FC Barcelona Discussion

[Spike]

40 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

And for everyone reading here, Barça have announced the signing of Sevilla’s highly rated centre-back Koundé. You couldn’t write this shit.

What a mess!

They either win it all this season or we could be seeing the end of the club as we know it. It’ll definitely be owned and bought by an individual who wants it and is ready to sort out the humongous mess they’re in.

But it would be a very tasty acquisition where football trade marks are concerned. 

Why would they sign Christensen and Koundé? Why did they have to loan out Lenglet? These moves are self-defeating.

[SirBalon]

7 hours ago, Spike said:

Why would they sign Christensen and Koundé? Why did they have to loan out Lenglet? These moves are self-defeating.

Lenglet was quality whilst he was being played and then he got injured and Araujo came along who has been absolutely awesome to say the least. Lenglet then lost his form from not being a first team player which meant when he would come on as a sub he was party to some real howling errors.

[Spike]

6 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

Lenglet was quality whilst he was being played and then he got injured and Araujo came along who has been absolutely awesome to say the least. Lenglet then lost his form from not being a first team player which meant when he would come on as a sub he was party to some real howling errors.

That doesn’t sound like he needs to be replaced with €50,000,000. Also Eric Garcia and Mingueza… maybe patience is needed not investment. Not everyone can be like Gavi and Pedri.

[Spike]

That brings me to my next point, they have Gavi, Pedri, Gonzalez, de Jong, Busquets, Roberto, Puig, so why sign Kessie?

Mephis, Aubameyang, Fati, Dembele, Braithwaite, and Torres. So why sign Raphinha and Lewandowski?

You think that,maybe Barca is playing the long game with all those young players but then they go and do this.

[Spike]

Also I am partial to the rumours that Pique is rooting Gavi’s mum. Classic Pique, also he looks terrible, like a drug addict.

[Carnivore Chris]

On 28/07/2022 at 21:14, Spike said:

Mate, I was typing out a thread for all the transfers that Barcelona has made since Guardiola, and I was sorting them into bad, great and too early to tell. It was too much work but the bad transfers were totalling at over one billion euros.

Here is what I found out via transfermarket

@SirBalon @Carnivore Chris could probably rate the transfers better than me, but IMO most were unnecessary.

 

I agree with pretty much all on the list, there has been some absolutely horrible signings since the Rosell/Bartomeu era, but not necessarily the following:-

Claudio Bravo - He was excellent in that treble winning team, but unfortunately Barça also had Ter Stegen so one had to depart and it wasn't going to be the much younger keeper.

Ousmane Dembélé - He's actually avoided injuries since Xavi came in, has drastically improved his final product in terms of creating chances, his physique and recently his attitude it appears. He's a highly talented player and if he can add goals to his game and start scoring solo goals like against Juve in the friendly the other day, then he will be deadly. He was only 19 when the club signed him, has largely played under awful managers and injuries held him back but he seems to have finally turned a corner. 

De Jong - He needs to improve his consistency which can make him frustrating but when the team play well, he's an important player. 

The 2 who surprised me were Arthur and Denis Suárez as you'd genuinely have thought they'd have gone on to thrive at the club. 

A key point would be the managers during this time:-

Tata Martino - What the fuck?

Luis Enrique - No complaints there really, but a bit short lived at the same time.

Valverde - He did well domestically but the football was unappealing, he wasn't the man for big European nights and I've never had the impression that he's a manager who can control egos.

Setien - What the fuck?

Koeman - What the fuck?

These are all even more uninspiring than the signings. Maybe a better manager would have gotten more from some of these players we have been critical of.

However I don't think there is any sense in relating those signings to the present as it's a different board now. Lenglet being sold with Christensen and Koundé doesn't really have any relation to each other in terms of who where behind the respective signings. Also from a football perspective(if you weren't to put the club's future at risk in the process), a couple of defenders are what the team lacked the most by far.

Piqué - He should have retired years ago. 

Umtiti - He's not fit to play anymore, his injuries finished him off. 

Lenglet - He costs you 20 points a season. Fuck me, he'd put you in debt himself. Utterly terrible defender. 

Araújo - Arguably the best defender the club have had since Puyol, but he needs a solid partner. 

Saying that, it's also down to Xavi to tighten that defence up as a big part of defending isn't simply the personnel but how a team sets out tactically.

I have alot of faith in Xavi. The football Barça played during that period earlier this year, before losing momentum after the international break, was the best I've seen at the club in years. He has a strong squad to work with now. 

