Philippe Coutinho

[LFCMadLad]

19 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

It doesn't belong here and I will be posting more in the pertinent thread which is the FC Barcelona one, but I'll update you on a few things mate.

It's to do with one point Rafael Fernández has made...  (let me say a few things that he's written are hearsay though)

The point Rafael Fernández makes about heads rolling at FC Barcelona;

Last night as the transfer window closed in Spain at midnight and the board members working at the club's central offices were ready to come out, a multitude of club fans congregated outside with banners and calling for the president's head along with his members of the board.

Yeah, I know we've all seen this before at other clubs and has even occurred here in England in the past...  But the difference is that FC Barcelona aren't a PLC and is owned by exactly those people and more that amassed outside the club's central offices.  It's them and all of Barcelona's paying members (which included seasons ticket holders and those that are merely paying members) who decide the club's future and only yesterday as I've been announcing for some weeks, a powerful member presented a vote of censure on the present board so as to initiate the mechanics of the club's constitution into immediate presidential elections...  The member's name is Agustí Benedito and very soon we'll see this begin its motions.

The fans were outside calling for the president to step down with all of his board and what did the club do via its media tools?  Call a press conference for today (2nd Sept 2017).  Everyone knows what's going to happen...  He's (Bartomeu) is going to sack the technical director, Robert Fernández and surely the vocal Pep Segura.  He's gong to direct the blame onto them when the issue isn't signings at all...  The fans couldn't care less about what signings may or may not have been made.  They want them out for all of the scandals that this lot have involved the club in since they took power with Sandro Rosell 7 years ago.  Bartomeu will use the media machine to deflect the blame onto a situation revolving signings for the world when it isn't this at all.

Lets not forget that the last time the members rose vocally, he sacked the then technical director Andoni Zubizarreta making it look like the situation revolving the make up of the team was his fault.  The members weren't complaining about the make up of the team...  They were complaining about the way the club had negotiated the Neymar deal from Santos to Barcelona. He was made to look like a scapegoat after a comment he made the previous day saying "Those that completed the Neymar deal know who they are" with this practically adding the president's name.  Sacked the very next day!

I'll end this quickly mate and I hope you've read it even though it's not your club because it's people that drag clubs through the mud and then others for whatever motive use the club name as an institution for whatever motive to blacken the name.

I said from the start on this thread...  Coutinho is a player the club have been following for over two years.  But the club were NEVER going to activate an action to try and sign him this summer.  It was the turn of events on the Neymar situation that pushed the board into panic mode.

Why?

Because even though Coutinho wasn't the replacement for Neymar (Dembélé was), the directors (and the president) knew that for time there had been serious movements for a vote of censure and that powerful people were searching for reasons (any reason) to move that forward and force elections, thus ousting this lot. 

What Rafael Hernández has got wrong is one thing...  The club did NOT use the press to make it look like they were going for Coutinho.  The press USED THE CLUB so as to attack the board.  The Barcelona based press (the most powerful ones) Mundo Deportivo, Sport, TV3 and RAC1 have been campaigning behind the scenes to formulate moves for the powerful members to take control and push for election moves.  Creating panic within the club's board of directors and thus making them act in desperation.   As was seen last night with a move to sign Ángel Di María from PSG, a club Barcelona is at war with, a player the team doesn't need but that the club knew that he was dying to move to Barcelona and used the player as they also used Coutinho to cause public moves and this way taking the focus off the board.

Do you want to know one more thing that has come to light since two days ago?

Remember at the start of the summer window that Barça were going in for PSG's Marco Verratti?

Well...  The other day the biggest coaches in Europe had their annual meeting and on camera Barcelona's Ernesto Valverde talking to PSG's Unai Emery about the Verratti saga...  Emery told Valverde (there's a video to prove this)

"Verratti wanted to go to Barcelona but your club never actually went in for him ever.  Not once did they contact PSG...  He was left out in the cold"

Remember Verratti went vocal three times about wanting to move to Barça with a picture of a Mundo Deportivo front page stating that the player wanted to go to Barça and through his agent saying that PSG were holding him prisoner.

