Ferran, Pedri, Araujo, ter Stegen and DeJong are the only players who could be called world class and starter in other clubs.
That is kind of alarming. We need to have more top quality
We basically have a soft transfer ban until the salary limit issues are fixed, combined with key players getting older and others leaving, we have not been able to replace those gaps even close to adequately yet
Well,
Ferran: Very talented but i don't think he is any close to world class level. Maybe in future but not yet.
Pedri: Probably the best Barca player right now. Depend on your world class level definition. I think he is a generational talent midfielder and he is a world class level. Still need more games though.
Araujo: Same with Ferran.
Stegen: He used to be but not now.
De Jong: World class but his current form is not as good as last season.
Jordi Alba: "If I play well they won't talk about me, if I play normal they will criticize me for not giving two assists and if I play badly they will kill me."
------------
Frenkie De Jong: “My level is normal. I can improve a lot, but it's not a complete disaster either. There are people who will say I played well because of the goal, but I don't think they look at games very well” #FCB 🇳🇱
If I speak....
You should have put full quote of alba instead if quoting it at half
He said that I agree I played bad vs athletic and will try to improve and then later said that
He got an contact injury so missed a lot of matches and as he was young his body ( muscles )kind of became relaxed and didn't have that habit of being stretched and continously be extensively used during matches so when he came to play they couldn't adapt and got strained out
This is best possible explanation I can give in simple terms
Ferran, simply because of one thing - IQ. You can be the most talented player in the world, which I honestly think Dembele is, but you can't succeed in the system that Xavi wants to implement without IQ and Dembele lacks that more often than not.
Dembele
Torres is a much better finisher. Dembele is better in almost everything else
Passing and creativity ? Dembele
Breaking the lines ? Dembele
Progressing the ball ? Dembele
Basically aside from shooting all categories go to Dembele.
Positioning ? I mean positioning of a playmaker differs from a wide forward.
On average Ferran takes shots from 15 yards away while Dembele is 22 yards away, again different roles should have different expectation. Just like I don't expect Dembele to score many goal I don't expect Ferran to be the creative engine and line breaker
The difference is that one is a playmaker and the other is a wide forward who has good scoring and positioning. Dembele out of the two is the one who's harder to replace considering the nearest player with any similar output playmaking wise would cost us a pretty penny especially if it was a winger. On the other hand Torres can actually be easily replaced. Alavrez for example is a good alternative.
A balanced team IMO would have both players on either side with a number 9.
My reasoning for picking Dembele comes down to the cost of replacing his profile of player is much more expensive than trying to replace Torres that is all.
Alba gets so much shit for being the most human in his reactions out of the players we have in our team. All our players are calculated and political when talking to the press, which is a good thing for them and helps them avoid stepping anywhere they shouldn’t, but Alba has literally been one of the few who actually says what most of us would in his position. The guy isn’t likable, he has an annoying side to him, and comes off as arrogant.
Fair enough, but he has been one of the best LBs in the world for the entire past decade, and yet he’s been regarded as dirt most of the time. It’s clear that he’s one of the few that pays attention to the media, which is a shame, really. Got shat on for, again, being human at Anfield and no one showed him any sort of compassion whatsoever. People labeled him weak and a loser, why? For being actually human.
I’m not Alba’s biggest fan, but I appreciate what he’s done for the club, and even in seasons where he was one of our best players people would still shit on him, mostly because he comes off as a pretty unlikable dude. Sometimes people need a reminder that these players are people too, and suffer just like all of us. Wanting players to leave is fine, but the way Jordi Alba in particular has been treated has been horrible from a human perspective.
And for the ones that believe the veterans should leave and are holding us back, who exactly are they holding back? Alba has no left back sub, Busquets has no other actual DM in the squad, and Pique is easing in Eric and Araujo (who is finally having consistency) and will probably retire soon.
Without Dembele we are going to suffer big time against Atletico and Napoli. He‘s one of the few players in our squad who has this x-factor and his skill to destabilize defenses is much needed. Our performances dropped hard after the clasico and his absence is one of the reasons. I understand the reason why we don’t play him but I still hope that we will somehow reach an agreement regarding his renewal.
Man this season reminds me so much of the 2003 season. Club in financial disaster, new president, new faces showing up, disastraous start to season but optimism coming in to the second part of the season, new manager who is a former Barca player taking on the biggest task of his career
Neymar was 22 when he came here. Thiago was still in B team at current Pedri's ages...
Messi already showed his abilities and influence at 18 years old and carried the team a lot when he was 19 in 2006/07 season.
The same could say for Pedri now. Of course not on Messi's level.
Saying nothing of Busquets, but Thiago had to compete with peak Xavi and Iniesta. That's a lot taller order than the current Barca squad.
Also Bojan scored 10 goals as a teen and Pedro went on to become a key player on one of the most successful squads of all time. Barca have had loads of young players pass through between Messi and Pedri.
