Barça's Transfers and Rumors

[Flavia]

He is the midfielder with the most goals and assists in the team since he arrived and Arsene Wenger would constantly go on about how intelligent a player he was and how quickly he saw game develop.

It is part of Cescs game to go looking for the ball in tight areas and force things to happen, areas where he will have less time on the ball and lose it more but the flip side is he will be more productive than the other CMs.

He has been nowhere near as bad as some people on here are portraying him and he has suffered from the formation that Tata has used to try and force in all the top players. As have Xavi and Iniesta but it Cesc that gets the most flak.

He's a great player. that's not debatable. But he does not suit Barça. He always has a wonderful 1st half of the season. I think everyone here agrees with that. But then he sucks in the 2 half. This has happened for 3 seasons, with 3 different managers... but I guess the problem lies elsewhere, not with Cesc, right? Give me a break.

 

[Stric]

He's a great player. that's not debatable. But he does not suit Barça. He always has a wonderful 1st half of the season. I think everyone here agrees with that. But then he sucks in the 2 half. This has happened for 3 seasons, with 3 different managers... but I guess the problem lies elsewhere, not with Cesc, right? Give me a break.

Barca doesn't suit Barca anymore. We need a thorough change of system.

 

[Flavia]

Barca doesn't suit Barca anymore. We need a thorough change of system.

I doubt this will happen. Iniesta just stated today, again, that the style is non-negotiable. Some tweaks are needed, but you saw the reactions after that rayo game...

 

[JamDav1982]

He's a great player. that's not debatable. But he does not suit Barça. He always has a wonderful 1st half of the season. I think everyone here agrees with that. But then he sucks in the 2 half. This has happened for 3 seasons, with 3 different managers... but I guess the problem lies elsewhere, not with Cesc, right? Give me a break.

Xavi and Iniesta have also looked poorer as the seasons have gone on and it is them that have played in the bigger games. They have been just as poor as Cesc the past couple of months and were very poor in the latter stages of CL etc.

Messi too it could be argued has got worse as the seasons have gone on.

None of the players the past few seasons have been finishing the seasons all that well and Cesc has not been as bad in the first two as you are making out anyway.

 

[Blaugrana Bull]

I think Iniesta played very well the last weeks. He was average the first half of the season.

 

[Flavia]

Xavi and Iniesta have also looked poorer as the seasons have gone on and it is them that have played in the bigger games. They have been just as poor as Cesc the past couple of months and were very poor in the latter stages of CL etc.

Messi too it could be argued has got worse as the seasons have gone on.

None of the players the past few seasons have been finishing the seasons all that well and Cesc has not been as bad in the first two as you are making out anyway.

Iniesta had one of his best seasons in 12-13, if not the best. So did Messi. After he got injured, Messi hasn't found that old form of his, but this is not comparable to Cesc in the slightest. And I'm not making anything. Cesc had a huge dip in form in these last 3 seasons. Since february 15th he doesn't score or assist, things that you are using to try to prove he's great for Barça.

 

[Alarcón]

Lol do people want us to counter attack or what? Cesc doesn't suit our system because he doesn't suit any modern playing style that relies heavily on discipline, positional awareness, good decision making, quick thinking etc. etc. and that's pretty much every world class team at the moment and especially in the future. He was good at Arsenal because they play fun football, everyone just does whatever he likes and then they hope that all will go well, but they haven't won a title in 10 years.

Those claiming we should change our style to accommodate Cesc are basically also people who think we have to go back to horse and carriage when automobiles are flawed. The system needs to be tweaked but the progress we have made certainly can't be revoked in favour of football that was played decades ago and any football style that suits Fàbregas is revisionist unless he finally starts adapting instead of complaining he didn't get the system or whatever.

 

[JamDav1982]

Iniesta had one of his best seasons in 12-13, if not the best. So did Messi. After he got injured, Messi hasn't found that old form of his, but this is not comparable to Cesc in the slightest. And I'm not making anything. Cesc had a huge dip in form in these last 3 seasons. Since february 15th he doesn't score or assist, things that you are using to try to prove he's great for Barça.

Where have I ever once claimed he has been great for Barca? I am arguing he could be if given a fair run in a settled position and on top of that for the most part he had been good.

Iniesta certainly did not look all that great in the CL games towards the end of last season or in the Copa defeat by Real Madrid and neither did Xavi and the same happened this year. It has long been argued that the players have been tired towards the latter part of the season. Discussed on length on here that Xavi, Iniesta, Messi etc have not looked at their best towards the end of the season since Peps last year.

