[EU] Champions League 2008/2009 (16 Viewers)

[Enron]

What?
I am certainly not doing that. Alonso is very important for Liverpool now, but i'm almost 100% sure that Juve didn't need and doesn't need such a player and certainly not for 20m eur.
Unless we completely change the style, we won't need Alosno.

Of course, we also didn't need Poulsen (ok, we need a Poulsen as a sub for Sissoko, but we should've first bought a box to box midfielder, who scores a lot and does well defensively). I'm not saying that we did good buying Poulsen in front of Alonso. I'm saying that Alonso also wasn't needed in Juve as the WC expensive signing for our midfield.

He was overpriced as Rafa was trying to get Barry. But you can't say an Alonso - Sissoko or Alonso-Zanetti pairing in the midfield wouldn't benefit Juve.

 

Buy on AliExpress.com

[Enron]

You'd assume wrong. I thought they got killed on poor set piece defending.

FUCKING CORNERS. Who forgets to mark up on a corner kick? Liverpool that's who.

 

[Fred]

What?
I am certainly not doing that. Alonso is very important for Liverpool now, but i'm almost 100% sure that Juve didn't need and doesn't need such a player and certainly not for 20m eur.
Unless we completely change the style and buy better and more offensive full backs, we won't need Alosno.

Of course, we also didn't need Poulsen (ok, we need a Poulsen as a sub for Sissoko, but we should've first bought a box to box midfielder, who scores a lot and does well defensively). I'm not saying that we did good buying Poulsen in front of Alonso. I'm saying that Alonso also wasn't needed in Juve as the WC expensive signing for our midfield.

He’s a good player but no-one in his right mind would pay more than 12-13m for him and Benitez was right when he wanted to get rid of him. (Which couldn’t be said about Sissoko).
Thanks Ranieri, or whoever was responsible, for not letting Liverpool to rip us off. We don’t need a player like Xabi Alonso. What we need much more is a Lampard type of MC.

Its one thing saying you don't want this type of midfielder, which of course makes sense, its another thing completely to say Rafa was right when he wanted to get rid of him. Which is very unfair on Alonso who has been one of the reasons Liverpool are competing for the title this season. Ask any Liverpool fan about the period between Januray and February when Alonso was absent, they really felt his absence and where not able to hold possession or create chances like they could when Alonso was in the team.

 

[Enron]

Oh and the box to box midfielder that scores a lot and is able to defend... I think there are three of those in the world and two of them are at Chelsea.

 

[Alen]

He was overpriced as Rafa was trying to get Barry. But you can't say an Alonso - Sissoko or Alonso-Zanetti pairing in the midfield wouldn't benefit Juve.

With our defense i think it will do more harm than good. With the way our full backs cross and since we played most of the season without Camo and Giovinco, i see Alonso's presence in this year's Juve as useless and harmful.

If we have a stronger defense, if we have at least one good offensive full back ( or if we have Camo and Giovinco healthy to play on the sides all season long), then i would love a Pirlo/Alonso type of player, who will know how and when to pass, to create the game.
Until then, i'd rather have someone who will make me feel secure with the back 4 and i'd rather use the wings to create.

 

[Alen]

Its one thing saying you don't want this type of midfielder, which of course makes sense, its another thing completely to say Rafa was right when he wanted to get rid of him. Which is very unfair on Alonso who has been one of the reasons Liverpool are competing for the title this season. Ask any Liverpool fan about the period between Januray and February when Alonso was absent, they really felt his absence and where not able to hold possession or create chances like they could when Alonso was in the team.

For 20m. That was what i wanted to say and i thought i said.
Benitez was right when he wanted to get rid of him... for 20m.

You might disagree with this also, but selling Xabi for 20m will be a rip off.

 

[Red]

With our defense i think it will do more harm than good. With the way our full backs cross and since we played most of the season without Camo and Giovinco, i see Alonso's presence in this year's Juve as useless and harmful.

If we have a stronger defense, if we have at least one good offensive full back ( or if we have Camo and Giovinco healthy to play on the sides all season long), then i would love a Pirlo/Alonso type of player, who will know how and when to pass, to create the game.
Until then, i'd rather have someone who will make me feel secure with the back 4 and i'd rather use the wings to create.

And that is why I think it is entirely possible that Ranieri really did choose Poulsen over Alonso.

 

[Sadomin]

For 20m. That was what i wanted to say and i thought i said.
Benitez was right when he wanted to get rid of him... for 20m.

You might disagree with this also, but selling Xabi for 20m will be a rip off.

For us perhaps, but considering the transfer fees in the EPL then it would be fair.

 

[Enron]

For 20m. That was what i wanted to say and i thought i said.
Benitez was right when he wanted to get rid of him... for 20m.

You might disagree with this also, but selling Xabi for 20m will be a rip off.

That was way too much. The highest we could have gotten for Xabi would be 15 mil.

