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Xabi Alonso

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longrufus

Established Member
Alonso is a far better player than Barry.

But as a few people have said Barry is a player that possibly gives us more of what we actually need.

Are either realistic? Can anyone remember any time when Wenger actually spent big money to bring a more defensive player in?
 

Anzac

Established Member
Opinion in the MC partner for Cesc has really got us flumoxed so far as what we want.

When Alonso went to LFC he was amongst the best mobile DMC in Europe, great reader of the game & passing ability & was pretty sure in breaking up play & could release the ball quickly for the counter. He won't give you the same energy as Flamini but do we really need it????

A slight change in style / execution & he's got the potential to resolve AW's issues down the middle, even if he's not a giant in the air. Alonso no longer suits the LFC game just like Bert no longer suits ours, but I bet Alonso would be a better & more effective player here than at LFC.

I can't see LFC selling to us to get Barry, who does offer more going forward than Alonso, but if Alonso is younger & cheaper then I'd take it thank you very much.
 

Glovegun

Established Member
Alonso does the job of a defensive mid very well, but I cant help but feel he would be overpowered and out-scrapped against the Essiens, Andersons and Mascheranos of this world. More of a Pirlo figure than a Gattuso.
 

Legend#1

Established Member
Man U have survived without a "combative midfielder".


Xabi is class.


Xabi Alonso's agent has claimed the Liverpool midfielder is aware of interest from Arsenal.

The Spaniard has seen a possible move to Juventus hit the buffers after the Italian giants signed Christian Poulsen from Sevilla.

However, reports continue to suggest that Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is prepared to sell Alonso to fund his own spending plans.

Alonso is rated in the £14million bracket and has now been linked with a move to the Reds' Premier League rivals Arsenal.

Up to Liverpool
Gunners manager Arsène Wenger is in the market for a midfielder after losing Mathieu Flamini, while Gilberto Silva is set to join Panathinaikos.

Reports in Spain suggest contact has been made between the two clubs and the 26-year-old's agent Inaki Ibanez says the player is waiting for Liverpool's decision.

"The player knows about this subject and now the decision lies with Liverpool," Ibanez told Spanish newspaper Publico.

Alonso's sale would give Benitez the funds to sign Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry, who has also been linked with a move to Arsenal.

Looks like this could be a real transfer.
 

JazzG

Established Member
Legend#1 said:
Man U have survived without a "combative midfielder".

They spent £17mill on Hargreaves after Kaka ripped them a new one in the CL a couple seasons ago and in most big matches Hargreaves started.
 

Pádraig

Active Member
JazzG said:
Legend#1 said:
Man U have survived without a "combative midfielder".

They spent £17mill on Hargreaves after Kaka ripped them a new one in the CL a couple seasons ago and in most big matches Hargreaves started.

And their central defenders are better than ours.

Edit: Anderson does a lot of tracking back as well.
 

dendito

Active Member
I think him and Cesc could be a great partnership in CM. And probably become one of the best in Europe. and he has a great shoot, great passing,... definately go for him if we can!
 

Shadow Moses

Established Member
Pádraig said:
JazzG said:
Legend#1 said:
Man U have survived without a "combative midfielder".

They spent £17mill on Hargreaves after Kaka ripped them a new one in the CL a couple seasons ago and in most big matches Hargreaves started.

And their central defenders are better than ours.

Edit: Anderson does a lot of tracking back as well.

Anderson is more or less a dm. He has no clue in the final 3rd but starts for ManU because of his defensive ability
 

James

Established Member
This is as excited as i've been over a possible transfer. I really think he could slot into our midfield nicely.

A season ago he would've been one of the midfielders i hoped would join us. He may have had a poor season (an injury plagued one), but there's no denying his class. He is a defensively minding CM in that he likes to sit deep and pick up the ball, but i think everyone may be getting carried away with the sort of player we need in the middle. Perhaps it's no coincidence that Arsène has just let 3 very similar minded players leave the club?

