Barcelona

[NipHolmes]

This thread can double as discussion and progress through next seasons campaign.





Anyway here's a collection of my questions and thoughts.

Barcelona start next season with more questions than they have done for the last ten years. The main questions I have are;
Are Barca declining?
How will they manage both Neymar and Messi?
How will sort out the problems that saw then given an hiding v Bayern in Europe?
How will they perform against a Real Madrid side that's equally as good as the one that won the league two seasons ago but are now under the guidance of a new manager who's equally as celebrated as Jose but comes with less baggage.
Can Barca recapture the golden chemistry that they had under Pep?
Can Fabregas take over from Xavi or at least be trusted enough to?
Will their defense still be their 'Achilles Heal'?
Is keeping Tito the best thing for the club?
Are they failing to implement their proven blueprint of promoting and utilising academy players. A sale of Thiago and possibly Tello, both players that imo are good enough to play for Barcelona and deserve to be trusted?


Many questions and soon we will have answers.

My opinion is that they should not have bought Neymar and should have bought Thiago Silva. A world class CB who can play the Barca way but would most importantly fix their frailties. I also think that whilst Dani Alves is an excellent threat going forward he is also their main weakness at the back. Team that expose the left flank with him so high up the pitch and they get richly rewarded when they do so. They are kicking and screaming for a Zabaleta type player imo. Alba plays similarly but is quick enough to track back but even still he struggles. That's the downside of wingbacks and the emphasis is on Busquets to slot into the backline when required which leaves them playing 3 at the back whilst under pressure. They can get away with this in the league or when the whole team is on form but as we saw in Europe it can be exposed by strong and direct teams. They certainly need to tinker with their strategies to come up with a more solid solution to defending against the counter.

Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets is as good as anything in history as a three man combination but unfortunately Xavi is showing signs of age and lacks the mobility and engine he once had. When Iniesta is played on the left and Fabregas plays beside him it is noticeable that Xavi is declining. Don't get me wrong the guys still one of the best but he reminds me of Pirlo at Juventus where he needs players around him to compliment him. When they have the game under control people may dismiss any opinions of decline but when they are right up against it the problems are clear imo. Barcelona use the pressing tactics to compliment their possession football strategy. If a player loses a ball either tackled or intercepted pass then two or three players will close down an opposition player and then regain possession. However Barcelona failed to do that last season as well as they have done previously, I can only see this continuing for next season.


Tello and Alacantara are players who had futures at Barca but now seem to be either on the way out or unhappy with current roles. A real shame to be honest as I thought both would be part of the next cycle.





Look forward to replies and the upcoming season.

 

[Mental_blue]

Is this the official "bait BarcaJaden" thread?

 

[Citizenhill]

Barcelona certainly need a new centre half, since Puyol is out all the time with injuries now, they have to rely on Pique (who needs a leader IMO) and Mascherano who I don't really rate at that position. Bartra looks a good prospect actually, but he hardly played until the tail end of the season and again, Puyol isn't there to lead him and the other two aren't the best to be alongside if you're looking for leadership at centre half. Playing Adriano there is just odd too, he's mediocre there to say the least, he won't cause havoc, but he's not exactly comforting there.

Neymar I think needs to score + assist 30 goals combined this season to be seen as a success at the least, probably 40-50 based on his fee, but it will be his first season so gotta give him some time. Hopefully Pedro doesn't continue to start, he's declined so, so much over these past few years, Sanchez is much better.

I think Real will win the league next season, just an opinion, but if they sign Illaramendi on top of Isco and Carvajal, they have some better depth and youthful nature amongst the squad. Ancelotti is a good manager too, probably better than Mourinho by a long shot for Madrid in this current state, not to say he's a better manager though.

If Thiago stays, he'll play more, moving to United will only sort out the short term IMO, he won't be moving to try and get in the Spain squad because I think unless there's a multitude of injuries there, VdB likes to pick the same players there. Fabregas isn't good enough to play Xavi's role, not good enough at that role anyway, he's much better further forward than controlling the pace of the game, that'd be Thiago's job IMO.

