What should be our plan forward now?

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Gareth Bale doesn't play RW as far as I'm aware. Not a fan of signing a player so we can play him in the wrong position.

Gareth Bale plays wherever you want him to play. He has played LW, LM, AM, SS, RW and Striker at Tottenham. He would addapt easily at RW.

Also, we are Barça, we buy players and change their position and it works out fine. We are special. Hardly a position change though.

Edit: He also played LB but he was a failure there.

alexjanosik wrote:Come on man.You cant say that Messi got injured because he ran more. Its just a coincidence.Besides he didnt even run that much.Just slightly more than his usual fare(which is walking for the entire 90 min).I dont think he is that injury prone that he would get injured just by running a bit more.
Also look at Robben.Considered very injury prone.Yet ran his socks off over the two legs.With proper care and training dont think there should be an issue.

Messi was injury prone 5 years ago.Now he is not.So yes he should run his socks off in the big games.No doubt in my mind.

Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe it isn't. We don't know. Anyway, yes, he should run his socks in big games, I always agreed on that, but I think it's smart that he keeps his legs fresh in most games.
Robben will get injured next week probably.

messixaviesta wrote:Today on Twitter there was a discussion about just how great this Barca team has been.

My point was this this team's greatness lasted three seasons - 08 to 11. If there have been other teams who have stayed at the peak for a longer time then in this aspect we compare unfavourably with them. However if we compare the best three years of any team any time in history against ours there are few who can compete with us.

What do you all think?

I think the rumours of Barca's demise are greatly exaggerated.

All the BM result will do is compound the idea that careful changes need to be made and world class acquisitions made.

It's been a tumultuous season for Barca with injuries to players at important times, Abidal's recovery and Vilanova's illness.

I am satisfied with this humiliation that Bayern gave us for the simple fact, it should wake up our board and realize that this team has some real flaws. Unlike the past few years when they were narrow exits and it led the board to believe we were good enough.

We have put off signing a CB for the past 2 summers dating back to in my opinion 2010/2011 when he had a very good and healthy back line.

I also believe Villa's time with us is done. He is just not the same player he was before the boken leg. Might as wel get something out of him. I also believe that the Alexis Sanchez situation has to be dealt with. I'll admit that I wanted him to come here because I though he would flourish, but that ship has sailed. I believe it would be best for both parties to cut their losses.

free_cat wrote:

messixaviesta wrote:cat, forget about Varane. He was Zidane's handpick. Madrid is in his blood now.

We should not so completely lose faith in our own ability to nurture/recruit talent as to want to pilfer from Madrid.

Since people are expressing knee jerk reactions here's one from me. Ask the entire Rosell administration to resign. They have failed in maintaining the level of the team. As for their handling of transfers there isn't a word in the dictionary to adequately describe just how pathetically they have handled it. Never thought anyone would be able to give Alessio Secco competition but our board managed to do that and that too with much more money thus causing much more ruin.

Zidane "handpicked" Varane? Zidane is not even working at Madrid as far as I know. I'm not saying it's our only option, I gave many other names. I just say: "try it". Contact his agent and offer to buy out his contract and a good deal with us. If he says no, move to the other names I gave.

I would very much love Rosell and co to resign. They are such a failure of board, living off Laporta and Guardiola's success and trying to destroy everything related to Laporta and Cruyff... and now even starting to attack Guardiola. Terrible board of liars and losers.

Well let me just say trying it will definitely not be fruitful and it will give us a bad name in the press needlessly. I would firmly advise against it but we can agree to disagree on that.

Please enlighten me what has Rosell's board done to attack Guardiola. I seem to have missed this completely.

I dont think we will even try to get Varane, just for various reasons, but I dont agree it would give us a bad name..why would it?

Though, even if it did, I wouldnt care less.

Not sure why people keep bring up Varane lmao

thats like finding out Real Madrid are interested in Thiago

....um yea not going to happen.

Well all Free is saying is Barca should try...not that we are trying..nothing wrong with that is there?

