Matchday 4 (Group D) - Tuesday 31st October, 2017

[Stan]

Olympiacos vs Barcelona

Sporting Lisbon v Juventus

[Guest]

Even game. Olympiakos have been blocking Barcelona's shots well and creating danger through nicely executed counters. However, their end product has been awful it has to be said. I think 0-0 is probably the most reasonable result. If it continues like this, perhaps a 1-1 would tell the story more.

[Dalmore]

Olympiacos' fans are celebrating like they've won the match. Pathetic.

[SirBalon]

Now I KNOW what Pink Floyd were on about! 

Luis Sure needs a serious rest so as to start from scratch because this isn't doing him any good.  Not only is he missing ridiculous sitters, but then he's also got bad luck hanging over his shadow.  Rest, breath and clear your mind...  Then come back in a couple of weeks like new!

The result isn't terrible, could've been better but that's football and away games can sometimes end like this.

[Carnivore Chris]

19 hours ago, Teso dos Bichos said:

the great attacking Barcelona team should be ashamed of that result!!

Other than Messi, the attack is actually the weakest point right now. Starting Suarez is literally like playing with 10 men at the moment unfortunately. For the first time that I can remember, Barcelona's defence is currently superior to the attack and midfield.

Still though, the attack will improve once Dembele gets back and settles in my opinion and when(or if) Suarez gets back to his best. It's a player like him(Dembele) who is lacking. Someone with pace to burn, but who actually does more than just try to beat a man down the by line and nothing else like Deulofeu. Deulofeu does the exact same thing every time he gets the ball and it's awful to watch, It makes you want to pull your eyeballs out. He's still a useful player to bring on late in games when defences are tiring, but other than that, he simply just hasn't improved at all. He's the same as he was before he left Barcelona. Maybe in time he will start to improve his allround game, but right now he's very predictable.

Arnaiz deserves a chance. He offers a lot more than Deulofeu and also potentially has goals in him.

 

 

 

[Guest]

Just now, The Rebel CRS said:

Other than Messi, the attack is actually the weakest point right now. Starting Suarez is literally like playing with 10 men at the moment unfortunately. For the first time that I can remember, Barcelona's defence is currently superior to the attack and midfield.

Still though, the attack will improve once Dembele gets back and settles imo and when(or if) Suarez gets back to his best. It's a player like him(Dembele) who is lacking. Someone with pace to burn, but who actually does more than just try to beat a man down the by line and nothing else like Deulofeu. Deulofeu does the exact same thing every time he gets the ball and it's awful to watch, It makes you want to pull your eyeballs out. He's still a useful player to bring on late in games when defences are tiring, but other than that, he simply just hasn't improved at all. He's the same as he was before he left Barcelona. Maybe in time he will start to improve his allround game, but right now he's very predictable.

Arnaiz deserves a chance. He offers a lot more than Deulofeu and also potentially has goals in him.

 

 

 

I agree. Suarez isn't even top 3 right now shockingly. I watch Barcelona here and there and this is the worst Suarez that I can remember. 

I haven't seen Bayern but Lewandowski isn't exactly scoring at the moment is he?

Who would be the best strikers now? I'd say Kane and Agüero are the 2 best and Jesus will probably be on that list if he continues to show what he is showing so far. As a South American, I like most rate Paolo Guerrero up there despite not playing in a top league but over Falcao is one I haven't decided on yet. What I have decided is that he's above the current Luis Suarez.

Cavani and Higuaín are different kinds of strikers compared to the ones above.

[Carnivore Chris]

37 minutes ago, Blue said:

I agree. Suarez isn't even top 3 right now shockingly. I watch Barcelona here and there and this is the worst Suarez that I can remember. 

I haven't seen Bayern but Lewandowski isn't exactly scoring at the moment is he?

Who would be the best strikers now? I'd say Kane and Agüero are the 2 best and Jesus will probably be on that list if he continues to show what he is showing so far. As a South American, I like most rate Paolo Guerrero up there despite not playing in a top league but over Falcao is one I haven't decided on yet. What I have decided is that he's above the current Luis Suarez.

Cavani and Higuaín are different kinds of strikers compared to the ones above.

