Paul Pogba

[khaled_a_d]

So was Cesc, but despite excellent stats, he wasnt that great for Barca, was he?

True ,though Pogba might fit more in Lucho system than Cesc under 3 different coaches . Cesc wasn't CM or AM in Xavi/Iniesta mold
While Pogba is also different ,the LCM that Iniesta plays at right now could fit him better than Cesc fitting in our midfield
That said I stand to the point I made in Gundogan thread ,we don't need a midfielder next summer .better wait and see what the market will offer but for now Iniesta/Arda/Rakitic/Rafinha and may be even one of Halilovic or D.Suarez will be enough for next year .otherwise we will have crowded midfield with many unhappy big names

 

[Ini8]

So was Cesc, but despite excellent stats, he wasnt that great for Barca, was he?

Cesc isn't great for any team these days.

 

[Jombi]

True ,though Pogba might fit more in Lucho system than Cesc under 3 different coaches . Cesc wasn't CM or AM in Xavi/Iniesta mold
While Pogba is also different ,the LCM that Iniesta plays at right now could fit him better than Cesc fitting in our midfield
That said I stand to the point I made in Gundogan thread ,we don't need a midfielder next summer .better wait and see what the market will offer but for now Iniesta/Arda/Rakitic/Rafinha and may be even one of Halilovic or D.Suarez will be enough for next year .otherwise we will have crowded midfield with many unhappy big names

Really? Look at the squad depth RM have. Rafinha must improve massively this season if he is to be a kept for the future. Isnt Arda supposed to cover for Neymar and Messi as well?

 

[BBZ8800]

Really? Look at the squad depth RM have. Rafinha must improve massively this season if he is to be a kept for the future. Isnt Arda supposed to cover for Neymar and Messi as well?

Real won't win anything with all the depth.
We have 3 world class Cms currently: Iniesta, Rakitic, Turan.
And Rafinha is playable.

Regardless of Rafinha, you have 3 players for 2 positions.
With Gundogan/Pogba we would have 4 players for 2 positions plus Rafinha.

We will need a new Cm when Iniesta retires/stops playing for Barca.

Again, for attack we have 3 players for 3 positions (MSN).
Why would we need 4-5 players for 2 CM positions, while we need only 3 players for 3 positions in the attack?

Why do we need depth and competition in midfield, but not in attack?

 

[khaled_a_d]

Really? Look at the squad depth RM have. Rafinha must improve massively this season if he is to be a kept for the future. Isnt Arda supposed to cover for Neymar and Messi as well?

Why should I look at squad depth at RM? I only need to look at ours
And RM bench players in midfield are young players like Kovacic/Isco who came from smaller clubs .I highly doubt that if they were 25-26 who were CL finalists as a starters b4 they would be ok with coming from the bench
Arda will cover for attack from time to time along with Munir/Sandro/Vidal .that where he is gonna get extra minutes to keep him happy
But add Gundogan/Pogba to the mix?way too crowded .
Rafinha is also solid for 4th option IMO .we will need midfield addition but not right now ,it will be around 2017 may be even 2018 summer IMHO

 

[Jombi]

Iniesta could be completely finished 4 months from now and never be the same again. We just dont know. I am not convinced by Rafinha, but we'll see how he does. I'll be patient with him.

 

[BBZ8800]

Iniesta could be completely finished 4 months from now and never be the same again. We just dont know. I am not convinced by Rafinha, but we'll see how he does. I'll be patient with him.

Iniesta's quality could drop each with new Season.
But he surely won't be finished in 4 Months.

 

[Catalan Fan]

Wow, the Don is finished then ?

RIP Don Andres... one of the best midfielders of his generation, one of the most decorated players in the history of football.At the age of 31, cut down by Jombi and never to play again for Barca.

Maybe he'll get a game at Stoke.......

 

[Jombi]

Wow, the Don is finished then ?

RIP Don Andres... one of the best midfielders of his generation, one of the most decorated players in the history of football.At the age of 31, cut down by Jombi and never to play again for Barca.

Maybe he'll get a game at Stoke.......

Pep Guardiola was also a legendary midfielder for us. But by the time he had reached the age Iniesta is now, he had declined to such a level he had just moved to low level Brescia and was about to go to the Middle East to play there.

 

[Aryagorn]

Pep Guardiola was also a legendary midfielder for us. But by the time he had reached the age Iniesta is now, he had declined to such a level he had just moved to low level Brescia and was about to go to the Middle East to play there.

Pep, as a player.... no where near Iniesta

 

[Jombi]

Pep, as a player.... no where near Iniesta

He was a legend. One of the best DMs of all time. But its besides the point. Players decline rapidly at that age and we better be ready for it.

 

[DonAK]

Iniesta been in supreme form this season so far. He was inconsistent last season, but also had to play a slightly different role. He did a lot better in the 2nd half of the season and is continuing on the same path so far.

 

[Ghostmaster]

Even Neymar can't do it like that

 

[anguy]

He was a legend. One of the best DMs of all time. But its besides the point. Players decline rapidly at that age and we better be ready for it.

He wasn't one of the best DM. He's overrated by Barca fans mostly because he played relatively long for us, was Catalan and because of his coaching success. He was good distributor and had god kicking technique (our main corner taker). But he was really poor in defense, in the air and has quite poor ball control (dribbling) compared to Busqets for example. There was a reason why he retired relatively soon.

 

[khaled_a_d]

SIR ALEX ON… letting Pogba go: "There are one or two football agents I simply do not like and Mino Raiola is one of them.

"I distrusted him from the moment I met him. We had Paul under a three-year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option which we were eager to sign. But Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco.

"He and I were like oil and water. From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus."

Not sure if it is true or he is just making excuse of letting him go ,but that is an interesting quote