Robert Fernandez

Let's wait and see how this summer goes before writing him off completely. Hope he learned something from his mistakes.

I am pissed City snatched Silva but you can't compete with clubs that have unlimited resources and budgets. This is new reality and we have to accept it.

You cannot complain about other teams having unlimited resources when you have spent more than some of your rivals, but have significant holes in your squad compared to them. We still have some players out on endless loans, and still paying their wages.

If you have limited resources, then it is expected that you use them well.

Song, Vermaelen, Douglas, Arda, now Gomes. The list keep growing, and Bellerin might add to that very soon. We'll see.

I have a feeling Robert and the Board will panic at the end of July/August and blow a close to World Record fee on Coutinho.

This is not a Laporta v Rosell/Bartomeu or a Txiki v Robert/Zubi thing since all sucked in different things, but we've let a position of dominance slip for us, and need to support the new coach with a better squad, rejuvenating squad with proper players for the positions required, and I personally have no faith in their ability to do so. Robert might be a dummy in all this.

Now with the Rosell farce, the club will again face a period of instability.

DonAK said:

You cannot complain about other teams having unlimited resources when you have spent more than some of your rivals, but have significant holes in your squad compared to them. We still have some players out on endless loans, and still paying their wages.

If you have limited resources, then it is expected that you use them well.

Song, Vermaelen, Douglas, Arda, now Gomes. The list keep growing, and Bellerin might add to that very soon. We'll see.

I have a feeling Robert and the Board will panic at the end of July/August and blow a close to World Record fee on Coutinho.

This is not a Laporta v Rosell/Bartomeu or a Txiki v Robert/Zubi thing since all sucked in different things, but we've let a position of dominance slip for us, and need to support the new coach with a better squad, rejuvenating squad with proper players for the positions required, and I personally have no faith in their ability to do so. Robert might be a dummy in all this.

Now with the Rosell farce, the club will again face a period of instability.

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You mentioned 5 players and only one of them was signed by Roberto.
And a quick question,but how many bad transfer did Atletico do in past few years? how many have stayed less than 2 seasons? And they have even more limited budget. You are going to have busts unless you go with a very conservative approach,like signing only 1 player in summer like we did with Neymar

The reality now is that there is a lot of clubs that are trying to snatch any talent out there,they aren't dominant as us but they are aiming for it and they have unlimited resources. You simply can't just compete with them in many signings and be selective about it. And the last two we have gone all for were Suarez and Neymar.
We don't know yet what is going to be Valverde-or the new coach- approach,he could be very well aiming for 4-2-3-1 and with Messi being AM and want a true RW and that isn't the case for Silva,we could be aiming for Dembele,we could obviously be going for a true CM. Obviously we could be very well going for a stupid signing.
Point is:judge with results,last year many thought we were doing well in transfers,now people are unhappy

DonAK said:

It's been a 9/10 Summer for Robert.

Mighty impressive IMO. On paper at least.

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And no,I am not calling you for it,never was my style. But just saying we need more patience. At least based on signing not players in club X going to Club Y

I'm sorry, but after this season, the patience part is limited. Last summer we added good depth imo to the squad, and I trust that this will show more next season. However, Iniesta needs a replacement, as his legs are pretty much gone, and the RB position has been badly exposed.

So, you could say that the situation has changed. We don't need depth signings anymore, we need starting quality. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I have a feeling he will do nothing.

Not even trying to go for Bernardo is already a bad sign for me. He is a player who has enough quality, has played in midfield, and was open for a move. If he didn't try to go for him, then I expect us to sign players of similar quality.

Now, maybe Robert is some sort of genius who would sign a player for 30-40m only to discover during the season that he's worth 70-80 and that we got him cheap because we have an amazing sporting director. Would I bet on that. No chance.

serghei said:

Not even trying to go for Bernardo is already a bad sign for me. He is a player who has enough quality, has played in midfield, and was open for a move. If he didn't try to go for him, then I expect us to sign players of similar quality.

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You are assuming that we need Iniesta replacement,but may I ask based on what? we don't know who is our coach,we don't know our game plan.nothing. We already know and discussed that there is lots of possibilities out there in terms of game plan.
Roberto would be an idiot if we signed Silva if we don't need a direct Iniesta replacement.So no,it isn't by any mean a bad sign.

khaled_a_d said:

You are assuming that we need Iniesta replacement,but may I ask based on what? we don't know who is our coach,we don't know our game plan.nothing. We already know and discussed that there is lots of possibilities out there in terms of game plan.
Roberto would be an idiot if we signed Silva if we don't need a direct Iniesta replacement.So no,it isn't by any mean a bad sign.

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Based on Iniesta's age, and not only his age, but his years at the top, mileage as they say. It's very hard for him to be a consitent starter at 33. Not all players have the physical abilities (see Alves, or Ronaldo) to keep up with the rythm of the game at an older age. Iniesta looks slow and weak these days. He's not getting any younger, so allow me to have my doubts that he can come back next season and perform well consistently like at 28-30.

