FC Barcelona Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

G.K.

Fontas/Abidal maybe? Or Masch?

miralize

Well , we have Mili.. oh wait..
..And lets not forget Puyo... right he's still injected..
Masch/Sergio B can do a job there.. but they're DMs!!!

Defence needed strengthening, even before Pique's injury.. has Pep ruled out any more signings? Have we been linked with anyone in defence?

gimmick

Mascherano and Abidal, while not exactly the best on offer, can do more than a good enough job. I prefer seeing one of them beside Pique or Puyol, but what can you do.

Masch/Sergio B can do a job there.. but they're DMs!!!

I think Mascherano is a centre half first and foremost in Peps eyes. He is cover at DM if needed.

miralize

gimmick wrote: »

Mascherano and Abidal, while not exactly the best on offer, can do more than a good enough job. I prefer seeing one of them beside Pique or Puyol, but what can you do.



I think Mascherano is a centre half first and foremost in Peps eyes. He is cover at DM if needed.

You or I cant do nothing. Rossell & Guardiola could've bought though. Cesc will be great etc.. but without Puyol & Pique, were vulnerable

redout

Sergi Roberto has renewed until 2015.

Björn Kuipers will officiate the UEFA Super Cup.

Refereed Barça twice in the past - One win, one draw, 2 yellows.

Club still looking to off-load Hleb but difficult as he is inured.

Barça's potential opponents:

AC Milan, Man City, Dortmund/Napoli potentially the most difficult pairings.

Pot 2
AC Milan
Olympique Lyon
Shakhtar Donetsk
Benfica
CSKA Moscow
Olympique Marseille

Pot 3
Zenit St. Petersburg
Ajax
Bayer Leverkusen
Olympiacos
Manchester City
Lille OSC
FC Basel
BATE Borisov

Pot 4
Borussia Dortmund
Napoli
Dinamo Zagreb
Fenerbahçe Trabzonspor
APOEL Nicosia
Racing Genk
Viktoria Plzen
Otelul Galati

redout

Messi and Xavi both up for the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe Award this evening.

The award is aimed at replacing the Ballon d'Or which was last season merged with the FIFA award.

Del Bosque has named 9 Barça players in the squad to play Chile and Lichtenstein including a first call-up for Montoya.

Valdes, Montoya, Sergio B, Iniesta, Thiago, Xavi, Cesc, Villa and Pedrito.

Puyo and Pique excluded because of injury.

EDIT: Agreement is close - strike could be over within a few hours.

redout

Barça
Milan
BATE
Viktoria Plzen

Not a bad group - Milan obviously the biggest threat.

Both should qualify on paper.

redout

Leo Messi - UEFA Best Player in Europe - Felicitats Lionel

miralize

Relatively happy with the group, Plzen & BATe Borisov are fairly far away though. Huge sigh of relief we didn't get Shakhtar Donetsk again

During the ceremony BarcaTheOffside tweeted:

Cristiano is hilariously leaning away from Xavi as if talent were contagious, while Messi is looking at his shoes and looking bored.

And Pique tweeted afterwards, regarding Puyol's attire for the ceremony (travel kit)

The best dressed at the ceremony was Mr Puyi... impeccable!

redout

miralize wrote: »

During the ceremony BarcaTheOffside tweeted:

And Pique tweeted afterwards, regarding Puyol's attire for the ceremony (travel kit)

The result of the votes cast was:

Messi: 38
Xavi: 11
Ronaldo: 3


Puyo looked a right state :pac:

miralize

Ronaldo got 3 points :O Not that I dont agree, thought it would be a bit closer though

redout

Just looking over the fixtures in around Xmas.

RFEF/LFP gonna have some headache fitting them all in.

I think Gimmick mentioned the Clásico will have to be re-arranged because of the participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.

Seems to be scheduled a couple of weeks later this year.

Perhaps the Copa game will go ahead but only if played on the 13th as Barça's first match is on the 15th but still awfully tight as they are flying to Japan.

