Liverpool FC Forum

[Owzat]

He added: “Xabi would be great. He’s experienced and can score goals. I’m sure the boss is aware of that fact,”

can score goals is the sad fact with Alonso, I think he hits the woodwork more than the back of the net and some may deem that "unlucky", but the goal is the same dimensions for all players and he needs to be more accurate with some of his shots.

Alonso Goals (Liverpool)

04/05 : 3 goals in 32 apps (4 yellow cards)
05/06 : 5 goals in 53 apps (9 yellow cards)
06/07 : 4 goals in 51 apps (13 yellow cards)
07/08 : 2 goals in 27 apps (5 yellow cards)
08/09 : 5 goals in 47 apps (7 yellow cards)

Total : 19 goals in 210 apps (38 yellow cards)

This season was his best scoring season, but is 31 goals good enough for someone with his ability in five seasons? He should be looking at 7-10 a season.

wikipedia have somewhat shortchanged Xabi in appearances, in 05/06 he played in the Club World Championship and I think they're missing an appearance from 06/07.

Here's some comparitive figures from 'big four' midfielders, excluding fat frank and others who take penalties and generally score quite a lot - 15-20 a season :-

Fabregas : 29 goals in 231 apps (0.126 goals/app)
Essien : 17 goals in 159 apps (0.107 goals/app)
Alonso : 19 goals in 199 apps (0.095 goals/app)
Carrick : 12 goals in 143 apps (0.084 goals/app)
Fletcher : 13 goals in 211 apps (0.062 goals/app)
Mikel : 2 goals in 116 apps (0.016 goals/app)

source : wikipedia

Surely Xabi could manage a goal every seven or eight games - Fabregas does. If Mascherano is in the side he can push forward and has been.

Personally I think Arsenal's midfield is one of their lesser worries, they need to sort out their defence and also find a bit more quality up front than Bendtner - 24 goals in 85 apps is not great, I think he must have missed double his tally of goals. They probably do need a Flamini type, but isn't Wenger's tradition to buy a (relatively) unknown midfielder cheap and turn him into quality? Flamini, Fabregas, Vieira, Gilberto Silva - none cost more than £4.5m. Diaby is earmarked by some as the natural successor, he cost only £2m, but also some think he isn't yet ready. Perhaps Wenger's biggest mistake was not in signing Lassana Diarra but in letting him go - costly in many ways including getting £5.5m from pompey for him who sold him to Real Madrid for a profit of around £14.5m.

But still there are five midfielders and none bought for big money, Alonso would buck that trend. By my reckoning Arsenal's squad cost less than villa's (not a lot in it) and yet Arsenal finished TEN points ahead of them. He doesn't do things by spending big, their youth cup success is more an indicator of how they do things (youngest squad in the Premiership by my reckoning)

[Sabre]

Surely Xabi could manage a goal every seven or eight games - Fabregas does. If Mascherano is in the side he can push forward and has been.

I really feel like an alien here sometimes. For me Xabi has nothing to do as a midfielder to the likes of Xavi, Arshavin, Fabregas, or Iniesta.

Xabi can for sure score more goals, and for that he has to be more accurate in the long efforts than he has been this year. Yesteryear he couldn't score more because he sat more deeper.

But I'll never ask him what Fabregas can do, and viceversa, different ways to play in the middle and have nothing to do which each other.

Xabi is a holding midfielder, but unlike Essien with some football talent in his mind. A holding midfielder can be talented or not talented, can do more things than defend or not, but he's still a  holding midfielder.

You can name a talented holding midfielder as "deep lying playmaker" but that will be just a name, I just think that Xabi is simply a holding mid that excells in the passing and the tempo. The fact is that a player that plays behind the likes of Xavi and Iniesta and doing the covers is a known role, and an old one at that.

This year Xabi's role has been more of a classical CM rather than a holding and he has done extremely well, some as bigmick asked this (and keep asking it) and he was  right, but one thing is to ask Xabi that and ask him to leave the pocket more often, and another thing is to ask Xabi roles like the ones Fabregas or Gerrard do. He can't do that. He can't, because the mentioned players among other things are very good running with the ball and our Xabi isn't.

[tubby]

He added: “Xabi would be great. He’s experienced and can score goals. I’m sure the boss is aware of that fact,”

can score goals is the sad fact with Alonso, I think he hits the woodwork more than the back of the net and some may deem that "unlucky", but the goal is the same dimensions for all players and he needs to be more accurate with some of his shots.

Alonso Goals (Liverpool)

04/05 : 3 goals in 32 apps (4 yellow cards)
05/06 : 5 goals in 53 apps (9 yellow cards)
06/07 : 4 goals in 51 apps (13 yellow cards)
07/08 : 2 goals in 27 apps (5 yellow cards)
08/09 : 5 goals in 47 apps (7 yellow cards)

Total : 19 goals in 210 apps (38 yellow cards)

This season was his best scoring season, but is 31 goals good enough for someone with his ability in five seasons? He should be looking at 7-10 a season.

wikipedia have somewhat shortchanged Xabi in appearances, in 05/06 he played in the Club World Championship and I think they're missing an appearance from 06/07.