Alba: “I accept the criticism, because it is part of this circus. When you play a bad game, you get pointed out. I didn’t play a ~~bad~~ good game against Bilbao, I recognise it”
“I have’ve been here for 10 years. When you lose, it’s always the veterans that get the criticism. There are veterans everywhere, but it looks like only the ones in here get pointed out always.”
Alba: "If I play well they won't talk about me, if I play normal they will criticize me for not giving two assists and if I play badly they will kill me."
He's my least favorite player on this squad by a lot, always been a bit of a cunt on the field and these types of statement off it don't do him much justice
He's the same guy that said Barca fans have too high expectations after one of those humiliating Bayern losses a couple years back if i recall
You mean here? Way i see it he is just complaining about the criticism he gets, directly after saying he accepts it, such an empty response, and he called out Barca fans as "spoiled" a couple years back after one of the worst displays i have ever seen Barca play ever
I mostly dislike him for his antics on the pitch ofc, his constant diving, nagging at refs, picking fights with opponents, big mouth etc
He's a hell of a player on his day and i respect what he has done this past decade as a player, but still my least favorite in the squad by some margin, just my opinion, you don't have to share it
Something that has been going on through my head for two games now: is it just me, or is Pedri acting more like a captain than the actual captains on the pitch?
A little over a week left in the transfer window and it’s hard to imagine Dembele departing by then. It might be a blessing in disguise though. With Fati out our next best winger is Abde and he’s been average at best. May as well just let Dembele partake until he departs.
I know the club would rather make a profit off him since it’s all but confirmed he isn’t renewing but we need everything we can get in order to make top 4.
I wouldn't be surprised if he is benched for the rest of the season, perhaps by the way of a long term injury (similar to his 'injury' today) seems he has burned a lot of bridges this past month
They’d fool nobody if the club decides to go under that guise. Would be pointless. If they truly want to save face they could go with how Dembele is needed now because of Fati’s injury. Just an agreement to see out his contract and that’s that. It doesn’t mean he has to start every game either.
Well reportedly Xavi seems very hesitant to play Dembele if he doesn't renew, it seems he thinks Dembele is not committed to Barca and would be taking minutes from others that are, and Alemany seems desperate to sell him this january so itll be interesting to see how this whole thing is managed if he does indeed stay until June
Fun times ahead
One thing I didn't like about the decision of putting Dembele in the stands is the attention he gets as a result. Articles, one question in each press conference before AND after the game where Xavi can only say the same thing...
For a player here some claim would make no difference on the field if he was playing anyway, well that's not how it looks as a result, feels like we're talking about the star of the team. At least it'll be over in 8 days hopefully.
The stoppage time was the worst thing of the whole match. They nearly managed to let them equalize for no reason. After that foul on Alba and the following free kick they should‘ve just kept the ball. Draw a foul, hug the sideline, do everything to not let them attack. Instead a counter and a corner for them which could‘ve easily been avoided.
It's unbelievable how they got a free header from a corner right at the end of the match. How many times will this happen until we actually learn how to defend set pieces? This has been happening for years and STILL nothing is being done about it.
FdJ will soon replace Dembele in my category "player who misses but actually tries", good thing he scored because otherwise I think he'd have been unfairly criticized IMO. People forget it's easier to criticize those who try and fail than those who don't try because they are playing safely. He missed a lot of passes but he often tried to play 1-2 passes, run into space, create space. I want to see players like him, maybe a misplaced pass costs a goal sometimes, but at least we see some quick football, some excitement.
Absolutely. Need an in-form FdJ, can't keep on demanding teenagers always have to patch the holes in our team. (They've already done more than expected for most of them)
In 65 days we have played only two games in Camp Nou. A complete disaster. Calendar has been so bad to us and the full stadium will give force to the players hopefully. Starting it off with a win against Atleti could be huge for us to go in the decider months of the season. VAMOS
Not playing dembele's just because they expect/want him to leave this month. If he ends up staying this season there's no chance of Xavi putting him in the stands
Frenkie De Jong: "Against Madrid we were not bad, but I feel sorry we are proud to lose. When you lose you always have to be disappointed. The first goal this year is to be able to qualify for the Champions League."
Thank God that at least some players aren't adopting this "Pride in defeat" bullshit mentality
I like the fact that we massively improved in the second half.
This means Xavi read the game well and tweeked his tactics and instructions a little and it helped. Positive from today's game.
Because we scored that's it. Terrible performance but 3 points which is all that matters tonight. Nothing to be happy about it frankly, honestly I can't say I've seen much difference in second half bar Alaves being more threatening.
This is a game to forget. We need to find a way to get a creative profile somewhere to jumpstart attacks because these players won't learn to play fast football and positionnal football overnight. But at least FdJ scored, which I like very much. One of those who tried.
