Xabi Alonso.

[Einch]

Some interesting points Code. The players that we need to buy must have one more ingredient - self belief/swagger - call it what you will but the shithouse mentality we bought last summer must be avoided at all costs.

Technical competence first, mentality second and pace third on my list as players who have it all cost a fortune and we probably do not have the money to buy the three we need outright.

[Xherdan]

If Rafa comes back can we insist he pays back the 6 million pound severance package he got.

Then give him a 1 year deal on 3 mill a year. Then sack him again.

Bingo 3 mill profit

 

 

I would also suggest we buy back Alonso for £2.5m, still leaving us with a profit over all.

[Bobby Hundreds]

Fuck me the whole Rafa debate is a living ouroboros. Someone chop off the head of it.

[JesseRawlins]

 

You simply need to go out and attack teams to win the PL,

 

So how did Mourinho manage to win in 04-05 and 05-06 ? By primarily attacking teams ?

[Delmar]

Fuck me the whole Rafa debate is a living ouroboros. Someone chop off the head of it.

 

That's just because back then we were mainly a very good team or a borderline very good team, with distinctive tactics. It is much more fun to be a football snob in those situations, and show one's deep understanding of the game.

 

Now we are generally just average or bad. There is not that much to analyze, really, we go out to play some footy, and get an odd result. No debate there, so back to Benitez we go...

[Code]

So how did Mourinho manage to win in 04-05 and 05-06 ? By primarily attacking teams ?

 

We often set out to get a draw away from home under Rafa, that will not win you the PL.

 

Mourinho did not do that with Chelsea if thats what you are implying, he was not afraid of making changes early on if they could not get going.

 

As long as you score 70+ goals you have a chance to win the league if your defence is good.

 

We reached 70+ goals just once under Rafa.

 

1. Chelsea 38 29 8 1 72-15 95p, goal difference +57.

 

1. Chelsea 38 29 4 5 72-22 91p, goal difference +50.

[Code]

Fuck me the whole Rafa debate is a living ouroboros. Someone chop off the head of it.

 

Oh I totally agree.

 

Writing the post above made me remember how I hate the words control and menatlity, and I'm sick to the death of those two phrases where they were used.

[dirk grout]

Why do you lot engage with this frodo metalist? Here he is, yet again, making post after post of utter rafa related drivel yet genuinely believes that he is not obsessed or mental in anyway. I actually agree with silverlining on this one. Code is literally insane.

[Major Tom]

Multiquote hell.

 

Death by multiquote.

 

There is no worse way to go.

[Gym Beglin]

I cant do justice to your reposte Code because I'm on an iPad and the whole multi-quote thing is a nightmare.

 

But some general comments:

 

Alonso definitely, unequivocally, coasted for two years. We looked to sell and nobody would meet our valuation. At the time, I was crying out to replace him because we lacked dynamism and he seemed to contribute little for those two years. I can't fault Benitez for looking to sell. It's worth noting that Alonso's stock fell so low that he was no longer a starter for Spain by Euro 2008, so it wasn't just Rafa who felt he wasn't putting in 100%

But credit to Xabi, he recognised this and turned his attitude around. It wasn't like Rafa failed to see the quality of Xabi, after all, this was the man Rafa turned to first when arriving here.

 

Rafa didrecognise the need to score goals, and he bought various attacking players to try and remedy this. But this was at a time when Chelsea and United were spending big money on available attacking talent, it wasn't easy to accumulate top attacking players for around the £7m to £12m Mark, which is where we had to shop for the likes of Pennant, Kuyt, Riera, Benayoun, Babel, Garcia, Morientes, Bellamy, and much less for the likes of Maxi, NGog, Leto, Gonzalez, El Zhar, Voronin, Zenden. It was only Torres and Keane where he got big(ish) money to spend. One was a massive success, and one went weird, though we recouped £16m but were not allowed to re-spend it. Note that by the time our rivals had already spent massive money on Rooney, Drogba, Robben, Shevchenko, for example, and later Berbatov, Tevez, Nani, Valencia, Malouda, and Deco.

These were not only massive fees, but massive wages, we couldn't match it.

[corro]

Do you sit back waiting for the spaniard to be mentioned ready to jump in with dragged out selective statistics proving fuck all except your turgid bitter feelings towards a manager who done very well for us in the time he was here.

 

Why not let it go now as you are becoming a fucking one trick pony laughing stock.

