Liverpool FC Forum

by **stmichael** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 12:57 pm

The saddest thing is, Xabi, like Torres, is the exact opposite of everything Real Madrid stand for. The two of them haven't got an arrogant bone in their body. Both class individuals.

by **Redman in wales** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:02 pm

ElNino9 wrote:
Redman in wales wrote:

"Still, I have many years left on my contract.

"I am very happy in Bilbao and want to continue. The truth is that I don't want to move."

Every player says that.

xabi hasn't.. :oops:

by **Lando_Griffin** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:07 pm

aCe' wrote:Ah.. seems like i missed all the fun again... i wouldn’t waste my time trying to explain anything to Lando... He’s quite the intelligent guy he knows what hes doing... he enjoys the little name calling spats.. he knows he has it in his vocabulary to find 3 synonyms for *unt and shove them all in one sentence... he knows the mods know the difference between humor and insult, thus his immunity from any cards apparently.. Indeed our very own Lando Griffin, our fat clown and Newkit's only source of amusement..

Lando... big fella who uses big words and talks big but in truth you’re nothing but a little cyber punk... In all seriousness though, why not stick to general chat or whatever that section is called... to be honest i only recently realized you were a member in the forum... you were never in the footie section and didn’t even contribute to the intelligent topics being discussed in general chat (no offense judge )... always took you for the kind of poster who would post in threads about tennis, rugby, fast foods, star trek... i don’t know but seems to be what you’re all about... stick to that because deep down you must surely know that even Martha Stuart probably knows more about 'soccer' than you do.. no need to embarrass yourself and look like an idiot trying to explain it

"Hark, the sound of hoof beat 'cross the glade!"

"Toot toot!"

My dear Acehole - dimmer than a 1 Watt lightbulb, yet highly opinionated.

A dangerous combination if ever I saw one...

by **Lando_Griffin** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:21 pm

s@int wrote:I don't want to become embroiled in yet another argument, but I think the point you are missing Lando is that most people can have a difference of opinion without one of them being called a Kunt and receiving a torrent of abuse etc etc.

I don't happen to think as highly of Alonso as you do. That doesn't mean I think he is a waste of space , a cr@p player or anything of the sort. It just means I don't value his contribution or importance to the team as highly as you do. Surely I am entitled to my opinion no matter how "wrong " it is in your eyes, just as you are entitled to your opinion no matter how "wrong " I think it is.

Very little ever actually gets "proven" because this is a football forum and football is all about opinions, so why not just state your opinions and your reasons and accept that others may not necessarily agree with them. There is no need for the abuse, because calling someone a Kunt won't change their mind about anything other than their opinion of you.

Saint, it's the people who were saying he couldn't hack the Premiership - who WERE saying he was cr*p - that got on my tits.

Because they were totally and utterly wrong. They were also, at times, extremely rude about one of our most valued and gentlemanly players of recent times, and I will not accept that.

You can call your Pennants and Dioufs all you like - their actions warrant abuse. But Xabi? The lad is a model professional, and did not deserve to have a gang of mindless inbreds insulting him.

And to clarify, I am speaking in general terms with "you", and not directing this at you or Mick - only those who were disgusting in their tasteless appraisals of Alonso.

by **bigmick** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:33 pm

In many ways when Alonso was suffering a dip in form, he wasn't "hacking" the Premiership, that was much of the problem. What happened was that in many ways Alonso was a victim of his own success from his first couple of seasons. So influencial was he as the mythical "deep lying playmaker" that teams began to sit up and work out a plan to stop him. When Rafa put Gerrard on the right wing and the captain scored 23 goals or something ridiculous, it didn't take a smart Alec to work out that 75% of the time it was Alonso who was finding him with crisp passes 25-35 yards, drilled into Gerrards feet.

It was much easier to stop Gerrard getting the ball in the first place, than it was trying to stop him once he'd actually got it they reasoned. Sissoko although being one of my favourite players was hardly likely to either carry it up into Gerrard country or even less to pass it to him, so they reasoned if they could stop Alonso they could stop Gerrard and then by definition Liverpool. They were right of course. So teams looked at where Alonso recieved the ball (the pocket 95% of the time) and who was giving it to him, and told attackers not to bother closing our defenders down as none of them bar Hyppia could play anyway. Much better to sit in on Alonso, stop him getting the ball altogether and let Riise hoof it. You have the treble pay off that you take both Alonso and Gerrard out of the game, and then when Gerrard goes a wandering off the touchline looking for the ball, you attack our right flank.

