Liverpool FC Forum

[Bad Bob]

I must admit I'm very annoyed with how this whole thing is being handled.  Regardless of whether you rate Alonso as one of our very best players or consider him to have been off the pace these past few seasons, I don't think anyone can argue that the lad is anything but a consummate professional, a class act and a great servant of Liverpool Football Club.  No matter what happens, he lets his football do the talking and just gets on with things.

And how do Rafa AND Parry repay him?  By spending the better part of the last 3 months chasing after another CM while making it crystal clear that Xabi's surplus to requirements--according to some reports, without even the courtesy of telling him to his face. 

And if that weren't enough of a slap in the face, we stick a price tag on him that prevents the one move that he could actually warm to, while apparently hawking him to a bunch of other clubs he's got no interest in joining. 

And what happened when none of those deals came off?  Did Rafa work to mend fences and welcome Alonso back into the fold?  Did he bollox!  Instead, he's given a bunch of mealy-mouthed comments to the press about how it's great that such a quality player is staying but that, for the right price, he's actually still for sale and that that other bloke he's been trying to sign is still the apple of his eye.

And, then there's the final indiginity.  After a summer's worth of attempts to both buy Barry and sell Alonso seemed to finally come to nowt last week, Rafa opts to play Xabi in Liege.  Surely, by cup-tying him, then, the gaffer was making an unequivocal statement that Alonso was no longer for sale and that the Barry move was off?  Not so much.  Several comments to the press over the last few days make it clear that Rafa is more determined than ever to sell Alonso and bring in Barry.  But by cup-tying him he's made it exceedingly unlikely that a team will pay anywhere close to what we've valued him at all summer.

So at the end of it all, Rafa, Parry and whoever else has had a hand in this debacle have set up a situation where we probably have no choice but to sell Alonso at a cut price.  Not just because Rafa still insists on signing Barry and needs the money but also because even a loyal professional like Alonso isn't naive enough to stay somewhere he so clearly isn't wanted.  It'll be a cut price because we've cup-tied him and have also made no secret about needing to raise any money we can to get Barry.  If I were Arsenal or one of the top Italian or Spanish teams, I'd be on the blower right now negotiating a 10 million pound transfer with Parry.  What a bargain he must seem: a quality player and top professional who's now especially motivated to leave a club that has made no secret that they're desperate to sell him.

Mark my words, we may come to severely regret not selling him to Juve for 14 million.

The mind f.ucking boggles.

[Simari]

This and there's another BS article on Soccernet re: Alonso's future in doubt (Aug 17th).

Both players are cup-tied, we won't pay 18m now and no-one will pay for Alonso's asking price. Trust the English papers to bring up OLD stories just to unsettle the team.

The media in this country is quite appalling. I'm sure they get some satisfaction from it ... but it is in poor, poor taste. It's like flogging a dead horse.

[puroresu]

I must admit I'm very annoyed with how this whole thing is being handled.  Regardless of whether you rate Alonso as one of our very best players or consider him to have been off the pace these past few seasons, I don't think anyone can argue that the lad is anything but a consummate professional, a class act and a great servant of Liverpool Football Club.  No matter what happens, he lets his football do the talking and just gets on with things.

And how do Rafa AND Parry repay him?  By spending the better part of the last 3 months chasing after another CM while making it crystal clear that Xabi's surplus to requirements--according to some reports, without even the courtesy of telling him to his face. 

And if that weren't enough of a slap in the face, we stick a price tag on him that prevents the one move that he could actually warm to, while apparently hawking him to a bunch of other clubs he's got no interest in joining. 

And what happened when none of those deals came off?  Did Rafa work to mend fences and welcome Alonso back into the fold?  Did he bollox!  Instead, he's given a bunch of mealy-mouthed comments to the press about how it's great that such a quality player is staying but that, for the right price, he's actually still for sale and that that other bloke he's been trying to sign is still the apple of his eye.

And, then there's the final indiginity.  After a summer's worth of attempts to both buy Barry and sell Alonso seemed to finally come to nowt last week, Rafa opts to play Xabi in Liege.  Surely, by cup-tying him, then, the gaffer was making an unequivocal statement that Alonso was no longer for sale and that the Barry move was off?  Not so much.  Several comments to the press over the last few days make it clear that Rafa is more determined than ever to sell Alonso and bring in Barry.  But by cup-tying him he's made it exceedingly unlikely that a team will pay anywhere close to what we've valued him at all summer.

