Who would you sign to replace Neymar at Barça?

[SirBalon]

9 minutes ago, LaSambadeStGermain said:

you say it's an essence of debate and you're the one calling me idiotic. As I said, I try not to call other opinions clueless, because I know they've seen something that I haven't. I only do it if they do it to me. E.g. Teso.

I judge players with what I see from my eyes, not what the transfer rumours say. Even if that slightly contradicts what I said about Zielinski.

Just note though that none of this is a pop at you. I just don't respect your views on this matter.

Ok, you're right!  I apologise for calling you idiotic...  It was your view I meant and not you.

But football is a sport made up of a community called "fans".  We all have opinions and they're there to be debated.  I have never met a person who formulates his own singular opinion by himself without influence (I'm talking about football ey! Ojo! ) from anything else that's based on the same thing as you which isn't concrete...  OPINION!

You want me to respect your views but yet you say you don't respect mine. 

That's fine mate. 

[Guest]

Why are you still allowed on here?

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Teso dos Bichos said:

btw @SirBalon whats you think about Jean Seri?  

I've said it before on here and the general consensus is that the ready made player (the only perfect one) was already at the club which was Thiago Alcántara who was messed around by this board and went to Bayern Munich.  Apart from his the favoured one which most people agree with would've been Marco Verratti, but that's impossible considering the relationship Barça have now with everything Qatar and includes the only out and out Qatari club in Europe, PSG.

After those two, many people concerned with football in Spain have been asked who else could fill that necessity in the centre of midfield and two names have come up which are Naby Keita and Jean Seri.  The views are shared on both of them but there was a curious interview over a month ago with Xavi (he's repeated it in subsequent interviews since, but the original was over a month ago) for the New York Times where he said to many people's surprise at that moment, Jean Seri.  He said that if the club couldn't convince Thiago to come back or negotiate with PSG for a player that actually wants to go to Barça (Verratti), then Seri was the best option and that he is one of the most diverse midfielders in Europe at the moment which is extremely important for the way Barcelona play.  You can't just excel in one particular aspect of the midfield when playing the way Barcelona want to play.  You have to have even more about you and be talented in other departments.

To be honest, I've only gone onto look at Seri since about a month ago when Xavi said that and I was surprised I hadn't heard too much about him other than the fact I knew of him and that was about it.  I knew Nice had had a very good season and that he was a fundamental part of it but hadn't watched any games at all in that respect.

The reason they've gone for Paulinho is because even though he has cost €40m, that has now incredibly become almost a decent price for someone with his experience.  They (the technical team) see things in him that bolster the squad but at the same time they know he isn't the answer.  I would expect they'll wait to try and sign that answer next summer as too much work was put in for too long to try and sign Verratti.  Many said at the time PSG went all menstrual, that from that moment the club should've worked onto something else.

But anyway...  This board is on borrowed time!  Those with power working in waiting will pounce before the season has ended forcing elections for next summer.  This board will be voted out no matter what the outcome of the season is.  It's not just about signings...  It's a global situation that they haven't been able to be upto standards on.  Presiding over clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid is very difficult and it isn't just based on success.  You have to address countless objectives.

[Guest]

I just reread this and honestly found some of Balon and Teso's comments even more pathetic.

This place feels communist. No ones allowed to give an opinion because Teso will laugh it off. Ban the cunt now.

Embarrassing. Spike made the only decent argument.

[Fusion]

Hahahaha.

[Asura]

4 hours ago, SirBalon said:

I've said it before on here and the general consensus is that the ready made player (the only perfect one) was already at the club which was Thiago Alcántara who was messed around by this board and went to Bayern Munich.  Apart from his the favoured one which most people agree with would've been Marco Verratti, but that's impossible considering the relationship Barça have now with everything Qatar and includes the only out and out Qatari club in Europe, PSG.

After those two, many people concerned with football in Spain have been asked who else could fill that necessity in the centre of midfield and two names have come up which are Naby Keita and Jean Seri.  The views are shared on both of them but there was a curious interview over a month ago with Xavi (he's repeated it in subsequent interviews since, but the original was over a month ago) for the New York Times where he said to many people's surprise at that moment, Jean Seri.  He said that if the club couldn't convince Thiago to come back or negotiate with PSG for a player that actually wants to go to Barça (Verratti), then Seri was the best option and that he is one of the most diverse midfielders in Europe at the moment which is extremely important for the way Barcelona play.  You can't just excel in one particular aspect of the midfield when playing the way Barcelona want to play.  You have to have even more about you and be talented in other departments.

To be honest, I've only gone onto look at Seri since about a month ago when Xavi said that and I was surprised I hadn't heard too much about him other than the fact I knew of him and that was about it.  I knew Nice had had a very good season and that he was a fundamental part of it but hadn't watched any games at all in that respect.

