Liverpool FC Forum

[NANNY RED]

I fecking hate that Babcombe, exclusive, my a.rse hes not even allowed near Melwood, hes just a s.it stirring little bas.tard. I suppose he had a nice little chat with Xabi over a plate of piella , should of fecking choked on his prawns,

Xabi is more a scouser an a red than what that shi.tehouse is. Im fuming here really fuming

[Number 9]

I fecking hate that Babcombe, exclusive, my a.rse hes not even allowed near Melwood, hes just a s.it stirring little bas.tard. I suppose he had a nice little chat with Xabi over a plate of piella , should of fecking choked on his prawns,

Xabi is more a scouser an a red than what that shi.tehouse is. Im fuming here really fuming

Oh my Xabi my Xabi!!

Relax Nan,its all just bulls'hit...it fecking better be!!

[NANNY RED]

I fecking hate that Babcombe, exclusive, my a.rse hes not even allowed near Melwood, hes just a s.it stirring little bas.tard. I suppose he had a nice little chat with Xabi over a plate of piella , should of fecking choked on his prawns,

Xabi is more a scouser an a red than what that shi.tehouse is. Im fuming here really fuming

Oh my Xabi my Xabi!!

Relax Nan,its all just bulls'hit...it fecking better be!!

Do you know what Barry i remember years ago , i loved Ian Callaghan for football reasons the same as Xabi. An when his legs were running out of gas it was breaking my heart because i knew his time was coming to an end , couldnt accept it though an i argued with loads at the match that he could still do a job for us, Thats how me heart is feeling now,because i know hes one of the best players weve got an it will be criminal if we dont try an hold on to him.

[Sabre]

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.

I still remember Bascombe writting for the fans and trying to make us cry when he left to NOTW. What a mercenary.

Now I'll share some info, even if it embarrasses me a bit, as of why I think Bascombe's story is bóllocks.

My town is small, and we know each other. I know who are Alonso's closest friends, and their policy is to protect Xabi, and when he's in San Sebastian remember the old days, forgetting about football, and enjoying. They're good, healthy people. They're true friends of him, and they've been friends way before he was a professiona footballer, from school days.
They'd never tell anything like that to Bascombe or a journo, they'd talk to fúck off a la LeonMc!!

Last summer I met a girl who claimed to be a Liverpool supporter and she told me that there were a Liverpool supporter group in the town. I got excited because it's always nice to share your redness with others, and wanted to know more. Only to discover that they were Alonso groupies, and only to discover the president of this groupies is a Real Madrid supporter actually. Embarrassing, I had to restrain myself not to insult them.

Since then I've met other true reds, but they're not part of that bóllocks.

So I'm pretty certain Ciggy that "A friend of Xabi" never has said anything to Bascombe or NOTW. A Groupy of Xabi might have said that, but a groupy and a friend is not the same thing. The groupies would be more than happy to see Alonso in Madrid and ask him tickets to go there! all they want is photos, making an annual dinner and party with Xabi, asking tickets for free and messing around. They're a embarrassment.

Last summer I spoke to Alonso's daddy, and he never talked about an unhappy Xabi. He talked about a Xabi that wanted to stay. Alonso's daddy takes meals regularly with a friend of mine, so if he wanted to fúck off of Liverpool we should have known something for now.

So I'm 100% certain that this is bóllocks, and that Bascombe is a mercenary of journalism.

[Sabre]

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.

On Rafa's management, I know that many of you have pontificated about that and many other things.

But along the last years what we have seen is how Liverpool has not troubles to keep their best players in the club, while we have seen Arsenal players leaving, and other team's players wanting to leave.

We have seen over the years how Gerrard believes in the manager, and how now he's excelling in his football and not considering to leave. Something that as you know wasn't like that a few years back.

So I think that was just yet another bóllocks point to pontificate about. And even if Alonso left because he wanted to, that would be the exception that would confirm the rule.

Nothing wrong with Rafa's management when we see how our key players believe in the team, and when we see they're not tempted to leave, even when their season is not the best (Mascherano, Reina, Alonso, Gerrard, the key ones).

So I agree to disagree and all that. 

[tubby]

Why are people getting down Bascombes neck? He is not forcing Xabi to leave is he? Even if he is writing shyte does that mean it will happen?

Personally I think Xabi leaving was always on the cards once Ronaldo said he wasn't moving to Real so it's only a matter of how much Rafa can get for him. Hopefully £25Mil.

Could be a farewell to Xabi today.

[Sabre]

Why are people getting down Bascombes neck? He is not forcing Xabi to leave is he? Even if he is writing shyte does that mean it will happen?

Personally I think Xabi leaving was always on the cards once Ronaldo said he wasn't moving to Real so it's only a matter of how much Rafa can get for him. Hopefully £25Mil.

Could be a farewell to Xabi today.

People get to Bascombe's neck for a simple reason, those speculations never help Liverpool Football Club, and they appear before important games or in important moments to unsettle the club.

