Sergio Agüero

[Co0ter]

Barca doesn't need to spend big for another striker. I instead go for Juan Mata. He could be a good option as a back-up and won't cost mammoth money!

What is the point of spending around 20 million on Mata?! He's not better than Pedro, Afellay is a different option than Pedro (and a good one) and we have Bojan as a last string. We don't need another back up mate. If we're going to splash a little cash for a different option (back up), then I got one man for the job and on the cheap- Didier Drogba.

If we are going to buy a striker it should be a young superstar, with a future. David Villa will turn 30 next year, he is our experienced striker that is currently riding out the end of his prime.

1) Pato
2) Neymar
3) Aguero, Hulk etc....not worth it.

I think Pato is exactly what we need. A devastating finisher, like Eto'o was, who is extremely fast. A little work rate, which I think he'd be perfectly willing to do especially under Pep, and he's our new Sammy.

Neymar has that Brasilian class; much like Dinho did. He's not an unstoppable force like Ronaldo (and there probably never will be) but he's got the vision, skill and speed to play with us. His finishing is off sometimes but he's only 19; Messi's finishing improved 200% between age 19-21.

 

[Chainsaw]

Barcelona starting line-up is fine for me as it is. Why change a team that works just fine?! The main problem is Barca's bench where there are not enough reliable options for the needed times. Juan Mata is young, can play on the wings and don't cost mammoth deal to sign. Sounds like a good option to me to buy.

Regarding Pato, I personally don't rate him as much as many people. Not saying he's mediocre or anything, just not as big as some people think. Plus he's too injury prone and deal with too many inconsistency during the season. Not worth spending big on sucha player to me. Barca better spend their money wisely on some players who could back-up the current starting line-up players fine in the needed times, instead of spending it all in one player who is not exactly needed.

 

[La Furia]

I think we could use more depth up front. Villa and Pedro were burnt out. If not a veteran like Drogba or Forlan ready to take a smaller role, someone different but who could fit in Falcao would be brilliant but probably too expensive. If we must get more of the same, Rossi over Kun and Pato any day. Kun is still as inconsistent as ever, Pato is good but injury prone and a party boy. Neither fit in with the club culture, Rossi seems to be the smartest of the three though it's easier to avoid distractions in Vila-real than Madrid or Milan.

All the people begging to sell Villa and Pedro though are pathetic. Kun better than Villa?

 

[VivaBarca]

To be fair, an Aguero-Messi partnership would be something special.

 

[La Furia]

To be fair, an Aguero-Messi partnership would be something special.

Not really, it won't change the fact that Aguero is inconsistent and offers nothing new.

 

[Co0ter]

Not really, it won't change the fact that Aguero is inconsistent and offers nothing new.

Exactly. Aguero is inconsistent and won't offer anything new; maybe a great run twice a season. The same with Rossi.

Pato isn't inconsistent. He's been injured a lot lately but he comes back from injuries the same way he goes into them = Scoring Goals. A healthy, determined Pato can be the best finisher in the world. His chance per goal ratio must be ridiculous b/c he gets absolute SHITE service from Milan's midfield but when he actually gets opportunities he usually puts them in the back of the net. He's a complete striker- very similar to Eto'o however less workrate but better in the air.

 

[Moe]

I tend to agree with co0ter here. If Pato can somehow quit the nightlife style he's had he'll be perfect for us on and off the pitch. The thing with Pato's injuries is that he's just like most young players who usually suffer minor injuries early in their career (take a look at Messi). when Milan sent Pato to the US mid-december to know the reason behind his injuries, the study said that they come from the way he runs . I don't think he'll grow up to be another Robben or RVP with his injuries.

 

[Chainsaw]

Pato is totally lost in many matches during the season. And it has nothing to do with his injuries. It has to do with himself. Just like some weeks ago when there were reports saying there was some grudge between him and Ibra because Pato wasn't supportive and affective enough for Ibra upfront.

 

[Moe]

Pato's passing isn't at the same level as Ibra's. perhaps Ibra had high expectations and then got slapped with reality. anyway Pato's attitude was shit at the start of the season but in the second half he improved a lot, the opposite has happened with Ibra. I think the media is just trying to stir shit up..

plus, Pato gets to bang Berlusconi's daughter, the future boss, show the man some respect

 

[gingerless]

Exactly. Aguero is inconsistent and won't offer anything new; maybe a great run twice a season. The same with Rossi.

Pato isn't inconsistent. He's been injured a lot lately but he comes back from injuries the same way he goes into them = Scoring Goals. A healthy, determined Pato can be the best finisher in the world. His chance per goal ratio must be ridiculous b/c he gets absolute SHITE service from Milan's midfield but when he actually gets opportunities he usually puts them in the back of the net. He's a complete striker- very similar to Eto'o however less workrate but better in the air.

how fast is he? i never thought pato was the fast type, with his afro and all

 

[Mythical Revolution]

IMO Pato is our best option. We don't really need any of the super-sub options mentioned, because
1. Villa will be 30 soon. So we will eventually be looking for a replacement.
2. We already have excellent super-subs in Pedro, Bojan and Afellay.

