Jeremy Mathieu

[KingMessi]

Since it is JM thread and some people talking about Varane i thought i must share this look who was marking JM , I am calling it from now JM to score a header against RM in 66th minute in his classico debut .

That's awfully specific. You ought to put some money on that.

 

[Crixus]

That's awfully specific. You ought to put some money on that.

 

[XaviMessiGirl]

uMirin's prediction added to "I told you so" thread.

 

[jamrock]

what our defense needed above all was depth and he brings that, even though he isn't world class and i believe the club could have found someone different.

Our defense has been better than madrid defense each of the last two seasons, in the league and I don't know why anyone would compare our defense to madrid in a negative fashion, last season we had one of the best defenses in europe and that's was without VV for the most important parts of it.

As i said, we needed depth, no more song and busquets in defense, he also gives us the option to FINALLY have a replacement for abidal, I mean FINALLY, I with into how important probably replacing abidal was to our defense a long time ago,so i could get in to that again, but Mathieu will give us that balance again..

Not perfect, but good enough for now, we already had a better defense that real, this just adds to it.

 

[Ursegor]

Don't think Mathieu's age is a big issue by the way, which seems to be the biggest problem people have with this signing. Puyol was exactly the same age as Mathieu when Pep's era started. 2 years later he scored the header that brought Spain to the World Cup final. Almost 4 years later he was still rallying the troops in the Bernabeu after Valdes' brainfart. If it wasn't for his knee he would have contributed at a high level with 34/35. Terry is still going strong. Defenders don't decline that quickly, baring big injuries and Mathieu has good physical traits to begin with. He can't turn into a turtle overnight.

At the same time I expect Lucho's era to last 3, maybe 4 seasons at max. similar to Pep's. After that all key components of this current team will be in their 30s or retired, most notably Messi and Iniesta. Now is the time to win big things again and Mathieu can contribute in that time frame. After that you can still invest in new emerging youngstars, look how Bartra and the Barca B lads develop or buy someone like Hummels in 2 or 3 years. I would have been more annoyed if they signed 20 year old error prone Marquinhos to reinforce the defense this season and left it at that. By the time he turns world class Iniesta will be retired.

 

[Sunny Mir]

Don't think Mathieu's age is a big issue by the way, which seems to be the biggest problem people have with this signing. Puyol was exactly the same age as Mathieu when Pep's era started. 2 years later he scored the header that brought Spain to the World Cup final. Almost 4 years later he was still rallying the troops in the Bernabeu after Valdes' brainfart. If it wasn't for his knee he would have contributed at a high level with 34/35. Terry is still going strong. Defenders don't decline that quickly, baring big injuries and Mathieu has good physical traits to begin with. He can't turn into a turtle overnight.

+1

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[Behrox]

Don't think Mathieu's age is a big issue by the way, which seems to be the biggest problem people have with this signing. Puyol was exactly the same age as Mathieu when Pep's era started. 2 years later he scored the header that brought Spain to the World Cup final. Almost 4 years later he was still rallying the troops in the Bernabeu after Valdes' brainfart. If it wasn't for his knee he would have contributed at a high level with 34/35. Terry is still going strong. Defenders don't decline that quickly, baring big injuries and Mathieu has good physical traits to begin with. He can't turn into a turtle overnight.

At the same time I expect Lucho's era to last 3, maybe 4 seasons at max. similar to Pep's. After that all key components of this current team will be in their 30s or retired, most notably Messi and Iniesta. Now is the time to win big things again and Mathieu can contribute in that time frame. After that you can still invest in new emerging youngstars, look how Bartra and the Barca B lads develop or buy someone like Hummels in 2 or 3 years. I would have been more annoyed if they signed 20 year old error prone Marquinhos to reinforce the defense this season and left it at that. By the time he turns world class Iniesta will be retired.

This so much this +1

 

[Barcilliant]

I like this guy. You know what you're going to get, a solid, fast, tall, hardworking, veteran defender. 90% of the CBs suggested by fans and the media seem to be more like unproven wild cards that people are excited to take a gamble on. I'm much more pleased that we went this direction.

We have our own unproven wild cards already. Aside from someone like Thiago Silva, I don't see the usefulness in most of these potential CB signings.

I'll be very excited to see him out there this year .

He is a SOLID, proven performer in La Liga and this is last chance saloon regarding playing at a big club. He will bring DESIRE (never underestimate that quality)and experience and I have a good feeling about him. If he has a good or great 3 years here people will forget about the 20 million price tag. He's pretty quick and TALL. If he plays we hopefully wont be conceding at set pieces and corner kicks.

I doubt Lucho brought him here to be a bench player. He will probably rotate with Pique, Batra and Alba.

I'm happy he's here.

 

[Gohan]

He will be our set piece hidden weapon. Atleast 5+ goals from set pieces from this guy this season. Called it.

 

[ivan_barca]

what our defense needed above all was depth and he brings that, even though he isn't world class and i believe the club could have found someone different.
n
He isn`t world class as e left back or left wing where he played before. As a CB he offer much more quality than many others "world class"defenders.

 

[Antimadridista1]

I prefer Mathieu for the next 3 seasons than Marquinhos for the next 3 seasons.

And we'll still be able to buy the latter in a few years…

 

[Alarcón]

So he says he hasn't smoked in 15 days. Quite an achievement for a professional footballer isn't it.

 

[Egert]

Mathieu: "Pic circulating on which I smoke? I don't smoke a packet every day. I didn't smoke for 15 days now. What matters is my perfomance"

Mathieu: "The level at Barça has surprised. I didn't expect so much quality in training. The speed of the ball is incredible." [md]

Mathieu: "I look forward to play with Messi, best player in the world. And with Neymar, Suarez... It's incredible. I'm excited like a kid."

 

[FCBarca]

So he says he hasn't smoked in 15 days. Quite an achievement for a professional footballer isn't it.

Seems smoking is a problem throughout Europe but the French really have a particular affection for the filthy habit...Without a doubt, the single biggest gripe I have about living in Europe

 

[Galning]

In Sweden not many people smoke but you're right about France. In Barcelona a lot of people smoke too, especially the amount of young people is surprising.