La Liga in Trouble?

Doesn't matter if Pedro and Sanchez sick when Messi is scoring 60+ goals per season. With possibly the best player to ever live on their forward line and then solid players like Pedro, Sanchez, and Tempo there around him, as well as one of Fabregas or Iniesta as well, they simply don't need Neymar. I would also say Gotze is easily the brightest talent right now but that's another story in itself, but either way, they needed a defender and bought a forward. That's like Juventus going out and buying only Ogbonna but without Tevez and Llorente. This transfer window would've been a failure. Eben though Ogbonna is a great CB with a lot of room for improvement, hes not gonna solve our problems.

As for Alonso and Xavi, they both need replacing. Again Barca failed at this so far and even sold their best chance they already had at a replacement (unless Fabregas reverts back to that role). Illaramendi is a good signing as I said before but I personally am just a doubted that he'll be able to make the cut. Isco is a good signing only because hes a bright talent and can also fit a possession game. Not because the attack needs help because it definitely does not. Problem is, Isco will need to show that he suits the counterattacking game otherwise hes just a waste too. Which is just one of the reasons I think Madrid need a change of style.

Ancelotti said the team will play possession football, so finally no more relying on counter-attacks. Isco and Illarramendi will fit in well.

Alonso wants to apparently leave next year and he's getting on a bit as well.

juventus101 wrote:Doesn't matter if Pedro and Sanchez sick when Messi is scoring 60+ goals per season. With possibly the best player to ever live on their forward line and then solid players like Pedro, Sanchez, and Tempo there around him, as well as one of Fabregas or Iniesta as well, they simply don't need Neymar. I would also say Gotze is easily the brightest talent right now but that's another story in itself, but either way, they needed a defender and bought a forward. That's like Juventus going out and buying only Ogbonna but without Tevez and Llorente. This transfer window would've been a failure. Eben though Ogbonna is a great CB with a lot of room for improvement, hes not gonna solve our problems.

As for Alonso and Xavi, they both need replacing. Again Barca failed at this so far and even sold their best chance they already had at a replacement (unless Fabregas reverts back to that role). Illaramendi is a good signing as I said before but I personally am just a doubted that he'll be able to make the cut. Isco is a good signing only because hes a bright talent and can also fit a possession game. Not because the attack needs help because it definitely does not. Problem is, Isco will need to show that he suits the counterattacking game otherwise hes just a waste too. Which is just one of the reasons I think Madrid need a change of style.

Wow, to rely on one player to continue to score 60 plus goals a season is just silly. It was very obvious that Messi broke down last year physically because of the burden the team placed on him (a non contact injury is generally a player breaking down not a freak accident) with Pedro and Alexis not performing anywhere near where they were expected to.

Barca needs a player of Neymar's caliber badly as the best Barca teams over the last couple of years had great wing and forward play mixed in with Messi's genius. Both teams that won Champions League titles had the likes of Henry (over 25 goals) and Eto'o (over 30 goals) up front with Messi and a devastating Pedro and a healthy in form David Villa both having over 20 goals that season.

To just expect to get 60 goals from Messi and just take whatever you can get from 2 players who are flat out not producing is a bad strategy. Especially if Messi were to go down again. Competing with the likes of Madrid makes it very hard to lose Messi as losing any points in the league is dangerous for either team as both teams can go on massive runs in the league and any injury to Messi without Neymar could lose you the season even if he's only out for a month or 2.

Not to mention he is going to START. Next year Puyol is healthy and will pair with Pique and Alves/Alba will start as well. Any defender they buy will be a backup. Why you continue to insist we need to buy backups more then one of the best players in the world in just not sane.

And LOL. Gotze is not better then Neymar. Sorry to burst your bubble. Any general manager or person with eyes attached to a brain can tell you that. I would bet 95% of teams in Europe if given the option would jump at the chance to take Neymar over Gotze. I always thought Gotze got way too much credit for Dortmund's success. He is a very good player but they really didn't miss him at all in the final against Bayern. And I don't think they will miss him much this year. Now Santos on the other hand, yea there gonna miss Neymar.

Gotze > Neymar. They're both doing the same things the last few years. Difference is, Gotze is doing it in the Bundesliga and CL while Neymar has only done it so far in the Brazilian league. Also, Dortmund wont miss Gotze as much as Santos with Neymar because Dprtmund have invested in quality replacements, and even if they didnt they still have tremendous players like Reus, Gundogan, Lewandoaski, etc whereas Neymar is the only real star at Santos. Thats like saying Podolsko is better than Messi because, by stats, Koln relied on Poldi more than Barca did Messi two seasons ago. Therefore your argument doesn't make sense, and there's no justification of saying Neymar is better than Gotze.

Puyol is not starting. And to say Barca don't need a CB (Starter) is ridiculous. Everyone knows they do.

juventus101 wrote:Gotze > Neymar. They're both doing the same things the last few years. Difference is, Gotze is doing it in the Bundesliga and CL while Neymar has only done it so far in the Brazilian league. Also, Dortmund wont miss Gotze as much as Santos with Neymar because Dprtmund have invested in quality replacements, and even if they didnt they still have tremendous players like Reus, Gundogan, Lewandoaski, etc whereas Neymar is the only real star at Santos. Thats like saying Podolsko is better than Messi because, by stats, Koln relied on Poldi more than Barca did Messi two seasons ago. Therefore your argument doesn't make sense, and there's no justification of saying Neymar is better than Gotze.

Puyol is not starting. And to say Barca don't need a CB (Starter) is ridiculous. Everyone knows they do.

Actually you couldn't be more wrong. By your comments it's pretty obvious you don't watch any football outside of Europe.

Neymar and Gotze are not doing "the same things the last few years." Neymar has not only done it in the Brazilian league but he has also won a Copa Libertadores as well. I know you will probably knock it as most European fans do (I don't know why it's one of the best and hardest to win tournaments in football) but it is usually there pure ignorance or just plain hatred for anything non European in the football.

He also has already scored 24 goals for Brazil which is an insane pace for someone so young and dominated the Confederations Cup which was a hell of a tournament with a lot of great teams in it. And finally I saw him rape Spain something I have seen Gotze's Germany fail to do in a tournament setting.

You say that that Dortmund wont miss Gotze because of the players they brought in, well they didn't miss him in the CL final to my knowledge UEFA didn't allow Dortmund a secret transfer window to replace him before the final took place.

I really don't know anyone who would agree with you here about Gotze being better then Neymar. Even the Germany guy in the thread isn't even going to go out on that limb you're on.

And yes, a healthy Puyol will start. Again don't try and talk about things you know nothing about. Is it wishful to think Puyol will make it through the year injury-free, yes but if he is indeed uninjured Puyol will start and be the heart of the team as always. You're talking about one of the top defenders of all time in Puyol. When healthy he has been very good even last year.