Zaragoza vs Barcelona

Tello with a great game

Thiago was terrific. He will be a great CAM in the future and he is Barcelona's version of Özil. Is that why Guardiola didn't sign the German?

Alexis is playing better and better. He's a true warrior and I'm happy for him as he's getting his confidence back. I still think he'll be better utilised in another team.

Good finishing by Tello. He is well suited to play against 'easier' teams due to his pace and Barcelona should capitalise on that.

And let's not beat the dead horse Fàbregas. Sell him back to Arsenal and get Wilshere.

Tello is a goal scoring machine.

Our poor man's Cipriano Ronaldo.

If I'm not mistaken, all we need to do is beat Levante, Bilbao and Betis and the league is ours

These tough games; Espanyol, Athletico, Malaga , wont even matter if it all goes to plan.

Where would Wilshere play...? lol

CBarca wrote:Where would Wilshere play...? lol

You need to start thinking about replacing your 'aged' areas. Replacing Puyol is pretty much out of question and Xavi's legs won't last forever.

danyjr wrote:

eelir wrote:Why is Xavi still on the pitch? We are 3 up wtf?

Obviously he's past his injury. I can't imagine the Barcelona coaches being that stupid.

Yeah, but why risk him after 3:0, when there are ton of youngsters waiting to prove themselves?

eelir wrote:Yeah, but why risk him after 3:0, when there are ton of youngsters waiting to prove themselves?

Fair point.

Because Xavi hasn't played regularly since 2012. He's just been rushed back for most big games. What he needs is match practice now, not rest.

free_cat wrote:Our poor man's Cipriano Ronaldo.

What's the Cipriano in reference to?

I thought it was a very good game for us. Thiago was immense, he has great vision and is very deserving of more minutes. Alexis started off very strong and then gradually became a bit less effective but still had a very good game. Tello made a strong case to show Roura what nonsense it was to not even call him up. Felt Abidal could've been brought earlier for more practice.

Not much to say on the defense other than that Montoya was lucky not to have been awarded a pen. Other refs would've.

danyjr wrote:

CBarca wrote:Where would Wilshere play...? lol

You need to start thinking about replacing your 'aged' areas. Replacing Puyol is pretty much out of question and Xavi's legs won't last forever.

Wilshere cannot play the Xavi role, unless he undergoes large and drastic changes in the next couple years.

• Work rate - tick
  
• Mobility -tick
  
• Composure - tick
  
• Receive the ball at tight spaces - tick
  
• Short pass - tick
  
• Long pass - tick
  
• Vision - tick

Not sure what else you want, unless you want a Xavi clone (and good luck with that). Wilshere is the complete midfielder, being able to play different positions from a holding midfielder to an attacking midfielder, so he surpasses Xavi in terms of versatility. And unlike Fàbregas his tactical understanding is ace and is able to orchestrate a team from deep. It is laughable he's only 21. He is going to improve and is able to adapt to more play styles.

We can play the attribute game all day but what he can do doesn't dictate how good he is at that and whether he is fit for a role like Xavi's. If we want to play that game, there is a player from Tottenham that ticks all those boxes too- Mousa Dembele. Yet you don't see me saying Barca should buy him for Xavi's role. Why? Despite ticking all the boxes, that's not his role.

Wilshere has played as a CM before but he's largely played CAM with Arsenal this season, Wenger overseeing that development. Wilshere is much more adept at taking the ball and driving forward and creating space before laying it off to someone else than he is at keeping the ball moving, dictating tempo and the pace of the game. That job is more Arteta's than anything. Wilshere has pulled the strings from deeper and being a great player he's done it well, but his play reflects someone more in the position of Iniesta than someone in the position of Xavi.

I find Thiago to be infinitely more suited to the Xavi role. And he's shown it already to great effect.

But that's just talking about him replacing Xavi. If we were to talk about actually signing him- we're talking a young, English player from Arsenal- that alone will make him very expensive, probably moreso than Fabregas. Not only that, but he's injury prone as f*ck. He's in the hospital as much as he is on the field. He would be a very large risk and one I don't think is worth taking.

That's if we can convince him to come to Barca, which I find would be hard considering his love for Arsenal, at least at this time.

But why would we buy Wilshere with Thiago in our team? and why would Arsene let him go?

futbol wrote:Because Xavi hasn't played regularly since 2012. He's just been rushed back for most big games. What he needs is match practice now, not rest.

Interesting. Yesterday I read on Twitter that Xavi hasn't started a La Liga match for quite some time and has played very few minutes in the league in the last few weeks. Strange that this information came as a surprise to me.

Regarding the discussion on Wilshere, let me state here that I have no interest in purchasing him. Similarly on Twitter I have read suggestions we should go for Ilkay Gundogan. I want neither and for the time being no midfielder for that matter. With the midfielders we have we are struggling to give everyone minutes. If we sell Cesc then this can be discussed but since that is extremely unlikely I refuse to entertain the idea of buying any more midfielders. Specifically about Wilshere after buying Arsenal's best player I don't want to spoil relations even more. Unlike Fabregas this guy is English and their own thoroughbred. Then he is also a very injury prone player which means even less interest in him. Where we need to spend big time is defense and then maybe attack and goalkeeper. That should be more than enough for this summer.