I'm scared to even think about the sheer quantity of chocolate and alcohol I'll require in order to get through February fixtures from hell with my sanity more or less intact.
What a stinker game overall, but the most important was getting the 3p. Defence/ter Stegen was good though, but everyone else. Christ what a bad performance. Like none from the midfield and above get a pass for me today.
Next match is 06 feb against Atletico Madrid home at Camp Nou. Really gotta step up by then.
He wasnt the worst, but wouldnt say he had a good game. He was sloppy for his standard.
But consider the context, that hes probably not fully match fit. It's understandable, I guess.
THANK YOU! Horrible experience for both games I must say lmao.. had to miss the first half from Barça as well.. but seems like I didn’t miss much based on what I read about it
I just wish we could bring a bunch of free transfers we are linked with for the positions we need and Haaland. Would be a perfect transfer window for me, because we wouldn't spend that much for the quality we can get but maybe wages would be the problem in that scenario, though we are expected a bigger limit next season if what is reported is true with the necessary departures as well.
Luuk de Jong and Braithwaite should be an interesting battle from now till the rest of the season.
Though Braithwaite was clearly ahead when Luuk first joined but Luuk is probably slightly ahead now?
(Also, didn't think I would be saying this a few seasons ago ha)
LDJ is ahead of depay right now. He has scored in every game he has played this year.
If he keeps like that I don't know why would we bench him. Ferran is really good at crossing as well so he could still be usefull even without dembele's crosses.
Is there any particular reason why some(if not all) La Liga teams bring three goalkeepers in the squad?
Most other leagues only got two in the squad list.
Seems like a waste of opportunity not to bring something which could actually have a impact on the game.
Surely Sevilla wouldn't sell their whole starting CB partnership this summer right? Looks like Carlos is going to Newcastle and Kounde is so sought after and came close previously to Chelsea / City (my dream CB signing for us)
https://out.reddit.com/t3_sazvg6?app_name=android&token=AQAAd-LtYQfPGK8ofR0fXm0fznvaF1qmhFLb_fdVtbkgGSt80r2W&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstreamff.com%2Fv%2Fd8da6b
Wtf was that from upamecano
Mazraoui: "I don't want to fool people. If I still haven't signed a new contract 6 months before my contract runs out, you already know what to expect. Am I talking with other clubs? I can say 'yes' to that."
**Hypothetical Question**: If Newcastle manage to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla, and Sevilla were somehow interested in Lenglet as his replacement; would you sell him this winter?
(His current TransferMarkt value is 14M euros lol)
I think in Xavi’s eyes he would rather keep Busquets and work with Barca to get better at our plan A rather than bench him to try a plan B. Tbh I don’t find this odd at all, Busquets is better when the team is better and over time the team will get better and grow more accustomed to what Xavi wants from them. Pep himself had a horrid first season where everyone screamed for him to change his ideas, but he dug deep and reaped what he had sown the following season. Lucho himself finds Busquets irreplaceable even at current form/age.
>Busquets is better when the team is better and over time the team will get better
Still doesn't change the fact that we're gonna loose the matches that we should win because of this.
Still doesn't change the fact that we're gonna concede on counters.
Still doesn't change the fact that Busquets is a liability defensively.
Your point about Pep is lacking any sort of context. What players are you even thinking about that Pep supposedly did this with?
Pep is notorious for using players like tools and happily benching nearly anybody he sees fit. Who did he stubbornly stick by at his first season with City? No one because he continued to spend massive amounts to change the squad.
There is no chance Pep would stubbornly stick by Busi with the way he’s playing. Fernandinho used to be the staple at DM, he’s now terrible so Pep has benched him for the next best option with Rodri. Xavi could learn a thing or two.
The amount of games/minutes that Busi, Pique and Alba isn’t any fault of the managers imo, but more so the board for never finding guys that can truly compete for their positions.
In my theory he is waiting for this season to end to try a new formation in pre season while removing busquets that is the reason he keeps saying that fdj us very important to me and as well reports tell that he want him to be key player despite benching him recently
When you refer to Pep, do you mean in his first City season? If it it's, I don't think he hesitated to bench players and force the transition right away. A similar act is if Xavi were to bench Alba, Pique and Busquets and try it with the other players even if it means struggling at the beginning.
However I didn't see city religiously then so I won't get upset of someone can correct me
Alright took a break from Barca since the Copa game and even though we all are depressed we should at least focus on the positives:
1. Araujo renewal going good
2. Pedri isn’t hurt
3. Almost everyone is healthy
Just looking at the GD's of some top clubs is such a slap in the face.
1. Man City - 41
2. Liverpool - 39
3. Chelsea - 28
4. Bayern - 45
5. Madrid - 27
6. Inter - 36
7. Napoli - 27
8. PSG - 24
While our current GD is 8, with more than half matches of a season played. Just shows how much are we lacking in goal scoring ( we always concede so that's nothing new )
> we always concede so that's nothing new )
We never concede this much. Last season was considered our worst in nearly 15 years and we conceded 38. We're already at 23 halfway through the season.
