XABI ALONSO LIVERPOOL'S KEY

It's certainly been a slow summer on the transfer front for Liverpool up to now.
One big name in, Glen Johnson, who appears to have been the Man of the Match against Gallen the other night.
Other than that, zilch.
The fact that Benitez doesn't have huge wads of cash to chuck about is well-documented, but it is assumed that there's currently another £10-£15m in the pot to spend.
But it seems the identity of players exiting Anfield is likely to have the biggest impact on our muscle perusading new recruits to come in.
It seems paradoxical to suggest that losing the services of perhaps our best player last season, Alonso, could do us a favour. The Spaniard was excellent over the recent campaign, but when Real Madrid start talking of figures near the £30m mark, that's the kind of dough that could be music to Rafa's ears.
There's only a few Liverpool players who could command huge transfer fees from big European clubs.
Xabi is obviously one of them.
And if there's one out of the special threesome of him, Mascherano and Gerrard who we could, at a push, afford to lose, its the Spaniard.

In a way, it might even benefit our general set-up on the pitch.
Mascherano is the archetypal holding destructive midfielder. Gerrard is the perfect attacking midfielder.
In reality, that's the best combination. Xabi was so talented you can't/couldn't leave him out, and his passing always gives us great momentum.
But it did also create something of a headache for Benitez to try and accommodate all three.
Add to that the factor that three centre midfielders means Torres ploughing a lone furrow up front and losing Xabi may not be all bad.
While Torres's understanding with Gerrard is second to none, we still played one up front many a time last season.
The reason we didn't win the league was the welter of nil-nil draws at home to weak opposition.
There were occasions when a defence on top of its game (Lescott/Jagielka or Upson in the West Ham at home) found a way to easily repel Liverpool's unadventurous one man up front tactics.
When Torres and Gerrard were in synch, nobody could stop them. When things turned a bit rusty between them, the one man forward line looked incapable of denting a brick-like back line.
What Xabi's possible departure might give us is the chance to play a second prolific, or at least complimentary, striker up alongside Torres to give central defenders more to worry about.
Ok, Robbie Keane was the right way of thinking by Benitez/Parry (take your pick), but it didn't work out.
We move on. If Keane had been close to the player we thought he was for Spurs, I guess we'd be holding out 19th league title now.
David Villa is very unlikely as we don't have a blank chequebook, but a player of the Santa Cruz ilk, or a Tevez (since seen the money at Citeh) could make Liverpool a completely different proposition.

Here's a few Xabi classics to remind us what's in his locker.

Yes, Xabi was great last season. But let's not forget that he was pretty non-descript for the two seasons before that.
There's also the pretty plausible argument that when Gerrard is missing the Spaniard excels as he assumes that responsibility as Liverpool's main playmaker.
But with the captain playing, Xabi does have that tendency to pass the buck to Gerrard and do the acceptable instead of the exceptional.

At present, reports suggest thast Madrid are offering £28m, but are baulking at Liverpool's insitence on £35m for the midfielder.
I wouldn't be surprised if the clubs meet halfway and we see a £32m deal being penned over the coming month or so.
And so long as we don't fritter that kind of cash away, there's a hell of a lot you can do with that sort of wedge.
Of course, losing Xabi's calmness on the ball and his unerring ability to keep Liverpool moving forward would be a blow.
Gerrard would have to concentrate more on that kind of input rather than bombing up to join his striker.
But Gerrard the creator is something he is more than capable of.

Losing Xabi would put the onus on our right and left midfielders to contribute more passing and probing play, rather than traditional pace and wingplay.
That's where Benayoun might come in and play a much greater role this coming season that during 08/09.
The Israeli, while lightweight, seems happier in the centre, but the absence of Xabi, and Yossi's ability to devlelop a patern to a team's play (I always think back to his MOTM showing at Cardiff against us for the Hammers) might persuade Rafa to play him more out wide, even though he's hardly going to be skinning the full back and whipping the ball back from the byline.

As I type, there are pretty speculative reports that a Xabi move, coupled with Downing going to Villa, makes Ashley Young a likelehood for Liverpool.
Truthful or not, it would be fantastic bit of business for the Reds. Genuine pace on the right to supply Torres.
That could prompt Rafa to dispense of Kuyt as a midfielder and see if his growing confidence could rediscover his no.9 goalscoring form of Feyenoord.

Basically, while I'd be happy for Xabi to stay, I don't think him going, for big money at least, is such a tragedy.
I'm extremely concerned with a month or so before the new season begins to have only Torres as a only genuine striking option.
Talk up our midfield cum striker Kuyt (he could work as a centre forward with two out and out wingers, but not in the present system) our raw Ngog, or how we 'may not have seen the best of Voronin' as much as we want.
But potential champions need more up front than we do at present if cups are going to be glistening at Anfield come next May.