Marc Bartra

[JamDav1982]

You're right, my mistake. I mean much of the level we see from Bartra today was from his improvement last season, which he kept up into this season and has developed further. I remember at the start of Martinos season he looked extremely shaky after spending most of the 2012 season on the bench.

Point is anyway, he got minutes and he improved by leaps and bounds.

For me the one thing Barta lacks is the physicality to deal with agressive strikers and he doesnt have that nasty/ruthless side to his game that most CBs have.

He will always look great against the majority of attackers in lower la liga as they dont have the tools to hurt him.

Not trying to run down Bartra as I do like him but this idea he is verging on world class cant be right and he struggled big time last season and before against the top teams.

 

[linetty]

For me the one thing Barta lacks is the physicality to deal with agressive strikers and he doesnt have that nasty/ruthless side to his game that most CBs have.

He will always look great against the majority of attackers in lower la liga as they dont have the tools to hurt him.

Not trying to run down Bartra as I do like him but this idea he is verging on world class cant be right and he struggled big time last season and before against the top teams.

He didn't struggle at all against PSG or Atleti.

 

[Kohe321]

For me the one thing Barta lacks is the physicality to deal with agressive strikers and he doesnt have that nasty/ruthless side to his game that most CBs have.

He will always look great against the majority of attackers in lower la liga as they dont have the tools to hurt him.

Not trying to run down Bartra as I do like him but this idea he is verging on world class cant be right and he struggled big time last season and before against the top teams.

That's where I feel the point of routine comes in, where he will be learning how to play the "ruthless game" that you're speaking of. He has improved in this aspect, he's far from as naive as he was before. The technical aspect of his game, his passing and his reading of the game is very good, that's what I mean by verging on world class. But he needs more (big) games on his resumé to get there, to get that experience needed to take the next step.

One thing I think really speaks in his favour is his fighting spirit and how much he bleeds for the club, in other words he goes into the games with the mentality you really want to see from a defender. The Puyol comparisons in this regards (his grittiness and heart) are valid IMO.

 

[Gasgas]

He didn't struggle at all against PSG or Atleti.

I rewatched the bale goal from last season's Cdr and realized that he pushed bale but bale was too strong for him.

DiD he play vs atleti?

Vs psg there wasnt physical challenge. Psg are a technical team

 

[JamDav1982]

That's where I feel the point of routine comes in. Knowing how to play the "ruthless game" that you're speaking of. He has improved in this aspect, he's far from as naive as he was before. The technical aspect of his game, his passing and his reading of the game is very good, that's what I mean by vergin on world class. But he needs more (big) games on his resumé to get there, to get that experience you talk of.

One thing I do think he has is a real fighting spirit and really bleeds for the club, in other words he goes into the games with the mentality you really want to see from a defender. The Puyol comparisons in this regards (his grittiness and heart) are valid IMO.

His passing and reading of game is good. I just think a lot of top strikers will bully him the way they cant the other Barca CBs. I also dont think he is all that suited to left centre back as for Barca that often means covering the left back areas.

Who knows could be wrong. I have a feeling he may play the classico game and hope he is brilliant when called on.

 

[linetty]

I think he will start tomorrow. Not that big of a risk, actually I think lining up Mathieu against Aguero is suicide.

 

[JamDav1982]

I rewatched the bale goal from last season's Cdr and realized that he pushed bale but bale was too strong for him.

DiD he play vs atleti?

Vs psg there wasnt physical challenge. Psg are a technical team

The mistake by Barta on that Bale goal was that he thought he could win the ball and stepped in at which point Bale was gone.

Really he had two options - try to track run and cut Bale off or just wipe Bale out.

That instance wasnt a lack of pace or strength as some try to make out. It was more just naive defending based on his enthusiasm.

I hate that goal being used against him really.

 

[Kohe321]

Jamdav, I forgot to adress your point about physicality. That's a good point, and I agree. Perhaps he's a late bloomer as you say, because I think that even at 24 he has a very boy-ish look to him. But, he has a good frame so there is really no reason to believe he can't get much stronger and athletic than what he is now. He does look stronger now than he did last season for instance, so I think he's "on the case".

I really think Bartra is a defender that will be getting stronger and better the closer he comes to 30, he has certainly not peaked yet. If he keeps this level of progression up, and gets the games he need to keep growing, I see no reason why he can't be world class at 26.

 

[Gasgas]

The mistake by Barta on that Bale goal was that he thought he could win the ball and stepped in at which point Bale was gone.

Really he had two options - try to track run and cut Bale off or just wipe Bale out.

That instance wasnt a lack of pace or strength as some try to make out. It was more just naive defending based on his enthusiasm.

I hate that goal being used against him really.

If you watch him carefully you'd see that he pushed bale but the push was too weak for bale

 

[KingMessi]

The mistake by Barta on that Bale goal was that he thought he could win the ball and stepped in at which point Bale was gone.

Really he had two options - try to track run and cut Bale off or just wipe Bale out.

That instance wasnt a lack of pace or strength as some try to make out. It was more just naive defending based on his enthusiasm.

I hate that goal being used against him really.

I believe Bartra actually tried to push Bale off of the ball and step in between, but Bale went out of bounds and continued his run, and at that point, as you said, Bale was gone.

 

[KingMessi]

If you watch him carefully you'd see that he pushed bale but the push was too weak for bale

The difference was that Bale, unlike Ronaldo, didn't go down with the contact. Bale stepped out of bounds and continued his run.

 

[JamDav1982]

If you watch him carefully you'd see that he pushed bale but the push was too weak for bale

He tried to push him when Bale was gone and past him. He couldnt really get much weight behind that push.

His mistake was to think he could win ball and get there before Bale.

 

[Richard.H]

If you watch him carefully you'd see that he pushed bale but the push was too weak for bale

It seemed to me like he was a bit hesitant with his push. I mean, if he intended to foul him, he should've fouled him instead of doing a half assed push.


Besides that mistake, he actually had a great match against RM. It's just sad that one little professional mistake could be so costly. I think Bartra even cried after that match. He knew how badly he messed up and how badly he wanted the title.

 

[ScoobySquats]

But please do not forget how much he has improved this season alone compared to last. His problem has also been a lack of playingtime, and once he started racking up minutes he improved a lot and quickly. That shows immense talent. He's already pretty close to being world class skillswise IMO, he just lacks more games on his resumé to build more confidence and routine.

Can't forget that Puyol rated him highly as well. And we all know that Puyol is a respected figure in Barcelona so let's just say he knows more about Marc than we do just by analyzing his play at times.

 

[BBZ8800]

After reading this, it seems that people forget Bartra's mistakes.

Anyway, against Ajax in Amstardam, our defense and especially Bartra were all over the pace in the first 30 Minutes.
Here are only some actions, but Ajax were walking through our defense without any problems in the first 30 Minutes:

-- sometimes, during that match, you have a feeling that Bartra is just "watching" the opponents, without jumping, or trying to make a tackle etc
(People will probably only "see" his passion for Messi's goal, as the only important thing, though.)

Or Almeria's goal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbdSQL4G6RQ

JamDav already said something similar.
Apart from his wrong positional play sometimes, somewhat weak physique, and some "mental" issues in the past when he was scared to play, I would add that he seems like "a too nice guy".
Pepe is his opposite. I mean, I don't like Pepe, but Bartra is somehow a too nice, and you need to be dirty, aggressive (but in "Pepe's" way) etc.

I just still have much more faith in old-guy Mathieu.