Hypothetical question....

[KingKenny]

No I would not sell Alonso for a bluesh1te. Nuff said.

[Red_Polo]

Offense taken.

I wonder what that said before editing?

[Red Chilli]

A related but different question. It seems that our three main CMs are not well balanced hence we have to shove Stevie G out wide and put up w/the fact that Momo is not your typical attacking midfider. Xabi is great at the playmaker role but is not your Makele type holding player.

As I said the balance is all wrong. Imagine you had the chance to replace one of the above with someone under 24. Who would you sacrafice? Who would you bring in and where would they play and in what formation?

To me the above is the biggest conundrum we face at the moment.

After I've read some of your reposones I'll let you know what I think.

I would play 3 at the back. Why do you need 4 when most teams play 1 up front with 1 in the hole. 3 at the back, 2 wing backs to cover the opponents wide men, Momo and Xabi patroling the space in front of the centre backs and Gerrard in the hole behind 2 strikers.

What do you think about THAT?

[Owen20]

If a bid came in for Alonso of say £20m, and 3 quarters of the cash was then used to sign Tim Cahill, would you be happy with that?

No way!

[Craig_H]

Some interesting replies, most of which i predicted.

The point is, forgetting the money, does Alonso actually fit into our system properly? Does he even fit into English football?

He's without doubt a fabulous player, and a better one than Cahill.

But, sometimes you dont simply go for the better player, you go for the one who better suits what you're wanting to do.

Alonso isnt aggressive enough, and doesnt tackle enough to be a defensive midfielder. He doesnt get forward enough or score enough to be an attacking midfielder. What is he? A deep-lying playmaker. But with the system we play, that role is largely redundant.

I alluded earlier in the season to the problem we have, whereby we dont get enough bodies into the box and i referred to Sissoko and Alonso as the two centre midfielders. I also referred to the likes of Cahill and Scholes, two players who bomb on into the box and get goals. We dont have this and part of the reason why is that neither Alonso or Sissoko fulfill that role.

So whilst i love Alonso and while he's obviously a superb player, his game is missing something, and it's something we need.

I'm not saying i'd definitely want him gone, but it's a valid question. Because while he's a terrific player, the role he plays IMO tends to limit our play as a team and leave us lacking in the attacking area of the field. And it costs us dearly.

[paulcooper4]

If a bid came in for Alonso of say £20m, and 3 quarters of the cash was then used to sign Tim Cahill, would you be happy with that?

no, id rather eat the carrots out of my own ****

[Craig_H]

I see some dullard's missed the point entirely and decided to rate the thread 1 star....oh no, how will i cope now, my life's ruined...

[paulcooper4]

I see some dullard's missed the point entirely and decided to rate the thread 1 star....oh no, how will i cope now, my life's ruined...

can you rate the threads? is ****in right, ive found a new toy

[Red_Al_77]

I see some dullard's missed the point entirely and decided to rate the thread 1 star....oh no, how will i cope now, my life's ruined...

Perhaps if you'd have said "Is Alonso suited to English Football? Isn't Cahill a better option." then you'd have got the answers you wanted. But you didn't.

[Morph]

Perhaps if you'd have said "Is Alonso suited to English Football? Isn't Cahill a better option." then you'd have got the answers you wanted. But you didn't.

exactly

[Craig_H]

Perhaps if you'd have said "Is Alonso suited to English Football? Isn't Cahill a better option." then you'd have got the answers you wanted. But you didn't.

I didnt 'want' any answers, it's a topic for discussion.

The rate of "I disagree so your views are sh*te" on here at times can be daftly high...

It's not even about whether Alonso is suited to english football as such, it's a question of how well he is suited to OUR system, and whether a CM who gets forward into the box and offers a goal threat might be something which works better.

It seemed quite easy to see the point that was being made, perhaps in future i should TAKE people to the destination, rather than simply tell them the route?

[Craig_H]

exactly

I see...

*Memo to self - in future, dumbed down posts are better received*

[Red_Al_77]

Some interesting replies, most of which i predicted.

The point is, forgetting the money, does Alonso actually fit into our system properly? Does he even fit into English football?

He's without doubt a fabulous player, and a better one than Cahill.

But, sometimes you dont simply go for the better player, you go for the one who better suits what you're wanting to do.

Alonso isnt aggressive enough, and doesnt tackle enough to be a defensive midfielder. He doesnt get forward enough or score enough to be an attacking midfielder. What is he? A deep-lying playmaker. But with the system we play, that role is largely redundant.

I alluded earlier in the season to the problem we have, whereby we dont get enough bodies into the box and i referred to Sissoko and Alonso as the two centre midfielders. I also referred to the likes of Cahill and Scholes, two players who bomb on into the box and get goals. We dont have this and part of the reason why is that neither Alonso or Sissoko fulfill that role.

So whilst i love Alonso and while he's obviously a superb player, his game is missing something, and it's something we need.

I'm not saying i'd definitely want him gone, but it's a valid question. Because while he's a terrific player, the role he plays IMO tends to limit our play as a team and leave us lacking in the attacking area of the field. And it costs us dearly.

Its what you said.

[Red_Al_77]

I didnt 'want' any answers, it's a topic for discussion.

The rate of "I disagree so your views are sh*te" on here at times can be daftly high...

It's not even about whether Alonso is suited to english football as such, it's a question of how well he is suited to OUR system, and whether a CM who gets forward into the box and offers a goal threat might be something which works better.

It seemed quite easy to see the point that was being made, perhaps in future i should TAKE people to the destination, rather than simply tell them the route?

[Craig_H]

Its what you said.

Sure, but obviously the more critical issue for us is whether we can incorporate him into our system and utilise him fully, isnt it?

Since it's what i said, why did you earler post "If you'd said...." ?

Seeing as i DID say, then i dont see what reason you had to post that 'if you said' comment earlier