Rafael Márquez

[adil_909]

Dude you really wanna take that chance? Why not put Yaya there atleast you know our last line of defense is rock solid and then after our offense goes on a blitz as we expect and we are up 2-3 goals, THEN put in Marquez cuz 1 or so goals by then wont make a difference. I seriously think you are underestimating our opponents. We are tied.

because there is no assurance that our defense is rock solid with yaya. yaya will be low on confidence because of how poorly pep has treated him. he didn't play a single minute at arsenal when we were struggling to get hold of the ball at the end. what does that tell a quality DM? that the manager doesn't have faith in him. so pep doesn't have faith in him to play at DM and now you're going to throw him into CB and just pretend like he hasn't been treated like crap and he won't be low on confidence? if he makes one mistake at CB people will be all over him. i think both players should start in their positions, and if there are problems then we can deal with it. you are making the assumption that yaya=solid CB paternship but this is not the case with either rafa or yaya, so why not just let everyone play their positions?

 

[desoe]

If Yaya suffers from low confidence, what we should say about Marquez really?

I mean, he's what .. 4rd choice now?

 

[adil_909]

If Yaya suffers from low confidence, what we should say about Marquez really?

I mean, he's what .. 4rd choice now?

yes, but..

1.) he's a CB. he would be expecting to play given the situation.

2.) he knows he's 4th choice and trains as such. its not a surprise to him that he's not playing.

3.) yaya doesn't get playing time even after he plays well, which is the best way to destroy a player's confidence.

i think starting with rafa is less of a risk than starting with yaya in CB. just my opinion.

 

[adil_909]

if iniesta starts then fine i'd say go for yaya in cb because we will control possession a lot more. but if iniesta isn't playing, then we need yaya and busquets in midfield. no start for keita please for the love of GOD

 

[Pepe Silvia]

because there is no assurance that our defense is rock solid with yaya. yaya will be low on confidence because of how poorly pep has treated him. he didn't play a single minute at arsenal when we were struggling to get hold of the ball at the end. what does that tell a quality DM? that the manager doesn't have faith in him. so pep doesn't have faith in him to play at DM and now you're going to throw him into CB and just pretend like he hasn't been treated like crap and he won't be low on confidence? if he makes one mistake at CB people will be all over him. i think both players should start in their positions, and if there are problems then we can deal with it. you are making the assumption that yaya=solid CB paternship but this is not the case with either rafa or yaya, so why not just let everyone play their positions?

Yaya is rock solid everywhere on the pitch yeah? yeah. I think you're buying into the media soapopera between Pep and Yaya having some sort of feud (he extended his contract remember there is no drama) Our DM wasn't the issue Busquets did fine yesterday. He really made some quality decisions except for that one. I think as a manager you have to do what it takes to win, and that's what Pep does it has nothing to do with confidence are you kidding? Pep has had plenty of confidence in Yaya and he's played in the biggest games for us and shined. By problems to deal with do you mean conceding an away goal and going behind in the tie? uh-uh. Too critical to risk imho.

 

[adil_909]

Yaya is rock solid everywhere on the pitch yeah? yeah. I think you're buying into the media soapopera between Pep and Yaya having some sort of feud (he extended his contract remember there is no drama) Our DM wasn't the issue Busquets did fine yesterday. He really made some quality decisions except for that one. I think as a manager you have to do what it takes to win, and that's what Pep does it has nothing to do with confidence are you kidding? Pep has had plenty of confidence in Yaya and he's played in the biggest games for us and shined. By problems to deal with do you mean conceding an away goal and going behind in the tie? uh-uh. Too critical to risk imho.

its not a media soap opera mate, yaya played the game of his life vs. valencia and played very well against osasuna as well, then has one off game vs. mallorca that everyone did, and now all of a sudden keita starts and plays 90 minutes in one of our biggest games of the season. i have no problem with busquets starting, but keita?? wtf was that. not only should he not have started, he should not have played 90 minutes.

for me it depends. if iniesta is back, yaya can play CB. we will control possession a lot better with xaviesta.

but if iniesta is out, play rafa at cb and play yaya in midfield along with busquets.

just no keita please i don't get what he contributes that he gets to start over yaya in midfield.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

its not a media soap opera mate, yaya played the game of his life vs. valencia and played very well against osasuna as well, then has one off game vs. mallorca that everyone did, and now all of a sudden keita starts and plays 90 minutes in one of our biggest games of the season. i have no problem with busquets starting, but keita?? wtf was that. not only should he not have started, he should not have played 90 minutes.

for me it depends. if iniesta is back, yaya can play CB. we will control possession a lot better with xaviesta.

but if iniesta is out, play rafa at cb and play yaya in midfield along with busquets.

just no keita please i don't get what he contributes that he gets to start over yaya in midfield.

I'm not saying Pep made the best substitutions but I am saying that Yaya should be in at CB instead of Marquez - rafa has been pure shit lately and we ALWAYS concede when he is on which we cannot afford on Tuesday. Keita for my money is good and just needs to score more for his contributions to be spotlighted. He goes unnoticed alot but he is always busy.

Yaya Busquets and Keita will play Tuesday it's just where.

 

[Cal-FCB]

Keita played instead of Yaya because he naturally goes forward more. Although Yaya can burst through he's quite happy to sit deep and destroy, and seen as Biscuits was already playing Pep wanted a more offensive option.

 

[AttackingFlair]

I think Toure is better than Keita defensively and offensively.

 

[adil_909]

I think Toure is better than Keita defensively and offensively.

agreed. look @ valencia game for proof

 

[Metaphysical]

agreed. look @ valencia game for proof

that would be the valencia game where we weren't very good until messi scored three magnificent goals, two assisted by henry?

I mean had you said the stuttgart game, you'd have made some sense.

 

[Co0ter]

Rafa will serve Barcelona best by getting comfortable on the bench.

 

[jairzinho]

Maybe we should play him against Athletic and see how he performs. Then we'll know if he is good enough to play against Arsenal.

 

[Co0ter]

Comparing them to Arsenal is a very unequal comparison. Rafa has been terrible every time he's stepped onto the pitch for us this season. I wouldn't risk playing him in any big game from this point on- and every game is important considering how real madrid is playing. I honestly would rather have a youth product come in rather than him- Toure being the safest choice imo. He's done it before and I'd trust in his class whether he's been playing much or not. Arsenal's front line would eat Rafa alive.

 

[samg85]

I say start him against Athletic. Pep really likes Marquez and trusts him. If he started Ibra when he was in a rough patch, why not give him a chance to prove his worth. Granted, Marquez job is to prevent goals, and Ibra's job is to score. If Marquez can't pull it off in this game, then he can't handle Arsenal and probably can't handle being with Barca anymore.

edit: I suppose it's difficult to put trust on Rafa since we're tied with Real Madrid in points and there is no room for error.