8 - Pedri

[Don Juan Laporta Estruch]

Seen enough now. Most of his games he is happy to only circulate the ball in midfield. There is very little desire to actively effect the game. The difference in motivation and attitude between him and others he is compared against ( De Bruyne, Bellingham, etc ) is stark. Those guys want to leave an imprint on the game. Pedro is happy for the game to pass him by.

How many games have you walked away from thinking, " Wow what a player " or " Pedri took the game of the scruff of the neck there ". How many memorable performances have we seen from him?

It's time to say it. Any offers north of 120m I would probably accept. I'm not sure the improvement we are all hoping for will ever come, since it's more of a mental issue than technical.

 

[Kul_z]

Seen enough now. Most of his games he is happy to only circulate the ball in midfield. There is very little desire to actively effect the game. The difference in motivation and attitude between him and others he is compared against ( De Bruyne, Bellingham, etc ) is stark. Those guys want to leave an imprint on the game. Pedro is happy for the game to pass him by.

How many games have you walked away from thinking, " Wow what a player " or " Pedri took the game of the scruff of the neck there ". How many memorable performances have we seen from him?

It's time to say it. Any offers north of 120m I would probably accept. I'm not sure the improvement we are all hoping for will ever come, since it's more of a mental issue than technical.

Its more xavi issue then anything else. Kid has a lot of things to show, but in this dysfunctional fuck up of a team he has no chance to really shine at his best, so does fdj, so does gavi, so does gundogan. For his carreer it might be the best if he goes to city, bayern, arsenal. For us its the best that he endure this xavi horror and hope that laporta hires someone who has at least some coaching experience at highest level

 

[Blanco]

Seen enough now. Most of his games he is happy to only circulate the ball in midfield. There is very little desire to actively effect the game. The difference in motivation and attitude between him and others he is compared against ( De Bruyne, Bellingham, etc ) is stark. Those guys want to leave an imprint on the game. Pedro is happy for the game to pass him by.

How many games have you walked away from thinking, " Wow what a player " or " Pedri took the game of the scruff of the neck there ". How many memorable performances have we seen from him?

It's time to say it. Any offers north of 120m I would probably accept. I'm not sure the improvement we are all hoping for will ever come, since it's more of a mental issue than technical.

Nobody compares him to Jude and KDB. They are better at everything in football, the problem is not in attitude or motivation. The reality is that if you remove Barca hype machine - Pedri is comparable to Ceballos, Brais Mendez or Baena.

He is just at the right place in the right moment. Barca need young hero, but barca doesnt have money - the solution is random player to be hailed as the successor of Iniesta/Xavi/Messi. Catalan newspapers tried at first with Fati as new Messi, it was evident for non Barca fans from the first day that he is nowhere near the level needed to be the star. Next on the line is Pedri aka new Iniesta. Same thing, nowhere near Iniesta, in five seasons he will be in Sevilla/Athetic/Sosiedad (with his 1 assist per season and injury record even that is suspicious).

Its funny that the only young player that wasn’t massively overrated by catalan press is Araujo and he is truly world class already.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Not everyone pans out but Fati did break multiple records for his age. That's a big talent, like it or not.

Same goes for Yamal, if he busts now, he would have been a big talent.

Messi level? The best player in the history basically.. yeah that doesn't happen often and nobody should be compared to him that early.

 

[serghei]

Nobody compares him to Jude and KDB. They are better at everything in football, the problem is not in attitude or motivation. The reality is that if you remove Barca hype machine - Pedri is comparable to Ceballos, Brais Mendez or Baena.

He is just at the right place in the right moment. Barca need young hero, but barca doesnt have money - the solution is random player to be hailed as the successor of Iniesta/Xavi/Messi. Catalan newspapers tried at first with Fati as new Messi, it was evident for non Barca fans from the first day that he is nowhere near the level needed to be the star. Next on the line is Pedri aka new Iniesta. Same thing, nowhere near Iniesta, in five seasons he will be in Sevilla/Athetic/Sosiedad (with his 1 assist per season and injury record even that is suspicious).

Its funny that the only young player that wasn’t massively overrated by catalan press is Araujo and he is truly world class already.

Can't fault the logic here. Don't forget Yamal, next one to be hyped to heavens. Balde too. Rushing all of them because the club has no money.

All these clueless posters say the club has spent huge money on players, but it's all smoke and mirrors. The reality has Barca spending 10m more than fecking Nottingham Forrest for their squad.

The club is handicapped financially. It is a reality. The only question is what can we do to improve despite that. Things can be done, as proven by last year's La Liga title. It requires a lot of hard work and commitment from the manager and the players.

