Mascherano and Gerrard

[Neil Young]

I cant wait til we have alonso and benayoun on the field together regularly, these 2 are the same breed when it comes to footballing intelligence and the strikers will thrive off it.

An intelligent analysis and without a single expletive.

Who are you and what have you done to our paul?

[paulcooper4]

An intelligent analysis and without a single expletive.

Who are you and what have you done to our paul?

**** off

[dww]

It was just a joke mate.

I totally agree with you, he has been our most creative player reccently. Although at times his decision making isn't the best and he takes on one to many players. I think he would be ideal playing just behind Torres tbh.

I half thought as much but then went ahead and made a **** of myself anyway.

[Neil Young]

I half thought as much but then went ahead and made a **** of myself anyway.

Don't worry, mate, we're all used to you by now. I don't suppose anyone even noticed.

[Alpha]

I still feel that we don't have the pace in our attack to play with Mascher and Gerrad against the best teams. Kewell, Benayoun and Kuyt are all unlikely to get behind a defende using pace/acceleration which is in general the easiest and most difficult to counter way to do it. To an extent this ties in with our problems counter attacking as we almost exclusively look to hit Torres on the break which is easy for the opposition to anticipate.

Maybe there is hope that Babel will continue to grow as a player and offer a genuine option. I also think that Pennant when he returns will to some extent help give us another option with some pace, although he too is a far from ideal option.

For me I think that given the rest of the team if we have to pick a pairing from the three I would go with Alonso and Gerrard I think it offers a more progressive platform and they complement each other when they play better than the theoretically perfect Mascher/Gerrard partnership.

I still think that playing Mascher and Alonso and allowing Gerrard to give us extra pace/acceleration/penetration further up the pitch would be good.

I agree that we need more pace in attack but I think this applies irrespective of whether Alonso, Mascherano or both are playing.

In the same way that Masher's ball-winning would be better exploited by a sharp winger to catch a full-back out of position, Alonso's pin-point diagonal passes would be better exploited by a sharp winger to run onto them.

I think there is a valid argument for the benefits of an Alonso/Gerrard partnership but I believe Mascherano's presence is more likely to inspire a better team performance. As Claudio Ranieri once said of Makelele, he is our 'battery'.

I dare to imagine a time when we will have a player who is so devastating in a central attacking midfield position (Lucas?) that the argument for playing Gerrard on the right or centre becomes moot because he is no longer the best option in the centre. I only say that because I think he would make the perfect right-sided attacking midfielder.

[Alpha]

4-2-3-1 is the best suited system for us right now IMO. That would allow us to use our central midfielders in the best possible way with Gerrard playing in a free attacking position.

--------------Masch----Alonso/Lucas-------
---------Babel------Gerrard-----Kewell-----
--------------------Torres-----------------

I like the idea but I see Torres getting isolated.

We need wingers with more penetration.

[dww]

I agree that we need more pace in attack but I think this applies irrespective of whether Alonso, Mascherano or both are playing.

The point was really that Gerrard would bring pace/acceleration/skill to the attack if he wasn't constrained to playing deeper in the middle. Which is why playing the Mascher/Alonso partnership would help in that regard not because it would negate the need for pace intrinsically.

However when they play together I do think they switch play very quickly which can be an added bonus if we have a good balance of wide players (say Kewell and Pennant) to stretch the opposition.

[Alpha]

The point was really that Gerrard would bring pace/acceleration/skill to the attack if he wasn't constrained to playing deeper in the middle. Which is why playing the Mascher/Alonso partnership would help in that regard not because it would negate the need for pace intrinsically.

However when they play together I do think they switch play very quickly which can be an added bonus if we have a good balance of wide players (say Kewell and Pennant) to stretch the opposition.

I don't believe Gerrard is any more constrained playing alongside Mascherano than Alonso because if he isn't assisting one creatively, he is assisting the other destructively.

Given Benitez's defensive ethos, the difference is that although Gerrard must drop deep to support Mascherano, there is less of an onus on him to do so due to the level of dynamic protection Masher provides.

[dww]

I don't believe Gerrard is any more constrained playing alongside Mascherano than Alonso because if he isn't assisting one creatively, he is assisting the other destructively.

Given Benitez's defensive ethos, the difference is that although Gerrard must drop deep to support Mascherano, there is less of an onus on him to do so due to the level of dynamic protection Masher provides.

Whether it is necessary or not when playing with Mascher Gerrrad seems to drop too deep IMO. He comes back to help out or collect the ball too much and then too often ends up trying to play long, low percentage balls.

Maybe they can change the way they play together but the way they combine at the minute isn't what is needed for us to progress as a team IMO.

[Alpha]

Whether it is necessary or not when playing with Mascher Gerrrad seems to drop too deep IMO. He comes back to help out or collect the ball too much and then too often ends up trying to play long, low percentage balls.

