Yaya Toure

[Metaphysical]

as for pep never liking him, that is misrepresentative.

he gave busquets his chance, more than anyone expected (isn't that what we do? give youth a chance? why is that a bad thing just because it got in yaya's way?) but yaya played plenty of minutes and there was no selection issue in 08/09. keita was mostly a sub/backup, he didn't start as much as either yaya or busquets. and still seluk complained because yaya wasn't starting every game (around novemberish) and tried to cause trouble. turns out pep was rotating, keeping people fresh, so he could go hell for leather in the run-in. it worked, too.

but in general yes, pep has always preferred the aggressive play of busquets as it fits in with the high pressure game more. mascherano is another player who fits this philosophy perfectly. yaya is a sweeper DM which does not fit the model of collective pressing. I don't think he should be sold, but I can see why pep would want to replace him with badger.

but yaya was never denied minutes when he was playing well. his lack of appearances in the second half of 09/10 (CAN notwithstanding) are because he came off second best in the "trials" during the first half of 09/10. in 08/09 he came off better and was the feature DM in the second half of the campaign.

see how that works?

Hi.

Argument: Marquez is actually loyal to the club and is willing to be used in whatever role the coach wants him to be.

Not saying Rafa needs to stay, far from that, but he's not dreaming of swimming in a pool full of money in Manchester, he and the coach don't hate each other, and his agent is under control. So no, getting rid of Marquez is not a priority because his presence alone isn't hurting the club.

sup dude.

I'm not advocating getting rid of marquez because he's disruptive (he's not) but I should have made that clearer. my bad.

although technically he is standing in chysus' way right now, coz pep clearly loves the greasy legend (he's not as greasy with the new haircut ) and feels inclined to play him when he could be giving chysus minutes. but I mean, I'd like him to stay if we get rid of yaya and aren't bringing in another DM. I reckon he'd be good cover there. good cover indeed.

 

[zanela]

chygrynskiy is in his first season, so allowances for adaptation mean he deserves to stay.

Played his part in our Cup elimination. And if we are talking about adaptation, why was Cáceres not given his allowance? I really dont seen much difference in their quality tbh. Both 've awful sense of positioning & mistime their tackles. Only one is pacy and the other is a better passer. But we already 've Piqué for the latter. And lets be honest here, the ukranaian is just too slow for our style of play. I don't think improving his positioning or understanding the play better 'll cover his weakness. He'll still be a liabilty.

iniesta had a season broken up by big injuries (unlike yaya) is not at all disruptive about anything, even contract renewals (unlike yaya) and is a canterano (unlike yaya). his situation is nothing like our midfield colossus, so demanding he should go because he had a bad season (it was still better than yaya's btw) is not sound logic.

Yaya also had his share of injuries. But injuries aside, wht u forget in all this is the preferential treatment given to some players (i'm not saying it's a bad thing). I'd like to see how these players or agents react if they were consistently getting benched for bad form. You can see how a foreign player in his prime and one of the best in his position in a set up like Barca which favours local/cantera can grow unhappy and insecure at lack of playing time. That itself doesn't instill much confidence which in turn deteriorates your future performances.

As for Eto'o La Furia brought up. Even in his consistent pathetic form which was seen towards the last few mnths, he was not dropped for Bojan. That which eventually gave us dividends in the end.

as for pep never liking him, that is misrepresentative.

he gave busquets his chance, more than anyone expected (isn't that what we do? give youth a chance? why is that a bad thing just because it got in yaya's way?) but yaya played plenty of minutes and there was no selection issue in 08/09. keita was mostly a sub/backup, he didn't start as much as either yaya or busquets. and still seluk complained because yaya wasn't starting every game (around novemberish) and tried to cause trouble. turns out pep was rotating, keeping people fresh, so he could go hell for leather in the run-in. it worked, too.

Ofcourse there were selection issues in 08/09. Pep from the strt has always preferred Bus. I'm not sure of the stats, but Yaya didn't play all tht much in the first half of 08/09 which is why there was discontent in the Yaya camp and they were planning an exit in Jan 09. Even Pep said he wouldn't 've a prob if he'd go. But he did stay back and got played a lot towards the end of the season.
Reason:
- Busi's first year at Top level. Hence Yaya starting for the very big/imp games which came in plenty towards the end. Now tht Busi has gained tht extra experience Yaya has been demoted to the bench. There were times this season he could've picked Yaya but he went with Bus instead.
I concede he did play quite a few games starting 09/10 but he was paired with Keita whom hes incompatible with and why his performances sucked.

but in general yes, pep has always preferred the aggressive play of busquets as it fits in with the high pressure game more. mascherano is another player who fits this philosophy perfectly. yaya is a sweeper DM which does not fit the model of collective pressing. I don't think he should be sold, but I can see why pep would want to replace him with badger.