In fact that doesnt even seem doable as the flight will take the best part of a day.

Also because of the strike it was said that the missed round of games would be added in January.

Might see some games over Xmas perhaps.

redout

Barça - UEFA Super Cup Winners 2011

Professional Griefer

Congrats lads, only caught a bit of it and it looked a good game.

Fabs goal was lovely too.

dagdha

I think Cesc will bring something to the Barca midfield that it was lacking the last few seasons and that's a player coming from deep into the box and getting a nice few goals. The best Barca had the last few years was Iniesta last season who scored about 11 goals I think. We seen it tonight but he did a few runs like that in the time he was on against Real and was very close to getting onto a few through balls.

Pyongyang

There is no doubt Cesc will come up trumps for Barcelona this season, so long as he keeps out of the infirmary. He slots in like a perfect jigsaw piece. Not just him but Alexis Sanchez has impressed too. I'd like to see more of Affelay though, he was great last season, the few times he played. I hope he doesn't go in January as he'd be crucial once the injuries and fatigue set in around Christmas.

If anything in January Barcelona need to look to beef up the back line. Who do you choose though?

redout

Right lads, this will be redout’s final post on the forum. I shan't be returning. Just a few quick things I would like to say. First and foremost I would like to say that it was a privilege to post on the soccer forum and most certainly not something to be taken for granted. Far too many posters sadly do not appreciate this. I was probably guilty of being one of them back in 2008 truth be told. I enjoyed my years here for the most part and met some wonderful posters along the way. On the other side of the coin I also met some complete and utter arseholes as well but such is life. As for the future I hope that posters keep both la Liga and Barça threads alive as I believe they have become great additions to the soccer forum over the past several years. Regrets, I’ve had a few, biggest of which was probably the lack of sincere and diverse posters on the above mentioned threads. As for my reasons for leaving, I’ll just say that it’s for my own benefit and that it was not a spur of the moment decision. I had decided upon this course around the turn of the year that once the new la Liga season got underway I would cease posting. If some found my posts enjoyable or worth reading then I am truly grateful. If not then that’s ok to. Well that’s about it from redout. I bid you all a very fond farewell.

Adiós, muchachos

Visca el Barça

Blatter

Pity to see you go, always enjoyed reading your posts.

Good luck.

Bodhisopha

All the best Redout.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

All the best redout, you were definitely one of my favourite posters to read and you always had something worthwhile to say. Hopefully you'll come back sooner rather than later. The Barca thread won't be the same.
Comiat

dagdha

Best wishes Redout, hopefully you'll change your mind and be back soon. I don't post too much but it was always great to read your comments.

Davaeo09

redout you will be missed!
By far one of the most informed and up to date culés in here.
Personally reading your comments and following your match day threads has been an absolute pleasure.

Until next time bro

Dolph Starbeam

Best of luck Red, welcome back anytime!

eternal

I'm sorry to read this.I hope you come back under a different guise ? Much thanks for your informative posts. Sounds corny but you will be missed.

dfx-

but where will we get all the gifs and articles...:(

"wenger stole redout" tag

Turtwig

As a source of info you were just superb. You will be missed. I don't support Barca but one of the reason why I started spending more and more time reading the soccer forum was because of your informative posts. Very sad to see you go.

miralize

Barcelona's 2010/11 League season is about to start!!

Interesting to see they're going with a 3-4-3

gimmick

Very happy with last nights result and performance. Given the defense put out and the re jig in formation, nobody could have any complaints despite maybe scratching their heads at kick off. I know I was.

Fabregas looks like there is no adapting time needed.

Sanchez looked sharp. Nice pace and great awareness.

Thiago - as was mentioned by Gibbo last night - how much would it cost if Barca were to go out and buy a player of his ability? Really is a fantastic prospect.

Iniesta is a genius. His close control and passing are second to no one. Not even Messi.

