Would you be willing to part with one of MSN in order to tune the squad ?

[khaled_a_d]

We did get an upgrade over Eto'o. It's just that we also had a stubborn Coach who didn't now what he wanted! I am not even going to compare Zlatan and Eto'o but I would say that Villa was an upgrade and so is Suarez

After Eto'o, we won 2 CL and 5 leagues and few more trophies. It's not like we missed him sorely, we missed his attitude yeah but not the player ability itself.

Eto was better player than either Villa or Ibra at his prime (all 3 born in same year btw) and we tried to move him out in 2008 to sign Adebayor and luckily Arsenal wanted more than we could afford and Txiki told Pep to suck it and work with Eto.
We won 2 CL with Eto in his 5 years with us,we have won 2 after he left in 7 years.
We could sign a RB next year and he could be the next Alves,it won't mean letting Alves go was the right decision. It is really difficult to replace top quality players who fit your system. Eto,Alves and Suarez all like that.
And it isn't like we had a long term replacement for him,we just kept replacing him with one short term after another

 

[serghei]

I also think Eto'o was better than Ibra. Not sure about Villa.

 

[Aryagorn]

Eto was better player than either Villa or Ibra at his prime (all 3 born in same year btw) and we tried to move him out in 2008 to sign Adebayor and luckily Arsenal wanted more than we could afford and Txiki told Pep to suck it and work with Eto.
We won 2 CL with Eto in his 5 years with us,we have won 2 after he left in 7 years.
We could sign a RB next year and he could be the next Alves,it won't mean letting Alves go was the right decision. It is really difficult to replace top quality players who fit your system. Eto,Alves and Suarez all like that.
And it isn't like we had a long term replacement for him,we just kept replacing him with one short term after another

Zlata being better than Eto'o or not is just some thing up for debate because they are not the same kind of players at all. One does not offer what the other brings to the table period.


Had Txiki been strong enough and advised Pep to first think if he really had plans to use Zlatan by his ability and not force his plans to an un-adaptable player, he probably would have agreed to sign Villa in 2009 itself! And the outcome would have not been as bad as it was in 2010.


Anyway, the point that I am trying to make here is: Eto'o was not the kind of a player that is irreplaceable. And so is not Suarez for that matter! Whereas, Leo? No question about. Neymar, pretty tough to find a replacement too. Alves, yes he was irreplaceable!

 

[khaled_a_d]

Had Txiki been strong enough and advised Pep to first think if he really had plans to use Zlatan by his ability and not force his plans to an un-adaptable player, he probably would have agreed to sign Villa in 2009 itself! And the outcome would have not been as bad as it was in 2010.

Pep in 2008 was Barca B coach that was signed to 1st team,in 2009 he is a legend of a coach who had one year left in his contract and was refusing to sign extension until he see what they are gonna do in the transfer market.
But then again that is off-topic anyway

Anyway, the point that I am trying to make here is: Eto'o was not the kind of a player that is irreplaceable. And so is not Suarez for that matter! Whereas, Leo? No question about. Neymar, pretty tough to find a replacement too. Alves, yes he was irreplaceable!

Every player can be replaced on paper, there is a reason that the best player in the history can't win a WC nor he can win CL every year. It is a team sport at the end of the day.
But what is on paper is one thing,what reality is another. Suarez is very difficult player to replace to say at least. And the risk of replacing him with wrong players are probably bigger than being able to properly replace him and upgrade the team.

 

[bismp]

I think that Villa underperformed with the Blaugrana shirt.

The first year was quite good,he scored a few decisive goals,but i can distinctly remember people being disappointed with his form towards the end of the season.

He continued being inconsistent at the beginning of the second season,trying to recover his form,having to fight against Pedro,Alexis and Fabregas for a place in the starting XI.Then he was extremely unlucky to get that horrible injury and basically he was never the same again.When he came back,Tito/Roura never trusted him enough iirc,which didn't help either.


On the other hand,i see Eto'o as a Barca legend,on the same level as Suarez.The man was probably the second best player in a CL-winning team(2006) and a lethal attacker in the treble season.Villa was at best the 6th best player during the 2010/11 season,and as i said this was by far his best season with us.

Ibra has had a better career than both of them,but he just wasn't a player that could play the Barca way,especially during the Pep era.


Regarding the topic,i wouldn't sell Neymar or Suarez,at least this summer.They are our second and third best player,it would be sheer madness to sell them.We should wait and see how they will perform next season,under a new manager.If they underperform,we will still be able to sell them for a huge amount of money.

 

[RevoTeller]

Amazing how Samuel Eto'o is underrated on the very forum of the team that he MASSIVELY contributed to put back at the top of the football order in the mid '00s.

Eto'o in his prime was better than Villa and far better than Ibrahimovic, that's not even a contest. With Eto'o in the squad we would have done the Treble again in 2010, that's just as clear as the daylight.

To say that we got an upgrade over Eto'o (before Suarez came in) in the position of main center striker is simply LAUGHABLE.

 

[Galning]

No, the problem isn't msn.

 

[raki]

MSN must stay. Spend the money wisely.

 

[Yannik]

I think Suarez is the best ST there is, but I'd trade him for Mbappé in a heartbeat if I was your manager.

 

[footyfan]

Ideally for me it would be keep Neymar and buy a proper midfield that can dictate play and Messi goes to th RW and stays there more.

It is all too slow and predictable against the top teams that defend well for slow passing until Messi is free then he has to try some world class pass just to open them up.

Nowhere near enough variety and too much deferring to Messi isn't working.

For Neymar himself starting to think he should leave and go and see what he can lead a team to being the main man in attack. Where the ball goes through him a lot more. He doesn't have to track back as much etc.

It is unlikely that Messi will ever play RW again in his career. If a manager can get him to do it, I'd award him a long-term contract.

I think Suarez is the best ST there is, but I'd trade him for Mbappé in a heartbeat if I was your manager.

Really? I think it's a bit too early for either selling Suarez or buying Mbappé. The latter is staying at Monaco into the next season, and it's too early to call Suarez being in decline.

 

[Yannik]

It is unlikely that Messi will ever play RW again in his career. If a manager can get him to do it, I'd award him a long-term contract.



Really? I think it's a bit too early for either selling Suarez or buying Mbappé. The latter is staying at Monaco into the next season, and it's too early to call Suarez being in decline.

Suarez is 30, he wont be around for that long anymore whereas Mbappé might be the best thing that could be around for the next 15 years and he's already insanely good so the initial downgrade might not even turn out be that drastic.