Barca Transfers and Rumors

xavi_the_Boss

New member
I think Robert will talk about singnigs tomorrow.
Also MD said Semedo and Sidibe are alternatives if Bellerin doesn´t happen and they were also the 1st ones that said that Seri is a target.
 

xXKonan

Senior Member
Is it me or G.Romero has been spitting a lot of shit lately?
Generally I think he knows some things but is also in the dark about other stuff. I wouldn't doubt we had better alternatives than a "low profile" RB in case we can't sign Bellerin.
 

GetIn

New member
[MENTION=16751]Devils[/MENTION]

Completely agree with what you've been saying your last couple of posts.

It is pathetic some seem fine with starting the new season with Raktic, Iniesta, and Busi as our midfield trident for the third season running. The aforementioned players worked well in 14/15 because Iniesta was able to run back then and Raktic was able to cover for Alves on the right hand side of the pitch. Now that Alves is gone Rakitic has no definitive role on this team. Iniesta is supposed to be our creative outlet but his legs are shot, Raki can't create anything going forward and nor can he serve as cover for our RB since we don't even have a good one anymore. This leaves our right flank completely devoid of anything going forward as Roberto is not a good attacker and Messi has moved to the center as a result of the shitty midfield, hence making us more one dimensional than ever before. The only player in our midfield still playing relatively well is Busi.

This board and club in general seem to have no clue when it comes navigating the transfer market. When you look back at our recent history we've never been ones to make a splash in the summer. In fact if you look at who we've bought since 2010 it basically comes down to Ibra, who didn't fit our system, then of course Neymar and Suarez. I don't know whether it's this board's indecisiveness, inexperience or greed that's been the root cause of our impotency in the transfer windows. We are one of the three richest clubs in the world we should be routinely snapping up top tier talent every summer, but what we've been doing lately has been the exact opposite of that. We pay insane sums of money for mediocre players like Paco, Gomes and Arda. Yet ignore players like Gundogan, Kante, or Pjanic that could've been had for around the same price.

The only reason why players still want to join our club is because of the MSN factor. As long as we have Messi we will still be winning trophies or challenging for them at the very least, but I'm afraid to think about what's going to happen once he's gone. If we don't have a world class team once Leo retires players will begin snubbing us for the PL teams that will have much better overall squads by us at that point. We need to make sure we are still a viable option to world class players even without Messi and that requires a world class team, which I'm afraid doesn't look likely at this rate.

Look at our squad right now, the golden Masia generation is still the backbone of this team and they're all at or above 30 years of age. It is very unlikely we're going to see something like tour current crop of players coming out of La Masia ever again and we need to start learning how to buy world class players on the market or we're in for a rude awakening in a couple of years. AC Milan 2.0 here we come.
 
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serghei

Senior Member
I don't really understand what you mean by this. Genuine question, can you elaborate?

It means that if you do not set ambitious targets in the market, the gap between Madrid and Barca, which is very fine atm, and mostly down to details, will become increasingly hard to close.

We are at a moment where 2-3 good signings will close the gap before it gets bigger. Might even overturn it. But if we start with the same old shit, let's wait some more and maybe sign a back-up for our two other back-ups at RB, then the gap will become the norm over a longer period of time.

We have identified the problems. One was hopefully fixed with the naming of Valverde, a good manager. The 2nd (motivation) will come because the players know the season was a bad one and in light of Madrid's success they will fight harder next season. The other two are midfield and RB where we need some class signings. Make them happen or pay the price next season. It's that simple.
 
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khaled_a_d

Senior Member
It means that if you do not set ambitious targets in the market, the gap between Madrid and Barca, which is very fine atm, and mostly down to details, will become increasingly hard to close.

We are at a moment where 2-3 good signings will close the gap before it gets bigger. Might even overturn it. But if we start with the same old shit, let's wait some more and maybe sign a back-up for our two other back-ups at RB, then the gap will become the norm over a longer period of time.

We have identified the problems. One was hopefully fixed with the naming of Valverde, a good manager. The 2nd (motivation) will come because the players know the season was a bad one and in light of Madrid's success they will fight harder next season. The other two are midfield and RB where we need some class signings. Make them happen or pay the price next season. It's that simple.

