Liverpool FC Forum

[GOAT]

St. Michael, I am a relatively new poster her but not new to Football analysis.....

Your original raises some eyebrows to me, as you are suggesting that Xabi Alonso's performances should run like clockwork, like when a clock moves from 2pm to 3pm and strikes on time??

It's poor analogy, the ability of someone like Xabi is that, he does show the passing ability of being accurate and clever, but when he has an average performance in the team, that is the disadvantage of being a human being. You cannot turn it on for every game.

I actually think Sissoko is a better allround midfielder, and would play him in the centre with Alonso OR Gerrard, not both. as they offer pretty much the same.

ALonso is not the complete article and can improve.

In other words we could leave him out, and still do just as well.

The players who really matter, are the players you leave out, and it shows!

Sissoko can do Alonso's job, and better, NO PROBLEM!

Go back to the lame player nicknames, lad...this analysis lark ain't your cup of tea. 

hahahahaha "Dagger Agger"

Ah yeah that was him wasnt it! PMSL!    Bloody lame tw.at, someone ban him

[Espionage]

I thought that I would drag up this thread as there has been alot of talk about Alonso in other threads, and I think that its an interesting topic.

Xabi Alonso hasnt been in the best of form lately, he has still been playing well and I think that he played great against Chelsea, but he has still not been as good as he was last year.  Lets hope that changes soon as IMO he is the most important member of our team atm.
Dispite what some other people may think, I believe that Rafa is actually constructing a team that revolves around Alonso.  He is the player that I think we would miss the most if injured (and it worries me that we dont have anyone else that can play his position, Zenden?). 

The reason why we have that holding midfielder is because we bring our full-backs into the attack so much.  Whenever the fullback comes forward (if they are playing on the same side as Gerrard), Gerrard reacts and changes into a free role and Alonso reacts and stays more defensive.  This is basic tactics across all sports: instead of having 1 person run 10m, you get 3 people to run 3m each.  This not only makes more sense tactically, but confuses the defense while it seems players are changing positions all the time. 

In his positition you have to watch the full-backs, and if one of them goes forward then you have to realise that its your responsibility to defend if the other team counterattacks.  Taking that into account you still need to make an attacking impact on the game aswell.  Think about how much Riise and Finnan used to go forward last season, the only reason why they could do that was because they didnt have to worry as they knew that they could go forward whenever they saw an opening because Alonso would always watch their back.
Watch Alonso next game, he has the thinking-man's position.  He does all the things that 90% of people never realise.  When other people make runs, he has to make those crucial minor adjustments to make sure that if we lose the ball we dont leave our CBs stranded.  He enters the attack but is never too commited that he cant help out our defense.   Think back to last season, how many times did you say to yourself, who made that tackle? when the other team counterattacks.
And how often you were suprised to see Alonso get up? Somebody said in another thread that he was near the top of the most active tackler last season, and that doesnt suprise me.

When thinking about dropping Alonso think about this:
Our fullbacks are used to going forward whenever they want, them going forward gives our right and left sided midfielders the ability to cut inside (crucial to the effectiveness of Gerrard's game).  Who would you trust in that holding role to allow our fullbacks the freedom to attack whilst still making an attacking contribution?

Nobody in our senior squad comes close.  We could change the structure of our midfield but then we would have to change the structure of our defense aswell.  So IMO we need Alonso, he is the one player that we really cant do without.

Hopefully Jack Hobbs continues to show promise in this position because from what I hear, he is being groomed to provide competition/cover for Xabi.

[account deleted by request]

I think that one of the reasons Alonso hasnt looked as good lately, is the high line the defence have taken. I noticed about April last season that the defence was taking a higher line both home and away than previously.

While no doubt defensively this has proved a success, when Liverpool have possession it has forced Alonso to either step forward as well ,becoming an easier target for the opposition midfield ,or stay closer to his defence, making it easy for opposition attackers to challenge him.


Against PSV and again against Chelsea, Liverpool played a deeper defensive line( perhaps due to pace of opposition strikers?) and Alonso seemed much more comfortable in posession. If Liverpool play this high line, Alonso needs someone to step up from the defence to play a simple pass to, enabling him to get his head up before the ball is returned to him.

Riise did this for the latter part of last season, unfortunately no-one has taken the role on since his injury.