 

[Andresito]

Same thing, nowhere near Iniesta, in five seasons he will be in Sevilla/Athetic/Sosiedad (with his 1 assist per season and injury record even that is suspicious).

I'm skeptical of one's ball knowledge who lists Athletic as a possible future destination for Pedri.

 

[serghei]

That's true. Pedri is Barca level, but squad player, not starter.

Both him and Gavi should be like Elliott for Liverpool. Coming from the bench and being allowed to develop without such huge pressure on them.

If the club had money to go after established players at the level of the top EPL sides, that would be his position. Something like Thiago's supposed role back in early 2010s.

 

[serghei]

Or Foden at City 2-3 years back.

That's how you properly handle young talents. You ease them in the team, you don't burden them with a huge role when they are not ready.

 

[Blanco]

I'm skeptical of one's ball knowledge who lists Athletic as a possible future destination for Pedri.

I am referring to the level of teams. And they will find some basque relation in Pedri family 100%.

 

[Fati_Future_BallonDor]

Give him 2-3 months to recover from his inury mentally. then he will cook again

 

[Rory]

Can't fault the logic here. Don't forget Yamal, next one to be hyped to heavens. Balde too. Rushing all of them because the club has no money.

All these clueless posters say the club has spent huge money on players, but it's all smoke and mirrors. The reality has Barca spending 10m more than fecking Nottingham Forrest for their squad.

The club is handicapped financially. It is a reality. The only question is what can we do to improve despite that. Things can be done, as proven by last year's La Liga title. It requires a lot of hard work and commitment from the manager and the players.

We're able to sign far superior "free" signings due to our income and also due to the pull of playing for barca. Not to mention we pay out hundreds of millions more in wages. Spending 10m more than Nottingham doesn't include any of the free transfers or loan signings we're able to make, this year alone: Gundogan, Felix, Cancelo, Inigo Martinez. Likes of Nottingham couldn't dream of that so pointless comparison.

Wouldn't say that we rely on youngsters heavily.

Balde at lb: we have two other players who can play there. One being Cancelo who not that long ago was a top 3 left back in the world at city. He's been very good for us there. The other being Alonso who I don't rate but he is a better option than most clubs have as a 2nd/3rd choice left back.

Lamal: We have Raphinha there who we signed for 50m+, Ferran also started his career at RW and he was another 50m+ signing. So that's 100m of signings that can play in Yamal's position.

Only place we're a bit short where youngsters play a lot is midfield. But it's nowhere near as bad as made out. FDJ and Gundo are nailed on starters. That third midfield spot should be cycled between Pedri/Gavi/Fermin based on what we need at any given moment. Obviously injuries can ruin things, as has been the case for us. That can happen with any club though. United have had most of their defence injured all season for example. Still I'd say we're 1 midfielder short.

 

[serghei]

Top players are not free. They play at pretty big clubs usually, clubs that value them and only sell them for top money.

Free players usually come with a big caveat. They are either conflictual, have poor discipline, not very consistent, over 30 years of age (closer to 35 than 30 usually), and so on.

It's the same as in any purchase. You see a 2014 Rolex Submariner available for 400 euros online, there's always something bad with it. It's a fake, it's broken, needing service that is worth over 20 times the acquisition price and so on.

Sometimes you can get very lucky with a free signing, but it's extremely rare and lasts only briefly.

Nobody is gonna sell you a top player of the right age with the right mentality and attitude for free. That's hilarious .

Even very raw kid-talents these days are not free.

As for Felix and Cancelo, they are not top players. Felix has no consistency for example, he can play great today, and play like shit in the next 2-3 games, then score a golazo, play great, then shit, then he's invisible and so on.

Big clubs don't need a player like that that can't give you at least a good level on a weekly basis.

 

[BusiTheKing]

When it comes to the definitive action, he is becoming Mr. Almost But Never Quite There.

It's that chronic hestitation, that persistent one touch too many, that squanders the opportunity.

 

[serghei]

Lamal: We have Raphinha there who we signed for 50m+, Ferran also started his career at RW and he was another 50m+ signing. So that's 100m of signings that can play in Yamal's position.

This is true. The signings we made so far haven't performed as expected. The solution is to do what other top teams do. Sell the players that didn't perform up to standard, and buy others that hopefully will rise up to the expectations.

But until you do that, there are some even bigger problems in the team. Like signing a top DM, since obviously Romeu is not nearly good enough and other players don't play that well there.

There's no magic trick.

Balde at lb: we have two other players who can play there. One being Cancelo who not that long ago was a top 3 left back in the world at city. He's been very good for us there. The other being Alonso who I don't rate but he is a better option than most clubs have as a 2nd/3rd choice left back.

Cancelo is great in a good day. Unfortunately, his shit days are quite as impressive too in the last years.