Maybe they can change the way they play together but the way they combine at the minute isn't what is needed for us to progress as a team IMO.

I think there is a similar issue with Alonso.

As we know, Xabi performs best when he has time to put his foot on the ball and pick his passes which is why he depends on a midfield partner to help buy the time for him. He's rarely effective on his own because all too often, the opposition identify him as the dangerman and close him down.

In fact, and I speculate here, I would guess one of the primary reasons why Rafa has persisted on playing Gerrard on the right is because either he is too restricted when supporting Xabi's playmaking or Xabi is not sharp enough to dictate the play without support, depending on your point-of-view.

Notice how Gerrard hasn't started a single game on the right since Alonso got injured. You could argue that is because his creative influence is required in the centre when Xabi is not there and I would agree, hence the necessity to drop deep but I would also say that he has more freedom to drop deep or advance because Masher's natural game doesn't require a supporting cast to the same extent Xabi's does.

That is why I think Gerrard and Mascherano complement eachother better.

[dww]

Although Gerrard hasn't played on the right when Alonso is injured he has pled in frnt of Mascher and Momo which I thik takes some of the weight to the idea that he is only moved out of CM to allow some one to aid Xabi.

I just don't see the Mascher/Gerrard axis working as well as you indicate in actual games. I think Maschers game actually requirs more from others in that his natural passing game is short and quick and hence he requires people around him. I think he would thrive in a midfield three (if the Mourinho Chelsea style) or if we had quicker wide players who offered to come deep or fullbacks who pushed on. He is expert at switching play but in our current setup there is rarely anyone to switch it to.

For me Alonso is a much more flexible player who accomodates other players more easily. For me without a creative ball player like Alonso in the middle Mascher constricts our play too much and requires more from Gerrard getting up and down the pitch.

[Alpha]

Although Gerrard hasn't played on the right when Alonso is injured he has pled in frnt of Mascher and Momo which I thik takes some of the weight to the idea that he is only moved out of CM to allow some one to aid Xabi.

I just don't see the Mascher/Gerrard axis working as well as you indicate in actual games. I think Maschers game actually requirs more from others in that his natural passing game is short and quick and hence he requires people around him. I think he would thrive in a midfield three (if the Mourinho Chelsea style) or if we had quicker wide players who offered to come deep or fullbacks who pushed on. He is expert at switching play but in our current setup there is rarely anyone to switch it to.

For me Alonso is a much more flexible player who accomodates other players more easily. For me without a creative ball player like Alonso in the middle Mascher constricts our play too much and requires more from Gerrard getting up and down the pitch.

We have played with a 5 man midfield in only a handful of games this season.

“Mascherano can give us the balance and allow the other players to play their own game.

“When you have a midfielder who is in a good position and can play the ball properly and always supporting the centre-backs and also the attack, it’s really important for players like Torres that they can go forward and sometimes forget they need to defend.

“He’s the kind of player you want as a holding midfielder. He doesn’t need to score a lot of goals, just keep the balance of the rest of the team.”

[Jayesh87]

Liverpool's Benitez faces frustration over Mascherano
Last updated at 20:23pm on 31st December 2007

Rafa Benitez faces frustration in his bid to seal Javier Mascherano's £17million permanent transfer this month.

The issue was at the heart of Benitez's fallout with Liverpool's American owners last month, and Tom Hicks and George Gillett have decided they cannot grant their manager's wish.

Funds will be released for the on-loan Argentina midfielder's signing during the summer, but Benitez fears Barcelona or River Plate may seize the opportunity to lure him away from Anfield. The Liverpool boss has been given the go-ahead to sign a central defender

link

[Lee]

Liverpool's Benitez faces frustration over Mascherano
Last updated at 20:23pm on 31st December 2007

Rafa Benitez faces frustration in his bid to seal Javier Mascherano's £17million permanent transfer this month.

The issue was at the heart of Benitez's fallout with Liverpool's American owners last month, and Tom Hicks and George Gillett have decided they cannot grant their manager's wish.

Funds will be released for the on-loan Argentina midfielder's signing during the summer, but Benitez fears Barcelona or River Plate may seize the opportunity to lure him away from Anfield. The Liverpool boss has been given the go-ahead to sign a central defender

link

If this is true, then it's a ****in disgrace

[Marky]

Liverpool's Benitez faces frustration over Mascherano
Last updated at 20:23pm on 31st December 2007

Rafa Benitez faces frustration in his bid to seal Javier Mascherano's £17million permanent transfer this month.

The issue was at the heart of Benitez's fallout with Liverpool's American owners last month, and Tom Hicks and George Gillett have decided they cannot grant their manager's wish.

Funds will be released for the on-loan Argentina midfielder's signing during the summer, but Benitez fears Barcelona or River Plate may seize the opportunity to lure him away from Anfield. The Liverpool boss has been given the go-ahead to sign a central defender

link

Well that's just a ****ing farce if true, jesus christ