That's the gist of what i said, yeah. And no, i don't expect big signings. The only players Flo would break the bank for both play for PSG and are unavailable. We'll probably keep sniffing around Hazard, Cavani, etc and deem them too expensive. Ultimately a lot will depend on Bale's fitness, the impact of Isco, and the growth of the young players(Asensio and Ceballos mostly, but i think Odegaard might get his chance too. We'll see about Vinicius)
La Liga 2018/19
- Thread starter jojojo
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That’s the reason why I despise Barcelona. The “humildat, seny y valors” BS, and the condescending attitude they have, hypocritically talking as they were morally superior to everyone, while being massive cnuts is insufrible. That together with their theatrics and cheating (Obrevo and Ayketin), makes respecting them imposible.
I admit they have reduced the BS since Rosell left, but it will take a long time to take away that image of cnuts they have achieved. Which is sad, considering they were playing amazingly from 2008 to 2012 (although Indislike tiki Taka, they achieved results, and that’s what matters).
Unless Madrid get themselves a top striker, I think Atletico might be favorites to win the league. Such a solid 11 and have years working with the same system.
Barsa must be all in on winning another CL for Messi. There's no point in them winning Copa's del Rey or even La Liga at this stage. Madrid's 3 consecutive CL's are a dagger in the heart of cule's and only a CL will erase the bitter taste.
Barsa must be all in on winning another CL for Messi. There's no point in them winning Copa's del Rey or even La Liga at this stage. Madrid's 3 consecutive CL's are a dagger in the heart of cule's and only a CL will erase the bitter taste.
@Doctor Tornasol Phenomenally put
. I stand by every word you wrote there. And that was also my point with el Cholo from couple of days ago, that he usually put on his victim coat and it is pathetic at this point. @PedroMendez Yes, now we only need a striker or two! I know it was only against Ujpest, but damn - have not seen such unity in our game since...Emery! It looked very promising yesterday.
Wow you are very critical of Atletico / Simeone. What does "supports football" mean? Which club?
I simply can't stand people playing such fake roles, trying to brainwash everybody's mind with a public speech based on victimhood. It's basically what SfcNervion also says: that speech is completely ridiculous right now, it just doesn't work anymore but for the most alienated cholistas. It's pathetic. Simeone gave a lot to Atleti, but Atleti has also made an immense effort each year to make the team more and more competitive, and this year they have not sold any star, they kept all of them. Ffs, now they have a player -Griezmann- who doubles the wages of any Real Madrid player now that Ronaldo is gone, and Simeone himself is the better paid coach in the whole La Liga. Simeone can't play the "poor guy coaching the poor team while trying to challenge the big fishes" anymore, all that speech about the team of the people, the team of the forgotten, the helpless, the oppressed by Real Madrid and Barcelona. You simply can't. The "cholismo" is a lie. Step up, you charlatan.Wow you are very critical of Atletico / Simeone. What does "supports football" mean? Which club?
It's completely hypocritical also how the spanish press generally classify Atleti's Simeone as some kind of passionate minor team trying to simply do their best but stating that, please, never ever expect them to win anything, as "they are not Real Madrid or Barcelona!". If any other team spent like Simeone's Atleti and played like his team, it would be trashed to death and classified as "anti-football". But the David vs Goliath syndrome always works for the mainstream press, always supporting the relatively little fish even if it is a lie. And he has carte blanche to duck out with whatever he says.
I don't support any concrete team, I simply try to enjoy and judge what I watch. Football fandom is full of sh*t and I can't stand supporting a concrete team since I was a kid. That's a drag. There are lots of ways to play football, all of them legit and enjoyable.
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I‘m amazed the motivation of Simeone still works. Most top class managers tend to lose interest/focus/ or whatever after a few years at the same club. See Guardiola leaving Barca and Bayern because he wanted to, see Klopp staying 7 years at Dortmund and failing miserably in his last season because he couldn‘t evolve the team anymore. Conte lost it in his second season, Zidane had to take a break after 3, Mourinho with his meltdowns etc.
I also have fun at imagining how you would talk if you were a Man Utd fan, the way you speak out against a defensive manager who spends big money, wins few titles and banks on an „us against them“ mentality
Apparently Correa is on his way to Lazio for 16+3m. That should be all invested in a proper forward. I still hope, that West Ham takes vazquez from us even so he was okay in the last friendly (as CM).@Doctor Tornasol
@PedroMendez Yes, now we only need a striker or two! I know it was only against Ujpest, but damn - have not seen such unity in our game since...Emery! It looked very promising yesterday.
I am convinced, that we get at least one striker. Currently we are linked with Pedro (Fluminense) and Aboubakar from Porto. Hopefully we get someone who is good for at least 15-20 goals, while WBY can chip in another 10+ as squad player.
