Liverpool FC Forum

by **metalhead** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:27 pm

Good read nanny.

He looks excellent this season, hopefully he can keep it up.

Glad we didn't sell him.

by **Sabre** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:34 pm

The journo asked for a sensitive topic and he got away from it with diplomacy and humbleness, IMHO. Nice responses.

It's actually great news that regardless what is the relationship with the manager, he's delighted to be at the club.

See? If Rafa leaves, it won't mean necessarily a Spanish exode, Liverpool is, as Xabi says, one of the best places to train and play football, he won't get that here in Spain, where there's a journo in every training session and asking something everywhere, even when you go to lunch.

by **account deleted by request** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 2:49 am

Alonso's list :-

Best trainer: Sami
Worst trainer: Pennant
Fastest: Torres
Slowest: Himself
Biggest moaner: Carra
Missed it but the answer was Skrtel. I think it might have been hardman.
Most skillful: Babel
Worst dress sense: Carra
Joker: Reina or pennant
Longest in the shower: Reina
Thickest : Kuyt

Ripped from tlw.

by **Fo Dne** » Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:24 pm

s@int wrote:I wasn't saying our back four play deeper with Alonso Bob, I was saying they have to play deeper when Hyypia plays.

That's the point though Bob, Alonso needs that support that a good Defensive midfielder doesn't. In a three its no problem Masch does all thats necessary. In a two ? I am not so sure mate, against Everton it worked , it often worked in the past as well, but it often DIDN'T WORK too mate. Especially against the better sides or sides that switch play quickly.

I know I would want to see it work against a decent team before I was convinced it works. Maybe against Citeh we will get our answers?

Certainly when we have played against teams that pressure the midfield its NOT WORKED this season. TBH it amazes me that someone has a couple of good games and 18months of them struggling is forgotten and they are expected to have no further problems. Great if it works but for me I will want a little more proof . I want to see the holes in his hands and feet and the blood flowing freely first mate.

But don't you see the other side of the arguement and that its a team game? Don't you see that Gerrard also needs that support going forward and to have a player who can help him dicate a game and make something happen in a different mannor using vision and intelligence rather than brut force?

It really annoyed me when people say about how Gerrard's great at attacking so must player with a defensive midfielder to do all the dirty work. Gerrard defends aswell mate, so what does the other midfielder do when Gerrard's defending? Defend aswell? No thanks.

I'd rather have two that are good in both area's of the pitch with different strengths like Alonso and Gerrard than one who is superb defensively, :censored:

going forward and one who's good going forward and very good defensively. It makes the balance of the side better, it makes us a more attack minded side and to be quite honest the football we play is a hell of a lot better when Xabi and Gerrard play.

At times they will get ripped open by a Milan or a Man Utd on form. At other times they'll dominate teams for 90 minutes. During the times they don't then you've got Mascherano to come in and fill any gaps as Hamann did in the European cup final. Pretty straight forward I think.

by **stmichael** » Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:14 am

how many more times is a player going to get sent off for fouling him?

by **Sabre** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:31 pm

Nanny Red shared with me a "nice read". I told her to post it, as it was good, it's a story based on quotes that have been read recently but making a good story.

She has told me that he can't find the article

So here it is

The adopted son they couldn't drive away

Spain's honorary scouser explains how the fans' faith has helped him through all the uncertainty

Daniel Taylor The Guardian, Saturday October 4 2008 Article history

Xabi Alonso says he feels at home in the 'unique' city of Liverpool.
When Xabi Alonso first arrived in Liverpool he remembers being surprised by the number of his new team-mates who lived outside the city. Alonso wanted to be in the heart of Liverpool, somewhere where he could walk around and soak in the atmosphere, immerse himself in the culture of a new city. He was drawn to the waterfront and the sense of history around the Albert Dock, with its Grade I listed buildings, the bars and galleries, and the sweeping views of the Mersey.

He has lived here for four years now. Him, his girlfriend, Nagore, and their seven-month-old son, Jon. It is a nice life. People wave at him in his car. Maître d's insist he always gets a nice table. Schoolchildren send him letters of charming clumsiness. There are even times when the players run out at Anfield and his name is sung before Steven Gerrard's. Alonso has become an honorary scouser, and it is easy to understand why he talks with such a strong affinity for his adopted city. "It's a unique place," he says.

These, however, are strange times for the man whose perceptive range of passing makes him the brains of Liverpool's midfield. "There has been a lot of uncertainty," he acknowledges, reflecting on the wild graph of highs and lows that has formed his summer and, in particular, the knowledge that his time on Merseyside could easily have come to an abrupt, and wholly unsatisfactory, end.

