Malcom
- Thread starter Jair Ventura
- Start date
CatalinR10
Senior Member
BBZ8800
Senior Member
40m is like 15-20m from a few years ago.
There is a high chance that Malcom is only slightly better than Keirrison and Henrique.
As always, over time we'll see whether EV was that bad, or our current squad is the most overrated squad in the last 15 years.
You guys think that we have some world class depth, yet on the other hand, it is probably way more likely that in 3 years Dembele will play for Arsenal, Malcom for Southampton and Arthur for Lazio.
You seem to forget that EV and coaches see these players on training ground every day.
Mina didn't play and was sold for a reason, inspite of being one of the best South Americsn Cbs.
There is a high chance that Malcom is only slightly better than Keirrison and Henrique.
As always, over time we'll see whether EV was that bad, or our current squad is the most overrated squad in the last 15 years.
You guys think that we have some world class depth, yet on the other hand, it is probably way more likely that in 3 years Dembele will play for Arsenal, Malcom for Southampton and Arthur for Lazio.
You seem to forget that EV and coaches see these players on training ground every day.
Mina didn't play and was sold for a reason, inspite of being one of the best South Americsn Cbs.
Barcilliant
Senior Member
😂 If we left it to Valverde he would only sign 30 year old players. Shit manager.
Cule4life
The Culest
Oh dear lord this retarded excuse again?
Valverde's judgement is so perfect that Pique is the first CB on the team sheet despite playing worse than a segunda level player.
The guy who wanted to sign Willian and Rabiot
I wouldn't trust Valverde's judgement of a player as far as i could through it.
Then can you explain why KDB is playing for city instead of VFL Wolfsburg, Salah is playing for Liverpool instead of Roma, and Lukaku is playing for UTD instead of Everton?
And, many more such instances in the past like Eto'o & RM, Henry & Juve, Pogba and UTD?
He was never considered one of the best South American CB. And still he went for a pretty decent amount.
Anyways, what I am saying is, a player can also be a misfit under the system, or maybe the coach doesn't like what he offers. That doesn't mean he has nothing to offer.
These things are usually a matter of incompatibility rather than talent, especially if we talk about Malcom, Arthur & Dembele.
EV is too old school, avoid risk, play safe kind of manager. He emphasizes more on defending rather than overall fluidity.
He probably doesn't want to lose the dressing room that's why he keeps playing the veterans inspite of their poor performances.
While not playing Arthur, Malcom, Alena, Puig and other youngsters isn't going to cost him much, because they don't have any influence on the dressing room.
Whether he is doing that for the sake of harmony and good atmosphere or for saving his job, I don't know. But he its definitely not doing it solely because these youngsters lack talent, because they don't.
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Blaugrana Bull
HiiiPoWeR
Yo BBZ, I remember you was pretty hyped about Malcom and thought he would became great here. Now after the first month of the season is over and he has not played at all you changed your mind. Does not make much sense.
serghei
Senior Member
Sure it does. Valverde is a top manager so if Malcom doesn't play, then he must be overrated.
BBZ8800
Senior Member
I fell into a trap similar to:
1. Roberto is bad. That means that Semedo is probably a very good player.
2. Luis Suarez is bad. That means that more or less anyone could play better than him.
3. Pique is bad. Even Vermaelen would probably be way better.
Do you know that moment when one player sucks and when we start to overhype his competitor? Since we are desperate for new solutions.
Since I never believed in Dembele, after we bought Malcom, I jumped into that state of mind and hoped that Malcom could be a better fit than Dembele.
And even though EV is bad, and even though EV played Gomes for too long, I am still sticking with beliefs: if a coach and his staff don't use some players at all, there must be a very strong reason.
EV even gave chances to Denis, Munir, Dembele, Rafinha, a lot of chances to Semedo.
Regarding Malcom, again, coaches see a player every single day playing rondos, on training grounds, in 5 vs 5 matches (or whatever the number is).
If a player would have been setting the world on fire on training grounds with his amazing skills, a player would surely play way more.
Imo, a way more likely scenario is: we have seen 100 minutes from Malcom, while EV and his staff (since he is not alone) have seen 1000s of minutes of his pace, dribbles, finishing, off the ball movement and magic on training grounds.
And he is not playing too much.
SO, at least for me, I will go with:
90% chances that a player is probably meh for Barca's standards
10% chances that EV is dumb and that Arthur, Malcom and other young guys are hidden gems just waiting for explosion under a better manager
About Malcom, what we have seen in a preseason, and in some cameos in La liga: he seems like Roberto/Munir for now. Jack of all trades, master of none.
Not fast (that is a huge problem for a winger at a top level), okish dribbling, not a natural goalscorer.
If you want a premature rating of him: he looks like a good footballer, but for tier below Barca's level. Probably for Sevilla, Valencia and similar.
Some will say: lol, you are writing off a player who hasn't played a single full match.
I would surely give him some matches to test him. But not TOO MANY matches.
