Liverpool FC Forum

by **66-1112520797** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 5:52 am

It seems a few people on here are coming accross very emotional at the prospect of selling Alonso. Maybe its because you met him in a Pub and he was very loyal to his fans and club, or maybe some of the female variety on here just think hes good looking and want hime to stay. Or maybe its that they genuinely believe he is a great player that will help us win the league one day.

But the truth of the matter is his form has dropped considerably and currently Barry for me looks the better of the two on form. Now I know form isnt permanent, but surely for the good of the club LFC cannot keep a position in thef irst team open for three years in hope that San Sebastians little man will regain his form. Its whats better for LFC not whats better for Xabi Alonso.

I think purely footballing wise that Barry would add much more to our midfield than Alonso does. Like Big Mick says Alonsos downfall (for me aswell) is his reluctance to move 15-20 yards up the field more and help out in attacking areas. I see Taff regarded him as a playmaker, and that for me couldnt be anymore further from the truth, yes he can dictate the tempo of a game blah blah blah, but that doesnt mean hes a playmaker. Barry has what Alonso doesnt, and thats the urge to time a run into the box, to get up and support the players infront of him. Plus like Alonso he can pick out a pass but also IMO he is stronger in the challenge and I think physically fitter than Xabi.

All in all Barry will give us what Xabi hasnt in the last few seasons, and thats breaking out of that comfort zone that Xabi takes up on the pitch an offer us and support the likes of Gerrard and Torres in attack better.

So if the Barry deal can be met by LFC and Villa, we should sell Alonso to the highest bidder, presuming of course there is genuinely more than one team interested in him, even if thats Chelsea then so be it.

by **SundanceKid** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:58 am

Reg wrote:
Sabre wrote:Either you think Alonso is necessary to win the league and you keep him, or you sell him to the best bid, no feelings.

That at the end of the day - is it.

IMHO if, and a big IF, there is someone who will contribute more positively towards winning the league then Xavi goes.

I can justify it more easily in those terms.

You've got to buy Xavi before you can sell him

by **Owzat** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:54 am

s@int wrote:I would sell Alonso to the highest bidder (even Chelsea) but only if we get a top quality player with the money. If we are going to get 3 squad players instead, I would rather keep Alonso.

I don't mind the idea of selling Alonso, I do agree we should (pre)spend the money on a top player and frankly the price tag on Barry and the lack of looking around for alternatives is what worries me.

But then there is no show event where you can watch international quality players perform and look for some top quality - no, wait there's the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP. Never mind Rafa, buy a player who isn't even there for way too much rather than wait and make a swift move for someone better at a better price.

by **metalhead** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:03 am

Bamaga man wrote:It seems a few people on here are coming accross very emotional at the prospect of selling Alonso. Maybe its because you met him in a Pub and he was very loyal to his fans and club, or maybe some of the female variety on here just think hes good looking and want hime to stay. Or maybe its that they genuinely believe he is a great player that will help us win the league one day.

But the truth of the matter is his form has dropped considerably and currently Barry for me looks the better of the two on form. Now I know form isnt permanent, but surely for the good of the club LFC cannot keep a position in thef irst team open for three years in hope that San Sebastians little man will regain his form. Its whats better for LFC not whats better for Xabi Alonso.

I think purely footballing wise that Barry would add much more to our midfield than Alonso does. Like Big Mick says Alonsos downfall (for me aswell) is his reluctance to move 15-20 yards up the field more and help out in attacking areas. I see Taff regarded him as a playmaker, and that for me couldnt be anymore further from the truth, yes he can dictate the tempo of a game blah blah blah, but that doesnt mean hes a playmaker. Barry has what Alonso doesnt, and thats the urge to time a run into the box, to get up and support the players infront of him. Plus like Alonso he can pick out a pass but also IMO he is stronger in the challenge and I think physically fitter than Xabi.

All in all Barry will give us what Xabi hasnt in the last few seasons, and thats breaking out of that comfort zone that Xabi takes up on the pitch an offer us and support the likes of Gerrard and Torres in attack better.

So if the Barry deal can be met by LFC and Villa, we should sell Alonso to the highest bidder, presuming of course there is genuinely more than one team interested in him, even if thats Chelsea then so be it.