Most people here also insisted Thiago Silva could not be bought (I was not one of them), they said it was just (if not more) impossible than it is for us to get Varane now...and we saw how that went.

Dont think anyone is expecting us to get him..just saying what they would do..which other people also have.

dani, in case of Thiago Silva it was widely believed Milan would never sell him. What I want to state specifically here is people who actually work in the transfer market such as our think tank obviously have their sources and they would have got to know sooner or later that for the right price he would be let go. The minute they got that info they should have reacted but they didn't and PSG did.

windkick wrote:Not sure why people keep bring up Varane lmao

thats like finding out Real Madrid are interested in Thiago

....um yea not going to happen.

So, as ridiculous as when a presidential candidate for Madrid said publicly he wanted to sign Iniesta paying his release clause and it was rumoured he had an agreement with his father...? That was in 2006.

messixaviesta wrote:

free_cat wrote:

messixaviesta wrote:cat, forget about Varane. He was Zidane's handpick. Madrid is in his blood now.

We should not so completely lose faith in our own ability to nurture/recruit talent as to want to pilfer from Madrid.

Since people are expressing knee jerk reactions here's one from me. Ask the entire Rosell administration to resign. They have failed in maintaining the level of the team. As for their handling of transfers there isn't a word in the dictionary to adequately describe just how pathetically they have handled it. Never thought anyone would be able to give Alessio Secco competition but our board managed to do that and that too with much more money thus causing much more ruin.

Zidane "handpicked" Varane? Zidane is not even working at Madrid as far as I know. I'm not saying it's our only option, I gave many other names. I just say: "try it". Contact his agent and offer to buy out his contract and a good deal with us. If he says no, move to the other names I gave.

I would very much love Rosell and co to resign. They are such a failure of board, living off Laporta and Guardiola's success and trying to destroy everything related to Laporta and Cruyff... and now even starting to attack Guardiola. Terrible board of liars and losers.

Well let me just say trying it will definitely not be fruitful and it will give us a bad name in the press needlessly. I would firmly advise against it but we can agree to disagree on that.

Please enlighten me what has Rosell's board done to attack Guardiola. I seem to have missed this completely.

Toni Freixa, Barça's spokesman, said a week ago that "Tito Vilanova is beating Guardiola in all comparisons, even the human aspect", implying that Tito is a better coach and a better person. If that's not a veiled attack to Guardiola...

Also, the board has strong connections with two newspapers and a radio that have several journalists and "pundits" who regularly criticize and mock Guardiola, mostly because he left us and signed for Bayern and for his signings.

Here, the link to the news:
http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/138/spain/2013/04/19/3915550/vilanova-wins-all-the-comparisons-with-guardiola-says

It was 2 weeks ago.

Speaking of taking Real Madrid players...

Gonzalo Higuain is leaving. Should be at a cut price compared to other touted names like Lewandowski, Suarez and Aguero who have been said could replace Villa.

Would Madrid sell him to us? Would you take him?

Always liked him and he works well with Leo.

I'm very surprised as an outsider to see the backlash concerning the squad. Doubtless, certain members of the squad may need to be moved on in order to generate funds, however the suggestion that wholesale changes will be made remains unrealistic in my eyes and the idea that there will be some sort of equality between the numbers brought in and out surprises me. To my mind, selling four or five players and bringing in four or five replacements may improve the team, however it fails to properly address the question of depth. I am not suggesting that heavy rotation should be the order of the day, however given that the Barcelona squad is relatively small, it would certainly do not harm to increase the squad size by two or three players. Whilst this can be achieved in part through promotions from the youth sector, I see no gain to be had in selling the likes of Pique and Pedro.

This being said, sell us Cesc please.

@Kizz, I realise that Higuain has an excellent friendship with his Argentina teammates, however as a player who has been at Madrid since quite a young age and one of the most loyal players in their squad, do you really think he would come, simply out of respect for the fans?

Probably not, but I'm not sure how he feels about Madrid. They haven't shown him much respect either.

