Liverpool FC Forum

by **RifleRusher** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 2:44 pm

Just give them both time... they'll become the best midfield partnership next season... for sure:p

by **66-1112520797** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:14 pm

gerrard_steven wrote:people who r saying gerrard can go now we have got gerarrd are a complete joke, alonso isnt 1 tenth of gerrard, obviously alonso is a class act but is limited to what he can do, gerrard has everything to his game and therfore can cope with alonso doing all the passing etc are you seriously telling me you would sooner have alonso over gerrard, to me your jsut saying this as you feel gerarrds already gone and are trying to find a reason for him 2 go because your a resigned to the fact he is. end od the day we will never have a better central mid than gerarrd perhaps eva now if he leaves so y sell him?!?

To true.

Alonso and Gerrard would make a very good pairing in the middle of the park but to tell me Alonso is a better player than Gerrard ,it just isnt true stevie is probably the most complete midfielder around vision,passing ,tackling ,shooting ,pace,has the stamina of a horse, this list goes on .

Alonso does have them qualities but they all dont stand out as much when you watch him play as Gerrards do.

He is a quality passer but u need more than that Beckham is a quality crosser of the ball but he is orwas so overated it was ridiculous,if it is a good passer of the ball u want then maybe we should get Jan Molby back he would definetly complement Gerrard standing in the center circle spraying 50yard passes around while Stevie covers every blade of grass on the pitch

by **kopite** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:15 pm

I believe they are two two different types of players Xabi is more of a sit back type of player and Stevie is more of an attack minded player .

by **anfieldadorer** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 4:36 pm

RAFABENITEZ wrote:Ok so perhaps im being a bit harsh but i think the time is now to sell gerrard.

point taken
yes, i agree 100%
xabi and gerrard can't play together
if gerrard is sold

by **Santa** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 6:35 pm

Just watch the Spurs game again...I think Stevie was trying very (too) hard to spray those 50 yards passes to keep up with Alonso. :laugh:

I think instead of trying to break the mouth-watering partnership up, we should get a couple of players who will be at the receiving end of those passes and able to use it well (Cisse with his speed will be one of them??). Then we will be a nasty unit for those premiership defenders.
Love it when Stevie makes those powerful runs into opposition box...scare the sh*t out of any defender. That's Stevie's main strength...

by **RAFABENITEZ** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 7:50 pm

oh yeah the arsenal game....................

by **Ade** » Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:02 pm

bigmick wrote:As always, time will tell. FWIW, the notion that Gerrard and Alonso may not be the absolute dream ticket that we all hope for has occured to me a couple of times. The key is probably Gerrard and the way he goes about making the partnership work.
Alonso really only plays the one way. His passing range and maturity in posession has been honed in La Liga where retention of the football is everything. He also has a tactical awareness by all accounts way beyond his years. He is by definition a holding midfielder by nature. Bizarrely it is HE not Gerrard that I would be breaking the bank to sign if I was Mourinho. It would appear to me that him and Lampard would be an unbelieveable combo'.
Stevie is a little different. Years of carrying a mediocre team on his back has meant that he has been able to get away with profligate passing and occasional casual indifference as more often than not, he has pulled us out of the myre. To play with Alonso though, he has to give up his midfield general role and rely on his unparalelled power and athleticism to provide the combo with greatness. It can be done but requires a swallowing of pride and ego.
Of course Gerrard, on a seperate point is THE player that Manure need to turn them around. Ferguson knows this better than most and I've said it before, they will break the bank to sign him when the time comes.
My suspicion is that Xabi will have a new partner next season and that then, we will have the best midfield combo' in the Prem.

Great post. I'd echo all that. Gerrard has become the big man with the ego to match. Can he adapt his game to gel with Alonso - if he has any sense he would, but I think he's halfway out of Anfield already.

Ruben Baraja's name keeps coming up in the press.

by **stmichael** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 10:28 am

The problem with this argument is that we can't really answer it yet. The two have only played a handful of games together all season due to their respective injuries.

Alonso was brilliant again against Tottenham at the weekend, spraying forty-yard passes around Anfield with astonishing power and accuracy. You have to be on his wavelength, but plenty of our forwards are. Garcia and Baros must love to feed off him, and Gerrard, the English player that the Spanish most rave about, clearly benefits from an accompanying midfielder who is prepared to hang back and hold the line, but who is also more adept at changing the speed and rhythm of the play, when the occasion demands.

Gerrard, for all his courage and inspiration, can look like a headless chicken at times, and still needs to work on the accuracy and weight of his passing. Why doesn't he look so good for England? Precisely because he comes up against defensive systems that can cope all day with his enthusiastic inaccuracy. Alonso, on the other hand, looks even better when he plays for Spain.

The English just don't work on developing players like Alonso - a 'pivote' in Spanish terms. The last English player to remotely resemble him was Glen Hoddle, and he was largely unappreciated for most of his career. Then again, Alonso can also defend - something Hoddle never really learned to do.

by **Fowler_E7** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 12:24 pm

stmichael wrote:Why doesn't he look so good for England? Precisely because he comes up against defensive systems that can cope all day with his enthusiastic inaccuracy. Alonso, on the other hand, looks even better when he plays for Spain.

untrue, the reason Gerrard dosnt play as well for England is beacuse he is not used in the correct way. For England Gerrard plays the holding role in a Hamman/ Alonso type of way to accomadate Frank Lampard.

When Gerrard plays for England he rarely ventures forward as that role is given to lampard and i think neither play well next to each other as they are to similar(Gerrard is obviously the better player IMO) i think Gerrard should think about his England performances alongside Lampard before he makes his decision on whether to join him at Stamford bridge next season.

by **Ace Ventura** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 4:17 pm

Totally agree with the last post, Gerrard is always the player sacrificied by Eriksson to try and keep all the big names in the side.
Lampards goalscoring record is outsanding for England...but Stevie has never been given the attacking midfielder role for a run of games at international level. He doesn't seem happy sitting in front of the back 4 and often wanders out of position to try and influence the game more, leaving big holes and the team with no shape.
It doesnt really bother me though, my thoughts are about Liverpool not England...its just something i've picked up on. (the lad is not happy in that role...so why would he be any happier doin it at chelsea??)
If i was Steven i would rather play with someone as unselfish and creative as Alonso by a mile.

by **yckatbjywtbiastkamb** » Tue Apr 19, 2005 5:58 pm

Fowler_E7 wrote:
stmichael wrote:Why doesn't he look so good for England? Precisely because he comes up against defensive systems that can cope all day with his enthusiastic inaccuracy. Alonso, on the other hand, looks even better when he plays for Spain.

untrue, the reason Gerrard dosnt play as well for England is beacuse he is not used in the correct way. For England Gerrard plays the holding role in a Hamman/ Alonso type of way to accomadate Frank Lampard.

When Gerrard plays for England he rarely ventures forward as that role is given to lampard and i think neither play well next to each other as they are to similar(Gerrard is obviously the better player IMO) i think Gerrard should think about his England performances alongside Lampard before he makes his decision on whether to join him at Stamford bridge next season.

spot on mate.

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