To all you @#%&!s wanted us to sign Javier Mascherano

But still a very, very good player, no?

Originally Posted by wiganste

She's getting tea-bagged at full time....

still waiting for a £#%&!ing link you lanky shovel handed @#%&!

Mascherano is an excellent player. I honestly don't think there's a better pure number five in world football today. He'll nearly always make the correct choice regarding to when to go and double up with the fullback and when to drop back into the centre if the centre-back is moving to cover for his fullback; he takes up great covering positions when his team has the ball; he shuts off the space in front of the defence as well as anyone in world football; he's good at tracking second line runners; he's dominant in the tackle and wins more balls per match than any other player in the league; he's an expert at making tactical fouls; he works extremely hard and always plays with a lot of aggression; and he's generally pretty good at moving the ball quickly and simply to maintain possession.

In terms of his pedigree, I think any honest appraisal would suggest that he's been able to step up comfortably to every level he's played in so far - from starring for Argentina at youth level, to being one of the outstanding performers at both Copa Americas that he's featured in, to performing very capably at a World Cup and shining in the Champions League.

Originally Posted by Grimson

As for Liverpool fans, they think Kuyt, Pennant, and Crouch are 'world class.'

Liverpool mugged Chelsea in last season's semi btw, especially by escaping from the 1st leg still in the tie. Chelsea battered them.

Originally Posted by Serenity Now

Mascherano is an excellent player. I honestly don't think there's a better pure number five in world football today. He'll nearly always make the correct choice regarding to when to go and double up with the fullback and when to drop back into the centre if the centre-back is moving to cover for his fullback; he takes up great covering positions when his team has the ball; he shuts off the space in front of the defence as well as anyone in world football; he's good at tracking second line runners; he's dominant in the tackle and wins more balls per match than any other player in the league; he's an expert at making tactical fouls; he works extremely hard and always plays with a lot of aggression; and he's generally pretty good at moving the ball quickly and simply to maintain possession.

I wouldn't disagree with any of that. What always bothered me at River was his seeming inability to play balls forward over any distance. In the end it was one reason why Gallardo rarely strayed more than 15 yards upfield from him (the other being that 'Celo was unfit).

Generally speaking, I don't think you'd expect a pure number five like Mascherano to be playing the ball in depth a lot. His primary task is to win it back and then start the play rolling again through your other midfielders and fullbacks.

In any case, I actually always thought the Mascherano-Lucho combination worked very effectively. For me, it was the rest of the team that was the problem, particularly towards the end of his stay at River, when Lucho and Carlos Diogo were the only other players I really rated. Astrada wasn't doing a particularly good job as DT either.

At times, it even looked like Mascherano was the only player who really went out with the right attitude - he'd put in an 8/10 performance and the rest would be fives and sixes. The most notable example that I can remember was him absolutely bossing the midfield against Boca in La Bombonera in his last superclasico (I think), only for River's defence to throw it away and their forwards to waste an inordinate number of chances.

I'm not saying he has great constructive qualities, he obviously doesn't, but I do think he's a tidy enough footballer and if you put him in the right framework you can minimise his weaknesses and maximise his (considerable) strengths.