LOL @ Gerrard

[papereyes]

The whole playing strikers on the wings thing has been irritating me for years, its become a bit of a trend. Remember Pardew’s experiment with Cureton?

and, briefly, with Harewood.

[Thaumagurist*]

.

[The Surgeon of Crowthorne]

He's not the only one to have done this. Cruyff did it with Lineker. Rjkaard with Henry.

[Apocalypse Now]

They have Gerrard for the strong and direct central midfielder in that side though..

[Huntley & Palmer]

Liverpool don't actually need Barry. They have Alonso who is better and they play 4231 now which would mean Barry would end up alongside Mascharano or on the wing. Liverpool need goalscoring wingers who can beat defenders. The only possible reason for them signing Barry would be for his set pieces, which is something they were very weak on last season.

In a week where theres been a row over the conduct of Real Madrid and Man Utd over tapping up, for Gerrard to come out with these comments is stupid and makes Liverpool look desperate.

Alonso is a very different midfielder to Barry, hence why he does not fit into the current system that Benitez is using. So it would be Barry and Mascherano in the middle together with Steve G just behind Torres. Liverpool don't use out and out wingers hitting the byline and putting crosses in, they prefer more functional players that can cut inside and hit the box. Personnel wise Rafa has not got this quite right yet, though Babel looked to be settling in at the end of the season. Kuyt has been shoehorned into this role but is not good enough, though he can switch with Gerrard as the second striker if needed. I'd imagine this is an area they are looking at. Kewell is pretty irrelevant as he is leaving at the end of his contract this month, it's also the reason Crouch will probably leave as he can't fill the lone striker role as well as Torres can

[Doyler]

He's not the only one to have done this. Cruyff did it with Lineker. Rjkaard with Henry.

To be fair to Rijkaard, Henry was a winger at monaco and juventus.

[Hoop Blah]

The whole playing strikers on the wings thing has been irritating me for years, its become a bit of a trend. Remember Pardew’s experiment with Cureton?

and, briefly, with Harewood.

To be fair, Harewood played on the wing, or as part of three upfron to me a bit more accurate, quite a bit at Forest. He and David Johnson would split wide with Jack Lester through the middle.

I agree it's abit stupid to do it with some players though, perhaps the worst example being Sven giving Andy Johnson his big break for England on the right.

[Hoop Blah]

They have Gerrard for the strong and direct central midfielder in that side though..

But Barry isn't going to be an attacking player like Gerrard. He'll be one of the two sitting but he is stronger and more direct than Alonso and Lucas, both of whom are good players but aren't as rugged defensively as Barry. Barry will also probably add a few more goals to the side than Alonso, which is something Liverpool need as they rely of Gerrard and Torres far too much.

[Apocalypse Now]

Alonso is stronger than people think, you're talking as if he's someone lightweight. He's coped fine in the Premiership and has been an excellent buy. You don't want direct players in that holding role, because direct = more stray passes = less possession.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Quite simply, Mascherano does it better and has more pace than Xabi.

[Apocalypse Now]

In that case why doesn't Rafa play Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle and two upfront?

[Hoop Blah]

Alonso is stronger than people think, you're talking as if he's someone lightweight. He's coped fine in the Premiership and has been an excellent buy. You don't want direct players in that holding role, because direct = more stray passes = less possession.

I agree Alonso is an excellent player, and I don't think anyone has said he's leightweight by any means. That doesn't mean that Barry isn't a better, more responsible defender, at the same time as using the ball extremely well too.

Rafa obvioulsy has his doubts over Alonso in that position alongside Macherano as he's played Lucas quite a bit this season as if he's been grooming him to replace Alonso in the future. Maybe it's just because Rafa can see Alonso wanting another move before he gets too old, or maybe he just doesn't quite fancy him. Either way I can see exactly why Barry would be a good buy for Liverpool. His relationship and understanding with Gerrard is an obvious bonus.

Barry keeps the ball very well and I don't think keeping possession is a major problem for Liverpool, except for when Gerrard is trying to be a bit too hollywood with his passing.

[Apocalypse Now]

Central midfield is Liverpool's strength, it just seems pointless to meddle with it when theres other areas they need to strengthen.

Villa wouldn't sell Barry for much under £20m either, given he's their captain, English and they don't need to sell.

[Kes]

I don't understand why Gerrard didn't play last night as I thought it was only the CL finalists with the exception of RIo that were given a rest.

[rfcjoe]

I don't understand why Gerrard didn't play last night as I thought it was only the CL finalists with the exception of RIo that were given a rest.

Gerrard did play!

[Hoop Blah]

Central midfield is Liverpool's strength, it just seems pointless to meddle with it when theres other areas they need to strengthen.

Villa wouldn't sell Barry for much under £20m either, given he's their captain, English and they don't need to sell.

It's not their strength if they don't think Alonso wants to stay much longer though (or if they think they can improve it).

Not sure Villa will hold out for quite that much. They're likely to hold up the silly money Utd paid out for both Hargreaves and Carrick as a yardstick for any fee though, but ultimately, if Barry says he wants to go then they might just have to sell at a more reasonable price.

[Kes]

I don't understand why Gerrard didn't play last night as I thought it was only the CL finalists with the exception of RIo that were given a rest.

Gerrard did play!

[rfcjoe]

I don't understand why Gerrard didn't play last night as I thought it was only the CL finalists with the exception of RIo that were given a rest.

Gerrard did play!

WHOOOOSSH!

Just got it!

[Huntley & Palmer]

In that case why doesn't Rafa play Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle and two upfront?

Because the reason Gerrard and Torres scored so many goals this season was down to them working well together in this formation. When it was changed personnel wise or formation wise it struggled, namely when Crouch and Kuyt were used

[Apocalypse Now]

Central midfield is Liverpool's strength, it just seems pointless to meddle with it when theres other areas they need to strengthen.

Villa wouldn't sell Barry for much under £20m either, given he's their captain, English and they don't need to sell.

It's not their strength if they don't think Alonso wants to stay much longer though (or if they think they can improve it).

Not sure Villa will hold out for quite that much. They're likely to hold up the silly money Utd paid out for both Hargreaves and Carrick as a yardstick for any fee though, but ultimately, if Barry says he wants to go then they might just have to sell at a more reasonable price.

Why would Alonso move? He didn't go to Real Madrid last summer so theres little chance he'd want to leave in the near future. He's also a year younger than Barry.