For some bizarre reason it appears the press have decided that Liverpool have become a feeder club for other European clubs. First it was Alonso linked with Spanish clubs, then it was Mascherano and now it’s Torres.
The standard of football reporting by some of the tabloids has been abysmal. Man City, Man Utd, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid have been at some stage linked with every major Liverpool player. In fact, you start to feel sorry for the poor lads who haven’t been the subject of such wild speculation. Come on Real Madrid – tell us you’re interested in bringing Skrtel in for £120 M. Poor old Carra as well – he would love to start work on a chain of his restaurants on one of the Spanish costa’s.
Newspapers these days are a dying breed. With internet access 24/7 – newspapers, especially the Sundays, need something that little bit special to make people trot down to the shops. To do this, in general, they introduce complete fabrications. Some sensationalist websites also completely fabricate stories – and most Liverpool websites and forums have introduced their own policies to prevent some nonsense slipping through.
However, one story refuses to go away and that is the Mascherano one – and principally because his agent is so pro-active on the Argentine’s behalf.
At the end of the season Masch was pleased to say how he was staying but within a couple of weeks his agent was popping up left right and centre to try and get his player a move to Barcelona. The fact that his agent is so visibly attempting to broker a deal and that Mascherano hasn’t stipulated he wants to stay and reigned in his agent speaks volumes for me.
If a player isn’t committed to the cause, irrespective of his name, and assuming Liverpool receive a valuation of the right magnitude then it is entirely reasonable to sell the player. Mascherano is a good player, but he is far from being one of our greatest ever players. Last season he was hailed as having a terrific season – although in the final analysis Liverpool actually performed better without him than with him.
When he was struggling to get a game at West Ham, it was Liverpool who salvaged Mascherano’s career. The player owes Benitez and Liverpool a great deal – and as he runs out as Argentinian captain it is something he may care to consider. When he’s on the bench at Barcelona or Real Madrid will his country be so keen on having him play for them?
If Liverpool’s valuation for any player is not met then they do not have to sell assuming the player has a decent amount of time left on their contract. And our club is not the type that will allow players to sulk off. The manager won’t stand for it, and the fans won’t stand for it either.
So if Mascherano wants to leave Liverpool and if somebody offers the club enough money then I don’t think the reds should be desperately trying to persuade him to stay. Take the money and bring a player with desire and passion for the red shirt. And if Mascherano does go – fingers crossed that Newcastle will be back in the Premier League soon so that they can rescue him from his bench-warming, international career ending Spanish journey. Hmm.. sounds like somebody else we used to know.
Roger,i didn’t say that Owen or Macca didn’t win anything with us rather that their career’s went downhill after they walked out forcing us to sell them on the cheap!.Let Mascherano leave if he
wants but we should insist that Henry makes the opposite journey!.The brilliant Frenchman has never hidden his admiration for Liverpool so would probably welcome the move to Anfield,i’d be more then happy with this deal.
Barca can become our feeder club!!!
ow guys something we have to understand here is that there is no dm in the world that replace masch I don’t think he wanna leave us but if he did I would never forgive the board and the player(in less than 50).But if he wanna leave they must have someone in mind to replace him 4me only yaya is the choice.So what will be good 4 us and 4 him is to be here with us and be the historical player.Rafa please don’t make the same mistake like gerard h. don’t let too important players go no matter what.
Sorry dont mean to sensationalise like our good friends the tabloids.
Brilliant article, and i think its spot on! If we were to get £30million for Alonso and £35million for Mascherano, i think we be stupid to turn that kind of money down. There are plenty of players out there who are looking for a chance at a big club, plus its massive profits made on these players. Sure Alonso is tempted by Real Madrid, what spanish player isnt? But Mascherano to Barcelona? Is he good enough to get into a team which has Toure, Xavi and Iniesta as its fulcrum and then Messi, Henry and Eto, as well as young Bojan.
Be interesting to see what develops with these guys, but as far as i can see, we are going to get top dollar for both players, add that to the £8million for Arbeloa and £8million for Dossena, and perhaps even £15million for Babel and Rafa all of a sudden has a warchest to go and buy Silva and Villa!