During this time, Alonso's form dipped significantly. Yes he was still positionally astute, but his contribution in a positive sense became a fraction of what it had been previously. At this time, he certainly wasn't "hacking" the Premiership. It became the teams problem very quickly, how we were going to get Alonso on the ball again. I believe Sissoko's limitations in aiding this aim were the significant factor in him being sold, and we wrestled with the connundrum for the best poart of 18 months.

Anyway I could go on as you all know, but nobody gives a feck anyway :laugh:

by **heimdall** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:40 pm

Lando_Griffin wrote:
s@int wrote:I don't want to become embroiled in yet another argument, but I think the point you are missing Lando is that most people can have a difference of opinion without one of them being called a Kunt and receiving a torrent of abuse etc etc.

I don't happen to think as highly of Alonso as you do. That doesn't mean I think he is a waste of space , a cr@p player or anything of the sort. It just means I don't value his contribution or importance to the team as highly as you do. Surely I am entitled to my opinion no matter how "wrong " it is in your eyes, just as you are entitled to your opinion no matter how "wrong " I think it is.

Very little ever actually gets "proven" because this is a football forum and football is all about opinions, so why not just state your opinions and your reasons and accept that others may not necessarily agree with them. There is no need for the abuse, because calling someone a Kunt won't change their mind about anything other than their opinion of you.

Saint, it's the people who were saying he couldn't hack the Premiership - who WERE saying he was cr*p - that got on my tits.

Because they were totally and utterly wrong. They were also, at times, extremely rude about one of our most valued and gentlemanly players of recent times, and I will not accept that.

You can call your Pennants and Dioufs all you like - their actions warrant abuse. But Xabi? The lad is a model professional, and did not deserve to have a gang of mindless inbreds insulting him.

And to clarify, I am speaking in general terms with "you", and not directing this at you or Mick - only those who were disgusting in their tasteless appraisals of Alonso.

Curious, so it's NOT ok to criticise a footballer who by his own admission had a dip in form and who people pay good money to see play but it's perfectly ok for you to go around abusing most members of an open forum because they have a differing opinion? You really are almost funny sometimes, in a sh1t farce type way.

BTW Just for the record I don't think I ever abused Xabi, well not until this transfer thing, most of which I take back. I have always thought him a very good midfielder if a bit too negative for my liking so I'm a bit sad to see him go.

Anyway if this is the deal, that we get Sneijder and Negredo, then we have hit the jackpot. I do feel that Alonso will flounder at Real Madrid though which is a shame for him as he does seem like a nice chap.

by **heimdall** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:43 pm

bigmick wrote:In many ways when Alonso was suffering a dip in form, he wasn't "hacking" the Premiership, that was much of the problem. What happened was that in many ways Alonso was a victim of his own success from his first couple of seasons. So influencial was he as the mythical "deep lying playmaker" that teams began to sit up and work out a plan to stop him. When Rafa put Gerrard on the right wing and the captain scored 23 goals or something ridiculous, it didn't take a smart Alec to work out that 75% of the time it was Alonso who was finding him with crisp passes 25-35 yards, drilled into Gerrards feet.

It was much easier to stop Gerrard getting the ball in the first place, than it was trying to stop him once he'd actually got it they reasoned. Sissoko although being one of my favourite players was hardly likely to either carry it up into Gerrard country or even less to pass it to him, so they reasoned if they could stop Alonso they could stop Gerrard and then by definition Liverpool. They were right of course. So teams looked at where Alonso recieved the ball (the pocket 95% of the time) and who was giving it to him, and told attackers not to bother closing our defenders down as none of them bar Hyppia could play anyway. Much better to sit in on Alonso, stop him getting the ball altogether and let Riise hoof it. You have the treble pay off that you take both Alonso and Gerrard out of the game, and then when Gerrard goes a wandering off the touchline looking for the ball, you attack our right flank.

During this time, Alonso's form dipped significantly. Yes he was still positionally astute, but his contribution in a positive sense became a fraction of what it had been previously. At this time, he certainly wasn't "hacking" the Premiership. It became the teams problem very quickly, how we were going to get Alonso on the ball again. I believe Sissoko's limitations in aiding this aim were the significant factor in him being sold, and we wrestled with the connundrum for the best poart of 18 months.

