Reds legend Xabi Alonso continues to be linked with a return to Liverpool, and after his father's cryptic comments last week, the coveted Spaniard has directly responded to rumours over a possible return to Anfield this summer.
Speaking to reporters last night, Alonso - who admitted last year that he 'misses' Anfield, and hinted that a return to Liverpool 'could be a possibility' - said:
"I have not decided where to play in the future. At the moment the only certainty is my contract with Real Madrid until 2014.
"My return to Anfield? I had an amazing time during my long experience in Liverpool with the jersey of the Reds."
Real Madrid have reportedly offered Alonso a new contract, and in an interview last week, Miguel Alonso - Xabi's father - told Radio MARCA:
"What he [Alonso] wants to do is to wait a bit to see what happens and how things go, and then, when the time is right, he'll make the appropriate decision. It's as simple as that - there's nothing else to it"
If ever there was a player who would fit into Rodgers' football philosophy, it's Alonso, and if he's available for €10m as reported, then it's surely a no-brainer.
However, next year, he'll be 33 - the time to return is now, at the age of 31. The question is, will FSG sanction a move for a player in his 30s? Reds legend Dietmar Hamann certainly hopes so, but he's not sure it will happen. He tweeted last week:
"I'd love to see Xabi Alonso back at Anfield. He's a pleasure to watch, but I'm not sure whether there is any truth in it. I can't really see it happening"
I have to agree with the Kaiser here - Alonso will probably not return to LFC, and John Henry already (indirectly) explained why in his open letter to fans last summer. He wrote:
"Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. We will build and grow from within, buy prudently and cleverly and never again waste resources on inflated transfer fees and unrealistic wages."
These comments were made to explain the club's failure to sign Clint Dempsey, who is two years younger than Alonso (!) As such, from FSG's point of view, they will surely see Alonso as a 'short-term fix' who will 'only contribute for a couple of years' on 'unrealistic wages'.
That's an incredibly short-sighted view to take (IMO), but rightly or wrongly, that's the group's transfer ethos, which almost certainly means Alonso will never again be seen in a Liverpool shirt.
Of course, I hope I'm proven wrong...
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Speaking to reporters last night, Alonso - who admitted last year that he 'misses' Anfield, and hinted that a return to Liverpool 'could be a possibility' - said:
"I have not decided where to play in the future. At the moment the only certainty is my contract with Real Madrid until 2014.
"My return to Anfield? I had an amazing time during my long experience in Liverpool with the jersey of the Reds."
Real Madrid have reportedly offered Alonso a new contract, and in an interview last week, Miguel Alonso - Xabi's father - told Radio MARCA:
"What he [Alonso] wants to do is to wait a bit to see what happens and how things go, and then, when the time is right, he'll make the appropriate decision. It's as simple as that - there's nothing else to it"
If ever there was a player who would fit into Rodgers' football philosophy, it's Alonso, and if he's available for €10m as reported, then it's surely a no-brainer.
However, next year, he'll be 33 - the time to return is now, at the age of 31. The question is, will FSG sanction a move for a player in his 30s? Reds legend Dietmar Hamann certainly hopes so, but he's not sure it will happen. He tweeted last week:
"I'd love to see Xabi Alonso back at Anfield. He's a pleasure to watch, but I'm not sure whether there is any truth in it. I can't really see it happening"
I have to agree with the Kaiser here - Alonso will probably not return to LFC, and John Henry already (indirectly) explained why in his open letter to fans last summer. He wrote:
"Spending is not merely about buying talent. Our ambitions do not lie in cementing a mid-table place with expensive, short-term quick fixes that will only contribute for a couple of years. We will build and grow from within, buy prudently and cleverly and never again waste resources on inflated transfer fees and unrealistic wages."
These comments were made to explain the club's failure to sign Clint Dempsey, who is two years younger than Alonso (!) As such, from FSG's point of view, they will surely see Alonso as a 'short-term fix' who will 'only contribute for a couple of years' on 'unrealistic wages'.
That's an incredibly short-sighted view to take (IMO), but rightly or wrongly, that's the group's transfer ethos, which almost certainly means Alonso will never again be seen in a Liverpool shirt.
Of course, I hope I'm proven wrong...
