Alonso = Future LFC Legend

[tomasjj]

0 out of 0. That means 0%.

No, that is 100 %.
Owen tops the PL stats then.

[AFII]

good use of maths, are you Stephen Hawkins?

No, and not Owen either

[einar]

Not having a go at you but Alonso is a far greater talent than Fabregas and he is ahead of Fabregas in terms of playing for Spain which says something.

1. Fabregas is not pacey at all - he's not slow but has medium pace. Xabi is slow but his speed of thought is greater than anyone else's in the premiership.

2. Fabregas doesn't score many goals at all - in 90 appearences for Arsenal he's scored only 5 goals despite the fact he has been given the freedom to attack with Gilberto playing behind him.

Xabi has scored 9 goals in 76 games sitting in front of the back four and not having the freedom to attack. Only in in the last 10 games or so, Xabi seems to have been encouraged more to attack and has been the biggest golascoring threat we have from midfield, moreso than Gerrard.

3. Fabregas does have good passing and vision, but forgive me for saying this but I've not seen a player with better vision and passing ability than Xabi in my life. His passing is nothing short of amazing. His ability to think see things before they happen is tremendous. He is a different kind of playmaker who doesn't need to run at defenders to create opportunities - he gets the ball and can play through balls from his own half WITH EITHER FOOT.

4. Fabregas likes to get stuck in with tackles but he is vey reckless quite a lot of time. Xabi on the other hand has completed more tackles than any other player in the premiership (thats including defenders too). This was a stat which was also true of Didi Hamann. Xabi covers a lot more ground than Fabregas and is a hard worker.


In summary, Alonso is a far more superior player than Fabregas at present - Fabregas is young and may develop into a great player but the two of them cannot be compared at present. Alonso IMO has been the second or third best player this season so far behind Kuyt and Finnan for us. He had a slow start but is now playing better than ever - he's added an attacking dimension to his game in recent weeks (this I reckon is down to Rafa) and has had more efforts on goal than.

All my scum manc-******* friends rate our midfield players - Sissoko, Gerrard and Alonso. I'd also like to add that they rate Alonso as one of the best midfielders in the world which says something.

Good post.

[AFII]

No, that is 100 %.
Owen tops the PL stats then.

That must mean I top the stats then. I still waiting for a chance to play my first game

[Milan_Milan]

Not having a go at you but Alonso is a far greater talent than Fabregas and he is ahead of Fabregas in terms of playing for Spain which says something.

To be fair you can't really compare them in terms of international caps given that Xabi is 25 and Fabregas is 19. Not many 19 year olds play central midfield for their country.

[saj]

To be fair you can't really compare them in terms of international caps given that Xabi is 25 and Fabregas is 19. Not many 19 year olds play central midfield for their country.

Age doesn't matter to some extent. Players mature at different ages. Rooney is a perfect example - as good a player as he is. 2 years ago he was playing really well but by now you would have thought he would have been as good as Ronaldinho. But he's not improved much since then and is playing at the same level he did 2 years ago. I think there are certain players who can peak too soon and this can work against them. Most of the great Players (i.e. the players who have won the world player of the year awards etc) in recent times all got recognised later in their career's rather than when they were 18 -19. Example being Ronaldinho, Zidane, Figo, Baggio, Rivaldo, Henry, Riquelme etc etc etc.

Going back to what u said, not many 19 year olds play for their country well Argentina have had countless players being labelled as the next Maradona who have made their debut at 18. The two big examples are Pablo Aimar and Saviola. Both players were amazing talents in their teens but now that they're in their mid twenties, both of them are lucky if they get a call up to the national squad let alon play if they're lucky. Instead its Riquelme who is the main man in that team (he was unheard of as a young player) who's 28 and only has 38 caps.

Something tells me Fabregas may just become another Jose Antonio Reyes or Saviola - somone who was talented when he was younger but then didn't really come to much.

[Sir Bob]

Alonso is a very fine player but some of the posts here are OTT in my book.
For me, he's not one of the best midfield players in the world as some have argued. I'd put him in the top 20 or so but not in the top 5.

As for Fabregas, he's an exceptional talent. He's not at Alonso's level of consistency just yet but for someone so young he's a truely outstanding prospect.