Anyway I could go on as you all know, but nobody gives a feck anyway

Not to kiss :censored:

too much, but that was a very good footballing post BigMick.

by **bigmick** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 1:46 pm

Ta mate. Just occasionally I sling one in just to keep em guessing :laugh:

by **heimdall** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:05 pm

bigmick wrote:Ta mate. Just occasionally I sling one in just to keep em guessing

Also have to give credit to Rafa and Xabi for thinking up counter measures to those tactics.

by **maguskwt** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:12 pm

bigmick wrote:In many ways when Alonso was suffering a dip in form, he wasn't "hacking" the Premiership, that was much of the problem. What happened was that in many ways Alonso was a victim of his own success from his first couple of seasons. So influencial was he as the mythical "deep lying playmaker" that teams began to sit up and work out a plan to stop him. When Rafa put Gerrard on the right wing and the captain scored 23 goals or something ridiculous, it didn't take a smart Alec to work out that 75% of the time it was Alonso who was finding him with crisp passes 25-35 yards, drilled into Gerrards feet.

It was much easier to stop Gerrard getting the ball in the first place, than it was trying to stop him once he'd actually got it they reasoned. Sissoko although being one of my favourite players was hardly likely to either carry it up into Gerrard country or even less to pass it to him, so they reasoned if they could stop Alonso they could stop Gerrard and then by definition Liverpool. They were right of course. So teams looked at where Alonso recieved the ball (the pocket 95% of the time) and who was giving it to him, and told attackers not to bother closing our defenders down as none of them bar Hyppia could play anyway. Much better to sit in on Alonso, stop him getting the ball altogether and let Riise hoof it. You have the treble pay off that you take both Alonso and Gerrard out of the game, and then when Gerrard goes a wandering off the touchline looking for the ball, you attack our right flank.

During this time, Alonso's form dipped significantly. Yes he was still positionally astute, but his contribution in a positive sense became a fraction of what it had been previously. At this time, he certainly wasn't "hacking" the Premiership. It became the teams problem very quickly, how we were going to get Alonso on the ball again. I believe Sissoko's limitations in aiding this aim were the significant factor in him being sold, and we wrestled with the connundrum for the best poart of 18 months.

Anyway I could go on as you all know, but nobody gives a feck anyway

but then what happened last season? Why couldn't opponents apply the same strategy?

by **Bad Bob** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:23 pm

I've made no secret that Alonso's one of my favourite players and that we should be doing our utmost to hang onto him. But, if that 20 million + Negredo + Snejder on 2-year loan has any truth to it, I think it's time to do business. The latest quotes from Alonso offer more fence sitting and, while I acknowledge they may have been embroidered a bit by the UK press, the clear underlying message to me is that he wants to go to Madrid and that he is just waiting patiently for the negotiations to finish between the two clubs. I'm sure if he stayed he'd be a model professional but if he really does want to go this badly, the time to sell him is now given what Madrid appear to be offering. No guarantees that Negredo and Snejder will bed in seemlessly, of course, but both should strengthen our team. If the rest of the money can be put toward someone like Silva or Young, so much the better. Interesting times.

by **NANNY RED** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:24 pm

From the telly well lfc telly

LFC.tv

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez today refused to be drawn into a debate over Xabi Alonso's future - despite repeated questions from the Thai press as the Reds officially launched their visit to the Far East.
The Reds party arrived at their Bangkok hotel at 4pm local time after a gruelling ten hour overnight flight from Vienna, where they were greeted by hundreds of press and fans, all with cameras at the ready to greet their heroes as they arrived in town.

Following a quick snack on the team floor of the hotel, manager Rafael Benitez was joined by Jamie Carragher and Ryan Babel to address the media in one of the Grand Hyatt Hotel's function suites.

It wasn't long before the tone of the press conference was set, with one question about Xabi Alonso being followed by another - and then another - until it became clear the manager wouldn't be discussing transfer speculation at this particular press conference.

"He is here with us and he will be available for the games," said Benitez. "The Spanish players and Dossena and Mascherano arrived back late because of the Confederations Cup and internationals, so they will probably not play as much as the other players."

