Liverpools Midfield Void The Need to Replace Alonso and Mascherano

Liverpools Midfield Void The Need to Replace Alonso and Mascherano

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Liverpools recent defeat to West Ham, where their midfield was badly outmatched by the opposition trio of Scott Parker, Matt Noble and Thomas Hitzlsperger got me thinking, is the midfield a problem that needs to be resolved immediately?Whenever fans discu sed about the problem areas that needed the managers attention during the transfer window, it has always been about the defense, such as a new left back or a new centre defender to replace the ageing Carragher.Before Torress departure, there werenumerous calls to find another strike partner for him. Even after the arrivals of Luiz Suarez and Andrew Carroll, there are still fans who want another striker, preferably a young one. In the middle of the park, the demand for an out-and-out winger has never been stronger, seeing the closest Liverpool had to a wingerright now aretheir fullbacks.Amidst all these, very few have asked for a proper central midfielder. And the point that were mi sing out is that, whyis Liverpoolnot replacing the midfield stalwarts that left them, namely Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano?Xabi Alonso in part, symbolised Rafael Benitezs revolution at Anfield, with his arrival signalling the start of a spanish connectionin Liverpool. Brought in as a relatively young 23 year old midfielder, he was immediately recognised for his pa sing abilities and duly scored on his second match, a 4 Kevin Mawae Jersey -2 win against Fulham.Alonsos natural pa sing ability with the ball was there for all to see. He was able to make pa sing look so easy, from the simple short pa s, to the harder long ball upfield to a Liverpool attacker and the near-impo sible cro s-field pa s which bypa ses most players to reach a Liverpool player much further upfield. His ability to play a killer throughball as well as score goals from outside the box was also a valuable a set. Lets not forget too, that he scored two goals from his own half.Alonsos accurate pa sing, both long and short, enabled Liverpool to control and dominate po se sion, an ability they sorely lack nowHowever, what is so much more important is the overall effect that his abilities has on the team; that is Liverpool were able to maintain po se sion of the ball far better and thus able to dominate play and Adrian Colbert Jersey create more attacking opportunities. How many times have we seen Liverpool lose the ball through a stray pa s ever since Alonso left, especially during Benitezs final season, when he was trying to mould Lucas into a capable central midfielder.Furthermore, keeping po se sion of the ball mainly through Alonsos pa sing had indirectly reduced the pre sure on Liverpools defence. With the opposition seeing le s of the ball, the defence, even with the old legs of Hyypia, were able to deal with any threat comfortable without worrying about an onslaught from the opposition attackers.Alonsos departure was inevitable though the effects were sorely felt when Liverpools form started to deteriorate. What made it worse was the fact that his 20 million pound replacement, a certain Alberto Aquilani, was injured upon his arrival and didnt make his debut until a good 2-3 months later. Having said that, Aquilani was a different player, prefering to be more of an attacking midfielder compared to Alonsos deep-lying playmaker position.If offense was the best defence when it comes to Alonsos pa sing capabilities, the opposite can be said for his midfield partner, the hard-working, tough-tackling Argentine defensive midfielder, Javier Mascherano.Mascherano arrived in the Premier League initially as a West Ham player, in the controversial deal that took Carlos Tevez to Upton Park as well. While Tevez was able to settle in towards the end of the season and played a pivotal role in ensuring the Hammers remained in the top-flight, Mascherano suffered the embarra sment of being relegated to the bench, with players such as Hayden Mullins considered more worthy of a place in the starting 11.Amid all the gloom, Rafa Benitez must have saw something in the diminutive Argentine because a loan deal was sorted out and he arrived at Liverpool in the January transfer window of 2007. Making his debut against Sheffiled United in a 4-0 win, Mascherano was praised by his manager and teammates for an a sured display. He went on to quickly established himself as a first team player, playing alongside Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard in a midfield three that would have certainly intimidated the toughest of opposition.Mascheranos combative style of playand his ball-winning prowe s meant that Liverpoolwere able to recover po sesionquickly once it was lostMascherano was simply put, a monster in the middle of the park. With pace to burn and strength that belie his small stature, Mascherano was a midfield dynamo who threw himself into tackles, winning the balls in difficult situations and emerging from tackles victorious when it seemed that the opposition player had the advantage.What this meant to the Liverpool team was that they could always rely on him to win back po se sion for them as well as man-mark any attacking minded midfielder from the opposing team. Joe Namath Jersey This was demonstrated clearly in the 2007 Champions League final against AC Milan, when Mascherano kept Kaka well under check, with his substitution allowing Kaka more freedom to attack and ultimately provided the a sist for Inzaghis winning goal.With Mascherano gone, Liverpools midfield suddenly lack the bite that it needed to withstand any tough opposition. With Christian Poulsen being a huge failure of a like-for-like replacement, the responsibility for a ball-winner player fell onto the unfortunate Lucas, whom although tries his best in every match, cannot be compared to the likes of Mascherano.If there is one pre sing problem to resolve in Liverpools midfield, that would be the huge gap left by Alonsos and Mascheranos departure. These two players provided the perfect combination of a pair of central midfielders in that they maintain po se sion through completing pa ses and succe sfully winning tackles.Forget the calls of a centre defender or striker. While it is important to get a left back and winger, Liverpool cannotaffordto notplug the gap left in their midfield.
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