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
there minds should be changed,we need quailty and experence..alonso is that i know who i,ll rather have and so do most fans....
ReplyDeleteQuite right for me. Alonso is a great player but doesnt fit into the clubs plans with his fee and wages. Id much rather see the money spent on a new Alonso. Too much negativity around on everything the club does these days.
ReplyDeleteNo chance.
ReplyDeleteThere lies a problem. The club will never get back to where it wants to be by being a graveyard paying for ageing players
ReplyDeleteI would love for Alonso to return. As he is one of the best midfield tactician's in the world! It's obvious Henry doesn't know how to run a football club! Otherwise he wouldn't be still getting advice from the Manc's owner's. If i had the money i would buy the club myself! Thier holding our club back and have no passion to see our club succeed! It's time they moved on!
ReplyDeleteWhere does he say a return "could be a possibility"? It sounds to me like he was asked on the possibility of a return and he side-stepped it by talking about the past. With the requirements of the squad at the moment I'm not sure the Alonso deal would be the wisest. We clearly have limited funds and need to buy defenders, holding Mid and a Striker/ Right winger. If we could afford Alonso after all those places are filled then sure.
ReplyDeleteI really wish Rodgers didn't buy Allen and Borini, I can see why he did but to improve the squad they need to go and selling them would be like admitting defeat.
If I am not wrong we did bid for Dempsey but were short on the value demanded by Fulham, also we then decided to go for Del piero...??
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand the overall point in terms of the club's policy, I'm not sure that comparing Dempsey to Alonso is close enough in situation.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about value.
Alonso is and has been a world class midfielder for years. The club would obviously place a higher value on him than they would on Dempsey as Xabi is simply a more talented player.
With that being said, I'm also sure the club has a certain value that they attribute to Xabi, and given his age, they'd be disinclined to go above that value.
alonso will not come back because fsg want profit noprofit in signing players comming to the twilight of there carear no matter how good
ReplyDeleteAlonso could play on for a minimum of 5 years. That, to me, is no quick fix. He would come to the club without Champions League football, IMHO, as he loves it here. His inclusion into the centre of midfield would steady the ship and give us an incredible eye for a killer pass. Selling Alonso was Rafa's biggest mistake and Brendan can go along way to endearing himself to the pessimistic fans by bringing him back.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, not with your view on FSG but by us not making a profit by signing Alonso as his genius will propel us back into European competition.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, not with your view on FSG but by us not making a profit by signing Alonso as his genius will propel us back into European competition.
ReplyDeleteI can understand fsg having a buy young policy on players (sometimes) but I dont get why you can only employ young managers. Its not as if they can sell em on.
ReplyDeleteFor what its worth i think that FSG might well sanction a move for Xabi Alonso to return, why? because it would
ReplyDeleteA) Please the fans....
B) Show them (the owners..) in a better & far less inflexible light...
C) Make good business sense, in terms of how he (Xabi) would improve our standing in the EPL & more importantly our form....
D) Help to attract other potentially World Class players to the Club...
E) & lastly, provide a unifying factor within the team itself....probably the most important reason for bringing him back IMHO.....
I might be wrong about this but i just don't think John Henry & Co are stupid enough to ignore all of the above....it is a great opportunity and we/they should embrace it, Alonso is a legend, for sure & at 31 he stil has more to give.....
Would be the stuff dreams are made of to see him not only end his career at LFC but to help us perhaps win that elusive title....
I dream, but still...
Absolutely cannot agree more......Well said sir...
ReplyDeleteSee point D above on Mitzu's comment......
ReplyDeletemight have a point here MItzu. Like i said about owners who do not understand football. Xavi Alonso is not the kind of talent LIverpool has attracted in a long time. Our standards over the last couple of years have fallen and our recruitment and scouting system needs overhualing. Many big named stars we are being linked with usually do not choose Liverpool.
ReplyDeleteAlonso a world class footballer who's reputation is well known could be the catalyst we need to draw other world class talent. Don't get me wrong i love Countinho and Sturridge but sadly they do not hold the same kind of respect that Alonso does in the footballing world. Brendan Rodgers in my opinion does not have the swag to sign the hottest property in football. Love or hate Benitez he could make big names want to play for him. We have seen Rodgers try to sign a lot of former players who he already had a relationship with.
