In the near future (summer 2013, 2014) surely we need a new CB as Puyi's role just fades and fades, but I think we should check out how Song performs before we do anything. Definitely not needing to buy a CB before this window shuts. Song could very well turn out to be a reasonably reliable CB. As for Pique - he's doing fine imo, but everyone has their more mediocre phases. As for the attacker, we are I guess a month or so away from having a fit Villa back. Pedro is looking very lively. Also I think Alexis is ok: the dude is 23, has played for Barca 43 matches and scored 15 goals. Would be good for him to step up a bit, but it's not like he's doing catastrophically bad. I also think it's not that important that we have a traditional "9" as long as we just score enough, and we have been scoring enough.
I don't think the SuperCup result will have much effect on Madrid's season. They play Granada at home on the weekend and then its an international break. I just don't see them dropping points before the break no matter how dejected they may be after the super-cup. I'm more concerned with Barca regaining the nice form they had before that shaky match yesterday, since Valencia will be very tough to beat.
lol Great to see Barca-hater extraordinaire zahzah is in mid-season form. https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/threads/osasuna-vs-barcelona.1973710/
Lol indeed. Is there a LPB hating counterpart somewhere in BS? I dunno. Anyway, I found this bit by zahzah particularly "funny": "The reason I posted it is: a) It was the controversy of the weekend. Whether or not it was the really controversial is sort of secondary."
Not too much in the LPB OTT thread. They were too busy watching/mocking AC Milan's start to the season (even though LPB are off to a similar start lol). I just found this: Complaining about a correct decision from the linesman! lol.
Re CB, yes, let's see how Song does at CB (or at playing DM with Busquets playing CB - though I prefer SB at DM and seeing Song at CB), see IF (big if) King Abi returns, see how Bartra and Fontas (if Fontas stays) do, see how Puyi does with injuries this year (broken cheekbone is not the sort of injury I worry about - can he go through a season with no leg/ankle/foot injuries, and also the new contract Puyi signs which will say something about how long he wants to play? (Side note I sort of wish Puyi and Xavi would both retire from NT duty BUT I understand their desire to see an unprecedented back to back World Cup (Euro-WC-Euro+possible 2nd WC) through). Attacker wise I agree with your points (Villa on the mend, Pedro playing well again, Alexis has adapted well already) and we also have to remember we have Rafinha (false 9), Deulofeu, then Dongou on the horizon - I really think all 3 could be future Barca first team players. We have Tello, Cuenca, and (at least for now) Affelay too. We supposedly have to buy Bojan back (or find another home for him and his set-to-grow wages) next summer. And of course there remain persistent Neymar to Barca rumors.
LOL...thanks for posting. Love his last line. He is generous to the ref but I am going to have to err him ipso facto for his atrocious command of English and Latin. "Personally feel the ref should have dealt better with damage control (the game than derailed into chaos - 4 yellows within the next 15 minutes), but can't really err him ipso facto for calls."
Valdes - 6.0: Made some nice saves to keep Osasuna from extending their lead after they scored the first goal, didn't position himself very well to save Llorente's header though which could have been dealt with better by him. A tidy performance overall though. Alves - 6.5: Kept creating the danger from our right side, but struggled to deliver some better crosses at times when he should have. Created two good chances for Tello and Iniesta which weren't taken but was caught out of position on the Osasuna goal. A decent game, but could have been better. Puyol - 6.5: Similar to Alves. Did a pretty good job bringing the ball up out of defense when he could but had some troubling moments at the back which could have resulted in some real danger if their strikers were more alert. Unfortunately, re-injured because of a vicious foul with the elbow from an Osasuna player which somehow escaped without a red card. Pique - 6.0: Won most of his aerial duels but was poor on the goal, didn't show enough commitment to get to the ball before Llorente could and it cost him. Still performed well and seems to be in decent form apart from the occasional mistake, not far away from returning to his old self. Alba - 7.0: Had a very good game, in my opinion. Did very well on the left side with Tello and Iniesta but wasn't able to get too many crosses into the box or get into promising areas as he didn't go forward too much. When he got the chance, sent a inch perfect cross in to Messi who finished it off. Tidy at the back as well, a strong display and he should start at the Bernabeu in my opinion. Busquets - 7.0: Had a good game despite the larger amount of work he had to do today than usual due to our midfield being unable to hold up the ball well in the first 65 minutes up against the physical bulls we had as opponents. Did well to cope though and gradually got better as the game wore on. Fabregas - 6.0: Not a very convincing show from Cesc. Didn't control the ball as well as he should have, playing in the Xavi role and all. Struggled to create more than three or four chances and overall just got beaten in midfield more than a few times. Not his best day, needs to improve but the Xavi role isn't for him right now in my opinion either. Iniesta - 6.0: Not the same Andres we saw in the second half of the Supercopa game. Missed a big chance in the first half and overall didn't play well in midfield alongside Cesc. Had some poor shots, didn't connect very well with Tello, and made more than just a couple of mistakes. Hopefully he won't have many days like this again this season because it's not on the trend of his performances that have gotten him as one of the favorites for the Ballon d'Or. Alexis - 5.5: Even more disappointing this time around than he was in the Clasico. Did well to set up Messi instead of taking the shot himself on the equalizing goal, but was hardly able to penetrate and get in behind the Osasuna defense without being offside. Again seemed frustrated and looks increasingly less and less effective in tough games out on the right wing. He'd be better off playing through the center in my opinion like he was against Chelsea and Real last season. Messi - 7.5: Not his best game this, but scored two vital goals late on, including a well taken second one. Hardly got going in the first half but improved in the second as the chances started to come, but looked much better when Xavi and Pedro came on the pitch. He can just do something out of absolutely nowhere, he is incredible. Wouldn't be surprised if he does something similar on Wednesday. Tello - 6.0: Had the same problem almost as Alexis did, but he actually got some chances, two of which were very well taken but just unlucky not to score on. Started to have issues in the second half against their fullback which meant he eventually faded out of the game and was taken off. Not sure if he's ready to start these tough road games where the space to breathe doesn't exist, a few sub appearances in these kind of matches would be better for the time being. --- Pedro - 6.5: Encouraging from him coming off the bench. Should have started this game in my opinion but probably was being saved for the Clasico this Wednesday, where I hope he'll play as right winger. It's his best position and he can really cause a lot of trouble with his right foot, pace, and strong shot. He's also very good at linking with Messi these days which means there's a lot of good potential there. Sparked life into the side when he came on and we got just what we needed from him to go on and win the game. Xavi - 6.0: Provided the strength and control on the ball we were pretty much lacking while he was on the bench and with Messi dropping deeper in support, it became easier for us to keep the ball better and create more chances. He's in very good form at the moment but it's obvious that the staff is taking awfully good care of him to make sure the type of burnouts that occured last season for him don't re-occur again. Villa - 6.0: Sparked some freshness on the left side and drifted inside to allow Alba to come forward on the overlap. Didn't have too much of note when coming on but another important step towards regaining full fitness which I assume isn't more than another four or five weeks away.