I simply don't understand why they decided to spend so lavishly on what looks like a bench piece to backup Raphinha. I dont see what Gordon is SO MUCH better at than Virgili or Abde, that made Gordon worth ~€60MM more than Virgili, or ~€35-40MM more than Abde. Meanwhile, Deco went to Korea to play in the Barca Legends game, instead of staying in Barcelona and doing his fvkcing job. Apparently, Silva's head has now been turned towards LPB. I'm not so much FOR Silva to Barça, so much as I'm against LPB getting a competent MF for free. WTF was that stupid piece of shyte Deco doing in Korea in the first fvkcing place?
Have you seen much of Gordon ? He’s just a fast, hard worker- zero technique , zero vision , no final ball .
He provided a nice assist yesterday, albeit in a friendly. Embarrassing dive to try to win a penalty though. The English don't dive, they say.
I’d love for this to be true. If we could get Kroupi for a good deal I’d take him in a heartbeat. The potential for him to explode next season is very real.
God, I hope not. An Alvarez transfer = a Coutinho or Griezmann transfer. Whats more, if Atleti refuse to sell, and Deco has his thumb shoved up his arse on this one, we should all hope that Deco can find an actual #9.
His kid has autism, and he wanted to be in Spain so that his kid can receive the care he needs in a more native tongue. Barça would have had to sell Balde in order to fit Cucurella in, so he took the path of least resistance to LPB. Balde has dug in his heels, and he doesn't want to leave. I can't blame him, after Barça chose the dessicated remains of Alba, and then an unfinished Balde over him in the past. What's more, the man has to think of his kid first.
Same. As a father I understand completely and harbor no ill feelings towards him at all. Barca dropped the ball with him so they can’t be mad now. Hope Cucurella gets all the proper care he needs for his kid. At the same time I hope RM fails miserably again this season with him as the sole spark.
I said after the earlier game that I would reserve judgement and hoped Flick and the scouts had seen something I hadn't. After Ghana, I'm still waiting. This isn't about declaring Gordon a flop after two matches. It's that this performance exposed the exact concern behind the fee. England had nearly 79% possession against a compact defense (the type of game Barça faces constantly) and Gordon offered very little beyond his usual running and pressing. He rarely destabilized his opponent, combined to unlock the block or produced anything decisive before being taken off. His pace and movement can clearly be useful in transition, but we reportedly paid €70m plus add-ons for a winger who, I'd assume, must also make a difference against settled defenses. I still don't see enough quality there to justify that investment. In hindsight, waiting until after the World Cup would at least have given us more information. Based on his tournament so far, it certainly wouldn't have strengthened Newcastle's asking price, and we might either have negotiated a better deal or decided not to make one at all. I genuinely hope Flick proves me wrong, but right now I still can't see what the scouts saw that made this worth such a huge outlay.
You're not imagining it. There is nothing more to Gordon than meets the eye and he's not going to suddenly evolve into a different player once he pulls on a Barca shirt. And with Barca notoriously being a difficult place for attacking players to move to and become a success, I still think it's one of the most bizarre transfers I've ever seen.
Wait, you didn't see Barca set 130MM on fire to buy Coutinho for some stupid reason? Also, if you think Gordon for 80MM was bizarre, Laporta is telling you to "hold his beer." How about setting 150MM on fire to sign a guy who only had 6 goals from the run of play in La Liga? Yup, it looks like THAT'S gonna happen next.
The only thing I've seen as somewhat plausible as an argument for Gordon's signing is that his sprint speed topped the charts in UCL last season, and he also covers a lot of KM/90. In other words, Deco/Laporta/Echevarria burned 80MM on a bench winger, because he runs fast and works hard. Anyone feeling good about this transfer window so far?
I've always believed Ferran Torres is a better no9 than Alvarez and Rashford is a better LW than Gordon. That final goal vs Croatia that Rashford scored, you will hardly ever see Gordon put a team away like that. He doesn't have that killer instinct. But here's the thing, both Alvarez and Gordon are noticeably better at pressing high. So possibly Flick and recruitment team are planning on combining Gordon with Alvarez together in a new system.
That’s precisely what worries me. A poor game can happen to anyone, but when someone who watches England regularly says this is simply the player Gordon has always been, it becomes harder to dismiss as tournament form. Hopefully Flick has a very specific plan for him, because €70-80m is an enormous bet on physical tools translating into a much more technically demanding role. SMH. How is it possible that everyone else sees these things and the ones in charge don't? It's just mind-boggling.
