more on skill than their physical attributes. That is why you always see continental teams passing their way around physical teams.

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I see Liverpool playing in Europe, and I see the opposition holding onto the ball and making us work our socks off to win it back, I am often envious and wish it was in fact us who are keeping the ball. Often, the types of players who are capable of keeping the ball are the so called less physical players who have a bit more skill and composure. This year we have even seen Chelsea employ players who can keep the ball. I mean, I'd hardly call Robben, Tiago or Duff physical players, however they are quality players with enough sense to keep the ball instead of losing it.
The point I am trying to make is that I don't care where the players come from so long as they are not of the stature of Cheyrou etc. so long as they can play. I would like to see us with a team that keeps the ball better instead of giving it away all the time and I think Alonso is a real step in the right direction in that cause.

Garcia does often give the ball away a lot, but then again there are a lot more players in the team who do that. I think that to single out Garcia for that trait is a little unfair. As a team we give the ball away too cheaply and Garcia probably gives the ball away far less than someone like Baros or Traore. The reason everyone highlights this in Garcia's play however is because I think everyone can see he can be better than he has been with his distribution. He has the potential to improve and I think Benitez will do exactly that with his play next season. For his first season in the premiership he has done well. Next year will be the big one for him and we will see just how good he really is.

We need quality players who can play effectively as a team and keep posession. With the quality will come the ability to break teams down more effectively as we will have more movement as a team which is something we have been lacking for some time in the final third of the pitch.

[MilitiaRusher]

Garcia: Though he himself chipped in a more then a fair share of goals in his debut season (8 Premiership 5 Champions League), he loses the ball far too often. He is lightweight and is easily brushed aside by strong and aggressive Premiership defenders. Hopefully next year we will see him come to terms with the playing style and aspects of the Premiership. Also, despite his decent goal scoring record, he does seem to miss the target a lot of often then usual. Sometimes he is simply being way too ambitious when trying to take a shot, which most likely goes onto the stands. Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities, which I hope he can prove me wrong.

Alonso: Worth the 10 million Rafa paid Real Sociedad for. Passing, both short and long, are sublimal, not to mention the rate of success. However, just like Garcia, he has to improve his physical and perhaps defensive aspect of his game. As we could see, he still does have occasional problems in adapting to the physical style of play in the Premiership. Occaisionally when we play different oppositions, particularly stronger teams, Alonso does not seem to be capable to control the midfield as well, and as a result, giving the opposition lots of possession and the whole team would need to dig deep to defend. This has happened a several times in the Champions League as well, such as the Juventus and Chelsea games away. In both of this games, our team just seemed to be digging to deeply, allowing the opposition much of the possession. In the future, Alonso should get more physical and be more ready in dictating and controlling the play, which we have already seen many times.

Nunez: Included in the deal which brought Owen the other way, Nunez just doesnt seem to be a natural football player (maybe a bit of prejudice here). He just does not look confident enoguh on the ball and does tend to bring the ball into too awkward places, which usually results in simiarly awkward crosses.  Nevertheless, he has made some contribution to our team and could somtimes add more movement and versatility into the right wing. He does seem to be a pretty decent header of the ball, better then some other players in our team. Hopefully next season he can come in terms with the physical aspect of the Premiership, and hopefully mature as a right winger in general.

Josemi: A 3 million worth right fullback from Malaga, he does look uncomfortable playing in the Premiership. Generally, he has not adapted to the pace and aggression of the Premiership style. Becuase of this, he sometimes tries too much, in fact trying beyond his ability, in ambitious tackles, which very often resulted in yellow cards. However, he is not a lost cause yet and hope to see him perform to his full potential, providing Finnan some healthy competition for the right fullback spot.

Must disagree with most of this too.

Garcia is not a bad finisher, he has scored many good goals from various positions. He has used his left foot, his right and his head. And you discredit his abilities by saying:
"Probably his decent goal scoring record simply reflects the number of goal scoring opportunities he had throughout the season (due to being in good positions in the right time), rather then reflecting his geniune goal scoring abilities."

Isn't this just a proof of how important Garcia is? His deep runs, his tremendous work ethic, and his excellent reading of the game enables him to get the ball in good positions? I remember with dread all the stationary holding midfielders we have had over the years, without stamina and willingness to make those runs. Murphy and Diao for instance.

Alonso is in my opinion an excellent all round midfielder. When you discredit his defensive skills I must strongly disagree. He positions himself brilliantly and he is excellent at closing down the opposition. His defensive contribution is in my opinion just as good as his creativity and passing. I can't see how you have come to the conclusion that he gives away possession to the opposition? This really puzzles me.

Josemi/Nunez: Both need more time to adapt. Long injury spells have ruined their season. Let's give them next season to show their worth. Also remember that Nunez + Josemi were cheap aquisitions. £ 2 millions combined.  for 2 squad players is a fair trade if you ask me.

I was not seriously discretting Garcia's finishing ability. But you have to admit he is an average finisher, not a lethal one.

