Barca Transfers and Rumors

[Gazzznigga]

It isn't secure, but OTOH it isn't an immediate issue and we are unlikely to rely on a prospect to save the day. At least I don't think we actually rate Faye that high.
Also I doubt Christensen will be sold, the market for him isn't that good tbh. He is worth more to us than on the market. At 28 while suffering from chronic injuries, no big club will break the bank for him, and he won't accept moving to a middle EPL club.

Would be quite dumb to sell him without giving him opportunities to show what he can do though, even if its the preseason. Lots of players have nailed down permanent positions through this while on their supposed "way out" (e.g. Balde). Let the new coach make that call. I believe he can't do worse than Inigo at the moment and if that helps Barca save the 10m or so salaries quoted for Inigo , it's just common sense..not rocket science..stupid!!

 

[Don Juan Laporta Estruch]

How did Madrid assemble the best squad in the world? By buying medium cost ( no more than 60m ) young players with super high potential to be world class. Mendy, Militao, Camavinga, Vinicius, Rodrigo. All of those players took time to bed themselves in to the first team. They were all treated with the utmost patience.

In contrast it seems Barca wants to sell any high potential young player that does not make an immediate effect in the first team. Nico? Gone. Roque and Faye possibly to follow. The idiocy of not getting Julian Alvarez and instead buying a 34 year old Lewandowski is happening again. Faye, Roque out, to fund moves for Kimmich, Merino or maybe Bernardo Silva.

This is not simply because Barca has to always compete for trophies. The fans at this point would accept going trophyless if the team entertained and had a long term plan of growth. This short termism is motivated by the ridiculous presidential election system, where the can will be kicked down the road for the next guy to deal with, Bartomeu style.

Our transfer policy is going to leave us miles behind Madrid if there isn't a drastic change in our sporting department. Meanwhile, Madrid continues along with their transfer philosophy, targetting Yoro, Davies and Franco Mastantuono.

 

[Messi983]

Problem is most young players here are seen as saviours for desperate fan base. We expect immediate impact from them when even proven world class players (like Henry back in the days for example) usually needed a season to adapt.

And with younger players it's not only adaptation period but also learning curve that can last longer. But ofc we (fans) give up on players after two games and what's worse (fans opinion shouldn't really impact club's decisions) is club don't have all that much more patience either.

Not bringing right players to the club is only part of the problem though. Other is that no current young player here had good environment to develop. La Masia kids (and Pedri) were thrown into water and became regulars at 16-17 and now in their early twenties are already seen as damaged goods. Only player who had at least somewhat normal development here over last 5-7 years was Araujo.

Madrid bought players you mentioned when they still had old core like CR, Benz, Casemiro, Kroos, Modrić performing on a high level. It's a lot easier to have patience with youngsters when your veterans are winning you titles. And then these kids also learn from a winning culture at the club and can take bigger responsibility on their shoulders within few years.

Not the case here where our beloved amigos were already on a decline since 2016 with mostly Messi carrying them. And then Ney who was supposed to be "leader of next generation" also left and we wasted all of his money (and more) on two flops.

 

[ajnotkeith]

How did Madrid assemble the best squad in the world? By buying medium cost ( no more than 60m ) young players with super high potential to be world class. Mendy, Militao, Camavinga, Vinicius, Rodrigo. All of those players took time to bed themselves in to the first team. They were all treated with the utmost patience.

In contrast it seems Barca wants to sell any high potential young player that does not make an immediate effect in the first team. Nico? Gone. Roque and Faye possibly to follow. The idiocy of not getting Julian Alvarez and instead buying a 34 year old Lewandowski is happening again. Faye, Roque out, to fund moves for Kimmich, Merino or maybe Bernardo Silva.

This is not simply because Barca has to always compete for trophies. The fans at this point would accept going trophyless if the team entertained and had a long term plan of growth. This short termism is motivated by the ridiculous presidential election system, where the can will be kicked down the road for the next guy to deal with, Bartomeu style.

Our transfer policy is going to leave us miles behind Madrid if there isn't a drastic change in our sporting department. Meanwhile, Madrid continues along with their transfer philosophy, targetting Yoro, Davies and Franco Mastantuono.

In a phrase : it's like trying to fly before you can even walk.

Or trying to win an F1 Grand Prix with a Ford Fiesta.

We don't have the foundations to consistently challenge at the top yet, and instead of taking some time out to work on them for the future, we're desperately trying any short term measures to keep us afloat for now.
It would be better if the club announced a long term rebuild plan focusing on signing upcoming talent and doing good business. We will always be able to return to the top, the club is too big to fall, so there's no rush, as long as people are willing to wait, which they should if a plan is clearly conveyed.

