Ivan Rakitić

Arizona Scott

New member
Judoman, ronniecro and porque--I am with ya'll--this is what I see too (about those players in this forum, ignore the positive and bitch about the negative). Except for Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Puyol--just about no perfect footballers.
 

messi2140

6racies Xavi
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DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
Listen, all of you Rakitic fans would be bitching and whining about a player if he was underperforming and still had a guaranteed spot in the team all the time. Literally no fanbase in any sport in the World would be happy about a player keeping other deserving players out of the starting team just because the manager is seemingly in love with him. The only reason you're not doing that right now is because you're fans of his, or feel you have to support him as a fellow Croatian.

It's hypocritical when some of you bash Busquets for the same, but are quick to defend Rakitic all the time.
 
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ronniecro

Active member
well don't get me wrong,i'm not rakitić fanboy who thinks he can't be criticized,ever. it's just annoying to me reading same type of comments,after every match there is constant shitting on him like he is some flashy or genius kind of goat level player who plays like crap all the time. yes,is it obvious that he is overplayed and it does annoy me like hell watching him in first 11 week after week,but i still think he doesn't play so bad to be constantly called out all the time
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
well don't get me wrong,i'm not rakitić fanboy who thinks he can't be criticized,ever. it's just annoying to me reading same type of comments,after every match there is constant shitting on him like he is some flashy or genius kind of goat level player who plays like crap all the time. yes,is it obvious that he is overplayed and it does annoy me like hell watching him in first 11 week after week,but i still think he doesn't play so bad to be constantly called out all the time

I can agree with you it gets tedious after a while and some things do get blown out of proportion.
 

Arizona Scott

New member
I have no connection to croatia. Rakitic doesn't make my top 10 all time favorite barca players. He has been overused but I seen that as a coaching and squad problem. He is just one of 4-5 players in this formum that gets unreasonably bagged on and their assets are not appreciated, and at times some us have to keep it real.
 

DonAK

President of FC Barcelona
I have no connection to croatia. Rakitic doesn't make my top 10 all time favorite barca players. He has been overused but I seen that as a coaching and squad problem. He is just one of 4-5 players in this formum that gets unreasonably bagged on and their assets are not appreciated, and at times some us have to keep it real.

Arthur and Arturo Vidal are both better players right now and have attributes more needed in the midfield, especially against better opposition. Rakitic and battle it out with Busquets for the last spot.

The problem obviously is that Rakitic and Busquets are undisputed starters so one of Arthur and Vidal are going to get benched and probably cost Barcelona and Valverde big in the CL and the latter's job.

And please don't use the games against Real Madrid every season as an argument for why Rakitic should always start those bigger games. Even Sergi Roberto playing as a winger whopped their ass and we all know Roberto is just average wherever you put him.
 

YodaMaster

Member
Why should people stop complaining ? This guy Rakitic shows up every 3 days in the sarting lineup and manages to perform worse and worse every time. Did you see his last game at CM position ? It was a disaster. I thought he touched the bottom, but he manages to show even weaker performance every new day.

Complaints will stop when he'll get to the most suited place for him now: the bench. He's being decent only at DM position nowadays, unfortunately for him we have a better player for that spot who also happens to be our 2nd captain and an absolute legend of the club.
 

Zidane82

Well-known member
well don't get me wrong,i'm not rakitić fanboy who thinks he can't be criticized,ever. it's just annoying to me reading same type of comments,after every match there is constant shitting on him like he is some flashy or genius kind of goat level player who plays like crap all the time. yes,is it obvious that he is overplayed and it does annoy me like hell watching him in first 11 week after week,but i still think he doesn't play so bad to be constantly called out all the time
It's not that he's that bad ... he's just so pointlessly inaffective but plays in OUR team ..
 

Leo_Messi

New member
I have no connection to croatia. Rakitic doesn't make my top 10 all time favorite barca players. He has been overused but I seen that as a coaching and squad problem. He is just one of 4-5 players in this formum that gets unreasonably bagged on and their assets are not appreciated, and at times some us have to keep it real.

This is FC Barcelona. Every player, even Messi, is occasionally criticized and it is completely normal that the demands are extremely high (at least they should be) and that the fanbase is spoilt. I don't think that there is a single fan who does not appreciate what Rakitic has done at this club. I for once also believe that he is a friendly guy outside of the pitch although I have no clue of knowing this. There is certainly zero dislike towards Rakitic the player and person from my side.

