Trincao (on loan)

[serghei]

Tbh, we have to cut Laporta some slack. He has landed himself in quite the mess. Before he can make some steps in the right direction we have to trim a lot of fat. If we can break nearly even with Trincao I'd take it.

 

[xxxxxx]

Lol. Laporta thinks we can win la liga with inconsistent Depay, washed up Aguero, slow Garc?a and a crappy defense and midfield.
Somebody like Trincao deserved a chance. We should have loaned him in January if we needed to. Trincao has the right profile for us age and talent wise.

We can probably still win the La Liga, but we're definitely years away from competing in the Champions League. La Liga isn't that strong of a league anymore, so even with a decent squad like ours, we still have a chance. Although, it depends what signings both Madrid's make. It also depends if Messi has a really good season or not. We're basically relying on a 34-year-old Messi to carry the load once again.

 

[serghei]

We can probably still win the La Liga, but we're definitely years away from competing in the Champions League. La Liga isn't that strong of a league anymore, so even with a decent squad like ours, we still have a chance. Although, it depends what signings both Madrid's make. It also depends if Messi has a really good season or not. We're basically relying on a 34-year-old Messi to carry the load once again.

Yea, pretty much. We aren't THAT long of a way to compete hard for CL either, but the pieces that we DO need (about 2 starters + class manager) require funds we don't have.

 

[xxxxxx]

Tbh, we have to give Laporta some slack. He has landed himself in quite the mess. Before he can make some steps in the right direction we have to trim a lot of fat. If we can break nearly even with Trincao I'd take it.

Oh, the debt isn't Laporta's fault. He's in a very tough spot, but it seems as he's trying to reduce our wage bill so it funds Messi's salary. If that's true, I feel we should just move on and rebuild. Yeah, we'll have a few tough years, but our finances can improve much better. We have to move on without Messi sooner or later, so why not start now?

 

[JamDav1982]

Barcas issue is the defence.

Could line up with a midfield/front line of FDJ/Pedri/Messi/Griezmann/Depay and Fati.

Would need a 4231 for that.. which old amigos push back on every time though.

 

[serghei]

I agree that the problem is the defense. I think the midfield has 2 starters in it that are top players / world class, namely Pedri, and De Jong. That's solid foundation. Then in attack you have Fati, Depay, Messi, Griezmann, Aguero who are players that can and do score goals and are good technically.

The huge weakness is goalkeeper and central defense.

Pique and Lenglet are jokes, Araujo can't stay fit, Mingueza is raw and inconsistent and still a wild card, and Garcia doesn't fill me with confidence at all. And the less said about Stegen's abysmal shot-stopping stats the better.

Top goalkeeper who actually saves the team like the likes Courtois and Oblak do (our competition basically) almost every game + a top defender and we go a very long way.

 

[JamDav1982]

I agree that the problem is the defense. I think the midfield has 2 starters in it that are top players / world class, namely Pedri, and De Jong. That's solid foundation. Then in attack you have Fati, Depay, Messi, Griezmann, Aguero who are players that can and do score goals and are good technically.

The huge weakness is goalkeeper and central defense.

Pique and Lenglet are jokes, Araujo can't stay fit, Mingueza is raw and inconsistent and still a wild card, and Garcia doesn't fill me with confidence at all. And the less said about Stegen's abysmal shot-stopping stats the better.

Top goalkeeper who actually saves the team like the likes Courtois and Oblak do (our competition basically) almost every game + a top defender and we go a very long way.

Defence lacks pace and power big time.. and someone to organise.

Hopefully Garcia can maybe show some of that organisation, Emerson is given chances and Araujo can improve on ball.

Just going with more of same is recipe for disaster.

 

[Zidane82]

Barcas issue is the defence.

Could line up with a midfield/front line of FDJ/Pedri/Messi/Griezmann/Depay and Fati.

Would need a 4231 for that.. which old amigos push back on every time though.

KunA ??

 

[JamDav1982]

KunA ??

What about him?

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

Clearly but comparing them and saying 'Dembele has had 4/5 years' makes no sense.

Completely different situations.