Signing Alonso for me if nothing else would help attract the kind of young talent Liverpool fans have always wanted at their club. Players who the owners could eventually sell for a handsome fee. Players that would help the owners achieve what has eluded them for so long the "holy grail " of football "the champions league."
All very good points, but Jaimie has added 2+5+4+1 and come up with 4786 here which unfortunately means Alonso wont be at Anfield next year. After all an open letter from John a year ago, way before Alonsos return was ever dreamt of says so. And there was me thinking Dempsey simply wasn't signed because Liverpool put their own valuation on him i.e. what he was worth and wouldn't go above it,thankfully, and spurs got roped. Personally l love Alonso but feel we must sign younger players of quality- a bit like we did with him years back, reminds me of a kind of David Speedie signing.
ReplyDeleteThey're still learning about football and ultimately it's about balancing cost with benefit. As much as if might help us on the field you just can't go spending money on senior players when a younger player could potentially do the same job and yet help us operate a better business model. I don't agree that the business model should drive the team composition, but if it comes down to a choice between a 24 year old and a 31 year old player, both with similar qualities, both asking a similar transfer fee and wages ... surely the younger player is the better option. It's just about recognising the talent and skills of an older player. If Alonso would truly be valuable to the team, if his experience and poise and ability would really add to us in a way that no young player could then Rodgers will put the case to the owners on that basis. But you really have to be sure. Is Alonso so unquestionably good that he'd be worth taking on? I know fans want a player with this kind of name, someone who has proven themselves, and I agree that Alonso clearly has the pedigree but you have to have some degree of certainty. Will these years of spanish style football have reverted him to his more fragile self? Remember the Alonso who couldn't effect a strong tackle and used to get pressured off the ball by attacking midfielders? He's not perfect and he has his flaws but if he's good enough and we know he would add to the team I think the owners can be convinced. If Alonso can perform the way we saw him at his absolute best for LFC then that's not a short term fix to keep us mid-table, it's a short term solution to making us a top-4 team again.
ReplyDeleteThis is ridiculous. Yeah, buy young players. However, you need "aged" and "quick-fix" players such as Alonso to mentor the new ones. To carry the team while the younger ones are learning. We need experience in the back, experience in the middle. Carragher is abotu to be gone and all we are gonna have left is Gerrard.
ReplyDeletefsg imo do not see the bigger picture
ReplyDelete"Of course, I hope I'm proven wrong..."
ReplyDeleteBwhahaha, yeah right.
If he only going to cost 10mill, the club could get at least half that back in shirt sales which is good business
ReplyDeleteYour all forgetting one thing...Brendan Rogers.
ReplyDeleteRogers like Dalglish before him is stubborn and will not want to have admit that Allen is not a suitable replacement for Alonso.
I doubt he would want to have a player of that caliber side-ling square ball and backwards passing Allen.
Now the fuss has died down about Suarez biting, I'd like to say that NOT ONE OF YOU has commented on how well Sturridge and Shelvy played when they came on .
In my view Sturridge is more than capable of scoring goals and providing assists as he showed against Chelsea.
Also Shelvey did well when he came on
Well you can see even with City opening their cheque book that money will buy you a team but it still takes time.
ReplyDeleteFSG have right approach in not signing older players as such sure the club will spend another season or 2 struggling a little but well spent money will see them in the CL by then.
Would love to see Xabi return but looking a few years down the track i hope we will be wondering what all the fuss was about.
I think coutinho and sturridge were the results of a new scouting and recruiting team. Correct me if I'm mistaken. And to compare 2 kids with just a few appearances with a 30 year old is unfair to say the least. As for the world class talent, we simply don't have the money for them, so we don't need to attract them. A world class talent won't jeopardize their career by joining an unstable club. Otherwise the lure of Stevie's wonder passes would be enough to attract some class striker. Rafa rarely buy world class star. He developed them. That's what we need and I trust Rodgers in that since several players are improving well under him. But hey, its just my opinion. YNWA.
ReplyDeleteThe same Shelvey who missed a glaring chance and did the EXACT same against Zenit? He needs to be loaned out to a PL team to see if he can really hack it
ReplyDelete