Re: Cesc Fabregas
BillyShears said:
LoveCity said:
chris85mcfc said:
But in terms of consistency, id rather have Fabregas, him and Fernandinho in front of Fernando would be frightening.
I watched Fabregas every week for Barca and I'd describe him as the opposite of consistent. He was mediocre for most of the second half of the season and went missing in all of the big games. He doesn't come anywhere close to Yaya at the moment. People seem more interested in a quota than quality (same with the goalkeeper situation).
Sorry LC ... I like your posts and agree with 90% of them but you have a huge blind spot when it comes to Fabregas. The guy is absolutely undoubtedly world class. Yes he has had a dip in form in the 2nd half of the season for Barca but that was in a team which overall was pretty bereft of confidence or ideas.
Frankly, we might all love Yaya. But prior to the season just gone his productivity was NOWHERE near what Fabregas has consistently done both at Barca and at Arsenal.
Fabregas is a better player than Toure, and he's younger. The fact Toure's had the season he just had does not mean he will repeat it ever again whereas Fabregas has done it consistently over nearly a decade.
Everyone's productivity is good at Barca, because even when they have an average season they score 100 goals. Ibra had good stats for Barca too, but was far from a glowing success. Indeed, if Fabregas had been so good, why are Barcelona so desperate to sell a player in his prime years after going to such lengths to sign him back? Especially with Xavi pretty much finished, too. He's had his moments in the last 3 years for sure, but by and large has been a disappointment. Even under Pep.
He is what I consider to be a class stats padder, or has been recently. He'll help bury relegation fodder then do absolutely squat in El Clasico or against Atletico. If you look at him on paper, he looks amazing. If you watch him every week all season, he flatters to deceive. I watch every Barca/Real game, it's been a habit of mine in the last few years, and Fabregas has been really, really average. He was subbed off in 7 of Barcelona's 8 biggest games this season after doing nothing. There was all the talk of his "Barcelona DNA", but he has just as much "Arsenal DNA" with a weak big match mentality. People criticise Nasri for this, but at least Nasri stepped up in a few big games. Fabregas didn't in even one this season, he was a passenger (another reason I struggle to see Chelsea signing him, Mourinho wants everyone alive for 90 minutes).
On no level has can I see how he has been better than Yaya Toure recently. Last season, Yaya Toure was the perfect example of a great Premier League footballer. Not only that, Yaya has years of chemistry and experience in this City team now and functions as the heartbeat. Everything goes through him, he's the best passer of the ball in the Premier League, and to replace him without planning would sort of upset the balance and fluency this team has built.
The grass isn't always greener...
I'd have Koke over Fabregas all day long. A stunning player not living on reputation and strongly rumoured to be the midfielder Barca most want this summer. To me, this news we don't want Fabregas, if true, is like music to my ears. It'd be something of a Torres signing, IMO, buying more on reputation than performance, when there are young, hungry players out there (like Koke or Pogba) who would be more exciting signings.