 

[Fred]

For 20m. That was what i wanted to say and i thought i said.
Benitez was right when he wanted to get rid of him... for 20m.

You might disagree with this also, but selling Xabi for 20m will be a rip off.

Well selling Alonso for 20M is a good deal if you wanted to sell him, that i can agree with. But its like if i ask you, would you want to sell Sissoko for 20M? Sissoko doesnt deserve that kind of money, and it would be a rip off too. But he's an important player that might not easily be replaced, and Juve like Liverpool is a big team, not a selling team, so it wouldnt make sense to sell sissoko, even for 20M. The same applies to Alonso.

 

[Enron]

With our defense i think it will do more harm than good. With the way our full backs cross and since we played most of the season without Camo and Giovinco, i see Alonso's presence in this year's Juve as useless and harmful.

If we have a stronger defense, if we have at least one good offensive full back ( or if we have Camo and Giovinco healthy to play on the sides all season long), then i would love a Pirlo/Alonso type of player, who will know how and when to pass, to create the game.
Until then, i'd rather have someone who will make me feel secure with the back 4 and i'd rather use the wings to create.

I've always wondered why the defense hasn't been an improvement priority for you guys. Perhaps it will in the future not that you guys have a solid attack force.

 

[Alen]

And that is why I think it is entirely possible that Ranieri really did choose Poulsen over Alonso.

Didn't Ranieri say that when we bought Poulsen?
I might be wrong but i think he said that he chose Poulsen because he also gives great cover to the defense. (I thought back than that with this he was also implying why he didn't choose Alonso).
I remember people here getting pissed about that statement. And they were kinda right because the defense wouldn't need much cover if it's a quality defense.

But to create a top quality defense we needed 3 more players (or at least two) and we needed some 30m eur for that, which we probably didn't even have, so we went with plan B.

 

[Enron]

Didn't Ranieri say that when we bought Poulsen?
I might be wrong but i think he said that he chose Poulsen because he also gives great cover to the defense. (I thought back than that with this he was also implying why he didn't choose Alonso).
I remember people here getting pissed about that statement. And they were kinda right because the defense wouldn't need much cover if it's a quality defense.

But to create a top quality defense we needed 3 more players (or at least two) and we needed some 30m eur for that, which we probably didn't even have, so we went with plan B.

He also said that Alonso was too slow for Serie A. Which is kind of a crock statement.

 

[Bjerknes]

Even if we would have let 4 in, our chances to score would have been better. That's not something that one can disregard.

I don't even think you can say that. How many times have we scored away from home in the latter stages of the Champions League during the past five years? Pool, Arsenal, Chelsea - away from home we scored only one goal in all losing efforts. The way Barca holds the ball and how they can defend counterattacks tells me we probably wouldn't do much better than Bayern. It's not like the latter is impotent going forward with Ribery and the others.

We would do better and that is not a foolish statement. It's something I base upon our very good record against big sides. Fact: We play our best games when the opposition dominate possession. We play poorly when we have to take control, something which we would not be forced to do against Barcelona.

Uhh... we didn't play too poorly against Chelsea. It's not like they took the game to us 24/7. They didn't impress me much.

Our back four would have played higher than Bayern's which would give Barca less time on the ball. Are you watching the game? Bayern are completely open and the distance between their defence and midfield is huge. They're just bending over for Barca.

If our defense would have played even higher then Bayern we would have gotten owned even more. Remember, Barca's strengths come from skill and pace from the wings. Grygera and Molinaro would always have to back track and get skinned, allowing more space behind.

Your attempts at patronizing might work when arguing against other forumers but not here, Andy.

I just don't really like how some people here try to give us stupid pity points while we're out of the fucking tournament. Yeah, so we might have done a little better than Bayern. Who gives a toss? We're not in it. And even if we were, Barca would be too much of a test for our current team.

It's frankly annoying what you're doing. It takes away from the problems we have and doesn't really add any insight, especially when everybody can see Barca is no match for this team.

That's all. This has been a major waste of my time.

Liverpool
I can’t believe they thought they’ll do what we couldn’t do.

One big for the company led by Denco that was convincing us how Chelsea aren’t a top team anymore and how we should be bitter for letting an “average team like Chelsea” to eliminate us. And of course, he was saying that Villareal would eliminate Chelsea.

But Chelsea wasn't impressive against us. Liverpool and Chelsea play one another several times a year so it's difficult to say what will happen.

Last but not least… let me quote this: “We should have paid 20m to Liverpool for Xabi Alonso”
WTF? We didn’t have and we didn’t need such profile of MC in our best years and we never had such a player until the summer of 2007 when we bought the ballerina.
Give me someone who bites, who dies on the pitch, I don’t want a primadonna.
He’s a good player but no-one in his right mind would pay more than 12-13m for him and Benitez was right when he wanted to get rid of him. (Which couldn’t be said about Sissoko).
Thanks Ranieri, or whoever was responsible, for not letting Liverpool to rip us off. We don’t need a player like Xabi Alonso. What we need much more is a Lampard type of MC.