Lastly, I think whilst Tito Vilanova did get them 100 points last season, he's inferior to Pep tactically and probably in man management terms, he was ill for a while, but when he was properly managing the team, Messi's hot form basically kept them going and going. Neymar may be able to lift some of the burden off him now.

 

[City_Sean]

Barcelona have a lot of issues to address, firstly loosing Thiago, the man many seemed to think would replace Xavi for £18 Million, would be ludicrous,

you have the defence, Which out of all the elite teams in Europe is the weakest, Pique cannot defend, Mascherano isn't a CB and Bartra doesn't seem good enough,

For me they papered over the cracks at times last season, they were awful against Celtic, PSG and they got the hammering that had been coming to them against Bayern,

Neymar is a great player, but if he starts banging the goals in left right and centre, whats messi going to be like? Messi is the star of the club so having a £50 Million player in like neymar might not make him happy, according to some Messi didnt like Ibrahimovich as Messi wants to be the star at Barca.

 

[stony]

Is this the official "bait BarcaJaden" thread?

He's no more a Barca fan than I am. He stinks of rag.

As for Barca, that humiliation from BM must have hurt. I think they've made a mistake signing Neymar too, at least while they still have Messi.
Too soon to say if they are on the decline or if it's just a blip, but I'd be feeling a tad apprehensive if I was a Barca fan, especially after the Bayern massacre.

 

[bernabias home shirt]

They have just won La Liga in an absolute canter from a very good Madrid side
So yeh they could be on the slide

Pretty poor Champions league showing i guess though :)

 

[Syth]

Neymar was largely bought because of his marketing potential. Rosell wanted a signing like that, and in my opinion it's mostly a case of "better come to us instead of rivals" even if they don't need a player in that position.

CB is a big ask for them. At the moment I don't see Thiago Silva going there, but I'll bet anything that they will start playing games now and try to unsettle him so they can pay less to PSG (just usual stuff from them). I'll agree that Xavi is declining Nip, and they need to do everything possible Thiago stays, otherwise they lose a huge talent and will need to buy a replacement. Xavi, in my opinion, should be kept fit only for the most important games, and Thiago to start the others.

Madrid in my opinion will be a terrific team next season. Ancelotti is one of the best managers around and he'll do wonders with their squad. I don't rate Tito a lot and Madrid will get the better of Barca next season I believe. So there will certainly be some decline but not to the extent some people might think. They will still be one of the favourites in every competition and won't just fall from grace easily (if you wanna call it that).

What I'm mostly looking forward though, is a different kind of El Classico. Ancelotti is a true gentleman in my opinion and I think we may see different games between them.

 

[Deleted member 52846]

Are Barca declining?

They were very fortunate that they had a crop of players who all seemed to come through to the first team within three years of each other. They added good players to that team and became an unbelievable force. I personally think Barça declined from 2009 onwards. The team of:
-----------------Valdez---------------
Alves-----Puyol-----Piqué-----Abidal
------------------Yaya----------------
--------------Xavi-----Iniesta--------
----Messi--------Eto'o--------Henry--
under the management of Pep Guardiola, who won a Summer treble (La Liga, Copa del Rey, Champions League) and an Autumn treble (Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, World Club Cup) were the greatest team that's ever played the game of football. They've not been as good as they were in 2009 in the four years since.

Defensively, I think Alves is past it, his passing and especially his crossing is lazy; Puyol is always injured; Piqué is overrated; and Mascherano and Adriano (now gone) are not centre halves
I think they are far too slow in central defensive midfield (a huge problem for City in our two years in the CL so far). Busquets and Xavi are too easy to close down now, they're nowhere net as effective as they once were - as seen away in Milan, every game against Madrid, home and away to München, plus for Spain against France and Portugal in the Euros last year and against Italy and Brazil in the Confederations recently.
Up front, at time is think they lack a focal point and lack any direction or hold up play. It becomes ridiculous with the amount of times they get in good positions and then turn around and pass backwards, or Alves smashes a cross to nobody (8-10 time a game he does it) as there's nobody in the box.