The directors used both Verratti and Coutinho!  They never really cared to sign them unless they could come on the cheap but instead used the players to try and get through the summer without the vote for censure occurring which would've sparked the elections straight away and now will almost definitely be held next summer unless something really big happens.

All of this probably has no meaning to you and you don't care.  But I just want to show you that I knew what was going on and the only reason I became defensive was that the words here and in a few other places were being aimed at the club name and that is unfair.

Fair enough mate. It's all been handled very badly but it's not like we haven't messed up a certain transfer this summer. 

All very messy. 

[Harry]

28 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

It doesn't belong here and I will be posting more in the pertinent thread which is the FC Barcelona one, but I'll update you on a few things mate.

It's to do with one point Rafael Fernández has made...  (let me say a few things that he's written are hearsay though)

The point Rafael Fernández makes about heads rolling at FC Barcelona;

Last night as the transfer window closed in Spain at midnight and the board members working at the club's central offices were ready to come out, a multitude of club fans congregated outside with banners and calling for the president's head along with his members of the board.

Yeah, I know we've all seen this before at other clubs and has even occurred here in England in the past...  But the difference is that FC Barcelona aren't a PLC and is owned by exactly those people and more that amassed outside the club's central offices.  It's them and all of Barcelona's paying members (which included seasons ticket holders and those that are merely paying members) who decide the club's future and only yesterday as I've been announcing for some weeks, a powerful member presented a vote of censure on the present board so as to initiate the mechanics of the club's constitution into immediate presidential elections...  The member's name is Agustí Benedito and very soon we'll see this begin its motions.

The fans were outside calling for the president to step down with all of his board and what did the club do via its media tools?  Call a press conference for today (2nd Sept 2017).  Everyone knows what's going to happen...  He's (Bartomeu) is going to sack the technical director, Robert Fernández and surely the vocal Pep Segura.  He's gong to direct the blame onto them when the issue isn't signings at all...  The fans couldn't care less about what signings may or may not have been made.  They want them out for all of the scandals that this lot have involved the club in since they took power with Sandro Rosell 7 years ago.  Bartomeu will use the media machine to deflect the blame onto a situation revolving signings for the world when it isn't this at all.

Lets not forget that the last time the members rose vocally, he sacked the then technical director Andoni Zubizarreta making it look like the situation revolving the make up of the team was his fault.  The members weren't complaining about the make up of the team...  They were complaining about the way the club had negotiated the Neymar deal from Santos to Barcelona. He was made to look like a scapegoat after a comment he made the previous day saying "Those that completed the Neymar deal know who they are" with this practically adding the president's name.  Sacked the very next day!

I'll end this quickly mate and I hope you've read it even though it's not your club because it's people that drag clubs through the mud and then others for whatever motive use the club name as an institution for whatever motive to blacken the name.

I said from the start on this thread...  Coutinho is a player the club have been following for over two years.  But the club were NEVER going to activate an action to try and sign him this summer.  It was the turn of events on the Neymar situation that pushed the board into panic mode.

Why?

Because even though Coutinho wasn't the replacement for Neymar (Dembélé was), the directors (and the president) knew that for time there had been serious movements for a vote of censure and that powerful people were searching for reasons (any reason) to move that forward and force elections, thus ousting this lot. 

What Rafael Hernández has got wrong is one thing...  The club did NOT use the press to make it look like they were going for Coutinho.  The press USED THE CLUB so as to attack the board.  The Barcelona based press (the most powerful ones) Mundo Deportivo, Sport, TV3 and RAC1 have been campaigning behind the scenes to formulate moves for the powerful members to take control and push for election moves.  Creating panic within the club's board of directors and thus making them act in desperation.   As was seen last night with a move to sign Ángel Di María from PSG, a club Barcelona is at war with, a player the team doesn't need but that the club knew that he was dying to move to Barcelona and used the player as they also used Coutinho to cause public moves and this way taking the focus off the board.

Do you want to know one more thing that has come to light since two days ago?

Remember at the start of the summer window that Barça were going in for PSG's Marco Verratti?