One thing that I know, is that Rafa will never, ever sell Mascherano, or any player from his “spine”
I mean by that Reina, Carra (as if he had the balls to sell him), Skrtel/Agger, Masch and Xabi, Gerrard (same), Kuyt and Torres.
We’ve been spending the last 2 seasons making of the Gerrard/Torres partnership the greatest in the world (offloading Gerrard forward) and using a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Masch and Xabi have settled in as DMs, and that will not change.
Swapping Masch for Villa is more than an exciting deal, but that’ll never happen, at least not under Rafa.
We still have to get someone like Silva, Young (someone at the left) and we’ll have, for sure, a title winning side.
Listen boys, none of us want the masch to go,of course we don,t.However, we,ve all heard the news this morning,about masch not being happy with the amount of dosh he,s getting in comparison to his team mates.This is again another story or reason why he wants to go.All politics,things none of us supporters are supposed to understand, another story for us to believe or ignore.Whatever is the true story,at the end of the day,if the masch wants to go,then so be it.Rafa then has to weigh up what to do,with the money we get for him.After watching the way we played since that boro defeat last season,i would be quite happy with the squad we already have+we now have johnson.I reckon we,ve got the best manager in europe and we all know that he,ll get it right with or without the masch.Also with a bit of experience under his belt and i think this season, nurture him gradually into the first team, Jay spearing will be a more than able replacement for the masch.He has a great engine,can get stuck in,loves having a shot, does for the reserves what the masch does for the first team.
That was a brillant analysis of the whole Carca and Madrid trying to conquer football situation. Also tabloids are getting on my nerves with their stupid rumours, I read The Times the other day and they stated that Torres was off to Chelsea, and Xabi and Javier to Spain, like come on would Torres actually go to them. I love masch but if Liverpool do receive a bid of Rafa’s valuation then let him go,we can really strengthen our squad with that kind of money!! Thank god the whole Johnson thing is sorted but masch claims he wants treble his wages as Johnson will be getting 80,000 to 100,000 a week while masch is only getting 30,000. I feel masch is right there to want more!!
Iam against having this harsh war on mascherano, lets wait and see what will happen. For me, even for 40mil dnt sell him. We will never have a better player in his position. Thats really harsh on mascherano….
Whilst i dont want to see either Mascherano or Alonso go, i do agree completely with your article. I also agree with you that Masch is not one of the greatest players to play for us and i dont exactly agree with this theory that he is the best holding midfielder in the premier league ….Essien !! . Perhaps a closer examination of his National Teams recent performances would interest people like Nozzer.
I think he plays well in a system that suits him, and he may not find that elsewhere, but then its not about that is it. Its about the cash ! Just ask Barry or Tevez. You can save people from the gutter and turn them into superstars, but for sure they will never remember!
Im tiring of all this ……..Let him go if the cash is right .
I am totally agree what you said, look MU & Arsenal…look how they earned the money from the transfer market. That is how they are getting stronger & stronger not only financially but the all team spirit is high above the sky. That is what Liverpool FC needed. Forget about the american, Liverpool should learn out to do their business profitly. Let the player go with the right amount the money….please
How can you slate sensationalist headlines in one paragraph and then slate Masch in the next?!?! Pot? Kettle? Black?
1. Masch hasnt said a word because he doesnt need to. If a player had to come out every single time they’re linked with a move and deny it, they’d never do anything else. Xabi has done it several times this summer, in conjunction with Rafa, and he’s still ‘likely to move’. Torres signed a new contract literally weeks ago, comes out all the time saying how he loves it here, its his new home, he wants to become a legend and win titles. And yet he’s still linked with, above all other teams, United!!! Go figure that one out.
2. Benchwarmer?!?! Behave. If he left he’d be an integral part of whatever team he joined, be it Bradford or Barcelona. He’s Argentina captain for a reason, he’s awesome.
3. If he was to leave, as far as I’m aware, it wouldnt be for money or because he wasnt happy in Liverpool, but because his missus is pregnant and not happy in Liverpool. Thats what sets alarm bells ringing in my head. But that being the reason, if he was to leave, I wouldnt begrudge him that.
