GOULDYBOBS
Well-Known Member
Pep playing Txiki as the false DOF
Superb.Pep playing Txiki as the false DOF
On the flip side though, we have the best collection of midfielders/attacking midfielders in the world, arguably the best set of centre backs, best right backs, two really strong goalkeepers, and overall a very young team still.Chelsea have Lukaku.
Utd have Cavani and Ronaldo.
We have Torres.
Pep can say is happy but we know he isn't.
The majority of successful signings he has made have been more by luck than judgement. He's paid top dollar (invariably the asking price) for every player he's signed, and sells at knock-down prices.Every couple of years, experts here deride Txiki. Every year, we have success. We are in the twilight zone.
Where have all the world's strikers gone. Messi and Ronaldo, in their mid 30's still commanding huge money. Haaland, Mbappe able to name their own price, Lewandowski looking for a short term pension top up contract. Where are the very good and potentially great strikers aged 23 to 28 that well managed club's like ours usually opt for. Fans howling like banshees because they are not getting what they want or feel entitled to, spoilt attitudes and clueless about our transfer policy. To quote a Rolling Stones oldie.Totally agree about a striker. I wish we had signed one. But for example if Halaand is determined to sign for whoever gives him the most money then it’s likely we will get him which must down to our owners I suppose one criticism of our dealings is that we spend too long on players we don’t get. But again we don’t really know this to be true.
The old "Barca boys" trope, how original and gross misuse of the word "emergency", something I hope you don't experience in the real world.Let's be honest, we pulled ourselves out of a massive mess in November. The players and coaches did that.
Now it looks like our season is going to be a backs to the wall one.
This higher management have never been worth a damn to me. Proud, foolish, stubborn, fanciful and loose lipped.
If they are what Pep needs, that's one thing. He isn't perfect, but he is extremely talented and when focused and advised, and listening, can deliver truly great things. I rate many of the people around him, his personal mentors and confidents, very highly. These are people with their own stories that make perfect sense. Txiki and Ferran, no. They are the Barca boys, who got ousted, and towards the end, got shafted, as did the club. My impression of them is that the club has been continuously in a cycle of digging ourselves out of whatever hole we find ourselves in. For ages, many moaned that the club felt out of touch. We had so little to relate to. My view is that they are fundamental to that impression building, and totally unrelated to it being broken down again and again by players like Fernandinho, and the priceless trio of Silva Kompany and Zabaleta - all of who of course came here before they did.
They're not hopeless - they are capable, smart, resilient, and tough. But they need to deliver more than this constant state of emergency, and show something more than just aloof stubborness that they and the club will survive.