Could be worth an inquiry again.

Yes, rumour of Milan in for Cesc. Make it happen.

It could be worth an inquiry, however I think that the competition for Higuain will be significant, he won't necessarily be a 'cut price' option as you say. PSG are interested in pairing Ibrahimovic with a pure 9, whilst Chelsea, City, Juventus and perhaps Inter will all be on the look out for a striker during the summer. Should he choose to depart, I see him looking very closely at PSG's offer, unless they snap up Cavani or Falcao whilst he hesitates to make a decision. I believe he would look to leave Spain unless Barcelona were his only option, should he choose to leave. I do believe that he has a good relationship with the fans, even if he can feel aggrieved perhaps that Madrid continue to look into forwards after he's given them years of loyal service.

To be honest we've been linked to Cesc year after year and I've never taken the link seriously, there's simply no way we could afford him. If you gave us a discount if we bundled him with Bojan then we could come to some sort of accord though, I'm sure

The Barca midfield lacks grit and stupidity, we can send you Muntari in exchange for Fab

The spiritual successor of Keita.

#SignHimUpTito

no f*** that, Didn't Milan president make TS promise not to join Barcelona?

dostoevsky wrote:I'm very surprised as an outsider to see the backlash concerning the squad. Doubtless, certain members of the squad may need to be moved on in order to generate funds, however the suggestion that wholesale changes will be made remains unrealistic in my eyes and the idea that there will be some sort of equality between the numbers brought in and out surprises me. To my mind, selling four or five players and bringing in four or five replacements may improve the team, however it fails to properly address the question of depth. I am not suggesting that heavy rotation should be the order of the day, however given that the Barcelona squad is relatively small, it would certainly do not harm to increase the squad size by two or three players. Whilst this can be achieved in part through promotions from the youth sector, I see no gain to be had in selling the likes of Pique and Pedro.

This being said, sell us Cesc please.

@Kizz, I realise that Higuain has an excellent friendship with his Argentina teammates, however as a player who has been at Madrid since quite a young age and one of the most loyal players in their squad, do you really think he would come, simply out of respect for the fans?

There is no reason why Higuain would not join Barca if the 2 parties reach an agreement financially. The respect for the fan is just a dream. Ppl got to realise footballers lie and are realistics as anyone, they would do what is best in their interest only. Most of them anyway.

Honestly Gonzalo's friendship with Messi is one of the more distant ones within the team. This could be due to him being a generally more private person for his high profile (much like Lio himself), but unlike many of his other teammates Pipita never said he asked for Messi's shirt, never posts pictures of himself with him, and whenever they show group pictures Messi is almost always surrounded by Lavezzi, Aguero, Masche, Milito, etc. That's not to say Pipita has a "bad" relationship with Messi, just that it's probably a more professional one.

Higuain: 48 Champions League games. 8 goals.
No thanks.

He has 9 goals according to transfermarkt across 2565 minutes (the equivalent of 28.5 games). So a goal per every 3 games which is something akin to what Alexis had before we signed him, not to mention his very good record on the league.

In any case no way he comes to us, but I would take him no doubt.

Donuts wrote:no f*** that, Didn't Milan president make TS promise not to join Barcelona?

Retarded if true lol

BarrileteCosmico wrote:He has 9 goals according to transfermarkt across 2565 minutes (the equivalent of 28.5 games). So a goal per every 3 games which is something akin to what Alexis had before we signed him, not to mention his very good record on the league.

In any case no way he comes to us, but I would take him no doubt.

Difference is nobody ever thought Alexis was a goalscorer..at least they shouldnt have.

BarrileteCosmico wrote:He has 9 goals according to transfermarkt across 2565 minutes (the equivalent of 28.5 games). So a goal per every 3 games which is something akin to what Alexis had before we signed him, not to mention his very good record on the league.

In any case no way he comes to us, but I would take him no doubt.

Cool, if the comparison is Alexis, more reason to not sign him.
I like Higuain, but his everflopping in CL is alarming.