I hope Alonso was watching closely

[dww]

Or we could all stop being fickle and have some consistency. No one says Xabi is ****!!! He's a cracking player but if he's not at his best then what? Keep playing him until he comes good (Or realises that 90% is good enough) or use dips in form to rotate and maybe increase the motivation?

Tollouse hardly put any decent crosses in, they tried to play through the middle, so a compact centre midfield was right on the night. Next to Gerrard in midfield Macher/Sissoko gives him more freedom etc etc etc

Is Almunia actually better than Lehamn? No, but Lehman has been in poor form so he's dropped. When Lehman gets back in he'll be concentrating harder. Is it wrong to do the same with Xabi?

The Lehmann thing is interesting - for me a lot of players just suddenly hit a point where they just can't perform at the highest level anymore. It happened to both Seaman and Keane while playing in the PL and their managers let them carry on for too long IMO. The question is has that happened to Lehmann or is it just a bit of bad form? It is a big problem for Wenger to sort out that, especially in such a young side with Lehmann being one of the few experienced players.

[pondus]

I thought Lehmann had an ankle injury, or was that just the "official" reason why he was dropped?

[dww]

I thought Lehmann had an ankle injury, or was that just the "official" reason why he was dropped?

It is generally believed it was the latter as word was out before that happened that he and Wenger had argued about him potentially being dropped. Obviously all of that was paper speculation but the injury seemed awfully convenient.

[homer1]

In the past, when Stevie has been out for a couple of games we have been desperate to get him back as he was so badly missed. Testiment to the strenght we now have in this department is the fact that we can afford toe give him the sufficient time to recover and bring him back when he's ready

I would like to see him rested for this Saturday and not participate in the International games, meaning he will be 100% & fighting fit when the league resumes

[carheex]

Form is temporary, class is permanent


Some great vids here, and I am sure we will see much more of this in years to come, xabi

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=xabi+alonso

"Form is temporary, class is permanent" - :yawn: at the meaningless cliche.
And your link to youtube actually proves me right......none of those xabi videos are recent!!!

[Pablo]

I thought Wenger should have snapped up Craig Gordon instead of Sunderland, although he was overpriced at £8m.

[Nic83]

I mean, Alonso is class folks. Don't let the muppet in the initial post fool you into believing otherwise.
Mascher is also class, but has a bit different qualities.
Momo is also very good at what he does, but not quite up there with the two above when it comes to footballing abilities.

Spot on.

[Nic83]

I know I'm in a minority here but alonso is better than masherano, he simply has more strings in his bow whilst masherano main asset (shielding the defense) he does better than anyone else.

to cut a long story short alonso will keep the team ticking over (even when the team is under pressure) and has the ability to find our (now lightning quick) wingers qiving them an extra yard of space.

masherano is argubly the best holding midfielder in the world currently but imho alonso is better for the team i.e. he will help us win more games, how much protection does a defense actually NEED?

Err i suggest you look through the thread again mate!!

There's only a few who rate Masher above Xabi.

[Pablo]

Deleted

Thats crass, it is not your place to pass judgement on him without knowing him just because you disgree with his opinion. I personally dont agree with his opinion on Alonso, but he has a right to his footballing views without being slagged off.

[Mattimetal]

Did anyone notice how Mascher started to boss the game in the 2nd half playing loving cross field balls either side to get the attack moving forward into space..

At times he looked like a mini Xabi - his short incisive passes, tracking back and jockeying of players was sublime and I honestly think Rafa will start to give him a run in the first team after the form he showed last night AND in the Copa America! If he doesn't then you know it's favouritism.

I'm not one against Xabi - I just believe he needs to regain his confidence and form, and IMHO Mascher is the best DF midfielder in the world right now.

[Nic83]

Thats crass, it is not your place to pass judgement on him without knowing him just because you disgree with his opinion. I personally dont agree with his opinion on Alonso, but he has a right to his footballing views without being slagged off.

His views on Xabi are totally wrong. The stuff he has been saying about Xabi doesn't describe him at all. therefore I am not having a go at his opinions, I am having a go at the utter delerious view he has of Xabi and this view leads me to believe he's hardly ever seen him. I really don't know how anyone that has actually seen much of him can be so wrong.

[Howard_lfc]

Xabi, Momo. Masher and Stevie are probably the strongest foursome in centre midfield anywhere in the world. Add Lucas to the mix as well and we're looking seriously strong.

To nitpick at any players within that quintet is very harsh. When we were ****e in that department then have a go by all means - now though we should be grateful that they're all ours and performing well.

[carheex]

His views on Xabi are totally wrong. The stuff he has been saying about Xabi doesn't describe him at all. therefore I am not having a go at his opinions, I am having a go at the utter delerious view he has of Xabi and this view leads me to believe he's hardly ever seen him. I really don't know how anyone that has actually seen much of him can be so wrong.

It's about opinions and you're very arrogant to make the comments about me that you have. If you look at my posts you will see that:

A) I rate Alonso
B) I want him to return to his best
C) I feel that we have better options in midfield at the moment based on form

And before you say it ISN'T subject to opinion, take a look at the roy keane thread elsewhere. People all over europe regard him as one of the best in his position of all time yet there are many who claim he lacked any real talent - just determination. That's an even more extreme case of differing opinions than the ones in this thread. Xabi had a good first 9 months with us and has gone downhill since so he's hardly exempt from criticism and has a long way to go before he can claim a place in the first XI based on reputation - after all, few people had heard of him before he joined us!

[justcruisin]

tbh i'd have sissoko sold if some proper money came in for him. sissoko is now here near as good as mascherano.his distribution is shockingly poor at times ...yeah sure he wins quite a lot of the tackles but then could easily give it away in the very next ball he passes. you hardly see that in mascherano who looks very composed on the ball.we already have gerrard alonso mascherano and lucas ...there is more than enough quality there. and pls do not use this game against toulouse as a yardstick to gauge anyone cus toulouse were downright ugly

[paulcooper4]

tbh i'd have sissoko sold if some proper money came in for him. sissoko is now here near as good as mascherano.his distribution is shockingly poor at times ...yeah sure he wins quite a lot of the tackles but then could easily give it away in the very next ball he passes. you hardly see that in mascherano who looks very composed on the ball.we already have gerrard alonso mascherano and lucas ...there is more than enough quality there. and pls do not use this game against toulouse as a yardstick to gauge anyone cus toulouse were downright ugly

Do you like ANY liverpool players though?