The reason they've gone for Paulinho is because even though he has cost €40m, that has now incredibly become almost a decent price for someone with his experience.  They (the technical team) see things in him that bolster the squad but at the same time they know he isn't the answer.  I would expect they'll wait to try and sign that answer next summer as too much work was put in for too long to try and sign Verratti.  Many said at the time PSG went all menstrual, that from that moment the club should've worked onto something else.

But anyway...  This board is on borrowed time!  Those with power working in waiting will pounce before the season has ended forcing elections for next summer.  This board will be voted out no matter what the outcome of the season is.  It's not just about signings...  It's a global situation that they haven't been able to be upto standards on.  Presiding over clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid is very difficult and it isn't just based on success.  You have to address countless objectives.

I read few weeks ago that Wenger was trying to buy Seri, is that true or will that end up as one of Wenger's "I almost signed him" sort of effort ?

[SirBalon]

11 hours ago, LaSambadeStGermain said:

I just reread this and honestly found some of Balon and Teso's comments even more pathetic.

This place feels communist. No ones allowed to give an opinion because Teso will laugh it off. Ban the cunt now.

Embarrassing. Spike made the only decent argument.

Communist? 

That's intriguing....  Why???

[SirBalon]

6 hours ago, Asura said:

I read few weeks ago that Wenger was trying to buy Seri, is that true or will that end up as one of Wenger's "I almost signed him" sort of effort ?

God knows mate!

I'm sure 10 years down the line when a player becomes a massive name whoever it is Wenger will say he had been in his house having a cup to tea and a slice of Battenburg Cake while discussing how he could come to play for Arsenal. 

[Carnivore Chris]

I wouldn't play Coutinho in the role Neymar occupied personally at all. Barcelona need pace down the left, someone who is quick and has pace to burn as it's something that massively lacks in the side, this is why I think Dembele would be a spot on option. He's got the potential there to be one of the best at what he does, it's just about having patience with him given that he's still so young. Coutinho, for me, would be better playing deeper and being moulded into a more type Iniesta role, obviously there would need to also be tweaks with the formation.

As far as I'm concerned, 2 players atleast are an absolute must in this window. Addressing the problem next season is no good, as there will likely be other problems to fix by then.

[SirBalon]

18 minutes ago, The Rebel CRS said:

I wouldn't play Coutinho in the role Neymar occupied personally at all. Barcelona need pace down the left, someone who is quick and has pace to burn as it's something that massively lacks in the side, this is why I think Dembele would be a spot on option. He's got the potential there to be one of the best at what he does, it's just about having patience with him given that he's still so young. Coutinho, for me, would be better playing deeper and being moulded into a more type Iniesta role, obviously there would need to also be tweaks with the formation.

As far as I'm concerned, 2 players atleast are an absolute must in this window. Addressing the problem next season is no good, as there will likely be other problems to fix by then.

The news being filtered from within is that Semedo has a long way to go to be anywhere near what's needed.  These points in fairness have been made from witnessing him train, but what's been seen isn't very encouraging.  Aleix Vidal seems to think he can now return to his old self now that Luis Enrique's gone who used to break Vidal's balls.  There was an analysis made of the Supercopa game where they counted 8 serious errors by Vidal, two of them ended up in goals and the centre backs were blamed.

[Carnivore Chris]

Just now, SirBalon said:

The news being filtered from within is that Semedo has a long way to go to be anywhere near what's needed.  These points in fairness have been made from witnessing him train, but what's been seen isn't very encouraging.  Aleix Vidal seems to think he can now return to his old self now that Luis Enrique's gone who used to break Vidal's balls.  There was an analysis made of the Supercopa game where they counted 8 serious errors by Vidal, two of them ended up in goals and the centre backs were blamed.

I thought that before the goal Pique and Umtiti actually looked very solid and it seemed like the strongest area on the pitch. After that own goal, everything changed but I would say Vidal was definitely at fault for 2 of them and Pique for the other(although it was bad luck on his behalf to concede an own goal to be honest). Umtiti certainly weren't at fault either way and was probably Barcelona's best player on the night. With this said, I still believe a defender is needed(Martinez would be quality) as it's not exactly an area where there is a lot of depth, Mascherano isn't getting any younger either. But first and foremost, the midfield and attack need work. You can't sell a player like Neymar and bring nobody in as he was starting to become one of the go-to players. He made things happen and I believe this would have been by far his best season had he stayed. Someone definitely needs to come in and fill that gap or it will be a long season. There is nobody out there who could replace him for talent alone, although there are players out there who could help the team evolve and compliment Messi and Suarez. Dembele, the more I think about it, would be the ideal signing. The fact is, Sanchez, Di Maria and all these would be decent short term options as they have quality, but the club need to be looking to the future as well as the present and those players aren't for the future, they would be panic buys on a large scale. It would make more sense to take a gamble on a one of the world's best young talents.

