May 15 2009 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
IF he was around today, Bill Shankly would be proud of Xabi Alonso.
For while a season of genuine progress at Anfield may be good enough for some, it is certainly nowhere near good enough for the Spanish midfielder who clearly subscribes to the famous Shanklyism about first being first and second being nowhere.
With just two games remaining the chances of Liverpool winning the title have all but run out and Alonso cannot hide his disappointment that the wait for the league championship to be paraded at Anfield now looks set to go into a 20th year.
“In terms of the Premier League it has been better than it has before but if you don’t win anything you can't consider it to be a good season,” he said.
“We have to be disappointed with ourselves, try to be critics and try to analyse the things that we haven’t done properly.
“Of course you also have to think that we have made progress in the Premier League and we have to keep working on this basis but you also know that success means winning trophies for Liverpool.
“It’s very painful to look back and think of the draws that we had and the two defeats we have had also.
“It’s only natural to think where would we be if we had managed to get another good result?
“But then all the teams in the Premier League can say the same thing.”
As was the case last summer, Alonso’s Liverpool future has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks with suggestions that he could be sacrificed by Rafa Benitez to fund squad rebuilding.
Arsenal and Man City are both reported to be potential suitors but it is Real Madrid whose interest is strongest with presidential candidate having identified Alonso as the player he wants to build a new midfield around at the Bernabeu.
But the man himself remains sanguine about the situation, prefering to focus his thoughts on Liverpool’s future rather than his own.
He said: “I have seen this kind of situation so many times in my career and at the moment it is just speculation and rumours and you can't be talking about them because there is nothing more than this so far.
“It is more important at this time to think of how we can be even better this season and this probably means keeping the good basis that we have settled on this season and by trying to go a little bit further.
“Also by trying to make sure that we take all three points in games where we are maybe not at our best and then maybe at the end of the season this could make a big difference.”
In recent weeks, it looks like that very penny has begun to drop at Anfield with Liverpool having won eight and drawn one of their last nine league games in a run which has allowed them to push Man United all the way in the title race.
Their attacking play has been reinvigorated with 38 goals scored in their last dozen fixtures and though not obsessed with hitting the back of the net himself Alonso is delighted with the way improved collective confidence has resulted in improved output.
“I think it’s a state of mind more than anything,” he said. “Whenever you are confident all the players are in the mood to score goals, not just the usual names.
“We have had different players scoring goals in this week and that is good and overall the attacking play has been good.
“I am not obsessed with trying to score 15 goals or 10 goals myself. If I can help by scoring goals then that would be great, of course but my responsibility in the team is probably a different one because of the position and the job that I have to do on the pitch.”
Alonso is hoping to be back in action on Sunday when Liverpool travel to West Brom after an ankle injury suffered in a challenge by Newcastle’s Joey Barton meant he missed last weekend’s win over West Ham.
Though disappointed at the way the injury came about and aware of the fact that Barton was the sixth player to be sent off for a foul on him this season, the 27-year-old insists that he is not being deliberately targeted by opposition teams.
He said: “Whenever you can't control and injury you are going to be really disappointed but when it is a harsh tackle you are probably going to be even more disappointed.
“It wasn’t in the right moment and it wasn’t a fair tackle.
“But I don’t think that other teams are targeting me. I think it is just part of the game, challenges happen all the time.
“I’m not scared of course because if you want to play in England then you have to understand this part of the game. I know that the physical approach is very strong here and you can't avoid going into tackles or challenging for the ball.”
While no team prizes appear to be headed Liverpool’s way this season, Steven Gerrard has at least scooped a personal accolade by being named football writers player of the year, an award Alonso feels his captain fully deserves.
“I think that it is totally deserved after the season that Steven has played,” he added.
“He has scored so many important goals for the team and he is a very important player for us.
“We all know his qualities – he has great power, great spirit, he is a very complete player who can defend as well as attack.
“And whenever you need an important goal he delivers so many times and because of this it makes things much easier for the team.
“This season he has been playing in a slightly different role, more as a second striker than as a traditional midfielder, and I think this is a position that suits him really well.”
