Re: How do you think Barcelona could improve?

by The Franchise Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:46 pm

If we are honest, even when we were on top of the world our signings were hit and miss.

So, when you start losing that edge you cant afford hit and miss signings like we have done. Especially when all the "hits" become fewer and fewer.

But I am not so worried about the signings and stuff like that, we still have for me the best group of players.

More important than that, we are making a total mockery of our philosophy currently.

If you list say 15 details of our philosophy, I bet we arent even doing half of them correctly

Offside line and sweeper goalie? Nope.

Ball moving quickly from player to player. 1 touch the best, 2 touches if you have to? Hell no.

Do we have vertical depth? Are we a threat in behind? No again.

High pressing? No, hardly ever.

And so on..

by The Franchise Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:47 pm

aleumdance wrote:
likeastar wrote:Where would Cex play ?

if Cex were a merengue, the Manchester match would have been over by first leg

I have no idea why barca would attack Arsenal for 2 years for cex and not know how to use him

Its not really our fault he is a midfielder who dont know how to play in midfield.

Its our fault for signing him, but its not our fault he plays like that.

by aleumdance Thu Mar 07, 2013 1:51 pm

Cex play is very direct and calm at thesame time..

imagine a xabi alonso with speed who can't tackle for $hit

that was cex. Thought Barca bought him to deal with toough Midfield tackles but i was deceived

by futbol Thu Mar 07, 2013 2:11 pm

Barca bought him for political reasons. It's hilarious to see how he's destroying the shape of the team and when shit really hits the fan he is the first player to get subbed off after 60 minutes.

by Valkyrja Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:35 pm

aleumdance wrote:
likeastar wrote:Where would Cex play ?

if Cex were a merengue, the Manchester match would have been over by first leg

I have no idea why barca would attack Arsenal for 2 years for cex and not know how to use him

I asked you where would he play ? He will never be better than Ozil at AM, and he never was.

by Kaladin Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:36 pm

likeastar wrote:
aleumdance wrote:
likeastar wrote:Where would Cex play ?

if Cex were a merengue, the Manchester match would have been over by first leg

I have no idea why barca would attack Arsenal for 2 years for cex and not know how to use him

I asked you where would he play ? He will never be better than Ozil at AM, and he never was.

How do you think Barcelona could improve? - Page 6 Jon-popcorn

by aleumdance Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:39 pm

likeastar wrote:
aleumdance wrote:
likeastar wrote:Where would Cex play ?

if Cex were a merengue, the Manchester match would have been over by first leg

I have no idea why barca would attack Arsenal for 2 years for cex and not know how to use him

I asked you where would he play ? He will never be better than Ozil at AM, and he never was.

i already said it, somewhere between modric and xabi

trust me he had the direction.

Barca ruined Cex mate, when Cesc was just 21 he was taking serie a midfields to school.

remember he ptu beckham and guti in his pocket when he was still 19..

Arsenal was the perfect fit, but lack of ambition at arsenal killed Cex's completion

by FalcaoPunch Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:51 pm

Barca DNA was his downfall.

by VanDeezNuts Thu Mar 07, 2013 5:14 pm

its funny how poor peoples memory can be. cesc was carrying the likes of arsenal by age 20. ozil has never reached that type of control. ozil is a very talented player and has definitely usurped him in terms of importance to their respective teams but cesc before barca was an animal.

by harhar11 Thu Mar 07, 2013 6:37 pm

I do belive that Fabregas is more talented than Özil, but don't blame Barca for his downfall. Even in his last season at Arsenal he was pretty average.

by LeBéninois Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:11 am

Fabregas at Arsenal is better than Ozil .

The fact is Fab was bought for political reasons and even the players wanted him to come. As everything was ok , plus some euphoria = Paying for a player not needed.

Too bad for Arsenal, Barca and Fab. Sad

Arsenal won't buy him back unless his price drop down to 15 M

Next season will be decisive for Fab , either he makes it or not i believe.. hope he does as anywyas Xavi is going and Fab is still a TOP TOP player ...
I believe that Cesc's directness would be needed sooner or later as teams manage to defend very well against FCB

by Zealous Fri Mar 08, 2013 1:51 am

I've always believed that formations only matter when defending and I don't think that Barca will have to defend traditionally vs Milan. All they have to focus on not getting caught out at the back and to do that you have to rely on your CBs to do their job. Pique, Mascherano and Puyol are just too shaky right now and that shakiness is what is making Alves and Alba's job so difficult.

As for the attack, it's difficult to ask for constant movement between lines when space is so restricted in the areas where Barcelona like to operate. Barca's midfield seldom makes ambitious low percentage passes which isn't a bad thing in and of itself but when your passing is too safe then you're just making the other team's job easier. The best way to get the other team to open up a bit is to diversify your attacking options. I don't want to make this sound as if Madrid are superior or anything like that but look at how Madrid scored it's three goals against Manchester United. A header, a shot from distance and a tap in after a well worked cross. Barca don't seem to have many of these options in their tool box atm. Of course to do these things you need to have confidence, belief and a certain sense of urgency and that is exactly what Barca are missing imo.

No formation in the world can help with poor concentration and low confidence. Barca's issue (for me at least) isn't tactical at all. The players are just not doing what they are supposed to because they have begun to doubt themselves (starting after the Milan game and culminating in the last Clasico)

by RealGunner Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:13 am

harhar11 wrote:I do belive that Fabregas is more talented than Özil, but don't blame Barca for his downfall. Even in his last season at Arsenal he was pretty average.

lmao no. He was our top 3 player that season. Ended up with 15 goals and 20 assists.

by Great Leader Sprucenuce Fri Mar 08, 2013 2:26 am

Actually RG he got 9 goals and 14 assists and besides that means nothing as he got 15 goals and 20 assists in his first season at Barca despite that most would say he was pretty poor.

