JamDav1982
Senior Member
Probably guessing from training as others have done.
CL | 1/8 Finals: FC Barcelona - Chelsea 4-1 agg.
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
Probably guessing from training as others have done.
Stoichkov1
New member
Usually Helena's informations are correct.
FCBfan22
Senior Member
Hassan Ashas
New member
I can't believe that people still are criticizing Valverde.
I don't care if we even lose today and gets humiliated, I am gonna back Valverde for sure, at least for now.
He's better than Enrique (until now), who was way too one dimensional type of coach (no offense to Enrique, he has given us a lot but that style was way too dependent on front three).
The team that you have right now, lost 4-0 to PSG and 3-0 to Juventus last season, this very team with Neymar playing!
A season later, you have now Paulinho playing for your team instead of Neymar and the other team is exactly the same! (mind you, Paulinho was considered the worst transfer Barca have done in recent past, some even calling it worse than Douglas considering the price we paid for him) and it was pretty clear how good our team was after Supercopa when Pique said, "this is the first time I have felt inferior to Real Madrid" - we were absolutely "destroyed" by Real Madrid....
And what's next? We went on an unbeaten streak and are now likely to finish the season undefeated in league, with most likely a double secured (Barca are very likely to win CDR IMO), with great wins against sides like Real Madrid, Juventus etc and haven't been defeated in a single game this season except from that CDR match, thanks to a very late goal.
And some people still have the audacity to blame Valverde. Are you even serious? He got a 20-year old Raw Talent as a replacement for one of the most important members of the squad and then, that person also got injured for a long time and has just returned into action. His team's main striker was completely out of form for half of season, leaving him with only one good option in attack. Yes, his style is different. He doesn't like to take risks. He doesn't like to lose, even if that means not-so-attacking football. SO WHAT? He knows how to get the best out of a team. He knows how to win matches. He knows how to win the ties. He knows how to grind out results.
Can you even imagine how bad our team would have been right now in this season if Enrique was still a coach and we had played like we did in last season with Neymar gone and Suarez out of form? It seems like we take too many things for granted.
I don't care if we even lose today and gets humiliated, I am gonna back Valverde for sure, at least for now.
He's better than Enrique (until now), who was way too one dimensional type of coach (no offense to Enrique, he has given us a lot but that style was way too dependent on front three).
The team that you have right now, lost 4-0 to PSG and 3-0 to Juventus last season, this very team with Neymar playing!
A season later, you have now Paulinho playing for your team instead of Neymar and the other team is exactly the same! (mind you, Paulinho was considered the worst transfer Barca have done in recent past, some even calling it worse than Douglas considering the price we paid for him) and it was pretty clear how good our team was after Supercopa when Pique said, "this is the first time I have felt inferior to Real Madrid" - we were absolutely "destroyed" by Real Madrid....
And what's next? We went on an unbeaten streak and are now likely to finish the season undefeated in league, with most likely a double secured (Barca are very likely to win CDR IMO), with great wins against sides like Real Madrid, Juventus etc and haven't been defeated in a single game this season except from that CDR match, thanks to a very late goal.
And some people still have the audacity to blame Valverde. Are you even serious? He got a 20-year old Raw Talent as a replacement for one of the most important members of the squad and then, that person also got injured for a long time and has just returned into action. His team's main striker was completely out of form for half of season, leaving him with only one good option in attack. Yes, his style is different. He doesn't like to take risks. He doesn't like to lose, even if that means not-so-attacking football. SO WHAT? He knows how to get the best out of a team. He knows how to win matches. He knows how to win the ties. He knows how to grind out results.
Can you even imagine how bad our team would have been right now in this season if Enrique was still a coach and we had played like we did in last season with Neymar gone and Suarez out of form? It seems like we take too many things for granted.
henias
New member
There's no other choice, because only Vidal and Dembele can be a wide player but Vidal has been misplacing passes alot and can go almost invisible or doing nothing. Paulinho works best behind Suarez but against Chelsea you need width to stretch their defence. They will be guarding the middle by zonal marking and Messi will be marked alot. Gomes has a bit of mentality issue and can squander alot of chances in the final third.
Yes, Dembele isn't in his best but he still provides alot more than the other players and can function very well out wide and provide Barca more width so Messi can work his magic.
Camp Nou is the best place to be technical and win games.
It's the best choice we can have right now. Don't forget Dembele did pretty calm against Juventus as well. This isnt prime Chelsea either. Trust the kid.
Last edited:
kobby
Member
Gotcha! Time to stop being a stalker and actually start contributing then.
kobby
Member
Again I really like Dembele and want him to succeed but he also misplaces a lot of passes and he is very easily dispossessed far too often. He also doesn't offer the defensive cover of Paulinho or Gomes (as terrible as those two are, at least they have that in their favour).
I agree Dembele did very well against Juventus but he's been a different player since his injury, which is to be expected. He showed signs of brilliance on Saturday and I hope to see more of that today if he plays but he's put up more average performances than great ones since his transfer.
About Chelsea not being prime, I don't take too much comfort in that. Chelsea is our boogey team---they simply know how to stop us and we seem to freeze against them. The last Chelsea side that eliminated us was arguably worst than this side---they were struggling to even make 6th place in their league and had recently sacked their manager. Oh, and they played with 10 men for most of the game. And there is also the matter of Conte being good against Spanish opposition---eliminated Spain with a fairly mediocre Italy side.
I want Barca to win today and I won't be disappointed if Paulinho starts ahead of Dembele. My only issue will be if Paulinho puts in a stinking performance but EV keeps him till the 70th minute.
Barcilliant
Senior Member
Sorry but round of 16 exit with this team is inexcusable. We are facing a relatively weak Chelsea. If Watford can thrash them there are no excuses for us.
serghei
Senior Member
It's the opposite. If Watford can beat Chelsea, then Chelsea could beat us. Means a game is a game everything can happen if you're not careful. Including weaker teams beating better teams.
But I agree that after the last seasons in CL, we need a better showing this year. Meaning at least a semi.
Xaviniesta
Senior Member
dembele and iniesta starting: Denis Suarez confirmed rat
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