So at the end of it all, Rafa, Parry and whoever else has had a hand in this debacle have set up a situation where we probably have no choice but to sell Alonso at a cut price.  Not just because Rafa still insists on signing Barry and needs the money but also because even a loyal professional like Alonso isn't naive enough to stay somewhere he so clearly isn't wanted.  It'll be a cut price because we've cup-tied him and have also made no secret about needing to raise any money we can to get Barry.  If I were Arsenal or one of the top Italian or Spanish teams, I'd be on the blower right now negotiating a 10 million pound transfer with Parry.  What a bargain he must seem: a quality player and top professional who's now especially motivated to leave a club that has made no secret that they're desperate to sell him.

Mark my words, we may come to severely regret not selling him to Juve for 14 million.

The mind f.ucking boggles.

totally agree.  The player has been treated with no respect at all.  He could go to our rivals Arsenal for £10mil for instance all because 1. we refused an offer from Juve and 2.  The player most likely feels like his been treated so bad that leaving to join a club like arsenal will benefit him more than it benefits us (even though he loves his club). 

If its true that the club got so desperate and started to offer him out to clubs that alonso would never of even thought about joining then I'm surprised it took the player so long to tell the manager he wants out.

[puroresu]

This and there's another BS article on Soccernet re: Alonso's future in doubt (Aug 17th).

Both players are cup-tied, we won't pay 18m now and no-one will pay for Alonso's asking price. Trust the English papers to bring up OLD stories just to unsettle the team.

The media in this country is quite appalling. I'm sure they get some satisfaction from it ... but it is in poor, poor taste. It's like flogging a dead horse.

but I wouldnt be surprised if alonso has told the club he wants to leave.  its not like the manager has made him feel wanted.  up till last week the manager was still talking as if the player should of been sold by now if he had his way.

[Simari]

That was up until last week - it's all done and dusted now. No one's going anywhere. Yet, the media will release articles today and for the next couple of weeks assuming that there is breaking news of some sort to follow.

Up until both players didn't play in Europe, it was a different matter. Some of the quotes that have been attributed to Benitez after the Sunderland game, did not happen.

Soccernet, for example, got the first part of the quotes correct, then added quotes about Xabi as if he'd said them right after the game. Benitez has never publicly said what the article claims re: Xabi and definitely NOT after the Sunderland game.

(Not successful at linking the article, but it's on the Soccernet front page now)

This is no way condoning the handling of Xabi, because, in any case - the club have not treated him with the respect he deserves

[hello_red]

Bit wierd this whole Alonso thing. Im a bit worried about some of the stories being put about by some news paper but it does seem to be the more uninspiring papers doing the talking.

They know any talk about Liverpool will sell papers as we are hot news as of late due to 'board room bust ups' and 'transfer nightmares' so I take everything with a pinch of salt.

But I do think something is going on behind the scenes, but it wont be as bad as everyone is making it out to be.

[Rush Job]

Negotiating transfers in and out is PARRYS job, i should think Rafa is as p!ssed off as anyone at the way this has dragged on since the buck stops with him.

[Reg]

Negotiating transfers in and out is PARRYS job, i should think Rafa is as p!ssed off as anyone at the way this has dragged on since the buck stops with him.

Dont forget Parry also represents the wishes of the owners. For a guy who has already pi$$ed off the owners to the extent of demanding his resignation, I'm pretty sure his actions of the last few weeks 100% reflect their instructions. Its easy for Rafa, the media and fans to take a pop at Coco, but in fact he's in an impossible position of being unable to keep all people happy.

[Redman in wales]

various sources are running with this, but this quote taken from 365:


BARRY BID LEAVES ALONSO FUTURE IN DOUBT
Posted 17/08/08 13:58EmailPrintSave


Liverpool's summer-long pursuit of Gareth Barry remains top priority for manager Rafael Benitez, but Xabi Alonso's standing in the Anfield pecking order looks less certain.

Alonso was originally tipped to make a £16million move to Juventus in the close season but when that fell through, Liverpool's Premier League rivals Arsenal moved into pole position for the Spain international's signature.

But with Barry still very much an Aston Villa player - he played and scored in their UEFA Cup qualifier in Iceland last week to rule him out of the Champions League group stages - Alonso remains on Merseyside.