Madrid also rarely spend money on rotation or backup players, or anyone there isn't a long term plan for. They use cheap or free signings, or sometimes their B team, but never spending 60m on players such as Ferran or Lewandowski. If they spend big money it's because that player will be prominent in their team for many years.

That is how we should be. We have seen that rotation and squad roles can be comfortably covered by our young talent or cheap signings, so there's no need to enter the market unless we are after a top player or top talent. That way, we save more, and also develop our own younger players.

 

[jamrock]

Everyone on Barca forum should run for president, they'd all do 10x the job, the current team is doing...

The Madrid example isn't a good one, in our current situation, that's what should have been done, when we had the likes of Messi, Iniesta, busquets etc, but we all know what happened there.

We are now in a situation were the la masia kids are/were simply better than the players we had in the senior team and had to be played.

Ideally that wouldn't be the case, all of Laporta,Xavi, deco, Alemany were aware of this, but you play the hand you are dealt.

That being said, the situation with Faye and roque, if we can loan them for a season or a sell with a buy back it's not the end of the world, but I'd rather see us sell Martinez

 

[Andresito]

Luck is also involved. I mean likes of Coutinho and Dembele could've (should've) still been impact players like KDB and Mbappe for that price. Griezmann was just a braindead signing, but there we also should've had another world class attacker. Another 3 players in their prime or just past it in the XI and we wouldn't have to rely in teenagers to carry us.

Just saying. There was an attempt to invest but it went horribly wrong. A sensible transfer and salary policy and we'd have a very different foundation.

 

[ajnotkeith]

Everyone on Barca forum should run for president, they'd all do 10x the job, the current team is doing...

The Madrid example isn't a good one, in our current situation, that's what should have been done, when we had the likes of Messi, Iniesta, busquets etc, but we all know what happened there.

We are now in a situation were the la masia kids are/were simply better than the players we had in the senior team and had to be played.

Ideally that wouldn't be the case, all of Laporta,Xavi, deco, Alemany were aware of this, but you play the hand you are dealt.

That being said, the situation with Faye and roque, if we can loan them for a season or a sell with a buy back it's not the end of the world, but I'd rather see us sell Martinez

The problem is that fan opinion and the direction of the club is more connected than you think, in fact, the fans are the ones causing us to have such a strategy.

Fan pressure and socio voting is what's causing us to repeatedly have presidents who are desperate for short term success because the fanbase doesn't tolerate a long rebuild. We get promised success immediately and they start making short term moves to fulfill their promise (failing).

If a president said, I'm doing this for the long term, we'll start playing youth and signing young players, building a style of play, we will try to compete but we're also thinking long term, it would be brilliant, but a lot of fans don't accept that, which is the problem.

Our opinion is more important here than you think and even part of the problem.

 

[wisconsincule]

These Luis Diaz rumors are lazy journalism right? Barca have no money to overspend for a player from a top team??

Are there any younger LW who fit Vini Jr profile??

 

[ajnotkeith]

Luck is also involved. I mean likes of Coutinho and Dembele could've (should've) still been impact players like KDB and Mbappe for that price. Griezmann was just a braindead signing, but there we also should've had another world class attacker. Another 3 players in their prime or just past it in the XI and we wouldn't have to rely in teenagers to carry us.

Just saying. There was an attempt to invest but it went horribly wrong. A sensible transfer and salary policy and we'd have a very different foundation.

The main problem with our transfer strategy is that we buy high and sell low.

We buy players at the worst times, at the peak of their prices or in older age, and when they're hyped with a very high price tag from their club, but we rarely get in early or buy players who's stock is not so high. We also do the same with selling players ; we are so averse to selling anyone in good form or anyone we consider valuable, and only try to move players after it is clear they are declining or in a patch of bad form, when nobody would want them, and really struggle to get good prices, as it becomes clear they are unwanted.

Griezmann is a good example. Great player, but we overchase for him and buy him when his stock is the very highest it could possibly be. Now he's barely worth a sixth of what we paid (granted he is older).
Selling wise ; any time someone even suggests considering sales of any of our young players or more valued players we don't even consider it, even if economically it could be a good move, we don't even bother to analyse the possibility. For example, Barto claims to have rejected an 150m offer for Fati... even if it isn't true, why would our president be proud to claim that? In hindsight, of course it would be a good move, but even without injuries, would accepting be so bad?

There is this culture here of selling and buying at the worst times and not making smart business decisions, and as I say above, a lot of that is due to the fans who are equally unwilling to accept sales of certain players or a long term plan.

