Rashford's work rate is poor. I am honestly also afraid he gets comfortable if he is signed permanently. His wages are also high. I am guessing Flick believes he can get more goals and assists out of Gordon as he did with Raphinha. Nobody expected that kind of output from Raphinha before Flick came in.
Yeah, pretty much. I would have been okay with a second year of borrowing him but makes no sense now. Plus, Rashford's contract expires in 2028. So if we buy him we would just see him walk away in 2 seasons? That makes those 2 years extremely expensive when you also factor in his salary. We wouldn't do that, so buying Rashford means also extending his contract deep into his thirties. Much more potential upside with Gordon.
We need a CF and Deco ends up spending a massive amount on someone who will be a bench warmer for Raphinha ... he will end up like Roony and probably get loaned after a season
Turns out this Gordon guy is a big Barca fan. Also comes in speaking Spanish basically saying he'd play at the club one day. So effort won't be an issue for this guy.
We needed a left winger too. How many games were both Lamal and Raphinha healthy this season? Or last season? Do we really need to keep playing Raphinha and Yamal until their legs fall off? Well, yes, we kinda do if there is a huuuuuuge drop off in quality from those 2 to the next best option. I like Roony but we're not starting him v LPB and CL knockout ties. We aren't Betis or Rayo.
all i'm saying is paying 70 freaking million for a backup while we are struggling financially is dumb while we need some replacements in the starters specially in the defense where we had issues all the time
I share your concerns about this signing. The price tag is indeed yawning. That said, I've read that if they'd bought Rashford for €30MM, and signed him to a 3 year contract, the amortized cash out the door is roughly equivalent to buying Gordon for €70MM, and signing him to a 5 year contract. This is because of the massive difference in wages. The downside is mitigated, in that Gordon can be re-marketed if he does not work out, because of his age. Some stupid EPL club can buy him, like, say Chelski, in their Neverending quest to sign 800 wingers. Now, as to Gordon himself, apparently Flick was involved in deciding who to sign, so this isn't as moronic as Deco stupidly buying Roque. So, there's that. However, like you, I do reserve the right to b!tch at Deco, et al. if they fail to secure a #9. (And Alvarez ain't a #9, he's a second striker or a #10.)
I think Bernardo Silva is a must for us while this beast gets some first team experience (Flick has called him up to train with the first team) and hopefully turns out to be everything we hope he will be. As far as strikers go, and I know he's very young, but what a talent Eli Jr. Kroupi is. He's had a break-out season at Bournemouth and he's a huge reason why they qualified for Europe this season.This gives me the vibes as when we missed out on Alvarez when City picked him up at Riverplate (and put him out of our reach). I realise this has been Kroupi's breakout season in the EPL and that he's still very young, but there's something about his profile that really intrigues me for Barça. He looks like an actual No. 9 rather than a winger or second striker being converted into one. His movement, positioning and goalscoring instincts seem very natural. Álvarez is the better and far more proven player today, but he's more of a complete forward. Kroupi, to me, looks more like a natural striker. He obviously has a lot to improve physically and in his all-round game, but those things are coachable. Natural No. 9 instincts aren't. I'd want to see him do it for another season before making any big conclusions (though his price may have sky-rocketed out of our reach by then), but he's definitely one to keep an eye on.
Great name. I like this young man's game. That said, I dunno if he is a natural #9 or not, because Bournemouth have Evanilson at the #9, and since they've sold Semenyo, Kroupi has been playing at a wing or other positions. But when I look at his heatmap, I wonder what he is/will be: Junior Kroupi at sofascore His heatmap doesn't completely look like that of a #9, but that may be situational to him having to play on a wing at times. I haven't seen a player so thoroughly mis-scouted as this one, since either Griezmann or Coutinho. The man is NOT a striker, but rather a "second striker," or a "#10." Julian Coutinho at sofascore Looking at his heatmap alone, it is clear that he's not a #9/CF/striker. He will conflict with Fermin in this roster, because they like to play in the same positions. Its amazing that Barca want to square-peg Alvarez into a #9 role. If they sign him for an obese transfer fees and pay him obese wages, it will end just as badly as Coutinho or Griezmann did, for a pile of reasons that's 5'7" tall.
Incredible levels of hate from Khan for Alvarez, did he do something to your family? Think you need some therapy mate. What I don't understand is why have Barca paid 70m euros for a bang average player in Gordon when they could have gone all in for Alvarez and probably had a deal wrapped up by now. But I guess, according to Kahn, the fact Gordon is taller than Alvarez must have been the deciding factor. Tell you what it's just as well Khan is restriced to posting nonsense on the internet. imagine if he had any influence in the real world, Xavi, Iniesta and Messi wouldn't have played a single game for Barca between them as they would have been rejected for not being tall enough.
True about Xavi, Iniesta, Messi at the time being a bit revolutionary as a midfield/attack with no size. But I don't think it's a bad point when talking about height in the striker position specially in a 4-3-3. I know Messi played a false 9 back in the day, but he is Messi. I think it's also fair to not want to pay an exorbitant amount for Alvarez. The $150m price tag Atleitco is supposedly asking is way too much ... he isn't worth that much. Specially with Barca still not in a great place financially. Granted Gordon's price tag is also high ... perhaps his lower wages played a part in the balance of things since at the end of the day, it comes out of the same pot. Unless it's a negotiating tactic, it seems like Atletico don't want to deal with Barca anyways.