What I and most others (I imagine) are tired of is that he is playing all the time regardless of how he performs. It is like he was Messi's twin brother. Or the fact that he would be much better had Valverde been better at resting him. The guy has played, what, 90% of all minutes that the club has played since the summer of 2014. That's just insane. No other player in the squad has played as much as he has been playing since 2014. In a quite demanding position mind you.

So the criticism is more than deserved and when you have a few users here who seemingly are unable to criticize him, it is no wonder that certain user s(I am not one of them though) tend to overreact and criticize him more than necessary to make a point.

Personally, I would have sold Rakitic to QSG this summer or another club as he has reached an age where his level will only drop and likewise his resale value. For that to have happened we would have needed another manager that was less in love with him and not a bunch of safety-first people in the board without any guts to make harsh, albeit the right decisions.
 
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EdmondDantes

New member
That's pretty much it. People wouldn't be complaining about Rakitic if he weren't treated like he's Messi - and as if he's been delivering Messi level performances - by Valverde.

Don't forget there are people here who throw every other Barca midfielder under the bus to give Rakitic a pass. Not to mention 'the stats' some of these come up with as well...

There's two sides to this coin.

For an outsider's perspective, here's what people have been saying about Rakitic on a United forum this week:

"Rakitic was never that good as he is showing signs of decline. "


"Not a fan of the Busi-Rakitic pair these days, especially Rakitic. Both are declining and sadly having both them on the field together these days is hurting us on a mobility standpoint and often teams are easily getting through them a bit too easily now.

Rakitic's main strengths were always in energy, long balls, and tactical aspects and provided some goals from the Midfield as well. He was never that protagonist kinda guy but always a support player.

But these days it seems that he cannot play in a 3 man Midfield as good as he used to. He was never the greatest at dealing with the press with the ball at his feet and often struggles with progressing the ball if he's getting pressed. He made up for it in other areas as I said above, but His mobility seems to be on the decline.

He's better off playing as a regular DM now in Busi's spot than as a CM in our system." (this is from a Barcelona fan)


"I've also noticed Rakitić's seeming lack of energy this season, but it might just be the absolutely absurd number of minutes he's played during last season, continued in the WC, and then again this season. If Valverde could actually manage his minutes instead of him playing all the bloody time he would probably look fresher/better, to what extent we can only guess obviously"


"Rakitic is more mature but Arthur is already a fairly intelligent player in his own right. His pressing resistance already puts him ahead of Rakitic IMO. He's more of a Xabi Alonso type of MF nowadays. A player that has brilant passing skills but should avoid the opposition's pressing. As someone already said, he fits much better into Busquet's role now."


"Rakitic and Busquets are both good but not if they play together, then the midfield becomes too static. We are better when only one of them plays."


---------------


Having said all that, we theoretically have an easy home game tonight, Rakitic will certainly play and perhaps he can pick up a bit of form.
 
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Judoman

Senior Member
Listen, all of you Rakitic fans would be bitching and whining about a player if he was underperforming and still had a guaranteed spot in the team all the time. Literally no fanbase in any sport in the World would be happy about a player keeping other deserving players out of the starting team just because the manager is seemingly in love with him. The only reason you're not doing that right now is because you're fans of his, or feel you have to support him as a fellow Croatian.

It's hypocritical when some of you bash Busquets for the same, but are quick to defend Rakitic all the time.

You re wrong. I m not Croatian. I m not a fan of Rakitic. Actualy, from my point of view, he would be sold 2 years ago, but i acknowledge the possibility of not seeing the whole picture, since i m not a football pro and
i do understand, what kind of difference that makes in a person s perspective.

The bitching and moaning part is just anoying and extremely repetative. The hatefull part, some fuckers here display is just psychotic and i would love to slap around any idiot who wishes a player to get hurt, just so he wouldn t play.

Also, i guarantee you, there is plenty of hypocrisy to go around inside the circle of moaning assholes. You just don t see it.
 

Arizona Scott

New member
...The bitching and moaning part is just anoying and extremely repetative. The hatefull part, some fuckers here display is just psychotic and i would love to slap around any idiot who wishes a player to get hurt, just so he wouldn t play.

Also, i guarantee you, there is plenty of hypocrisy to go around inside the circle of moaning assholes. You just don t see it.

