Liverpool - not 2009/10 but the next season after that

He can’t play down the right. Other than that, I agree with Puke more or less. Wouldn’t have the positional sense to play left back but he’d probably do all right left side of midfield. Don’t think he has the class, discipline or tactical awareness to play centre midfield either. Wouldn’t be too enthused by him really.

Doesn’t say much for him when Braafheid is ahead of him in the dutch squad

ClarkeyCat’s advocating a Liverpool team without any defensive shape so he would fit into that template.

Riquelme as a central holding midfielder.

:o

Riquelme as a playmaker. Come back to me when you don’t base your knowledge of a player on what wiki says.

Bandage, you are a veritable scoundrel.

I said I didn’t know anything about him. I listed the positions he could play according to wiki and never offered any ‘knowledge’ on what he was like.

But requilme always has been an advanced playmaker as opposed to a deep lying one…he just doesn’t have the pace/mobility to play deep

You said you didn’t know anything about him but then proceeded to list the positions he can play as though it were fact.

I think he’s well capable of it tbh. I wouldn’t have classed Xabi Alonso as the paciest or most mobile.

If we were talking about playing the same system and seeking a replacement for Alonso it’s not something that’s easily done. If he changes the system, presumably most likely to a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, it’s difficult to accommodate Torres, Cole and Gerrard. Hard to know what he will do. Game on Thursday will provide some insight.

Bloody hell.

Listing positions a player has played in (and having already admitted to know little about him) is hardly giving an indepth insight into a player’s ability.

But advocating Juan Riqulme, a player you must have seen a bit of, as a one of a centre two in a 4-2-3-1 is plain ridiculous.

You stated something as though it were fact. You were wrong.

Why is it ridiculous?

In terms of athleticism Alonso is streets ahead, the reason Requilme is played advanced is because he literally cannot cover the ground…Granted he is a superb footballer and as good a reader of the game as there is going but he struggles to cover the ground

I don’t think there’d be that great an onus on him to cover that amount of ground. Defensively he’d be a body and a screen in there but obviously his primary function wouldn’t be to win the ball, it’d be to get it and use it. I don’t think that require that much athleticism.

I suppose to get back to the point I was making in the previous post - if you were looking for a viable, cost effective alternative to Alonso who would you plump for? Or would you advocate a change of system?

It’s fine - they’ll be solid down the right with Ryan Babel’s discipline combined with Glen Johnson’s steely defending. Joe Cole will similarly offer great protection for the very strong defensively Royston Drenthe on the left. And then Riquelme is there too as the shield in front of the back four so what more could ClarkeyCat want?

It depends on whether they keep Torres and he remains fit, both seem unlikely…a 4-2-3-1 with Torres leading the line looks to be the tactic of choice alright…Interesting to read that Cole was told that he will be played centrally at Liverpool

Stop winding me up Bandage, it’s really tiresome. Babel ha big question marks over him granted but I’m wondering if Hodgson might be able to teach him. I also think we need pace up there. Joe Cole has played where I have him for a large part of his career. Riquelme the playmaker, mascherano the defensive midfielder.

Riquelme plays lots of short little passes and picks holes in defences from advanced positions. He’d be physically incapable of playing defensive midfield.

Alonso’s range of passing and superior fitness makes him a completely different player.

Can the admins please ban the name Braafheid being used on TFK again?

This thread is great, Farmer catches himself being a bluffer, i didn’t need to do anything. I don’t profess to have a worldy knowledge on soccer, but i think anyone that has watched the CL in the past 10 years would know Riquelme is in the hole No.10 type player.

Stick to the Alternative Alternative music farmer.

eh Kev, that was the point Farmer was making, it was Clarkey who was saying he would play him as the defensive side of midfield.