Another problem was down the left side of attack. It was like playing with 10 men. I'm not blaming Deulofeu though as it was his competitive debut and he had to endure coming up against the best side in Europe currently. He was thrown in the deep end there.

Denis looked bright when he came on as well. He was trying to make things happen and deserves to start tonight.

It's got to be said also that maybe people are over-exaggerating a bit. It was the first competitive game of the season(although felt more like a friendly due to the average football on offer and dead atmosphere) and was against Real Madrid, the most balanced side and in form side in Europe right now. There is an easy(ish) fixture list to start the league campaign and this will help gain momentum and we will get a better understanding of the team once the campaign properly gets going. Let's also see what happens tonight as there is another leg to play yet.

Losing Thiago and now Neymar was disastrous to be honest.

 

[SirBalon]

It's not done yet, but sources from certain journalists to be believed in Barcelona are saying that the replacement for Neymar is almost done. Ousmane Dembélé could be a Barcelona player in the next few hours.

[Burning Gold]

9 hours ago, SirBalon said:

It's not done yet, but sources from certain journalists to be believed in Barcelona are saying that the replacement for Neymar is almost done. Ousmane Dembélé could be a Barcelona player in the next few hours.

Journalists in Barcelona say a deal will be completed in the next few hours. Now where have I heard this before... 

[Carnivore Chris]

9 hours ago, Teso dos Bichos said:

So that'll be 2 signings that Man United wanted but went to Barcelona in Semedo and now Dembele?

[SirBalon]

34 minutes ago, The Rebel CRS said:

So that'll be 2 signings that Man United wanted but went to Barcelona in Semedo and now Dembele?

Don't worry...  They'll just sign everyone else in the world while QSI oops, PSG, try and emulate Real Madrid, only without history and prestige. 

[SirBalon]

Just learned from reading an old article from when Dembélé was at Rennes that he's 100% ambidextrous.  This is something I didn't know and now I understand everything...  This is the best piece of work this technical team may have done since they got the job if it comes off.

[Carnivore Chris]

27 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Just learned from reading an old article from when Dembélé was at Rennes that he's 100% ambidextrous.  This is something I didn't know and now I understand everything...  This is the best piece of work this technical team may have done since they got the job if it comes off.

Ye, he doesn't just have a strong weaker foot, he is as two footed as they come. This is why I don't see why he can't play down the left, rather than the right, which is the position he occupied at Dortmund.

The negative is that he's still young and there is work to be done on him, but again, the same could have  been said for Neymar when he arrived.

It's an exciting signing(even if an over priced one) and along with the Semedo one, could answer a lot of problems in the team.

[Inverted]

3 hours ago, SirBalon said:

Just learned from reading an old article from when Dembélé was at Rennes that he's 100% ambidextrous.  This is something I didn't know and now I understand everything...  This is the best piece of work this technical team may have done since they got the job if it comes off.

As far as I understand it he has slightly more power in one foot and slightly more control in the other, look up a clip of him getting asked about his penalties in France - he says he's left footed but admits he takes pens with his right haha.

But yeah, he's totally comfortable on either foot. It's hard enough to defend someone with his pace, skill and nimbleness, but on top of that  the idea of "shepherding" him is meaningless - he's just as dangerous on the outside as on the inside.

[Spike]

He'll throw a tantrum in a few years. Mark my words this will end badly for Barca.

[SirBalon]

42 minutes ago, Spike said:

He'll throw a tantrum in a few years. Mark my words this will end badly for Barca.

Depends which type of tantrum mate...

You have the Yaya Touré tantrum where the club didn't buy him a birthday cake and then you have the tantrums my 17 month old son throws where I fix it with a toy horse... Last time I did invest in a toy giraffe it must be said. So I do vary it to be honest. 

[Spike]

15 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Depends which type of tantrum mate...

You have the Yaya Touré tantrum where the club didn't buy him a birthday cake and then you have the tantrums my 17 month old son throws where I fix it with a toy horse... Last time I did invest in a toy giraffe it must be said. So I do vary it to be honest. 

'Ousmane is suffering' via PSG tap up

[El Profesor]

58 minutes ago, Spike said:

He'll throw a tantrum in a few years. Mark my words this will end badly for Barca.

When top players want to leave it generally has a bad end. The power of agents and players is part of modern football, but I don´t think this should be taken into consideration when making the decision of signing a player. In my opinion, you must go for the best player available, since the risk of a bad end will always exist.