Copa | Round of 16: FC Barcelona - Celta Vigo 6-1 agg.

[Blaugranaa]

Me, too. It's 3am in the morning here now. Goddammit.

Maybe I shouldn't complain then

 

[God Serena]

It is a fairly important game that he wants to rotate and win.

Arnaiz has just started three previous cup games and Alena started two of them.

Sporting game maybe but he had squad players he still seemed to be assessing a bit or needed game time. Todays game is not another example of anything.

Suarez and Rakitic started that game against Sporting and their positions line up almost perfectly with Arnaiz and Alena. It was actually more of a risk to play them and risk injury than playing B teamers who needed minutes.

 

[JamDav1982]

Suarez and Rakitic started that game against Sporting and their positions line up almost perfectly with Arnaiz and Alena. It was actually more of a risk to play them and risk injury than playing B teamers who needed minutes.

Neither of those two play anything like Raki or Suarez though.

Valverde knows what he is doing and isnt going to bow to throwing in young players for the sake of it or to make some statement.

 

[henias]

Good stuff. Now block me if it bothers you.

Go back to telling us how shit the squad is, how shit Valverde is, how lucky Barca are and will get turned over by any top side.

Didnt say the squad was shit, just not a fan of the 442 formation against smaller teams. Barca were indeed lucky with own goals at the first half of the season apart from Messi. Against 10 men Villarreal and Madrid. Other than that, Dembele's return definitely added more attacking options, so I wont worry about it too much now.

 

[JamDav1982]

Didnt say the squad was shit, just not a fan of the 442 formation against smaller teams. Barca were indeed lucky with own goals at the first half of the season apart from Messi. Against 10 men Villarreal and Madrid. Other than that, Dembele's return definitely added more attacking options, so I wont worry about it too much now.

Nah you called it totally wrong and were not 'lucky with own goals'.

Beat Real before Dembele was back the great Real you so confidently said would turn Barca over.

 

[God Serena]

Neither of those two play anything like Raki or Suarez though.

Valverde knows what he is doing and isnt going to bow to throwing in young players for the sake of it or to make some statement.

How they play doesn't matter, the game had about as much importance as a scrimmage on a summer's Saturday. Is throwing in young players "For the sake of it" how you saw it when previous managers used youngsters in friendlies and dead rubbers? Because if so, I'd argue that that's what those type of matches are for.

 

[Joan]

Good point, but guys the likes of Paco, Vidal, Gomes, Deulofeu aren't going to be here in a few years, hell Valverde is looking to move most of them out now. The aforementioned players were brought in to play bit roles and they should be able to perform well when called upon. It shouldn't be the coaches job to gift them extra minutes to help grow their understanding and squad cohesion.

He's trying now to move them out but at that time he trusted them.
He himself told that Deulofeu's had his chances and it's now time for others to have theirs. Didn't discard players without a chance - quite fair if you ask me.
I doubt even you believe your second sentence. Players who'll perform whenever given a chance in an unfamiliar system are rare and often considered world class and individually brilliant. It's coach's job to create a system in which mediocre players (such as Gomes, Vidal or Deulofeu) will offer more than expected. Valverde's doing well in that department.

Nobody's asking Valverde to play every youngster at every given opportunity, but in a dead rubber match like the one against Sporting could he not have afforded to rest maybe a Suarez and Rakitic and give an opportunity to two of our best prospects in Arnaiz and Alena to help further their development? Don't get me wrong, he is fully within his rights as the manager of this club to give minutes to bench players to help boost their confidence and form, but are you really trying to tell me he couldn't find two spots in the lineup for two of the B team's best players?

Everything you say is reasonable but you need to accept that a new coach needs time. He needs to determine who he trusts and who he doesn't. After the squad is selected, he'll start giving chances to the youngster and prepare the club for the future. I hope at least. If not, I'll be the first one to criticize him alongside you.
Also, giving minutes to young talents without a proper gameplan and solid organization might not be good for their confidence and probably won't enable them to show all they can.

 

[JamDav1982]

Alena and Arnaiz have not featured in starting roles against any La Liga caliber opposition bar the last match where Arnaiz got a look and performed well. Starting against Segunda tier opposition is no different from playing on the B team. It does nothing for their development.

My sticking point with Valverde's selection for this match is not starting B team players as Celta are very strong opposition and we probably need our best lineup to get a result, but rather benching Dembele when we need him integrated into our team as fast as possible to provide us with some extra offensive punch come the CL knockout stages. Maybe Dembele's not fit enough to start twice in a week yet, in which case my argument is redundant.

Starting Gomes over Dembele is short sighted in my opinion as was not giving any chances to B team players in the match against Sporting. Valverde seems to coach matches on a game-to-game basis making decisions that would benefit the team in the short-run and deliver the best possible results rather than planning for the future. I'm not going to complain though since he's done well for us using this process.

It is different from B team and gives him a closer look in first team system with first team players.

Dembele is clearly being held back from too much minutes too quickly that is all it is. It would be virtually three starts in a week.

It is not short sighted if he wants to assess the first team players or doesnt believe Alena is ready or best thing for him. Valverde has brought through plenty of young players to show he knows what it is about.

Nothing to do with being short sighted.

 

[vlad]

Good to see that valverde didnt give up on gomes, maybe there is something in him? Dembele didnt play 2 months, celta is strong opponent and dembele would probably not offer much with his current shape

 

[jamrock]

Where the hell is Alena in the squad at least?

A screw valverde who give a shit about the cup

 

[henias]

Nah you called it totally wrong and were not 'lucky with own goals'.

Beat Real before Dembele was back the great Real you so confidently said would turn Barca over.

At one point, Messi were the only main goalscorer, apart from own goals, and Suarez was going through a stint of bad form, until he managed to improve alot when it came closer to the Clasico.

I didnt expect Real to be this terrible, especially their second half. I was surprised Zidane played a 442 as well, with Kovacic as a DM, and benching Isco. Which obviously is a terrible decision.

 

[JamDav1982]

At one point, Messi were the only main goalscorer, apart from own goals, and Suarez was going through a stint of bad form, until he managed to improve alot when it came closer to the Clasico.

I didnt expect Real to be this terrible, especially their second half. I was surprised Zidane played a 442 as well, with Kovacic as a DM, and benching Isco. Which obviously is a terrible decision.

The best Barca is built to get the best out of Messi and plenty of others were chipping in at both ends anyway.

Own goals dont just pop out of thin air they are a results of pressure and also Barca hit woodwork a ridiculous amount of times as well so not all lucky.

 

[mesiesta]

I want Alba-Messi relationship's hat-trick today

 

[JerseyAddict]

Celta WHO?

 

[CanadianBlaugrana]

Messi and Company on FIRE 🔥 today!