10 - Lionel Messi - v3

[Luftstalag14]

Xavi is too influential and too old.

He played a role last season when the dressing room went against Tata.

I dare saying that even if he thought it was for good, he has a part in that failure to win La Liga because of his behaviors.

He's done great, really great, but Barca needs to be reformed, and it doesn't give him any right to slow that process.

As Flavia said, if he really loves the club he also has to undertsand by himself when he has to go.

I was referring to more from the athletic perspective, that this season the few times Xavi played he wasn't that bad at all, compared to other midfielders we have.

While I agree he is way past his prime, I still think he might have a few things up his sleeves to lead, to teach and impact the dressing room. I am not sure if his influence is as negative as you painted it.

And Xavi did want to leave at the end of last season, didn't he?

 

[S7_MUFC]

Messi could want to leave, but any sane board will not sell him for cheap.

As I said, who can spend 200-250M on him without weakening their club and without breaching the FFP?

PSG and chelsea can, sure, if they sell at least 2-3 stars to make up for "just" half of what messi will cost.

Which would be stupid.

I think City and PSG would've already made bids for him if FFP didn't exist....We may be able to pay 200 million at a push if we ignore the entire team and just sign messi....It would be another scenario of Zidane and Pavon...

 

[dakt]

This thread is not good for my heart anymore.

 

[xxxxxx]

If he was a glory-hunter. But he isn't. Nor is this P$G, Shitty or Chelski. Teams crammed with mercenaries. This is Barca. Even stuck in this shit, probably only big club owned by their fans and playing regularly with guys who were brought up at the club.

It isn't just about winning trophies, maybe he just wants to play in a different country while he's still quite young.

 

[Bertus]

I think City and PSG would've already made bids for him if FFP didn't exist....We may be able to pay 200 million at a push if we ignore the entire team and just sign messi....It would be another scenario of Zidane and Pavon...

Of course PSG would have done it, but now FFP exists and many people just tend to forget it.

I think even MU would struggle in signing Messi. Too many people think it's that simple to sign Messi, don't you think

 

[Bertus]

I was referring to more from the athletic perspective, that this season the few times Xavi played he wasn't that bad at all, compared to other midfielders we have.

While I agree he is way past his prime, I still think he might have a few things up his sleeves to lead, to teach and impact the dressing room. I am not sure if his influence is as negative as you painted it.

And Xavi did want to leave at the end of last season, didn't he?

It was negative imo, sorry.

IIRC he criticized Tata's tactics and by the end of the season, because of the dressing room led by players like him, Barcelona went back to that slow midfield.

And as said above, Xavi being better than most midfielders in the current Barca just tells you that the team needs to be reformed, especially in midfield.

 

[S7_MUFC]

Of course PSG would have done it, but now FFP exists and many people just tend to forget it.

I think even MU would struggle in signing Messi. Too many people think it's that simple to sign Messi, don't you think

I don't think we can sign messi but we're the only club who can come close to paying 200 million without breaching FFP.....That would damage the balance of our team but it can be done...No other club in world football can pay 200 million(I'm not considering Real as a viable destination for Messi)....

 

[mssarm]

The socis bought rosell's bs back then. Sandro made the club sue Laporta and the rest of his board, and lost. A judge cleared Laporta of any wrongdoing. This, plus the Neymar scandal, made Laporta gain strenght again. He is the most likely to win. Polls on the bcn papers also favor him. I can only see him losing if by somw miracle we win a double.

Again, papers are polling fans, not socis. Also, socis probably care less about the lawsuit, but do care about Barca's financial statements and Deloitte's report about misappropriations during Laporta's era. Maybe there wasn't a merit for court case, but doesn't mean independent audit firm report was false. I'm not against Laporta, but I can't assume Laporta's win is guaranteed.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Xavi is still trying to play the same style of football that the team played 3/4 years ago and he contributes next to nothing defensively.

The overall all style he imprints on Barca and the temp is slow and outdated.

The fact he isnt impeding other players just goes to show how poor the other midfielders are.

But that's not his fault, is it? It is the fault of LE, the manager decides how we play and if he doesn't see anyone's play fit, he should either have that player change how he plays or drop him.

 

[Bertus]

But that's not his fault, is it? It is the fault of LE, the manager decides how we play and if he doesn't see anyone's play fit, he should either have that player change how he plays or drop him.

Last year it was his fault. He didn't like how Tata wanted to part with that barca playstyle from pep's era.

IIRC he was part of the rebels in the dressing room that disliked what playstyle Tata wanted even if said Tata's tactic was effective.

 

[Luftstalag14]

Last year it was his fault. He didn't like how Tata wanted to part with that barca playstyle from pep's era.

IIRC he was part of the rebels in the dressing room that disliked what playstyle Tata wanted even if said Tata's tactic was effective.

I see what you mean. That Xavi-led group of players were up against any changes, or deviation from Pep's Barca. I agree we should not be static and be stuck in our legacies and try different things. In this sense perhaps what it takes is a house cleaning indeed.

But the problem is, we still don't have clear instructions and directions from the likes of LE and this board.

 

[Mitchell1978]

So basically every player who has reached his peak should be let go?

Perhaps some teams do that, but I don't want our Barca to be that cold.

Lots of teams (the majority) is like that and thats the reason i will always be a fan of great players over teams.

 

[Bertus]

I see what you mean. That Xavi-led group of players were up against any changes, or deviation from Pep's Barca. I agree we should not be static and be stuck in our legacies and try different things. In this sense perhaps what it takes is a house cleaning indeed.

But the problem is, we still don't have clear instructions and directions from the likes of LE and this board.

LE or not, if Xavi continues to create problems till Pep is back, that won't be sustainable whatever the coach you get unless it's Pep.

And yeah I'm still bitter because people can blame Tata all they want, if some players like Xavi could have shut up a bit last year maybe Barca would have won La Liga. Too much blame on Tata while some players just went on self-destruct mode instead of doing what's good for the club.

 

[brockg777]

Football Manager time. So if we sell Leo we should be able to buy Hummels/Benatia, Pogba, Koke, Cuadrado, and one of Reus or Hazard in the deal. Sack Lucho and Xavi becomes player coach. While we're at it sell Iniesta too, since we'll need more player wages and need to drop dead weight. LOL this is a bad joke, but I imagine I am beating some on here to the punch, who, sadly, could actually be serious.

 

[Bertus]

Football Manager time. So if we sell Leo we should be able to buy Hummels/Benatia, Pogba, Koke, Cuadrado, and one of Reus or Hazard in the deal. Sack Lucho and Xavi becomes player coach. While we're at it sell Iniesta too, since we'll need more player wages and need to drop dead weight. LOL this is a bad joke, but I imagine I am beating some on here to the punch, who, sadly, could actually be serious.