IF he was around today, Bill Shankly would be proud of Xabi Alonso.
For while a season of genuine progress at Anfield may be good enough for some, it is certainly nowhere near good enough for the Spanish midfielder who clearly subscribes to the famous Shanklyism about first being first and second being nowhere.
With just two games remaining the chances of Liverpool winning the title have all but run out and Alonso cannot hide his disappointment that the wait for the league championship to be paraded at Anfield now looks set to go into a 20th year.
“In terms of the Premier League it has been better than it has before but if you don’t win anything you can't consider it to be a good season,” he said.
“We have to be disappointed with ourselves, try to be critics and try to analyse the things that we haven’t done properly.
“Of course you also have to think that we have made progress in the Premier League and we have to keep working on this basis but you also know that success means winning trophies for Liverpool.
“It’s very painful to look back and think of the draws that we had and the two defeats we have had also.
“It’s only natural to think where would we be if we had managed to get another good result?
“But then all the teams in the Premier League can say the same thing.”
As was the case last summer, Alonso’s Liverpool future has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks with suggestions that he could be sacrificed by Rafa Benitez to fund squad rebuilding.
Arsenal and Man City are both reported to be potential suitors but it is Real Madrid whose interest is strongest with presidential candidate having identified Alonso as the player he wants to build a new midfield around at the Bernabeu.
But the man himself remains sanguine about the situation, prefering to focus his thoughts on Liverpool’s future rather than his own.
He said: “I have seen this kind of situation so many times in my career and at the moment it is just speculation and rumours and you can't be talking about them because there is nothing more than this so far.
“It is more important at this time to think of how we can be even better this season and this probably means keeping the good basis that we have settled on this season and by trying to go a little bit further.
“Also by trying to make sure that we take all three points in games where we are maybe not at our best and then maybe at the end of the season this could make a big difference.”
In recent weeks, it looks like that very penny has begun to drop at Anfield with Liverpool having won eight and drawn one of their last nine league games in a run which has allowed them to push Man United all the way in the title race.
Their attacking play has been reinvigorated with 38 goals scored in their last dozen fixtures and though not obsessed with hitting the back of the net himself Alonso is delighted with the way improved collective confidence has resulted in improved output.
“I think it’s a state of mind more than anything,” he said. “Whenever you are confident all the players are in the mood to score goals, not just the usual names.
“We have had different players scoring goals in this week and that is good and overall the attacking play has been good.
“I am not obsessed with trying to score 15 goals or 10 goals myself. If I can help by scoring goals then that would be great, of course but my responsibility in the team is probably a different one because of the position and the job that I have to do on the pitch.”
Alonso is hoping to be back in action on Sunday when Liverpool travel to West Brom after an ankle injury suffered in a challenge by Newcastle’s Joey Barton meant he missed last weekend’s win over West Ham.
Though disappointed at the way the injury came about and aware of the fact that Barton was the sixth player to be sent off for a foul on him this season, the 27-year-old insists that he is not being deliberately targeted by opposition teams.
He said: “Whenever you can't control and injury you are going to be really disappointed but when it is a harsh tackle you are probably going to be even more disappointed.
“It wasn’t in the right moment and it wasn’t a fair tackle.
“But I don’t think that other teams are targeting me. I think it is just part of the game, challenges happen all the time.
“I’m not scared of course because if you want to play in England then you have to understand this part of the game. I know that the physical approach is very strong here and you can't avoid going into tackles or challenging for the ball.”
While no team prizes appear to be headed Liverpool’s way this season, Steven Gerrard has at least scooped a personal accolade by being named football writers player of the year, an award Alonso feels his captain fully deserves.
“I think that it is totally deserved after the season that Steven has played,” he added.
“He has scored so many important goals for the team and he is a very important player for us.
“We all know his qualities – he has great power, great spirit, he is a very complete player who can defend as well as attack.
“And whenever you need an important goal he delivers so many times and because of this it makes things much easier for the team.
“This season he has been playing in a slightly different role, more as a second striker than as a traditional midfielder, and I think this is a position that suits him really well.”
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