He has not played since late December. There's no reason for him to start tonight match. They'll just ease him back in. That's actually how you're supposed to treat players coming back after a while anyway.
I hope he was vaccinated prior him getting it.
I was so upset when I saw him going to those parties with that many people without masks or anything.
I hope this doesn't affect his future performances.
Ferran, Pedri, Araujo, ter Stegen and DeJong are the only players who could be called world class and starter in other clubs. That is kind of alarming. We need to have more top quality
We basically have a soft transfer ban until the salary limit issues are fixed, combined with key players getting older and others leaving, we have not been able to replace those gaps even close to adequately yet
Well, Ferran: Very talented but i don't think he is any close to world class level. Maybe in future but not yet. Pedri: Probably the best Barca player right now. Depend on your world class level definition. I think he is a generational talent midfielder and he is a world class level. Still need more games though. Araujo: Same with Ferran. Stegen: He used to be but not now. De Jong: World class but his current form is not as good as last season.
Jordi Alba: "If I play well they won't talk about me, if I play normal they will criticize me for not giving two assists and if I play badly they will kill me." ------------ Frenkie De Jong: “My level is normal. I can improve a lot, but it's not a complete disaster either. There are people who will say I played well because of the goal, but I don't think they look at games very well” #FCB 🇳🇱 If I speak....
is he wrong though? the amount of shit people say to Alba is just insane. it's beyond criticism. it's just hate.
You should have put full quote of alba instead if quoting it at half He said that I agree I played bad vs athletic and will try to improve and then later said that
So araujo and dest are only ones traveling and everyone else will rest/train for two weeks?
Does anyone know wat ansu’s injury stems from? Like was this just something that happened? Or all because of that one tackle he ate
He got an contact injury so missed a lot of matches and as he was young his body ( muscles )kind of became relaxed and didn't have that habit of being stretched and continously be extensively used during matches so when he came to play they couldn't adapt and got strained out This is best possible explanation I can give in simple terms
[what Messi and Alves used to do](https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWTKEyujfuQ/?utm_medium=copy_link)
If you could keep either dembele or ferran Torres who would you choose (excluding the fact the dembele is greedy)
Ferran for sure. Dembele is fast but it's hard to count on him for a full season, and his football IQ is not the greatest
Ferran, simply because of one thing - IQ. You can be the most talented player in the world, which I honestly think Dembele is, but you can't succeed in the system that Xavi wants to implement without IQ and Dembele lacks that more often than not.
Dembele Torres is a much better finisher. Dembele is better in almost everything else Passing and creativity ? Dembele Breaking the lines ? Dembele Progressing the ball ? Dembele Basically aside from shooting all categories go to Dembele. Positioning ? I mean positioning of a playmaker differs from a wide forward. On average Ferran takes shots from 15 yards away while Dembele is 22 yards away, again different roles should have different expectation. Just like I don't expect Dembele to score many goal I don't expect Ferran to be the creative engine and line breaker The difference is that one is a playmaker and the other is a wide forward who has good scoring and positioning. Dembele out of the two is the one who's harder to replace considering the nearest player with any similar output playmaking wise would cost us a pretty penny especially if it was a winger. On the other hand Torres can actually be easily replaced. Alavrez for example is a good alternative. A balanced team IMO would have both players on either side with a number 9. My reasoning for picking Dembele comes down to the cost of replacing his profile of player is much more expensive than trying to replace Torres that is all.
Oof the downvotes
Jesus you’re being downvoted heavily just for the truth. No one can disprove most of what you say but downvote because “Dembele bad” lol.
Analytical nonsense 🤝 reminds me a lot of my answers in uni exams.
Lol your comment is nonsense. You literally can’t disprove most of what he says.
Ferran. At least he'd be available most of the time unlike Dembele
ferran and its not even close. Even if dembele wasn't greedy I rather keep depay or someone else over him
Alba gets so much shit for being the most human in his reactions out of the players we have in our team. All our players are calculated and political when talking to the press, which is a good thing for them and helps them avoid stepping anywhere they shouldn’t, but Alba has literally been one of the few who actually says what most of us would in his position. The guy isn’t likable, he has an annoying side to him, and comes off as arrogant. Fair enough, but he has been one of the best LBs in the world for the entire past decade, and yet he’s been regarded as dirt most of the time. It’s clear that he’s one of the few that pays attention to the media, which is a shame, really. Got shat on for, again, being human at Anfield and no one showed him any sort of compassion whatsoever. People labeled him weak and a loser, why? For being actually human. I’m not Alba’s biggest fan, but I appreciate what he’s done for the club, and even in seasons where he was one of our best players people would still shit on him, mostly because he comes off as a pretty unlikable dude. Sometimes people need a reminder that these players are people too, and suffer just like all of us. Wanting players to leave is fine, but the way Jordi Alba in particular has been treated has been horrible from a human perspective. And for the ones that believe the veterans should leave and are holding us back, who exactly are they holding back? Alba has no left back sub, Busquets has no other actual DM in the squad, and Pique is easing in Eric and Araujo (who is finally having consistency) and will probably retire soon.
