Personally I would only be happy with Alonso going if firstly we couldn't get David Villa, and secondly he absolutely HAD to be used as a makeweight in a deal for Eto'o. Apart from that, we have never been a selling club and I wouldn't want us to start now.
You make a very good point about us having more defensive CM's than any of the other top teams. This is the way Rafa likes to play, always has been wherever he has managed. I still believe Rafa is keen on going back to a 4-2-3-1 formation more often, but even when he does play 4-4-2 he likes his CM's to be very disciplined defensively. I still see Xabi having a very important role to play at the club, either alongside Mascherano in a 5 man midfield, or playing alongside Sissoko in a 4 man midfield. I have said before that Xabi plays better alongside Momo than anyone else, always being in the right positions to pick up the simple ball once Sissoko's won it.
Definately keep him IMO. He hasn't had a great season, but not many of our players have.
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