I just can't believe Rafa would value him lower than Barry, and also contemplate selling him to one of his rivals. But then, some seem to agree with him? I still can't see this happening.
 

CrazyInLoveWithArsenal

Well-Known Member
Rafa never had the balls to play Gerrard and Alosnso in the same midfield but the fact is, some of Liverpool's best performances were those two in the center. I am convinced a Fabregas and Alonso partnership would be successful.
 

Gazza Martinez

Established Member
There's no doubting Xabi's virtues - range, strength, technique. However he doesn't cover alot of space, and isn't very active in midfield pressing like Flamini was. Arguably our midfield game would become more passive with a player who prefers to 'sit in' like Xabi. I wouldn't call him lazy, that'd be like calling Pirlo lazy. They operate in a certain area of the pitch. Personally I like us as a high pressing team, it allows us to win the ball higher up the pitch and break. If I had to choose I'd prefer Barry - Alonso's technique leaves him in the shade, but Barry's workrate, intensity, and mobility would be arguably more useful in our current midfield.
 

longrufus

Established Member
Shadow Moses said:
Legend#1 said:
Man U have survived without a "combative midfielder"

Anderson is more or less a dm. He has no clue in the final 3rd but starts for ManU because of his defensive ability
Whats going on here Shadow, your posts usually make sense.

Anderson is a attacking midfield player, if you watched him at all before United you would know that. He isnt actually that good at all defensivly, in the true sense of the word. He is strong and uses his body well, not to mention he is a tenacious wee git.

But as i've said a number of times, you dont have to be good defensivly to defend well and United have proved that. What Scholes, Carrick and Anderson lack in defensive ability, they make up for in work rate and sticking their foot in when it matters.
 

McIntyre

Established Member
Considering our interest in Barry, we could easily tell Liverpool we'll back off on that front if they offload Xabi Alonso to us for a knockdown price. That would in turn give them the funds to make a fresh approach for Barry. Otherwise we could simply go for Barry, they miss out on a player they wanted and are left with a player they don't need. We could easily take advantage of this situation.

Personally, though, I would prefer Barry to Alonso. Despite whatever understanding Xabi and Cesc may have, Alonso doesn't make up for what we've lost in terms of tough tackling and leadership in the middle of the park. Plus, it seems ridiculous to buy a player from a team who finished lower than us last season when we could buy the player they want to make their team better. Not to mention, Xabi Alonso has suffered a few injuries over the years. The last thing we need is another sicknote.
 

Soler

Established Member
CrazyInLoveWithArsenal said:
Rafa never had the balls to play Gerrard and Alosnso in the same midfield but the fact is, some of Liverpool's best performances were those two in the center. I am convinced a Fabregas and Alonso partnership would be successful.

That's true enough, but I think we'd regret not having a combative Flamini-esque player for those rainy nights oop norf when the game of football is banned by order of death. None of Diaby, Denilson, Song and Alonso inspire that thought into me. We'd be left wanting there and we'd be making a mistake not doing anything about it.
 

qs

Established Member
longrufus said:
Shadow Moses said:
Anderson is more or less a dm. He has no clue in the final 3rd but starts for ManU because of his defensive ability
Whats going on here Shadow, your posts usually make sense.

Anderson is a attacking midfield player, if you watched him at all before United you would know that. He isnt actually that good at all defensivly, in the true sense of the word. He is strong and uses his body well, not to mention he is a tenacious wee git.

But as i've said a number of times, you dont have to be good defensivly to defend well and United have proved that. What Scholes, Carrick and Anderson lack in defensive ability, they make up for in work rate and sticking their foot in when it matters.

Anderson played attacking midfield in Portugal but for United he's always played in a defensive mid position and does **** all going forward for them. I think he'll start expanding his play now that he's settled. We'll see him playing much more of a complete midfield role.
 

Macho

In search of Pure Profit 💸
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Country: England
Im actually pissed off we have been linked with him.
Not what we need at all.
 
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