People will whine about Dembele, but what the literally f*** was the point of Griezmann? That's why I said in the past is that Barca changed their philosphy from developing young blue chip prospects like they did with their 2009 squad and went the Real Madrid route to get the next shiny new toy every year. It makes no sense.
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Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Vasilevskiy
The cat will be back
Griezz was invisible like it's usual in himself. Runs a lot but absolutely 0 impact on the game.
Real dominant again. They're the dark horse this year.
Real dominant again. They're the dark horse this year.
That's true, but the harder issue is the change in philosophy which contributed to ridiculous buys like Greizmann and Dembele. The problem though is that Dembele isn't necessarily a lack of talent, but the lack of match fitness so he - for me - gets a bigger pass than Greiz which @Vasilevskiy says just runs around. At east Dembele fits some sort of old skool Barca mould, Greizmann is Turan 2.0 (not in terms of talent, but impact and that he wasn't needed).
Vasilevskiy
The cat will be back
Dembele is fit now though, he has some nice plays there and there, the talent is good and he should play every game (I actually think he could be even more dangerous coming around minute 60) but at this point in time even Messi is not playing good. Yesterday was one of the more pedestrian games I've seen from Messi in the last couple years
Wee Baby Seamus
Yo, Goober, where's the meat?
Don't want Sociedad to win the title for the sole reason that if they do then Man City will drop 150m on Mikel Oyarzabal and I don't want that
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Barca lost Neymar and with an aging Messi tried to cash in on his last few years. They bought wrong and should've been more stingy with their $. That is why we are here.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Mikel deserves a lot of money its amazing that he has lasted this long at la real. At some point some team will be very happy. But city need a true 9. I hear Depay is available.
StevenF1919
Registered User
Ducking the media and throwing Dest and Pedri to the wolves after tough losses shows an embarassing lack of leadership by Messi and the rest of the core.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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It’s pretty clear he wants nothing to do with the Spanish media. That’s why he gave “his interview” to goal. 14 hour flight and other bs to deal with. The media shows up in his face asking him about Greizzy, engineered by some random who has since backtracked on the claim. Look at the context.
Rest of the core is in the hospital. Poor Pique. Hope that was Roberto’s last game for barca. Can kick rocks for all I care. Go play in Villarreal that’s his level.
Rest of the core is in the hospital. Poor Pique. Hope that was Roberto’s last game for barca. Can kick rocks for all I care. Go play in Villarreal that’s his level.
StevenF1919
Registered User
Making a 17 year old kid face the media instead is inexcusable. I have a ton of respect for Messi as a player and the vast majority of the criticism against him (for his play/results for both Barcelona and Argentina) is unwarranted but it always seems like he's pointing fingers instead of taking any responsibility for his team's shortcomings.
Undoubtedly the most talented player to ever play the game but the lack of leadership and his tendency to shrink in big games is why IMO he will never be the greatest of all time.
Undoubtedly the most talented player to ever play the game but the lack of leadership and his tendency to shrink in big games is why IMO he will never be the greatest of all time.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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His tendency to shrink in big games? His point the finger? The first accusation is completely bs go look at the most goals he scored see who the teams are. The other times he’s came up in life or death situations for both NT/club teams. The second accusation is again baseless but less ludicrous. He’s never not shied away from blaming himself. He’s never blamed his coaches nor his teammates. Less harder to see than the first accusation so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. However youre just wrong on both.
AB13
Registered User
- Apr 29, 2019
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You can’t put much blame on Messi, Pedri or the players in general for Barcelonas struggles. Koeman does not understand that you need outlets and runners in behind to have a functioning offense. Such little penetration all over the park, which means even Messi will struggle. Their attack is horrifically balanced even though it could be effective with the right players. At least Barca stumbled on a world class academy talent who makes runs in behind and gives the attack a little unpredictability, but he’s injured now.
In the Atletico - Barca game, the only outlet and transitional threat scored with a run in behind. Football is a simple game that neither Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atletico really understand at the moment. Spanish football has fallen so far.
In the Atletico - Barca game, the only outlet and transitional threat scored with a run in behind. Football is a simple game that neither Barcelona, Real Madrid or Atletico really understand at the moment. Spanish football has fallen so far.
YNWA14
Onbreekbaar
- Dec 29, 2010
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It's a combination of things. Koeman stepped into a horrible situation and isn't doing well. Their team, as noted by their fans, has a lot of flaws. Messi is sulking and hasn't been at his best. I'm sure there are plenty of issues in the locker-room as well when a team with so many expectations is doing this poorly it's inevitable. I think things are going to get worse before they get better.
PeteWorrell
[...]
- Aug 31, 2006
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Like Duchene2MacKinnon has said; Messi has not been ranting in the media or been pointing fingers. He is under no obligation to talk to every media outlet and answer dumb questions from reporters looking for controversy. As far as i am concerned, he can do whatever he wants based on the fact that he hid Barcelona's deficiencies for years waiting for the board to fix things. There is only so much someone can take.
PeteWorrell
[...]
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I have no idea if you have ever been miserable at a job but i have. I can tell you that feeling like you are dying alive day after day hurts no matter how much you earn. Possessing everything money can buy does not stop you from dreading another day working at a place you are tired of. It feels like Messi is at this point of his career and i understand him completely.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Yup no one is allowed to feel anything if they have money. Robot not human. Shut up and dribble.
Vasilevskiy
The cat will be back
This post nails it. I thought there was a chance he might be back next year but last weeks looks totally disconnected from Barça.
As I said Ansu was our best player this season it can't be understated how much we will feel his loss
PeteWorrell
[...]
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Ansu Fati was good because he is one of the only players in that team that makes runs and stretches the field. You cannot just have a bunch of guys all stuck together that all want the ball. There is only one ball on the field and not everyone can have it. Even possession hungry sides need some industry and that is something that is sorely lacking at Barcelona right now.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Koeman takes a large portion of the blame. One of his best midfielders has played 4 mins, Barca are starving for goals and need more creativity. At some point Koeman needs to stop being stubborn. Right now he’s at Setein level in terms of lateral passes for 90 mins. No real offensive ingenuity.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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PeteWorrell
[...]
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Koeman is a Setién level coach who has surfed on his reputation as a player for far too long. The obsession with "Barcelona DNA" is dumb and it is not because it worked out with Guardiola that they should forever be stuck with that mentality when making hires.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Pavel Buchnevich
Drury and Laviolette Must Go
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