Cesc Fàbregas

[Hamzah]

You're being ridiculous. His ball control and passing are very good.

 

[Boris]

^
Or that he's very slow, and our whole midfield was slow and mostly weak even before he came.

 

[Hamzah]

Central midfield is the area of the pitch where pace is least important you know. Seems people get their football knowledge from FIFA on this forum sometimes.

The facts are that he has good ball control, great passing and world class vision. He can spot through passes and execute them like no other midfielder in our squad. He brings something different by taking risks. He can score goals more than any of our midfielders and in the first half of the season when he actually played in his position he was one of our best players and even a match winner.

 

[footyfan]

Central midfield is the area of the pitch where pace is least important you know. Seems people get their football knowledge from FIFA on this forum sometimes.

You have no idea what I'm talking about. He is slow in the head compared to our other 3 midfielders. Doesn't mean he's bad overall, just frustrating to watch in the Barca system.

 

[DonAndres]

Disregarding overall pace, his gameplay is very slow at times. He often dwells too long on the ball and sometimes lacks mobility or agility in passing sequences. He has shown lots of times that he can play quick and fit in with the technical style but when he's off form he has the tendency to go back to the slower play.

 

[JamDav1982]

You have no idea what I'm talking about. He is slow in the head compared to our other 3 midfielders. Doesn't mean he's bad overall, just frustrating to watch in the Barca system.

He is not slow in the head and is still coming to terms with the system.

 

[JamDav1982]

Disregarding overall pace, his gameplay is very slow at times. He often dwells too long on the ball and sometimes lacks mobility or agility in passing sequences. He has shown lots of times that he can play quick and fit in with the technical style but when he's off form he has the tendency to go back to the slower play.

Agree with that ut I think part of that is that he is still anxious to prove himself at the club.

It doesnt happen nearly as much with Spain playing with largely the same players.

He is not as sharp in tight areas as Iniesta and Xavi though clearly but the flip side is that he understands Messi as well as any of them.

 

[footyfan]

Do you not read posts in their entirety?

You have no idea what I'm talking about. He is slow in the head compared to our other 3 midfielders. Doesn't mean he's bad overall, just frustrating to watch in the Barca system.

 

[Hamzah]

Disregarding overall pace, his gameplay is very slow at times. He often dwells too long on the ball and sometimes lacks mobility or agility in passing sequences. He has shown lots of times that he can play quick and fit in with the technical style but when he's off form he has the tendency to go back to the slower play.

I get what you guys are saying now. I think the midfield has been spoiled with Xavi iniesta and busquets who are the best three in the world for the tiki Taka style. The team knows they can pass to them even when marked by several players in a tight area and they can get out of trouble. Most midfielders would give the ball away in those situations at least half of the time.

If you set your standard that high you're going to be very disappointed when this super human team becomes mortals like all the other football clubs when the golden generation moves on.

 

[DonAndres]

Technical play isn't really moving on and there are a lot of youngsters with the ability to do all that, Cesc just has a different style. It's good at times because he adds a lot with it, but when isn't playing straight it seems out of place.

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

Now Inter apparently want him. With Thiago going, I doubt Cesc is going anywhere for a long time.

How can Inter even afford him though? Unless Moratti has just pretended to not have money but has actually been funneling cash into a Cesc fund for the past few years.

I don't think this rumor has much substance though.

 

[Dan1983]

How can Inter even afford him though? Unless Moratti has just pretended to not have money but has actually been funneling cash into a Cesc fund for the past few years.

I don't think this rumor has much substance though.

True, just throwing the rumour out there. Cesc wouldn't join Inter anyways.

 

[Dan1983]

And some are angry that he takes 5 seconds to control a 5 yard pass.

If we played a long range game, seriously the way Cesc picks people out from long range would over shadow that.

 

[BarcaGirl]

that dress ...well, at least Cesc looks good here

 

[Boris]

Central midfield is the area of the pitch where pace is least important you know. Seems people get their football knowledge from FIFA on this forum sometimes.

The facts are that he has good ball control, great passing and world class vision. He can spot through passes and execute them like no other midfielder in our squad. He brings something different by taking risks. He can score goals more than any of our midfielders and in the first half of the season when he actually played in his position he was one of our best players and even a match winner.

Oooh, fifa, really...
Yes, pace is least important in midfield, that's why physical teams (but also very skilled compared to english teams) like Bayern can torture us. This team needs balance, because defence is under huge pressure on counters, and our midfield isn't really capable of following any more. Most of our midfielders are attacking type, so who do you expect to defend and put pressure (aka 6 secs bla bla) - xavi, iniesta, cesc ? i'm not saying we should play with 2 dmf's. It was perfect when Xavi was younger...
Attacking characteristics are great, but defensive side of mf is what worries me today