When Roy Hodgson named Javier Mascherano in his starting line up for Liverpool’s huge curtain raiser against Arsenal, it raised a few eyebrows to say the least. Having only signed Mascherano’s supposed replacement, Christian Poulsen, three days before the match, everyone was expecting the Argentina captain to be left out of Roy’s plans completely as he waited for a move to Inter Milan or Barcelona to materialise.
When you consider Mascherano’s poor start to last season due to his Barcelona transfer saga, it made it an even stranger decision by Roy to play him against a very attacking Arsenal team. To positively begin a new era for Liverpool we needed eleven players out there with 100% commitment to our cause and selecting Mascherano who has publicly admitted he wants to leave didn’t seem like the most logical choice. In the end the selection paid off thankfully, and it has to be said that Javier Mascherano was incredible against the Gunners until he was replaced with 12 minutes to go. To the delight of all Reds fans he gave a typically top class display in the role of holding midfielder. He was a nuisance to the Arsenal players for most of the game and really helped null the flow of their attacks (which I have to say were very impressive during the first half). To top off Mascherano’s brilliant display he also contributed to Liverpool’s attack by assisting David Ngog for his well hit shot which zoomed past Almunia into the net for our first league goal under the new regime.
Before the match against Arsenal, Javier Mascherano was a goner, and although I sympathised with him about his unhappy wife, I was eager for his transfer to go through as I didn’t want any players at the club who didn’t want to be here. After a performance like that however, I can’t help but feel regret that Mascherano is clearly an outbound player. Christian Poulsen has some seriously big shoes to fill in replacing Javier Mascherano and I’m hopeful that by time the end of the season we’re not bemoaning the fact that we lost the Argentinian midfield destroyer.
The signing of Poulsen though has left Liverpool and Mascherano in an awkward position. Both Inter and Barca know that Mascherano wants to leave, and the signing of our new Dane confirmed that Liverpool are ready to sell, but with Barcelona’s Director of Sport, Andoni Zubizarreta recently claiming that Mascherano isn’t a transfer target for the Catalan club, it leaves the player in limbo. From a selfish point of view, I would be delighted if no offers came in for Javier Mascherano and he was forced to remain with us, especially if we could get more performances from him on the same level as his display against Arsenal. On the other hand, keeping him could backfire, as firstly it would leave us with too many central midfielders, and it would also mean we have a key player in the squad who doesn’t want to be here. You only have to look at Mascherano’s performances at the beginning of last season to know how badly an unhappy personal life can affect a player’s form.
Whether he stays or goes, I appreciate all that Javier Mascherano has contributed to the club in his time here and I’m also thankful that over the last couple of years I’ve been able to say that the world’s best holding midfielder plays for Liverpool. I’m glad that he received a warm reception when he came off against Arsenal and I’m hopeful that it’s not the last time we see him in a Liverpool shirt, as it would be nice to see another performance of that level from him against big spending Manchester City on Monday.
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His efforts week in week out have been superb he is going to be a great loss and if the club were funded better, i guess nobody would be wanting him to leave.
The question is can Roy spend the money from Mashes sale wisely in other positions to make a better side.
Have no doubt Mascherano is a player maker and if he goes we will dearly miss. Make up your mind and stay with us. Mrs Mascherano make Liverpool happy after Sunday impressive display by making it up to adapt to Liverpool family. We will make you happy with support.
Despite a poor start to the season last time around he turned in many many fine performances & finished the season very well indeed. He, and I know this sounds overly dramatic, is almost irreplaceable. Alonso left & most fans (me included) thought he wouldn’t leave such a void but he did & I firmly believe Mascherano is even more important so Poulsen has to be brilliant for it not to seriously affect our defensive solidity this season.
Yes, he IS that good so we either hang our hopes on Poulsen or (&I hope) Roy has someone else up his sleeve…..
If this man’s wife is unhappy who are we to stand in his way – let him go & give him a big well done & thank you. He gave & continues to give his all each week for LFC.
A class act whom the premiership will be the worse for losing.
It would certainly be worth the club’s while doing whatever it can to make Mrs Masch a happy lady. We need your husband, senora!