Xabi Alonso

[RedReet]

Yep he did not have any shyte seasons, just a season and a bit in which he did not hit stelllar heights. Also seem to remember that in those seasons he had some pretty bad injuries, think it was Lampard who caused a broken bone in Xabi's foot, that saw him miss some time and need some time to get back up to speed.

That said, even a sub par, by his standards, Alonso was still a better ball player than a large percentage of midfielders in the league back then.

Part of the problem was also that Xabi played as more of a playmaker in his first season, spraying 60 yard passes at will with less defensive work to do. Although he came back after the Lampard injury in 2005, the following season people were arguing that he hadn't fully recovered or had been 'found out' as he wasn't having the same impact on the team as he did teh previous year. While that partially may have been correct as the new more disciplined role was obviously going to take some adjusting to, the bigger problem was a lot of his good work was going unnoticed or unappreciated, much like a lot of us didn't appreciate just how good a pairing him and Masch were until they were gone.

TJ nails it here in this post...

https://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=644955&postcount=1

[tanner]

I'd take this one:

-----------------------------------REINA---------------------------------------


CLYNE----------CARRAGHER---------------HYPPIA----------------RIISE


-------------------------------MASCHERANO-----------------------------------

-------------ALONSO------------------------------GERRARD-------------------

----------------------------------SUAREZ---------------------------------------

-----------TORRES--------------------------------STURRIDGE-----------------

[Alex]

Part of the problem was also that Xabi played as more of a playmaker in his first season, spraying 60 yard passes at will with less defensive work to do. Although he came back after the Lampard injury in 2005, the following season people were arguing that he hadn't fully recovered or had been 'found out' as he wasn't having the same impact on the team as he did teh previous year. While that partially may have been correct as the new more disciplined role was obviously going to take some adjusting to, the bigger problem was a lot of his good work was going unnoticed or unappreciated, much like a lot of us didn't appreciate just how good a pairing him and Masch were until they were gone.

TJ nails it here in this post...

https://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/sho...55&postcount=1

Id take a lot of what he says, but when it comes to basically him saying people are a bit too dense to see what he does I stopped reading

Xabi was a phenomenal player and on his bad days he was still one of the better players in the league.

I dont think its too unfair to say his time with us was patchy though. I think even the player himself would accept that fact. No one is saying he was **** though. Which the people defending him seem to have the impression of.

As I said though, it might be me making excuses for us losing one of the genuinely world class and best players we have had in the last 20 years.

[RedReet]

Id take a lot of what he says, but when it comes to basically him saying people are a bit too dense to see what he does I stopped reading

Xabi was a phenomenal player and on his bad days he was still one of the better players in the league.

I dont think its too unfair to say his time with us was patchy though. I think even the player himself would accept that fact. No one is saying he was **** though. Which the people defending him seem to have the impression of.

As I said though, it might be me making excuses for us losing one of the genuinely world class and best players we have had in the last 20 years.

He maybe could have been a bit more diplomatic, but the reality was there was plenty of nonsense written about Xabi at the time and many people were actually suggesting he was crap, or 'found out' for those more sensitive types. That being said, that knob Carheex spammed the forum with his anti-Alonso ****, so maybe it's his fault that more people got tarred with the same brush.

[frank the tank]

Flanagan?

I KNOW!!!!

It just goes to show how many ****e left backs we have had all down the years....it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

When was the last time we have had a good left back?? People will say Riise but for me he was good attacking but not so good defending. Christian Ziege should have been the one that sorted the situation but he was a bit of a disaster.

Last good one was when Jamie Carragher in the back 4 of Babbel, Henchoz, Hyypia and Carragher. It is a bit of a disaster.


I said a couple of years ago that I thought Agger would have been useful there. And right now if Sakho ended up there in a few weeks, i don't think it would be ideal but it probably would be an improvement on Moreno.

[RedReet]

I KNOW!!!!

It just goes to show how many ****e left backs we have had all down the years....it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

When was the last time we have had a good left back?? People will say Riise but for me he was good attacking but not so good defending. Christian Ziege should have been the one that sorted the situation but he was a bit of a disaster.

Last good one was when Jamie Carragher in the back 4 of Babbel, Henchoz, Hyypia and Carragher. It is a bit of a disaster.


I said a couple of years ago that I thought Agger would have been useful there. And right now if Sakho ended up there in a few weeks, i don't think it would be ideal but it probably would be an improvement on Moreno.

Our best LB has been Aurelio, but we'd have had to use the money towards an adamantium infusion.

[Irishnev]

I'd take this one:

-----------------------------------REINA---------------------------------------


CARRA----------------HYPPIA---------------AGGER------------------AURELIO


-------------------------------MASCHERANO-----------------------------------

-------------ALONSO------------------------------GERRARD-------------------

-------------------KUYT----------------TORRES--------SUAREZ-----------------

A couple of slight variations for me

I'd want Agger in my team but also Sami & Carra so maybe I could squeeze the three of them in. I also think Aurelio was the best LB we have had in the past 20 years but he was made of glass.

Kuyt for the graft and important goals.

Suarez off the left and if we had him in that Rafa team instead of Babel we'd have more leagues and european cups now!

[Lecter]

Yeah, I feel the same about him. Love the guy, but his time with us was very up and down. I remember his first and last seasons being barnstormers. But everything in between was mediocre.

Mind you, maybe its just me trying to remember all the bad things about the girlfriend that dumped me

The thing is, his mediocre level is still head and shoulders above any of the best performances our current or recent midfielders can manage

He set such high standards in his first and last season that when he went below those levels it took people aback

To me even when he wasnt obviously brilliant his work / positioning and game intelligence and the ability to just keep the ball was massive for us

The biggest thing for me is that despite all the complaints about his form, he is still highly thought of and greatly missed by many fans.

Whats the saying "you only truly know what you are missing when it is gone"

[Alex]

I point that out in my follow up post Lec


But yeah, you dont know what its got til its gone. They really did pave over his memory and put up some sort of car park.

[rudedog]

If your going back to the Hypia/Rise days, then surely Markus Babel at RB should be in with a shout?

[Lecter]

If your going back to the Hypia/Rise days, then surely Markus Babel at RB should be in with a shout?

For that one season (he was fit and healthy) Babbel was one of the best rightbacks we have had during the Premier League era

[Buzzo]

Babel Henchoz Hyypia Carra was a pretty uncompromising back 4.

Then we put Westerveld behind them

[Patricks_Berger]

We signed him when he was 23 and he left at 27. Younger players are bound to be more inconsistent - like Xabi was over the 4 years.

Typically they reach their peak in their late twenties and go up a notch in terms of both level and consistency. I think we have seen that with Alonso, Gerrard, Suarez and countless others.

[Irishnev]

For that one season (he was fit and healthy) Babbel was one of the best rightbacks we have had during the Premier League era

Superb player

[tanner]

A couple of slight variations for me

I'd want Agger in my team but also Sami & Carra so maybe I could squeeze the three of them in. I also think Aurelio was the best LB we have had in the past 20 years but he was made of glass.

Kuyt for the graft and important goals.

Suarez off the left and if we had him in that Rafa team instead of Babel we'd have more leagues and european cups now!

I was toying with the idea of Aurelio myself, even went to edit it and put him in. Agger was great just made of glass.