Well...  The other day the biggest coaches in Europe had their annual meeting and on camera Barcelona's Ernesto Valverde talking to PSG's Unai Emery about the Verratti saga...  Emery told Valverde (there's a video to prove this)

"Verratti wanted to go to Barcelona but your club never actually went in for him ever.  Not once did they contact PSG...  He was left out in the cold"

Remember Verratti went vocal three times about wanting to move to Barça with a picture of a Mundo Deportivo front page stating that the player wanted to go to Barça and through his agent saying that PSG were holding him prisoner.

The directors used both Verratti and Coutinho!  They never really cared to sign them unless they could come on the cheap but instead used the players to try and get through the summer without the vote for censure occurring which would've sparked the elections straight away and now will almost definitely be held next summer unless something really big happens.

All of this probably has no meaning to you and you don't care.  But I just want to show you that I knew what was going on and the only reason I became defensive was that the words here and in a few other places were being aimed at the club name and that is unfair.

Gives new meaning to the term political football.....

So assuming the Neymar move didn't go ahead, who if anyone were Barca actually genuinely pursuing with intent to buy? Or they weren't after anyone at all? Why would they not be looking to sign Verratti when he's such a perfect fit?

 

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

Gives new meaning to the term political football.....

So assuming the Neymar move didn't go ahead, who if anyone were Barca actually genuinely pursuing with intent to buy? Or they weren't after anyone at all? Why would they not be looking to sign Verratti when he's such a perfect fit?

 

Yes it's very political with both Barça and Real Madrid because they're constitutional football clubs, they're run as all clubs were 100 years ago which is why the sport is called Association Football...  They're clubs and the word club means pertinence, membership and in it's purest sense, local identity in the form of sport.

You're asking why would they not be looking to sign Verratti?

They WERE mate!  They wanted him but they wanted him on their terms.  The technical side of the board have been the bane of the club since this lot took over and every single one of their dealings have been shrouded in controversy.  They know the second they show interest in any player that the said player will do everything that they can to obtain the move and because they don't know how to negotiate, they let the player do a large part of the work for them.

[Burning Gold]

As well as (falsely) claiming that Liverpool set a price of €200m for Coutinho which they refused to pay, Barcelona have publicly thanked Coutinho for his efforts to force a move this summer. Fucking unbelievable 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41134630

[LFCMadLad]

35 minutes ago, Burning Gold said:

As well as (falsely) claiming that Liverpool set a price of €200m for Coutinho which they refused to pay, Barcelona have publicly thanked Coutinho for his efforts to force a move this summer. Fucking unbelievable 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/41134630

They really are a cringeworthy piece of work aren't they 

[UNORTHODOX]

We shouldn't even entertain the thought of him going to Barca after this whole fiasco, Tell Phil if he wants to leave then it has to be Real Madrid or PSG Barca can fuck off.

[Danny]

It wasn't Barce who said that. It was the people paid to run Barce who said that, not the club. Just the people who represent Barcelona, as usual Barcelona are being made out to be the devils of Europe. In actual fact FC Barcelona are the angels of Europe and only the people who are employed by the club, act for the club and represent the club have said that. It's not FC Barcelona, just the board.

🙈

[UNORTHODOX]

[Harry]

12 hours ago, LFCMadLad said:

They really are a cringeworthy piece of work aren't they 

 could be a translation issue. What would we say to Van Dijk who's really put himself out there sand been shunned for it largely because he wanted to join. Now he faces any uncertain future and the wrath of the fans and playing group. 

Do we thank him. Do we console him? Privately or publicly? 

[Honey Honey]

You lay flowers at St Mary's stadium to mourn the loss of his career 

[RandoEFC+]

I thought you set your Van Dijk shirts on fire outside Anfield or is that a different thing?

[Redcanuck]

Any truth to rumours that Coutinho will refuse to play in Liverpool's Champions League games because he doesn't want to be cup tied if he makes the move to Barcelona in January ?  Seems BS to me,  would make the games he does play in pretty uncomfortable. 

[Harry]

10 minutes ago, Redcanuck said:

Any truth to rumours that Coutinho will refuse to play in Liverpool's Champions League games because he doesn't want to be cup tied if he makes the move to Barcelona in January ?  Seems BS to me,  would make the games he does play in pretty uncomfortable. 

