Antoine Griezmann
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Trickykid
Active member
I'm trying real hard not to disrespect Suarez too much, because he has been fantastic for us, but the main reason I want Griezmann here is that I really feel that we need to replace Suarez by now. His decline is just too obvious, and if we start 18/19 with him as our 9, I really don't want to think of the ramifications if his decline continues at the same rapid pace. The winter market will be horrifying.
That said, perhaps EV believes the two of them can coexist... I hope not, though.
That said, perhaps EV believes the two of them can coexist... I hope not, though.
Joan
Well-known member
At the same time, that's my major concern regarding Griezmanm. He's not a 9, can he coexist with Messi? Can he replace Suarez?
Will his level drop without a proper 9?
I would be surprised if griezmann stays in atm. This was agreed a while ago with us keeping the 7 for him. Wonder what happend because if there was a family drama wouldnt it have been before he agreed to join us? Maybe the huge contract from atm and the pressure by his teammates fans and the board was enough to confuse his mind.
Anyway i am all for it if he does replace suarez but if not he can stay there. We need to strenghten our midfield more than anything.
Anyway i am all for it if he does replace suarez but if not he can stay there. We need to strenghten our midfield more than anything.
Messi983
Senior Member
1. Yes, I have no doubts about that.
2. We'll see but I think he can. Probably won't score the same amount of goals that Suarez did in his best form but could help Messi and the rest of the team to score more imo.
3. He has clearly started to play better this season after Diego Costa came in January to "fight" with the defenders and give him more space to roam around but then again Messi gets much more attention of the defenders than Costa so even without a proper 9 ahead of him I think he would be good in our system. Though I think at least for the next season EV would try to play Griezmann and Suarez together upfront with Messi behind them.
Joan
Well-known member
1. Maybe I didn't put it well, I have zero doubts he won't link up with Messi well but how it will influence us. Suarez does his job, more or less, stretching the opponent, fighting the defence... it's important. Griezmann likes to drop deep which is good but, if he keeps doing that with noone upfront, it won't be as useful, if he stops, he won't manage to produce as much.
2. I hope so. Suarez will need replacing soon, if not this season. I think he'll improve our counters massively which might be huge. Alba, Semedo, Dembele, Griezmann are all fast.
3. Good point. If it's just about space, there'd be zero worries left. Griezmann can play with back to the goal, I've seen that a few times but he shines at transition when someone's in front of him. I hope good chemistry with Messi will provide it.
Trickykid
Active member
Yeah, he's far from a carbon copy Suarez, but with his workate, heading ability and finishing in mind, I don't think him playing a 9 is completely out of the question. It will take some serious work from EV, though.
Actually I think he's well in Madrid he won a trophy, his teammates gave everything to make him stay.
Even if he decides to stay, things can change with World Cup where he won't be with Atleti and if he doesn't win the WC I can't imagine him be motivated for another year of Cholo : much effort but few results. Wouldn't be surprised to see him stay and change his mind in 1 month.
Even if he decides to stay, things can change with World Cup where he won't be with Atleti and if he doesn't win the WC I can't imagine him be motivated for another year of Cholo : much effort but few results. Wouldn't be surprised to see him stay and change his mind in 1 month.
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
According to AS, the change of heart was a result of the arrival of Diego Costa who made his life a lot easier and he genuinely felt he is being loved and appreciated by his teammates and manager which makes him very happy, and for Griezmann being happy is numero uno.
I’d believe that.
Raketa10
Senior Member
I think he is a done deal but ATM is putting pressure on him like we did with Neymar last summer. There is no way he is staying in Madrid. Problem is we won't be able to announce him in June since his buyout drops to 100 mil from 1st of July so ATM will continue with that "se queda" shit until than.
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Messi983
Senior Member
1. While he's not as good creator as Messi I think Griezmann could continue to drop back sometimes while Messi would stay upfront so they could basically interchange positions during the games. This would also help us defensively. Of course a lot depends on the opponents and game situations but I think one of our goals should be to keep Messi at around 30-40 metres from opponents goal more often instead of him dropping all the way to our half. He'll still drop deep eventually because it's the way he likes to play but it would be great if we wouldn't need him to drop everytime to create some danger. Of course getting another creative midfielder would be great but I think both Griezmann and Coutinho would both relieve pressure from Messi and help him to concentrate on scoring more.
2. Agreed. As much as I love Iniesta playing Coutinho instead of him (and as long as we don't get another midfielder capable of filling his role I think Coutinho is the best man for that job) will add speed to our lineup. We'll lose some control and possesion obssessed people will go crazy because of that but eventually I think Coutinho's fresher legs will help us defensively to not get overruned in important CL games as much. EV will have 6-7 months to figure out the best possible lineup for those games though and I think he'll try a lot of different lineups/formations in first half of the season.
Replacing Suarez with Griezmann would add even more speed to the lineup though as said I don't see it totally happening next season but in 2019/20 Suarez's role should absolutely be diminished (I doubt we'll sell him unless he'll decide to leave) if he won't suddenly find his best form again next year. Griezmann will probably mostly play at Dembele's expense but I still think there will be enough minutes for Dembouz even with Griezmann's arrival so loaning him would be a mistake. And despite rumours I don't believe we're considering selling.
3. Absolutely, I think we'd improve our transition game a lot with Griezmann even if Suarez would stay in the lineup and much more if he'd replace him.
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
So you think Godin was lying when he told Atletico fans that he was staying? If he did, wouldn’t that strain his relations with Griezmann and make the latter more motivated to leave?
I just can’t fathom why Godin would lie about that.
All we had with Griezmann is supposedly a “verbal agreement” that is not legal or official.
ebieymjunior
Senior Member
Wouldn't that have strain Pique's relationship with Neymar?
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
Well, if we were to believe some of the reports back then Neymar was quite pissed at Pique for doing that. And Pique is a known prankster so we know. Godin on the other hand hardly is.
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