This. A 1000 times this.
@PedroMendez
Yeah, I don't mind Correa leaving. He is good, but his end product is not good enough for a team with ambitions of being top 4. He should have had more assists and goals on his account by now.
As you put it, as long as we get a striker that has the talent of throwing in 20 goals/season, then we'll be fine.
I think Muriel will get a another chance this season... He was awful last year, but that is due to his loss of confidence. But with a new coach he might regain it.
After last season I am ready to trade el Mudo Vazquez to any club in exchange for a bag of bananas. That guy was not even low on confidence, he was just nonchalant and plain awful. He might step it up next season since there is no Montella anymore who loves him, and now he has to put in some more effort to maintain his place in the team. Despite that, good riddance to him if he leaves.
Arthur, Malcom and Lenglet debut highlights.
Arthur performance was really good. It's only a pre-season match but he played how he is expected to do. Speed and precision with the pass and vision to see the free teammate. Of course he needs to show this when he has defenders on top of him not allowing time to think.
So what station is this on now that Sky have lost it?
There should be a Lopetegui sack watch thread. Just saying
In awe at the size of that mutt, absolut unit.
Probably would defend corners better than half our squad
In awe at the size of that mutt, absolut unit.
Probably would defend corners better than half our squad
The dog's pressing is more consistent than ours too.....
Real have gone down the youth road and Barcelona are signing more proven players. Vidal apparently the latest to join.
I think Aurthur is going to be an absolute star from the little I've seen. Looks a really classy player. Would have loved to see us get a talent like him.
I think Aurthur is going to be an absolute star from the little I've seen. Looks a really classy player. Would have loved to see us get a talent like him.
Barcelona with Busquets, Rakitic, Coutinho and Arthur as midfield options and they’re still looking to sign Vidal? Jesus..
That should mean we're going ful 442. And I hate it.
Barca definitely need some athleticism and muscle in that midfield but not sure Vidal is the answer. Did not watch him much last year so not sure he will fit at Barca.
Why would it mean that?
And why would you hate it? The team plays with a lot of flexibility, it’s not like they stick to a formation throughout the game. Playing 4-3-3 is impossible since both Messi and Suarez play in the middle but I fully expect you to play 3 in midfield. Surely signing another midfielder means you’re planning on playing more players there. I don’t see how signing Vidal would make sense if the plan is playing in a 4-4-2.
Dunno, I think that Vidal coming means that our main way will be a 442 with Busquets, Vidal, Rakitic, and Coutinho, Messi and Suarez upfront. That's basically a 451 when Leo falls back or a 433 when Coutinho attacks from the left flank, but that midfield would lack creativity for a 433 if you compare it to our usual CM's, a little far away from our usual 433.
Malcom and Dembele would be plan B, for a 433. This signing opens a lot of options that I like, but my main gripe is that we're obviously not selling Suarez, and he'll get to play 75+ minutes per game, otherwise I'd love the idea of a 433 with Busquets, Vidal and Rakitic, Coutinho on the left, Messi as false 9 and Dembele/Malcom on the right.
Vidal also limits Sergi Roberto's minutes as a midfielder, which in the same way limits the amount of games Semedo will play, it's a great signing that we can't let go if given the chance... but there's a lot of little things that take away my hype, because I do love Vidal as a player.
This pretty much means you have 2 teams, one with a midfield of Busquets-Rakitic-Vidal and a front 3 of Coutinho, Messi and Suarez and another with Coutinho in midfield and a front 3 of Messi, Suarez and Dembele/Malcom. It gives the team a lot of flexibility which you’re going to need if you want to win the CL. I think we’re going to see Busquets-Rakitic-Vidal in the CL which is a midfield that even if it doesn’t follow the typical barcelona midfield, has more than enough ability to outplay anybody. Vidal will bring a lot of energy to the team, not just physically but from a mental point of view too and Barcelona have been missing that.
If you’re going to play Busquets-Rakitic-Vidal as a midfield it makes no sense to play a slow pace by building from the back though, you need to be very strong in transition and I don’t believe none of Coutinho, Messi and Suarez are anywhere good enough at that. You’ll basically have a front 3 suited for possession play and a midfield 3 suited for a game of transitions. The opposite was the case at Madrid too, with Ronaldo-Benzema-Bale loving to play in transition while Modric-Isco-Kroos played with possession. Madrid’s front 3 adapted, now it’s time for Barcelona’s to do the same otherwise they’ll end up making a world class midfield play a style of football that doesn’t suit them at all. Hopefully they don’t get to March and play a CL quarter final with Messi getting man marked and a midfield of Busquets-Rakitic-Vidal being blamed for not having enough creativity.
