Ernesto Valverde - V1

[BarcaOG]

good results so far, but let's not forget that eibar actually created 3-4 very clear chances. our defense is pretty porous in that sense. it might not matter against teams like eibar, but as we saw in the supercup, it will matter when we face top teams. our attack is working, but i am still wary about our defensive capacity. thoughts?

 

[xXKonan]

Doesn't help Pique is off form at the moment. I noticed teams are starting to see him as a weak link in the back line and are trying to exploit it. Semedo-Umtiti and Alba have looked good on the defensive end but Pique though is off form and it doesn't help he's not as quick as Umtiti is let alone Semedo and Alba.

Midfield setup also plays a role, as our starting CM's in Iniesta-Rakitic and Busi are not pacey and aren't exactly as mobile as you would want to protect the back line.

 

[Barcilliant]

No midfield.

Happy for Paulinho and all but I wonder how this will end

We really need to look at getting a midfielder in January. Hopefully Gomes and Turan will be off in Jan too.

 

[aaron101]

We really need to look at getting a midfielder in January. Hopefully Gomes and Turan will be off in Jan too.

But who can we get in January? All of our targets rejected us last transfer window.

 

[raki]

He has sidelined the players that the fans were talking about: Gomes, Turan and Alcacer.
Great signings Lucho.....

We must sell these 3 and get fresh blood. Our squad is still unbalanced and unproven in away games. Let´s not be fooled by an easy early schedule.
October will be hell and 7 points can go in a heartbeat.

 

[raki]

But who can we get in January? All of our targets rejected us last transfer window.

I would try German and French leagues. And really go for Goretzka for free. Maybe we can steal him from Bayern.

 

[Barcaman]

He should have written them off a month ago so we could get useful players. One does not do that in September.
He is (as a result) playing Iniesta and Busi all the time. We'll see where we are by Christmas.

 

[raki]

He should have written them off a month ago so we could get useful players. One does not do that in September.
He is (as a result) playing Iniesta and Busi all the time. We'll see where we are by Christmas.

He did. Turan was written off early enough. The board could not shop him away. Same goes for Gomes.

Thats why he said he needed attacking players. I cant blame him for that. You can only evaluate properly in training and matches.

Iniesta is playing 60 minutes per game. And will have games to rest. Home games. Same goes for Busi.

Gomes, Paulinho, Denis and Rafinha.

 

[Cool]

If a draw or lose occurs today, he'll be to blame, our entire right wing will be dead if he starts Vidal and Roberto.

 

[Ousmane Dembélé]

This team only goes as far as Messi carries it. Semedo and Umtiti are our 2nd and 3rd best players respectively and it would be for the best if they started as often as possible.

 

[JamDav1982]

This team only goes as far as Messi carries it. Semedo and Umtiti are our 2nd and 3rd best players respectively and it would be for the best if they started as often as possible.

Messi and no other player can carry a team. The team will only win if the players around Messi are doing their job and help get best out of him.

Barca have plenty of players that have started the season well and helped contribute to wins not just Messi.

 

[Ousmane Dembélé]

Messi and no other player can carry a team. The team will only win if the players around Messi are doing their job and help get best out of him.

Barca have plenty of players that have started the season well and helped contribute to wins not just Messi.

Offensively Messi will have to do the majority of the work, I've liked what I've seen from Paulinho and Denis so far going forward, but it is still very early. For us to have a well balanced attack Suarez and Dembele (after he comes back) need to start producing.

 

[Barcaman]

Having sorta flashbacks from 2012 when under Tito we also lost the Supercup and then went on to have a great start. reverted to that same system with Messi as false 9 which we haven's seen since that very season.

 

[Lelouch vi Britannia]

Having sorta flashbacks from 2012 when under Tito we also lost the Supercup and then went on to have a great start. reverted to that same system with Messi as false 9 which we haven's seen since that very season.

Our away performances are somewhat reminding me of Tito's season when we were grinding out wins in La Liga but not our home performances. Also Juve would have destroyed us in Tito's season as every big team did, no matter how many of their players were injured.

I do hope teams don't figure out the false 9 again though. I thought Allegri would be able to neutralize it as he did in 2013 with a much worse team but he didn't.

 

[xXKonan]