XABI ALONSO..LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH
SO, Xabi has asked for a transfer request. Let's be honest, we knew the lad was going a long time ago, didn't we?
It's about time we got this episode sorted now as it's starting to all get a little bit sordid, if not tiresome.
Journalists trying to second guess the Spaniard's next move, Rafa's next move, nobody saying how they truly feel.
Excited Thai screaming: "We love you Xabi, please stay!", on the tour to the Far East.
Let's agree on £29m and get things moving.
His head's been turned and the lad wants away. That's obvious.
He had a cracking season for us last year and a cracking season for us four years ago.
The two in between have been decidedly dodgy.
We bought him for around £10m, so to get treble that on his sale is a great bit of business.
Let's be honest, he's not a matchwinner in the Gerrard or Torres mould. He's a very good player, but we are already very strong in central midfield.
As long as we've got Gerrard, Masch and Benayoun knocking round the centre of midfield that's good enough for me.
The only we'll be able to bring in the big recruits to really try and topple United is by having some heavyweight cash.
£30m could get us a pretty decent striker to compliment Torres and a pretty good winger on the right.
Or it could even buy us one real top class centre forward in the David Villa role.
We don't want an unhappy player on the books. Let him go and thank him for the four years he's given us.
Only 50% of that was successful, let's remember. People tend to get swayed by viewing only the 12 months that's just gone before them.
It wasn't a paucity of quality in the centre of the park that lost us the league last year, it was a lack of quality wide players needed to open up stubborn defences and another top class striker to mither defences just about managing to cope with the threat of Torres.
We can afford to lose Alonso and improve. With Dossena and Arbeloa nearly gone, we are slowly clearing the decks.
There are no takers for Babel, it seems, so it looks like Benitez is giving him one last chance.
There's not long now until the season begins, so Rafa needs time to consider what to do with that £30m wedge before Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Let's bring an end to this uncertainty.
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All good points.
The key piece of your sentence though was the bit about Masch staying. We can afford to lose one but not both and out of the two I agree taht Alonso is more dispensible.
Written transfer request means we get out of paying the ludicrous 'loyalty' payment and once the 1st Augsut is gone Sociadad don't get their cut so the endgame seems near.
Roll on the sales!
skyner
yeah, maschernao stuff seem to have gone a bit quiet.
like you say, losing two would be a disaster.
i suppose that's benitea dilemna..he's got two players who wouldn't mind a move, but also who both still like liverpool.
so if he opens the door for xabi to go, and then masch pushes to leave too, he's in a pickle.
so he has to be pretty non comittal...waiting for the others to make moves, so he m,ay just lose the one.
tough position to be in.
i just want it over though.
we've got a season to prepare for and we need to know who are key midfielders are to establish a first 11 than can play around it
Thoughts on xabi are, he was treated poorly last season, so i can understand him going, same in reverse to owen, he wanted to come but no love so gone to utd. Good business for us though, we have masha and i feel stevie g should play in front of him, we just need to get a good striker and as you say a right wing and were a lot more threatening.
xabi has done well for us and who will forget him sticking the penalty rebound in the top corner in Instanbul, but the relationship has gone between him and rafa, so time to move on, good luck to him and lets spend the dosh wisely.
cmon u reds.
Agree we can't lose both Alonoso & Mascha, although I believe this is inevitable as Mascha will likely be off next Summer unless i guess we win Prem League & CL.
The problem is going to be our centre mid depth, what do we do once Mascha gets suspended for accumulating yellow cards? Lucas? Spearing?
And as for buying David Villa with the cash generated from selling Alonso, as previously stated I don't recall Villa & Torres being devesating for Spain, its usually only one of them that plays well.
What does anyone know of the lads Christian Poulsen (Juve), Alberto Aquilani (Roma) and Steven Defour (Standard Liege) whom Sky Sports say we are after?
dave,
Looks like Aquilani is on his way.
Like I say, although I don't rate Lucas, I think having Gerrard, Masch and Lucas and Spearing is enough and strengthening that area isn't as much as a priororty as a pacy right winger or quality centre forward.