Tough game to start with, could have been a banana skin, but it was easily dealth with.

The international break is coming at a decent time. Lot of games in a short period already.

dagdha

The Barca teams ages that started last night against Villareal

Valdes - 29
Abidal - 32
Kieta - 31
Mascherano - 27
Busquets - 23
Iniesta - 27
Thiago - 20
Messi - 24
Pedro - 24
Alexis - 22
Fabregas - 24

Thats a pretty young looking team apart from Abidal and Kieta especially the front 6, it looks pretty good going into the future.

I was impressed with Alexis' workrate last night and Thiago. The constant running by the front three last night was great when Barca were out of possesion especially for the first game of the season when the sharpness is'nt there yet.

dagdha

gimmick wrote: »

Iniesta is a genius. His close control and passing are second to no one. Not even Messi.

+1. The ball is constantly stuck to his foot and he seems to get out of the tightest situations with 2 or 3 defenders around him with the ball.

gimmick

AC Milan looking at taking Maxwell on loan according to SPORT

CDS reporting that Hleb (remember him?) on his way to Wolfsburg.

Davaeo09

No need to send maxwell on his way tbh, he was more than decent when called upon last season. But when it comes to the big games i'd easily have Abidal/Adriano ahead of him at left back. Isn't his agent the same as Ibra? :rolleyes:


Delighted with last nights win, as said above I was fairly nervous when I seen the line ups. But Masch and Abidal did a superb job at the back, as the always do when it matters

Thiago and Cesc did really well behind the front 3, and Iniesta's distribution was excellent. Thrilled that Thiago got what a goal and 2 assists last night?


Have to point some thing out though, Masch's diving is getting to be a complete joke really. Last night he did it again, leaping to the ground clutching an ankle when there was no contact. It's thing's like this we have to eliminate from our game if we are to win over the remaining pundits and the ABB squad thats been out lately.



Did any body hear about the Villareal president last night?
He speaks the truth, if there is not some thing done about the current financial gap between Madrid/Barca and the rest of Spain, this season, and many to come will be a two horse race. It's impossible for teams like Zaragoza/Getafe to mount a reasonable threat against the super powers of Madrid and Barca over the course of a season. It'd be interesting to see some actually figures comparing the type of finances available to the different clubs of Spain.

Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/30082011/58/liga-villarreal-financial-divide-killing-spanish-game.html

Mont

Davaeo09 wrote: »

No need to send maxwell on his way tbh, he was more than decent when called upon last season. But when it comes to the big games i'd easily have Abidal/Adriano ahead of him at left back. Isn't his agent the same as Ibra? :rolleyes:


Delighted with last nights win, as said above I was fairly nervous when I seen the line ups. But Masch and Abidal did a superb job at the back, as the always do when it matters

Thiago and Cesc did really well behind the front 3, and Iniesta's distribution was excellent. Thrilled that Thiago got what a goal and 2 assists last night?


Have to point some thing out though, Masch's diving is getting to be a complete joke really. Last night he did it again, leaping to the ground clutching an ankle when there was no contact. It's thing's like this we have to eliminate from our game if we are to win over the remaining pundits and the ABB squad thats been out lately.



Did any body hear about the Villareal president last night?
He speaks the truth, if there is not some thing done about the current financial gap between Madrid/Barca and the rest of Spain, this season, and many to come will be a two horse race. It's impossible for teams like Zaragoza/Getafe to mount a reasonable threat against the super powers of Madrid and Barca over the course of a season. It'd be interesting to see some actually figures comparing the type of finances available to the different clubs of Spain.

Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/30082011/58/liga-villarreal-financial-divide-killing-spanish-game.html

The Spanish League is a two horse race, no one can argue with that. It has become how many will they score tonight buzz? In saying that, there are still quality sides in La Liga like Villareal, Seville, Valencia, Atletico Madrid/Bilbao and now Malaga. They are good teams.

