YESSS Masch man can sign

[Barrington Womble]

Oh yes it does! If you play between the sticks, you're a goalkeeper no matter how fucking good you are at scoring free kicks. Xabi plays the holding role in our midfield. That does not necessarily mean that the defensive side of his game is his best however, that is another debate entirely.

 

i agree he plays a holding role - i said that in my post in as many words. it does not make him a defensive midfield player just because he plays in front of the back 4. it makes him a holding midfield player, which is entirely different to a defensive midfielder. nick butt is a defensive midfielder. michael carrick is a shit holding midfielder. alonso is a quality holding midfield player.

[Wig]

The reason the mancs didnt go in for Mascherano is the same as Juventus didnt, they thought they was no chance that he would be allowed to sign for another club this season. This is the reason why Slur Alex is now whinging about the transfer.

 

and that makes me happy.

[Barrington Womble]

Well thats the problem Rafa has now got himself. He has 4 top midfielders who will all be wanting to play.

 

I personally would have Gerrard back on the right with Alonso and Momo in the centre when we are playing at home in a 4-4-2 formation

 

When we are playing away i would play the 3-5-2 formation Rafa has been playing recently. Once again i would have Gerrard on the right with Mascherano, Alonso and Momo in the centre.

 

Sign a top left winger and that would be some midfield.

 

personally i think rafa is looking for 2 pairs in the middle. momo and alonso will play with each other (with gerrard possibly on the right) and i think we'll see more and more when gerrard plays centrally, it will mean he will be paired with macherano - with momo and alonso rested/benched/whatever you want to call it.

 

as for 343/352 or whatever - I see that as a tactic for this season till we get the right players we need in the wide areas of the pitch, both at full back and in midfield. i don't think we will have much use for it beyond this season except in the odd game.

[Captain]

it makes him a holding midfield player, which is entirely different to a defensive midfielder.

 

Please elaborate. I usually don't make a distinction between the two.

[Barrington Womble]

Please elaborate. I usually don't make a distinction between the two.

 

the example of nicky butt explained that i thought. a defensive midfielders primary inclusion to the team is what they do defensively. a holding player holds his position in front of the back 4 and is there to help dictate what the team does when they have the ball .Alonso is in the team for what he does in an attacking sense, for what he does when Liverpool are in possesion - just because he does it from a deep position does not make him defensive. the other side of the coin is sissoko. although he plays all over the park, he does a defensive job - he just does it 20-30 yards further up the pitch than a traditional defensive midfield player. His job is to chase and harry for the ball whereever it is, he is included in the side for his skills when Liverpool don't have the ball. He is not in the team for anything he does in an attacking sense, because he doesn't have those skills. His skills are what he does for the defensive side of our game by winning the ball back.

[Captain]

I disagree with your notion about what Alonso does in the team. He does a lot of defensive work, and for me he is a defensive midfielder playing the holding midfield position. Despite his qualities in attack.

[Barrington Womble]

I disagree with your notion about what Alonso does in the team. He does a lot of defensive work, and for me he is a defensive midfielder playing the holding midfield position. Despite his qualities in attack.

 

i think he tries to do defensive work, but so does every player in our 1st XI. i don't think he's good at it which is why rafa is relectant to play gerrard in the centre with him, preferring sissoko as sissoko will stop many attacks before alonso is involved. we'll have to agree to disagree.

[Wig]

I disagree with your notion about what Alonso does in the team. He does a lot of defensive work, and for me he is a defensive midfielder playing the holding midfield position. Despite his qualities in attack.

 

I'd say Xabi was a centre mid and that was it. Sitting him right in the middle, not too far back or forward is perfect.

[Captain]

i think he tries to do defensive work, but so does every player in our 1st XI. i don't think he's good at it which is why rafa is relectant to play gerrard in the centre with him, preferring sissoko as sissoko will stop many attacks before alonso is involved. we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

Agree to disagree indeed.

 

Sissoko is an all-action midfielder who covers the entire ground, from the oppositin box to our own corner flag. I agree he stops many attacks before Xabi gets involved, as he's usually higher up the pitch.

 

The way I see it though, Sissoko has specific duties to cover for Gerrard and do some of the captain's defensive work. Momo's phenomenal capacity in that department is an integral part of Gerrard's success in playing from the right, as it relieves Gerrard of much of the defensive work he'd have to do otherwise.