Great job Chelsea.

This is something I don't understand either. We don't need players such as Xabi Alonso, a player who orchestrates the midfield, distributes the ball better than most players and performs his defensive duties well. Okey-dokey.

Poulsen for life. He's so great it's unbelievable.

20M is a bit of a big sum thats true. But Rafa was definitely wrong when he thought he'd sell Alonso. Alonso has been one of Liverpool's best and most important players this season. He's the one that keeps their midfield intact and dictates the tempo.
Very unfair of you to judge him based on todays game, typical knee jerk reaction if you ask me.

As for the part about Sissoko, you're wrong there too. You seem to have forgotten how poorly Sissoko was playing in his last season and a half with Liverpool, he was losing the ball too much, he was incapable of keeping up with Liverpools pace and was generally inconsistent. Alonso was the better player of the pair, no two ways about it.

Give Rafa the choice between Alonso and Sissoko again and he'd take Alonso any day of the week. Even if Sissoko went back right now to Liverpool he wouldnt start imo

Indeed. And to take Poulsen over Xabi Alonso is pure idiocy.

 

[Red]

Didn't Ranieri say that when we bought Poulsen?
I might be wrong but i think he said that he chose Poulsen because he also gives great cover to the defense. (I thought back than that with this he was also implying why he didn't choose Alonso).
I remember people here getting pissed about that statement. And they were kinda right because the defense wouldn't need much cover if it's a quality defense.

But to create a top quality defense we needed 3 more players (or at least two) and we needed some 30m eur for that, which we probably didn't even have, so we went with plan B.

It was just that there was always a suspicion among a significant minority that Ranieri only said he wanted Poulsen so the club wouldn't look bad after not getting Alonso.

I could always see the sense in signing Poulsen, for reasons you have already mentioned.

 

[Bjerknes]

With our defense i think it will do more harm than good. With the way our full backs cross and since we played most of the season without Camo and Giovinco, i see Alonso's presence in this year's Juve as useless and harmful.

If we have a stronger defense, if we have at least one good offensive full back ( or if we have Camo and Giovinco healthy to play on the sides all season long), then i would love a Pirlo/Alonso type of player, who will know how and when to pass, to create the game.
Until then, i'd rather have someone who will make me feel secure with the back 4 and i'd rather use the wings to create.

Hmm, strange. A Xabi - Sissoko midfield would be useless and harmful, yet we've garnered our best results WHILE TIAGO WAS PLAYING ON THE PITCH.

Great logic that, Alen.

Seriously, does anybody here besides the Premierships fans know anything about Xabi Alonso? Doesn't look like it.

 

[Alen]

Well selling Alonso for 20M is a good deal if you wanted to sell him, that i can agree with. But its like if i ask you, would you want to sell Sissoko for 20M? Sissoko doesnt deserve that kind of money, and it would be a rip off too. But he's an important player that might not easily be replaced, and Juve like Liverpool is a big team, not a selling team, so it wouldnt make sense to sell sissoko, even for 20M. The same applies to Alonso.

But Benitez did want to sell him. With Gerrard, Mascherano and then Barry (who was obviously rated higher by Benitez than Alonso) Liverpool had the center area covered pretty well with class. In that case no wonder Benitez wanted to get rid of him.

We have no-one if we sell Sissoko.

 

[Enron]

But Benitez did want to sell him. With Gerrard, Mascherano and then Barry (who was obviously rated higher by Benitez than Alonso) Liverpool had the center area covered pretty well with class. In that case no wonder Benitez wanted to get rid of him.

We have no-one if we sell Sissoko.

That's correct. Bottom line... Liverpool got greedy. I didn't want them to sell Xabier anyways.

 

[Alen]

Hmm, strange. A Xabi - Sissoko midfield would be useless and harmful, yet we've garnered our best results WHILE TIAGO WAS PLAYING ON THE PITCH.

Great logic that, Alen.

Seriously, does anybody here besides the Premierships fans know anything about Xabi Alonso? Doesn't look like it.

Seruously Andy, stop finding excuses. Tiago was, is and will add nothing else but uselessness to Juve and until we fix our defense every CM that doesn't defend at all, will mean more chances for us to concede goals.
We need the defense sorted first and only then we can think about a player like Xabi or Pirlo.
Look at Milan, look at Pirlo when the defense was great, look at Pirlo now when their defense sucks. Player like Pirlo is now hurting Milan more than he's helping the team.

 

[Bjerknes]

That's correct. Bottom line... Liverpool got greedy. I didn't want them to sell Xabier anyways.

I thought Benitez wanted Barry considering he could also provide cover for the left spot in midfield?