And about the plan. The players in the squad must not only match your plan, but must also allow you to have options. A player like Bernardo can play as a wide midfielder, can play as a CAM, can play as a winger as well. Can play in several positions, including in a midfield 3 imo, in certain conditions. This is exactly the reason Pep signed him. Versatility, talent, good football IQ, good age, good technique, pretty much everything other great players like Isco and Coutinho have.

Let's say we want to play midfield 3. And let's say we'll play 4-3-3 with Messi on the right, which is by no means out of the question. Who do we have on the left of Busi, and who do we have on the right of Busi? Iniesta, who is aproaching the end of his career and should be moved in a more limited role, and Rakitic who is not very good on the ball. So, we are in a situation where we also need an attacking midfielder. One who could play both in midfield and in the 3 line of a 4-2-3-1. Bernardo Silva was one of the best options for that.

For the price and the clear lack of quality in our midfield, he should have been in for Silva.

jamrock said:

For the price and the clear lack of quality in our midfield, he should have been in for Silva.

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i dont think we should have been in for him at £43 million because that way to much money for a player that might turn out to be not that good we should go for marco verrati, he will cost more but barca already wasted 70 million on gomez and paco so barca cant afford to waste anymore money and go another season without winning any major trophies.

In this market 50 mil. for Silva is fair and I am still surprised at this figure. It's peanuts for City and they should have asked 10-20 more.

We paid 40 million for Turan btw. who happens to be worthless.

Bojan said:

In this market 50 mil. for Silva is fair.

We paid 40 million for Turan btw. who happens to be worthless.

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i agree he is worthless and 70 million for paco and gomez because that was the price for them at the time who are also worthless and instead promote players from La Masia. we already have carlos alena, Marlon Santos, samper in the team give them minutes in pre season and next season and train them to be better players then we will have good players to in major trophies.

khaled_a_d said:

You mentioned 5 players and only one of them was signed by Roberto.
And a quick question,but how many bad transfer did Atletico do in past few years? how many have stayed less than 2 seasons? And they have even more limited budget. You are going to have busts unless you go with a very conservative approach,like signing only 1 player in summer like we did with Neymar

The reality now is that there is a lot of clubs that are trying to snatch any talent out there,they aren't dominant as us but they are aiming for it and they have unlimited resources. You simply can't just compete with them in many signings and be selective about it. And the last two we have gone all for were Suarez and Neymar.
We don't know yet what is going to be Valverde-or the new coach- approach,he could be very well aiming for 4-2-3-1 and with Messi being AM and want a true RW and that isn't the case for Silva,we could be aiming for Dembele,we could obviously be going for a true CM. Obviously we could be very well going for a stupid signing.
Point is:judge with results,last year many thought we were doing well in transfers,now people are unhappy



And no,I am not calling you for it,never was my style. But just saying we need more patience. At least based on signing not players in club X going to Club Y

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Didn't specifically point out Robert you know.....

It's not about the busts only. It's about the players we easily could have signed, but didn't.

This is just a lame excuse which these guys use to justify their poor decisions in the market. When there are certain players on the market, who are supremely talented, you do your best to sign them, more so if they're versatile as well.

Bernardo Silva can play in the midfield and on the wings. Supposedly available for only 50m + incentives. Great dribbling and passing ability, close control, vision, everything you want from a Barcelona midfielder/winger.

What's the reason for pointing out Atletico? I don't care about them. All I know is that we didn't sign someone like Isco, didn't sign Modric, didn't sign Asensio because we had Halilovic and Adama.

Do you see my point now?

We didn't sign certain players because the coach wanted someone else. That turned out well, didn't it?

I'm not even totally mad that we missed out on Bernardo Silva. I'm just wondering how they are going to improve the midfield with most options being unavailable and the ones we can sign, going elsewhere.

You can have your patience, but don't expect me to have the same when these guys have signed Vermaelen, Song, Douglas and other average to mediocre players. Don't talk about a limited budget when you blow money on players that aren't good enough to play for the club.

I thought the transfer window was great, that's true. Umtiti a wonderful signing, Digne has been decent and could have been better had Lucho not been ridiculous with his decision making at times. Paco had a struggle integrating, but my biggest disappointment have been Denis and Gomes who I thought would do much, much better.

Great players that fit Barca don't grow on trees. You cannot keep missing out on supremely talented players because we don't know if the coach want him or he fits in. Sign him, let the coach find a way to fit him in. That's his job.

Let me ask you a question;

What will you say if we spend the entire summer trying to sign Verratti or Coutinho, but ending with none resulting in us panicking and signing another player that isn't good enough.

Will you then look back and say the same thing?

About not wanting an Iniesta replacement. Well, we didn't seem to want a Xavi replacement either when we didn't try to sign Kroos.

Didn't want a Dani Alves replacement either.

We're great at not wanting replacements for players that we might have to replace soon anyway.

Please......

DonAK said:

Didn't specifically point out Robert you know.....

Let me ask you a question;

What will you say if we spend the entire summer trying to sign Verratti or Coutinho, but ending with none resulting in us panicking and signing another player that isn't good enough.

Will you then look back and say the same thing?

About not wanting an Iniesta replacement. Well, we didn't seem to want a Xavi replacement either when we didn't try to sign Kroos.