I dont think he will leave and I think Maradona, being a Liverpool friend, will give him the right advice. But put yourself in Maschs position and you might leave as well. Not because you dont love Liverpool, but if you’re family isnt happy and to solve that you have the opportunity to move to the best side in Europe and play alongside the best player in the world and a close personal friend, you might just take it as well. So absolutely fuck off slating Masch.
1. I didn’t slate Masch. I said he wasn’t one of the greatest players to have ever played for us.
Did I say Alonso was ‘likely to move’? No I didn’t.
2. Bradford he would play for. Barcelona – sorry the way they controlled the ball in the European Cup final would not have happened with Masch in the side. He’s a great tackler but he is no Molby when it comes to passing.
3. The whole ‘missus’ thing is blown out of proportion and is just an excuse. If she is so unhappy maybe she should go back to Argentina and get a job?
Lawrie McMenamy used to say there were two types of footballers. ‘Road Sweepers’ and ‘Violinists’. You need both to create a football team but ultimately the road sweepers are the players that get by on hard work and industry not technical ability. Masch is a road sweeper. With all due respect to Masch, he is world class at what he does, but he is not a world class ‘Footballer’ and therefore he can be adequately replaced for a fraction of the fee he may command. I agree with the above assessment of him not being the next Jan molby becuase he isn’t. Personally I don’t think he has the tecnical ability or goalscoring ability that Ronnie Whelan had.
Yes but Masc plays alongside one of the greatest passers in Europe Alonso week in week out. So i think he can fit in with barca. All you needs to do is provide cover for the defenders and win the ball and give to Xavi, iniesta and Messi. You do not have to be a wonderful passer to do that. So are you telling me that he is worse than Yaya. Yaya doesn’t have a fantastic passing range, but he doesn’t need to, and neither will Masc. What masc is world class at doing is crunching tackles, disrupting the oppositions play and allowing the other Midfielders to play. Masc is the best MF enforcer in the world and it’s teams like Barca that need these players the most. Also, he isn’t that bad going forward. remember when he played RB and was fantastic. A player like Masc means that Xavi and Iniesta can be even more creative. Plus the way they keep the ball, he probably won’t have much to do anyway.
As our midfield clearly is well balanced at the moment, with masch and alonso, i really would dislike any of them leaving. But still, i really do think it’s something rafa can cope with if masch were to go. At least if we got around 30 mill+ i would say it would be possible to get a descent replacement for much less than that, wich would give us the ability to bolster our transfer budget in our hunt for more quality on the left wing. I’m sure the master of structuring a defensive, rafa benitez, would find some guy that can run as hell and make the tackles and teach him how to sweap the floor in front of our back four. Maybe he can find a guy that even has better abilities when it comes to passing the ball too. And hitting something else but birds when he shoots from just outside the box? masch does what he is set to do very well. but to me he is not some sort of footballing God. some people tend to make him out as THE player in his position,seemingly lightyears above the competition. that is just not my belief. look at a player like essien. he could do masch’s job at LFC easily, and he would bring a lot more to his game as well. a lot more.. still i would like to see him stay, as he does the job and will continue to do so if he stays. but if he goes we can cope with that too, i think. 30 mill in, maybe spend 15-18 mill on some quality guy from spain to take his place. then put 10 mill extra in the silva/lavezzi/tevez pot and hopefully sort that out. + 2-5 mill extra to maybe land a player like micah richards instead of distin for our defense. could be ok in my opinion. at least it doesn’t have to be a disaster if he leaves…
Masch is saying nothing , Barca is saying nothing , most of our players are internationals after they joined us , Rafa can cope , I think he has learned , so if Masch wishes to go , he should be allowed to go, he should go , but someone must really pay
Unfortunately the rumours about his wife are true, she can’t settle in England.
It’s a shame as I think he’s the best holding midfielder in the world but what can you do…..D.I.V.O.R.C.E. ……Joke.
We may get 35m for him but when you’ve lost the best who can replace him and how much would it cost? Then again, I remember Momo looking like he was gonna be the best in Europe and Rafa found Masch.
