Trickykid
Active member
Obviously Watzke is not a credible source because he is biased towards Dortmund and therefore should not be trusted. #InSportWeTrust
He was probably penning the 20M Man Utd deal while giving the interview.
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He was probably penning the 20M Man Utd deal while giving the interview.
M
Messi+Eto
Guest
Gave up on our defense when we stopped chasing Benatia. He is the closest to Puyol any defender currently is. Hard tackler but very intelligent. All the qualities Pique lacks plus he is young. But we'd rather go for a grandpa or even worse a CDM.
JamDav1982
Senior Member
Think you are massively over rating Benatia from what I have seen.
Almost all the top clubs are after CBs and none of them have gone and paid the money it would take to sign Benatia.
We need a reinforcement at RB though, and considering Alves' wooful form + last year of his contract and our upcoming transfer-ban next summer, we need to sign someone now.
Cuadrado is the only "RB" we've been linked with, so I can't see another move happening. Furthermore, we're the only team really interested in Cuadrado I think (Bayern confirmed they're not interested, Roma don't have enough cash, and I don't hink he'd be willing to live in rainy Manchester). For all we know, maybe Cuadrado could turn into a great RB just like Jordi Alba transformed from LW to an excellent LB; and if it doesn't work out, we'll have a great right-winger on our bench regardless (surely Cuadrado is an improvement over Pedro for RW).
Trickykid
Active member
I've barely seen him play in Italy, so I'm about as far from being an expert on him as humanly possibly, but from what I saw during the WC, I can't believe how (or why) anyone would try to turn him into a defender.
Alba was transformed much, much earlier than Cuadrado would have to be, so I don't think that's a valid comparison really.
About who could sign him, afaik it's all still nothing but rumors. Wasn't the latest that Bayern were in pole position for him? I think I saw it today or yesterday. Anyhow, until we get something tangible, I won't go about naming favorites to sign him.
I see your whole point, but it's still just too far fetched for me.
F
Flavia
Guest
Mathias Sammer, from Bayern, denied today they made a bid or want Cuadrado.
KingMessi
SiempreBlaugrana
Every time he plays a cross, it ends up as a goalkick for the opposition though.
JamDav1982
Senior Member
Rojo is not good enough on the ball to play for Barca.
At the World Cup he looked poor when put under the slightest bit of pressure on the ball and invariably passed the ball backwards or booted it up the line.
Hope he does not become an option or they really are slipping down the list of who is available.
Trickykid
Active member
Before the WC people were laughing at him joining us, because, apparently he was all kinds of mediocre. Now, because he had a good tournament, he's suddenly the dogs bollox.
What suggests he'd come cheap? Is that the trend with players who stand out in World Cups?
Trickykid
Active member
Hadn't seen that. Now Skysports are reporting that Man Utd are in for him, though. Going to there to play in his natural position makes much, much more sense to me.
JamDav1982
Senior Member
Rojo never stood out in the world cup, he looked limited and was heavily protected along with the other defenders after the group stages.
Trickykid
Active member
Alright, my bad. I'll trust your highly educated view on the matter.
L
linetty
Guest
I'm with JamDav on that one. Rojo never looked solid for me and was poor at going forward, dunno where the hype came from.
Sumlit
San Claudio Bravo
IMO people should be careful using short tournaments like the WC to rate talent. You're just setting yourself to get suckered. It is easier to stand out in a few games, played close together in the course of a month, than it is to be consistently effective throughout a 30+ game tournament that spans the better part of the year.
WC is useful to notice talent that you otherwise did no know about and keep them in your radar from then on, but it is a real slippery slope to rate talent based on that competition alone.
Daley Blind is the perfect example. I did not know about him but liked what I saw from him and praised him during the tournament. Still, to rate him based on that alone without a bigger and more determinant sample size is incredibly risky at best.
WC is useful to notice talent that you otherwise did no know about and keep them in your radar from then on, but it is a real slippery slope to rate talent based on that competition alone.
Daley Blind is the perfect example. I did not know about him but liked what I saw from him and praised him during the tournament. Still, to rate him based on that alone without a bigger and more determinant sample size is incredibly risky at best.
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