The problem is Barcelona and Real Madrid are head and shoulders above them, as they are head and shoulders above practically every team in the World. Real have spent €600m the past few years on players trying to catch Barca, which they still can't. Its an obsession and its driving them mad. Every club is trying to catch Barca as was seen last May when the best team in England were totally outplayed in the CL Final. Put Barca or Real in any League and they would be first and second imo.

This thing about money happens in every league. Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Milan, Bayern etc all receive more from TV Rights than other teams in their Leagues and the reason is obvious - people want to see them and without them the League becomes devalued. This happens everywhere. There is a case to distribute the money more evenly but hey its how the market works.

Davaeo09

Mont wrote: »

The Spanish League is a two horse race, no one can argue with that. It has become how many will they score tonight buzz? In saying that, there are still quality sides in La Liga like Villareal, Seville, Valencia, Atletico Madrid/Bilbao and now Malaga. They are good teams.

The problem is Barcelona and Real Madrid are head and shoulders above them, as they are head and shoulders above practically every team in the World. Real have spent €600m the past few years on players trying to catch Barca, which they still can't. Its an obsession and its driving them mad. Every club is trying to catch Barca as was seen last May when the best team in England were totally outplayed in the CL Final. Put Barca or Real in any League and they would be first and second imo.

This thing about money happens in every league. Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Milan, Bayern etc all receive more from TV Rights than other teams in their Leagues and the reason is obvious - people want to see them and without them the League becomes devalued. This happens everywhere. There is a case to distribute the money more evenly but hey its how the market works.

Very well said mate, but when it's after getting as bad as it has in Spain, over the last 3 or 3 years in particular, some thing has to change. Gone are the days when Valencia, Deportivo and co could challenge for the title, at least for 3/4 of the league. But recently the gaps have appeared in November/December. Which isn't acceptable or fair on the other 18 clubs. Although I do understand, it is the massive fan-base of Barca and Madrid that influences what match gets shown when, but if a little bit more time was allocated to the other teams i.e Atlehico, Bilbao etc I am sure there would still be people who would jump at the chance to watch the games. I know not as many, that goes without saying.

A nice little video I found

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyDx8SH81rc

Show's the behind the scenes workings of last nights 3-4-3

Bodhisopha

Of course the gap is wider, Barca are possibly the best team ever and Real are not about to sit back and watch as it happens, they want to go with them, which leaves a massive gap behind.

The money should be distributed more fairly but i'm afraid this Barca and Real side would still be dishing out routine spankings.

FFS, Barca gave Man U a routine spanking in the CL final.

Davaeo09

Bodhisopha wrote: »

Of course the gap is wider, Barca are possibly the best team ever and Real are not about to sit back and watch as it happens, they want to go with them, which leaves a massive gap behind.

The money should be distributed more fairly but i'm afraid this Barca and Real side would still be dishing out routine spankings.

FFS, Barca gave Man U a routine spanking in the CL final.

I don't think you get where i'm coming from and sorry for putting it so vaguely i've not had the time to scratch my arse today. Il get to it tomorrow.

But for the mean time i'll agree and say yes, we did give United a hiding back in May, and yes this is one of the greatest Barca AND MADRID teams of all time. What I mean is it's a disaster for the other teams who are falling behind. They have no way of closing that gap, not even slightly. Which must be a horrible situation for the other clubs to be in. When was the last time there was such a gulf in class between the top two and the rest!
Sorry I just hate to see the under dogs get beaten so badly.

Bodhisopha

Davaeo09 wrote: »

I don't think you get where i'm coming from and sorry for putting it so vaguely i've not had the time to scratch my arse today. Il get to it tomorrow.

But for the mean time i'll agree and say yes, we did give United a hiding back in May, and yes this is one of the greatest Barca AND MADRID teams of all time. What I mean is it's a disaster for the other teams who are falling behind. They have no way of closing that gap, not even slightly. Which must be a horrible situation for the other clubs to be in. When was the last time there was such a gulf in class between the top two and the rest!
Sorry I just hate to see the under dogs get beaten so badly.

