Why I feel Rafa Benitez should take the money and run
Football FanCast columnist Kev Dennis feels that Rafa Benitez should cash in on Mascherano in order to strengthen elsewhere.
Another day and another Javier Mascherano rumour linking him with a move to Barcelona and where I was very against the prospect of such a sale, the kind of figures being bandied around certainly look appealing and if the Catalan giants are prepared to pay in excess of £36m for his services, then if I were Rafa I would take the money and run. Mascherano is a great player, but he, unlike Alonso, would be easy to replace.
Mascherano has been very diplomatic when it came to the summer rumours about Barcelona and claimed that it hasn’t had any effect on his mindset and his subsequent performance; a view that I beg to differ with, as I felt Javier has been a mere shadow of the player that has proven so dominant in the previous two seasons. I accept that not playing with Xabi will have had some sort of impact, but it is his demeanour and will to win that has been missing and barring the 2-0 victory against United and the away draw in Lyon, we haven’t seen the Mascherano that we know and the player who brought stability to the midfield and provided the barrier protecting the back four.
According to reports the finer details like terms have supposedly already been agreed and it is down to Benitez to decide as to whether he wishes to allow the deal to happen. The way I see it is that £36m is a lot of money and if it is a case of sacrificing one to free up funds to strengthen in possibly two or three areas then I believe it is worth doing as the need to add depth is far more important than just having the presence of the Argentine in the squad. Obviously in an ideal world we wouldn’t need to sell him and should keep hold of Masch, but under the ownership of Hicks and Gillett that such thing doesn’t exist and our finances dictate that Rafa has to weigh up the possibility of sacrificing one, in order to bring in another two or three.
Although an inform Mascherano is one of the best in his position, there are certainly alternatives out there. Yaya Toure is a player that has been linked previously, as has Lassana Diarra who apparently itching for a return to the Premier League having reportedly grown disillusioned by life in Spain and Madrid in general. Both of the aforementioned players, especially Toure will cost a fraction of the fee that Barca are happy to spend on Masch and perhaps the Ivorian will be a part of a potential swap. The alternatives are there and that is why I think Rafa would be wise to sanction his sale, especially when he can utilise the funds to strengthen elsewhere.
We like to think of ourselves as the most knowledgeable fans in the world. And yet I’ve seen so many Liverpool fans, ones who arent kneejerkers and actually are quite smart, saying the same thing. Cash in on Mascherano. Its madness!!!
Any lesson we learn as fans we should remember, whenever they happen. Let alone something that happened little more than a few months ago. Everyone thought that Alonso wouldnt be as big a miss as he has been. The same goes for Mascherano. He is a world class player, no-one we bring in will be as good as him. We need to bring in more world class players, not get rid of one of the few we already have. If he really digs his heels in and forces a move, then there’s not a great deal we can do. But so far its all newspaper talk and rubbish really.
I think Rafa’s missed a trick as well in regards to Cattermole and Lorik Cana. Both would have been excellent potential ‘replacements’ for Masch abd went very cheaply to Sunderland. So I dont think its in Rafas mind that he’ll be losing Masch, and as far as I’m concerned it isnt in Maschs mind either. And since Rafa didnt see all of the Alonso money, I dont expect he’ll be too keen to lose another world class midfielder without seeing all the money himself.
i agree. crazy money for an average-in my opinion- player. liverpool needs creative wings like yossi, 2 more forwards so we could play 4-4-2 inhstead always with one striker whichever team we play, even from 3rd division teams rafa plays one striker, one xabi alonso style creative midfielder, 2 central defenders as jamie a great player but has start his football career downfall ,and a left fullback just like johnson, attcking minded. liverpool, u will never walk alone
Mascherano is pound for pound the best player of his type in the world (ironically the only player I think who gets near him is Momo). If we are going to sell him I think we could and should get more than that.
“Why I feel Rafa Benitez should take the money and run” from our club!
he wants to go, then let him alonso wanted out and he,s gone. thats the problem we need players who want to play for us. we need at least3 quality players, toure would be a good replacemnt, plus he scores goals. i miss alonso but mash no…
You are absoultely potts fowleris!! nobody can replace Mascherano, he is the best defensive midfielder in the world and our best player by far. We shouldn’t be looking to sell our best players if we want the best team in the world and win champions league or league titles. we should sell the crap like Voronin, Dossena, Babbel and so on. In my opinion it’s the Americans that need to be shipped out asap cause they are selling the clubs assets and depositing the money in there accounts and I ask where has the money from Xabi’s sale gone to?
Yes sel the man, he wanted to go last summer, ue the money to buy quality replacements.
By the way, your rating system isn’t working
well said mascherano is the most over rated player in the epl.hes lasy cant pass gets to many cards and is more intrested in having a go at the refs.cash in