His set of skills doesn't look as good enough for the highest level (Barca), and if he doesn't perform awesome right away (in spite of his skills), what is the point of having him?
Dembele has potential, but has a lot of flaws. In his case, at least there is a chance that he will fix his flaws and reach his potential.
But if a player (Malcom in this case) seems to have a quite average skills (on the eye test), what can you expect and how much time should we wait?
It is not as if I don't like young players or new players. I am just faster in writing off players when their ratio (in my eyes) is like 80:20 or 90:10 that they won't make it here.
Look, there is ALWAYS a chance with EVERY single player that we will make a mistake.
But out of 5 or 10 players whom we will sell, 1 guy will always turn into Grimaldo later in his career.
But on the other hand, you can't play and develop 10 mediocre players for 3-4 years, to get 9 failures and 1 Grimaldo.
It is a better deal to sell those 10 mediocre players and lose 1 Grimaldo among them, and just buy 3-4 guys with a higher potential from the start, and then, you'll roughly get 2 playable players out of 4, than 1 out of 10 with 10 Grimaldos.
So, I am not against young players.
I am just for faster selling/buying/moving on when you estimate that his chances for success are quite low (selling fast like with Mina, Deulofeu and similar).
One more thing I'd like to add. You know that I like numbers, maybe too much.
But football, history and stats are a numbers game also.
Fine, each player and each case is unique, but we should use a mix of stats&history AND estimating every single player in a unique way.
Regarding stats, for a club like Barca, it is the easiest to buy a defender who will be ok-ish.
Since for a defender, all you need is defending, some reading of the game, positioning, some physical skills, some IQ.
So, you don't need THAT many skills. And so, if a player needs only 5 different skills, it is a lower chance that he will posses a dealbreaker flaw, than in the case of midfielders or wingers who need 10-15 key skills.
So, a midfielder at Barca needs: physical skills (pace, stamina basics), technique, first touch, passes, vision, creativity, defending, positioning, off the ball movement, some finishing skills, IQ, workrate etc.
So, he needs way more skills and there is a higher chance that something will go wrong (Arda lazy, Denis physically weak, Rakitic meh passes in tight spaces, Arthur meh forward passes and creativity).
The same is with wingers. Midfielders and wingers are "a heart" of our team and they need 10s of different skills to make it here.
So, this is not about Dembele and Arthur in particular.
It is about any no-name player whom we will buy in the future.
Whenever we buy a defender, he has like 40% chances to make it here (an example, not a FACT number).
While a midfielder or a winger, from a day 1, probably has only 20-30% chances to make it here since it is way harder to make it as a midfielder at Barca than as a Cb. (I am not saying that being a CB here is EASY. But it is easier than to be a Cm).
This is why my bet from the day 1 was that Lenglet has the highest chances to stay here in 3 years, compared to Dembele, Malcom and Arthur.
That is just a simple stats/numbers game.
He is a Cb, an easier position to make it here.
He has the longest European experience out of all 4 guys.
He has Spanish La Liga experience.
From the start, numbers and stats were in his favor, compared to other 3 guys.
Further, this is why, at least for me, in cases of midfielders and wingers (Dembele, Malcom, Arthur), I am willing to give less chances and time to a player because their positions require way too many skills (for Barca's level).
And if players have some horrible flaws from a day 1, their chances to make it here are quite low.
And since this is Malcom's topic, if he seems like too slow, or meh from a day1, there are very slim chances that he will turn around his Barca's career.
Being a winger or a CM is too important for our creativity and we need absolutely world class allrounders and masters in those positions.
So, if a CM or a winger is showing huge flaws, at least me personally, I am willing to give him less time and chances.
My theory is that is better to move on, cut the loses, and buy another guy and try with him as soon as possible than to stick with one mediocre guy for 2-3 years, trying to get something out of him which wasn't there at all from the day1.
** I know that I will get some replies now: wow, all this shit for a guy who didn't play a single full match here, calm down.
My reply:
1. well, we have videos of his skills (slow pace) from France
2. we have preseason matches
3. we have a few cameos in La liga
4. he plays every day on training grounds infront of EV and his coaching staff, who can't all be idiots
5. we have a number's game, how hard is to make it here as a winger&cm, and numbers/stats who are against young foreign players coming to Barca from smaller clubs, where a success ratio is something like 1/5
All in all, these young guys deserve one season and some chances.
But longterm, even though it is painful, often it is better for a club to cut the loses, sell a guy, move on and try with someone else if this is not working from the start.
And YES, there will always be one De Bruyne and one Grimaldo.
But there will be 9 guys like Douglas, Denis, Deulofeu, Gomes and Mina whom we didn't need to test and wait for 4 years before eventually selling them in the end.
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BusiTheKing
Senior Member
There was multiple reports about the staff and the team being impressed by Arthur in trainings. Even Messi spoke about how well he did and how quickly he adjusted, and he's hardly being played.
I also refuse to believe that Pique or Suarez do especially well trainings and then just forget how their feet work when in games.
Reputation of the player and wage both play a massive role in who the coach will play.
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