SirBalon Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 By the way... For me BUSQUETS man of the match all the way! Pure unadulterated magic. It's been a long time since I was awed by a defensive midfielder like this guy has done for me throughout his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Insubstantial game from André Gomes Comments were made in this thread about the possible pros and cons of what André Gomes' selection for last night's game at the Wanda Metropolitano were. I was watching the game on Canal+ (Spanish TV) and there were various punditry comments being made by those that are paid to do such stuff while the game was going on, at half time and subsequently at the end of the game... Slowly slowly his name became more of a protagonist in the analysis, especially when he didn't end up being one of the substituted players during the 90 minutes. For the pundits and in this morning's sports pages André Gomes and what he offered has been given quite a number of mentions and the final conclusion is that he didn't have a bad game but he also didn't have a good game... Infact he was "insubstantial" according to almost everyone and curiously (unless they all called each other) they've all used the same adjective to describe what André Gomes gave to the team last night in the 1-1 draw away to Atlético Madrid. He was originally put on Nélson Semedo's wing to help out in the tactical work of stopping Filipe Luis and what ended up occurring was that both André Gomes and Nélson Semedo got in each other's way, and stunting both of their games. It was one of Semedo's worst games since the season started and many are attributing this to André Gomes being selected to play there. I didn't want to go into answering those posts made about André Gomes at the time because there was no point as he had been selected and the most important thing while the game was 1-0 was to score that one goal which would end up being a great result... Infact the game could've been won had it not been for some inaccurate football in front of Oblak (that keeper is brilliant)... Actually both Oblak and Ter Stegen saved their respective teams various times with miraculous saves last night. It was only when all the substitutions were made and André Gomes took Iniesta's position that he looked more comfortable, but we must also remember that the game was broken at that moment towards the end and that there was more space and time to think, decide and execute... It seems that for André to provide what he's good at, he needs that space and time... If this is the case, he really does become a player only to be contemplated as a substitute when the game is broken and stretched. Put it this way... Ernesto Valverde must've seen something there because he wasn't one of the substituted and that's the important factor as he's the one paid to make those specific decisions. What's for sure though, is that you don't get a place in FC Barcelona's midfield to be inconspicuous! Great midfielders have come and gone from Barça over the decades without making a mark because playing in that area of the field for this club is one of the most difficult things you have in football. It's the focus of what the club is all about where football is concerned and André HAS to offer more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machado Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Technically André Gomes has everything to be a class footballer but he has no balls. He's rarely proactive during a game. He can go a game without missing a pass or messing up in general because he always chooses the safest option. It's like he's afraid of making the highlight reel, so he ends up being too passive and unproductive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Gomes has a tremendous amount of technical ability but he's very slow, needs time and space on the ball and you get the impression that he doesn't always have full confidence in his abilities. He played well in the second half to be honest and had Suarez not been just an inch away from latching on to it, he(Gomes) could have assisted the winner. I thought it was a good performance in the second half from the team yesterday and showed great spirit to come back into a game which could quite easily have been lost. It wasn't far off being a win either had Messi not hit the post with a free-kick and Oblak wasn't such a ridiculously brilliant keeper. Then again, Ter Stegen himself made yet more important saves. Last season he was one of the most important players and he has continued that this season. I liked Bravo, but getting rid of him to keep this lad happy was the correct decision and the club have one of the best keepers in the world there for years. Suarez needed that. So far this season, he hasn't done enough for me, but slowly he is starting to regain his importance in the side again and scoring 2 for Uruguay mid-week will also be a big confidence booster. I do think that someone down the other flank is seriously lacking though and the sooner Dembele gets back the better. The attack will improve greatly with him in the team once he settles in my opinion. The delivery from Sergi Roberto was also top notch and so far this season he has yet again been an unsung hero and has shown his versatility. Busquets was an absolute beast, there has never been any question on whether he would regain his form or not, it was just a matter of time given that he's in his prime age for a man of his role. Deulofeu is quite monotonous and pretty much does