That was a rumor when the window was open. I.e that he asked not to be named in the squad. 

The window has closed now and he's been included in the squad so i doubt it would still be the case that he'd not play if called up. 

[LFCMadLad]

@SirBalon 

 

 

 

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, LFCMadLad said:

@SirBalon 

 

 

 

Now you're seeing it and that's the way it's been 90% of the time throughout this ridiculous saga. Not so much the club but the media mate. 

[Batard]

Christ. It’s about to start again. 

“We are ready to buy Coutinho in the winter market or any player the technical staff request” Said Grau.

I think I’ve begun to see this for what it is. Cultural. In England, there’s a level of humility, no doubt what fuels the need to be the under dog and to dislike elitism. Which in itself is a paradox given how elitist it is by class system.

However this ongoing behavior from Barcelona is undignified. I know some will disagree but I don’t see other clubs behaving quite as flagrantly as this when it comes to tapping up players. There’s a saying in England, airing your dirty linen (or is it laundry) in public. Perhaps there is an equivalent in Spain but the behavior suggests otherwise.

I would say now that attempting to exert pressure on a club this way brings the game into disrepute. There’s no need to publish or broadcast this nonsense. If the player is going to force the move and strike and club sells, it’ll happen regardless of this media maelstrom. 

Undignified. Classless and arrogant. 

I might fancy Jennifer Lawrence but I won’t be having stories published how I’m going to acquire her for my own (yeah, fuck your Chris Pratt) and then constantly following it up with; I’m certain she’ll be mine soon. Yes. She will be mine. Soon Jennifer. Yes it will happen. And on. And on. And on. 

Dear God. Make it stop. Someone tell Barcelona football club that ‘more than a club’ should actually hold values beyond vanity and self indulgence. 

[Spike]

I always thought 'mes que un club' was less about the sport and more about the club being a cultural icon for Catalonia. A way for cultural self-expression during Franco's oppression. What I mean is, they don' think they are above or below any club in a sporting manner but they 'more than just a sports team' for the fans.

[Batard]

1 minute ago, Spike said:

I always thought 'mes que un club' was less about the sport and more about the club being a cultural icon for Catalonia. A way for cultural self-expression during Franco's oppression. What I mean is, they don' think they are above or below any club in a sporting manner but they 'more than just a sports team' for the fans.

Doesn’t every clubs fans feel the same about their club? 

[Spike]

Just now, Batard said:

Doesn’t every clubs fans feel the same about their club? 

True, but Barcelona saying that doesn't make it any less true for other teams. I don't know but does Marseille have any Occitan cultural roots?

[Batard]

6 minutes ago, Spike said:

True, but Barcelona saying that doesn't make it any less true for other teams. I don't know but does Marseille have any Occitan cultural roots?

Not really. Marseille was established by migrants, if anything it’s symbolic of new beginnings and diversity. And crime. Lots of crime. 

From a Barca perspective, the club is a symbol and an icon for Catalonia. Whilst the mantra might have meant something different at its inception, it feels corrupted now. A slogan. A PR exercise in promoting status and grandeur. 

[Spike]

Just now, Batard said:

Not really. Marseille was established by migrants, if anything it’s symbolic of new beginnings and diversity. And crime. Lots of crime. 

From a Barca perspective, the club is a symbol and an icon for Catalonia. Whilst the mantra might have meant something different at its inception, it feels corrupted now. A slogan. A PR exercise in promoting status and grandeur. 

IS there any remnant of Occitan culture and language in France?

[Batard]

1 minute ago, Spike said:

IS there any remnant of Occitan culture and language in France?

Of course. It’s still spoken in regions and considered important. Very much how Welsh is in Wales. 

[Danny]

Will Barce bid, get rejected and then put an ultimatum on that bid again? 😂

[SirBalon]

7 hours ago, Spike said:

I always thought 'mes que un club' was less about the sport and more about the club being a cultural icon for Catalonia. A way for cultural self-expression during Franco's oppression. What I mean is, they don' think they are above or below any club in a sporting manner but they 'more than just a sports team' for the fans.

Finally someone gets it.

[LFCMadLad]

No, we all get it!

Barcelona are shithouses 👍🏻