Liverpool FC Forum

by **The Manhattan Project** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 5:29 am

Benítez also revealed that a new contract for Crouch is on the agenda

Why?

The guy barely plays.

If Rafa really doesn't intend on playing him, we may as well sell him and use the money to buy someone he does rate.

by **Owzat** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 8:57 am

I just hope that £18m or whatever has been paid for Mascherano doesn't reduce the budget for the summer and mean other areas that need attention can't be addressed.

Anyone got a current count of Rafa's spending this season? And for what, maybe a CL challenge and a struggle for fourth.

Torres £26.5m
Mascherano £18m
Babel £11.5m
Lucas £8m (reported)
Skrtel £6.5m
Benayoun £5m
Voronin free
Itandje free

That's around £75.5m depending on which fees/sources you believe. Other than Skrtel that lot have been available to put us where we are for all/part of the season (injuries as always permitting) Whoever is in charge this summer, I have little doubt there will be a clearout. But the owners won't keep flushing £75.5m down the drain for a return of maybe fourth or fifth and possibly a CL run.

by **112-1077774096** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:12 pm

and all those people slagging the owners off over this whole thing, they said it would be sorted when they were ready and it has been sorted.

so rafas petulance was all for nothing and did nothing more than make him look foolish.

anyway good to have him on a permanent. now we can offload alonso and get a few quid in, get rid of the manager and we can move forward

by **Woollyback** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:30 pm

peewee wrote:and all those people slagging the owners off over this whole thing, they said it would be sorted when they were ready and it has been sorted.

so rafas petulance was all for nothing and did nothing more than make him look foolish.

anyway good to have him on a permanent. now we can offload alonso and get a few quid in, get rid of the manager and we can move forward

or, to look at it from the other perspective, if rafa hadn't given the americans a public boot up the a$$ then we mightn't have signed him yet

by **ConnO'var** » Sat Mar 01, 2008 12:35 pm

peewee wrote:and all those people slagging the owners off over this whole thing, they said it would be sorted when they were ready and it has been sorted.

Mate, I agree with you on a lot of things but in this I suppose we must agree to disagree.... The new owners (and Hicks specifically) have been nothing but an embarrassment for us. They've done more harm than good IMO.

by **Dundalk** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 12:51 am

Mascherano's master class in destruction

Growing up in Buenos Aires, Javier Mascherano only wanted to be a destroyer. From the age of 10, his father Oscar demanded he should learn the art of the enforcer.

He did it so well that El Jefecito (The Little Chief) was born and ten days ago Liverpool paid £19million to make the Argentine international the world's most expensive 'water carrier'.

We have not all learned to love the position of holding midfielder so Mascherano, a likeable little chap who speaks excellent English, kindly offers me a master class in his duties.

'The holding midfielder must keep his position, cover the space, protect the centre back. The most important job is to protect the centre back. Then, win the second balls. In England, many teams play long, so be ready to collect the second ball.

'When you have the ball, do not give it away; a simple pass, easy ball to one of your team-mates.

'When Claude Makelele came to Chelsea, he showed you how to play the position. It was an education. Always, Makelele is in the right position. He doesn't have to run a lot, he knows where he must be, he anticipates danger. Owen Hargreaves is the best English player for this job.'

All dirty work and no goals or glory? 'Well, it's very difficult to find a holding player who can score too,' he accepts. 'You can't do everything! Every player has a role in the team. For the holding midfielder, his job is tactical.

'Maybe the fans don't yet like the position too much because it is seen as negative. They like goals, but I come back again and ask you “how can you score when you are the holding midfielder?”.

'If you have a good shot, it helps, like Xabi Alonso, who has a beautiful shot, but my priority is my job. Perhaps I could score three goals a season. Maybe. I will try, no?'

He hasn't scored yet for Liverpool and probably won't on Tuesday night, but his outstanding discipline is a handy quality when entering the San Siro protecting a 2-0 lead against the runaway leaders of Serie A.

'We are in control of the tie and we must keep control,' demands Mascherano. 'A place in the quarter finals of the Champions League is in our hands.'

Tackling is a crucial part of his game, too. Mascherano, however, is not known for studs-up challenges. 'No. I try to run parallel with my opponent and then slide in and hope to come out with the ball.

