Liverpool FC Forum

[stmichael]

Ok it's simple.

It's next summer. Liverpool have just finished 5th in the Premiership and went out of the cups at an early stage. You're Rafa Benitez and you've got two faxes in your hand - one from Chelsea offering £40M for Gerrard, and one from Real Madrid offering £25M for Xabi.

What do you do?

[account deleted by request]

I would tell them both to fk off. You dont sell your best players EVER.

[metalhead]

it really depends! Gerrard and Alonso are great players and we really need them! It depends on the player's determination. If Gerrard wants to leave and Alonso wants to stay and fight for the title, so be it I'll take the 40m quid and buy another excellent midfielder like De Rossi or Aimar.or if Alonso wants to leave and Gerrard wants to stay then vice versa. But if the two players are happy and wants to stay and fight for the title, then why sell them? keep them! reject the two bids!

[bigmick]

Take the 25 million for Alonso if he wants to go but don't sell Gerrard.

[Rafa D]

Sell Xabi. No doubt for me.

  Gerrard is a one in a million player, he is special. Xabi is good for sure, but does not posess the talents of our awe inspiring captain. We seem to take Gerrard for granted now, because we are used to his high level performances.
  A club cannot rely on one player, however if Steven left our club the void would be enormous. He is the most vital cog in our Liverpool machine and Gerrard at 75% is our best player still. If we want to consistently challenge, Steven is vital to the cause.

  Coupled with the fact, he would be going to Chelsea and make there squad so much stronger, the title would turn into a one horse race for the next 5 years without a doubt.

Gerrard is Mr Liverpool.

[clik]

put faxes in bin and offer 5m for robinho:)

[red37]

no player should be bigger than the ambitions of the club..unfortunately we dont live in an honest world anymore.
it would boil down to who would feel the greater loss?  the liverpool fans who regard steven gerrard as their heroic talisman who is surely destined for sporting sainthood. or, the measured spanish manager who communicates the very essence of his own mentality through the physical body of his fulcrum on the pitch, namely Xabi Alonso. both vital (it seems) to the cause and both highly talented. but i ask this...what about the fax that comes (inevitably) that asks for the managers services?  which of them then is the more likely to hang around after the event....

id have to hope its steven gerrard. (but the argument for both is pretty close). however, the words integrity, humility, endeavour, stickability, passion and loyalty these days are cheap words indeed. paradoxically though, a high price to attain.  those phrases become increasingly over-optimistic when dealing in a modern world driven by greed and disregard for others.

what is rafa supposed to do?

well the day it comes down to consideration of this hypotheses...is the day to walk out the door, close it behind you and drift off into the sunset. and what a shame there are threads needing to be debated over the subject at all. once upon a time men were men on a football pitch. and the gaffer was largely held in respect.....though given the lap of luxury most of them reside in nowadays and the ease with which they are pampered beyond belief suggests you'd find it extremely tempting to sell the lot, rip it up. and start all over again.

but who has THAT much fortitude anymore, not least the time.

having said that, back in the real world. whether you like it or not, the corporate behemoth must rumble on and the coffers have to burst before you could witness anything like nostalgic outbursts being catered for..sad aint it.

[redmikey]

send chavski a abusive email that goes something like this

" stop send me your bu!!sh!t offers for my captain who is happy here and settle you bunch of wanna great money laden wop run ,greasy ,chavy ,cockney w@nkers, we will do you a swap deal for cech,cole,terry,swp,mikel,sheva and maureen head on a stick" ps kiss my @rse"

and real one like this

" make it 30 million, or 20 plus robinho as you tucked us up on the owen real you bunch of overrated chavski wanna be's, other wise kiss my title winnig with valencia hoop"

[Bad Bob]

That's an evil, evil question St. Mick!

I love both of them and would absolutely be gutted to lose either at this stage.  To hedge, I'd say that if I was Rafa, I'd show the respective offers to both players and gauge their reactions: 

(1) If neither were interested, I'd be satisfied that I was doing my job as gaffer and get on with the task of preparing for a true title challenge next season

(2) If one was genuinely intrigued I would grudgingly consider a deal and use the money to go after a world class RM (because, that's the gaping hole that would be left should either leave)

(3) If both wanted to go, I'd beat them out the door because clearly, I'm no longer the man to lead Liverpool forward if I can't keep either of these two happy and focused on success at LFC!

[jkop]

If 1 had to go i would chose Xabi,dont get me wrong he is one of the best midfielders anyone has clapped eyes on but i prefer Stevie,as we have all seen if need be Stevie can win a match by himself in my eyes Stevie is a better all rounder i mean he can play anywhere on the pitch if needed.

[account deleted by request]

Why sell a player that is a proven great player for the gamble of buying players who may turn out to be cr@p.
i.e.
Houllier in 2002 decides to sell Gerrard for £30million because he can buy Diao, Cheyrou, Diouf AND Cisse with the money. Good idea?

Every player you buy is a gamble, why sell the family jewells just to possibly lose it all on the wrong horse.

Just tell them to fk off 

[crouchaldinho]

i dont like this thread

[Espionage]

As a rule of thumb, i would never sell anything to Chelsea so I would be more likely to take the second one.  But I would never take that either...........

[crouchaldinho]

seriously though, i think Chavski came as close to signing Stevie as they're ever going to last summer. When he made that u-turn at the death, i think Stevie was making the decision to stay here as long as he's wanted.

Plus, if it was me in that position the fans would call for my head if i were to sell him - so id pretty much put that one in the bin.

As for the Xabi offer, it would depend on him, really. Id have to ask him what he thought about it, then make a decision accordingly. I'd keep him if i could, but if he wanted to go, then so be it. At least that way Stevie would go back to CM without leaving a class player out.

[stmichael]

Some people need to chill out a bit.

FWIW I would sell them both then..........

Hire a hitman to take out Abramovic

I'd also take a sperm sample from Stevie G before he left, start a game show called "who wants to have Stevie's baby?"

Only ladies from the greater Liverpool area or true Liverpool fans need apply, thus ensuring our academy has talent for many years to come..