Yet now it seems to be said as if its something only Cesc suffers with.

 

[Flavia]

Lol do people want us to counter attack or what? Cesc doesn't suit our system because he doesn't suit any modern playing style that relies heavily on discipline, positional awareness, good decision making, quick thinking etc. etc. and that's pretty much every world class team at the moment and especially in the future. He was good at Arsenal because they play fun football, everyone just does whatever he likes and then they hope that all will go well, but they haven't won a title in 10 years.

Those claiming we should change our style to accommodate Cesc are basically also people who think we have to go back to horse and carriage when automobiles are flawed. The system needs to be tweaked but the progress we have made certainly can't be revoked in favour of football that was played decades ago and any football style that suits Fàbregas is revisionist unless he finally starts adapting instead of complaining he didn't get the system or whatever.

I agree. In these past 3 seasons Alexis managed to adapt and improve, but Cesc still has trouble. No one knows his role in the team, and he's failing to make any kind of real impact.

 

[jamrock]

Where have I ever once claimed he has been great for Barca? I am arguing he could be if given a fair run in a settled position and on top of that for the most part he had been good.

Iniesta certainly did not look all that great in the CL games towards the end of last season or in the Copa defeat by Real Madrid and neither did Xavi and the same happened this year. It has long been argued that the players have been tired towards the latter part of the season. Discussed on length on here that Xavi, Iniesta, Messi etc have not looked at their best towards the end of the season since Peps last year.

Yet now it seems to be said as if its something only Cesc suffers with.

cesc doesn't look poor/tired or whatever the word what we want to used towards the end of the season. he looks that way once the clock strikes 12 on December 31th.

after that all his goals and assist against some the lowest teams we play try up

 

[jamrock]

Strange how he was the best player in the Premier League by a mile - while he was over here .

and?

 

[JamDav1982]

This season all the attacking players have been poor and the system to an extent has stifled all of them by trying to fit them all in. No just Cesc.

Last season Cesc spent a lot of the last part of the season playing false nine.

Cescs first season in terms of stats he was almost idenictal before and after xmas.

What players have been brilliant in the second half of the season these past few years? Messi to an extent granted but who else?

 

[jamrock]

This season all the attacking players have been poor and the system to an extent has stifled all of them by trying to fit them all in. No just Cesc.

Last season Cesc spent a lot of the last part of the season playing false nine.

Cescs first season in terms of stats he was almost idenictal before and after xmas.

What players have been brilliant in the second half of the season these past few years? Messi to an extent granted but who else?

iniesta was our second best player all of last season, even while playing out of position of the left

also the formation wasnt to fit everyone in, it was to fit CESC IN thats it

iniesta has also been brilliant in the second half of this season up until the atletico game.

he had a poor first half though

 

[i_bleed_blaugrana]

I just don't get how you can't see how most importantly his lack of a defined role on the team hurts his performances. He came at a time were it was near impossible to bench Xavi, Iniesta or Messi, all three players who operate in the same space he does. So with players doing the same thing he did at Arsenal and what he was expecting to do here, can you not see how it would be extremely challenging to have a role and identity that is your own when you have those players constantly playing over you and a lack of continuity in a position so you can develop a role, an identity?

You can make the same argument with Messi, he was terrible anytime we played him on the RW and when he's back in the center against Bilbao, his performance was overall better. Its the same thing with Cesc, Macherano, Iniesta on the LW, Neymar on the RW. When you continually play players out of the positions that suit their strengths, their performance suffers.

For those saying his style doesn't suit Barca, I simply don't understand how you can make that assertion. He was clearly the best midfielder in the Premier League when he left and there were times when he drug Arsenal on his back to victory. Remember his game against Milan in 2007? He's too slow? There was a noticeable difference with the pace we played with in the first half and the second half of the season and a lot of it has to do with Xavi. He slows down moves and keeps our game flat and predictable much more than Cesc does.

He can't play in tight spaces? Its because he is usually playing as a CF with 4 players to beat. When he has space to move the ball out from deep and see the entire field, he can excel.

Despite his difficulties here, I think this season in particular he has improved. His indifferent form recently has a lot more to do with tactics and Xavi then him failing to fit in to the team. How you can say a player who grew up playing in Barca doesn't suit Barca is beyond me. Its not like we talking about a Mikel Arteta or someone who just clearly isn't world class. The fact that he produces his best spells in the beginning of the season when he is playing as a CM his evidence that not only does he belong here but he can excel if we give him a chance.

 

[KingMessi]

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but according to Diario AS, we've reached an agreement with Dortmund to buy Mats Hummels.