Maybe he’ll give us one last year and one final push for the title which would put us in a much stronger position to find his replacement.
More worryingly it looks as though we’ll lose Xabi too and our midfield spine – grave error by Rafa last year pimping him around Europe.
I want Mascherano to stay but if he’s developed an attitude problem thinking he’s too good for us then we should take the rumoured £45 million without blinking an eyelid and tell him not to hit the door on his way out!
I don’t care what anyone says because no club will ever be as great as Liverpool,after leaving this mighty footballing institution a career only goes backwards.Strange how they never learn from the likes of Michael Owen and Steve McManaman who both made the very same mistake.
Mascherano’s agent surely only cares about is own bank balance not his client’s career.
Errm, Stevie Macca won 2 champions leagues so your statement ain’t quite accurate!!!
If we get 35 mill for masch, sell him. Players with his qualities are much easier to replace than Alonsos. Masch is a brilliant player, but in the end, he is not irreplaceable. If we get Toure and 20 million, I would say we get a very good player in the same position, and much needed money to strenghten our squad in offensive positions. It could well be a blessing in disguise.
REDAND MAD why do we need him to win the league? correct me if I am wrong but Man UTD have just won the league for the past three seasons without a player even close to his ability. FACT is as Rafa would say we shouldn’t require Masha at home or away in most games anyway especiall when we need all out attack, in an ideal world I would love him to stay but it isn’t and if he goes we will get a decent profit on him.
Ben, Torres has come out and stated publicly he wants to stay, and although some rags have suggested Chelski everyone with half a brain laughed just like Nando did last week when he was asked. If Masha was to come out and say he was staying it would be end of. He hasn’t so as the author says his silence speaks volumes.
Quote …And our club is not the type that will allow players to sulk off… unquote. Our club have a history of forgetting about contract expiry dates and are notorious for letting players sneak out the back door without the necessary kerching in the coffers – Owen, Mcmanaman, Rush, and even Keegan to name a few. Historically it seems the Liverpool board has let valuable assets wind down their contracts and leave for a pittance, poor poor poor business practice – happens at the scum I think NOT. Masher will go unfortunately as I think he is a star, hopefully we will recoup enough money to fund … a decent back up for Torres, a GOOD right winger (showing my age) and an attacking midfielder to shine against the no hopers in the premiership to give Stevie a break. Unfortunately we have to sell to buy (and what kind of indictment is that of a club our supposed size) so the bullet should be bitten and the deadwood trimmed adios arreverderci bonjour etc etc. WHAT THE F IS THE DEF OF GOOD BUSINESS IN THE (thick as a plank) BOARDROOM PAST & PRESENT
When I referred to us allowing players to sulk off I meant we wouldn’t let players throw a strop, ala Anelka did at Arsenal.
Though I hate to admit it, I see parallels with the situation Utd had some years ago when faced with the prospect of selling Paul Ince. Admittedly, it came to light later that Utd sold Ince because his commitment had started to decline slighlty. They were offered a very good deal at the time and took it, enabling them to break the British transfer record for Andy Cole. Cole was never a great player but served his purpose well at Utd being an integral part of the 99 treble winning side. Selling Ince was no big deal as it turned out becuase Utd already had some top players coming through in the shape of Paul Scholes, and of course Roy Keane had already been added by this time.
I’ve mentioned more than once that we have plenty of options across midfield, so much so that I believe we could cope without Masch and still win the title. Fundamentally we have to ask ourselves the question of whether Masch wants to go. If he does, then what point is there in keeping him. Again looking at Utd, they decided to keep Ronaldo for an extra year and lost out on a further $20m as Real were reportedly willing to part with around $100m last summer. If Masch wants to go then we should cash in on him now for two reasons. 1) We don’t want players that are not passionate about playing for Liverpool and 2) we could probably command a bigger fee now than in a years time. Utd tried desperately to keep Ronaldo for as long as they could becuase he is almost irreplacable. A match winner and a player that makes a difference in terms of winning titles. Would they have won any of the last 3 titles they’ve won without him? Another question. Would Utd have won any of those leagues without Michael Carrick? I would say probably, becuase over the course of a season, particulalry last season it’s the deadly forward players that they have that have won them crucial games. Don’t get me wrong, I think Masch is much better than the overated Carrick, but the point is Masch is replacable.