The highs have been exhilarating, the lows excruciating. While Alonso was helping Spain win the European Championship, he was also coming to terms with the fact that his employers were trying to sell him against his wishes. As Spain's open-top bus inched its way through the centre of Madrid - "you had to be there to understand what those celebrations were really like," he says with a smile - there was always that nagging thought that Rafael Benítez wanted to replace him with Gareth Barry. One question kept popping up in Alonso's mind: why?

"It was a new situation for me, something I had never experienced before," he says. "I came back to the club not knowing where my future was and there was a lot of talk that I would be leaving. That was the feedback I got - that other clubs were interested in me. I'm just glad that, in the end, nothing came of it because it wasn't something I ever asked for."

He could be forgiven if he feels harshly treated given his importance to the team since his £10.6m signing from Real Sociedad in 2004. "I certainly don't see myself as having anything to prove," he says. "Everyone should know my quality and what I bring to the team."

Yet the Spaniard is philosophical, too. "I just have to accept that is football and this is the kind of thing that can happen. It is a fact for any footballer - you can be really happy, but if the club don't want you, you have to accept it. It's the business we're in. It is not always easy to detach yourself from things like that, but I don't want to keep looking back at how I was treated. It's part of football and the main thing is that it was all resolved and I am now playing regularly."

All of which will go down well with those supporters who had taken advantage of Liverpool's pre-season game against Lazio to make it clear what they thought about losing such a popular player, repeatedly chanting his name and imploring Benítez to change his mind. "That meant so much to me," said Alonso at the launch of Fifa 09 from EA Sports. "It was an emotional moment for me and, if I had any doubts about staying, they disappeared that night. It was the supporters' way of showing that they wanted me to stay and that they appreciated loyalty from players. Not just the local boys like Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher but foreign players like Dietmar Hamann and Sami Hyypia, and Jan Molby before them.

"They couldn't have done more to show me how they felt. And it was the same whenever I went into the centre of Liverpool. If I went out for lunch or a coffee, there was always someone who would come over and say, 'We'd love you to stay'. I got a few letters as well and they were all really appreciated."

The fact, however, is that Alonso would have been sold if Juventus or Arsenal had come up with Liverpool's £18m asking price, and there will probably always be unanswered questions about how it has affected his relationship with Benítez. "Professional," is the word Alonso uses. He also says, more than once, that there has been "no confrontation" and that he does not bear a grudge because "that's not my personality".

Yet there are glimpses of hurt. He is asked whether, at any stage, he felt let down by his manager and his reply speaks volumes. "You always want to feel important at wherever you are at," he says.

He is also alarmed by the suggestion that Benítez was affronted by him missing a Champions League tie against Internazionale in March to attend the birth of his son. "I had to be with my partner," he explains. "It was such a special, important moment that I took the decision that I needed to be there. Some things are more important than football and I had the full support of the club. The manager understood my decision."

The impressive - and surprising - thing is that the last few months does not seem to have rocked Alonso's confidence. It cannot be very nice, in any work environment, finding out that your boss does not rate you as highly as you thought. Yet Alonso has started this season impressively. "I feel settled again," he says. "I have just concentrated on giving 100 per cent in every game."

He has been influential in Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season, yet Alonso also remembers them having a good opening to last season. "The problem was we could not sustain it," he says. "We fell behind and never recovered. This time, if we want to challenge for the title, we cannot afford to have a bad month. We are going to have to be so consistent, so strong, and maintain our current form for the rest of the campaign. The first objective is to go into the Christmas programme still in contention. If you are eight or nine points adrift at that stage, as we were last season then you are out of it, and we don't want a repeat of that."

They play at Manchester City tomorrow and Alonso is intrigued by his first look at the Premier League's nouveau riche billionaires. "It's strange because you know that it could be unfair in some ways. I don't know if it needs to be regulated. Otherwise the clubs owned by billionaires will be here [he points upwards] and the ones owned by millionaires will be several levels below." It is an interesting take, although Alonso is aware that Liverpool also have wealthy admirers. "I wouldn't be surprised," he says, "if something happens in the future here too."

If so, he would like to be there to experience it, although he is understandably wary about looking too far ahead. "I could see myself staying here a lot more years, but maybe this summer something might happen again. You have to be happy at the club but the club has to be happy with you too. All I can say is that I'm really happy here. There are not many better clubs to play football for than Liverpool."[B]

by **NANNY RED** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:30 pm

I still say them two gobs.hites were behind trying to get rid

by **account deleted by request** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:40 pm

Alonso is too slow!

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri has revealed he pulled out of a move for Xabi Alonso this summer because he felt the Liverpool midfielder was "too slow".

Juve held talks with Liverpool over the Spain international - a winner of Euro 2008 - but Alonso ultimately remained at Anfield.

"He was a player we wanted," Ranieri said of Alonso.