I'm pretty sure in Manchester and London they'd be happy to see Alonso going for the price that they pay one of their CB any season. No wonder their journos want this happening.

It's annoying because it's against our club and it's annoying because it's more often than not based on nothing, it's mere speculation. In some cases it's based on lies, like this time.

That certainly gets under my skin, it gets me angry, sorry.

As for 25M, if that's what you'd like to get to let Xabi go, don't worry, the Madrid environment knows that it won't be for less than 30. They would never reach beyond that sum in any other year, but there's chairman elections this year and that means that you have to get your names to put on the table. And Madrid has said Xabi is an official name, and when they do, they make the offers.

Marca would be bubbling with stories about ALonso if anything was about to happen. They're a tool of that signing up machinery, and so far the machinery is quiet and only echoing the bóllocks written by Daily mirror or the rag.

[tubby]

At the end of the day if he wants to go he will but to be fair if he does end up going don't blame a journo or even Rafa. Blame the owners that have put him in this situation where we are having to sell a key player to finance other sales.

[NANNY RED]

Blame the owners that have put him in this situation where we are having to sell a key player to finance other sales.

Oh i do blame them Bav the bast.ards an anyone who thinks that by selling Xabi an a few other players to generate millions that there gonna be giving it all to Rafa for his transfer kitty is deluded, Half of that will be going in there back pocket, Weres the tv, money weres the Champions league money

[tubby]

Yeah that alone should be around 50Mil or more.

[aCe']

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.

On Rafa's management, I know that many of you have pontificated about that and many other things.

But along the last years what we have seen is how Liverpool has not troubles to keep their best players in the club, while we have seen Arsenal players leaving, and other team's players wanting to leave.

We have seen over the years how Gerrard believes in the manager, and how now he's excelling in his football and not considering to leave. Something that as you know wasn't like that a few years back.

So I think that was just yet another bóllocks point to pontificate about. And even if Alonso left because he wanted to, that would be the exception that would confirm the rule.

Nothing wrong with Rafa's management when we see how our key players believe in the team, and when we see they're not tempted to leave, even when their season is not the best (Mascherano, Reina, Alonso, Gerrard, the key ones).

So I agree to disagree and all that. 

exception that confirms the rule ?! 


wouldnt put it that way really... you say he held on to our best players... that would be ?? Anyone noteworthy besides Gerrard who lets face it, was going to stay regardless of who the manager was.... Torres only got here last season and pretty much same with Mascherano..

now on the other hand you had players like Keane, Finnan, Crouch, sissoko, Garcia, Pennant, Murphy, Sinama, Cisse, Riise who were all poorly handled by Benitez...

[Sabre]

Luis Garcia reached the Spanish international status under Benitez. He wasn't an international before, he hasn't been an international later.

And the rest of the players you mention they haven't reached their peak after Benitez neither.

Some of them were good players, but you need to be more than a good player to be a regular starter in a club like Liverpool. Players like Keane and Crouch were like this, and they simple are not good enough to play every game as Gerrard is. They were unwilling to accept that fact because they're internationals.

The alternative would have been to fullfil their demands and play them always. But we'd be playing with simply good players.

As for Cisse and Murphy, I don't know, I appreciate the latter, but do you consider them someone to keep here? Honestly? 

Sissoko, ball winner yes, but we got a good money for him and we brought Mascherano, the team was better because of it.

Torres wasn't a world class player before Liverpool. Now he's a world class player. Alonso has grown a lot from his first season where he was still pretty young, and he has reached his current great peak under Benitez. Reina was an goodish keeper who wouldn't dream of being the first choice of Barcelona and Real Madrid, now he'd walk into Barcelona if his agent wished to. Gerrard is in the best moment of his career. Arbeloa was an average player in Spain who costed less than 1 million, now he costs more than 6. Mascherano was underused and anonymous in West Ham, now his value has been boosted.

If you want to deny this, ok, we agree to disagree.

[Bad Bob]

Seems that more than a few people are getting a little carried away with the paper talk here.  We've had Xabi come out in the last week and express his wish to stay and we've had Rafa come out in the last few days and say Xabi's not for sale.  Won't stop people buying into rumours rather than facts it seems.  Where's the logic?

[tubby]

Hopefully the fact that he was on the away kit pictures suggests Rafa definatley wants him here.

[andy_g]

Seems that more than a few people are getting a little carried away with the paper talk here.  We've had Xabi come out in the last week and express his wish to stay and we've had Rafa come out in the last few days and say Xabi's not for sale.  Won't stop people buying into rumours rather than facts it seems.  Where's the logic?

i know it comes down to interpretation of words, but what i've read is "we don't want to sell him" not " we won't sell him". i.e. possibly there will be a reluctant sale.

i'll actually be very surprised (and very disappointed) if he IS sold, but i'll be keeping a close eye on xabi's body language at the end of the game today.