The thing with Cesc is that he always vacated the midfield role to do something in attack. His skillset (scoring, final passes) is literally that of a playmaking attacker minus dribbling ability. Rakitic on the other hand can support midfield play with his well rounded style even if he can't control games like Xavi or link up play like Iniesta. A superior player than Fabregas? No. But he is definitely more of a true midfielder.
So far this summer our squad has improved in midfield. We lost Cesc, but adding Rakitic and Rafinha as well as pushing up Masch means we are pretty well covered. As long as Xavi is well rested (which Lucho seems to be addressing) he can perform well in big games. Rakitic and Rafinha on the other hand have shown on numerous occasions to be fully capable of dismantling most la liga sides (even the strong ones) so I fully trust them in the non-vital games.
Our midfield problems recently have been: overplaying Xavi, playing 3 man midfield in big games with Cesc, Cesc's form in the 2nd half of the season, and a lack of intensity. Theoretically it seems that all of those issues are on their way to being solved.
A dont think he is more of a true midfielder than Cesc at all. He has height and athleticism that Cesc doesnt have but thats about it. Cesc is a lot better at almost everything else.
The squad may well have improved with Rafinha and Masch being pushed into midfield but would still be stronger with Cesc in place of Rakitic in my opinion.
Overplaying Xavi is not the problem it is the fact his legs are well passed their best and he was rested a lot last season and despite that it is clear that he is passed his best. The problem was it was never addressed and still hasnt been as Rakitic is nowhere near good enough on the ball to replace him.
Cescs form in the second half of the season was fine his first year, second year he played a lot at CF and this year his was continued to be forced into the team alongside Iniesta and Xavi which clearly didnt work.
The biggest problem with the midfield the past two years has been a reluctance to replace and ageing Xavi. Selling Fabregas and replacing him with Rakitic makes it an even bigger problem for me.
Unless Messi plays AM behind a CF then I just see all the same problems as the past two seasons.
never change barcaforum!