I get what you're saying and have addressed it.

I agree the other clubs should get a bigger slice of the pie but at the end of the day they will still finish miles behind the big two. Maybe, just maybe one of the bigger clubs outside of the big 2 might get within 15 pts of the top 2. Big deal.

It won't make much of a difference on the pitch but it would go some way to keeping the struggling clubs afloat.

dfx-

The money gap is not why Barcelona are steamrolling everyone. Comparatively, Barcelona don't spend much

If Citeh were to play Barcelona tomorrow, all their millions would see them struggle.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Just read this;

OptaJos&#233 wrote:

28 - Barcelona passes in the move for Sánchez's goal yesterday, the longest sequence before a goal in LigaBBVA since 06/07. Sublime

And over the weekened Messi went into triple digits for goals at Camp Nou, unbelievable. I'm not even gonna bother check what age he is.. Anyone know if he is on route to scoring 1,000 career goals? I believe he would be fourth player to do so (after Pele - Puskas & Romario may also have;)).

Zapp Brannigan

dfx- wrote: »

The money gap is not why Barcelona are steamrolling everyone. Comparatively, Barcelona don't spend much

If Citeh were to play Barcelona tomorrow, all their millions would see them struggle.

How much were Sanchez and Fab? Also what did Villa cost?

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

How much were Sanchez and Fab? Also what did Villa cost?

Villa is the only first teamer from those three. Unless I'm mistaken Athletico spent more on a player this summer than Barca have in the past few years.

And anyways his point is 7 (with Puyol on the bench) out of the starting XI vs United in the CL were homegrown, I reckon only Bilbao can compete with that.

dfx-

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

How much were Sanchez and Fab? Also what did Villa cost?

Barcelona can spend money yes, but comparatively to an entire squad or guts of a squad in Citeh, Chelsea, Madrid or United, it's not much. I'm waiting for the obligatory Zlatan mention too.

And despite the millions, they would struggle as Madrid and Manyoo have. So how would it help Villarreal et al...

Zapp Brannigan

dfx- wrote: »

Barcelona can spend money yes, but comparatively to an entire squad or guts of a squad in Citeh, Chelsea, Madrid or United, it's not much. I'm waiting for the obligatory Zlatan mention too.

How much was Ibra? :pac:

dfx-

Hurrah!:cool:

G.K.

Puskas didn't but Arthur Friedenreich did.

Blatter

THFC wrote: »

Just read this;


And over the weekened Messi went into triple digits for goals at Camp Nou, unbelievable. I'm not even gonna bother check what age he is.. Anyone know if he is on route to scoring 1,000 career goals? I believe he would be fourth player to do so (after Pele - Puskas & Romario may also have;)).

I don't think we will get anywhere close to 1,000 career goals. He has 203 at the moment and is 24. If he got 60 goals a season for the next 12 years, he still wouldn't make it. I think you would need to be a prolific goalscorer from 16/17 to have any chance of reaching those heights.

gimmick

Hleb loaned to Wolfsburg. They will pay his full wage once he passes a certain amount of games. Good business from both sides there it seems.

miralize

How hard is it to find someone to just take him

SK1979

dfx- wrote: »

The money gap is not why Barcelona are steamrolling everyone. Comparatively, Barcelona don't spend much

If Citeh were to play Barcelona tomorrow, all their millions would see them struggle.

While I strongly admire the philosphy that Barca follow in terms of growing youth team players and bringing them through to suggest that they dont spend much is grossly inaccurate.

It doesn't have to be money spent buying players, they have a collossal wage bill. Isn't it true that they overtook the NY Yankees as the highest paying sports franchise in the world. I think the average salary across the squad was something along the lines of $8m a year.

By the way, is Affellay injured at the moment? Any chance of him being allowed leave?

gimmick

^ Affellay did a small training session with the rest of the squad today, but is still not near full fitness.