Indeed, despite falling somewhat out of favour with Benitez, it was Alonso's second-half introduction in place of the ineffective Damien Plessis at Sunderland yesterday that roused a lethargic Liverpool to a 1-0 victory in their league opener.

Compatriot Fernando Torres will rightly take the headlines for his fierce, swerving drive in the 82nd minute, but it was Alonso who fed him the ball to cap a galvanising cameo which dragged the Reds back into the game.

Benitez insisted the midfielder started among the substitutes because of a niggling injury, but left the door firmly open for any potential suitors.

"Xabi has had a dead leg so we had to protect him," said Benitez.

"At the end of the game Plessis was injured too so we had to change. We knew Xabi was only maybe 80% of his ability so it was to protect him.

"Xabi is our player and he is playing well. If he continues to play well I will be really pleased. But it doesn't matter if you have one good player and you need another one, you have to keep the balance of the team."

Elaborating on the possibility of letting the European Championship winner go, Benitez added: "I explained to him why I needed money for signing other players.

"He can understand if you have (Javier) Mascherano, Lucas, Steven Gerrard and then Plessis, you have four other midfielders and maybe you can sell one player."

Benitez admitted that cashing in on Alonso would leave the club in a better position to invest in an unnamed left-footed Englishman - and it scarcely takes a detective to finger Barry as the target.

Despite the 26-year-old Spain star's pedigree, it seems Barry's versatility and nationality, with UEFA still looking to enforce a minimum number of homegrown players on European clubs, are of the utmost importance.

"When I was first talking with Xabi (about a transfer) we needed money. After these months it is not a question of money. We would have to have a massive offer because Alonso is a great player.

"But if we sell one or two players we have enough money to bring in one more good player.

"Don't forget we will need eight British players - and the left-footer we were talking about can play in three positions too."

Ironically, the former Valencia coach had only just finished fending off questions about his own future on Merseyside when Alonso's was called into question.

Newspaper reports over the weekend claimed he had been on the verge of resigning as Anfield boss in his frustration over the Barry deal and the ongoing boardroom problems involving co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett and chief executive Rick Parry.

He moved to reaffirm his "100% commitment" to the club but his revelation yesterday that he been in contact - and agreement - with Hicks alone, suggested all is not running smoothly behind the scenes.

"I have the support of at least one of the owners," he commented. "I sent emails to all of them, but he [Hicks] was clear we had the money."

Defeated Sunderland manager Roy Keane was unfortunate to see his side take nothing from a game in which they had matched, and bettered, their opponents for long spells.

But despite his disappointment, the Irishman was pleased with the efforts of a new-look side which included four debutants.

"We have to take this on the chin but performance-wise I am pleased. We had one or two chances and when you play the big boys you have to take those chances," he said.

"Last year when we played a team like Liverpool I hoped we'd get a result. When I woke up before this match I believed we would and that's the progress we have made.

"I think Liverpool will have got on their bus and been glad to see the back of us and that's a good sign."

[stmichael]

Under no circumstances whatsoever should we sell Xabi to Arsenal. I am all for supporting the manager but it should just be club policy not to sell to the top 3 end of story.

[flamingpoe]

saying xabi is leaving i dont reckon he will but saying about the papers in the mail on sunday ( middle of the paper ) we have our football section we got the main middle page its title is "thank god for torres" the last paragraph is this - "(roy) keane intends to have one last look at the transfer market himself over the next fortnight. But it will be at liverpool where some of the most spectacular deals are yet to be done" also near the start of the artical it says "benitez last night said" i have been on the phone with tom hicks and the money is there , and there will be even more if one players leaves, the liverpool manager left no doubt that it was alonso who was about to be shown the door, so that his fellow spaniard can finally move for "the player we need for the left hand side of midfield" - simple code for barry"........but he isn't a left sided mid so could he be talking about some 1 else?!

[Reg]

You seem completely unable to write in the english language. Are you from Borneo?

[RedBlood]

So at the end of it all, Rafa, Parry and whoever else has had a hand in this debacle

The Papers

[RedBen]

Benitez admitted that cashing in on Alonso would leave the club in a better position to invest in an unnamed left-footed Englishman - and it scarcely takes a detective to finger Barry as the target.

This rules out Joe Cole, unless he has been training a lot on his left foot... 

[SupitsJonF]

Xabi is playing great right now, before I was unsure on the transfer but now it is looking like a worse deal then before.  I really hope Rafa actually BELIEVES we NEED Barry instead of just trying to sign him for his ego.