Yes his form has dropped, but don't you think that his niggling injuries and not starting in consecutive games this and the last season affected his performance? I think so

He needs a run of 10 games to get his confidence back, thats if he keeps fit, doesn't get those injuries, we can see his form coming back again and he has shown glimpses in the end of the season this year of his old self, especially against arsenal in the champions league. It is BETTER for LFC to keep their best players and not selling them, thats why I think it will be a mistake to sell alonso. However, I would like to see Lucas prove me wrong next season and be better than Alonso.

by **JamCar05** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:05 am

Owzat wrote:But then there is no show event where you can watch international quality players perform and look for some top quality - no, wait there's the EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP. Never mind Rafa, buy a player who isn't even there for way too much rather than wait and make a swift move for someone better at a better price.

With all due respect mate, that's a bit of a silly comment imo. You can't necessarily judge player potential over the course of a European or World Championship for that matter. The names Diouf and Diao spring to mind :no

. Not saying it's impossible to spot great talent at such an event, but the downside is, that everyone else will have noticed their performances aswell, and thus their price will be ridiculously inflated (and further more they might still turn out to be complete cack in the PL like any other purchase might).

by **Sabre** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:18 pm

Bamaga man wrote:It seems a few people on here are coming accross very emotional at the prospect of selling Alonso. Maybe its because you met him in a Pub and he was very loyal to his fans and club, or maybe some of the female variety on here just think hes good looking and want hime to stay. Or maybe its that they genuinely believe he is a great player that will help us win the league one day.

But the truth of the matter is his form has dropped considerably and currently Barry for me looks the better of the two on form. Now I know form isnt permanent, but surely for the good of the club LFC cannot keep a position in thef irst team open for three years in hope that San Sebastians little man will regain his form. Its whats better for LFC not whats better for Xabi Alonso.

I'm going to tell you what's the truth of the matter lad.

1/ I'm not emotional because I met Alonso in a pub, he's only the 42th international player of my town --forty two- so one's quite used to meet international, let alone primera players in my town.

2/ I thinking he's very good, or you thinking he's been low are opinions of posters. Mine is biased, yours is biased. If for instance you ask who is better in my country, Barry or ALonso, half of them will say who the fúck is Barry, and the other half will laugh. So, as you see, you're obviously biased to your UK born player. We all have a bias, and your problem is that you think it's only me who has a biased view.

3/ In point 2 I've talked about personal opinions. But the kind of team that makes offers for a player is a good indicator of how good is a player. That is, if what you say would be just about right, Alonso wouldn't have played much under a manager who doesn't hesitate to drop players, and second, the kind of team interested wouldn't be Juventus, but West Ham.

So, I hope you get right your own emotions with Mascherano and Gerrard before telling other posters here they're biased and emotional.

:;):

by **Sabre** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:25 pm

bigmick wrote:I agree with both saint and Sabre, if we are looking to raise funds then we should sell to the highest bidder regardless of who it is. If Chelsea are going to get involved (which I don't think they will TBPH) then much the better.

The bit S@int has mentioned about buying ONE quality player to substitute ONE player, rather than THREE options, is also spot on in my opinion.

Time for specific signings for specific options. Not time for options or possibilities.

by **Reg** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:25 pm

SundanceKid wrote:
Reg wrote:
Sabre wrote:Either you think Alonso is necessary to win the league and you keep him, or you sell him to the best bid, no feelings.

That at the end of the day - is it.

IMHO if, and a big IF, there is someone who will contribute more positively towards winning the league then Xavi goes.

I can justify it more easily in those terms.

You've got to buy Xavi before you can sell him

The fat fingers strike again !!!!

by **Sabre** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:31 pm

BTW, I quite agree what Reg says. But what's the kind of player that will bring us forward?

In the middle we don't need anything with Gerrard, Mascherano and lucas as a base of midfield. You can bring Barry, and he could be a good backup of Mascherano, but he wouldn't improve anything.

Forgetting about names, we need to sell a midfielder to buy a position in which we lack top quality. That's the kind of movement I want to see, not selling alonso for 19, and buying Barry, and an 8M unknown winger.

