Liverpool FC Forum

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:21 am**

Sabre wrote:
The_Rock wrote:
Sabre wrote:
He plays attacking midfielder for spain...but he is playing a holding midfielder here.....Alonso ain't no holding midfielder.....

Three senteces. Three times wrong.

So alonso doesn't play as a attacking midfielder for spain ? He doesn't play closer to the opposition penalty box with spain than he does with LFC ?

jesus......

Ok.

If Xabi Alonso is an attacking midfielder then, Xavi Iniesta and Fabegras must be strikers then Xabi ALonso either plays as a pure holding mid or as the companion of Senna. When he plays along Senna, he goes up more often, but always with another midfielder on front of him.

So you see, every one considers him a holding midfielder, he plays behind attacking midfielders, and thus, he doesn't play as an attacking midfielder.

Don't try to make a point about something you know nothing about.

what do you think of the description "deep-lying playmaker" for Alonso. I hear that a lot and it seems to make sense to me for him. Although I am new to the game in general, and not English, I have seen the term "holding midfielder" used for Alonso as well as Plessis and Mascherano. Although sometimes Rafa deploys Alonso and Mascherano as companions (

) in the centre, I am not 100% that calling both of them by the same name (in terms of their role in the side) is correct. As part of last seasons 4-5-1, if you are going to call it that, and therefore have 5 midfielders I would have said that Xabi was the deep-lying playmaker, Mascheano was the defensive midfielder, and Gerrard was the attacking midfielder. But even that is a little bit stereotypical.

and a little bit of venom there at the end. Ése no es el SABRE que conozco.

¿cuáles son las diferencias entre la posición que Xabi juega cuando él es el compañero del senna y el compañero de Mascherano?

And maybe this should be in the Alonso thread.

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:10 am**

xabi alonso = attacking midfielder :laugh:

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:22 am**

i wonder if benitez worries about how to define the players' roles. i wonder if he sits fretting in his office thinking 'hhhmmmm.... is xabi a deep lying playmaker, a holding midfielder or an attacking midfielder? i'm not sure how i should define him so i know where to play him. i'd like to play him 5 yards further forward than mascherano but i don't know what that position is called.... oh deary deary me.'

he's a midfielder. same as gerrard is a midfielder and the same as mascherano is a midfielder. all these new ultra specific position definitions, especially in the central midfield areas, are a very recent thing and the cause of much pointless debate. it doesn't really matter what the players position is called, what matters is his role in the team and how effective he caries it out.

having said that though, and to get back on topic, i would define riera as a top-left-corner-generally-attacking-sometimes-tackling-back-outside-wing-fronter

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 8:26 am**

Joe mate, I'll move the answer to the Alonso thread, if you find it ok.

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:15 am**

andy_g wrote:having said that though, and to get back on topic, i would define riera as a top-left-corner-generally-attacking-sometimes-tackling-back-outside-wing-fronter

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:27 am**

reira has done ok so far , offered threats on the odd occasion and played the odd great ball in , seems a decent buy so far without pulling up trees and excelling . He is very one footed and worried that he will get nullified easily in games against a decent right back .

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 10:38 am**

Reira had a quiet game last night but spent a lot of time talking to and trying to link with Aurelio, so its coming but its not going to be every game.

Whats noticeable though is how do you get an Italian to play with urgency and be hyper? I dont think its in their genes, he starts walking as soon as he´s off the ball.

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:04 pm**

Reg wrote:Reira had a quiet game last night but spent a lot of time talking to and trying to link with Aurelio, so its coming but its not going to be every game.

Whats noticeable though is how do you get an Italian to play with urgency and be hyper? I dont think its in their genes, he starts walking as soon as he´s off the ball.

He's spannish for a start.

I think the lads a very very good player. Very intelligent for a start, knows exactly when to hold, release, run and pass. Exactly the sort of player I wanted to see at Liverpool and I'm made up with him.

Very good signing.

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 2:54 pm**

I think this lad is a good player , he seems very assured in possesion . He is also pretty skillful aswell with intelligence to boot . He seems to know when to take a player on or to play a pass to a player in a better position , i'm pretty happy with the lad so far . Is it just me though or are our players not passing to him enough. Maybe there forgetting we have a decent left sidded player now , because a few times i've seen him in acres of space and he's been totally ignored . Maybe it's just me.

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:38 pm**

its been bugging me for ages, but i've finally realised where i've seen albert riera before

Posted: **Thu Oct 02, 2008 4:48 pm**

Nice one Andy.

Posted: **Sun Oct 05, 2008 8:54 pm**

Looking like a good player but really needs to work on his fitness.

Posted: **Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:05 pm**

Has he managed 90mins in any match this season?

Posted: **Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:40 pm**

I really like the way he makes those right backs make a fool of themselves by dribbling them left and right. With a spoon of pace and better fitness he would be deadly.

Posted: **Mon Oct 06, 2008 12:55 am**

Well he's impressed me already tenough to make me admit I was wrong about him, he's a far better player than I remember. He has the opportunity though to really, properly prove me wrong and I'm still waiting for him to step up. I think he just needs one really big game, one really big moment to give him the belief that he can be a game breaking top player and that might be it.

As it is, he kind of flatters to decieve a little bit, and I'm still not totally convinced that he fancies it in the physical sense at times. One (adittedly heavy) tackle from Micah Richards early on nearly broke him in half, and I'm not 100% sure he ever really recovered from it. Suffice to say if I was sending a team out to play against us, I'd be asking serious questions of his character whenver I had the opportunity.

He just needs to find the confidence to impose himself though I think, he certainly has the ability.

Liverpool FC Forum

Albert riera - deal agreed with espanyol