Here's some comparitive figures from 'big four' midfielders, excluding fat frank and others who take penalties and generally score quite a lot - 15-20 a season :-

Fabregas : 29 goals in 231 apps (0.126 goals/app)
Essien : 17 goals in 159 apps (0.107 goals/app)
Alonso : 19 goals in 199 apps (0.095 goals/app)
Carrick : 12 goals in 143 apps (0.084 goals/app)
Fletcher : 13 goals in 211 apps (0.062 goals/app)
Mikel : 2 goals in 116 apps (0.016 goals/app)

source : wikipedia

Surely Xabi could manage a goal every seven or eight games - Fabregas does. If Mascherano is in the side he can push forward and has been.

Personally I think Arsenal's midfield is one of their lesser worries, they need to sort out their defence and also find a bit more quality up front than Bendtner - 24 goals in 85 apps is not great, I think he must have missed double his tally of goals. They probably do need a Flamini type, but isn't Wenger's tradition to buy a (relatively) unknown midfielder cheap and turn him into quality? Flamini, Fabregas, Vieira, Gilberto Silva - none cost more than £4.5m. Diaby is earmarked by some as the natural successor, he cost only £2m, but also some think he isn't yet ready. Perhaps Wenger's biggest mistake was not in signing Lassana Diarra but in letting him go - costly in many ways including getting £5.5m from pompey for him who sold him to Real Madrid for a profit of around £14.5m.

But still there are five midfielders and none bought for big money, Alonso would buck that trend. By my reckoning Arsenal's squad cost less than villa's (not a lot in it) and yet Arsenal finished TEN points ahead of them. He doesn't do things by spending big, their youth cup success is more an indicator of how they do things (youngest squad in the Premiership by my reckoning)

He let Diarra go becasue he already had Flammini. His mistake was not replacing Flammini. Also wasnt there a sell on clause for Diarra. Im sure Arsenal pocketed somthing from him going to Real.

[Alex G.]

Just to witness that the Bilbao mate Alex has offered his hand and that I'm more than ready to do the thing if it comes the time.

I´ll do whatever for this club Sabre, and that includes kill all the journalists of this country with that knifes.

[Sabre]

It's more than obvious you love Liverpool mate 

On the rumours, I have to thank Bad Bob his position in the thread.

He has approached the post with some skepticism, and reminded us how was the clamor with Ronaldo last summer.

And he's right about that. My point is that he does well to be skeptical as experience tells us that's a good option.

Nevertheless, I've been the first one to buy all the rumours this time, despite my normal self is pretty skeptical about these things. I don't know to explain why, maybe it's what you call a gut feeling.

I just hope Xabi stays, and if he goes, it's for a very ridiculous high price.

If he goes for 25M and a young Negredo, both Xabi and Rafa will lose a good amount of credit in my eyes. I won't go as far as Lando as saying we can't win the league next season, but I think that Xabi's departure is an obstacle, and not a small one.

As I said if Xabi goes early and at a reasonable price, I'll be very dissapointed both with Rafa and Alonso

Rafa, for agreeing too early when he could use the desperation of Florentino to buy names and get more money.

Xabi, for leaving the club to a club he doesn't really fancy, in the moment we're so close of winning the league. He owes it to the fans.

[Alex G.]

It's more than obvious you love Liverpool mate 

On the rumours, I have to thank Bad Bob his position in the thread.

He has approached the post with some skepticism, and reminded us how was the clamor with Ronaldo last summer.

And he's right about that. My point is that he does well to be skeptical as experience tells us that's a good option.

Nevertheless, I've been the first one to buy all the rumours this time, despite my normal self is pretty skeptical about these things. I don't know to explain why, maybe it's what you call a gut feeling.

I just hope Xabi stays, and if he goes, it's for a very ridiculous high price.

If he goes for 25M and a young Negredo, both Xabi and Rafa will lose a good amount of credit in my eyes. I won't go as far as Lando as saying we can't win the league next season, but I think that Xabi's departure is an obstacle, and not a small one.

As I said if Xabi goes early and at a reasonable price, I'll be very dissapointed both with Rafa and Alonso

Rafa, for agreeing too early when he could use the desperation of Florentino to buy names and get more money.

Xabi, for leaving the club to a club he doesn't really fancy, in the moment we're so close of winning the league. He owes it to the fans.

I want to hear Xabi, he´s very quiet, and that´s not good feeling. Hope be wrong, but I don´t like the looks of this.

[Effes]

Xabi is a holding midfielder, but unlike Essien with some football talent in his mind. A holding midfielder can be talented or not talented, can do more things than defend or not, but he's still a  holding midfielder.

You are making regular references like this Sabre; to suggest Essien hasn't got a football brain is pushing it a bit.

They are both holding midfielders - but they differ in what they give to a team.

[flipmode]

According to Eurosport live updates Alonso is going to Real for 22Mil

[dawson99]

I reckon hes going now too.. too much smoke for there to be no fire

[Effes]

According to Eurosport live updates Alonso is going to Real for 22Mil

Euros or pounds mate?

[aCe']

Dont think Alonso is worth 25mill and Negredo but then again maybe thats just me...

[tubby]

Negredo would never be part of the deal as Real have to spend something like 13Mil Euros to activate that clause with Almeria. Something like that anyway...

[aCe']

22mill seems about right although many of us were hoping we'd take Madrid for fools and demand a ridiculous fee for him...
Says a thing or two about OUR desperation rather than theirs if the quoted prices are to be believed...

[flipmode]

According to Eurosport live updates Alonso is going to Real for 22Mil

Euros or pounds mate?

Pounds mate

[flipmode]

Its says will maybe see Heinze come to Liverpool