"Kluivert is the bad one"

I have been harping on these boards for some months now that we should trade/sell Kluivert in the offseason, he misses way to many chances and he could fetch a good price.

I like the genral nucleus of players and feel that if we could land another striker who has a little better conversion rate things would be much different

JFH, Trezegol, any ideas?

WHo would you want? or do you want to keep Kluivert?

 

I'm of the opinion that since the television market has fallen apart and clobbered the coffers of a lot of clubs, the window to sell PK at a hefty profit is long gone. And since there won't be any CL money coming down the pipeline our way next year, if we see anybody new in the striped kit it will be somebody who is getting along in age that is a bit of a gamble. (This isn't necessarily a bad idea-- look at the mileage Mancini got out of the Lazio squad this year).

And just to play devils advocate (he sometimes drives me nuts too)the bottom line is that PK has 14 league goals...which is more than Raul, Torres, and nearly equal Ronaldo. Saviola, for all our gushing over him, has scored exactly half that amount.

 

I agree and this makes it tough...but couldnt he have more like 24 if he converted some of the spot on shots he inexplicably hits right at the keeper?

You are probably right in that there is not going to be a big market out there for him.

I am speaking more out of frustration and desire for change.

 

KZ, I think I can speak for the group when I say we are *all* frustrated, yes? I have pulled out enough hair to make a wig. You're right in that he probably should have a handful more than he does.

If Overmars and Enrique could be counted on to play 30+ matches and if they could figure out how to use JRR correctly, the board could probably sell PK and use the $$$ to plug the defense...this team does pretty well scoring goals. But if we had lost Kluivert to injury this year...eeeesh it could have been even worse.

And next season there is a small possibility that we lose FDB, Andersson will retire ( not that anyone will notice) and there is always the possibility they won't resign Sorin. So the back line has to be addressed.

Motta appears to be really stepping it up defensively, but we need someone in back who scares the hell out of onrushing strikers and gets in their head. That Juve match was a classic example. On the Zalayeta goal someone should have been staying home since they'd been running for 2 hours, and even though they didn't, they had to know he was the ONLY guy in that sequence who was going to receive the pass. And yet all three men gave him a couple yards of space. Birindelli made a dream cross, sure, but he still made it. And the way Nedved turned FDB and dribbled through the rest of the line on his goal? Mamma mia. That stuff can't be happening.

 

Without this sounding like some geeky baseball posting, Barça's goal differential is a +6, which is better than the teams in 6th-11th place. They have 47 goals for (4th best). With or without Kluivert, I don't think the offense will regress next season. Saviola will improve and so will JRR. The team will most likely be better conditioned than they were under LvG, so the injuries will have to decrease as well. Although, the usual suspects (LE21 & Overmars) will still miss their share of games.

Kluivert does always knock in a quite a few goals every year. My main beef with him is that he never scores the important goals. He'll put 4 past a relegation candidate, but do nothing against a powerhouse. I say sell Kluivert off to some free-spending English club, or maybe get a player in return and some cash. A forward who plays a bit more directly at goal wouldn't hurt.

 

I'd like to see Horseface be transfered into Barcelona with Kluivert being offloaded into Man U.

Either him or Ilhan Mansiz or Hasan Sas since they would be a bargain to buy from Besiktas/Galatasaray for the amount of skill they carry.

For my personal dream, it would be Ahn Jung Hwan, but him transfering to FCB is like saying the sun will set in the east. Doesn't hurt to dream.

 

How many did Saviola have after Antic came in and how many did he have when Van Gaal was in charge?

 

Saviola has scored 8 league goals, and 7 CL goals.

Kluivert has 15 League Goals and 5 CL goals.

Saviola had 2 of his League goals with LvG, 4 CL goals with LvG.

http://soccer-stats.football365.com/dom/ESP/teams/Barcelona.html

 

That's a valid knock, although he's held his own in the CL (he had a goal at Galatasaray, and had goals against Inter and Newcastle among others). Maybe my memory is fuzzy, but I've always felt he was pretty direct; his shot just lacks overwhelming power. He never breaks the back of the ol' onion bag (with apologies to Tommy Smyth). He'd do well in England with his heading abilities but who would be a good candidate to buy him? Certainly not MUFC or Arsenal. Maybe we should call Ken Bates and ask for a swap for Gallas.

 

Thanks for the link.

What I'm thinking is that even though Saviola has half as many goals as Kluivert, it's because he was underused when Van Gaal was still in charge. Since he got to play under Antic, seems like he hit his stride pretty well. It's just a shame that he wasn't used properly early on.

I don't get to watch many Barça games, if any at all, but from what I read and what you guys say, seems that Kluivert could definitely have way more goals if he just finished.

 

Yeah, I know he has definitely done well for country. But would you go as far as saying that he's a goal poacher? When I think of a goal poacher, I think of someone like Arsenal's Francis Jeffers who gets easy taps ins and rebounds. From what I've seen, Kluivert definitely has skill to create, but seems more like his inconsistency that kills him.