"But are you planning to talk to him about the transfer speculation?" quizzed one local journalist. Benitez, though, familiar with not answering questions he doesn't want to, replied: "He is here with us this week, he can enjoy the games, the weather and the journalists."

Benitez, though, was far more serious in answering questions about Liverpool's trip to the Far East, with this week's game in Thailand being followed next weekend with a match in Singapore.

"For us this is a really important stage of the season," he commented. "Everything we do during pre-season is about planning for the first game. We will continue to prepare the players well this week and look to play well in the games.

"It was disappointing to lose in Vienna because you always want to win games, but there were lots of positives to take from the game. Hopefully we can keep working well, and keep working hard, over here."

Jamie Carragher also joined Benitez at the top table and insisted he already has his sights set firmly on title glory next season.

"There's going to be a lot of competition this year but if we can improve one or two per cent on what we did last season then we have a chance," he said.

"I think Chelsea will be back this year, Man City obviously are spending money, so it's important we use this time well to make sure we're ready for that first afternoon at Tottenham."

Next up for the Reds on their itinerary is a visit to a local sports club before a reception takes place at the hotel later tonight as their hosts officially welcome Liverpool FC to Bangkok.

Stay tuned to Liverpoolfc.tv for all the latest news direct from the Thai capital.

by **maguskwt** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:24 pm

stmichael wrote:
Sabre wrote:Yes he has done an outstanding season and it's not easy to score 20 goals for Almeria.

But you never know if a player that with regular football does well, will do well as backup of Torres. Even the less if he's foreign and he's going to a new league. But yeh, I'd be happy with Negredo here if we receive 22M, because it seems to me he has the potential to cost quite a lot of money really soon.

Do you think he could adapt to the physicality of the Premiership Sabre? I've not seen enough of the guy.

Personally I'd take Pavlyuchenko as backup to Torres. I rate the guy and he can play upfront on his own to great effect as he showed with Russia at the Euro's. He's almost certain to leave Spurs this summer aswell.

Negredo seems like a big lad (6'1") and also seem to have an instinct for goal... hopefully his potential will bloom when he joins LFC... just like Torres'. I would like to see him play together with Torres and not just be a back up on the bench if he did come.

by **metalhead** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:27 pm

maguskwt wrote:
bigmick wrote:In many ways when Alonso was suffering a dip in form, he wasn't "hacking" the Premiership, that was much of the problem. What happened was that in many ways Alonso was a victim of his own success from his first couple of seasons. So influencial was he as the mythical "deep lying playmaker" that teams began to sit up and work out a plan to stop him. When Rafa put Gerrard on the right wing and the captain scored 23 goals or something ridiculous, it didn't take a smart Alec to work out that 75% of the time it was Alonso who was finding him with crisp passes 25-35 yards, drilled into Gerrards feet.

It was much easier to stop Gerrard getting the ball in the first place, than it was trying to stop him once he'd actually got it they reasoned. Sissoko although being one of my favourite players was hardly likely to either carry it up into Gerrard country or even less to pass it to him, so they reasoned if they could stop Alonso they could stop Gerrard and then by definition Liverpool. They were right of course. So teams looked at where Alonso recieved the ball (the pocket 95% of the time) and who was giving it to him, and told attackers not to bother closing our defenders down as none of them bar Hyppia could play anyway. Much better to sit in on Alonso, stop him getting the ball altogether and let Riise hoof it. You have the treble pay off that you take both Alonso and Gerrard out of the game, and then when Gerrard goes a wandering off the touchline looking for the ball, you attack our right flank.

During this time, Alonso's form dipped significantly. Yes he was still positionally astute, but his contribution in a positive sense became a fraction of what it had been previously. At this time, he certainly wasn't "hacking" the Premiership. It became the teams problem very quickly, how we were going to get Alonso on the ball again. I believe Sissoko's limitations in aiding this aim were the significant factor in him being sold, and we wrestled with the connundrum for the best poart of 18 months.

Anyway I could go on as you all know, but nobody gives a feck anyway

but then what happened last season? Why couldn't opponents apply the same strategy?

I disagree with Bigmick here, I don't think ''stopping'' alonso made him lose his form, if it was, then as maguskwt said, why didn't they ''stop'' alonso last season? Its just a bad couple of injuries he had in the past two seasons, plus not getting the right fitness made made his form drop considerably.

by **ElNino9** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:27 pm

He seems to play similar to Torres, have we found another gem?

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