Overall I wouldn't say they're in a decline as a club and they aren't in a major decline as a team, they just need improvements and they will be fine. I certainly don't feel sorry for them. They're still probably the third best team on the planet.

How will they manage both Neymar and Messi?

Miami Heat fans asked and were asked the same questions about Wade and James when James first signed three years ago, but since he's been there they've been to the finals three years in a row and won the last two. Neymar plays on the left win or left of a front three, Messi can play either on the right of a front three or in the middle up front. I dot see it being a problem. There's enough room in a football team for two superstars.

How will sort out the problems that saw then given an hiding v Bayern in Europe?

They need to buy defenders and top quality ones at that. Also a dynamic central midfielder is needed or simply put Fabregas where he played for eight years at Arsenal (in Xavi's position) and stop playing him in attacking mid on in a front three. I can't remember the last time I saw Xavi play well.

How will they perform against a Real Madrid side that's equally as good as the one that won the league two seasons ago but are now under the guidance of a new manager who's equally as celebrated as Jose but comes with less baggage?

Who knows?

Can Barca recapture the golden chemistry that they had under Pep?

No. Simple answer.
We might never see a team as good as that in our lifetimes. The greatest Sam that's ever played, especially in that year of the double trebles in 2009.

Can Fabregas take over from Xavi or at least be trusted enough to?

Yes and yes. He played in Xavi's position almost his whole time at Arsenal and I'm dumbfounded at how Barça and Spain use Fabregas, it makes no sense to me.

Will their defense still be their 'Achilles Heal'?

See above (Laces past it, Puyol always injured, Piqué overrated, no strength in depth at centre half). Unless they sign high level players they will not be anywhere near as good as they need to be because they will concede goals. Unless it's going to be the Kevin Keegan philosophy of "we'll just try and puts ore the opposition" with games of 5-3 every week.

Is keeping Tito the best thing for the club?

Who knows. I certainly don't know what he's about from the small amount of time he's been with Barça.

Are they failing to implement their proven blueprint of promoting and utilising academy players. A sale of Thiago and possibly Tello, both players that imo are good enough to play for Barcelona and deserve to be trusted?

Those two probably deserve more game time but I've not seen much from anyone else coming into the squad that makes them deserve a place in the side. Bartra I'm unsure of, looks okay, nowt special at all.

 

[HoneyMonster81]

Don't agree with the Neymar signing at the moment. Not what they need. Ok, they do in fact need a LW because they have been playing Iniesta there, meaning they are missing out on him in the middle and he's the best midfielder in the world now. But Tello, as promising as he is, isn't yet the finished article. just look at the U21s. He was fairly poor throughout that tournament.

Agree they should have signed Silva, but PSG have said he's not for sale, regardless of fee, so no point. Should go after Hummels now. Him and Pique would be an excellent pairing. I'd also go after Pizszek as he's currently one of the best RBs in the world. Alves has become a liability. Alba is brilliant. comfortably best LB in the world now.

Barca really want to keep Thiago. People say he was under used last season, but simply put, no he wasn't. He started the season injured, having missed all of preseason. Came back in for a few games, and then injured his knee. Was out for about 2 months, then came back in and once actually fit (bear in mind this took time after injuries and no preseason) started more games than he didn't, and appeared in nearly all of them. All this while not performing to his previous high levels. Sorry but you have to earn your place in the Barca side.

 

[HoneyMonster81]

Fabregas didn't play in Xavi's position at Arsenal. Xavi is the playmaker who plays quite deep. Fabregas was generally the AM at Arsenal. Personally, I think Thiago has more about him to be the play maker.