As for Laporta. Can you trust him? Not everything he has done thus far has been negative, especially when it comes to renewing players, he also knows how to recruit(i.e Xavi and Mateu Alemany), but at what cost could some of the massively wreckless decisions come at? We'll have to see. 

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Carnivore Chris

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Spike said:

That doesn’t sound like he needs to be replaced with €50,000,000. Also Eric Garcia and Mingueza… maybe patience is needed not investment. Not everyone can be like Gavi and Pedri.

Totally with you bro. Just redacting the dumb decisions made and you’ve just amplified it by showing how they have invested in a questionable area of the pitch and never managed to sort it until Araujo appeared out of nowhere. What’s for sure is that they’re looking to replace Piqué. They’re apparently sick of his character.

[Spike]

1 hour ago, Carnivore Chris said:

I agree with pretty much all on the list, there has been some absolutely horrible signings since the Rosell/Bartomeu era, but not necessarily the following:-

Claudio Bravo - He was excellent in that treble winning team, but unfortunately Barça also had Ter Stegen so one had to depart and it wasn't going to be the much younger keeper.

Ousmane Dembélé - He's actually avoided injuries since Xavi came in, has drastically improved his final product in terms of creating chances, his physique and recently his attitude it appears. He's a highly talented player and if he can add goals to his game and start scoring solo goals like against Juve in the friendly the other day, then he will be deadly. He was only 19 when the club signed him, has largely played under awful managers and injuries held him back but he seems to have finally turned a corner. 

De Jong - He needs to improve his consistency which can make him frustrating but when the team play well, he's an important player. 

The 2 who surprised me were Arthur and Denis Suárez as you'd genuinely have thought they'd have gone on to thrive at the club. 

A key point would be the managers during this time:-

Tata Martino - What the fuck?

Luis Enrique - No complaints there really, but a bit short lived at the same time.

Valverde - He did well domestically but the football was unappealing, he wasn't the man for big European nights and I've never had the impression that he's a manager who can control egos.

Setien - What the fuck?

Koeman - What the fuck?

These are all even more uninspiring than the signings. Maybe a better manager would have gotten more from some of these players we have been critical of.

However I don't think there is any sense in relating those signings to the present as it's a different board now. Lenglet being sold with Christensen and Koundé doesn't really have any relation to each other in terms of who where behind the respective signings. Also from a football perspective(if you weren't to put the club's future at risk in the process), a couple of defenders are what the team lacked the most by far.

Piqué - He should have retired years ago. 

Umtiti - He's not fit to play anymore, his injuries finished him off. 

Lenglet - He costs you 20 points a season. Fuck me, he'd put you in debt himself. Utterly terrible defender. 

Araújo - Arguably the best defender the club have had since Puyol, but he needs a solid partner. 

Saying that, it's also down to Xavi to tighten that defence up as a big part of defending isn't simply the personnel but how a team sets out tactically.

I have alot of faith in Xavi. The football Barça played during that period earlier this year, before losing momentum after the international break, was the best I've seen at the club in years. He has a strong squad to work with now. 

As for Laporta. Can you trust him? Not everything he has done thus far has been negative, especially when it comes to renewing players, he also knows how to recruit(i.e Xavi and Mateu Alemany), but at what cost could some of the massively wreckless decisions come at? We'll have to see. 

 

My rationale for Bravo is that it was ultimately pointless having signed ter-Stegen. Dembele was terribly overpriced, a complete fleecing. And for de Jong… well Braca tried to sell him, why even sign him?

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Spike said:

My rationale for Bravo is that it was ultimately pointless having signed ter-Stegen. Dembele was terribly overpriced, a complete fleecing. And for de Jong… well Braca tried to sell him, why even sign him?

The Frenkie de Jong situation is an odd one. He is top quality but he has only shown that fleetingly since he joined Barça. Some say he’s been played out of position and others say he joined at the wrong moment and that players feed off of confidence. I suppose they’re decent enough arguments considering what’s been evident there.

The reason why Barça want to sell him is because out of the players they’re willing to let go, he’s the most valuable in the market. He’s young, talented and multi-faceted in midfield. Plus he “earns” a huge amount in wages which makes him a bit of a liability for Barcelona right now considering the amount of young talent they have in midfield atm.

All the same, the club are treating him like shit. They owe him a ton of money in back payments (wages) and have told him blatantly to his face that they wanted him out when he made it publicly clear he wanted to remain. Now certain directors have leaked that he’s been given an ultimatum... reduce your wages massively or leave.

Sorry guys... The kid has a contract which has been signed by both player and club. That’s in vigour and that’s law! As far as I’m concerned this is extortion.