[Milan_Milan]

Age doesn't matter to some extent. Players mature at different ages. Rooney is a perfect example - as good a player as he is. 2 years ago he was playing really well but by now you would have thought he would have been as good as Ronaldinho. But he's not improved much since then and is playing at the same level he did 2 years ago. I think there are certain players who can peak too soon and this can work against them. Most of the great Players (i.e. the players who have won the world player of the year awards etc) in recent times all got recognised later in their career's rather than when they were 18 -19. Example being Ronaldinho, Zidane, Figo, Baggio, Rivaldo, Henry, Riquelme etc etc etc.

Going back to what u said, not many 19 year olds play for their country well Argentina have had countless players being labelled as the next Maradona who have made their debut at 18. The two big examples are Pablo Aimar and Saviola. Both players were amazing talents in their teens but now that they're in their mid twenties, both of them are lucky if they get a call up to the national squad let alon play if they're lucky. Instead its Riquelme who is the main man in that team (he was unheard of as a young player) who's 28 and only has 38 caps.

Something tells me Fabregas may just become another Jose Antonio Reyes or Saviola - somone who was talented when he was younger but then didn't really come to much.

I said not many central midfielders play for their country. You've not yet named a central midfielder. The reason I said it is that to play central midfield you need to have an awareness of the whole game, rather than just the bit going on in your area. You need to be able to do everything, pass, tackle and score, you need to position yourself well and make yourself available for every pass.

Not many young players have the maturity and presence of mind to do that, even fewer are good enough at it to play for their country at such a young age.

Its a position that requires experience, and thats why Alonso plays more for Spain than Fabregas.

[Craig_H]

The problem for Liverpool is that he cannot hold a midfield as well as Sissoko or go driving forward and score goals like Gerrard.

Nail on the fecking head.

He's neither a defensive midfielder, NOR an attacking one.

Superb player as he is, when he plays in a midfield 4, we miss out on one or the other.

[Craig_H]

HUH?

I'd agree that pace is a necessity in the modern game, but Sissoko slow?? Alonso adds more pace? Huh? Our tempo, when Sissoko plays, is always quicker than it is when he doesn't play. Sissoko isn't lightning fast, obviously, but his huge striding presence adds business (as in busy-ness, not biz-ness ) and a hastiness to our game.

Just what i was thinking.

[saj]

I said not many central midfielders play for their country. You've not yet named a central midfielder. The reason I said it is that to play central midfield you need to have an awareness of the whole game, rather than just the bit going on in your area. You need to be able to do everything, pass, tackle and score, you need to position yourself well and make yourself available for every pass.

Not many young players have the maturity and presence of mind to do that, even fewer are good enough at it to play for their country at such a young age.

Its a position that requires experience, and thats why Alonso plays more for Spain than Fabregas.

You've got a point about the central midfield thing I suppose, allthough Aimar is an CM, a more advanced one though and almost a striker. He is a fantastic player for his age though. Not sure if people are aware but Xavi of Barcelona is almost like an older and more mature version of Farbregas. Fabregas is more like Xavi of Barcelona than our Alonso and he could potentially grow into a player like Xavi.

[Growler]

forget pace. when you have pace, you need someone who can land the ball on a sixpence for the pacey player to run onto.

something I heard once about hoddle, was that he always had time on the ball. thats like alonso. he always manages to find time and space on the ball. How many times does he lose the ball?

As for a defensive player, who to Man U and Arsenal have in that role? We can almost look to Agger to do that role because of his pace, similar to what toure does for Arsenal.

Alonso is a quality player and we are lucky to have him. I had to laugh when someone was linked to him for 14mil! :-)

[Shaggy]

forget pace. when you have pace, you need someone who can land the ball on a sixpence for the pacey player to run onto.

something I heard once about hoddle, was that he always had time on the ball. thats like alonso. he always manages to find time and space on the ball. How many times does he lose the ball?

As for a defensive player, who to Man U and Arsenal have in that role? We can almost look to Agger to do that role because of his pace, similar to what toure does for Arsenal.

Alonso is a quality player and we are lucky to have him. I had to laugh when someone was linked to him for 14mil! :-)

Hoddle was my first favourite non-LFC player as a kid. Loved him. Alonso is indeed in the same mould and he's my favourite current player. They're special, these sorts. Footballing thoroughbreds.

[cobain]

Fabregas.

You have to be f*cking kidding me! Just because he's valued more in Championship Manager 2007, doesn't mean that he's better than Alonso.

Jesus tapdancing Christ!!!