True, basically we ended up giving Dembele new chance after new chance because we signed him for an outrageous amount of money and he had the "hype" to become world-class. If he cost as much as Trincao, I don't think he lasts 2 years.

Hype blinded me and a lot of other people giving him chance after chance.

It sucks to walk away from a lot of "potential", even though at this point you see that he would never make it anyway.. and you end up wondering, what did you see in him for all these years???

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

I agree that the problem is the defense. I think the midfield has 2 starters in it that are top players / world class, namely Pedri, and De Jong. That's solid foundation. Then in attack you have Fati, Depay, Messi, Griezmann, Aguero who are players that can and do score goals and are good technically.

The huge weakness is goalkeeper and central defense.

Pique and Lenglet are jokes, Araujo can't stay fit, Mingueza is raw and inconsistent and still a wild card, and Garcia doesn't fill me with confidence at all. And the less said about Stegen's abysmal shot-stopping stats the better.

Top goalkeeper who actually saves the team like the likes Courtois and Oblak do (our competition basically) almost every game + a top defender and we go a very long way.

Problem is, midfield would have to have 3 Kantes running because they try to protect the slow backline of Pique and Lenglet, then add more legs to the offense for Messi, Aguero, and Depay. Recipe for disaster. No midfield can protect the backline/front line like this. There's just not enough movement or physicality in the roster.

 

[Porque]

Barcelona has asked Trincao for his Lamborghini as collateral towards Messi salary [Source: Tebass]

 

[serghei]

Problem is, midfield would have to have 3 Kantes running because they try to protect the slow backline of Pique and Lenglet, then add more legs to the offense for Messi, Aguero, and Depay. Recipe for disaster. No midfield can protect the backline/front line like this. There's just not enough movement or physicality in the roster.

This is why I came around on Emerson. He will bring much-needed power and physicality in defense, and hopefully, he will keep the errors to a minimum. Say, if you play Mingueza + Emerson, and you accept that you are gonna suffer some technical mistakes here and there, I think we'd end up on a plus side going forward, simply due to the added speed, physicality, focus, and work rate.

I'd rather have focused, determined players who play with grit and ambition and accept the errors they make due to inexperience than some washed-up pampered legends who goof around, all of this while earning multi-million euros salaries and thinking they are irreplaceable.

Roberto - Pique - Lenglet should be on the chopping block. Simple as. These soft, slow players, some of which are mentally checked-out, should be back-ups. I am worried they will still start because Koeman's youth-favoring has been pretty much forced on him by injuries. He ruined the end of the season because as soon as the vets were back from injury he played them as if they were some key players, when in fact they were liabilities. I have doubts that, if everyone is fit, Koeman is that keen on rebuilding the team.

 

[DonAK]

Came out of the blue this one.

Perhaps there are other such deals outgoing, and possibly incoming they are working on quietly....

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

This is why I came around on Emerson. He will bring much-needed power and physicality in defense, and hopefully, he will keep the errors to a minimum. Say, if you play Mingueza + Emerson, and you accept that you are gonna suffer some technical mistakes here and there, I think we'd end up on a plus side going forward, simply due to the added speed, physicality, focus, and work rate.

Roberto - Pique - Lenglet should be on the chopping block. These soft, slow players, some of which are mentally checked-out, should be back-ups. I am worried they will still start because Koeman's youth-favoring has been pretty much forced on him by injuries. He ruined the end of the season because as soon as the vets were back from injury he played them as if they were some key players. I have doubts that if everyone is fit, Koeman is that keen on rebuilding the team.

True and added physicality was maybe reason why we did better with younger players last season. These old guys are just finished physically AND mentally.

At least Emerson can raise our biggest weakness, physicality and speed. It's simply too slow/weak right now. That's why I almost prefer Emerson over Dest. More power.

I am afraid of the same thing...

Koeman will start this:

Aguero
Coutinho-Depay-Messi
Pedri-Busi-DeJong
Alba-Lenglet-Pique-Emerson
Steigen

LOL

Good luck

Instead

Fati should start, if he has recovered. Messi obviously. Then one of Aguero/Depay or Coutinho. Depending on game situation.

Defense we should never start Lenglet and Pique again. I prefer Araujo. He should be starter.

Emerson/Dest depending on game.