Transfers and Rumours - old thread

[Andrew M]

We're not lacking in capable CB's, we're lacking in overall depth and a solid defensive system. Throwing random money away for a "world class" defender isn't gonna solve any long term problems or even be a good fix. A guy like Martinez is fine as a transfer because he's reliable, adds depth, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting and performing well and helping to fix some of our actual problems.

Buying Hummels would just be buying a big name to give satisfaction to paranoid fans who don't think further about the problems. What would come from buying a slow sweeper-stye CB who gets killed on the counter (something which he doesn't have to deal much with at Dortmund)? Honestly a guy like Marquinhos, despite being much younger, is better fitted to what our defense faces and currently needs. All people are doing is judging the defenders off of popularity and age and not actual playing style and quality. Thiago Silva is a good option obviously but he's not a long term solution, would get injured a lot (which is the last thing we need right now), and has an insanely high price tag and wage. Buying Martinez/Marquinhos is not as bad as people make it out to be, they just freak because they are not the famous high profile names that they want to see at the club.

I applaud your reason and sense.

 

[Plip]

We're not lacking in capable CB's, we're lacking in overall depth and a solid defensive system. Throwing random money away for a "world class" defender isn't gonna solve any long term problems or even be a good fix. A guy like Martinez is fine as a transfer because he's reliable, adds depth, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting and performing well and helping to fix some of our actual problems.

Buying Hummels would just be buying a big name to give satisfaction to paranoid fans who don't think further about the problems. What would come from buying a slow sweeper-stye CB who gets killed on the counter (something which he doesn't have to deal much with at Dortmund)? Honestly a guy like Marquinhos, despite being much younger, is better fitted to what our defense faces and currently needs. All people are doing is judging the defenders off of popularity and age and not actual playing style and quality. Thiago Silva is a good option obviously but he's not a long term solution, would get injured a lot (which is the last thing we need right now), and has an insanely high price tag and wage. Buying Martinez/Marquinhos is not as bad as people make it out to be, they just freak because they are not the famous high profile names that they want to see at the club.

:beer2:

Been raving on for ages about Barça paying through its nose for defenders it doesn't actually need. Having three sweepers in the team would make no apparent sense, especially when all you need is a stopper / fast, agile, yet physical defender to pair up with both Pique and Bartra. Iñigo Martinez and Marquinhos would be quite ideal in that regard, considering they wouldn't cost us our transfer kitty.

 

[darthvader7888]

We're not lacking in capable CB's, we're lacking in overall depth and a solid defensive system. Throwing random money away for a "world class" defender isn't gonna solve any long term problems or even be a good fix. A guy like Martinez is fine as a transfer because he's reliable, adds depth, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him starting and performing well and helping to fix some of our actual problems.

Buying Hummels would just be buying a big name to give satisfaction to paranoid fans who don't think further about the problems. What would come from buying a slow sweeper-stye CB who gets killed on the counter (something which he doesn't have to deal much with at Dortmund)? Honestly a guy like Marquinhos, despite being much younger, is better fitted to what our defense faces and currently needs. All people are doing is judging the defenders off of popularity and age and not actual playing style and quality. Thiago Silva is a good option obviously but he's not a long term solution, would get injured a lot (which is the last thing we need right now), and has an insanely high price tag and wage. Buying Martinez/Marquinhos is not as bad as people make it out to be, they just freak because they are not the famous high profile names that they want to see at the club.

Puyol is 35 and injury prone, Mascherano is not a real CB, and Pique is inconsistent (though I think getting him the right partner could really help this), and I'm not sure he'd pair well with someone inexperienced like Marquinhos or Martinez (though Martinez is pretty similar to Puyol, he's still fairly inexperienced).

I understand your doubts about Hummels, but it doesn't have to be him. I think Silva is the best option, he fits what we need perfectly, and he's a proven world-class defender. Not to mention he isn't THAT old, especially for a defender (imagine buying Puyol in 2007 or Xavi in 2009, not to mention we bought a 28 year old Villa for 40m in 2011 and he helped us win the CL). I don't know too much about his injury problems, so I won't comment too much on those, but I agree that those could be a problem.

I think someone like Kompany (who we were also linked with, though the rumors have died down) would also be a good choice. Or maybe Vertonghen (though we haven't really been linked with him). IMO, we need to get a proven world-class CB to be the starter and then (after we've made our other signings, like GK, etc and have money left over) consider buying Marquinhos or Martinez as a backup. Like I said, they'd be good backups, but we need a proven world-class CB as the starter for numerous reasons. For one, I don't think Pique would pair well with an inexperienced CB like Marquinhos or Martinez (like I already said). Another reason: It can be argued that we don't have a single world class CB (I'm not saying that's true, but the argument can definitely be made).

 

[Plip]

Puyol is 35 and injury prone, Mascherano is not a real CB, and Pique is inconsistent (though I think getting someone like Silva would really help this), and I'm not sure he'd pair well with someone inexperienced like Marquinhos or Martinez (though Martinez is pretty similar to Puyol, he's still fairly inexperienced).

I sincerely want to know what makes you think that paying €40m for an injury prone sweeper nearing his thirties is going to solve a purely systemic issue, when this Barça side already has two sweepers of its own and more than anything requires a stopper or two?

 

[Gilberto]

Hmm, I guess you guys are right. However, I do think that a 'world class' player can give you more guarantee than a talented rookie.

 

[Andrew M]

Hmm, I guess you guys are right. However, I do think that a 'world class' player can give you more guarantee than a talented rookie.

