Football autism

[Marliini]

String of terrible business decisions like buying players that don't fit the squad. Last year sold a 20yo prospect for a 30something guy just to fiddle with the books in order not to get fucked my UEFA.
Neglecting La Masia, world famous FC Barcelona academy, to buy the aforementioned players that don't fit the squad.
Over 100 million losses last year, 1.4 billion in debt, close to bankruptcy, wasn't able to pay January wages for players.
Oh yeah, and paying a twitter bot company to denigrate and undermine your own players.

Let's start with those

Bartomeu and his cronies seem to have been arrested for money laundering

[L0IN]

Peak dirty capitalism
Thanks for the writeup

[McMokka]

lets see if there are any fans left when Messi leaves

[Marliini]

I would guess so, since the club is still an important focal point for Catalans. Certainly since Franco's times Los Blancos was always the central government's team, Franco's pet or showpiece. Meanwhile Catalan's were not allowed to speak their language in public as the fascist regime cracked down on any regional differences that set them apart from the form approved by the central government. Football was one of the few ways to escape the persecution and the stadium one of the few places where Catalans could speak their language in relative safety. I have a thing for underdogs and that's why I'm fond of the club (and dislike Real Madrid)

[McMokka]

calling Barcelona an "underdog" is a bit of a stretch by most metrics, apart from the comparison to Real, I guess.

[Marliini]

calling Barcelona an "underdog" is a bit of a stretch by most metrics, apart from the comparison to Real, I guess.

Yeah sure, now, but Barcelona got where it is succeeding against the odds, while Real has had everything given to them on a silver platter. Other one was a team of a minority under a fascist regime, the other that regime's pet. And the regime was a long one so the shadows of it might still linger.

Take for example this: https://www.espn.com/soccer/spanish-pri ... r-official

[Marliini]

Madrid Derpy with Hernandez Hernandez as ref and Gonzalez Gonzalez on VAR Sunday afternoon. With those refs, no typos were made

[Marliini]

No Araujo, the only good CB this season, or Pique. That leaves Lenglet, Umtiti and Mingueza

The question is, will PSG score ten or more goals aggregate while advancing?

[Bronn1]

No Araujo, the only good CB this season, or Pique. That leaves Lenglet, Umtiti and Mingueza

The question is, will PSG score ten or more goals aggregate while advancing?

Apparently they didn't.

Also what do you think about the 4 transfer targets Laporta announced: Haaland, Alaba, Eric Garcia and Depay!
I don't think they will be able to get Haaland and, also, i'm not sure he will fit with Barca's style!

[Marliini]

No Araujo, the only good CB this season, or Pique. That leaves Lenglet, Umtiti and Mingueza

The question is, will PSG score ten or more goals aggregate while advancing?

Apparently they didn't.

Also what do you think about the 4 transfer targets Laporta announced: Haaland, Alaba, Eric Garcia and Depay!
I don't think they will be able to get Haaland and, also, i'm not sure he will fit with Barca's style!

I was surprised how well Barca played in the beginning. Why don't we play like that all the time. Then we got Lenglet'd and I went to bed. I didn't even think about de Jong, because if you put him as CB he's not in midfield where I'd much rather have him. But since Umtiti runs half a pitch in the same time as Mbappe runs the length of pitch two times over, it had to be done.

Not convinced Haaland would join. Alaba? sure as a replacement for Alba. Eric Garcia? We are in desperate need of CBs, Masia product, hell yes. Depay, don't know enough about him.

What do you think about Sergi Roberto's contract? I think it runs out next year. He has been my favourite for the past few years because of his work rate and versatility. Enrique played him at seven different positions. Mainly midfielder, but he was better right-back than Nelson Semedo. I'd hate to lose him.

[McMokka]

No Araujo, the only good CB this season, or Pique. That leaves Lenglet, Umtiti and Mingueza

The question is, will PSG score ten or more goals aggregate while advancing?

Apparently they didn't.

Also what do you think about the 4 transfer targets Laporta announced: Haaland, Alaba, Eric Garcia and Depay!
I don't think they will be able to get Haaland and, also, i'm not sure he will fit with Barca's style!

