The Transfers' Discussion Thread : "Never Say Neymar"

Afellay is better than Cuenca and Tello IMO.

 

By a lot.

 

I wanted to bring this up before but it seemed very unlikely to happen until recently and that's Robben to Barca. Here me out, there's been talk of him being unhappy at BM and the higher ups have also criticised him, he's still injury prone and who knows if Bayern want to sign him to a new contract plus they're bringing in Shaqiri. I know in the past he's said he would want to play for Barca and it could be a steal if we get him. He would have to change his attitude a lot since he might not be starting and wouldn't be the center of attention at Camp Nou either but he wouldn't have all the pressure on him and if he wants to win a CL this would be his best bet. He would also have to hustle more and track back to fit in to Pep's system and his contract would probably be less than what he's getting now,but once again, this would be a steal if he decides to join Barca.

 

a steal? prolly he'll cost no less than 20m

 

that just sounds like zlatan all over again. besides we've got no shortage of tricky wide players. i'd rather promote tello.

 

Well those are different positions. Balotelli is overrated imo and De Jong is good but there is no need for him.

 

IMO in Thiago Silva (and maybe also Neymar), out Keita. No Robben or De Jong, Torres or Tevez thank you. Also: Pep, I wish you'd feel like staying to set the Liga right the next season.

 

I should have mentioned that I would only take Robben on a free transfer if he doesn't re-up with Bayern or for nor more than 10m but I guess most people don't seem to be in favor of that. He did play very well against England...just sayin'

 

robben is an amazing talent and i have always enjoyed watching him play.
but he is a complete individualist and barca is at it's best when they are working as a collective. so robben would only get frustrated and pep wouldn't have the patience for him.

personally, i'd like to see what he could do at milan or maybe manU ... that'd be fun to watch

 

After watching Thiago Silva last night I can't see what all the fuss is about .

 

Even Einstein made mistakes no? i think he is a great defender, and would be a great addition to any squad, but with Muniesa and Bartra getting promoted next season it would hardly happen.

I think our main priority is a buying a forward once again. Bearing in that Affelay gets offloaded (which i dont think we should) but i think is likely to happen.

 

he might get some interesting offers that appeal to him, but i just hope he isn't pushed out though. he doesn't deserve that.

 

No need to push him out. He needs matches at his age, and he will not get that with Barcelona. The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for him.

Even for players raised in-house, being injured for a long time makes things very difficult. Look at Pedro also. He misses some time, and then Cuenca and Tello step forward.

Afellay was struggling for minutes in the forward three before, and now there are two more Masia products to contend with (and that doesn't even factor in the future of Rafinha and Deulofeu).

 

between Villa, Alexis, Pedro, Cuenca, Tello, Affellay and (at a stretch) Cesc and Iniesta, we're covered in the forward positions. we're good in midfield too. it's defence where we need strengthening. a left back (Alba) and centre-back (Thiago Silva) and we're fine IMO.

 

Alva seems like a done deal for next season according to Sport.

 

Agreed on forwards and you did not even mention Messi - though he plays a deeper lying role he is obviously starting every game up front unless injured. Then we have Sanchez and Villa as starters flanking him. Pedro the 4th starter - I remain convinced it is more injuries than anything else this season (though that clunkly first touch at times is worrisome). Then Cuenca - already promoted, Affelay, and Tello - soon to be promoted? gets us to 7 forwards without even mentioning Cesc (who plays better up front/false 10 than in Barca's midfield so far), Iniesta and finally Adriano. That's 10.

Midfield is rock solid X-B-I best 3-some in the business; add Cesc, Thiago and Keita plus JDS to the mix gets us to 7 quality players. Affelay can move back if needed, and Sergi Roberto can come up from B. Just please do NOT sell Keita unless he asks a re-signed Pep for the freedom to leave and start somewhere else. He is valuable even after we added Cesc and promoted wunderkind Thiago.