But it is the attributes we must look at firstly. You can have a top class defender who's not suited to the system

 

[DonAndres]

Puyol is 35 and injury prone, Mascherano is not a real CB, and Pique is inconsistent (though I think getting someone like Silva would really help this), and I'm not sure he'd pair well with someone inexperienced like Marquinhos or Martinez (though Martinez is pretty similar to Puyol, he's still fairly inexperienced).

Masch has been alright at CB in normal or smaller games, Pique is definitely necessary since he rarely gets injured and gives us depth, Puyol can play in big games and some small games, Bartra is getting better and better, etc.

Martinez and Marquinhos have a decent amount of experience. Starting (and crucial) to both of their clubs and have performed admirably even in tense and difficult situations against top teams (if you don't recall, Martinez helped neutralize us against Sociedad for our first league loss of the season). They show up every game and even more when it really matters. Plus playing alongside Puyol will help them learn more overall as well.

People need to stop writing off young players as "inexperienced" and start giving some trust more often. How else do you gain experience? We were able to trust players like Xavi, Pique, Messi, etc. at a young age so why not these guys. I mean give them a chance ffs it's not like they've ever been incapable of handling a challenge. Neither have shown anything but strong nerves when it comes to handling new tasks and difficult situations. They have the talent, style, and mentality that we need right now and can handle playing for Barca.

 

[Doobs]

Some hilarious stuff here. Pique is an accomplished player with that happened to have a poor season. The fact that Puyi was missing a lot of the time didn't help his cause either.

 

[darthvader7888]

Some hilarious stuff here. Pique is an accomplished player with that happened to have a poor season. The fact that Puyi was missing a lot of the time didn't help his cause either.

I don't hate him as much as others here do, and he can definitely put in world class performances at times (like the 2nd leg against Bayern). The thing is though, he's inconsistent, and I don't think pairing him with someone inexperienced like Marquinhos or Martinez will help. IMO, he should be paired with a world-class CB (he does well in the Spanish NT when paired with Ramos, for instance).

 

[Irish_Cules]

I sincerely want to know what makes you think that paying €40m for an injury prone sweeper nearing his thirties is going to solve a purely systemic issue, when this Barça side already has two sweepers of its own and more than anything require a stopper or two?

Silva is not a sweeper. He's fast and agrresive which is what we need our other centre back to be. He's an excellent reader of the game as well and he's a sweeper in the sense that he uses his reading of the game to make interceptions and uses pace to catch any strikers but he's hardly in the same mold as Pique, Hummels or Bartra. I understand concerns about paying such a huge amount for a 29 year old but you're getting the best centre back in the world who will stay at a high level for another 4-5 years who has everything that the Barca defense is lacking at the moment: pace, power, aggression, leadership skills, aerial ability.

 

[DonAndres]

Hmm, I guess you guys are right. However, I do think that a 'world class' player can give you more guarantee than a talented rookie.

These "talented rookies" have much more experience and the necessary attributes to deal with counterattacks than Hummels does, and they are more reliable long term options than Silva would be. Experience is a huge variable. A player who is 20 can have more experience in some aspects of playing style than someone who is 34. It's not simply based on age or merit or playing time.

 

[Andrew M]

Silva is not a sweeper. He's fast and agrresive which is what we need our other centre back to be. He's an excellent reader of the game as well and he's a sweeper in the sense that he uses his reading of the game to make interceptions and uses pace to catch any strikers but he's hardly in the same mold as Pique, Hummels or Bartra. I understand concerns about paying such a huge amount for a 29 year old but you're getting the best centre back in the world who will stay at a high level for another 4-5 years who has everything that the Barca defense is lacking at the moment: pace, power, aggression, leadership skills, aerial ability.

People keep using that to argue Silva's case, but he is already injury prone as it is.

 

[Plip]

Silva is not a sweeper. He's fast and agrresive which is what we need our other centre back to be. He's an excellent reader of the game as well and he's a sweeper in the sense that he uses his reading of the game to make interceptions and uses pace to catch any strikers but he's hardly in the same mold as Pique, Hummels or Bartra. I understand concerns about paying such a huge amount for a 29 year old but you're getting the best centre back in the world who will stay at a high level for another 4-5 years who has everything that the Barca defense is lacking at the moment: pace, power, aggression, leadership skills, aerial ability.

Well, yes and no - he is more of a hybrid that knows how to adapt himself to his partner. As an illustration, every time he partners with Sakho he turns into a sweeper as Sakho's definitely the quicker and more aggressive of the two. Then again, whilst he plays with Alex he reverts into full-blown stopper. I guess he COULD be a hit in this Barça side - it's just that I doubt he'd come cheap. In addition to that, I'd honestly like Barca gunning for a longer-term solution than Silva who has a somewhat questionable physical record.

 

[Gilberto]

Well, yes and no - he is more of a hybrid that knows how to adapt himself to his partner. As an illustration, every time he partners with Sakho he turns into a sweeper as Sakho's definitely the quicker and more aggressive of the two. Then again, whilst he plays with Alex he reverts into full-blown stopper. I guess he COULD be a hit in this Barça side - it's just that I doubt he'd come cheap. In addition to that, I'd honestly like Barca gunning for a longer-term solution than Silva who has a somewhat questionable physical record.

You could not have said that any better.

 

[mixer]

If Hummels isn't available, then Iñigo Martínez is my choice.

Atletico Madrid and Tottenham have offered 12M for David Villa (31). If he leaves, Barcelona hope to get at least 15M. [sport]

12M for Villa? How the hell we will get the 100M for transfers?