There are several ways to approach the market and you always need a mix of those.
Sometimes you need to spend big on the proven players. Zubi was fan of that strategy,Mascherano,Suarez,Sanchez,Cesc,Song Vermaelen all were signed from big clubs.
Roberto has gone more reserved,with Umtiti,Digne,Jasper,Paco (we went Dembere before him) were all signed from smaller clubs
With the 1st strategy there is less room for fail although it can be more costly,the 2nd one works to add depth and few starter and in some cases super stars but it is a long shot.
This year it is a bit weird situation,there is no real clear cut upgrade we can get even with great spending. Specially if Valverde is going for 4-2-3-1 with a true winger. If he is going for 4-3-3 a guy like Coutinho could be argued to be that guy and even that is a huge debate here.
Same can be said on RB, no clear cut for that position, biggest name is Bellerin,he is the youngest option and most proven and has all physical abilities but his actual game leaves a lot to be desired. In other words there is no Suarez,Neymar or Alves in the market to save our problem and we need to be creative. Specially with at least 4 EPL teams spending like there is no tomorrow. in addition to PSG.
I am all for signing a big name, but he has to be worth it.
 

Giginho75

New member
...and logically investing in the best talent is the best way to get a good return on investment. It doesn't always work but it is the least amount of risk one can take on for clubs competing for European elite status.

Have we invested in the best talent though? Nowhere close. We've invested 70m on Arda and Gomes. That's colossal failure.

i agree about arda and gomes, but this is another question...
instead i don't understand all your criticism for the team and mostly for the midfield...

we have a long summer where the fcb management has the time to reinforce the team, mostly in the middle...

about investiments...
the greatness of barca has always been la masia...
we have only to wish there will be new young players to add in our team, ready to play...

but if i have to make a valuation on these last ten years, i think we cannot complain of the transfer market and investiments, mostly if we remember what we won...

i'm curious what the united and city fans think about their teams and management...and about a comparison with fcb...
 

serghei

Senior Member
There are several ways to approach the market and you always need a mix of those.
Sometimes you need to spend big on the proven players. Zubi was fan of that strategy,Mascherano,Suarez,Sanchez,Cesc,Song Vermaelen all were signed from big clubs.
Roberto has gone more reserved,with Umtiti,Digne,Jasper,Paco (we went Dembere before him) were all signed from smaller clubs
With the 1st strategy there is less room for fail although it can be more costly,the 2nd one works to add depth and few starter and in some cases super stars but it is a long shot.
This year it is a bit weird situation,there is no real clear cut upgrade we can get even with great spending. Specially if Valverde is going for 4-2-3-1 with a true winger. If he is going for 4-3-3 a guy like Coutinho could be argued to be that guy and even that is a huge debate here.
Same can be said on RB, no clear cut for that position, biggest name is Bellerin,he is the youngest option and most proven and has all physical abilities but his actual game leaves a lot to be desired. In other words there is no Suarez,Neymar or Alves in the market to save our problem and we need to be creative. Specially with at least 4 EPL teams spending like there is no tomorrow. in addition to PSG.
I am all for signing a big name, but he has to be worth it.

Again. If we speak in general, it's true, I agree that you need a mix of both. But did we have a mix of both last summer? What top players did we signed? None. All of our signings were potential signings.

We signed players for cheaper prices (30-40m. is cheap these days), hoping that we can elevate them to a higher level really quickly. The elevating part did not happen, and it is normal not to happen when the team is struggling. You can say that only Umtiti has become a better player in this year that has passed.

True. There is no Suarez, no Alves, no Neymar in the market. Which is why you do the next best thing. You take the players that have stepped up this past season in the teams they play for. Players like Bernardo Silva, Fabinho, Lemar, Naby Keita, Jean Seri, Dembele, Davinson Sanchez, Sidibe.

Players like that. In the absence of players who have proven they are quality over multiple seasons, you insist on players who have proven that for a shorter time, trying to establish which one of them is likely to continue growing at Barca, and also which one is good enough to play right now in our team.

So, we have established that there are slim to none chances we will land a Verratti in midfield, or an Isco. Best established player we can go for is Coutinho. And if he doesn't happen, then we need to look at fresh top players who have recently came under the spotlight. These players come from the big surprises of this season mostly. Teams like Nice, Monaco, Leipzig.
 
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