Arachnid
New member
Not gonna happen in January, frankly.
The backline a problem?
- Thread starter Ursegor
- Start date
Not gonna happen in January, frankly.
veryfatchocobo
New member
I don't think it's a player problem. It's definitely a tactical problem I think. We play the line much higher than we did with Pep. Under Pep, we had one of the best backlines ever in the world, and it shows on the Spanish national team. IMO, Mascherano is as good as a defender right now as Puyol was in 09/10 (though his one-man defensive performance vs. Madrid was special, but I forgot which year that was).
khaled_a_d
Senior Member
Nope.It is a players problem ,Masch is nowhere near what Puyol was,hell whenever Puyol is healthy he is our best defender
Masch isn't as good as some people making him ,yes he is a good option but not a gr8 one for a team like Barca,his length also hurts a lot
other than Masch every one else is suffering from many injuries ,Puyol/Pique/Abidal if they were healthy we would have been fine
but Abidal career is almost over ,even him admitted that coming back isn't a priority ,he was even injury prone b4 the health issues,with almost a year not playing a game and coming from a major injury I won't count on him
Puyol is getting old ,getting injured ,Pique also suffered some unjuries frequently in the past few years and his form dropped significantly ,Muinisia is supposed to be our top CB from the youth system and I think he played less games than he missed in the past 5 years
the need for a new CB is something I can't understand any one who is denying it
XaviFCB
New member
F
Flavia
Guest
No, Masch is not. I wish he was, but he's no way near Puyol, especially that season.
Arachnid
New member
I'm always puzzled about all the people saying that he's as good as Puyol... and then i realize that a lot of fans only see his (excellent) sliding tackles, and can't see his problems with everything else, because it's hard to see if player's positioning or marking is good or bad unless you pay attention.
Daemul
previously known as Jonathan28
LeoGetz
New member
Buying more defenders is not the solution. The solution is to stop screwing up at the back. Half of the goals we concede is because of stupid mistakes. The problem is not the system or the players, it's a lack of concentration. Just look how Xavi tried to control that long ball just before Celtic's second goal. That's just reckless. Mascherano last Sunday, Valdes against Real in the Supercopa 1st leg, Mascherano and Pique in the 2nd leg, Alves refusing to defend against Sevilla and the Liga Clasico at the first goal, own goals, Valdes against Depor, etc...
One stupid mistake less per game and it would all look much different.
One stupid mistake less per game and it would all look much different.
Trickykid
New member
I absolutely agree with this. And I believe it just takes a decent run of games without these mistakes, before our defense again looks like it did a year or two ago. Confidence does wonders.
89Norcal
New member
True. Would still be nervous having this temporary backline in CL knockout stages though, or in the next Clasico.
I mean the space Ronaldo had for that 2nd goal was unreal.
Arachnid
New member
Puyol is half gone. I knew that before the season started. I know he's not coming back to full form or a long streak of matches before he gets injured again, and I don't need to see the future to realize that. That was one ridiculously easy problem to foresee, not bad luck. Then you have Song, who is a terrible defender, and a youngster Tito hasn't trusted for most of the season, and bam! only two players who can play as CB. Eventually one was going to get injured.
All that is not bad luck, just bad planning.
LeoGetz
New member
I agree about the bad planning, but Puyol's injuries were just bad luck. The last two injuries he had could have happened to anybody. They have nothing to do with "old age". Plus he's always coming back weeks before his scheduled return, no matter what injury. That's something younger players can only dream of.
BigBarcaBoy
Active member
Have to agree, to fracture a cheekbone and break an arm aren't signs of him 'going' just pure bad luck.
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