: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:45 pm  

Reports suggesting Real are ready to pull the plug on the Alonso deal. Hope so.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:53 pm  

PAUL M wrote:

So if you had the choice I am sensing you would rather go for Defour? I would not have thought Rafa would be wanting both players would he? Not unless Mascherano leaves which is fairly doubtful now I would have thought.

I'm not sure, really. If Aquilani develops a more aggressive side to his game, and shows more will to get stuck in and battle, then I'd rather him over Defour. I'd probably rather Aquilani, I think he has more potential than Defour, he's naturally much bigger and I don't like the idea of Masch and Defour in the middle, a little short IMO. Furthermore, Aquilani has more attacking ability than Defour which I think we'll need, it's just about him developing his aggressive side, something Defour already has.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:56 pm  

Robbie Rotten wrote:

I'm not sure, really. If Aquilani develops a more aggressive side to his game, and shows more will to get stuck in and battle, then I'd rather him over Defour. I'd probably rather Aquilani, I think he has more potential than Defour, he's naturally much bigger and I don't like the idea of Masch and Defour in the middle, a little short IMO. Furthermore, Aquilani has more attacking ability than Defour which I think we'll need, it's just about him developing his aggressive side, something Defour already has.

I would imagine the Aquilani deal is subject to Alonso joining Real, which seems to be stalling so you could yet end up with Alonso staying put. Whilst I would imagine most Liverpool fans would be happy with that it would raise a question mark over keeping a player who is not 100% happy at the club, a little bit like Ronaldo last season.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:03 pm  

ash4hullfc wrote:

I think you need to read back and see where Kadar came into it.

Possibly, then I stand corrected. But it's still a strange comparison.

ash4hullfc wrote:

And that's from somebody who watched us how often? I didn't say it was our only problem but it was our biggest problem by a long way.

Multiple times, either highlights or live games. And your post said midfield was THE problem, singular, and that defence wasn't. Over the course of the season your team was poor all over the pitch, as proved by your relegation. Frankly, it's about time you admitted it and dealt with it as you're starting to make yourself look silly otherwise.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:03 pm  

richardviking wrote:

Reports suggesting Real are ready to pull the plug on the Alonso deal. Hope so.

IF that's true, I wonder the state of mind Alonso will be in for the forthcoming season. Don't want him if he's going to be seething at missing out on his dream move.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:06 pm  

PAUL M wrote:

I would imagine the Aquilani deal is subject to Alonso joining Real, which seems to be stalling so you could yet end up with Alonso staying put. Whilst I would imagine most Liverpool fans would be happy with that it would raise a question mark over keeping a player who is not 100% happy at the club, a little bit like Ronaldo last season.

Spot on, but it was always going to be the case that he'd be judged on the previous year. He started slowly, granted, but was still United's most important player throughout the year. And their best for the second half of the season.

It's the danger of Alonso staying at Anfield, but he's a true pro. If he could turn in his best season after a summer of Benitez trying to get shut of him, I don't see why he can't do the same this season with the whole of Liverpool hoping he stays. Add to that he has to preserve his spot in Spain's midfield, and it should be okay.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:15 pm  

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 183638.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 183638.stm

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:19 pm  

carl_spackler wrote:

Multiple times, either highlights or live games. And your post said midfield was THE problem, singular, and that defence wasn't. Over the course of the season your team was poor all over the pitch, as proved by your relegation. Frankly, it's about time you admitted it and dealt with it as you're starting to make yourself look silly otherwise.

Ok, I missed a word out. The midfield was the main problem, and that's by a long way. For years our defence has been awful and the root cause of our problems. Last season, this wasn't the case. Our midfield created very little in attack and barring Jonas, hardly offered any support in defence. Nicky Butt is meant to be the defensive midfield type player in our side, yet the only time he decided to track back was when he thought it'd be a good idea to give away yet another penalty. The amount of times last season he was caught out of position and not tracking back was unreal. He constantly gave the ball away to the opposition (as did most of our midfield, but he was the main culprit). All of which heaps pressure on the defence. Our best three players last season were defenders (Bassong, Enrique and Taylor). The defence did make some errors at times, who doesn't? The strikers also missed a few decent chances between them, mainly towards the end of the season. Out of the three units on the pitch though, the main blame lies with the midfield.

Owen, for example, will do well at Man Utd because he will have lots of chances created for him. We didn't create enough for him, hence why he struggled for goals.

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:27 pm  

richardviking wrote:

Reports suggesting Real are ready to pull the plug on the Alonso deal. Hope so.

why keep a player that wants to go

: Tue Aug 04, 2009 2:32 pm  

Dan_FC wrote:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/e/everton/8183638.stm

No quotes? What did he say?