Our XI for 2019/20

[jairzinho]

 

[Latschenkiefer]

Would really like to see if it works defensively. I think with Griezmann and Dembele sticking to the wings the two full-backs wouldn't have to go too far up front or only one at a time and could contribute way more in defense. If Messi looses the ball Arthur and De Jong would immediately be there to recover it and not only Busquets creeping his way through the midfield. It also depends on Griezmann if he plays like young Pedro or old Arda. Our left side would probably be the weak link but at least Alba and Dembele are fast enough to outrun most of the counters.

 

[Kul_z]

Romantic

Ter stegen
Alves pique lenglet alba
Arthur de jong
Griezmann
Messi suarez neymar

Reality check

Ter stegen
Roberto(semedo) pique lenglet alba
Busquets
Rakitic de jong
Griez
Messi suarez

Best realistic

Semedo pique lenglet alba
Vidal de jong
Griez
Messi suarez dembele

But in the end, i think the best would be to build around busi, with arthur and de jong around him and suarez upfront. We need to isolate messi so that he doesn't have to pull back anymore, and to play without suarez upfront is a headshot to our attack. No matter how terrible he might be sometimes, he still provides space for messi. And we dont have a proper replacement for fat uruguayo

 

[PhilS]

Could be, very interesting possibility. This 11 would mean a bench that would include Busquets, Roberto, Vidal, Alena, Neto. Don't know if Barca will be able to unload Umtitti, not sure who would gamble on his knees. Rak and Malcom would leave. The team, as usual, would still need a forward who could productively come off the bench. Coutinho for this role?

Greizmann would be the best defender among all the Barca attack force, a big step up from any on the squad last year.

 

[mc_lovin]

I absolutely hate every line up with 4 forwards.

 

[Poor_Sunyol]

A little light on the height side in the middle?

 

[jairzinho]

A little light on the height side in the middle?

It is. But the alternatives are old and slow Busi or Raki who aren’t even good aerially. Playing a diamond midfield or 4-2-3-1 solves the problem of width on the right side with or without the ball. Seeing that Messi is playing more centrally in the #10 role, this shape is best for us IMO.

It looks ultra attacking with 4 attackers but the shape allows for lots of flexibility. Without the ball, the two wingers drop back and form a 4 man midfield, so the onus is on those 2 to do a lot of running and covering ground.

It’s the same setup Deschamps used with France at the WC and what Tite used in the copa.

 

[LABarcaFan]

Griezmann deal is not 100% sure, but I hope, Barca's lawers can get through this theatro from Atletico. Lets hope, he will stay with us.
Assuming that his main position is - left wing, Bartomeu and Valverde have to work to find 3 more starters and we will be set. I am talking about benching L.Suarez ( who was awful at Copa America), S. Busqets and J.Pique. Here are some interesting names of a players at those positions.

Central Forward

Timo Werner (23) from RB Leipzig and German national
Memphis Depay ( 25 ) from Olympic Lyon and Netherlands national
Krzysztof Piatek ( 24 ) from AC milan and Polish national

Central Defensive Midfielders

Giovani Lo Celso ( 23 ) from Real Betis and Argentine national
Lorenzo Pellegrini ( 23 ) from Roma and Italian national
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ( 25 ) from Liverpool , former English national

Central Defenders

Milan Skriniar ( 24 ) from Inter Milan and Slavakian national
Alessio Romagnoli ( 24 ) from AC Milan and Italian national
Stefan de Vrij ( 27 ) from Inter Milan and Netherlands national

 

[soul24rage]

Griezmann deal is not 100% sure, but I hope, Barca's lawers can get through this theatro from Atletico. Lets hope, he will stay with us.
Assuming that his main position is - left wing, Bartomeu and Valverde have to work to find 3 more starters and we will be set. I am talking about benching L.Suarez ( who was awful at Copa America), S. Busqets and J.Pique. Here are some interesting names of a players at those positions.

Central Forward

Timo Werner (23) from RB Leipzig and German national
Memphis Depay ( 25 ) from Olympic Lyon and Netherlands national
Krzysztof Piatek ( 24 ) from AC milan and Polish national

Central Defensive Midfielders

Giovani Lo Celso ( 23 ) from Real Betis and Argentine national
Lorenzo Pellegrini ( 23 ) from Roma and Italian national
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ( 25 ) from Liverpool , former English national

Central Defenders

Milan Skriniar ( 24 ) from Inter Milan and Slavakian national
Alessio Romagnoli ( 24 ) from AC Milan and Italian national
Stefan de Vrij ( 27 ) from Inter Milan and Netherlands national

Lo Celso is not a defensive midfielder. he's more of a box-to-box attacking midfielder.

 

[El Guaje]

Should be (assuming Neymar comes)

MaTS
Semedo-Pique-Lenglet-Alba
Arthur-Vidal-FDJ
Messi-Griez-Neymar

or

MaTS
Semedo-Pique-Lenglet-Alba
Vidal-FDJ
Dembele-Messi-Neymar
Griezmann

Will be:
MaTS
Bob-Pique-Lenglet-Alba
Rakitic-Busquets
Griez-Messi-Neymar
Suarez

 

[Latschenkiefer]

Next season on paper:


Next season in reality:


My fanboy line-up:


Best hope:

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Next season on paper:


Next season in reality:


My fanboy line-up:


Best hope:

Nightmares of the "Reality".

 

[Latschenkiefer]

Nightmares of the "Reality".

absolutely

 

[LABarcaFan]

Nightmares of the "Reality".

The real nightmare will be if Barca's management does not make any transfers, before the start of the new season. Adding only De Jong and Griezmann to this aging squad will not change anything. I would hate to see Busquets, Rakitic and Suarez as a starters. From all 3, only Ivan can be sold and the other 2 have to sit on the bench. So far, things are moving very slowly. I don't see any plans of rebuilding this team. The Neymar soap-opera continue and there is no indication that Bartomeu is looking to sign any other new players.

 

[LABarcaFan]

A lot need to change imo. Not for La Liga, where we will compete every year probably. But for CL.

In order of importance.

1) Get rid of Valverde and bring in a winner and a leader to manage us. A fish rots from the head down. There are two heads in this case. Valverde and Bartomeu. These two are the main responsible for the CL fiasco in the last 2 years.

2) Midfield needs fresh blood badly. Rakitic needs to go, Busi needs to be a squad player and not a sure starter. Arthur and De Jong should play the majority of matches. They are the fresh blood that is needed. Maybe bring in a new player as well.

3) Suarez and Messi don't defend. They fail the team time and time again when the opponent is pressing us hard. Suarez needs to play less. Bring in a new forward instead of him who will challenge for the forward position.

4) Sign De Ligt and a forward.

I agree with your post 100%. Till Bartomeu and Valverde are here, we have no chance to rebuild the team.
It is time to move Messi to the middle, as a main play-maker. In order to do that, Bartomeu has to stop his pursuit of the over-rated and expensive Neymar and sign instead the French right wing Nicolas Pepe from Lille. That will solve a lots of the problems we have at the moment.

Ter Stegen
Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba
Arthur, Messi, De Jong
Pepe, Griezmann, Dembele

Personaly, I would like to see a new centre back and move Gerard to the bench, but De Ligt is not a option. Most likely he will sign with Juventus. But there are many other quality players for that position. Bartomeu has to start looking around, instead of waiting only for Neymar. The time is running.