He's still scoring the odd important goal such as the header against Atletico and has his moments but overall he has been very frustrating to watch.

He's playing with an injury but I still believe he could do better with the chances he's missing, etc.

 

Kane is probably the best striker around right now. He's on fire(has been for ages) and just looks like he's getting even better. Easily the best English striker since Alan Shearer.

 

 

[Berserker]

3 hours ago, Blue said:

I agree. Suarez isn't even top 3 right now shockingly. I watch Barcelona here and there and this is the worst Suarez that I can remember. 

I haven't seen Bayern but Lewandowski isn't exactly scoring at the moment is he?

Who would be the best strikers now? I'd say Kane and Agüero are the 2 best and Jesus will probably be on that list if he continues to show what he is showing so far. As a South American, I like most rate Paolo Guerrero up there despite not playing in a top league but over Falcao is one I haven't decided on yet. What I have decided is that he's above the current Luis Suarez.

Cavani and Higuaín are different kinds of strikers compared to the ones above.

What do you mean Cavani and Higuain are different strikers?, Guerrero may be good and i'd like to have him in River, but he's nowhere near as good as Higuain, Kane, Lewandowski, etc, has never been and never will, and i doubt anyone other than yourself, peruvians or perhaps Flamengo fans would even think that.

[Guest]

Just now, Berserker said:

What do you mean Cavani and Higuain are different strikers?, Guerrero may be good and i'd like to have in River, but he's nowhere near as good as Higuain, Kane, Lewandowski, etc, has never been and never will, and i doubt anyone other than yourself, peruvians or perhaps Flamengo fans would even think that.

Cavani and Higuain are goalscorers. They both have assisting capabilities but not as much as the likes of Aguero and Kane. They know their roles and they fulfill in what they need to do. So I find it a bit difficult to compare them. 

Keep in mind, I like both Cavani and Higuain. I don't see how they are comparable in style though. To me, its like comparing Kante to Hamsik.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, Berserker said:

and i doubt anyone other than yourself, peruvians or perhaps Flamengo fans would even think that.

I'm surprised you think that. I agree he's not as good as prime Lewandowski or Suarez, but he's still very very good and could easily do a job for a top European club. Take Guerrero out of that Peru team and we're talking a 7th/8th placed finish in the World Cup qualifiers.

You know well that he's highly rated here in South America. Pundits all over and fans have banged on about how he's one of the best strikers in the world. This is coming from a person who thought those pundits were speaking shite only a year ago as well.

[Berserker]

3 minutes ago, Blue said:

I'm surprised you think that. I agree he's not as good as prime Lewandowski or Suarez, but he's still very very good and could easily do a job for a top European club. Take Guerrero out of that Peru team and we're talking a 7th/8th placed finish in the World Cup qualifiers.

You know well that he's highly rated here in South America. Pundits all over and fans have banged on about how he's one of the best strikers in the world. This is coming from a person who thought those pundits were speaking shite only a year ago as well.

He's highly rated, but like i said i haven't seen anyone (other than the ones i mentioned) put him among the best in the world. And still even if someone did, they'd still be wrong. Hernan Barcos had similar numbers when he played in Brazil, would you say he was one of the best in the world?, would you say Dario Benedetto is one of the best in the world?, i don't think so. He's a good strker, but not a top class one. He's on the same level as say someone like Bacca.

[Guest]

Just now, Berserker said:

He's highly rated, but like i said i haven't seen anyone (other than the ones i mentioned) put him among the best in the world. And still even if someone did, they'd still be wrong. Hernan Barcos had similar numbers when he played in Brazil, would you say he was one of the best in the world?, would you say Dario Benedetto is one of the best in the world?, i don't think so. He's a good strker, but not a top class one. He's on the same level as say someone like Bacca.

Its not his numbers though. Paolo's numbers aren't that good.

Its what he offers to a team overall. His big flaw is finishing. Its not bad but its also not at the level of say Suarez or Aguero. He usually shoots it straight at the keeper. If he had that, he'd have way more goals at all level.