the same thing all the time, although he was dangerous when he came on last night for me and made an impact with his speed and desire to run at players. This is where I find Deulofeu at his most useful. When everyone is fit, I doubt he'd ever be a starter over Dembele(I'd prefer to see Denis play more as well), but he's a very handy impact type player coming off the bench when the opposition are tiring. As for Atletico, Godin was immense, Saul yet again scored a goal when it mattered the most and Oblak is arguably the world's best keeper, along with de Gea, although as I have said, Ter Stegen is starting to having a say in all this now as far as I'm concerned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carefreeluke Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Gomes demonstrates some of my pet hates in football, for me he's also more of a box to box player and doesn't really suit Barcelona's style in that sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Valverde has done a great job so far. Whenever the team are struggling, he always makes the right substitutes which in the end changes the game. Yesterday it was a difficult point earned, but could well have been 3 late on. Other than the supercup(where he was still in pre-season mode, figuring out his strongest 11, you can't take nothing from it), his side are still undefeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Everyone knows André Gomes has very good technical ability and that given time on the ball he is one of Europe’s better players. I loved him at Valencia and remember both Barcelona and Real Madrid fought for his signature right to the last day. The main issue for me is that everyone knows that to annul Barça’s attacking capabilities, you have to press their midfield quickly and high up... Be right on their players. This means that the opponents’ main target is to make sure that midfield doesn’t have time and space on the ball... Infact Abelardo (ex Barça player) who was a pundit last night, said that as the minutes drew on André Gomes would become more active in the game. That’s exactly what occurred because the rival becomes more tired and starts waiting for you by sitting back or even gets caught on a counter for trying to commit late on. He doesn’t suit Barcelona but he is a fine player. I also think that Valverde taking him off would only have affected the player’s confidence and done exactly what Luis Enrique did with him by persisting. For me André would be excellent in Italy and become one of Europe’s top performers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted October 15, 2017 Author Administrator Share Posted October 15, 2017 Credit needs to go to Leganes this season so far. A defence equal to Barcelona in terms of goal conceded and beating the bottom team, Malaga, 2-0 away. Could have been a banana skin but doing a professional job so far. Malaga on the other hand, terrible. Only 1 point so far in the whole season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted October 15, 2017 Author Administrator Share Posted October 15, 2017 Didn't have Valencia winning their game so convincingly. Winning 3-0 at Betis who have missed a penalty as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Valencia have had some brilliant players for a while. It was all about a coach getting them to gel and it seems Marcelino has done this (it's not the first time he's managed this in his coaching career)... There is a problem, which is Marcelino going mental and self destructing. So let's see how long it takes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted October 15, 2017 Author Administrator Share Posted October 15, 2017 76 minutes Betis 0-4 Valencia 84 minutes Betis 3-4 Valencia 90 minutes Betis 3-6 Valencia what a fucking game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 WOW! What a game... Now that's entertainment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnivore Chris Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I always said that if Marcelino went to Valencia, that it would be a whole different side. The amount of dire managers they have gone through over the years is astonishing. On another note:- Las Palmas 2-5 Celta Goal fests everywhere lately. What's up with Las Palmas though? I know they lost players in the summer, but still have a very good side there on paper and should be better. They should be aiming more for mid-table with the likes of Celta and Real Betis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirBalon Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 2 hours ago, The Rebel CRS said: I always said that if Marcelino went to Valencia, that it would be a whole different side. The amount of dire managers they have gone through over the years is astonishing. On another note:- Las Palmas 2-5 Celta Goal fests everywhere lately. What's up with Las Palmas though? I know they lost players in the summer, but still have a very good side there on paper and should be better. They should be aiming more for mid-table with the likes of Celta and Real Betis. Celta done it with 10 men too! Yeah, there's been a lot of goals this weekend. Celta need to get back to winning ways before they get dragged into the mire and start losing all confidence and orientation. It can happen to any team no matter how good they are and for a club like this it can mean relegation. Look at what's happening to Málaga so far this season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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