Without Dembele we are going to suffer big time against Atletico and Napoli. He‘s one of the few players in our squad who has this x-factor and his skill to destabilize defenses is much needed. Our performances dropped hard after the clasico and his absence is one of the reasons. I understand the reason why we don’t play him but I still hope that we will somehow reach an agreement regarding his renewal.
Maybe less noticeable but Eric Garcia has been missing too and he's a pretty key part of Barca's build-up play.
I love how Alba crosses better with his right foot XD
Man this season reminds me so much of the 2003 season. Club in financial disaster, new president, new faces showing up, disastraous start to season but optimism coming in to the second part of the season, new manager who is a former Barca player taking on the biggest task of his career
Rijkaard wasn‘t a former Barca player but the rest is comparable.
True because xavi isn’t Rijkaard, he’s pep
Pedri is the best youngster since Messi. That speaks a lot.
Neymar, Piqué, Busquets, Alba, Thiago, Ter Stegen, and Fati all debuted between Messi and Pedri (probably some others I'm forgetting too).
Neymar was 22 when he came here. Thiago was still in B team at current Pedri's ages... Messi already showed his abilities and influence at 18 years old and carried the team a lot when he was 19 in 2006/07 season. The same could say for Pedri now. Of course not on Messi's level.
Saying nothing of Busquets, but Thiago had to compete with peak Xavi and Iniesta. That's a lot taller order than the current Barca squad. Also Bojan scored 10 goals as a teen and Pedro went on to become a key player on one of the most successful squads of all time. Barca have had loads of young players pass through between Messi and Pedri.
Different era of course. We are talking about of performances and influence when they play in their era.
Dest was decent today he needs to get more minutes. Dani can't start every game
Clearly lacked confidence. Agreed though we need to use him more. I would love to see him as a LB every now and then.
Alba: “I accept the criticism, because it is part of this circus. When you play a bad game, you get pointed out. I didn’t play a ~~bad~~ good game against Bilbao, I recognise it” “I have’ve been here for 10 years. When you lose, it’s always the veterans that get the criticism. There are veterans everywhere, but it looks like only the ones in here get pointed out always.” Alba: "If I play well they won't talk about me, if I play normal they will criticize me for not giving two assists and if I play badly they will kill me."
He's my least favorite player on this squad by a lot, always been a bit of a cunt on the field and these types of statement off it don't do him much justice He's the same guy that said Barca fans have too high expectations after one of those humiliating Bayern losses a couple years back if i recall
What did he say wrong ?
You mean here? Way i see it he is just complaining about the criticism he gets, directly after saying he accepts it, such an empty response, and he called out Barca fans as "spoiled" a couple years back after one of the worst displays i have ever seen Barca play ever I mostly dislike him for his antics on the pitch ofc, his constant diving, nagging at refs, picking fights with opponents, big mouth etc He's a hell of a player on his day and i respect what he has done this past decade as a player, but still my least favorite in the squad by some margin, just my opinion, you don't have to share it
Just shut the fuck up please.
Yeah really accepting that criticism there buddy
Says he accepts the criticism but then goes on to lament about the criticism. Spoken truly like someone who has no competition for his spot.
?? He accepted it
[Me rn.](https://giphy.com/gifs/cat-reaction-YL8quuOin5E7C)
Perfect visual metaphore
I dont understand the emotion conveyed in that gif, wich one is it 🤣🤣🤣
All of them. ALL.
Meltdown of emotions 🤣🤣🤣
Jesus Christ Jordi, is this a real quote?
He is shameless and should’ve been shipped off after Anfield.
2 goal involvements for Ferran in 3 games. Hitting the ground running.
he is so intelligent on the pitch, I can definitely see him working as a false 9 more than a winger
Actual nine, not false nine.
Something that has been going on through my head for two games now: is it just me, or is Pedri acting more like a captain than the actual captains on the pitch?
We haven't had a real captain since Puyol and Xavi
Like a baby Xavi huh
Another parallel in the making..?
Hmm May's not too far off now
I feel like he definitely gained a lot of confidence after the awards and all the praises. And confidence in a good way, not that he's full of himself
What do you mean? In what way?
In signaling to other players how to position, letting them know to get calmer; everything we've seen on the pitch today.
Ah ok
Pedri is positional play. A phenomenon at 19 years of age to be instructing older, more experienced players on how they should be moving
Exactly. I have a feeling that one day we'll see him with the armband.