 

Get a fucking grip

[Gym Beglin]

And yes, I recognise that Newcastle have had a bumper year in the lower Market attacking buys. Bit like Rafa did in his first couple of years with Garcia, Crouch, Bellamy, all were great successes.

But let's see Newcastle do it again next season on the same budget.

 

Note that people forget that Newcastle still bought shite like Obertain for £3.2m, Marveaux on a five year deal, and Santon for £5m.

 

Rafa got some things wrong, every manager does, but he didn't deserve the sack. We had a core of Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Lucas, Gerrard, Aquilani, Mascherano, Yossi, Maxi, Riera, Torres when he left. World class players. We were so close to kicking on from there, but then we lost four of them in 12 months after Rafa left.

[silverlining]

I wonder if Codey would prefer this season of winning finals (the Carling Cup) and losing one rather dismally (FA cup), with what could well be our worst league finish for 50 years to one of those rubbish seasons under Benitez when we won nothing, but came second

 

What would be a more satisfying and enjoyable season that made you feel at least slightly optimistic about the next?

[Dicko]

If Rafa comes back can we insist he pays back the 6 million pound severance package he got.

Then give him a 1 year deal on 3 mill a year. Then sack him again.

Bingo 3 mill profit

 

I'm pretty sure it was £3m.

Because he took the Inter job straight away.

[A.V.B.]

AmlWzvhUBqk

 

Him and Sami were my favourite Liverpool players of all time.

[Red_or_Dead]

AmlWzvhUBqk

 

Him and Sami were my favourite Liverpool players of all time.

 

He's still one of us.

[Guest San Don]

Oh the man's a midfield maestro and the passing's so delightful. And everyone wants to know, A-Lonso, A-Lonso, A-lonso!

[Franny DelMucho]

There's a shit load of lizards on twitter saying he's turned down a 2 year extension to his Madrid contract. Some crafty cunt is trying to get our hopes up me thinks.

[thompsonsnose]

There's a shit load of lizards on twitter saying he's turned down a 2 year extension to his Madrid contract. Some crafty cunt is trying to get our hopes up me thinks.

 

[Tony Moanero]

Why the fuck would he come back here?

 

Surely he is far more likely to play out his career at Real Sociedad.

[Franny DelMucho]

Xabi Alonso no renueva y genera preocupación en el Real Madrid - Goal.com

 

Xabi Alonso has refused to renew and would be willing to hear offers from other teams in June, when the season ends.

 

Looks like end of this season he'll be off then. Jolly good.

[Franny DelMucho]

Why the fuck would he come back here?

 

Surely he is far more likely to play out his career at Real Sociedad.

 

Fuck knows. It'll never happen anyway. Thought other people would be talking about it but it is obviously all bullshit.

 

Get your free bullshit la liga updates via PM from DelMucho whenever you like.

[Neil G]

Why the fuck would he come back here?

 

 

Because he fucking loves this club.

[Neil G]

From last summer:

 

Xabi Alonso misses Liverpool and targets Anfield return | Mail Online

 

Xabi Alonso has admitted he misses Liverpool and has refused to rule out the prospect of returning to Anfield before the end of his career.

 

The Spain World Cup winner remains a firm favourite with the Kop two years after leaving Merseyside to join La Liga giants Real Madrid.

 

And the 29-year-old told Liverpool's in-house TV station LFC TV that he would jump at the chance to return to the Reds one day, revealing that he will always hold the Barclays Premier League club close to his heart.

 

'I think that in football so many things change,' said Alonso.

 

'I have my red passion and if circumstances arrived then why not?

 

'At the moment I don't know what is going to happen, but it could be a possibility. Never say never.'

 

...

 

Beating Barcelona to honours next year is at the top of Alonso's agenda but he conceded that he misses life at Liverpool.

 

He said: 'I miss lots of things. I miss the lads, I miss the atmosphere at Melwood - it was a great place to work, and the scenario of Anfield is unbeatable.

 

'The special nights I have been privileged enough to live, those will be in my memory forever and they are difficult to compare anywhere in the world.

 

'Stevie (Gerrard) and Carra (Jamie Carragher) are very good friends. They were good team-mates because from the first day I felt I got on with them well.

 

'The importance they had in the changing room, it was very important for me to have a good relationship with them.

 

'Being from Liverpool, knowing how things were at that moment and winning the Champions League in the first year made the relationship stronger. That is why they are still very good friends.'

[shaunstrudwick]

i <3 Alonso

 

and his magnificent beard