"But he is a player, who even though he is an extraordinary man and a great professional, left me perplexed by the slowness of his movement in midfield.

"In the midfield of Rafa Benitez's Liverpool, where all of them are little soldiers, he finds himself in a fantastic position. But in our midfield, he would have found it hard to support the midfield line seeing as (Juve wingers) Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved are not players that come back to give support like Liverpool's wingers."

by **HighasaKUYT** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:43 pm

s@int wrote:Alonso is too slow!

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri has revealed he pulled out of a move for Xabi Alonso this summer because he felt the Liverpool midfielder was "too slow".

Juve held talks with Liverpool over the Spain international - a winner of Euro 2008 - but Alonso ultimately remained at Anfield.

"He was a player we wanted," Ranieri said of Alonso.

"But he is a player, who even though he is an extraordinary man and a great professional, left me perplexed by the slowness of his movement in midfield.

"In the midfield of Rafa Benitez's Liverpool, where all of them are little soldiers, he finds himself in a fantastic position. But in our midfield, he would have found it hard to support the midfield line seeing as (Juve wingers) Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved are not players that come back to give support like Liverpool's wingers."

I'd agree witht hat a lot of the time he just stands there and hardly moves, gets the ball then takes ages to make a pass and loses it, i like xabi though but he has flaws

by **NANNY RED** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 5:54 pm

He would of hated Jan Molby then :laugh:

by **Lando_Griffin** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:15 pm

s@int wrote:(and I don't mean you OR Stu )

My name is Lando. L-A-N-D-O.

Don't beat about the bush chap. I won't.

by **Zidane** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:09 pm

I don't think it's his lack of pace/speed that is the issue although it doesn't help, it's more so the lack of commitment to run at people and go forward. It's not like he is a snail when he actually runs it's just the majority of the time he isn't ever running at full speed.

by **Fo Dne** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 7:15 pm

Zidane wrote:I don't think it's his lack of pace/speed that is the issue although it doesn't help, it's more so the lack of commitment to run at people and go forward. It's not like he is a snail when he actually runs it's just the majority of the time he isn't ever running at full speed.

He's on about it in a defensive context lad. Nothing to do with him not skinning players in the middle of the pitch.

by **account deleted by request** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:53 pm

Lando_Griffin wrote:
s@int wrote:(and I don't mean you OR Stu )

My name is Lando. L-A-N-D-O.

Don't beat about the bush chap. I won't.

Who? If I had wanted to mention you by name I am pretty sure I would have managed to spell it young chappy , so toodle pip. It seems that you have willingly volunteered that you wear creamed knickers though.

by **Sabre** » Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:02 pm

HighasaKUYT wrote:
s@int wrote:Alonso is too slow!

Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri has revealed he pulled out of a move for Xabi Alonso this summer because he felt the Liverpool midfielder was "too slow".

Juve held talks with Liverpool over the Spain international - a winner of Euro 2008 - but Alonso ultimately remained at Anfield.

"He was a player we wanted," Ranieri said of Alonso.

"But he is a player, who even though he is an extraordinary man and a great professional, left me perplexed by the slowness of his movement in midfield.

"In the midfield of Rafa Benitez's Liverpool, where all of them are little soldiers, he finds himself in a fantastic position. But in our midfield, he would have found it hard to support the midfield line seeing as (Juve wingers) Mauro Camoranesi and Pavel Nedved are not players that come back to give support like Liverpool's wingers."

I'd agree witht hat a lot of the time he just stands there and hardly moves, gets the ball then takes ages to make a pass and loses it, i like xabi though but he has flaws

This wind up merchant's post is a good one. Because IMHO it's commendable to compress so many bóllocks concepts in two lines. Being wrong 3 times in two lines is difficult, mind you.

I'd agree witht hat a lot of the time he just stands there and hardly moves

Yet, when that stat of the ground covered appears, Alonso is first or one of the first players in the pitch to cover more terrain.

gets the ball then takes ages to make a pass and loses it, i like xabi though but he has flaws

Alonso isn't fast, is slow. We all know that. But if he also took ages to execute a decission and his passing was poor, why on earth 3 Spanish national coaches would have picked him when Spanish midfield have plenty of candidates to go to the squad? Ask Arteta about how cheap is to get there.

I see not only wind up merchants but genuine fans going too far in some criticism to Alonso. One thing is to admit that he's slow. Another thing is to add to that fact other pseudo facts that are not true.

About the article that has brought S@int, I interpret those words as "inner consume words", he's probably sending a message to someone in his squad, or defending from some criticism because the one he eventually brought was not as good? I don't know the context.

But I don't think Alonso is TOO slow. He's not fast, he'll never be, but he thinks fast, knows what to do with the ball before receiving it, has strenght, has a shot, and has an ability to know when's proper one kind of ball or another.

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