¡Hala Juve! - The 2018-2019 Other Players (and Teams) thread

Yeah, although in the end it makes sense that Madrid return to the level they were at pre-Ronaldo.

But Barca should take this as a warning sign. When Messi retires, lets not be stuck with a bunch of 33 & 34 year olds making-up the core of the team. Unfortunately, getting Griezmann put us squarely on the LPB path. Though I realize its a fine balance between making the team as strong as possible for Messi's final 2-3 seasons and making sure we are still decent after he leaves.

 

FT: Atleti 0-0 Celta

 

Granada top of La Liga.

 

We are 7th ...

 

liga is the most competitive league

 

Arguably..

 

Liverpool outplaying Chelsea away, imagine if Barca had a coach who was half as good as Klopp. Seriously Liverpool don't have fantastic players in all positions but they all play fantastic together. Just like Fergie could get 150% out of everyone. Valverde on the other hand gets 50% out of his players with his moronic coaching.

 

Liverpool does have fantastic players. Which of our players would start for them? Surely Messi... Ok FDJ over Henderson and maybe Pique over Matip. And that's it! Klopp is better than Valverde but you're fooling yourself if you think they don't have a better squad than us. We've got a lot of big names but they are over the hill. For instance, Mane is literally miles better than Suarez right now.

 

Alba, MAtS are 2 others. Our bench is probably a bit better too.

 

MAtS isn't really better than Allison. That's a push. And I'd have Robertson over Alba because he's better on the defensive side.

Our bench isn't really better. We've got Roberto, Rakitic, Vidal, Dembele, Fati. They have Gomez, Milner, Shaqiri, Origi, Oxlade-Chamberlain.

 

It was a game of thirds ..
Liverpool started really well , got the lead , then Chelsea ( the home team ) started playing better and the game was fairly even but Chelsea were on top for the last 30 minutes..

 

That’s a very fair assessment..

 

Robertson is a level or two above Alba . Also Alba only shines when he links up with Messi..

 

I'd argue that Alba links-up pretty well with whoever he needs to on that left side. Even Coutinho.

I mean, it is what it is - he plays with Messi. Linking up well with your teammates makes you an important player. Not something that can be argued at the same time as implying that a player is limited.

 

Maybe I was a tad harsh on Alba but you rarely see any rave reviews about him apart from when he’s linked up with Messi in a particular game ..

Robertson has been playing at a very high level for some time now and is ultra consistent

 

Its difficult to measure defense with stats but since we're talking about offense & passing at this particular moment .... Alba was better than Robertson in just about every key offensive category last season in league + CL, not counting the stat of "rave reviews".

 

They have fairly similar valuations Alba £45 million
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jordi-alba/profil/spieler/69751

Robertson £54 million

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/andrew-robertson/profil/spieler/234803

 

Position by Position:

Allison = MAtS
Alexander-Arnold > Semedo
Van Dijk > Pique
Matip > Lenglet
Robertson > Alba
Henderson < de Jong
Wijnaldum = Arthur
Fabinho > Rakitic
Firminho < Messi
Salah > Griezmann
Mane > Suarez

Bench

Gomez, Milner, Shaqiri, Origi, Oxlade-Chamberlain = Roberto, Rakitic, Vidal, Dembele, Fati

Manager

Klopp > Valverde

They surely have a much better manager but Valverde achieveing what he did in the past two seasons (two La Liga titles, one CDR, one CL semi and one quarter) isn't even bad. Our squad isn't full of world beaters like it used to be. For the record, I don't think we would have won the CL even if he had Klopp for instance.

With all that said, we need a change in manager because our team seems to lack fire. A new manager CAN fix that. And obviously we have Messi who can bridge the talent gap somewhat but asking him to do everything every match is not a viable strategy.

 

Busquets? Dembélé? Last year Coutinho?

Klopp makes the biggest difference.

Valverde makes the biggest difference (for the worst).

 

He's the easy scapegoat and I blame him for not being more of a motivator. When you look at Valverde, he doesn't make you inspired and give you confidence the way let's say Klopp who is more charismatic does his players. But there is little IMO that our team can improve tactically. I mean guys like Suarez for instance are in prime position to succeed and playing like crap. That's not on the manager.

I say sack Valverde because it could light a fire under the team but I don't expect miracles to be honest. Problems already started in 2016 and 2017 in the CL before Valverde arrived.