Pato would be perfect for us; he can score, dribble and create space with his pace. And it's all about that when other teams play the parked bus strategy against us. Yes, you can force it by using a more physical striker like Drogba; but you could be more intelligent by using a player who is more like Messi.

If we get a player like Drogba or Rossi, other teams can still try to shut down Messi by putting three players and hope that they can get away with it. But that would be suicide if you apply the same strategy in a team that has both Messi & Pato; not only is P a more clinical finisher than all the other options mentioned so far, but he's equally the fastest and most skillful of them all.

If we have Pato, other teams won't be able to mark Messi the way they do now; lets say RM tries to put 2-3 players on Messi, the 1-2 extra players leave a gap that can be then exploited by Pato to either score or create more space for others, Messi, to exploit. So it would be simply a vicious cycle for other teams to try and mark us.

Someone like Rossi would be able to replicate that to the extent that Pedro can but not to Pato's level and someone like Drogba would create gaps that would go mostly unexploited as he simply doesn't fit into the team.

 

[ryuken]

Pato will not come cheap and given our Cesc obsession, money will probably be an issue here.

 

[Metaphysical]

people who wanna sign the likes of Aguero n' Pato, exactly what are you proposing we do with Pedro?

his defensive work and off-the-ball runs are massively important to the team. it's noticeable how we were able to carry on with Villa missing chances but once Pedro got injured/lost form we really lost some sizzle up-top. Pedro is the perfect foil for Messi and, indeed, the entire team. he'll do whatever you ask him to do. you can't take a player like that out of the team, he's essential.

I could understand if this was 2/3 years from now and Villa was 32/33 and approaching the end of his peak and this mega signing would replace him. but he's 29 ffs.

rotating Cesc into the midfield is one thing, there's two spots he can rotate into, plus Xavi and Keita will both be 32 next year. and frankly Cesc being former La Masia & desperate to join us would mean he'd be more patience when it comes to not always playing at first (i.e. he knows he's inheriting Xavi's spot) but up-front? I don't see it, I'm afraid. and that's ignoring Bojan and Geoffren coming through.

 

[Mythical Revolution]

people who wanna sign the likes of Aguero n' Pato, exactly what are you proposing we do with Pedro?

his defensive work and off-the-ball runs are massively important to the team. it's noticeable how we were able to carry on with Villa missing chances but once Pedro got injured/lost form we really lost some sizzle up-top. Pedro is the perfect foil for Messi and, indeed, the entire team. he'll do whatever you ask him to do. you can't take a player like that out of the team, he's essential.

I could understand if this was 2/3 years from now and Villa was 32/33 and approaching the end of his peak and this mega signing would replace him. but he's 29 ffs.

rotating Cesc into the midfield is one thing, there's two spots he can rotate into, plus Xavi and Keita will both be 32 next year. and frankly Cesc being former La Masia & desperate to join us would mean he'd be more patience when it comes to not always playing at first (i.e. he knows he's inheriting Xavi's spot) but up-front? I don't see it, I'm afraid. and that's ignoring Bojan and Geoffren coming through.

Pedro is a perfect super-sub for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Villa's lack of form may have been missed less in comparison to Pedro, simply because our best goalscorer is Messi not Villa and we were not missing him. But what happens when we do? What do you do when other teams park their buses in front of their goal. Let's not forget that in our last 3 games we have yet to score a goal from open play against an 11-man Real. So we do have problems which MVPedro does not answer, and I would venture to say that these problems may be aggravated if our biggest signing is Cesc who would allow us to maintain our current level in case of Xavi's absence but who wouldn't really add another dimension to our game. While RM are likely to be doing just the opposite.

Pato may not have Pedro's work rate or off-the-ball runs, but neither does Pedro have his pace, dribbling or goalscoring abilities. And these are qualities which IMO would've been more effective against Real. In effect, Pedro's quality are partially subsumed by Pato. He may not track back as much as Pedro; but a defender playing against Pato is likely to go forward less often than if he were playing against Pedro. As for his off-the-ball runs; well, that's all about creating space. If you can do that with other methods and do it better I'm not complaining if we loose that aspect of our game.

Teams like RM have been able to counter our game by triple-marking Messi and pressing our distributors (Xavi//Iniesta). They could afford to do that at the expense of giving more freedom to Pedro//Villa because they knew that VP are less capable at creating their own chances (at least against big teams like RM). With Pato such a tactic would've never worked because unlike Villa who is excellent at scoring goals but not as good at creating them, and Pedro who is a jack of all trades and master of none; Pato would've been able to capitalize on the space left for him to either create a scoring opportunity for himself or for others. He won't come cheap, but we already have 55M from the Qatar and Ibra deals which is more than enough to buy us Pato and Sakho. What would be left would be a good LB and Cesce can wait for another year IMO.

 

[RedMadridista]

If Barcelona sign Pato/Sergio.. etc.. That would probably be the end of Pedro. Pato/Sergio woudn't sit on the bench. Pedro's not really a 'super sub'. He's a very good player. Stop playing Football Manager.. And if Barcelona can't afford Fabregas.. How can they afford them two?