On D I still am worried as to what our plan is - promoting Bartra, Muniesa and Montoya all at once when we could not even find minutes for Fontas. I like Alba's game and with his contract expiring in 2013 we can get him cheap so long as he doesn't renew. With Maxwell gone that makes sense as Abidal likely only has 1-3 seasons of great fullback play in him (though perhaps a bit longer at CB)?

The Thiago Silva thing, however, makes no sense to me - especially given his price and what we have: Puyol, Pique, Masch, Abidal, Fontas, Muniesa, Bartra, cheap buyback for Botia (not that we need him), ability to play Busquets there (scary though that can be).

 

lol it wasn't necessary to mention Messi among the forwards. You just take it as a given that it'll always be him plus 2 others. We definitely need a new full-time CB though. Puyol is nearing the end, and I'm not sure Piqué can be relied on as the senior CB going on this season's form. Mascherano is a great secondary CB and Abidal also, but I think we'd be in trouble if we had to rely on two of those three for an extended length of time. Pep doesn't seem to trust Fontas either, so I doubt he'll get a lot of playing time either. Plus he's a kid. We need a Puyol-type character.

 

Agreed. Plus Silva is one of the best defenders in the world, a starter for Brazil. I doubt he'd want to change a starting position in Milan to a back-up position in Barca. When Puyol retires then yes, now no.

 

Puyol's retirement is a big factor indeed. Dude's 34 in a few weeks no? Wish we'd have a captain like him forever. The best Barca def since...

 

Thing that sucks is that, I just dont see anyone replacing him(in being captain and also ofcourse a defender). Xavi or Valdes for example, to me, are not at Puyols level of captaincy, the guy oozes leadership and tries so hard its incredible. As for a defender to replace him, I have no idea who, Thiago Silva maybe but thats kinda dreaming, tough to replace indeed, I say rest him every game until important ones come up lol.

Edit: I've had many arguments with friends and people online about puyol vs maldini, now before you guys jump to conclusions, argument is that they are both legends and neither is better, try telling that to milan fans, who are 100% certain maldini is better than puyol at everything and has won 10times more. lol

 

I can see other players growing to be captains like Puyol. You grow to it, I suppose. Valdes, Iniesta, Messi and of course Xavi are all worthy and able. Not that Puyol isn't truly exceptionally good leader.

As for Maldini, yeah the dude's a legend. I'd put Puyol on par with him though. Both are as good as defenders get, and I wouldn't place too many others to that group.

 

Puyol's character and leadership are going to be sorely missed when he retires. what convinced me about that above anything else was his reaction when we went down 0-1 after 20 seconds against LPB in December. biggest game of the season, 6 points behind, must-not-lose-game etc...and as intense and committed as he is, he had the presence of mind in the heat of the moment to just settle everybody down and get on with playing. for me, that action ensured Valdes didn't spend the remaining 89 minutes pondering on the mistake, and was able to continue passing out from the back, which meant them having to continue pressing high up and eventually getting tired. it was remarkable composure from Puyol in the most pressure situation imaginable. I can think of several players/captains that would've either screamed at VV for the mistake, or made some other negative gesture. others would've run around shaking their fist and trying to show "passion", and that may not have helped either.

 

I remember that one .gif from a Clasico one year when Puyol was subbed in and Pique walks up to him in the middle of the game and says "Welcome back, Capitan" (Puyol had been out injured for a spell). Puyol pushed Gerard in the chest and told him to concentrate. Always the leader.

When watching Spain I've often felt that Puyol and Casillas value their time together with the national team. I'm sure part of it is their senior status with La Furia but I believe they have a great appreciation for each other's talents. Casillas no doubt appreciates Puyol's hard work in preventing attackers from shooting at goal, and Carles knows that if he makes a mistake Iker is there to make another great save. Casillas was no doubt one of the first to try and get Puyol not to retire after Caveman called an end to internationals after South Africa. I bet those two wished they could have somehow been clubmates over the years.











We need a Puyol appreciation thread.

 

You mean there isn't one? tsk tsk tsk.