Only place we're a bit short where youngsters play a lot is midfield. But it's nowhere near as bad as made out. FDJ and Gundo are nailed on starters. That third midfield spot should be cycled between Pedri/Gavi/Fermin based on what we need at any given moment. Obviously injuries can ruin things, as has been the case for us. That can happen with any club though. United have had most of their defence injured all season for example. Still I'd say we're 1 midfielder short.

Can't be serious. You need two players per position.

Let's make a full analysis of the squad.

Keepers
A good, not great keeper, in Stegen (except for CL games). A sub-par 2nd keeper in Inaki Pena.


Fullbacks (actual ones, not centrebacks or midfielders played there)
Cancelo, Balde, Marcos Alonso

Alonso is let's say decent as 4th option. Need one more fullback, preferably of starting quality, even if Cancelo stays next season.


Centerbacks
Only area in the team that is covered well. Araujo, Kounde, Christensen, Inigo Martinez

Explore the possibility of selling Kounde for a good sum. Even Christensen. Sign another defender instead, a better one than Kounde.


Midfielders
De Jong, Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi, Roberto, Romeu

Sign top defensive player to pair with De Jong (immediate need)
Sign top attacking midfielder that can contribute with goals, considering Gundogan is old and is soon gonna get to retirement age (by 2025 summer)
Get rid of Romeu and Roberto (injured constantly anyway)
Move Pedri and Gavi to squad role.
Midfield should be De Jong + DM + AM + Gavi, Pedri and Gundogan (now 34-35) as options.

Attack
Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Lewandowski, Vitor Roque, Joao Felix (when he comes).

Sign Felix as a rotation player for 25-30m tops. Not good enough for starter material and probably never will.
Explore the possibility of selling Raphinha to EPL for a good sum (55-60m at the bare minimum).
Explore the possibility of selling Torres for 35-40m.
Sell Lewandowski to Arabia or something next summer
Sign starting-material left winger
Sign starting-material right winger (especially if Raphinha is sold)
Sign back-up for Vitor Roque (some plan B striker like Luuk de Jong was).

Attack should ideally be LW + Felix + Roque + Back-up 9 + RW/Raphinha + Yamal.

So, let's say the club can't sell players for good money (candidates to bring money would be Kounde and Raphinha most likely).

Then the players to sign in order to get close to the best teams in the world would be:

- starting rightback/fullback
- starting defensive midfielder
- starting attacking midfielder
- starting left winger
- starting right winger (depending on Raphinha sale)
- back-up 9 for Roque (depending on Torres sale)

All these players, 3-4 on key positions, would set us back something like 400m over 2 summers or so. Where do we get the money from? That's my question for you.

Barca has an OK squad, but you can't compare it to the top 5-6 sides (which is gonna become top 10 soon as Chelsea and Newcastle, and United are going to continue to spend big on players in the next summers). We are more at the level of likes of Dortmund, Leipzig, Napoli etc. Teams from the 2nd tier.

Tier 1 is out of reach for us. All of those teams from that tier routinely pump huge money into their squads. Bayern are probably the only exception, but they are also on the way down. Struggled last season in Bundesliga, and it seems that this season it's gonna be the same.

Let's see the money they will pay for Wirtz.

 

[Rory]

If centre backs that are used to play fullback don't count then Man City/Arsenal/every top club are short on fullbacks. I'm not sure I could name a team in world football that have a better fullback situation than us.

I admitted we're a bit short in midfield. Clearly need a quality DM. That's first priority. Signing a top attacking midfielder would be a bonus and a luxury. If Pedri stays fit then Xavi needs to find a way to unlock his potential more.

We need a LW but if we sign Felix that's because the manager and coaching staff want him. I don't think he's good enough or has the skillset to match what Xavi wants from a LW. We've wasted big money on forwards and this is Xavi's doing, Felix would be a continuation of poor squad planning for forwards.

Xavi has been financially backed for defenders and forwards. If the forwards aren't doing the job we need them to, then tough. Can't think of many clubs that can buy a forward for a lot of money, have them perform not up to expectation and then sell for good money. Sure it happens occasionally but usually with young players. Lewa will not fetch a penny, Raphinha will be sold for a loss as will Ferran. All players Xavi wanted right?

We are not tier 1 but we are certainly above the likes of Dortmund/Napoli/Leipzig for overall squad quality. Can't name 3 players from each squad that immediately become a crucial player for us. I'll try:

- Napoli: Osimhen, maybe Kvaratskhelia but he currently has 4 goals in 20 games and may be a one season wonder.
- Dortmund: honestly can't name one.
- Leipzig: again can't name one.

Could easily do that with 5 players from us for their teams.