Edited July 29, 2022 by SirBalon

[DeadLinesman]

14 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

The Frenkie de Jong situation is an odd one. He is top quality but he has only shown that fleetingly since he joined Barça. Some say he’s been played out of position and others say he joined at the wrong moment and that players feed off of confidence. I suppose they’re decent enough arguments considering what’s been evident there.

The reason why Barça want to sell him is because out of the players they’re willing to let go, he’s the most valuable in the market. He’s young, talented and multi-faceted in midfield. Plus he “earns” a huge amount in wages which makes him a bit of a liability for Barcelona right now considering the amount of young talent they have in midfield atm.

All the same, the club are treating him like shit. They owe him a ton of money in back payments (wages) and have told him blatantly to his face that they wanted him out when he made it publicly clear he wanted to remain. Now certain directors have leaked that he’s been given an ultimatum... reduce your wages massively or leave.

Sorry guys... The kid has a contract which has been signed by both player and club. That’s in vigour and that’s law! As far as I’m concerned this is extortion.

I’m more embarrassed by his behaviour if I’m honest and don’t want him anywhere near United. Simping for a club that owe him millions, contemplating a wage cut and still fawning over them. He’s an embarrassment.

[Spike]

5 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

I’m more embarrassed by his behaviour if I’m honest and don’t want him anywhere near United. Simping for a club that owe him millions, contemplating a wage cut and still fawning over them. He’s an embarrassment.

I don’t think he is doing that at all. The opposite, it is the principal of the matter, why should he move and not get paid? 

[DeadLinesman]

1 hour ago, Spike said:

I don’t think he is doing that at all. The opposite, it is the principal of the matter, why should he move and not get paid? 

It’s been heavily documented he’s considering a pay cut to stay. Time will tell. Still, I’d rather not have any player that shows zero desire to move to a club.

[Spike]

30 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

It’s been heavily documented he’s considering a pay cut to stay. Time will tell. Still, I’d rather not have any player that shows zero desire to move to a club.

He’d be taking a pay cut by joining United. He deserves his back salary

[SirBalon]

8 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

I’m more embarrassed by his behaviour if I’m honest and don’t want him anywhere near United. Simping for a club that owe him millions, contemplating a wage cut and still fawning over them. He’s an embarrassment.

Yeah, Memphis is doing the same thing and he’s not even on special wages. Infact he took on a very reasonable salary when he signed so as to be able to capture the registration with the federation. Only this morning he made this statement;

”They can sign as many forwards as they like, I’m not leaving!”

[SirBalon]

@Spike

Curious (if true) that Xavi may be looking to implement something Ernesto Valverde was so criticised for attempting.

 

[DeadLinesman]

7 hours ago, Spike said:

He’d be taking a pay cut by joining United. He deserves his back salary

He really, really wouldn’t be. He absolutely deserves the salary back though, not arguing with that.

[Spike]

5 hours ago, SirBalon said:

@Spike

Curious (if true) that Xavi may be looking to implement something Ernesto Valverde was so criticised for attempting.

 

That just begs the question what players occupy those wide areas of the pitch.

[Spike]

5 hours ago, DeadLinesman said:

He really, really wouldn’t be. He absolutely deserves the salary back though, not arguing with that.

I was under the impression that if he left the club that whatever he is owed is forfeit.

[DeadLinesman]

34 minutes ago, Spike said:

I was under the impression that if he left the club that whatever he is owed is forfeit.

I’m not sure that would even be legal? Especially if they’ve actively sold him? It’s still money owing. 

[Spike]

7 minutes ago, DeadLinesman said:

I’m not sure that would even be legal? Especially if they’ve actively sold him? It’s still money owing. 

Depends on how the contract is worded I suppose

[DeadLinesman]

6 minutes ago, Spike said:

Depends on how the contract is worded I suppose

Whatever happens, absolutely nobody looks good coming out of this, including United. Should have fucked them off weeks ago and moved on.

[Stan]

Riqui Puig leaving for LA Galaxy

 

[SirBalon]

How can that kid end up like that? I know how it sounds and as much as I will shout out loud that I mean no disrespect to the MLS, this just smells of Insigne. What was he waiting for then?

[Stan]

28 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

How can that kid end up like that? I know how it sounds and as much as I will shout out loud that I mean no disrespect to the MLS, this just smells of Insigne. What was he waiting for then?

It's a massive shame Barca have had to let him go  

[Cicero]

Didn't this lad have a high ceiling? Such a strange decision.