Not saying he was poor in his last season at Arsenal but stats don't tell the whole story.

by Zuess99 Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:53 am

Its not that cesc is bad , its just that he plays with really good midfielders that make him look average. Look at how average sanchez and villa look.In their previous clubs they were seen as legends/

by aleumdance Fri Mar 08, 2013 9:57 am

Zuess99 wrote:Its not that cesc is bad , its just that he plays with really good midfielders that make him look average. Look at how average sanchez and villa look.In their previous clubs they were seen as legends/

no, he just does not fit into their plan..

he is too direct for their style, simple

that why I said if he were at madrid, he would have been used right

by Onyx Fri Mar 08, 2013 4:26 pm

Ozil is more influential for Real Madrid than Fabregas is for Barca.

In terms of Hummels, I'm sure he'd fit in alright at Barca. He's good on the ball and has good distribution. I'm not sure where the notion of Barca needing quick CB's came from. Pique and Puyol aren't the quickest yet they succeeded.

However it would be a positive if the CB was quick, since they play a highline.

by danyjr Sat Mar 09, 2013 12:32 am

Barcelona could have signed Vertonghen for €12m but they opted for Song for €17m.

Blatant stupidity.

by The Sanchez Sat Mar 09, 2013 1:40 am

danyjr wrote:Barcelona could have signed Vertonghen for €12m but they opted for Song for €17m.

Blatant stupidity.

Was a hot target I remember but we fell on him unlike Spurs who persisted with taking him.
:facepalm:

12m for one of the best defenders in the PL today. :bow:

by BarrileteCosmico Sat Mar 09, 2013 2:18 am

He wanted to come to Barca pretty bad, his agent and coach made weekly statements about him, but we never even looked at him.

Anyways the more accurate comparison is with Alba as he plays mostly LB for spurs iirc.

by The Sanchez Sat Mar 09, 2013 7:48 am

BarrileteCosmico wrote:He wanted to come to Barca pretty bad, his agent and coach made weekly statements about him, but we never even looked at him.

Anyways the more accurate comparison is with Alba as he plays mostly LB for spurs iirc.

Another element I like about him. Can also play at leftback...

by danyjr Sat Mar 09, 2013 9:10 am

Will Barcelona lose their obsession of trying to convert midfielders to defenders after multiple failures? Would you rather have a defender who can play the ball from the back or a defender who can actually defend?

The system's flaws are exposed. How many goals have Barcelona conceded due to poor defending in the past couple of seasons? How many goals against big teams on set pieces? And how did bringing Song and Alba improve their ongoing issues with defence?

Some suggest Barça's priority next season should be bringing creativity in attack, with the names of Neymar etc. being mentioned all the time. Forget about all that, if you're letting too many soft goals in you should stop the leakage at the back before you think about attacking. Afterall, Barcelona have one of the greatest forwards of all times in their squad, and Villa, a Spanish legend, Pedro and Sánchez ain't bad either, if given the freedom to take a shot, dribble and win their battle against their obvious Where is Messi Syndrome.

by barca 2011 Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:21 am

danyjr wrote:Will Barcelona lose their obsession of trying to convert midfielders to defenders after multiple failures? Would you rather have a defender who can play the ball from the back or a defender who can actually defend?

The system's flaws are exposed. How many goals have Barcelona conceded due to poor defending in the past couple of seasons? How many goals against big teams on set pieces? And how did bringing Song and Alba improve their ongoing issues with defence?

Some suggest Barça's priority next season should be bringing creativity in attack, with the names of Neymar etc. being mentioned all the time. Forget about all that, if you're letting too many soft goals in you should stop the leakage at the back before you think about attacking. Afterall, Barcelona have one of the greatest forwards of all times in their squad, and Villa, a Spanish legend, Pedro and Sánchez ain't bad either, if given the freedom to take a shot, dribble and win their battle against their obvious Where is Messi Syndrome.

Defensively there's no doubt we're exposed. But in attack, villa is a Spanish legend but he's at that point where a striker will understandably begin to decline little by little. Pedro and Sanchez aren't bad at all but the problem is that they are both likely having their worst ever season as professionals simultaneously which pretty much leaves only Messi to get swarmed by 3+ players for most of the game and he is rendered ineffective.

Of course our midfield hasn't been at the high standards of the last 4 years this season but we have been figured out. It's now up to the management to figure out how to react to that until the summer window opens up.

by Onyx Sat Mar 09, 2013 2:25 pm

I don't think Song was bought to improve the defense. He was bought to replace Keita imo.

by nichabr Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:18 am

Barcelona's problem is the same as Milan's problem in 08 where they waited way to long to bring players with a hunger to win again and Barca are going to crumble if they don't push for their youth or get a few new players who can put that hunger back in the team to play more key roles in the squad....Their is so much talk of the great youth in the team but none of them have a major role to play in the first team.

by The Franchise Sun Mar 10, 2013 3:45 am

No, because unlike Milan we are still winning and are top of the league.

Second, hunger is not the problem this season. They didnt lose to Madrid because of any lack of hunger, nor did they lose to Milan for that reason.

And if none of the youth players play a big role in this team...its because other former youth players are playing a big role.

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