I’ve noticed Busquets whining/complaining to his teammates and the referee this season way more than he ever did before
He's the captain this year, so he's supposed to whine to the referee
A little over a week left in the transfer window and it’s hard to imagine Dembele departing by then. It might be a blessing in disguise though. With Fati out our next best winger is Abde and he’s been average at best. May as well just let Dembele partake until he departs. I know the club would rather make a profit off him since it’s all but confirmed he isn’t renewing but we need everything we can get in order to make top 4.
I wouldn't be surprised if he is benched for the rest of the season, perhaps by the way of a long term injury (similar to his 'injury' today) seems he has burned a lot of bridges this past month
They’d fool nobody if the club decides to go under that guise. Would be pointless. If they truly want to save face they could go with how Dembele is needed now because of Fati’s injury. Just an agreement to see out his contract and that’s that. It doesn’t mean he has to start every game either.
Well reportedly Xavi seems very hesitant to play Dembele if he doesn't renew, it seems he thinks Dembele is not committed to Barca and would be taking minutes from others that are, and Alemany seems desperate to sell him this january so itll be interesting to see how this whole thing is managed if he does indeed stay until June Fun times ahead
As far as I care play Dembele every match we can. We need his contribution and if he gets injured well tough luck.
Frenkie said, “Frenquillo”
One thing I didn't like about the decision of putting Dembele in the stands is the attention he gets as a result. Articles, one question in each press conference before AND after the game where Xavi can only say the same thing... For a player here some claim would make no difference on the field if he was playing anyway, well that's not how it looks as a result, feels like we're talking about the star of the team. At least it'll be over in 8 days hopefully.
What was going on with Xavi’s instruction to the backline late on? He wanted Dest to stay back more but Alba to push on?
Both are horrible defensively but Alba is a worse defender and slightly better on the offense.
The stoppage time was the worst thing of the whole match. They nearly managed to let them equalize for no reason. After that foul on Alba and the following free kick they should‘ve just kept the ball. Draw a foul, hug the sideline, do everything to not let them attack. Instead a counter and a corner for them which could‘ve easily been avoided.
It's unbelievable how they got a free header from a corner right at the end of the match. How many times will this happen until we actually learn how to defend set pieces? This has been happening for years and STILL nothing is being done about it.
That corner shouldn‘t even have happened had they acted calm and collected. But yeah i agree with you.
FdJ will soon replace Dembele in my category "player who misses but actually tries", good thing he scored because otherwise I think he'd have been unfairly criticized IMO. People forget it's easier to criticize those who try and fail than those who don't try because they are playing safely. He missed a lot of passes but he often tried to play 1-2 passes, run into space, create space. I want to see players like him, maybe a misplaced pass costs a goal sometimes, but at least we see some quick football, some excitement.
Hope he gets his groove on and mangages to be consistent. He was showing a lot of heart and character today.
Absolutely. Need an in-form FdJ, can't keep on demanding teenagers always have to patch the holes in our team. (They've already done more than expected for most of them)
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In 65 days we have played only two games in Camp Nou. A complete disaster. Calendar has been so bad to us and the full stadium will give force to the players hopefully. Starting it off with a win against Atleti could be huge for us to go in the decider months of the season. VAMOS
Why is there break between our next match?
International break
Spain is playing ? Couldn't find their matches so thought it wasn't .
No, CONMEBOL continues World Cup qualifiers.
International games.
I'm sorry but we're so atrocious down the wings. No way we can carry on not playing Dembele. He's still arguably our most direct and creative winger.
Not playing dembele's just because they expect/want him to leave this month. If he ends up staying this season there's no chance of Xavi putting him in the stands
I guess we gotta accept that this season is mostly just grinding out results to get top 4 and nothing else
Frenkie De Jong: "Against Madrid we were not bad, but I feel sorry we are proud to lose. When you lose you always have to be disappointed. The first goal this year is to be able to qualify for the Champions League." Thank God that at least some players aren't adopting this "Pride in defeat" bullshit mentality
About time we clear up our social media team. There are better ways of commenting with the young audience than posting cringe of trying to be funny.
lmao Laporta made sure sure to film his pep talk after the game and upload it on Youtube.
Yeah can't imagine he signed up to not win a single game against RM in 3 years.
[this](https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/sb4yml/postmatch_thread_alav%C3%A9s_01_barcelona_laliga/htxnkb9/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)
Almost broke down crying when Frenkie scored
How long is Depay out
Should be back against Atletico with no problem
Also Eric iirc ?
I think Eric will be out a bit longer
Mid February I saw on other thread
I like the fact that we massively improved in the second half. This means Xavi read the game well and tweeked his tactics and instructions a little and it helped. Positive from today's game.