[66-1112520797]

After watching the Chelsea match I think Xabi is starting to find his form, his passing was waywards at times and exquisite on others. But his breaking up of the play was exceptional, and his positional sense was good too. He's a very intelligent player what he lacks in pace and sometimes stamina he makes up for in his brain. He seems to of learnt one of Hammans great traits, in when to foul an opponent (subtley) who's on the verge of a counter attack.   Its good to see him coming back to form and he will turn out to be a very important part of the team in there strive for success.

[48-1119859832]

Xabi needs to be dropped, we can't afford to give starting line up places to players who aren't on form. I'd much rather have Zenden in the middle at the moment than Alonso, that's saying something.

[Sabre]

Xabi needs to be dropped, we can't afford to give starting line up places to players who aren't on form. I'd much rather have Zenden in the middle at the moment than Alonso, that's saying something.

That's saying something, not explaining it.

Can you tell me what mistakes did you see on Alonso to claim that? I remember a couple of overhit balls in the beginning of the match but I didn't see him out of form nor sh!te.

[48-1119859832]

He's been off par all season, he had a decent game against Hafia Maccabi but apart from that he's not played as well as he can. Maybe I'm expecting too much from him, but he's been poor. His passing is off and his defensive capabilities haven't been up to sratch.

[66-1112520797]

Xabi needs to be dropped, we can't afford to give starting line up places to players who aren't on form. I'd much rather have Zenden in the middle at the moment than Alonso, that's saying something.

Granted he started the season well out of sorts but from the games I've seen this was one of his better games and he actually had a decent game at Chelsea and I think he's getting better.

Tell me, was he some sort of liability on Sunday, what did he do wrong ?

OR

After reading all your posts recently either your trying to be controversial or just an attention seeker.

If its the last sentence I'll just carry on ignoring you in that case.

[Hotrod]

Anyone who thinks dropping Alonso is an idiot, but to drop him for Zenden thats the dumbest thing I ever heard maybe we should also drop Gerrard for Diao.

Back to Xavi I also think his start to the season (bar the Chelsea game) has been average. But Alonso can do one thing that Gerrard and Sissoko will never be able to do he is able to control the tempo of the game slow it down or speed it up beacuse of his wide range of pasing. Rafa loves goin on about tempo and for me I see Alonso as the player that can control the tempo of the game better than anyone.

[stmichael]

I'd much rather see the team built around Alonso than Gerrard. With his range of passing and ability on the ball he's the perfect player to dictate the pace of the game we play.

With him as the focus you can do what you like with the attacking players around him similar to the role Guardiola used to play and the likes of Pirlo plays now.

That probably means 4231 is the best formation away from home because it allows space for Sissoko to act as enforcer but at home you could take your pick of formations.

[7_Kewell]

Anyone who thinks dropping Alonso is an idiot, but to drop him for Zenden thats the dumbest thing I ever heard maybe we should also drop Gerrard for Diao.

lets build a team around Diao!  Preferably one that is required to empty bins and wash up cups in the canteen 

[Lando_Griffin]

I see a certain someone is chatting sh*te again.

Alonso, as I said before, is our most important player.

If you can't see that, I suggest you watch tiddlywinks or something, as football is not for you.

Although he had a dodgy start BY HIS OWN STANDARDS, he was still a better bet that Zenden, and his defensive ability hasn't been lacking at all.

EVen when his passing is irratic, his defensive play remains superb.

[Bad Bob]

The rumours of Xabi's demise have been greatly exagerrated this season.  Alonso has not seemed to be playing up to his usual standard but I expect that's because too many people see him as a one-trick pony who sprays brilliant Hollywood balls all over the park. 

In fact, Xabi's key role is shielding the defense and setting the tempo for our attack. He's still quite effective at doing both, even if our new attack-minded teams are leaving him more exposed in the middle.  And, even at the height of his powers, his short-ranging passing far outweighs his long-range passing in terms of both frequency and importance to our build-up play.  So, don't judge Xabi solely by the flashy stuff--his most important contributions are far more subtle than that and he's still a vital starter for us.

[Sabre]

If anyone is going to talk about today's Alonso's performance, I'd ask him to forget the goal. I just could see the first half in the pub until they switched off the game, but he did a great job moving the team.

[Fowler_E7]

he was very good today, and showed the Xabi Alonso we all know and love. Even minus the goal he put in a good peformance, spreading passes long and short all over the pitch, and he dictated the pace nicely. He also was a lot more involved today than he has been this season. Theres no doubt in my mind he will be one of our star players again this season.