Mas o menos
In what has become an interesting Silly Season subplot, Xabi Alonso will now reportedly stay a Red, after Juventus claim that their purchase of Christian Poulsen will end their transfer window shopping.
Juventus' purchase of Christian Poulsen should put to rest anymore talk of Xabi to the Old Lady of Turin, snubbing any hope of a midfield reunion that so effectively played together at Liverpool. At least that's what Juve are saying, and why should we ever doubt an Italian club president? The very pinnacle of honesty, integrity, and straight talk.
The domino effect of this development, of course, is that Gareth Barry's desire to leave the realm of the whingingest coach this side of North London (no, not you Juande) looks in major doubt. Now, this could all well be posturing on the parts of both Juve and Liverpool, but you have to think that Xabi will be back donning the Carlsberg logo.
To be quite honest, I have no problem with keeping Xabi at the expense of signing Barry. He's a player that was so influential in his first two seasons at Anfield, spraying passes all over the field with ease. I'll never forget his insistence at taking the penalty in Istanbul, stepping up and grabbing the ball, despite not winning the PK. He took the responsibility off of Stevie, who I didn't really want taking it anyway. Sure, it was saved well by Dida, but he took the rebound left-footed cool as Kool-Aid and equalized, setting up a remarkable finish.
I watched Xabi play at the Euro and was impressed. He was clearly out of form the last year and looked a lot different playing for Spain. Injuries nagged him and he was not on the best of terms with Rafa at times. I do think that playing alongside Masch hurts Xabi's game a bit (he was much better when paired with a gazelle-like destroyer in Momo), and I was looking forward to seeing the further development of Lucas, whose game is better matched with Javi.
But Xabi has never stated that he wanted to leave. I think he genuinely wants to stick around and fight for his place. And rightfully so - when on his game he is truly a maestro that can control and dominate possession. Players of his quality are few and far between.
I also think the fallout of us openly expressing our desire to sell him will be reduced by the fact that we were holding out for an exorbitant fee of a reported £18M. Good on Rafa to stick to his guns in his pricetag.
The real loser here is Martin O'Neill, who fully deserves the egg on his face after his petulant and whiny behavior in early June. He dragged Rafa's name through the mud for no apparent reason, using his old chums in the media to perpetuate some sort of wrongdoing on Benitez' part, when in actuality it's his player that clearly wants to leave Birmingham. See Marty, Barry wants to win trophies, and not make a nice run at the ones with "Intertoto" or "Carling" written on the side. He wants to achieve some goals in his career, and while it's nice what you've done up there in B'ham, it's really only the equivalent of dry-humping your girlfriend in high school.
Now Marty's stuck with a captain who doesn't want to be there, who resents his manager's behavior, the guy who slapped such a ridiculous price tag on him, effectively preventing him from chasing his career goals, playing with his best friend, and becoming an English national team staple, helped by the brighter lights of Anfield.
This could merely be a twist, and perhaps Xabi will end up leaving and paving the way for Barry. But I tend to think that will not happen, and that Barry could end up being sold for a cut-rate price to a team like Arsenal, who could really use a player in his mold.
Stay tuned.
Juventus' purchase of Christian Poulsen should put to rest anymore talk of Xabi to the Old Lady of Turin, snubbing any hope of a midfield reunion that so effectively played together at Liverpool. At least that's what Juve are saying, and why should we ever doubt an Italian club president? The very pinnacle of honesty, integrity, and straight talk.
The domino effect of this development, of course, is that Gareth Barry's desire to leave the realm of the whingingest coach this side of North London (no, not you Juande) looks in major doubt. Now, this could all well be posturing on the parts of both Juve and Liverpool, but you have to think that Xabi will be back donning the Carlsberg logo.
To be quite honest, I have no problem with keeping Xabi at the expense of signing Barry. He's a player that was so influential in his first two seasons at Anfield, spraying passes all over the field with ease. I'll never forget his insistence at taking the penalty in Istanbul, stepping up and grabbing the ball, despite not winning the PK. He took the responsibility off of Stevie, who I didn't really want taking it anyway. Sure, it was saved well by Dida, but he took the rebound left-footed cool as Kool-Aid and equalized, setting up a remarkable finish.
I watched Xabi play at the Euro and was impressed. He was clearly out of form the last year and looked a lot different playing for Spain. Injuries nagged him and he was not on the best of terms with Rafa at times. I do think that playing alongside Masch hurts Xabi's game a bit (he was much better when paired with a gazelle-like destroyer in Momo), and I was looking forward to seeing the further development of Lucas, whose game is better matched with Javi.
But Xabi has never stated that he wanted to leave. I think he genuinely wants to stick around and fight for his place. And rightfully so - when on his game he is truly a maestro that can control and dominate possession. Players of his quality are few and far between.
I also think the fallout of us openly expressing our desire to sell him will be reduced by the fact that we were holding out for an exorbitant fee of a reported £18M. Good on Rafa to stick to his guns in his pricetag.
The real loser here is Martin O'Neill, who fully deserves the egg on his face after his petulant and whiny behavior in early June. He dragged Rafa's name through the mud for no apparent reason, using his old chums in the media to perpetuate some sort of wrongdoing on Benitez' part, when in actuality it's his player that clearly wants to leave Birmingham. See Marty, Barry wants to win trophies, and not make a nice run at the ones with "Intertoto" or "Carling" written on the side. He wants to achieve some goals in his career, and while it's nice what you've done up there in B'ham, it's really only the equivalent of dry-humping your girlfriend in high school.
Now Marty's stuck with a captain who doesn't want to be there, who resents his manager's behavior, the guy who slapped such a ridiculous price tag on him, effectively preventing him from chasing his career goals, playing with his best friend, and becoming an English national team staple, helped by the brighter lights of Anfield.
This could merely be a twist, and perhaps Xabi will end up leaving and paving the way for Barry. But I tend to think that will not happen, and that Barry could end up being sold for a cut-rate price to a team like Arsenal, who could really use a player in his mold.
Stay tuned.
posted by stephen at 10:21 AM
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