FC Barcelona - Campeones de España y Europa!

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:Rosell, when asked about the Copa final:

Pongo un 5-0 en la porra para no perder costumbre

What a fucking idiot
Looks like he too has succumbed to Laporta-itis. Now the Madrid press will have a field day. And you can expect more than one jibe from Mourinho about it too.

And who was it? Hlebegone (?) who was saying he liked Barcelona because they weren't arrogant!

Mourinho is right, if he said something like this Barcelona would be crying for him to be imprisoned. Apparently Jose has posted Rosell's quote in the dressing room. Ooooooh!

Jose has come out with stuff like this a lot of the time in his career. Big deal. They don't come more arrogant than Jose but it's not always a bad thing if it breeds confidence.

Luis wrote:

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:Rosell, when asked about the Copa final:

Pongo un 5-0 en la porra para no perder costumbre

What a fucking idiot
Looks like he too has succumbed to Laporta-itis. Now the Madrid press will have a field day. And you can expect more than one jibe from Mourinho about it too.

And who was it? Hlebegone (?) who was saying he liked Barcelona because they weren't arrogant!

Mourinho is right, if he said something like this Barcelona would be crying for him to be imprisoned. Apparently Jose has posted Rosell's quote in the dressing room. Ooooooh!

Jose has come out with stuff like this a lot of the time in his career. Big deal. They don't come more arrogant than Jose but it's not always a bad thing if it breeds confidence.

It's a little bit different when it is the president of the club. It is sort of like when Boluda came out and guaranteed victory at Anfield.

Jaime wrote:

Luis wrote:

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:Rosell, when asked about the Copa final:

Pongo un 5-0 en la porra para no perder costumbre

What a fucking idiot
Looks like he too has succumbed to Laporta-itis. Now the Madrid press will have a field day. And you can expect more than one jibe from Mourinho about it too.

And who was it? Hlebegone (?) who was saying he liked Barcelona because they weren't arrogant!

Mourinho is right, if he said something like this Barcelona would be crying for him to be imprisoned. Apparently Jose has posted Rosell's quote in the dressing room. Ooooooh!

Jose has come out with stuff like this a lot of the time in his career. Big deal. They don't come more arrogant than Jose but it's not always a bad thing if it breeds confidence.

It's a little bit different when it is the president of the club. It is sort of like when Boluda came out and guaranteed victory at Anfield.

How so? What's the difference between a president and a manager saying it? I'd only really pay attention to the manager and I'd actually think it good sometimes that he's certain of victory. I don't think these comments will make any difference whatsoever anyway. Jose's moaned this season about Barca and teams fielding weakened teams against them, now the Barca president is doing a bit of trash talking, does it make much difference?

For the record I actually think Real will win the final because they have a better second team (so they should for the money spent).

Luis wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Luis wrote:

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:Rosell, when asked about the Copa final:

Pongo un 5-0 en la porra para no perder costumbre

What a fucking idiot
Looks like he too has succumbed to Laporta-itis. Now the Madrid press will have a field day. And you can expect more than one jibe from Mourinho about it too.

And who was it? Hlebegone (?) who was saying he liked Barcelona because they weren't arrogant!

Mourinho is right, if he said something like this Barcelona would be crying for him to be imprisoned. Apparently Jose has posted Rosell's quote in the dressing room. Ooooooh!

Jose has come out with stuff like this a lot of the time in his career. Big deal. They don't come more arrogant than Jose but it's not always a bad thing if it breeds confidence.

It's a little bit different when it is the president of the club. It is sort of like when Boluda came out and guaranteed victory at Anfield.

How so? What's the difference between a president and a manager saying it? I'd only really pay attention to the manager and I'd actually think it good sometimes that he's certain of victory. I don't think these comments will make any difference whatsoever anyway. Jose's moaned this season about Barca and teams fielding weakened teams against them, now the Barca president is doing a bit of trash talking, does it make much difference?