We need to grab those 19, knock at Valencia's door and sign up Silva, or a player of similar quality, like Ribery the french for another position. Barcelona just paid 21M for Alves, you need to pay those sums for those players!

by **andy_g** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:53 pm

the more it drags on, despite there not being any real developments, the more i warm to the idea of barry coming in. whether xabi stays or goes as a result or as a cause is secondary. the discussion about who is the better player can go on and on as each has different attributes - the discussion is more like a game of top trumps than an attempt to reach a definite truth.

we know for a fact that gerrard likes barry and wants to play alongside him at the club, and anything that will help gerrard play to the best of his abilities is obviously a boon for us. he seems to think that barry will help him more with this than alonso and he surely knows best in that respect. and maybe just this little refreshing of the midfield will have a greater effect than those just provided by the capabilities of the player. it'll give us some new things to work with and the presence of a genuine left footer will provide more tactical options and a wider range of approach play - something we have badly lacked. his left footedness also gives us an extra option on the left mid and another chance for rafa tweaky tweaky business - though maybe in this case freeing up babel to come more central or move right, and not relying on a defender such as riise or aurelio, will actually allow us to attack with a little more effective width. so whether he's in the middle or the left i'd see it as a bonus.

by **Number 9** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 1:54 pm

Sabre wrote:BTW, I quite agree what Reg says. But what's the kind of player that will bring us forward?

In the middle we don't need anything with Gerrard, Mascherano and lucas as a base of midfield. You can bring Barry, and he could be a good backup of Mascherano, but he wouldn't improve anything.

Forgetting about names, we need to sell a midfielder to buy a position in which we lack top quality. That's the kind of movement I want to see, not selling alonso for 19, and buying Barry, and an 8M unknown winger.

We need to grab those 19, knock at Valencia's door and sign up Silva, or a player of similar quality, like Ribery the french for another position. Barcelona just paid 21M for Alves, you need to pay those sums for those players!

Simple Sabre we could do with a quality left midfielder!

If Chelsea are serious about signing our Xabi then Rafa should ask for Joe Cole as a swap!
Hes a great player and would add a lot to our team.
Left sided players of his quality are hard to come by.if Rafa pulled it off it would make perfect sense to me!

by **YAWL** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 3:53 pm

I don't think Alonso is essential domestically.

Barry would arguably be an upgrade in the Premiership as he has more to his game defensively, has been most consistant the last two seasons and should contribute more in terms of goals and assists.

Alonso is great to watch and was fantastic two seasons ago. However he doesn't quite get the same time on the ball he did then as the opposition know if he does he'll hurt them. In Europe I think he'll be a loss with the slower tempo and more time to pick a pass and he does keep the ball fantastically well.

But in the more histle and bustle of the Premiership, the more powerful and effective Barry might be a better option.

by **Toffeehater** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 3:59 pm

If chelsea want xabi than we should sell to them regardless of whether they are title contenders or not . We need money now and we can worry about that later . If xabi goes to chelsea , who is he gonna replace , where are chelsea going to play him and most important do we think he can recapture his form that he had in the first season here . Rafa must know that xabi won't be the same that he was in his debut season and possibly why he's willing to contemplate selling him . If xabi does go , we would have lost a player with class but out of form .

by **Toffeehater** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 4:00 pm

maguskwt wrote:
bavlondon wrote:Alonso to Chelsea? On one hand im thinking we should tell them to of after they refused to sell Duff to us a few seasons back. And they were not going to let us have SWP either. Then again if it is Chelsea involved perhaps a straight swapfor SWP could be good? We gain a decent right winger. To be honest we need the money and if we can get a good swap deal then we can rinse Chelsea out.

And anyway im sure the Cheslsea thing is rubbish. They dont even have a manager. Is Peter Kenyon sorting out transfers? lol

I wouldn't swap SWP for Alonso... I would however think about swapping Joe Cole for Alonso...

Good shout but don't think it would ever happen . Cole has been chelsea's best player this season , maybe essein slightly pipping him or behind him . He would solve our wing problem and be a great addition to the LFC squad

by **The Kid Torres** » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:01 pm

I love Alonso as much as anybody, he's a top bloke, an outstanding professional and when at the top of his game an extremely good footballer player but I think Gareth Barry is a slightly better player.

Alonso edges it in turns of vision but Barry is much more versatile, can tackle better (Alonso just seems to foul the opposing player) and gets about the pitch better.

I would be extremely sad to see Alonso go but for me a midfield of Barry and Mascherano sitting behind the free roaming Gerrard is an excellent proposition.

Liverpool FC Forum

The Alonso Thread - hands in transfer request

Who is online