Search results

  1. Maradona37

    23 - Jules Kounde

    True. I am not saying Barca don't have tall players ever - just that they prioritise shorter players and fleetness of foot. As a a short guy myself (I am 5 foot 5), I have a bias to small, technical players, and that is partly why I identify with Barca, Messi, Pep etc. Btw, maybe I prhased...
  2. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    That's all footballers, though. Loyalty doesn't really exist in football. Unless the players benefits a lot too. It's the way the game is.
  3. Maradona37

    23 - Jules Kounde

    Barca post Pep always been a short team. Obviously not black and white, but do you wanna have a set piece threat and defence and be better on crosses, or lots of technically adept wizards. Now I am not saying that shorter players are always much better technically and more nimble, but there is...
  4. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    Fair enough. Still a lot to happen then a very small sample size. Let's see if he's as good as claimed. He's still only 18 (two months older than Lamine) and there's a lot of development still to happen. Hope fans won't turn on him if he starts season slow or is in and out the team.
  5. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    Yeah as a non-Barca fan you guys obviously know much more than me. I don't know if I have seen the boy Bernal play yet, but given the hype on here I am looking forward to it. He must be class.
  6. Maradona37

    Referees in LaLiga

    @Loki @delancey Ok, I have looked on TransferMarkt and found the breakdown for Real Madrid. Penalties received: 16/17: 8 17/18: 10 18/19: 10 19/20: 11 20/21: 3 21/22: 12 22/23: 12 23/24: 5 24/25: 14 That's the 85 stated in the tweet, if my calculations are correct. A few things to identify...
  7. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    Fair enough, and I agree. Nobody can really predict the future, but the job of Barca scouts and staff is to give it a really good go. A longer contract is better financially but to me it's short-term gain to delay potential long-term pain. It's just kicking the can down the road.
  8. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    Aye mate, that was what I was thinking too. These guys then get a high wage because they develop faster in La Masia than they would any other academy in the planet. So like you say it's catch 22. Then if Barca ever wanna sell some, they're on higher than usual salary.
  9. Maradona37

    Referees in LaLiga

    We could maybe identify patterns with breakdowns per season. Does anyone have the breakdown? It should be very easy to find over last 9 seasons. Maybe some seasons they had players who were more likely to dive (like those first two seasons were Ronaldo's last two, did they get more in those?)...
  10. Maradona37

    Referees in LaLiga

    That's 9 seasons (plus one for this first game if it counts). So Real Madrid get nearly 10 penalties a season (on average as that is accumulated) across 38 games? :lol: Obviously some will be lower and some even higher. That seems a lot to me. I remember Man United got like 14 penalties one...
  11. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    That's true, but the problem is you cannot remain competitive for incomings without being a big wage giver. It's a lose-lose situation in that sense. Barca are lucky that La Masia is so fruitful, though.
  12. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    Yes the club have overspent on wages. Partly why they struggle to sell and are not able to spend the money they have in revenue (cos of the PSR rules or whatever).
  13. Maradona37

    21 - Frenkie de Jong

    In four years he will be 32. Probably still good. I know players are playing longer, and midfielders tend to be the fittest of the lot, but it's a very demanding position. Anything longer than four would be a mistake and lack long-term planning, imo. Not a reflection on the player, just his...
  14. Maradona37

    Champions League 25/26

    Hahaha yes - if Kairat make it it means four teams have a hell of a lot of travel in the group phase. Though they could draw teams from Eastern Europe which wouldn't be quite as bad, lol. I suppose look at it from their perspective too - they have to do loads of travelling all the time to...
  15. Maradona37

    World Cup '26 qualifiers discussion

    Also, is AFC too big? Should it be more regionalised? Look at the distance between Japan and Jordan
  16. Maradona37

    World Cup '26 qualifiers discussion

    I was reading about Australia participating in AFC all these years (something I am not entirely sure I agree with, and have reasons why) and read this quote: 'Population isn't a driver for being a successful footballing nation (see India and China).' This guy is technically right but also...
  17. Maradona37

    14 - Marcus Rashford

    True, fair point. It's nice to have options anyway. So much can happen through a season so will have to wait. Injuries, performances, formation shifts can all affect it.
  18. Maradona37

    10 - Lamine Yamal

    I agree with your general point, but to be fair Conor McGregor is the last person you wanna take advice from on having a good, rounded personality and being down to earth, lol.
  19. Maradona37

    14 - Marcus Rashford

    Do you guys think he's likely to get many starts this season? What's the likelihood he takes Raphinha's spot in important games? It would require a regression from Raph and improvement from Rash.
  20. Maradona37

    7 - Ferran Torres

    He's doing well but could be a purple patch as @zanela says. Sample size of about half a season is a little small. We have seen many many times in football players having a little burst of form then reverting to type. However, I will give him the benefit of the doubt. I believe he can maintain...

Home of Barca Fans

Top