Antimadridista1
New member
Hope that he'll stay.
He played a lot during last games.
He played a lot during last games.
Martin Montoya
- Thread starter Barcaman
- Start date
MrKnowitAlll
New member
Alarcón
New member
They're very different, Dani is like an additional midfielder when we're on the ball, the players can always pass to him and he's almost always up front, Montoya on the other hand is not as involved in our play but more efficient in attack, a bit like Alba.
AnfieldEd
I am Leg End
Utter bullshit.
JamDav1982
Senior Member
What is 'utter bullshit' that most teams will have nailed on starters that play ten games in a row?
Irish_Cules
New member
barcastuff @barcastuff 2h
Martino: "Several players involved in renewal talks? I don't think it affects their performance. Montoya was one of our best players on Wed"
Good to know that Montoya's talks are actually happening. Also good that Martino recognises that Montoya did well the other night.
Martino: "Several players involved in renewal talks? I don't think it affects their performance. Montoya was one of our best players on Wed"
Good to know that Montoya's talks are actually happening. Also good that Martino recognises that Montoya did well the other night.
Sumlit
San Claudio Bravo
Sorry but Montoya is nothing like Alba and he is not more efficient than Alves in attack. Montoya is borderline mediocre to below average on attack for a fullback, his strong point has always been defense, and this season he has not played well defensively.
He is a reasonably good dribbler and is able to hold on to the ball reasonably well, but he needs work on his passing. This season he has been getting beat off the dribble entirely too much, and that is concerning, though he does well on ball interceptions, so that's a plus.
He had a strong performance against Celtic, but lets face it, he wasn't challenged much at all, so some perspective needs to be exercised.
Alves is still a very much superior player in all aspects.
For sure Alves is a better player but his defending is still questionable and bad for me, our system and actually having 2 attacking fullbacks doesn't do good. Montoya could be the one for that job that Abidal did but what the hell am i comparing, Abidal was a unique player, like the Thuram of the left side. I find it hard to think any RB we could buy to be the defensive fullback that will stay mostly back and defend when the other goals forward. I generally agree Montoya needs improvement on general aspects, being able to defend isn't the only thing. And as you say he hasn't been on the top of that this season. Generally when Alves gets back we will be still at the same point with 2 attacking fullbacks. But we could see how Montoya does right now, if he improves or something and show signs that he's able to do that job which is an important one for the balance of the defence or not.
Sumlit
San Claudio Bravo
I think Alves is actually a decent defender for the position, he's just almost never in a good position to defend. When he is forced to stay back, he does a good job covering the wing. He's not a great defender though, and he has definitely declined noticeably.
If Montoya were to become a reliable strong defender for the position, he would be an excellent complement to Alba, and at that point his offensive deficiency would not really be a huge detriment to the team. I think he should stay in the team and fight for a spot, but he definitely needs to improve considerably.
And since you brought Abidal, how spoiled were we Barca fans when we had that fullback pairing of inform Abidal and Alves? Perfect complements. Alves was solid on defense and excellent on offense while Abidal was solid on offense and excellent on defense. Truly spoiled we were.
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Cule4life
The Culest
Dont you think that's a necessary trait to be a "decent defender". Same is the problem of Mascherano his positioning. If he was in position all the time he would be a "decent defender" too. Alves and Alba are the reason for our shaky defense (pressing too) always causing our CBs to be outnumbered and causing 3 vs 2 situations.
Alves has declined. He is still decent in attack (except for his infuriating crosses) but dodgy in defense.
Sumlit
San Claudio Bravo
His positioning has more to do with the game plan, his effort and his discipline. When he is gameplanned by the manager or when he really puts the effort to be in position, he can defend. He is not great, but he does have good defensive skills. His decline has exposed his positioning even more, he's simply not the tireless roadrunner he used to be, so he is now even more prone to get caught out of position and he now does not have the same tools to overcome it.
I do agree that our lateral play exposes our CBs a lot, this is a big issue, but none of our 4 fullbacks right now are capable of fixing this.
Mascherano, IMO just doesn't have the skills to be a CB. He is a good defender, but he just plays the CB position as he would a CDM, because that's what he is. He has been serviceable because of our need and because he is actually a good defender. He's just not a CB.
AnfieldEd
I am Leg End
Name me those teams please.
Alarcón
New member
I think he had a good game. He was great in defense, especially his positioning, and he made intelligent passes and great runs in attack. The only thing he lacks at the moment is end product - he takes too much time to think when he's (almost) on his own, instead of just delivering the ball to the middle, but that will surely improve with time. I hope Tata didn't get to angry with him at his last chance.
And Sumlit, I don't agree that Montoya is below average in attack, not at all. If you had watched him in his Barça B days, you'd know that his strengths have always lied in attack. It's obvious he's not made the most out of the good situation he's been in this season, but it's encouraging and telling that he actually gets in those sorts of situations. I can't remember a single time when Alves made the kind of run that Montoya did plenty of today and I said Montoya was similar to Alba for the sole reason that they're both fast and rely heavily on those sorts of runs - the only difference being Montoya currently doesn't make a lot out of his chances. I still stand by my point that Montoya is way more similar to Alba than Alves is - even in defense, both Montoya and Alba have great positioning, another similarity. Just because Montoya is not as good as Alba doesn't mean they're not similar.
You shouldn't judge a player on a couple of performances, on what he does at the moment, but rather on what he can do. If Montoya unlocks his true potential, he'll become one of the best RB's in the world.
And Sumlit, I don't agree that Montoya is below average in attack, not at all. If you had watched him in his Barça B days, you'd know that his strengths have always lied in attack. It's obvious he's not made the most out of the good situation he's been in this season, but it's encouraging and telling that he actually gets in those sorts of situations. I can't remember a single time when Alves made the kind of run that Montoya did plenty of today and I said Montoya was similar to Alba for the sole reason that they're both fast and rely heavily on those sorts of runs - the only difference being Montoya currently doesn't make a lot out of his chances. I still stand by my point that Montoya is way more similar to Alba than Alves is - even in defense, both Montoya and Alba have great positioning, another similarity. Just because Montoya is not as good as Alba doesn't mean they're not similar.
You shouldn't judge a player on a couple of performances, on what he does at the moment, but rather on what he can do. If Montoya unlocks his true potential, he'll become one of the best RB's in the world.
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