'The timing of the tackle is everything. I never try to kick other players. When I do the tackle I never go to hurt, I never try violence.

'Okay, sometimes I commit a foul if the tackle is mistimed, but never with intent. I try to do this (he sweeps with his foot) and retrieve the ball. I am calm in my head when I tackle and I don't tackle from behind.'

Kia Joorabchian, his mentor, first signed Mascherano, 23, from River Plate and then took him to Anfield via Corinthians and West Ham.

'He is not my owner, he is my friend,' insists Mascherano. 'He has helped to make this possible. I wanted to be at Liverpool, I have always said that.

'I felt from the first moment when I arrived: “This is my house”. When I was a boy, I never imagined it would be possible. In Argentina, we look to Europe, but we think of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Milan. Never Liverpool.

'We have heard of the city, of course, because we know The Beatles. They were my father's favourite rock band.

'When I came here, I wanted to understand the Liverpool life. I have been reading, watching films. This club and the city has a lot of history, many great players from the past and so many achievements. It is one of the biggest clubs in the world. From the decades in the 70s and 80s, they won many things.

'I know that playing here now I can win titles, too. We have a squad to do that.

'We have players who've won the Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup, Carling Cup. The only one missing is the Premier League. The supporters want this title.

'This season, the target is the top four but we need to think about next season and prepare everything so we don't make the same mistakes. We have drawn too many games at home.

'I watched Liverpool win the Champions League on television and now I am playing with Steven Gerrard. He is better than I imagined — his finishing, his shooting. He is the complete midfielder, the perfect midfielder. Technique, pace, power and he is very clever.'

It has been a difficult period for Rafa Benitez, who communicates with Mascherano in English, but his Little Chief has this message.

'I don't forget that he came and took me from West Ham, where I was in the second team. I know this season has not been the best time for Rafa, but it is not his fault that we are behind Arsenal. He is not on the pitch.

'To win the title, you need the supporters, the squad, the staff, the owners together. It is like this table in front of us. You need the four legs or it will fall over.'

by **ConnO'var** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:31 am

Nice article, Dundalk.

The lad is awfully mature for his tender years. He's got the potential to surpass Makalele as the outstanding defensive midfielder of his generation. High praise maybe.... but IMO the lad deserves it. A red legend in the making.... and love his mentality.

by **god_bless_john_houlding** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 3:44 am

I like Mascheranho. I've had me doubts over him and there's still areas of his game which can improve. But he's a top class player yet if I was to pick my greatest Liverpool team I think my central pair would always be the two on Con's signature. Souness and Gerrard.

by **ConnO'var** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:20 am

god_bless_john_houlding wrote:I like Mascheranho. I've had me doubts over him and there's still areas of his game which can improve. But he's a top class player yet if I was to pick my greatest Liverpool team I think my central pair would always be the two on Con's signature. Souness and Gerrard.

Mine too mate.....

What a pairing they would have made. Probably the best midfield enforcer we've ever had (possibly the world at the time) and the ultimate box-box to midfielder. We'd have annihilated everyone in the middle of the park.

The joys of fantasy football..

Gerrard, Mascherano, Alonso and with any luck, Lucas.... we DO have the best central midfield in the world and I challange anyone to come up with a better central midfield in ANY club team in the world at the moment.

by **club_Levis** » Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:27 am

Thank you Hicks and Gillet for making this signing possible. :;):

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 1:54 pm

I still maintain that he's the best in the world at what he does. I think his performances over the last couple of months, including the one the other night really reinforce the point.

by **woof woof !** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:07 pm

Does anybody know the truth about why he was never given a chance at West Ham ? Surely they weren't to thick to see what a gem they had ?

by **The_Rock** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:19 pm

Can't believe steve mcmahon called mascherano an average player and that it was better to spend 17 million on someone else.... :Oo:

He of all people should know what mascherano brings to the team....i mean, they were bought to do the same job in the middle of the park right ? (only that mascherano does it better and is world class)

by **stmichael** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:28 pm

infact you could say that he's nearly as good as lee carsley now.

by **Koppite_Tom** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:47 pm

Mascherano is one of the best midfields in this country, he complements our midfield very well with Gerrard bursting forward he can hold and tighten up our backline.

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