For the record I actually think Real will win the final because they have a better second team (so they should for the money spent).

In Spain it does. Because they (the presidents) all claim they want to behave like gentlemen. They don't celebrate the goals, things like this. You are right, it doesn't really make a difference in the grand scheme of things. But it is yet another example of the hypocrisy of Menos Que Un Club.

Luis wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Luis wrote:

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:Rosell, when asked about the Copa final:

Pongo un 5-0 en la porra para no perder costumbre

What a fucking idiot
Looks like he too has succumbed to Laporta-itis. Now the Madrid press will have a field day. And you can expect more than one jibe from Mourinho about it too.

And who was it? Hlebegone (?) who was saying he liked Barcelona because they weren't arrogant!

Mourinho is right, if he said something like this Barcelona would be crying for him to be imprisoned. Apparently Jose has posted Rosell's quote in the dressing room. Ooooooh!

Jose has come out with stuff like this a lot of the time in his career. Big deal. They don't come more arrogant than Jose but it's not always a bad thing if it breeds confidence.

It's a little bit different when it is the president of the club. It is sort of like when Boluda came out and guaranteed victory at Anfield.

How so? What's the difference between a president and a manager saying it? I'd only really pay attention to the manager and I'd actually think it good sometimes that he's certain of victory. I don't think these comments will make any difference whatsoever anyway. Jose's moaned this season about Barca and teams fielding weakened teams against them, now the Barca president is doing a bit of trash talking, does it make much difference?

For the record I actually think Real will win the final because they have a better second team (so they should for the money spent).

Eh? News flash: neither team are going to play any 2nd stringers, except Pinto in goal for Barça.

But yes, it's a 50-50 game. One off cup game is a perfect situation for Jose to open his anti-football bag of tricks.

We'll see about that.

Guardiola: "Mi tiempo en el Barça se está acabando. Me quedaré este año, éste será el cuarto, y un entrenador tiene que saber el momento de marcharse. Los jugadores se cansan de los entrenadores y viceversa."

Justin Bieber trains with Barcelona. Like we needed another reason to hate this team

Not surprisingly, he seemed too good for Bojan though

At least he's not "Nicolas Cage".

Our games left to play:

Home with Osasuna
Away with Sociedad
Home with Espanyol
Away with Levante
Home with Deportivo
Away with Malaga

Not a bad run of games to play until the end. We need 3 wins and a draw and that's it.

Madrid still has to play away to Villareal, Valencia and Sevilla.

TITO wrote:Our games left to play:

Home with Osasuna
Away with Sociedad
Home with Espanyol
Away with Levante
Home with Deportivo
Away with Malaga

Not a bad run of games to play until the end. We need 3 wins and a draw and that's it.

Madrid still has to play away to Villareal, Valencia and Sevilla.

Dude the league was yours a long time ago.

Hmmm...what do you guys think - good draw, or 2 points lost because the team relaxed too much after the 1-0? For sure, the ref's bullshit decision on the penalty made a big difference as well, but I just feel that we should have been more in control of the game.

Tough to say what this means, if anything, for the Copa final. Madrid will definitely be a bit more confident about repeating their pussy tactics. It will take another 90 mins of extreme concentration for our players to win.

Villa's form is becoming a bit worrying now. At some point the "well, at least he works hard for the team and creates chances for others" excuse will not hold. He's a striker, he needs to score, especially for his own confidence.

I will take a draw, regardless of the how the game evolved.
As for Villa, i have no worries, he is a natural born striker and he will start scoring again, when is really needed, like on Wednesday.

fcb wrote:Hmmm...what do you guys think - good draw, or 2 points lost because the team relaxed too much after the 1-0? For sure, the ref's bullshit decision on the penalty made a big difference as well, but I just feel that we should have been more in control of the game.

Tough to say what this means, if anything, for the Copa final. Madrid will definitely be a bit more confident about repeating their pussy tactics. It will take another 90 mins of extreme concentration for our players to win.