Didn't want a Dani Alves replacement either.

We're great at not wanting replacements for players that we might have to replace soon anyway.

Please......

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This is Roberto thread and you were replying to Bojan point of having patience with him, it was logical to think you are talking about the guy.

As for your question: I will say we did a mistake,just like I said that when Gomes was bad,and I didn't say that even when we signed him despite saying all along that he would be disaster fit here. But I won't judge our summer before it happen,it is the stupid thing to do. hell it is even stupid to judge it before few months in the season but that would be too much to ask
And we didn't want Xavi replacement rightfully,we were playing a football that doesn't suit him,it took 2 seasons for people to consider Kroos better deal than Rakitic,b4 that Rakitic was an integral part of the team that won treble and double. If anything our performance was really determined by him,a good Rakitic usually meant good Barca and vice versa, that was how important he was in his 1st two years.
We don't know if we want a direct replacement for Iniesta,and if this is the case then Lemar or Coutinho are the answers and surely not left footed Silva. If we want CM he isn't the answer either and if we want 4-2-3-1 he isn't the answer as true RW nor for 2nd DM
He is talented,but there is very slim chance that the guy fit Valverde system.
The last parts answers Sergei too

[MENTION=11668]khaled_a_d[/MENTION], Bernardo Silva can play in a lot of positions because his qualities allow him to. This is why Guardiola signed him. To use him both in the wing and in midfield. We will see if I'm right about this or not.

What are we lacking at the moment? Creativity outside of MSN, good workrate, good passing, great link-up play. These 4-5 things are what players like Bernardo provide. This is the end of the conversation for me. We need those things, and we just lost one of the players who provide that for not even trying to make a contact with Monaco. As a bonus, he was very young, and went for a more than fair price in today's market.

We can talk about this position and that position, and sure, ideally you'd want to sign exactly a great CM who has played CM to great effect and at a high level. Unfortunately, one does not get to be that player if not already at a top club. And if that is not possible,, then, you look at players who MIGHT be able to play in midfield, because they have the right tools for this, even if at their teams play a more advanced position. What matters most is the profile of the player, and his qualities. We need players who are comfortable operating in tight spaces, give a lot of effort, and know how to pass and even dribble thus creating superiority and opening up space for MSN.

serghei said:

[MENTION=11668]khaled_a_d[/MENTION], Bernardo Silva can play in a lot of positions because his qualities allow him to. This is why Guardiola signed him. To use him both in the wing and in midfield. We will see if I'm right about this or not.

What are we lacking at the moment? Creativity outside of MSN, good workrate, good passing, great link-up play. These 4-5 things are what players like Bernardo provide. This is the end of the conversation for me. We need those things, and we just lost one of the players who provide that for not even trying to make a contact with Monaco. As a bonus, he was very young, and went for a more than fair price in today's market.

We can talk about this position and that position, and sure, ideally you'd want to sign exactly a great CM who has played CM to great effect and at a high level. Unfortunately, one does not get to be that player if not already at a top club. And if that is not possible,, then, you look at players who MIGHT be able to play in midfield, because they have the right tools for this, even if at their teams play a more advanced position. What matters most is the profile of the player, and his qualities. We need players who are comfortable operating in tight spaces, give a lot of effort, and know how to pass and even dribble thus creating superiority and opening up space for MSN.

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You don't sign players based on talent alone,that is how you end with Ibra and Cesc.
The conversation doesn't start until we know our coach and his systemg.period

khaled_a_d said:

You don't sign players based on talent alone,that is how you end with Ibra and Cesc.
The conversation doesn't start until we know our coach and his systemg.period

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Bernardo Silva is not comparable to Cesc, because unlike Ibra and Cesc, he's great in tight spaces, Zlatan is not bad either, but he slows down and want to be the Alpha, got great dribbling skill and is creative as well.

He's not a player who would slow down play, but rather link-up with others and pass the ball forward.

How long are we going to wait to see what the coach's system is going to be? When all the players who aren't a good fit for his system, and those who are, have signed for other teams?

Because someone who might fit into Valverde's 4-2-3-1 system like Fabinho seem to be signing for City soon too, and I don't find it likely that we'll sign Dembele this summer with Dortmund not ready to let him go yet.

Perhaps we'll sign Bellerin and Deulofeu and wait another summer for us to decide what system we should play. Unfortunately by then, we might face a similar situation to when Thiago went to Bayern, Kroos and Modric to Madrid, Verratti and Marquinhos to PSG, etc.

Players that would be good for our system or systems, won't be available anymore, and we would be left with trying to sign someone like Roque Mesa instead. He's not a bad player at all, but if that's how low we're targeting, then it says it all, doesn't it?

I know you don't rate the press and what they say, but we keep hearing the same things all over again.

That our targets are

1. Bellerin
2. Verratti
3. Coutinho

One of them unavailable and the other probably available if we spend 90m+.

Ironically, Bernardo is a similar player to Coutinho in some aspects, but was just available for 30-40m less.

Far more likely that we'll keep the 4-3-3 than changing to a 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3.