Regarding Ferran. This World Cup has again shown the difference between being a useful rotation forward and being a genuine first-choice No. 9. Ferran’s movement is good and he regularly gets himself into scoring positions, but the finishing remains far too unreliable. He wasted several excellent chances against Cape Verde and then missed another one-on-one against Saudi Arabia. I’ve never really rated him as a potential starting striker for Barça, and nothing here has changed my mind. He can contribute goals as a squad player, but we should never plan around him as our main No. 9.
Well, Torres isn't very good at football, but since he's made himself into an actual #9, he's a better #9 than a guy who ISN'T a #9 in Alvarez. Alvarez WILL actively harm Flick's project, by not being what those clowns think Alvarez is. Alvarez is NOT a #9, not a striker, and not a CF in a day and age when Robert Lewandowski just left. In fact, much like watching Messi leave in tears, I worry that one of Pedri/Fermin/Yamal will leave in tears sometime after Barca set 150MM on fire for Alvarez. By contrast, Gordon will be a mere irritance to the project, as long as Raphinha can still play, and/or Barca can continue to find wingers in La Masia. All told, Deco is a profoundly stupid man, Laporta is profoundly corrupt, and put together, Barca's transfer business can be comically bad and dumb.
Because, as mentioned, Deco is profoundly stupid, as are Laporta and Echevarria. But, tranquilo. As long as Raphinha can play football, Gordon won't matter much. And if Gordon fails, he can be remarketed back to the EPL, for only a minor loss of ~20-30MM or so. OTOH, Alvarez has Coutinho-like powers to murder Flick's sporting project. THAT'S the transfer to lose your sh!t over, not Gordon. Moving an obese contract that was signed over an obese transfer fee for a guy who hasn't been productive or professional is damn near impossible. [See Coutinho and Griezmann as examples.]
I understand where you’re coming from on Álvarez. If you see him as another expensive player being forced into a role that doesn’t fully suit him, that’s a fair concern. Genuinely curious though: who would be your realistic choice for the actual No. 9 position? Not asking as a gotcha - I’d like to know which player and profile you think would fit us best. I personally like Kroupi's profile though he's still largely unproven and quite young. I don't really like Lautaro, at least for Argentina he's always been quite average. Don't know who else is realistic right now...
I think that Barca are in "win now" mode, given that Flick won't be here for much longer, and the only piece of silver he's missed out on with Barca is UCL. So, I think that it would have to be an experienced player over an inexperienced one, to try to win UCL in the next season or 2. I also concede that there are limits to Barca's ambitions in the transfer market, financially speaking. Further, I concede that there is no "ideal solution" for a long-term #9 to "plug in" realistically available in the transfer market. I think that most of what Alvarez does best [link up play, creating chances for others, pressing] are already present in the roster. What I think is missing is a proven, prolific finisher of chances. I think a natural #9 makes more sense than a false 9. In order, my choices would be: Kane for 80MM [probably not possible] Guirassy for 35MM [IF the reported release clause is legit] Oyarzabal for 75MM [Though not a "pure #9," and he's said he wouldn't join Barca] Osimhen for 120MM [Gala are asking for 140MM, and he has character questions] Kroui for ?80MM? [Though his availability/price are in question, and he's a bit unproven] Muriqi for 30MM [Though Fenerbahce may have beaten Barca to him] Nunez for free [Though he's Uruguayan Ferran] Vlahovic for free [Perma-crippled, and character questions surround him] So, out of that list, it would have to be Guirassy at 35MM. He's been productive, experienced, [AFAIK] no character questions, and comes at a price that won't CRIPPLE the club. If not for the previous existence of Giroud and Benzema, Guirassy might have been France's #9, and then he'd be worth 100MM or so today.
Updated: Kane for €80MM [probably not possible] Guirassy for €35MM [IF the reported release clause is legit] Oyarzabal for €75MM [Though not a "pure #9," and he's said he wouldn't join Barca] Osimhen for €120MM [Gala are asking for 140MM, and he has character questions] Kroupi for £100MM[Bournemouth say he's not for sale, and he's a bit unproven] Lautaro for €85MM [Inter won't sell] Muriqi for €15, SOLD to Fenerbahce Nunez for free [Though he's Uruguayan Ferran] Vlahovic for free [Perma-crippled, and character questions surround him] So, out of that list, it would have to be Guirassy at €35MM.
Did anyone see that useless Anthony Gordon the other day ? Everyone over here thinks that Tuchel has lost his mind for playing Gordon instead of Rashford We are the laughing stock of the footballing world for passing on Rashford for £25 million and paying £70 million on a mediocre runner
Yes. Nothing convincing about Gordon and that ridiculous price we paid for him. I know that Flick has the ability to get the best out of players but this will be his biggest challenge yet. With that being said, I didn’t want Rashford either on those wages.