Villa's form is becoming a bit worrying now. At some point the "well, at least he works hard for the team and creates chances for others" excuse will not hold. He's a striker, he needs to score, especially for his own confidence.

Before the match I would have taken the point but now it feels like we let them back in when the victory was relatively easy. Overall I am still not too impressed by Madrizzz considering they were at home and were supposed to show us the 5-0 was a fluke. They played like a Racing or Almeria and for me, Shaktar was a much much tougher opponent despite the result.

Yeah, that's why I laugh at those people who suck Mourinho's dick by claiming "this is the only way to play against Barça". It's clearly not. Look at how Villarreal played, look at how Valencia played, look at how Shakhtar played. Yes, they didn't win any of the games, but they created such good chances and caused our defense so many problems, that a team like Madrid with more quality finishers up front (and not Luiz Adriano) can do much more damage.

I was disappointed with the team in this game...they wasted the entire first half getting caught up in Madrid's physical play. If they tried to concentrate on keeping the ball instead of getting rattled and trying to win free kicks or cards, it would help for a more settled and calm game.


It's also quite clear now that only playing 14 players all season long, doesn't work. Time to spend some cash again on 1 or 2 top players this summer to strengthen the squad, and properly promote Thiago and Fontas and a forward or two from the youth team.

fcb wrote:I was disappointed with the team in this game...they wasted the entire first half getting caught up in Madrid's physical play. If they tried to concentrate on keeping the ball instead of getting rattled and trying to win free kicks or cards, it would help for a more settled and calm game.


It's also quite clear now that only playing 14 players all season long, doesn't work. Time to spend some cash again on 1 or 2 top players this summer to strengthen the squad, and properly promote Thiago and Fontas and a forward or two from the youth team.

Agree on both points, and I've been reiterating the latter one for sometime now.

I think Pep's biggest negative as a manager is his lack of rotation, and use (lack of) subs. He never seems to sub out players who aren't playing well, and doesn't seem to show a great deal of faith in the squad, 1 or two players aside. He continues to introduce subs too late in to games also. But he really should try to rest 3-4 players every league game now.

And like you say the squad does need a bit more depth, but even as it Guardiaola doesn't give the fringe players enough minutes.

I think a CF and CB are must buys.

For CB, I would go for Vertonghen. He's young and versatile, capable of filling in as a LB or DM if needed. He has good pace for a CB, and is also pretty decent on the ball. Probably gettable for 10-15m Euro. Botia is a cheaper option too, though I don't think he is as good.

CF is a little more tricky. Need someone good enough to genuinely contribute if needed, but also 'content' enough with the fact that they will not be a regular starter for the side. A Larsson type would be ideal. I think options could include Forlan, Drogba, Falcao (perhaps a little bit ambitious) could be options. For an entirely different options, I really like Abel Hernandez. He's not prolific, yet, but I just think he has so much potential in his game. That said, 'Chicarito' would have been perfect, but I really knew nothing about his sale to Utd.

Expensive options would be Sanchez, who admittedly isn't a CF but could play anywhere in the front three. I would also bite Madrids hands off if they ever look to ditch Benzema or Higuain.

Although it's a small squad, there's actually several players still on the books who need to go...Caceres, Hleb, Ibra, Kerrison, Henrique. I would also sell Milito and if good offers comes in for Maxwell and Jeffren, then them too. So although 7 out, 2 in sounds a little excessive, if they were two who would contend for spots in the starting lineup then Barca would be better off. Thiago and Fontas would obviously be promoted.

So

GK - Valdes, Pinto
CB - Pique, Puyol, Vertonghen, Fontas, Abidal
LB - Abidal, Adriano
RB - Alves, Adriano, Puyol
DM - Busquets, Mascherano, Vertonghen
CM - Xavi, Thiago, Keita, Iniesta, Afellay, Busquets
FW - Villa, Messi, Pedro, Bojan, Afellay, new CF, Iniesta

I think that squad would have greater depth than the current one and is full of quality.

