SirBalon

People may be going on about Barça's extensive squad for next season but for me there it's now plainly obvious there is a big hole in terms of natural leadership. In recent years Puyol, Xavi and now Iniesta have all departed.

His character was a big plus on the choice there. A very down to earth guy with no mega ego.

Barça's 4 Captains for 2018/2019

Piqué will never be first captain at Barça for the simple reason that he's too vocal and straight after proved this after being asked the question in what he felt being nominated as one of the 4 captains. He said that he will continue to speak his mind! For those that don't know, the captains at Barcelona are named by the players in a vote and not the coach or anyone in the technical department.

The market was volatile this summer (it continues to be but for the Premier League it's now ended) with extreme difficulty to sign genuine top quality. Manchester United are no longer just part of a three or four dominating European brand name clique. The potential to sign top names has expanded club wise and there's also the factor of spending wisely which on this particular detail I can see that Manchester United have been burned with severe scars in terms of losing a lot of money by acquiring either the wrong players or that United haven't had the right coach for what they've been searching to achieve since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down. On the difficulty of signing the top names and just leaning on your brand name to do the hard work while stomping up the cash, look at what happened to Barça with Antoine Griezmann! The Griezmann deal had a verbal agreement since last year (note: LAST YEAR) and to prove this, Barça kept the number 7 shirt available since Arda Turan left the club even when Philippe Coutinho arrived and would've chosen that particular number... Coutinho had to settle for Cruyff's legendary 14 which is no small acquisition at Barça.... To cut a long story short, Griezmann chose to stay at Atlético Madrid which I can guarantee you would never have happened before if we'd turned the club back merely 3 or 4 years. Look at Real Madrid and the difficulty of getting either or both of Neymar Jr and/or Kylian Mbappé! It turned into an impossibility although FC Barcelona could've provided an extensive portfolio of 4 to 5 years worth of trying to bend PSG's hand without success in a case such as this. But still, we're talking about a club created in the 1970s where Paris Saint-Germain is concerned and Ligue1 versus La Liga. Also the power we have in the Premier League with clubs that haven't even been able to win silverware in the shape of Tottenham Hotspur... How difficult is it to lure their players away? We're no longer just talking about flashing a perverse amount of cash but that we must also take note that brand names MUST be maintained to the highest possible measures without errors so as to create an aura of unequivocal appeal. Finally... Real Madrid have won 3 Champions Leagues in a row and yet their insignia player decided enough was enough to depart to Serie 'A', with the coach that achieved this resigning, to another player (Kovačić) saying "up yours, staying at Real because it's Real just isn't enough" and their best player for five years Luka Modrić begging to leave to Internazionale. Times have changed in a very short space of time and Manchester United have made TOO MANY MISTAKES!

Those were the days... My favourite Real midfield by far.

Kovačić is a high energy midfielder which will compliment the two (Jorginho and Kanté)... It's what Napoli were missing with the Jorginho, Allen and Hamšik midfield. Allen didn't have the quality necessary to make it all a clean middle of the park.

He's a wicked player mate!

I pay £24 at a place owned by the brand Ted Baker. It's not all that expensive in my opinion for the meticulous treatment they give you... Oh, and a free beer!

This is such great news! While us football fans give as much as each can to their football club in whatever shape or form they do... In the background with these PLCs we have this going on. I hope for some unknown reason this guy gets banned from the UK or having any association with it.

Gennaro Gattuso on Riqui Puig; "You look at him and you think that he has too much of a baby face to be able to play against the best. But then when you've witnessed him play you understand that the art of poetry doesn't respect time." Unforgettable words that I'm sure will be remembered by people as Puig's career advances.

Don’t mind any animal where unatural fear comes into play but with insects I have an uncontrollable phobia. Southern Spain has some serious ones!!!

I used to spend my summer holidays as a kid trying to catch lagartijas (small lizards) in Spain. They're also on steroids it seems out there.

The animals I really love in Spain are the Iberian Lynx, Oso Pardo (native Spanish bear) and the native wolf of Galicia.

Did he have that moustache too?

At first I thought you'd seen one of his family members of which there are a few like his crazy grandson nightclub owner Pocholo Martínez-Bordiú who when not going mental in Ibiza is in the US.

But how did you know he was that way inclined mate? Did you talk to him?

A Falangista?

Álvaro Negredo will demand a wage that is prohibitive for a club like Rayo and this is how clubs like them have ended up with big financial issues in the past. Rayo Vallecano had there best moments from either nicking young promising players from the big club academies or getting them on long loans... That's how they should keep on functioning! Negredo has nothing to offer Rayo these days.

Another question... If it's Pyrenean, why isn't it also found in France or hasn't it got a passport?

Looks like a dodgy version of a rat! Never knew they even existed mate.

Well he is the special one isn't he?

Mou has a long arm!

Well it's obvious that what I thought at the time was incorrect because the results are there although I continue to think there's more of a mental issue in all of this than a lack of the necessary attributes. What's for sure is that the outcome has been exactly what you guys thought initially.

When Barça signed him I genuinely thought it was a perfect match because of what I'd seen of André at both Benfica and Valencia... Most people if not all thought it was a coup because we also have to take into consideration that the signing was a one on one battle with Real Madrid for his signature on a contract. Nobody thought it would be like it's been and to be fair, injuries haven't been at fault here. It seems to be a psychological issue from everything I've read and heard and he just can't get it out of his system no matter how much help has been provided. These types of mental blocks only get worse and worse where sporting performances (form) is in question because we all know confidence is way over 50% of what a footballer needs to perform freely. Without a doubt he needs to move to rebuild his career and he's still relatively young so there's time. It doesn't benefit either him or the club for him to have this lingering issue in his professional career. I also want to add that this is a show of how difficult it is to bed into the Barcelona midfield. It's the most difficult midfield to cut it and make a mark in the world of club football and he isn't the first to have failed.