Trickykid
Active member
City paid 62m for Sterling, we can have Denis Suarez for 3m, who is even better
Yup, City doing the sound thing here; paying 62M for bench player Sterling. Apparently that's the way we should roll
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Yup, City doing the sound thing here; paying 62M for bench player Sterling. Apparently that's the way we should roll
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
Lacazette reportedly said he has no interest in joining us as he doesn't see himself getting substantial playing time here.
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
I wouldn't get him even if he was free. So glassy, just got injured again yesterday. Even in the limited times when he was healthy he wasn't that great.
serghei
Senior Member
Whatever forward we buy will have at least one of the following problems. Either he's kind of old, or he's going through a so-so patch in his career, or he's not a big name in the market, or something. Cause there's no way in hell a top forward who doesn't have one of those problems will come to Barca to catch minutes here and there and basically watch from the bench how his rivals for the attacking spot score 100+ goals a season.
So I suggest we stop being so picky about who do we sign for the forward spot, it's not like we'll sign Reus, or somebody of that value. We had Sanchez and he left to make room for Suarez. That's about as clear as it gets that no top player will want to stay on the bench 80% of the time.
So, get Gameiro/Ben Arfa/ Nolito. Either of them is good enough to rotate MSN (which we'll mostly do in La Liga anyway). Players with skill, pace, good finishing. Get that deal done and focus on CB and LB. We basically need a player in the Jese - Vasquez bracket for the attacking spot anyway. I'd say Gameiro and Nolito are even better, even if older. I think Ben Arfa might also be better than those two (though I haven't really watched him that much).
So I suggest we stop being so picky about who do we sign for the forward spot, it's not like we'll sign Reus, or somebody of that value. We had Sanchez and he left to make room for Suarez. That's about as clear as it gets that no top player will want to stay on the bench 80% of the time.
So, get Gameiro/Ben Arfa/ Nolito. Either of them is good enough to rotate MSN (which we'll mostly do in La Liga anyway). Players with skill, pace, good finishing. Get that deal done and focus on CB and LB. We basically need a player in the Jese - Vasquez bracket for the attacking spot anyway. I'd say Gameiro and Nolito are even better, even if older. I think Ben Arfa might also be better than those two (though I haven't really watched him that much).
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The other option would be to buy versatile players. The more versatile a player is, the more playing time he'll get.
Problem is we have so little money that a player like Gameiro is out of the question. I think we are better off looking at Ben Arfa in that case or other players who are bosmans. Why we dont look around for value in the market by focusing on bosmans or players with a year left on his contract, I have no idea. I heard Lucho rejected Toni Kroos when he was available for 25m euros. Just odd really.
It would have been a cheap option to make our rejuvenation process smoother.
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Trickykid
Active member
I actually thought I wouldn't bother responding here because of the WTF factor, but I can't help myself.
Chelsea? Seriously? They're in so deep shit and in need of a much bigger overhaul than us. Sure, they've got a wealth of talent on loan, but how have they used it so far? Not pretty fucking good, I'd argue, and I doubt they'll suddenly make a 180 degrees turnaround and stop trying to make a profit of said youngsters instead of actually trying to integrate them purposefully. But yeah, Chelsea situations is really one to be jealous of, huh? Bloody hell...
Then we have Man Utd with De Gea, Martial and Rashford as the ones to envy. Sure De Gea is great, but are you suddenly arguing that the keeper position is where we need change? We've easily got the best keeper duo in the world (which only did cost around 25M, if I remember correctly, but funnily enough MAtS and Bravo are never mentioned whenever you people complain about our alleged world's worst transfer record), and with MAtS we're set for a long time ourself. Martial looks promising (but probably cost a whole lot more than he should) and Rashford too, but it's obviously way too early to actually start fearing any of those as some sort or factor for world domination. In short; Man Utd have a rather shit squad with a few young hotshots, but is all in all nothing to envy what so ever.
City lastly. City are in for a huge overhaul, as we all know, and 62M Sterling isn't exactly anything to envy either. Pep will most likely change them over time, and they should be a force to be reckoned with solely because of his presence and the ridiculous amounts of money their owners will splash. Pep will leave after a few seasons, though, and I don't see City as a club capable of sustaining a high enough level to seriously challenge us over time. Sorry. Iheanacho looks somewhat interesting, but perhaps you could fill me in on that wealth of talent they have emerging, so that I can recognise them once they rule Europe?
I'm still somewhat gobsmacked that anyone would use these three (of all) clubs as some sort of example to strive for...
Total-Football
Senior Member
Barca real Madrid Manchester have zero chance of becoming ac milan - Liverpool .. they are a huge international brand. Real Madrid kept screwing themselves every single year for a decade lmao .. yet as you see they are still huge . dont worry about that.
J
Jamie Cal
Guest
I think more than the options we have up front, it's more important that we enforce them. There's plenty of times we could'a subbed in Munir this season and didn't, and I fear he'd be someone deemed 'happy just to be here' etc. All of up to Lucho of course.
Luftstalag14
Culé de Celestial Empire
I would say that our midfield is stacked on paper only. I felt that our midfield has struggled throughout the season and it was often one of our weakest links.
Lelouch vi Britannia
Banned
We also need to start looking for a long term Iniesta replacement. Not sure either Roberto or Rafinha are the guys for the job. We need to look for a long term Alves replacement too but there aren't really any quality RBs on the market.
BarcaOG
Banned
serghei
Senior Member
That could be down to fatigue. Our midfield was great last season and for the most part of this season. It's in the past two months that we've seen a major drop in intensity and form in that area, especially from Rakitic, but also from Busi (his bad form kind of went unnoticed here) and Iniesta. Arda is a non-factor so far. Played too little and when he did, he was unimpressive. Next season he could become a factor though. Unless he's sold somewhere in China for lots of cash, I wouldn't count him out just yet. Next season is make or break for him probably.
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Real Madrid have been the biggest spenders in Europe for a decade which gets them by along with wildcards every year to CL semis and finals with unbelievable draws. They've won 1 La Liga title since Perez came back.
The worry for Barca is they'll struggle like Madrid have but without the budget to spend on top players because Real Madrid and half-a-dozen Premier League clubs will have more spending power the way it's going when we'll need to replace the current team. Real also know how to sell players to generate funds.
The midfield is average and has been bailed out by MSN for 2 years. It takes Messi to drop deep and create now.
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