Seconded

"Not a fan of the Busi-Rakitic pair these days, especially Rakitic. Both are declining and sadly having both them on the field together these days is hurting us on a mobility standpoint and often teams are easily getting through them a bit too easily now.

Rakitic's main strengths were always in energy, long balls, and tactical aspects and provided some goals from the Midfield as well. He was never that protagonist kinda guy but always a support player.

He's better off playing as a regular DM now in Busi's spot than as a CM in our system." (this is from a Barcelona fan)


"I've also noticed Rakitić's seeming lack of energy this season, but it might just be the absolutely absurd number of minutes he's played during last season, continued in the WC, and then again this season. If Valverde could actually manage his minutes instead of him playing all the bloody time he would probably look fresher/better, to what extent we can only guess obviously"


"Rakitic is more mature but Arthur is already a fairly intelligent player in his own right. His pressing resistance already puts him ahead of Rakitic IMO. He's more of a Xabi Alonso type of MF nowadays. A player that has brilant passing skills but should avoid the opposition's pressing. As someone already said, he fits much better into Busquet's role now."


"Rakitic and Busquets are both good but not if they play together, then the midfield becomes too static. We are better when only one of them plays."

.

I agree with a lot of this sentiment. But I would say it is equally a Busi complaint as Rakitic. I also think as Arthur and Vidal are new to the squad, new shiny thing, there is a bit over hype of the difference they are likely to make relative to the other two, and less attention to weakness. I have watched Vidal a lot, and I was happy with the move to acquire him. But I also recognize of these 4 he is probably the most likely to get a red card (rashest player) and his accuracy is not Rakitic and especially Busi level. Arthur looks like a great signing and brings some ball control and movement perhaps already ahead of all 3 in his 1st time in top flight football. But he also has never had to react and cope with the intensity and physicality of a CL knockout round. There also is a lot of statistical evidence he is the least effective of the 4 when opponents have the ball. They all have warts and concerns, they all should be played. Personally I think Couts should get some time in the midfield too--but that is too late to implement this year, plus there is nothing wrong with him being able to lesson the forward minutes. Having 4 capable forwards is a good thing 4-3-3, as is 4 capable midfielders.

One final thing, let's look at whoscored overall metrics, here is for league https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/65/Show/Spain-Barcelona, here is for the CL matches
https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/65/Show/Spain-Barcelona Now I am not saying these are complete pictures, you should use an eyeball test too. But guess who are ahead of these 4, Busi/Rakitic are 1/2 and 2/1, and Arthur and Vidal are 3/4 and 4/3. So which is more likely, this metric systematically is biased against players attributes like those Arturo and Arthur have, or are quite a few fans in this forum biased against Rakitic and Busi--are they confirming what they want to see because they like the shiny new thing or hold resentments toward specific players, for whatever reason? I know which possibility I think is more plausible, FYI here is the WhoScored.com Ratings defined "are based on a unique, comprehensive statistical algorithm, calculated live during the game. There are over 200 raw statistics included in the calculation of a player'’s/team’'s rating, weighted according to their influence within the game. Every event of importance is taken into account, with a positive or negative effect on ratings weighted in relation to its area on the pitch and its outcome."

I will reiterate again I think Barca is much greater position having 4 roughly equivalent midfielders--each with strengths and weaknesses. The 3 vets absolutely should be rotated and limited to have them peaking physically for the quarters/semis/final of the CL. Arthur I would be fine with him getting 70 minutes of La Liga play EVERY MATCH he is healthy because he is younger and can benefit directly from that experience. But I can just see all the moans come CL quarters with Arthur starting on the bench (but likely to get playing time) because we want to ease him in those moments and want to reduce the likelihood of a mistake from inexperience in that kind of pressure. Now if Arthur continues to improve and his whoscored metric (objective) and eye test (subjective) start blowing Rakitic and Vidal out of the water--by all means he could earn those starts. Let it play out. I know letting it play out and trying to be objective and balanced doesn't get the attention in a fan group than bashing players or hyping up others out of proportion, what can I say, the former is how I look at things and I can see a good share of this board also aims for fairness and respect for new players and old alike, whatever best serves the club.
 

El Gato

Villarato!
An old, average, otherwise everpresent core player gets his rest and the team pretty much dominates in the middle of the park. Who knew :lol:

This here is the reason I enjoy Barto's presence in this club who will never think twice about taking an executive decision to move him on.
 

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