Gimmee Alonso over Mascher

[REDSCOUSER]

of the 3, momo is just about the weakest player- the brazilian lad could be brilliant or he could not settle so i'll leave him out of it- so he would be the obvious "sell", as much as i like him.

having said that, you mentioned yourself that no one player can play well for 60 games, so to have options in this most crucial of areas is only good for us as we should start to step up and genuinely challenge for the league as well as Europe.

I got annoyed and gutted that zenden got injured so i dread to think how i would feel if we lost a big player.

funnily enough, Ballague mentioned on the times podcast that if xabi is left out of the final he might consider his future after he was dropped for the semi. if true i am disappointed in xabi's attitude.

Regardless of form (and xabi has not been great this last year or so) Rafa has played him in big games whenever fit enough to do so.

most, myself included, would say that xabi is rafa's voice on the pitch- more than stevie or carra- but rafa has shown that no player is undroppable and that is the right way.

the good thing is that since being dropped xabi seems to have upped his game in the matches he has been picked for.

as for masher, i have seen enough to know that he is very good and on the way to being genuine world class (a phrase bandied around too much in the overhyped premier league) and if we get the chance to keep him long term then we should do so

maybe he needed the competition, hence why he upped his game..agree about Momo.
To be honest mate I have not been that impressed with Mascher so far.

[tomasjj]

mascher goal/assits tally aint no better either..would be interesting to see his numbers before he joined WHU..I still think he needs time to adjust in the Prem. He dallies to much sometimes(Charlton 1st goal was his mistake) that we lose possession.

Yes. I guess Mascher will get better at this and develop more awareness, but now Alonso is superior to him in this regard.

[CAD]

So, it is also motivated by the fact that SG must play central?

I hate to remind you - but Rafa is all about:


POSSIBILIDADES

Abso****inglutely - I freak out everytime Rafa plays him elsewhere!!!

[Red_Polo]

I agree with you about Masher and SG being a better pairing, but I don't see how saying that we can then demand Xabi does more in the final third. If Xabi was to be asked to play further forward then I could understand it. I personally hope both of them stay, I really can't see Xabi leaving this summer.

[Diego]

i would hate to see him leave, i love him, he's one of my favorite players. i think he can be important for us still. i want him to stay and win the league with us. play me a midfield of alonso gerrard and mascherano and tell me there's a better one out there, i think not. then ad a couple of quality wingers and eto'o upfront and we are in buisness...

alonso will remain a red. he is one of the most important players in our team...

[CAD]

I agree with you about Masher and SG being a better pairing, but I don't see how saying that we can then demand Xabi does more in the final third. If Xabi was to be asked to play further forward then I could understand it. I personally hope both of them stay, I really can't see Xabi leaving this summer.

Hey Dude

You don't think that we can demand more that 1 assist in 32 PL games this season? I disagree.

He might be a HM but he simply drops too deep too often. He even got the chance to play a regular CM when he started with Mascher and showed us nothing. Alonso offers too little on the final 1/3 and I truly doubt that it will ever change.

[Red Chilli]

As Red Al said, if we're going to sell Xabi it has to be to bring in a better player or a player which will improve the team. That player would be Eto'o. If we can't get him then keep Xabi. Let's not forget, Mascherano has only got 12 months left on his contract

[Imy]

They are both different and do different jobs, Mascher is more of a Momo/Xabi hybrid, he wins the balls and passes it neatly to the nearest player.

Xabi has the quarter back style of spaying balls, whilst Momo is pure ball winner with bags of energy.

Rafa always talks about options and with the new lad and Gerrard I think he has 5 different ones.

However i can see one of Xabi/Momo being sold, because SG can do the whole spraying the ball thing and Lucas supposedly being box to box i think if Rafa sells anyone it will probably be Xabi .

[Diego]

well mascherano has never scored a goal in his professional career, thats 0 goals. and he rarely assists, so on that argument it is not a valid reason for mascher to replace alonso...

[carrsim]

maybe he needed the competition, hence why he upped his game..agree about Momo.
To be honest mate I have not been that impressed with Mascher so far.

fair enough.

mascher has been immense in some games, average in others. i put this inconsistency down to age, new club and not having played much this season.

i think with a pre season with us and hopefully a good end to this season we will see the player that argentina get when he plays for them

[Red_Polo]

Hey Dude

You don't think that we can demand more that 1 assist in 32 PL games this season? I disagree.

He might be a HM but he simply drops too deep too often. He even got the chance to play a regular CM when he started with Mascher and showed us nothing. Alonso offers too little on the final 1/3 and I truly doubt that it will ever change.

Hey fella

What I'm saying is if you think Masher is the future, then knowing Xabi is more creative and scores more often I don't see why you're demanding more from him in the final third. Surely there's something about Masher's non-attacking qualities that gives him the edge over Xabi for you?

I think Xabi is a quality holding player who offers much more on the ball than others in his position do. What he does need though is people making themselves available - passing is a two way street, they have to be made and received. With no ****er playing well on the left for us all season and our strikers being relatively prosaic and static we have not got as much out of him as we should've. Next season I expect to see him back to his best.

[Rhys]

5 goals and 5 assists in more than 90 matches. I think we can manage without him.

Mascher is the way forward.

Alonso will do much better in Spain.

Its 9 in 90 actually and 12 in 135 for all comps.

you cant rate xabi by his goal tally can you? thats not what he does. look at any other similar player and alonso fairs quite well

essien 23 in 197 (a goal every 9 games)
xavi 20 in 264 (every 12 games)
fabregas 7 in 107 (every 15 games)
vieira 37 in 387 (10 games)

plus the fact masch has never scored a league goal in his career.

we shouldn't sell alonso as he's world class and it would be a move backwards for the club. as someone said before id rather sell zenden and momo before xabi.

[AFII]

I would only sell Xabi if it meant that Eto'o would be signed.

[Helios Creed]

Strange that you should mention Alonso's poor goals & assists record and say we should keep Mascherano, when Masher's goal return and assist rate is far, far worse than Alonso's.

There's room for them both. Xabi can play a slightly more advanced role now we have a genuine "Makelele type" in the little Argentinean.

It's good news that we now have a utility Makekele type player. A Ukelele, as it were.

[Diego]