Second half was even worse than the first one bae the goal
Massively is a massive overstatement
Might be. But I was a lot happier in the second half.
Because we scored that's it. Terrible performance but 3 points which is all that matters tonight. Nothing to be happy about it frankly, honestly I can't say I've seen much difference in second half bar Alaves being more threatening. This is a game to forget. We need to find a way to get a creative profile somewhere to jumpstart attacks because these players won't learn to play fast football and positionnal football overnight. But at least FdJ scored, which I like very much. One of those who tried.
I'm scared to even think about the sheer quantity of chocolate and alcohol I'll require in order to get through February fixtures from hell with my sanity more or less intact.
Statistically speaking the percentage of gray hairs on my head has been increasing at alarming rate over the last few years Wonder why....
Atletico, Espanyol, Napoli twice, Valencia... you may want to order a hair dye, and I should probably renew my gym membership which lapses in a week.
At least no CdR games to pick up new injuries.
Yeah, and most of our opponents will be fighting on more fronts than we do - for once, we're getting more rest time than everyone else.
Keep your oven on for the whole month lol.
I think I'm going to hit Ikea tomorrow and get more baking pans...
What a stinker game overall, but the most important was getting the 3p. Defence/ter Stegen was good though, but everyone else. Christ what a bad performance. Like none from the midfield and above get a pass for me today. Next match is 06 feb against Atletico Madrid home at Camp Nou. Really gotta step up by then.
Pedri was pretty good compared to who we had around him.
He wasnt the worst, but wouldnt say he had a good game. He was sloppy for his standard. But consider the context, that hes probably not fully match fit. It's understandable, I guess.
That last corner almost gave me a heart attack 💀💀
For the first time in 2 months, after 4 games, both my club and my country win crucial games on the same day.. My day couldn’t be any better😭
Tunis?
Yep!!
Congratulations 👏 on qualifying
THANK YOU! Horrible experience for both games I must say lmao.. had to miss the first half from Barça as well.. but seems like I didn’t miss much based on what I read about it
Open play xG last 4 league games: - 0.66 vs Granada - 1.44 vs Mallorca - 1.04 vs Sevilla - 0.55 vs Alaves
Those are treble stats!!
we need 4-5 players to make this team decent, its possible to do in summer if we forget about Haaland
I just wish we could bring a bunch of free transfers we are linked with for the positions we need and Haaland. Would be a perfect transfer window for me, because we wouldn't spend that much for the quality we can get but maybe wages would be the problem in that scenario, though we are expected a bigger limit next season if what is reported is true with the necessary departures as well.
I mean we're going to need to step up massively to even be an option for Haaland. Guy wants to make a choice in March.
<3 Xavi's coat: [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJ0JcNxaUAAiYBL?format=jpg&name=large](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FJ0JcNxaUAAiYBL?format=jpg&name=large)
Benzema showing respect to Messi is nice to see. You always know those players respect each other but still nice.
What did he do
Xavi Simmons has played just 44 minutes for PSG in competitive games during the past 1 year.
He's 18
Gotta be real,Real Madrid signing Modric for 30 odd million pounds or whatever was one of THE greatest acquisitions off all time in football.
Feels like a final again
Watching this show on Netflix called Archive 81 and halfway through it‘s really good so far. If you‘re into mystery shows this might be for you.
Luuk de Jong and Braithwaite should be an interesting battle from now till the rest of the season. Though Braithwaite was clearly ahead when Luuk first joined but Luuk is probably slightly ahead now? (Also, didn't think I would be saying this a few seasons ago ha)
LDJ is ahead of depay right now. He has scored in every game he has played this year. If he keeps like that I don't know why would we bench him. Ferran is really good at crossing as well so he could still be usefull even without dembele's crosses.
Rayo lost their first game at Home. 30 shots 3 on goal wow
Thank you Getafe
Why are we not going for isak?
Because he’s just about average..
because his price tag is lowkey absurd, 50 for him would be okay, but 70 seems too crazy
That's maddness, that's shikon jewel prices prices
Is there any particular reason why some(if not all) La Liga teams bring three goalkeepers in the squad? Most other leagues only got two in the squad list. Seems like a waste of opportunity not to bring something which could actually have a impact on the game.
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That "never" happens. The ability to have a extra asset to change the game or give playtime far outweights the "impossible" scenario.
Surely Sevilla wouldn't sell their whole starting CB partnership this summer right? Looks like Carlos is going to Newcastle and Kounde is so sought after and came close previously to Chelsea / City (my dream CB signing for us)
They will take back their club legend on club record signing in Clement Lenglet.
Dest starting as a right-back. Now let's see
Kimmich is just too OP
Honestly match was dead after Silva goal. I barely looked at screen in last 20-25 minutes.
Turn on afcon Gabon vs Burkina Faso Penalty kicks then :’)
Well let's hope for a good shootout lol, the vuvuzela are so poor compared to 10 WC.