Vidal to Barcelona…. Rafinha back to Inter at the end of this market???
Animal abuse
Barcelona certainly beginning to have a bit of an ageing first XI, 6 regulars over the age of 30.
Gerard Pique - 31.5 (32 in February)
Sergio Busquets - 30
Ivan Rakitic - 30.5 (31 in March)
Lionel Messi - 31
Luis Suarez - 31.5 (32 in January)
Arturo Vidal - 31
Again its not really old, but it means they're going to be the transfer market again quite regularly over the next few years.
Gerard Pique - 31.5 (32 in February)
Sergio Busquets - 30
Ivan Rakitic - 30.5 (31 in March)
Lionel Messi - 31
Luis Suarez - 31.5 (32 in January)
Arturo Vidal - 31
Again its not really old, but it means they're going to be the transfer market again quite regularly over the next few years.
Knowing Valverde, their lineup for knockouts will be flat 4-4-2 with Coutinho in an Iniesta like wide playmaker role on the left, and Vidal on the right of the midfield. I don't think there is a chance for 4-3-3, they played it maybe 5-6 games during the whole last season, and always with either Messi or Suarez absent from the starting lineup.
With that dog even I could do the same I don’t think he was interested in the ball I would like him trying the same with my lab.
Pique will be replaced by Umtiti/Lenglet
Rakitic will be replaced by Arthur
Suarez can replaced by the signing of a new CF
Messi and Busquets are the big ones. Those two are incredibly hard to replace. Barca needed years to replace Puyol, they didn‘t replace Xavi at all and Iniesta could be replaced by Coutinho, but on a much lower level.
Some players are just so good that you can‘t replace them, or only if you are perfect in the transfer market. The two biggest mistakes by Barca have been not signing Kroos and losing Thiago.
I never really saw it as a 4-4-2, Coutinho will play inside and Alba will do the whole flank while Vidal will play in the middle too. It’s pretty much a 4-3-3, they’ll just take a 4-4-2 position at times but that always happens.
With Suarez and Messi they have to play 2 in the middle, there is no other choice for Valverde to make but then they’ll be joined by Dembele/Malcom/Coutinho to make it a front 3. It just won’t be a traditional 4-3-3 since Suarez and Messi can’t play out wide.
They’ll have 3 midfielders and 3 forwards nevertheless, just like last season.
Barça getting real muscle for midfield with Arturo Vidal, if only to avoid new debacles like the one in Roma (4-1); also direct support/relief for Busquets.
http://www.marca.com/en/football/barcelona/2018/08/06/5b684304e5fdea6b0d8b4576.html
"This is a big step up from Bayern Munich."
not something that will please Bayern fans. but how good is he these days anyway? the fee itself seems low + Bayern wanted to sell, which is always suspicious... I must admit I haven't watched him for a while, but we were linked with him about a year ago and I was surprised to see how many people were convinced that he really isn't all that anymore. is it because of that injury or what?
"This is a big step up from Bayern Munich."
not something that will please Bayern fans. but how good is he these days anyway? the fee itself seems low + Bayern wanted to sell, which is always suspicious... I must admit I haven't watched him for a while, but we were linked with him about a year ago and I was surprised to see how many people were convinced that he really isn't all that anymore. is it because of that injury or what?
He was in a prolonged slumb and inconsistent during the last two years. A mix of injuries, mindset problems, lackluster team cohesion and 2017 Chile performance . He still showed his class at times just not consistently. If he manages to stay focused/motivated he is still one of the very best midfielders in the world. One who makes the team arouns him a lot better.
I expect him to be quite good for Barca.
I guess from Barcelona's point of view, the worst case scenario is that they are getting a turbocharged Paulinho, not to mention that they even earn some money in the process when you take the transfer fees into account.
He will be Valverde's no 12 player-Top Sub, and he (Vidal) knows it.
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Madrid players begin to see Lopetegui as a new version of Benitez.
"They think that he knows a lot about football, that he is a great coach, but that in group management the similarities are amazing. The players doubt if he will know how to handle everything that surrounds the club, something key to the good functioning of the group"
"They think that he knows a lot about football, that he is a great coach, but that in group management the similarities are amazing. The players doubt if he will know how to handle everything that surrounds the club, something key to the good functioning of the group"
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Soooo...Guti to come back in January and we go on to win another CL then?
Madrid are tracking the market looking for a young midfielder, although they love Valverde
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Watching Barsa’s transfer window you realize that it’s CL or broke for them. Lots of mature players that are ready to win now. They win the Liga almost by default so it’s the Champions League they need to win for Messi. Madrid’s incredible run must hurt in the deepest part of their sou.