[Barrington Womble]

Agree to disagree indeed.

 

Sissoko is an all-action midfielder who covers the entire ground, from the oppositin box to our own corner flag. I agree he stops many attacks before Xabi gets involved, as he's usually higher up the pitch.

 

The way I see it though, Sissoko has specific duties to cover for Gerrard and do some of the captain's defensive work. Momo's phenomenal capacity in that department is an integral part of Gerrard's success in playing from the right, as it relieves Gerrard of much of the defensive work he'd have to do otherwise.

 

I don't quiter see it that way, although it does allow Gerrard to take a few more liberties. I think rafa wants all his wide players to be able to make an impact going forward, it was the secret to his success at valencia too. i just think with a player like alonso sitting deep in front of the back 4, you have no choice but to play someone more adept at winning the ball back.

 

In many ways I see it as a similar balance to what we had years ago with Whelan and McMahon - although McMahon could contribute a lot more going forward than Sissoko and Whelan's passing was more limited than Alonso's. The principle is still very similar though - McMahon used to win the ball back everywhere over the park as well (as breaking into the box in an attacking sense). Whelan used to just play in the spaces in front of the back 4, make himself available for a pass and help dictate the pace of the game. They could actually alternate better than Sissoko and Alonso can now, but the principle is the same for me in as much as whelan played from a deeper position, but wasn't the ball winner of the pair.

[Stu Monty]

I must admit my expectations of Mascherano went up a notch:

 

Stevie: Javier is one of world’s best

 

Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool have signed one of the best young midfielders in the world in Javier Mascherano.

The skipper says his 22-year-old teammate has made quite an impression in training since arriving from West Ham in January.

 

"He's a class player – one of the best young players in his position anywhere in the world, which makes what happened to him at West Ham surprising," Gerrard told LFC Magazine.

 

"He's been training and you can see his quality. He gives the manager more options in midfield and I'm positive he'll become a great addition to the lads here already. I think he's got everything in his game to succeed here at Liverpool.

 

"He's quick over the ground, plays passes with intelligence and gets stuck into a tackle when he has to.

 

"I saw a fair bit of Argentina in the World Cup and he was one of the best players they had. People raved about them in the group stages and a lot of that was down to how Javier controlled the games."

 

Didn't Gerrard say the same when Biscan first came in?

[Captain]

I fucking hope not.

 

EDIT:

 

I'd like to add that I rated Igor as a central midfielder at the beginning.

[Karl_b]

All the big club wanted Igor, apprently.

[RedPower]

I'm just worried he'll have a fantastic season next year then we'll lose him for fuck all.

[BENIRL]

With the strength we have in dept, I can see us going on a very very good run until the end of the season.

[Kopite]

I'm just worried he'll have a fantastic season next year then we'll lose him for fuck all.

 

I'd heard that we paid £10m upfront for Mascherano which we will get back if we decide not to buy. Reading between the lines it appears like we'd have to pay a little bit more to sign her permanently.

[RedPower]

I'd heard that we paid £10m upfront for Mascherano which we will get back if we decide not to buy. Reading between the lines it appears like we'd have to pay a little bit more to sign her permanently.

 

I was reading something the other day (can’t remember if it was this forum) about giving more investment to the women’s team, but I think this is taking it a bit too far.

[Kopite]

I was reading something the other day (can’t remember if it was this forum) about giving more investment to the women’s team, but I think this is taking it a bit too far.

 

LOL! I'm watching the X-Files...

 

Gillian Anderson... foxy...

[Captain]

Were you fuck. Eject that Jenna DVD. Now.

 

EDIT: Congrats on the 10 000 posts btw!

[Kopite]

Were you fuck. Eject that Jenna DVD. Now.

 

EDIT: Congrats on the 10 000 posts btw!

 

10,000 posts? Cheers Capt!

 

I haven't watched a Jenna DVD since I got together with my missus. However we split up the other week and I did watch the lovely Michelle B in "Big T*tted Anal Whores". ;)

[redrosetints]

I agree with that. Pep was magnificent at running the game for Barca. He had a cunning ability to pick the right pass all the time, never losing possession. Hugely underrated player.

 

Ah yes Guardiola. What a player, but his game fell apart after the drugs thing. He never seemed to have the same stamina or strength again.