Before we got Torres, who was the last top / world class striker we actually bought? You’ve probably got to go back as far as when we re-signed Rushie way back in 1988, a full 19 years before we got Torres, proving that top strikers are hard to find and usually very expensive as bth of the aforementioned were at the respective times they signed. Selling Masch to ge a world class striker / attacker makes sense to me if we could get the money that’s been mentioned
I agree with this article, and I would unload Masch for one of two things. Either a 1 for 1 trade for Xavi (which Barcelona would never do), or for a price that Valencia would be willing to sell Villa for. In other words, negotiate what Valencia would take for Villa beforehand, and then if Barca will give us that price for Masch, sell him and buy Villa. Also probably not gonna happen, but I like our chances of winning next season if either of those two things happen (especially if we got Villa).
Good article. I really like Masch as a player as he gives everything and more in a game, but IF there is something in the rumours getting a decent price for him would help us to get a World Class Striker (Preferably Villa).
I am surprised that Rafa has not made any enquiries with RM for some of their dutch players as Sneider or Van Der Vaart would be a great addition to our Squad and considerably cheaper than they were bought for.
Nah – Masch is worth more than Villa. I believe Villa would have a hard time keeping fit in the PL. He’s a little fragile.
The poor guy….hadn’t had his ticket for his holiday in ibiza this summer…Hurry up man there is one month left to win it…. If they want to go? let them go…those living lfc, must bear in mind that its the end of their story ….
i think we should give our players better deals we cannot break up a team that almost won the league give the guy a better offer comon reds
Could this just be a case of an agent trying to engineer an improved contract and a bonus for himself.
Masch is the best dm in the world bar none, who do you think could replace him? There is no one? And a benchwarmer, hes better than yaya toure and anyone real madrid have. If we want to win the league we need him in the team we cannot let him go
Who could replace him? Agger.
A player with great defensive credentials, who loves to push forward. Passing skills approaching Stevie and Alonso. A great shot – from centre back he’s scored more goals than Masch.
Give Agger a half season at dm, and he’d make people forget Makelele (and Masch).
if they want to go then we have to sell them, but get good money and work on deals if they have indicated that they do want to leave, then liverpool should be getting on with new deals where they can spend the cash at once.
id sell alonso for 35 mill and mascherano price is 40 mill,
id then go and buy silva, aguero, capdevilla,
I don’t think Mascherano himself wishes to leave. It’s just his agent throwing up these absurd rumors of the player possibly moving to a spanish giant. It is about time Mascherano speaks up about himself before the matter goes out of hand.
I think we should sell the masch (not that i want to) and keep alonso. We should seel him for around £40mil at most so use that to sign david villa. If he doesnt come sign eto’o/huntelaar/luis fabiano (any good striker) and david silva! 🙂
I think mascherano’s agent is just trying to get him a pay increase.
He’s got 3 years left on his contract so we must be interested in extending it. The stories about his wife not willing to return to England just sound like they’re made up. Plus there is no real noise from Barca or the player himself.
So in my mind no need to worry.
This article does make a good point but are you seriously suggesting we just let him go? I admit that if a big offer comes in for him from Barca or Madrid it will probably be tough for the board to reject it, but as far as im concerned there isnt a better holding midfield player in the premier league. I think letting him go would be something the board would end up regretting in the long run. Also he wouldnt be a bench warmer at either Madrid or Barca, he’s way better than anyone they’ve got to offer in his position, especially if Yaya Toure leaves Barca.
For a fluid passing side such as Barcelona, I honestly don’t think Mascherano has got the game to dislodge their current midfield setup. Madrid, maybe, but Barca = bench. Just my opinion.
I agree and especially if the previously touted figure of £35 million was correct. I have also thought that maybe he should say something publicly about his intentions, although many will argue that this just plays into the hands of the papers and that he shouldn’t have to justify untruths!
Well said. You summed up my feelings exactly.
Though exiled these days I follow the goings on closely.
We want players proud to wear the shirt.