Agger & Alonso

This is good news,

Dan seems to have been out longer than 2 months, I bet Sami's breathing a sigh of relief, probably thinking, thank god I'm going to get a rest at last

Don't need Xabi quite as much as Agger.
Will be nice to see him back, and I bet he's itching to play.

Lets just hope this isn't another false dawn!

I don't know if he will be fit for Newcastle but just to see him on the bench would be good and confirm that the wait is over.

Like MsGerrard says it does seem an age since he was injured and how we have missed him.

Really focuses the need to strengthen the centre back options in January.

Benitez added: "Xabi should start running in the next week but he is a no for Newcastle, for sure."

Definitely no Xabi then.  When Rafa says 'For Sure' it's a bit like 'Simon says'.

Agger's been a massive loss.  His runs from defence to attack unsettle the opposition midfield who then have to worry about where Gerrard is off to.

He's also capable of bagging a few goals.

I'd love him to be back for Newcastle which I think will be a tricky clash.

I don't expect any of those two (XA or DA) to be playing versus Newcastle.

I don't expect any of those two (XA or DA) to be playing versus Newcastle.

If you know what Rafa is going to do your a much better man than me .

If you know what Rafa is going to do your a much better man than me .

My guess, or my expectation is probably as good (or more probably off the mark) as the next man's when judging what Rafa will or won't do...! ;0)

we really are missing agger and alonso, plus its going to take a few games for them to be match fit again.
but Ive got a feeling they'll be coming back at the right time and lift us up that little bit further, added with who ever we buy in January.

january looks great for us really. agger and alonso return, pennant returns, and maybe wrapping up mascherano deal and new signings. looks bright for us really. i personally cant wait to see agger and alonso back but also pennant as i think he will be excellent when he gets back, at the start of the season he was one of our best players imo and he seemed to fade due to his injury but when he gets back i expect him to be playing great and hes still pretty young so things look good.

pennant as I think he will be excellent when he gets back, at the start of the season he was one of our best players imo and he seemed to fade due to his injury but when he gets back I expect him to be playing great and hes still pretty young so things look good.

Yes it will be an added bonus I have always considered Pennant to be one of our most improved players of last season and he has not disappointed this season either.  My thinking is the same as yours in that he is still young and seems to have settled alot more now (apart from that red card at Porto which was not his fault) and he does give us alot of depth on the right some including me would argue he is a better option than Yossi on the right wing too.

Yes it will be an added bonus I have always considered Pennant to be one of our most improved players of last season and he has not disappointed this season either.  My thinking is the same as yours in that he is still young and seems to have settled alot more now (apart from that red card at Porto which was not his fault) and he does give us alot of depth on the right some including me would argue he is a better option than Yossi on the right wing too.

I agree with you there.
I think Pennant brings a much needed width to our team because sometimes I feel we are congesting the middle too much with yossi and voronin(when he plays wing) coming inside all the time.

I'm not sure if we have missed either as much as people think. Hyypia filled in for Agger he has been brilliant for the few games he's played in. Who would you put out of the team for, i would think about Masch, but then you think of how well he has played in recent weeks and you dismiss the arguement. Last year on the Liverpoolfc.tv forum, everyone was saying that we missed Momo alot, and that him being ill was the cause of our 3-6 loss, but i don't think we really missed him. Okay we'd much rather have Alonso and Agger back than not but i don't believe he would have done better than Masch did. Gerrard would have been playing on the right if Alonso was fit, he doesn't like that. I know that alot will disagree with me but as much as people say so, we haven't missed them that much.

I'm not sure if we have missed either as much as people think. Hyypia filled in for Agger he has been brilliant for the few games he's played in. Who would you put out of the team for, I would think about Masch, but then you think of how well he has played in recent weeks and you dismiss the arguement. Last year on the Liverpoolfc.tv forum, everyone was saying that we missed Momo alot, and that him being ill was the cause of our 3-6 loss, but I don't think we really missed him. Okay we'd much rather have Alonso and Agger back than not but I don't believe he would have done better than Masch did. Gerrard would have been playing on the right if Alonso was fit, he doesn't like that. I know that alot will disagree with me but as much as people say so, we haven't missed them that much.

I agree that Hyypia has done a good job in Agger's absence but Agger brings something very important to our game.  He takes the ball out of defence and can make things happen with his penetrative runs, lay offs and long distance shooting.  I think we have been missing these options.  Xabi reads the game very well, can pick out a defence splitting pass and like all good players seems to create his own time and space.  He gives us a different option to Mascherano.

In this I think we have missed both players considerably.

couldnt agree more AJ. I don't really get why people slate him so much but I guess there will always be someone who doesnt like one of our players. he has come on leaps and bounds since joining and rafa has changed him alot, this injury seems like a big setback for him but I feel he will bounce back from this dramatically. I do think we have missed Agger and Alonso more than people notice. our play has be good with them out at times phenominal but they add so much to our team and at times there are players that you dont notice how important they are until they arent playing. kind of like lampard for chelsea, he seems like a terrible player at times but constantly gets rated as one of the best (although I dislike him an amazing amount due to him getting so much of the praise that gerrard should get) when he isnt playing for them they really are a different side. the vision and passing Agger and Alonso have is quite amazing and they really know how to pick out a team mate in a sticky situation. some of the things they do are pure genius alonso in particular, his shots from his own half that most would even dare try, his 360 roullette trick in the Champions League final after kaka had done the same trick not long before to show that we were not intimidated and just other things like I remember him taking a free kick for us and when everyone expected him to shoot he play a cheeky lobbed pass over the wall to one of our players for them to shoot. these things add a touch of unpredictability to our side and causes other teams to be unsure of what we are going to do.

couldnt agree more AJ. I don't really get why people slate him so much but I guess there will always be someone who doesnt like one of our players. he has come on leaps and bounds since joining and rafa has changed him alot, this injury seems like a big setback for him but I feel he will bounce back from this dramatically. I do think we have missed Agger and Alonso more than people notice. our play has be good with them out at times phenominal but they add so much to our team and at times there are players that you dont notice how important they are until they arent playing. kind of like lampard for chelsea, he seems like a terrible player at times but constantly gets rated as one of the best (although I dislike him an amazing amount due to him getting so much of the praise that gerrard should get) when he isnt playing for them they really are a different side. the vision and passing Agger and Alonso have is quite amazing and they really know how to pick out a team mate in a sticky situation. some of the things they do are pure genius alonso in particular, his shots from his own half that most would even dare try, his 360 roullette trick in the Champions League final after kaka had done the same trick not long before to show that we were not intimidated and just other things like I remember him taking a free kick for us and when everyone expected him to shoot he play a cheeky lobbed pass over the wall to one of our players for them to shoot. these things add a touch of unpredictability to our side and causes other teams to be unsure of what we are going to do.

Did you take a breath when you posted that? 

sorry its a habit of mine. always happens when i start typing i cant stop

agger,pennant and alonso are very important for we

Alonso in line to play some part in tonights game.

Alonso in line to play some part in tonights game.

And it's the perfect game for him to come back into. Not much pressure, but against an opposition we want to beat, so the desire is there. Hopefully he'll be back to full match practice after tonight, and will be ready for the games next week, perhaps missing out on the Portsmouth fixture while he recovers from a full run out tonight.

If Xabi doesn't start it will be Lucas and Momo ... but Xabi plays holding mf when he last played with Momo... could be the same with Momo coming off...