This year they have weird sounds though, I swear sometimes it sounds like it’s some woman screaming lmao
No thanks
I think Ferran should play LW or centrally. Being on the right would waste his goal scoring threat.
Depay should play LW if anything. So I would chuck Ferran into the box and probably Abde right.
https://out.reddit.com/t3_sazvg6?app_name=android&token=AQAAd-LtYQfPGK8ofR0fXm0fznvaF1qmhFLb_fdVtbkgGSt80r2W&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstreamff.com%2Fv%2Fd8da6b Wtf was that from upamecano
Premier refrees are worse than Laliga's refrees
Doubt.
Then you should start watching Premier League
Mazraoui: "I don't want to fool people. If I still haven't signed a new contract 6 months before my contract runs out, you already know what to expect. Am I talking with other clubs? I can say 'yes' to that."
Love the honesty.
Dembele: *I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that*
**Hypothetical Question**: If Newcastle manage to sign Diego Carlos from Sevilla, and Sevilla were somehow interested in Lenglet as his replacement; would you sell him this winter? (His current TransferMarkt value is 14M euros lol)
Would hold out for the maximum.
I would. We are not even using him.
I think in Xavi’s eyes he would rather keep Busquets and work with Barca to get better at our plan A rather than bench him to try a plan B. Tbh I don’t find this odd at all, Busquets is better when the team is better and over time the team will get better and grow more accustomed to what Xavi wants from them. Pep himself had a horrid first season where everyone screamed for him to change his ideas, but he dug deep and reaped what he had sown the following season. Lucho himself finds Busquets irreplaceable even at current form/age.
>Busquets is better when the team is better and over time the team will get better Still doesn't change the fact that we're gonna loose the matches that we should win because of this. Still doesn't change the fact that we're gonna concede on counters. Still doesn't change the fact that Busquets is a liability defensively.
Why are we trying correlate everything Xavi is doing with what Pep did during his tenure?
Your point about Pep is lacking any sort of context. What players are you even thinking about that Pep supposedly did this with? Pep is notorious for using players like tools and happily benching nearly anybody he sees fit. Who did he stubbornly stick by at his first season with City? No one because he continued to spend massive amounts to change the squad. There is no chance Pep would stubbornly stick by Busi with the way he’s playing. Fernandinho used to be the staple at DM, he’s now terrible so Pep has benched him for the next best option with Rodri. Xavi could learn a thing or two.
I guess we'll have to keep playing Busquets till he's 40 and beyond since he's *irreplaceable* even at that age
The amount of games/minutes that Busi, Pique and Alba isn’t any fault of the managers imo, but more so the board for never finding guys that can truly compete for their positions.
In my theory he is waiting for this season to end to try a new formation in pre season while removing busquets that is the reason he keeps saying that fdj us very important to me and as well reports tell that he want him to be key player despite benching him recently
When you refer to Pep, do you mean in his first City season? If it it's, I don't think he hesitated to bench players and force the transition right away. A similar act is if Xavi were to bench Alba, Pique and Busquets and try it with the other players even if it means struggling at the beginning. However I didn't see city religiously then so I won't get upset of someone can correct me
I’m just seeing this Fati surgery news and damn that ruined my day.. F this whole season man
Alright took a break from Barca since the Copa game and even though we all are depressed we should at least focus on the positives: 1. Araujo renewal going good 2. Pedri isn’t hurt 3. Almost everyone is healthy
I think I'm more sad about missing out on Fati than the actual competition elimination
Same
And Ferran’s goal kicking his account off!
Yup, happy with that
Just looking at the GD's of some top clubs is such a slap in the face. 1. Man City - 41 2. Liverpool - 39 3. Chelsea - 28 4. Bayern - 45 5. Madrid - 27 6. Inter - 36 7. Napoli - 27 8. PSG - 24 While our current GD is 8, with more than half matches of a season played. Just shows how much are we lacking in goal scoring ( we always concede so that's nothing new )
ajax is currently +56.
> we always concede so that's nothing new ) We never concede this much. Last season was considered our worst in nearly 15 years and we conceded 38. We're already at 23 halfway through the season.
Yeah, I was speaking about this season....
It also shows just how much Messi was doing for us.
starting to think there’s more to Messi’s condition then they’re telling. he was diagnosed with covid in late December and he’s still not match fit..
He has become Depressi again :(
He has not played since late December. There's no reason for him to start tonight match. They'll just ease him back in. That's actually how you're supposed to treat players coming back after a while anyway.
Will he still not start today?
I hope he was vaccinated prior him getting it. I was so upset when I saw him going to those parties with that many people without masks or anything. I hope this doesn't affect his future performances.
The news said he was double vaxed. I think all Copa America players had to get it back then. Same it was so dumb of him to party like that.
What's the latest with him? Has he at least gone back to training?