Alonso form defended by manager
Oct 19 2005
Daily Post
RAFAEL BENITEZ has moved to dismiss suggestions Xabi Alonso is suffering from 'second season syndrome'.
The Spanish midfielder has this campaign shown only flashes of the outstanding form that lit up his debut season following his arrival from Real Sociedad in the summer of 2004.
But Benitez believes Alonso has been a victim of his own initial success, and has backed the 23-year-old to rediscover his consistency.
"The problem with Xabi is that people think he's not playing on the same level as last season, but he was on such a high level last season," said the Liverpool manager. "I think it's okay.
"His attitude's really good and he's always looking to improve with every training session, so I think it's fine. He is improving from a good level. He can play much better because he has such quality, but he also needs to have those options in wide areas.
"He can spread the play better if he has options around him, but it's difficult because people are marking him tightly now. They are putting pressure on him.
"Xabi has the ability to play well even when he's tightly marked, especially when he has Steven Gerrard next to him in the middle of midfield.
"If you have two or three options, that's the difference between the big teams and the others. If all our squad are fit, we have those options - Gerrard, Hamann, Xabi, Sissoko."
