Liverpool FC Forum

[Alex G.]

When Alonso is injured, Leiva and Mascherano don´t work together because they are the same type of midfielder, defensive.

We need desperately one creative midfielder and Barry is a good option. Even Hleb.

My opinion:

Buy Barry, sell Leiva and call up Spearing.

[Ciggy]

NOTW tomorrow Alonso hands in transfer reqest feck off Bascombe 

[Bad Bob]

NOTW tomorrow Alonso hands in transfer reqest feck off Bascombe 

Right after the match, Chimbonda style?   

[Ciggy]

NOTW tomorrow Alonso hands in transfer reqest feck off Bascombe 

Right after the match, Chimbonda style?   

Im serious BB its just been on SSN WTF is up with this so called red? 
Shitstirring b@stard parrys lapdog, wont be getting no more exclusives once he leaves, oh hang on.....theres always carra to fall back on.

[account deleted by request]

By CHRIS BASCOMBE, 23/05/2009

XABI ALONSO has stunned Liverpool by admitting he wants to quit Anfield.

The Spanish midfielder is ready to hand in a written transfer request.

His agent Inaki Ibanez met Rafa Benitez on Friday to inform the manager of Alonso's wish to leave. And despite the Merseyside giants insisting they do not want to sell him, Alonso's stance will trigger an auction for the 27-year-old.

Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester City and Juventus have tried to buy Alonso in the last 12 months and Madrid will be favourites this time.

But Benitez will start the bidding at £18million and use the cash to try to sign Manchester United's Carlos Tevez.

relationship with Benitez deteriorated during the courting of Aston Villa's Gareth Barry.

A friend of Alonso said: "Xabi loves Liverpool but he doesn't feel he can stay. He has not been happy for a long time and wants to go somewhere he feels he can enjoy his football again."

   ------------------------------------------

If we get Tevez I think it would be a good move, if its just to bring in Barry I think its very questionable what has happened.

[aCe']

this is some seriously bad news here if true... I understand that we probably need to sell a big name in order to bring in the attacking options that we need in order to compete next season but come on now... Alonso is one of our 3 best players in the side... He is an absolutely fantastic footballer and i wouldnt want him leaving for any price...

We need a forward and a winger... of that i have no doubt... The mancs play 4 forwards against the likes of Stoke and Boro and thats why they win the league... we play torres alone upfront... Selling Alonso to bring in Barry isnt going to change our setup... it'll make our midfield weaker and unless we use the money difference to fund 2 world class attacking players (which i doubt) then it would be a bad deal in my books... Why cant we sell Mascherano and Babel and the likes instead...

Im not buying into the whole 'he wants to leave' story.. if he says he wants to leave then its probably because Benitez told him that theyd be considering and accepting bids for him if the price is right....

[Feugo]

wow he's not happy for a long time.. thats weird lol

[destro]

I had a feeling this would happen ( if its true ? ) he knew he was only there because the Barry deal fell through, must have made him feel like sh!t and yet he plays out of his skin ?. Maybe relationships broke down after all that but being the pro he is meant he just got on with the job, now Real have thrown their hat in the ring he is prob thinking now is the time to go. Gutted if he goes, he could so easily have hid away and let the Barry thing affect his performances but he didnt, he played his best for us this season and in doing so has prob helped bump up his transfer fee

[Espionage]

I really hope this doesnt happen. We look so much better when Alonso is in the team. With Gerrard playing second striker, we need someone with a great range of passing to play Torres through from deep.

I dont want Barry instead of Alonso and imo we have to leave Gerrard in the second striker role which would leave us seriously short of quality CMs.

I really hope this is BS

[bigmick]

FWIW I don't believe that we will sell Alonso, simply because it makes no sense from a footballing perspective. In order to improve as a team, you don't by choice sell your best players and hope you can get players in who are even better. Surely the way to go is to keep your best players, and then to get rid of the less good ones and replace them with players who can potentially become one of your best players. It seems pretty obvious to me, and I've no doubt that's the plan.

Now last season, Xabi wasn't one of our best players. In actual fact, he was some way away from that and while he wasn't quite a liability, he was no World beater either. As such, I could understand the manager wanting to change direction. Fortunately for us though, so obvious had been his demise from his first season, that everyone in World football was aware of it, and nobody was prepared to pay anymore than 14 million quid for his services. Now for whatever reason, Xabi has morphed back into the fantastic player he was in his first season, and predictably both his value and the number of clubs interested in him has shot up. It's not hard to see why, he was IMHO the best central midfielder in the Premiership this season (I'm no longer counting the likes of Gerrard as a central midfielder in the truest sense). Given that, I don't think for one moment we would or should sell him.

Just as a footnote, many of us have pontificated over the years about Rafa's man management, whether his slightly aloof style really gets the best out of players. There have been many who have ventured an opinion that he needs to get closer to players sometimes,to use more of the "arm around the shoulder" approach. Having been shabby with Xabi for most of last Summer, this might now be the time to go public with a "I nearly made a huge mistake last Summer with Xabi, I've got no intention of doing so again" statement. Alonso is a great pro as he's shown this season, but he is also a human being. Sometimes everyone needs a bit of loving, it might be time for that.

[112-1077774096]

if it is true that alonso is unhappy it would be hard to blame him, last summer benitez tried to offload him for a player with half his ability. that said though alonso did have a relatively poor season that season, but this season again showed his talent.

I wonder if in fact there is some discontent in the dressing room taking into account the spat on the pitch at west brom (I am not saying the discontent is with alonso, just wondering in general)

[akumaface]

Don't want to see him go but if this is true, I will be satisfied if Rafa able to bring in Silva and Barry to replace him.

[lakes10]

for one i think this is true.

the Barry thing was done so bad i was shock he did not ask to leave right then.

over the last two weeks there has been more talk of Barry coming to the club and for Alonso TO BE SOLD.

Rafa should have taken him aside and told him it was not true but has not.

Barry has had a poor year in my view and has nothing on Alonso.

poor mam managing by Rafaand its not this first time he has got this wrong this year.


(by the way when i post a report from NOW you all had a pop at me, funny how its ok when others do it)

[lakes10]

if it is true that alonso is unhappy it would be hard to blame him, last summer benitez tried to offload him for a player with half his ability. that said though alonso did have a relatively poor season that season, but this season again showed his talent.

I wonder if in fact there is some discontent in the dressing room taking into account the spat on the pitch at west brom (I am not saying the discontent is with alonso, just wondering in general)

you are right there seem to be a problem in the dressing room right now and i think its down to how Rafa see the team next year.
this year has been a time of change for the way we play football, some of our old players feel they dont fit into that way.

Take out making at the back, the new players understandthe way Rafa would like them to play where as our old players understand English football and what works at the back and thats give us a clash, to try to get 2 sets of players to play one game can be hard when you mix old with the new.

look at Sami , he found the new way hard to play and found the change hard.

I also think that some of our older player feel they know what is the best team to put out and are unhappy when they feel they are sent out under par.

going back to last year when we was at upton park, Rafa lost the players during the game, they could not understand what he was asking them to do, this year has been better and results have been better as most of the players now understand what he is asking, they are not sure its going to work and that can been seen on their faces during games that we lost or draw.

[roberto green]

Didn't Rafa only say the other day that he isn't interesting in selling Alonso and he has still 3 years of his contract to go,or is that just to cover himself and put the onus onto Xabi himself to hand in the transfer request?