God Serena
New member
I'm just taking the piss there mate, I get a strange enjoyment from ragging on Gumbau the way many posters seem to enjoy bashing Douglas.
Alen Halilović
- Thread starter FCBarca
- Start date
I'm just taking the piss there mate, I get a strange enjoyment from ragging on Gumbau the way many posters seem to enjoy bashing Douglas.
F
Flavia
Guest
He's not darth.
KingMessi
SiempreBlaugrana
Alarcón
New member
He's mixer
F
Flavia
Guest
Nope.
God Serena
New member
Not sure what you guys are talking about...
you'll learn soon enough
Trickykid
New member
He's sure managed to fool me with his Darth-like style of unhealthy obsession.
God Serena
New member
Not even sure what you mean by obsession. Whenever I talk about young players coming up to the first team Gumbau is a valid thing to point towards. The same way many people complain about Douglas being in the team constantly and the way many people will rag on Munir for no reason at all. I make far more posts here that have no mention of Gumbau at all than those that do.
Unless... you think Gumbau is good and don't like me mentioning him. In that case... I don't think we can be friends.
BBZ8800
Senior Member
I don't want to be a bad guy, but since I am watching Halil for 4-5 years, imo, he is NOT a (Barca's type of) a midfielder.
In the current Barca's setup, if in Xavi-Iniesta or Iniesta-Raki duos, Raki and Xavi were classic central midfielder, and if Iniesta and Rafinha are something like Amc's, then Halil is a few steps more attacking then Iniesta and Rafinha.
He is a RW, and he COULD play as an Amc, but in teams with different setup than Barca.
He was always a player, who when gets the ball, more or less in 90% of cases runs towards the goal, very fast.
In general, that is not a bad thing, but it is a somewhat problematic thing for a Barca's midfielder in 433.
When Raki gets the ball, he looks for options, he slightly slows down the play etc. He doesn't need to play "a killer pass" in every action.
Iniesta does the same, although he is more attacking and he tries dribbles and "faster actions" more often than Raki.
Halil isn't (at least yet) the kind of a midfielder who will touch the ball 50 or 100 times per match, who will try 80-90% of simple passes, and 3-4-5 deadly balls/actions per match, in a perfect moment.
He has an attacking "instinct" and when he gets the ball, he tries to score every time, or create a deadly opportunity for his teammates.
Again, that is not a bad thing in general.
But that is not exactly what we are looking for in (Barca's) midfielders.
And before anyone replies with: but we are playing counterattacking football lately, he will fit perfectly.
Well, that is simplifying.
Let's say that under Pep:
= we played 98 slow actions and 1-2 counterattack actions per match
Under Lucho:
= we play 80 slow actions and 20 faster/counterattacking actions per match
(So, NO, we don't play counters ALL THE TIME. We play them more often than before, but it is not as if we are suddenly a counterattacking team...)
About Halil as an Amc, imo:
= he plays counters in at least 50% of his actions
And again, before some replies: but that is because he plays at Gijon.
Well, not.
He played exactly the same way at Dinamo Zagreb, at youth NT Croatian teams, at Croatian NT team, at Barca B and Gijon.
So, imo:
-- for Barca, he can only be a winger. And the time will tell whether he is good or not good enough for our required level
About him as Amc:
= NOT in Barca's 433 system
-- he can be an Amc in some 451s or 442s and in teams who play much more direct and with less possession and touches then us, and where he can be a key player
I see him more as some kind of Alexis, who can be a midfielder in Chile and Arsenal, but not in Barca.
I see that people are planning our future, and a lot of fans are saying how we don't need a midfielder, because we have Rafinha, Halil, Arda and similar guys.
Well, currently we have only Raki as a pure central midfielder (and Roberto, but he will probably never be a starter level).
So, you should plan the future with or without Halil as a RW and similar.
Him as a MC or AMC in Barca? Extremely, extremely hard.
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khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Watch him with Sporting man
He is exactly the opposite of what you are saying ,he has developed well and he passes the ball more
And half of his dribbles is actually in a situation were his team is pressed and he use his dribbling to keep the ball and open things for teammates and then pass in a sort of Iniesta way .a very barca esque way
Sorry ,but this post could have been good if it was written year ago ,but not now
BBZ8800
Senior Member
I am watching some matches, and I am watching all individual highlights when he has the ball.
While he has improved in defending and passing in general, I will stick to my opinion.
Maybe a video will explain better what I am trying to say.
For example, Halil's actions when he has the ball:
And now Rakitic's actions:
When Rakitic has the ball, he "looks" at the whole field and is looking what is happening and for his teammates who will RUN with the ball and score.
So, he is not looking for "himself" to run with the ball and finish the action.
While Halil has that attacking/killer instinct and he is naturally "a guy whom you will pass the ball, and who will try to finish the action with a goal or a killer pass".
So, Raki is the guy who will pass the ball to some other guy who will run, dribble and score.
While Halil is usually "that" guy whom Raki will aim with his passes...
Again, he has improved in some areas, but imo, he is still a natural born winger and a player who is finishing actions and who "loves" to run with the ball, as often as possible.
Idea of Halil playing in a 433 midfield for Barca is imo the same as cloning Messi or Neymar and playing:
Neymar-Suarez-Messi
and Messi (clone)-Rakitic-Busi in midfield behind them.
Ok, Messi's clone would still be an alien, but I hope you get my point: Messi is an attacker, not a player who plays in midfield behind 3 attackers.
Also, some fans used to suggest that Reus could play on Iniesta's position for us, and others replied: he is too attacking for a midfielder and similar. He won't fit.
I mean, if Reus, can't fit into our Mc-Amc position, I don't understand the current idea where so many fans are hoping that Halil could develop into our Mc-Amc :/
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khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Valencia game was just his 1st start of the season ,Alen has been improving by the game
Watch the games itself .he always try to keep things simple and when he doesn't it is in most cases for good reason
His passing accuracy is 80% ,2nd highest in Sporting for players played 270 minutes or more .the only player who has more passing accuracy is a CB who probably has to do some simple passing
Why?because Alen most of the time he keep things simple .this year he has shown to be much better as AM than RW (same as last year) and he is doing it in a Barca esque way
Again ,you need to watch the games itself ,without pre-opinion you are trying to prove .and again you need to notice the development
At the start of the year ,Alen was taking so many bad shots ,as the games goes it is cut more and more
Same is his decision making ,his passing and even his defense .as the game goes he shows more development in those areas
You will always realize his role in the team ,how good is his teammates etc .videos shows half of the truth at best
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