I only watched the second half. I feel Tello has earned the right to at least invest some time on him even in big games. It was a surprise that he wasn’t included in the squad against PSG. The kid is screaming he can provide alternatives to our game. Also he can’t improve from the bench. I say give him a go

At first I didn't know why Xavi played, but then I saw it. Went about his job unspectacularly and helped our midfield dominate. He allowed Thiago the limelight but his presence and leadership was important with such a young/experimental team. He'll be rested on the weekend so its no issue. However, he still needs to freshen up for the big games. I dont think he's been 100%.

Thiago was immense... He was top few players in every stat. Was winning balls in midfield and providing spark everywhere. 2 great assists, but what about that ball-win, shimmy and then pass from deep to Alexis in the second half! Amazing...

Tello had Sapunaru for breakfast... All over him and a real menace down that wing.

Improvements continue from Sanchez, showed great quality at times.

Another great game from Song.

Excellent from Bartra. Looking calmer and more confident. Valuable time and made a number of defensive contributions. Thought he's been better than Adri. Play him on the weekend and make the decision then.

Monty was very good too, excellent versatile and reliable player.

I do think Tello has been putting up his hand for a while now... Worth some time.

Definitely he deserves more than not even being on the bench for a big game.

Vs Bayern we should consider playing Tello - Messi - Pedro.

Sheer speed for the counters, good workrate and passing, good linkup on the right between Pedro and Alves, and goal.

Going to have to rest all potential starters other than maybe Bartra and Valdes for the game against Levante.

Who would you go with??


Leaving for Bayern:

My impression was that Tello is to one-dimensional. But now i started to change my mind and I think he can be used more than just an impact sub who brings sheer speed.

I agree Tello seem to be one dimensional not long the ago, this season hes really improved and quickly so thats great news. I hope he continues to get better, to be a Barca starter u need to be world elite and he still has time to get to that level.

Thiago had a good game, Cesc a quite one, just goes to show these players can suit to different games and opponents, all contributing in different times.

I don’t really care for the “one trick” thing. As long as he’s doing it effectively and consistently let him do it I say

danyjr wrote:

• Work rate - tick
  
• Mobility -tick
  
• Composure - tick
  
• Receive the ball at tight spaces - tick
  
• Short pass - tick
  
• Long pass - tick
  
• Vision - tick

Not sure what else you want, unless you want a Xavi clone (and good luck with that). Wilshere is the complete midfielder, being able to play different positions from a holding midfielder to an attacking midfielder, so he surpasses Xavi in terms of versatility. And unlike Fàbregas his tactical understanding is ace and is able to orchestrate a team from deep. It is laughable he's only 21. He is going to improve and is able to adapt to more play styles.

Thing is he can't..... his vision is probably the worst of any Arsenal midfielder and consistently tries to dribble out of situation losing the ball.

Watch Arsenal consistently and you will realise this, he's a turnover machine and defensively poor.

He's a talent but he's no Xavi never has been and never will be.

He's more like Pogba but without the ridiculous physique and is better technically.

He's a driver from midfield a box to box player ( which is why he's been compared to Gascoigne) but in no way is he a Xavi.

You complain about Thiago in that role but if you put Wilshere in that role he will give the ball away 20x more and leave more gaps defensively its not to say he's bad but he's not a Xavi.

Have no idea why you think this, Wilshere is no leader of the orchestra Ramsey, Rosicky and Arteta are all better at this.

If you wanted to buy Wilshere he would be much more suited to a Iniesta replacement than a Xavi replacement and Thiago is vice versa.

Everything here is so backwards.

Another Xavi is not possible. He's one in a gazillion, maybe more. And it is easy to point that out. The difficult question is how to replace a player like him.

Wilshere was accused of being defensively poor. I agree, his defensive positioning and awareness has been questionable at times but we're talking about a guy who, at the age of 19, nullified Xavi and Iniesta in his biggest match to date. He can tackle all right and helps tremendously when pressing (not that Xavi is great at defending anyway).

I think we all agree that he's a box to box midfielder. Isn't that evidence to his ability in playing deep? I don't see why having the ability to dribble his way out is a bad habit. Especially in a team where his task is to move the ball forward at all times which is why he has to take more risks (see: Arsenal's Song vs Barcelona's Song). What is obvious to me is that he's a passer with pin point accuracy and range and also very capable of receiving the ball in tight situations. This is the basis of possession football, and what made Xavi an icon. My opinion. And while we're at it, I 100% disagree that he gives the ball away easily. He's a nightmare to get the ball from.

As for his injury prone status, it's a myth. The guy has been playing in one the most physical leagues week in week out since he was 19. It has more to do with his manager's stupidity/desperateness to play a teenager so much that he is left burned by the end of every season.

All that, and he's only 21. Where was Xavi at his age?