Be interesting if any Dutchies don't think Vertongnen is as good as I think he (potentially) is.

For the attack, we need Rossi

Agree on all the outs, they're all almost certainly going anyway, except for Maxwell.

fcb wrote:For the attack, we need Rossi

Agree on all the outs, they're all almost certainly going anyway, except for Maxwell.

Yeah but you would almost have to pay Rossi's buyout to get him. Villarreal aren't just going to hand him over...

Calidad wrote:


Be interesting if any Dutchies don't think Vertongnen is as good as I think he (potentially) is.

As with Vermaelen I think he is vastly overrated, look at the game against NEC last weekend. When under pressure he always makes the wrong choices, is defending on 6m and his buildup away from the Arena, when the pressure is on him is just horrible. No wonder he looks horrible when playing for Belgium and that even van Buyten gets ahead of him.

I might be biased though

I remember him getting dicked on in the air when playing centre back. Guess that would happen less in the Spanish league. Also, always seemed to good on the ball to play in defence, but again, that would hardly matter if he was playing for Barcelona.

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:For the attack, we need Rossi

Agree on all the outs, they're all almost certainly going anyway, except for Maxwell.

Yeah but you would almost have to pay Rossi's buyout to get him. Villarreal aren't just going to hand him over...

Yeah, 40m, no problem.

Budget is 40-45m plus sales.

28m coming in from Ibra, and a little bit from Jeffren, Botia (unless we keep him), Caceres, maybe Hleb. Henrique and Keirrison are write-offs.

So 2 big signings should be easy. The smart thing would be to spread the money across Rossi plus a CB plus a versatile attacker/midfielder, but I guess we already know it's going to be Rossi + Cesc + some cheapo defender who can play the ball well but not actually defend much.

fcb wrote:

Jaime wrote:

fcb wrote:For the attack, we need Rossi

Agree on all the outs, they're all almost certainly going anyway, except for Maxwell.

Yeah but you would almost have to pay Rossi's buyout to get him. Villarreal aren't just going to hand him over...

Yeah, 40m, no problem.

Budget is 40-45m plus sales.

28m coming in from Ibra, and a little bit from Jeffren, Botia (unless we keep him), Caceres, maybe Hleb. Henrique and Keirrison are write-offs.

So 2 big signings should be easy. The smart thing would be to spread the money across Rossi plus a CB plus a versatile attacker/midfielder, but I guess we already know it's going to be Rossi + Cesc + some cheapo defender who can play the ball well but not actually defend much.

Cartera! Cartera! Cartera!

Btw. You will probably sign Neymar.

Fuck no. Will be too much money for an unpredictable and volatile 18 yr old.

Rossi Rossi Rossi

When Barca play against physical well organized defense like what Madrid showed last wednesday, don't you think what they need is a Llorente instead of neither Rossi nor Sanchez?

Although i would love to see llorente in azulgrana then buying a player for 2 matches against madrizz and a couple of cl matches is a bit excessive. Lets not forgot that we could have scored 2 or 3 in the second half. Buying llorente would prob mean benching either villa or mpre likely pedro and partly changing the style of play. Llorente wouldnt come just to a sub

Exactly - it's the same point I was telling blut the other day. It's kind of similar to anti-terrorism measures. How much money and resources is it justified to spend to have defenses against a once in a lifetime "in case it happens" scenario? In fact, people forget that Pep already tried this at great expense to the club last year, and it didn't quite work out.

Rossi would be the safest option but personally i think that neymar or sanchez would be more excting. I think that rossi is more stable, less volatile and a great team player but neymar seems to have the x factor that could make him world class. However he will probably self destruct the first time he is subbed off before messi and/or doesnt start. Sanchez looks great but i dint know much tbh. So rossi would be the safest and most economical option.