When Pep obviously sees Bus as our first choice DM, i dont see where Masch, a first choice for his club fits in our scheme of things. To assume he'd be happy with the bench role or be willing to be rotated with Bus would be a bit stupid coz hes obviously a a highly rated starter for both club and country.

 

[La Furia]

Masch is easily the most overrated DM in the world. He doesn't fit this system at all.

 

[dalitis8]

Pep's preference of Sergio over Yaya has many Barca fans and ALL the other fans completely bemused...

 

[barca96]

Pep's preference of Sergio over Yaya has many Barca fans and ALL the other fans completely bemused...

true...maybe not because of busi but there was a poll in one of the catalan papers.over 90% didnt want him to leave.
they rate him highly...is he a fan favorite?

 

[ryuken]

Sigh, let try to find his replacement.

 

[dalitis8]

No he is not a fan favourite...he is just infinitely superior to Biscuits...

 

[Gnegneri]

90% want him to stay. He is a loveable football player with a smile and an innocent face that helped us greatly in our treble season. He stands/stood out as our rock in midfield, protecting our loved Xavi and co. ....


Nah, I don't think he is a fan favourite.

 

[Aryagorn]

The club chased Masch till Benitez (after the sale of Alonso) made it very clear that his DM was not for sale. Even Masch has said this on record. Yaya only stayed back coz Pep couldn't capture his intended replacement. When Pep took over he preferred a Keita-busi combo in midfield until injuries and circumstances forced Pep to play Yaya towards the end of tht season(08/09). So its obvious he never really preferred Yaya from the start. After Eto'o, it was always gonna be Yaya's number.

To some extent, I agree... The part where Pep preferred Busi-Keita combo. But then Busi is Pep's boy & Keita is Pep's signing, so it was understandable!! But then later on it was Yaya who was the ultimate winner irrespective of the injuries, because he won over Pep by his performances!!

Then we did try for Masch in the summer, but I can think of 2 possible reasons for that...
Firstly we were losing both our stronger men for an important part of the season(and you do understand that bringing Masch didn't need to directly affect Yaya's place in the team, like bringing Cesc is not affecting any body's chances!! Busi has some thing in him to make the CM role his, Yaya could chip in there easily... rotation mantra by Pep as usual.)
Yaya's agent made huge noise even during last season!!


**Oh, just got another thought!! Masch was versatile and could play at RB as well

 

[barca96]

but the fans seems to always clap whenever he makes just a simple pass
and they sing his name when he steals the ball...cant remember it happening to other players besides the super stars

i dont really believe in the idea to get mascherano just because keita and yaya were going to be away during the ACN.
what in the world were we supposed to do with him after they return?

 

[Aryagorn]

As for Eto'o La Furia brought up. Even in his consistent pathetic form which was seen towards the last few mnths, he was not dropped for Bojan. That which eventually gave us dividends in the end.

If Pep were totally in charge of the proceedings with Eto'o we never would have gone for another striker! Even before the final when every starter was being rested, Eto'o insisted to play because he was chasing the Pichichi!! Not to get back in form... logically speaking with a limited supply from the kids it would be one hell of a task to get back to terms when you couldn't do it even with the best of bunch supplying you!!

When Pep obviously sees Bus as our first choice DM, i dont see where Masch, a first choice for his club fits in our scheme of things. To assume he'd be happy with the bench role or be willing to be rotated with Bus would be a bit stupid coz hes obviously a a highly rated starter for both club and country.

Can't agree more with you here... One whiner goes and another comes and this time with huge history of whining & unprofessionalism

 

[barca96]

Can't agree more with you here... One whiner goes and another comes and this time with huge history of whining & unprofessionalism

and that just shows that pep wanted to get rid of yaya even last summer..

 

[Aryagorn]

and that just shows that pep wanted to get rid of yaya even last summer..

yeah he did, I do know that... but he only wanted to sign Masch not get rid of Yaya

By the end of May itself there was huge talk of Toure signing on renewal... After he signed the renewal then did we go on a look out for another DM

 

[barca96]

why would pep want 2 world class DM's and 1 upcoming world class DM at the same time.
doesnt make any sense..it would create unrest in the locker room

 

[Aryagorn]

why would pep want 2 world class DM's and 1 upcoming world class DM at the same time.
doesnt make any sense..it would create unrest in the locker room

They are not just world class DM's and an upcoming DM... One is the most versatile footballer you could find who's still playing(the only one you can think of other than him would probably be Luis Enrique), the other is also good at RB and would help us not to splash cash on another backup player. Busi, as I said, has got what it takes to make it at Xavi's role or even the role played by Keita in our MF