The reason he's so good is because of how strong he is. He is the perfect deep lying forward. He'll hold up the ball for the entire team to charge at the defence like a bunch of rams and there are very few defenders who can outstrength him. Not even Godin could do it, and I've seen Godin personally just a few feet away. He has a monster body. I wouldn't want to be marked by him.

If you play him the Peruvian way, he's incredible. Both Ricardo Gareca and Reinaldo Rueda play him that way and its come to great success. He's also a great captain and a fantastic free kick taker. If you're going to play him as a "goalscorer" then you won't suceed much. He'll score a few matches but that would be wasting his talent.

Like I said, if it weren't for all of the above, Peru wouldn't be in a world cup spot. He executes what the manager wants him to do perfectly. Raul Ruidiaz is our other striker, and he reminds me more of Higuain. He has a top goalscoring record in Mexico but when he's actually played for Peru, it didn't work. That's because he's not a traditional Peru number 9 like Paolo is. 

I don't think he's the best striker in the world like Vignolo does, but he's extremely underapreciated just because his goalscoring record for a striker isn't as good as others. I respect your opinion if you don't agree with me, but I do think you've GOT to put him a little better than Carlos Bacca. I think at worst, he's at Chicharito's level. At best, below Kane and Aguero, above Diego Costa and Griezmann.

 

[Berserker]

33 minutes ago, Blue said:

Its not his numbers though. Paolo's numbers aren't that good.

Its what he offers to a team overall. His big flaw is finishing. Its not bad but its also not at the level of say Suarez or Aguero. He usually shoots it straight at the keeper. If he had that, he'd have way more goals at all level.

The reason he's so good is because of how strong he is. He is the perfect deep lying forward. He'll hold up the ball for the entire team to charge at the defence like a bunch of rams and there are very few defenders who can outstrength him. Not even Godin could do it, and I've seen Godin personally just a few feet away. He has a monster body. I wouldn't want to be marked by him.

If you play him the Peruvian way, he's incredible. Both Ricardo Gareca and Reinaldo Rueda play him that way and its come to great success. He's also a great captain and a fantastic free kick taker. If you're going to play him as a "goalscorer" then you won't suceed much. He'll score a few matches but that would be wasting his talent.

Like I said, if it weren't for all of the above, Peru wouldn't be in a world cup spot. He executes what the manager wants him to do perfectly. Raul Ruidiaz is our other striker, and he reminds me more of Higuain. He has a top goalscoring record in Mexico but when he's actually played for Peru, it didn't work. That's because he's not a traditional Peru number 9 like Paolo is. 

I don't think he's the best striker in the world like Vignolo does, but he's extremely underapreciated just because his goalscoring record for a striker isn't as good as others. I respect your opinion if you don't agree with me, but I do think you've GOT to put him a little better than Carlos Bacca. I think at worst, he's at Chicharito's level. At best, below Kane and Aguero, above Diego Costa and Griezmann.

 

Ultimately a striker is rated for his goals, If Ibrahimovic did all he does but while scoring 3 times less goals he wouldn't be as good as he is. It's good to have other qualities other than scoring goals, but if you don't do that regularly (even in a sub-par league) then you're not that good and obviously nowhere near the best. He's two steps down the best striker like Higuain, Suarez, Lewandowski, Kane, Ibrahimovic, Aguero, so yeah, people like Bacca or Chicarito are around his level.

 

[Guest]

On 11/1/2017 at 4:50 PM, Berserker said:

Ultimately a striker is rated for his goals, If Ibrahimovic did all he does but while scoring 3 times less goals he wouldn't be as good as he is. It's good to have other qualities other than scoring goals, but if you don't do that regularly (even in a sub-par league) then you're not that good and obviously nowhere near the best. He's two steps down the best striker like Higuain, Suarez, Lewandowski, Kane, Ibrahimovic, Aguero, so yeah, people like Bacca or Chicarito are around his level.

 

I get that, but its a roles thing for me. Paolo's goalscoring record isn't superb, but that's because he began to peak last season. He's scoring a lot more now and honestly his goalscoring record isn't that bad either. Just not superb overall.

I think we can agree to disagree. The only thing I'll say is that I don't rate Bacca in the slightest. I think a better comparison would just be Chicharito, which for me is him at his worst. I guess we have different views though.