Xabi Alonso Player Thread

I think rafas said his part so its not down to whether xabi would prefer to be 1st 2nd or 3rd choice its now more a matter of if he doesnt improve he will be lower choice.

Well if he wants to be simply a greedy buggar then he'll accept a role on the bench. If he wants to get out there and be a winner then he can either up his game or move on to another club and play his trade there...

I can't see him having that kind of greedy attitude to be honest. Doesnt seem the type atall.

I can't see him having that kind of greedy attitude to be honest. Doesnt seem the type atall.

But a part exchange deal with Valencia would seem wise wouldn't it? David Villa? David Silva? We are not crying out for Xabi Alonso but we are crying out for one of those! It would only make us stronger all round if we signed Silva or Villa for example... and then I'd get a midfielder who'd accept being on the bench.

Yeah of course. I just meant that i dont think he is the greedy im the best and what i say goes type. I'd love us to get Silva/Villa it would be a dream.

come on people, remember earlier in the season when alonso was injured, all the talk was "we're a different team without alonso" and "alonso makes us tick" and so on. he hasn't become a bad player he's just a little out of form. given a run of games he'll be back to his best.

I did however have suspicions he would be sold when alonso scarves and pics were in the january sale at the club shop

There's a reason I said everyone plays better when Alonso plays, and that's because it's true. The defence has an outball that's not a hoof over the top, the wingers stick to the lines to receive passes, Gerrard roams forward, and the front men are always on their toes looking for balls over the top.

I still think the best formation we could possibly play, providing we got a couple of signings, would be a 4-3-3.

                  Reina
(WB)  Carra      Agger/Skrtel   (WB)
             Masch     Alonso
                    Gerrard
(WF)                              Babel
                    Torres

Two wingbacks/sidebacks need to be brought in for this to work. In the mould of Gael Clichy for instance; quick and able to defend but still whip a mean cross in. Also another winger to push forward, holding a wider position, opposite to Babel. Someone like Quaresma, for instance.

This way we keep Alonso, Mascherano continues to play and Gerrard gets a more attacking role. With a top class winger, (Benayoun as backup) alongside Torres and Babel, the attacking quartet of Stevie, Fernando, Ryan and this classy winger, would be quite something.

There's a reason I said everyone plays better when Alonso plays, and that's because it's true. The defence has an outball that's not a hoof over the top, the wingers stick to the lines to receive passes, Gerrard roams forward, and the front men are always on their toes looking for balls over the top.

I still think the best formation we could possibly play, providing we got a couple of signings, would be a 4-3-3.

                  Reina
(WB)  Carra      Agger/Skrtel   (WB)
             Masch     Alonso
                    Gerrard
(WF)                              Babel
                    Torres

Two wingbacks/sidebacks need to be brought in for this to work. In the mould of Gael Clichy for instance; quick and able to defend but still whip a mean cross in. Also another winger to push forward, holding a wider position, opposite to Babel. Someone like Quaresma, for instance.

This way we keep Alonso, Mascherano continues to play and Gerrard gets a more attacking role. With a top class winger, (Benayoun as backup) alongside Torres and Babel, the attacking quartet of Stevie, Fernando, Ryan and this classy winger, would be quite something.

For me without a doubt the wing forward sould be quaresma and the right wing back alves and the left one maybe bridge

If we lose Alonso we lose the most intelligent player in our squad, simple as that.
 
There is a very simple way to accomodate him, play Gerrard on the right for the majority of games. It has always been Rafa's style to keep it tight down the middle & attack down the wings, as far as I'm concerned Gerrard has two choices, learn to curb his attacking instincts (not good for him or the team) or accept playing out on the right. It's the only way to get the balance right without total squad upheaval.

We can't get rid of Xabi.....what would happen if Stevie or Lucas  gets a long term injury, we'd be struggling, just like we have  been with Agger being out for so long.

Xabi is vital to our squad, and just needs to find his feet and like so many other players, his confidence, his passing is so sweet.
An inform Alonso.....there's no one better.