Thats such a wussified approach to weakly attempting to quash any difference of opinion. Sack up (if thats what you got), cowboy up, or ovary up (if that's what you got.) Skip my "opinion," if you like. But you cannot disagree that Alvarez's heatmap is not that of a #9. It just isn't. You cannot disagree that his production is that of a #9. And you cannot disagree that his physical attributes are that of a modern #9. Because, unlike in the political realm nowadays, you cannot argue facts. At a minimum, Gordon is actually a winger, whereas Alvarez is not a #9. You may not like it, but thems the facts. And even if Gordon ends up disappointing, he won't cripple the club financially. (Shrugs) And again, thats such a nonsense comparison. Comparing the job duties of a winger to that of a #9, or the job duties of a #6/8/10 to that of a #9 is lazy and a fool's errand. You might as well compare a Vespa to an 18 wheeler. After all, they're both motor vehicles, right? You're better and smarter than all of this nonsense, brother.
Raphinha was a obvious talent though and did have a good season before we bought him Gordon has been useless this past 6 months even though he was presumably trying for the World Cup squad .. He wasn’t even a starter of late and the fans regularly booed him as they much preferred Harvey Barnes
That said we paid €75 million for a bang average, hard running athlete who’s second touch is a tackle whilst apparently missing out on Alvarez who is one of the worlds best players and would suit our team perfectly imho
Many in the UK would disagree vehemently about Gordon being a good player .. he’s fast , a hard worker who will press the ball … but has no skill or vision or final ball .. some say he can play CF but if Newcastle don’t play him there even when there German striker was off form why would he be a success at Barca .. He also has poor technique which is a must for Barca players ( or it was ) Newcastle fans routinely booed him and much prefer Harvey Barnes i an gutted
On Gordon, I mostly agree. I'm hopeful that either Flick can raise his level, or that some stupid EPL club will later buy him back into that league. Given that the AMORTIZED net spend/year between transfer fee and wages would be pretty much identical to Rashford, I think his younger age and lower salary are a form of "downside protection," if it goes sideways for him at Barca. But on Alvarez, it seems like there's some "racial profiling" going on here. After all, he's a short Argentinian, just like Maradona, Messi, and Aguero. So of course he should be IDENTICAL to them, amirite? Conveniently, both Aguero [the last of the short strikers] and Alvarez [a #10] played in the same league, for the same club, under the same manager, and with a lot of the same teammates. To compare them, we have their numbers, and we have their heatmaps, courtesy of sofacore: One guy scores goals, because he gets into the box, while the other stays mostly outside the box. One guy POUNDED the net with impunity, while the other is still looking for his 1st season in Europe with double-digit non-PK league goals. The facts are clear that Alvarez is not a #9, not a CF, and not a striker. Therefore, he's not what Barca need. Spending such an obese amount on a transfer, and such an obese amount on wages would be bad and dumb.
I think we’re getting too hung up on labels. Whether Álvarez is a #9, second striker, false 9, or hybrid forward isn’t really the point. The question is: what profile do we want to replace Lewandowski with? If the idea is to continue with a more fluid attack, then Álvarez makes perfect sense. If the idea is to have a more traditional penalty-box presence who occupies CBs and attacks crosses, then I can understand why some people prefer other profiles. Personally, I think Álvarez is a fantastic player. My only reservation is whether spending €100m+ on him is the best use of resources when we still don’t know exactly what Barça’s long-term striker profile should look like post-Lewandowski.
A player being played out of position, or a player who's style conflicts with an extant player in the team is one of the easiest ways for a transfer to fail. So, Barca have to be clear about what they want in a purchase, and why they want him. [Given that Flick hasn't gone to a short "false 9" type very often, I'm not seeing the tactical fit.] I think that's a fair question to raise. But then, for those of us who saw Coutinho and Griezmann get square-pegged into previous iterations of Barca, would we want the club to roll the dice to the tune of 100MM+ to find out? For me, if a player is being bought for 9 figures, he'd BETTER be a "franchise player," who can lift the level of the team. Someone who fits like hand-in-glove. Someone who's quality and who's production are unquestioned. And someone who won't upset the club, either through conflicting with another player's role, or conflicting in the changing room. I'm just not seeing it in THAT player, with THIS team. I also think that Alvarez is a fantastic player. I think he's world class, and I would welcome his signing, IF Barca needed someone who plays the way that he does. Again, given that there are other players that play in the same spaces that he does already in the roster, and that he does not offer anything that isn't already here, I think this is foolish. Especially at that price point. [I think Muriqi, Nunez, Vlahovic, or Guirassy could easily produce what he does, for a fraction of the price.]
I'll be the first to admit that I haven't seen Gordon play much if at all before the news broke out that we had signed him and I'm willing to reserve judgement until I see what Flick's plan is with him. With that being said, this looks pretty underwhelming from him vs New Zealand. For 10m more we could have gone for Antonio Nusa who IMO seems way more talented. I hope (and assume) that our scouts (and Flick) have actually seen this guy play this last season before pulling the trigger. I have gone to several Newcastle forums and the fans all seem to agree that we made a big mistake and they're mostly happy he's off their hands. Sigh.