 

[jamrock]

The problem is that fan opinion and the direction of the club is more connected than you think, in fact, the fans are the ones causing us to have such a strategy.

Fan pressure and socio voting is what's causing us to repeatedly have presidents who are desperate for short term success because the fanbase doesn't tolerate a long rebuild. We get promised success immediately and they start making short term moves to fulfill their promise (failing).

If a president said, I'm doing this for the long term, we'll start playing youth and signing young players, building a style of play, we will try to compete but we're also thinking long term, it would be brilliant, but a lot of fans don't accept that, which is the problem.

Our opinion is more important here than you think and even part of the problem.

None of real Madrid or Barcelona will ever accept a long rebuild, that's just the nature of the beast and has to be accepted, all these fans talking about we should just accept losing for X years.

At those two clubs, it WILL NEVER be accepted, if they lose for a couple of years, it's because things just aren't going right or the other teams are simply better.

But to say accept losing is never gonna happen.

They came in promised we would win, had a net spend of 30-40m and won us our first league title in years, those kinda numbers for a league title, under our circumstances is very acceptable, now things are starting to get a bit better, we'll see where we are, but the previous board has given Madrid such a huge head start, its gonna be a big challenge to catch up.

But all the fans saying we are playing kids/putting pressure on kids, as if it's something we want to do, like we have an alternative, we are doing it because we have to.

All the fans saying we should accept a full rebuild, go full arsenal, never gonna happen.

 

[Porque]

Yes but Madrid also spent over 260m of recent on Jovic, Hazard, Reinier and Odriozola who all failed.

The only difference bar Hazard is far better salary management and timing of sales.

Had we been the same then all f
Transfer failings could have been forgiven as Madrid's have.

Madrid sold Ronaldo for 100m, we didn't renew Messi and are still paying him 100s of millions. There's levels to this shit.

 

[jamrock]

We spend 400m plus on 3 guys and have them insane salaries, in the combination that killed us.

Madrid also bought Vini and rodrygo, so they had a few that worked out. While having kroos and Madrid who were younger than Xavi and iniesta, who we just never tried to replace.

We had literally none during that time.

 

[ajnotkeith]

None of real Madrid or Barcelona will ever accept a long rebuild, that's just the nature of the beast and has to be accepted, all these fans talking about we should just accept losing for X years.

At those two clubs, it WILL NEVER be accepted, if they lose for a couple of years, it's because things just aren't going right or the other teams are simply better.

But to say accept losing is never gonna happen.

They came in promised we would win, had a net spend of 30-40m and won us our first league title in years, those kinda numbers for a league title, under our circumstances is very acceptable, now things are starting to get a bit better, we'll see where we are, but the previous board has given Madrid such a huge head start, its gonna be a big challenge to catch up.

But all the fans saying we are playing kids/putting pressure on kids, as if it's something we want to do, like we have an alternative, we are doing it because we have to.

All the fans saying we should accept a full rebuild, go full arsenal, never gonna happen.

It doesn't mean we can't still compete. We can still compete, but with long term objectives in mind.
The fans and the club should accept that we're on a worse footing for now and it is more difficult to win immediately. That doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to try and win the league each year, but also maybe have an eye more on the next few years rather than this one, in terms of business decisions.

The league title is a good coup and we should value it more (I have been guilty of not doing so), since winning one is getting progressively much more difficult. If we want to keep winning it we'll have to try and come up with a long term plan to get out of this mess rather than kick can down the road.

 

[ajnotkeith]

Yes but Madrid also spent over 260m of recent on Jovic, Hazard, Reinier and Odriozola who all failed.

The only difference bar Hazard is far better salary management and timing of sales.

Had we been the same then all f
Transfer failings could have been forgiven as Madrid's have.

Madrid sold Ronaldo for 100m, we didn't renew Messi and are still paying him 100s of millions. There's levels to this shit.

This is what I mean about selling high and buying low. They sold Ronaldo, but we'd never ever sell Messi at any point, for example, just because of the sentiment, even if it was clear he was on the decline (very normal for a player of 34 or 35 years old).

Too much emotion and sentimentality in our decisions sometimes.

 

[Temptation]

It doesn't mean we can't still compete. We can still compete, but with long term objectives in mind.
The fans and the club should accept that we're on a worse footing for now and it is more difficult to win immediately. That doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to try and win the league each year, but also maybe have an eye more on the next few years rather than this one, in terms of business decisions.

The league title is a good coup and we should value it more (I have been guilty of not doing so), since winning one is getting progressively much more difficult. If we want to keep winning it we'll have to try and come up with a long term plan to get out of this mess rather than kick can down the road.

Welcome back to the forum