As for Alonso, I get your point. I know he is a very classy midfielder and can be able to dictate the play in many different situations. However, I was pointing out that during the CL games against Chelsea and Juventus away, we were perhaps digging a little bit too deep (maybe caused by Gerrard's advanced role, which he is not used to). Perhaps he could take a bigger initiative to push the team forward a little more so taht we would not allow opposition so much possession.

[Galactico]

rafalution, mate believe you me i'd be over the moon if we were getting players of Alonso's class to. However most of them cost around 20mil........ with the exception of Alonso, who by the way, if he wasnt purchased by us last year his value would be at least 20-25mil NOW. If your going to spend 2-3 possibly the 5-7mils on Spanish players...... it will take forever for them to adapt. For god sake Arsenal spent 19mil on reyes ...set the world alight NO, Veron...D0g sh1t...Yes he came from lazio, but believe u me, he'd be a god in Spain as in italy same with the likes of Crespo.....Oh and wait for it FORLAN.. that is almost a combined total of  80 Million well spent mate bloody hell Militiarusher, i suggest you had better get to the blacksmith and start on that armour you quoted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.........Fact all these players quoted have been brilliant, stupendous, awesome in thier respective leagues!!!!!!!!!

You fellas cannot kid yourselves that the premiership and most of the northen leagues are entirely different to the southerner leagues.... . Believe you me there are exceptions to the rule, but you have to get lucky as Manure payed the price!- I dunno maybe you can bemoan me, and i guess we'll probably come to the conclusion that it has to be the weather!!!

For god sake i dont want us to spend 20 mil on a certain individual that is NOT proven in the prem- Rooney cost united 25 mil proven player, Ruud proven player, Rio, despite being a crack-head proven player. SWP is he proven? he's making sure Becks stay's on his toes!!

[neilE]

Up to now, in my opinion anyway, Rafa has gone for Spanish players who look to him like they can play in our league - as has already been pointed out Josemi is more likely to get done for assault than to come up with "latin touch". Garcia charges around the pitch for 90 minutes, and yes, he does give the ball away, which the continentals are supposed to never do. Alonso is just class, and Morientes was what the Spanish called an "english" centre forward. I don't think Rafa will be spending any money on players who he isn't sure can cut it on the Prem

[Jari's mullet]

Garcia needs to cut the fancy stuff out in defensive areas.  He has been fortunate to get away with a few errors that might otherwise have been costly.  However I think 13 goals in his first season is a good return.  Someone suggested that his goals were down to him being in good positions at the right time rather than his genuine goal scoring ability.  Well I thought movement and being in good positions in front of goal was part of the genuine goal scoring ability?

One thing that has impressed me with Alonso other than his obvious passing ability, is that he is not afraid to get stuck into a tackle, likewise with Garcia (although similar to Josemi, timing can be an issue).  The only good aspect of the 1 nil defeat by B'ham at Anfield this season was seeing Alonso and Garcia both take it in turns to hack Robbie Savage.

Nunez hasn't impressed me so far.  He strikes me as an honest player rather than a spectacular one.  He doesn't appear to have any tricks in his locker to get past players out wide.  He seems to be of the breed that just kick the thing in a straight line and then just charge.  Hopefully he will improve next season.

Alonso prevents us from surrendering the ball too easily to the opposition.  Next season we need to retain the ball more.  I am a huge Stevie G fan but the only slight criticism I can make of him, is that he tends to look for a long, killer ball too often, which when they go astray on occasions can hand over possession a little too quickly.  Although I think part of that has been in the past (well certainly last season) a lack of confidence in his own team mates.  Alonso's choice of passes just seems to be spot on, it is frightening to think how good this kid is going to be when he matures because at the moment he is class

[Cool Hand Luke]

- I never said that Garcia had a bad season.

- Garcia is not an out and out striker.

- It doesn’t take player a whole season to adapt.


I never said that Garcia had a bad season or is a bad player. My point is that in the roles he has plays (midfielder or off the main striker), goals are not the only contribution he should be making. Someone like Michael Owen plays as an out and out striker and as a goal scorer so he is mainly judged on his goals. Garcia needs to be judged on other things as well such his passing and involvement in goals and when he plays in midfield, his defending.

Even someone like Michael Owen playing as an out an out striker would be expected to lose the ball less and assist more goals.

My original point was exaggerated by others, I wasn’t solely concentrating on how many goals he has scored, I was talking about the rest of his contribution to the team, which to be honest is very little, often he is coaster and we are carrying him.

I am not saying he is a really bad player, or a blunder of a signing, I am just saying some people have got carried away with how good he is, because his goals have smoke screened a lot of his other deficiencies this season.

[115-1073096938]

As for Alonso, I get your point. I know he is a very classy midfielder and can be able to dictate the play in many different situations. However, I was pointing out that during the CL games against Chelsea and Juventus away, we were perhaps digging a little bit too deep (maybe caused by Gerrard's advanced role, which he is not used to). Perhaps he could take a bigger initiative to push the team forward a little more so taht we would not allow opposition so much possession.

against Juventus?

Were you watching a diferent game then? He was second only to Carragher on the pitch. Injured for 5 months then comes in and put in an unbelievable performance. He dictated the whole game.