We can't get rid of Xabi.....what would happen if Stevie or Lucas  gets a long term injury, we'd be struggling, just like we have  been with Agger being out for so long.

The idea is to replace him with an attacking midfielder, prefareably Samir Nasri or Matias Fernandez. That way we would have Lucas who is a dictator of play, Gerrard all round, Mascherano holding & a playmaker in attack!
Anyway Lucas's passing is immense, no reason why he can't do the job Xabi can. I do like Xabi Alonso though, and he's excellent when Gerrard is not playing and I mean excellent but honestly who'll drop Gerrard? Even if he's playing that bad he's now been made undroppable from the fans & media and I think thats wrong because in my eyes Gerrard IS droppable!

There's a reason I said everyone plays better when Alonso plays, and that's because it's true.

....and I agree.

What people dont realize is the level of his creativity. Their is only a handful of players who have this ability in all sports in the world and xabi's one of them.Thats why he's worth 15 mil even when he's had the seasn he's had!

For example...

A certain Mr. Dirk Kuyt gets alot of stick (from me included) for his poor first touch and losing the ball in his deep striker role, but this isnt always his fault. He loses posession because of a lack of options/ideas ie. he's isolated. The person I blame for this isnt dirky himself but the person who passed to him. Alonso would never make a pass like that....

I say f**k off real madrid!

I really like that 4-3-3 to, but then we need more speed from the wingers and wingbacks and at lest two backups for the center of midfield

Apparently we are joining the race for diego now, could this be the end for alonso. I hope not.

Apparently we are joining the race for diego now, could this be the end for alonso. I hope not.

In fairness to Xabi... he might not want to go... but her indoors might... Xabi has loads of personal friends in Madrid... as he said recently on 30 mintues with Xabi, so you can see Real Madrid being a pull for the lad (and the gf).

True but i wouldnt let her decide my future for me i'd decide whats best for my career not things like friends.

Apparently we are joining the race for diego now, could this be the end for alonso. I hope not.

Well if it means we are to get Diego then I hope so. I do like Alonso but I honeslty think with the type of midfielders we've got at the moment.. he's not needed and an attacking midfielder is. We need to balance up our squad more.. yes Alonso offers different to Mascherano & Gerrard but lets face the facts.. all players offer something different to each other but Xabi doesn't offer us what we need right now and that is a creative spark in midfield.

Xabi is our midfields creative spark. The games in which he isnt on the field are the ones where we get into the final third and get lost for ideas.

Xabi is our midfields creative spark. The games in which he isnt on the field are the ones where we get into the final third and get lost for ideas.

I don't think Xabi is creative in the final third mate. He is a deeplying playmaker, or more like quarterback. We need a playmaker in the final third.. Diego, Fernandez, Aimar, Riquleme, Nasri etc

Study his game and u'll see what he does for us in games.

Study his game and u'll see what he does for us in games.

Not too much then. We are not really getting better results with him in the squad than out the squad. Player we miss is Danny Agger not Xabi Alonso

lets not forget as well hes had 2 injury set backs this season and may just need a couple of games back to back to find his form. Wouldnt sell him but if he goes I hope we dont get fu**ed for a price like we normally do and that we sign a replacement who is at least on a par with Xabi if not better

If we lose Alonso we lose the most intelligent player in our squad, simple as that.
 
There is a very simple way to accomodate him, play Gerrard on the right for the majority of games. It has always been Rafa's style to keep it tight down the middle & attack down the wings, as far as I'm concerned Gerrard has two choices, learn to curb his attacking instincts (not good for him or the team) or accept playing out on the right. It's the only way to get the balance right without total squad upheaval.

I could not agree any more with artaylors team idea and with Eddie C's comments.
Alonso is by far our most creative player and he needs to play with Masch in CM. Gerrard may think his best position is in CM but its not the best position for LFC to play Gerrard in. Play Alonso and Masch in CM and let Gerrard roam around the final third where he can hurt teams.
All this talk of Alonso playing badly, dont forget he has been injured most of the last few months and has only recently come back and has come back to a team playing with no confidence. The lad is class and we need him in CM to pull the strings.