Re: Xabi Alonso will stay at Anfield, says Rafa Benitez
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=33578.msg897229#msg897229 date=1246280404]
[quote author=Squiggles link=topic=33578.msg897219#msg897219 date=1246279658]
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=33578.msg897210#msg897210 date=1246278800]
[quote author=Anita link=topic=33578.msg897200#msg897200 date=1246278409]
[quote author=koze link=topic=33578.msg897187#msg897187 date=1246277558]
[quote author=Anita link=topic=33578.msg897153#msg897153 date=1246274949]
And I wouldn't blame him if he did.
I think if I was in his position I'd avoid saying too much. Let's not look at this summer in isloation; it was Rafa who instigated Alonso moving away from the club last summer. Only Alonso didn't have the luxury of doing it on his own terms, so he sat tight. This summer he's making sure he gets things done on his own terms.
Either he's decided that he doesn't want to stay because he doesn't feel wanted enough because of what happened last summer, or he thinks Rafa is still looking to sell him. Either way, like I said. I don't really blame him, I'd do the same. I wouldn't wanna stay somewhere I'm not wanted.
Rafa's actions from last summer have come back to bite him in the arse, simple as.
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Lol.
How could Alonso feel "unwanted" when the manager has explicitly stated that he wanted him to stay?
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Eh, because that manager tried to sell him 12 months ago. Maybe he'e not willing to forgive and forget, that's his perogative.
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No it isn't, not for a grown man who should know better than to sulk, especially when his form at that time was mediocre.
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It's not a "sulk" - sulks don't last 12 months. If Xabi does decide to leave, it will be the result of a lot of hard thinking and time.
At the start of this thread I was really angry and blamed Rafa's because of his actions last season, but in hindsight holding either party is culpable is ultimately pointless. Both Rafa and Xabi have their reasons for what's happened, and I suspect both of them could justify their actions regardless of the outcome this summer.
There's also so much we don't know about; a public plea to stay isn't *everything* is it? We don't know what Rafa's been acting like all year. We pretty much know fuck all.
We as fans have to suck it up and see what happens.
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Anita referred to Xabi's possible unwillingness to forgive and forget, and my dictionary defines "sulk" as "fit or state of silence, inactivity or unsociability from resentment or ill temper". There's no time limit on such things - McMoneyman's lasted longer still.
We don't know how either of them has acted behind the scenes for that matter, but I don't buy the idea that a guy as calculating as Rafa would have treated Xabi like a cnut and then made the kind of public announcement he's come out with, risking an adverse reaction from a player who had been privately outraged.
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Rafa risked an "adverse reaction" last summer and that worked out well for him, until now.
That statement pushed Alonso into a corner and he's yet to make up his mind, but we're in no position to crucify Alonso as some spoiled brat, and I think any attempt to do so is pathetic.
Maybe we're all reading too much into everything that went on last summer, because moving to Madrid at present must be tempting for any Spaniard?
The bottom line is, Benitez has to convince Alonso to stay, at least for another year or two. I just hope he's up the job.
