Xabi or not Xabi: that is the question

I’ve heard that the Japanese use the same word to mean “crisis” and “opportunity”. Whether it’s true or not I can’t say but there is certainly truth in the suggestion the two are related.

Today the Liverpool Echo reported that Xabi Alonso has told Benitez he wants to leave Liverpool to join Real Madrid. If true, that plunges Liverpool into a crisis. Alonso is a key player in Benitez’s side. Much of the attacking play goes through him and he is critical to making the preferred formation (4-2-2-1-1), which gets the best out of players like Steven Gerrard and Dirk Kuyt, so successful. When Lucas and Mascherano have played together, the formation doesn’t work so well but pair Alonso with either and it works (albeit much better when Alonso is paired with Mascherano).

With Man Ure and Chelsea entering transitional seasons and Arsenal treading water, Liverpool have an excellent chance of ending their 20-year title drought if they can retain the successful elements from last season’s team. Alonso was undoubtedly one of those key elements.

If Alonso can be persuaded to stay or Real are not prepared to meet Liverpool’s £35 million valuation for the player, Rafa should keep him at Anfield for another year. However, if Alonso is determined to go and Real offer £35 million, it would be understandable for Rafa to let him go.

What impact the Spaniards departure has on the immediate fortunes of the club then depends on how Rafa exploits the opportunity it presents. Reinvest the money well and Liverpool could end up Champions in which case we will all reflect that Alonso’s defection was one of the best things that could have happened to the club. Squander the money and we will look like a badly managed club whose best players want away and can be prized away.

Not replacing Alonso is not an option. There is insufficient quality and depth in the squad to cope without a replacement. Lucas cannot fill Alonso’s boots while Jay Spearing is a different sort of player entirely and Plessis is inferior even to Lucas. However, it is not necessarily the case that Rafa would need to buy a like-for-like replacement.

Players like Alonso are not easy to find and even tougher to sign. If one could be purchased who was similar in style and quality – and I can’t think of a single player in Europe who fits that description – it would reduce the impact of the change on the rest of the team. The 4-2-2-1-1 formation could stay and for most players there would be stability in terms of tactics, positions, etc.

A different solution might be to drop Gerrard back into midfield and sign a striker or forward to play either behind Torres where Gerrard has played or up front with him in a 4-4-2 formation. 4-4-2 would get the best out of Gerrard’s attacking capabilities if he were dropped back to play alongside Mascherano. While Gerrard is good enough to play anywhere on the park, I believe you get more out of Gerrard by giving him a free role and certainly his partnership with Torres is one of the best around. However, David Villa has also struck up a fine partnership with Torres for Spain. If he could be signed for £30 million, Liverpool would get plenty of goals from Spain’s front two while Gerrard would contribute more goals than Alonso ever did from midfield.

Bringing in a highly sought after big star like Villa would dispel any notion that we were in decline and selling our best players – it would simply look like good business.

As sorry as I would be to see Alonso go, the facts are he has had one excellent season and two lousy ones in the last three years; he has never scored as regularly as he should, and he is something of a liability when it comes to zonal marking (as Tim Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic exposed last season). I would rather he stayed but losing him doesn’t have to be a crisis if Rafa makes the most of the opportunity it presents.