Champions League: FC Barcelona - Ajax 3-1
- Thread starter DonAK
- Start date
vinni
Member
Bojan looked way better than them (and scored way more goals) when younger than those two. And he proved to be nowhere near good enough. What is it that makes you think that they will improve by the required amount so as to be at least reliable back-up?
As for Pedro. I have huge respect for him as well and for all he did for the club in years gone by. But he has clearly been a liability for some seasons now. He has heavily declined and can only hinder (and has been hindering) the team from here on then. Whether he complains or not is besides the point. The point here is that he is simply not good enough anymore, even as back-up. We could have gone for several strikers who were available on the cheap the past summer. The Catalan dailies talked about Pelle as a possible target (he would also add some much needed height to our attack whenever he came on from the bench) but we let that bird fly Southampton ffs. There are a lot of relatively cheap forwards out there who would more than willingly accept a supporting role for FCB. Yet we persist in fielding players that simply cannot deliver.
Not disagreeing with you on Pedro. He has clearly lost something in terms of ability. However the hate he gets is way too much. He is a decent player. Not world class but decent.
Ursegor
World Champion
Weird comparison.
How is it weird? My point is that even if a youngster looks good for us it doesn't mean that he can really make it. The reason being that we dominate almost every single game and we provide our forwards with multiple chances. That is why I feel that our forwards (outside of Messi and now Neymar) have largely failed in recent years. The times that Messi and Iniesta provided Villa, Alexis and Pedro and Ibra with an excellent goal-scoring opportunity which they then went on to waste are really beyond the count of grief.
And, as per Munir and Sandro, they do not look good at all up to now. We must be as harsh in our criticism of our own players as we are with someone like Bale or James. Whenever they don't play well, we will shout it out loud from the rooftops. But when our boys fail we tend to make a million excuses for them.
Last edited:
Ursegor
World Champion
It's weird because you concluded that Bojan was better and scored more at a younger age and still didn't make it so Munir couldn't even turn into a reliable backup. Since when does every player progress at the same rate though? Bojan scored more goals with 17 in La Liga than Drogba did with 23 in the French 2nd divison.
It's getting even weirder now to ask for the same standards from a newly promoted youth product after a handful of first division games and two senior € 80M and € 100M signings.
Ursegor
World Champion
Also how is Munir not good enough? A few inches here and there, a bit more composure, a bit more luck and he's on 4 or 5 goals instead of 1. Rayo Vallecano he tries to round the keeper. Even Neymar did the same a few days later against Argentina. With more experience he passes on to Neymar and gets his 2nd assist of the night or takes an early shot. Nevermind that he should have had a penalty there but obviously Lahoz doesn't respect a kid. PSG he hit the post. Against Athletic Bilbao his goal was wrongfully called off. He doesn't get it 100 % right so far with his finishing touch but he's close and actually shows great presence upfront. The goals will come with more experience and composure if he keeps doing what he does. No idea if he will ever become Barca class but I'd reserve judgement such as "not good at all" for now, he just turned 19 and shows promising signs in many areas.
Messi_Goal
New member
Big game tonight folks but I think it will be an easy win.
I would start Sandro with Messi and Neymar.
I would start Sandro with Messi and Neymar.
OK, I definitely see your point, and you are right in that not all the players develop in the same way. But as things stand, Munir and Sandro are not nearly good enough. Maybe they will develop later on (I give Munir a small % that maybe he will make it) but my point is that we definitely not rely on them right now. Fans tend to overhype the prospects of their club's youth and it is that pathology that I am warning against. Surely Munir must be given a few chances, but for games like tonight he is more of a handicap than anything else. Football at the very top level is extremely harsh and only the cream of the crop can make it. As things stand right now, I can't wait for Suarez to enter the frame so that much needed pressure can be lifted off of Messi and Neymar who have almost totally carried us to this day. In fact, you can cross that "almost" out.
Home of Barca Fans