I am pretty sure that Haaland would fit pretty much every role as a striker, apart from false 9. He is a multi tool, and makes the attack less predictable just by being good in different departments. Tho I agree with you, I dont think they will get Haaland.

I also dont know how they wanna handle any of these transfers with their bucketloads of debt. Even Alaba is probably too expensive, costing 20 million a year plus bonus.
The only thing that would make it possible is the departure of Messi. That would free up a lot of funds, but would also remove a lot of attractiveness.

[Bronn1]

I hope they don't lose Sergi Roberto either, he is the best La Masia product in the last years, in my opinion.
Messi leaving, or selling Coutinho and/or Dembele, letting Busquets, Lenglet and Umtiti go might relieve a lot from the financial pressure.
On one hand i know Messi is not what he used to be and he might halt the reconstruction of Barcelona, but i still wouldn't want him to leave. I do think that he has to admit, to himself first, that he is not as fast as he used to be and that he has to rethink his role on the pitch. He would also need players around him that can drible and go past an opponent, not just pass and pass the ball.
I think Salah needs another challenge and he is still young enough to adapt himself elsewhere, so that's where i would look if i was a part of Barca's management.

[McMokka]

Question is tho, how attractive is Barca in its current state to worldstars like Salah?
Messi past his prime and soon probably gone, the finances are in the gutter, there is no love between the club and the current coach, team under construction on more or less every part of the pitch, apart from goalkeeper and probably defensive midfield.

I think they need to focus on La Masia and getting players that show potential but are unhappy at their current club. Or get a great scouting network and focus on wonderkids, who got the hunger to bring the once great Barca back up the foodchain.
The top shelf is probably out of reach at the moment.

[Bronn1]

You may be right, but Salah's form is also in decline and not sure which top team would have space for him, right now! So Barcelona might be a good chalenge for him too. Or, maybe is just wishful thinking.
Focusing on La Masia and unhappy players with good potential is the right way for a reconstruction, though!

[Marliini]

I saw some rumours that Aguero would be joining Barca and I can't understand why. We just got rid of Suarez because he was too old (only for him to be reborn at Athletic but anyway). Wouldn't say Aguero has been any fitter than Suarez was either. Signing someone on their last leg doesn't really seem to fit the whole rebuilding picture. Can we just not

[Bronn1]

I saw some rumours that Aguero would be joining Barca and I can't understand why. We just got rid of Suarez because he was too old (only for him to be reborn at Athletic but anyway). Wouldn't say Aguero has been any fitter than Suarez was either. Signing someone on their last leg doesn't really seem to fit the whole rebuilding picture. Can we just not

While i like/liked Aguero I sure hope it is just a rumour!

[McMokka]

As the Bundesliga is closest to me, someone like Alario from Leverkusen might be something for Barca. Wouldnt break the bank, with 28 he still has a full contract of good years left and is frustrated about too little playtime. Knows the international stage well and could, with higher class teammates, really florish.

[Gotma]

Quick recap of CL's first leg:

Chelsea using the probably easiest possible draw.

Liverpool in trouble, would've thought they'd hold it together on the international stage, but we'll. A rather lost season for them.

Dortmund surprising ManCity big time, but not getting the result they'd needed for a real shot at going through imho.

Bayern : PSG, a cracker of a game for the neutral observer. For me as a fan it was one of the most frustrating games to watch in the recent years. That PSG scores 3 against you is no problem. First one too easy + weird Neuer, 2nd whole team in deep sleep, last world-class of a world beater.
The problem is that this game should've ended 7:3 when you use your chances halfway decently. Lewandowski and Gnarby missing was fatal, as they are arguably the most efficient scorers we have. But omg what kind of chances do they need. What worries me is the inability to win against a team consisting of 3 world-class players and a bunch of shitlords. I mean apart from Mbappe, Neymar and Navas, PSG might have the worst squad out of all teams in the quarters.

Still a game to play, giving Bayern a 30% of going through I think.

My call: if Bayern goes out, there is no team to stop fucking ManCity to take it this year. Which makes me very sad

[McMokka]

I agree. The game was highly frustrating, tho I wouldnt call the rest of PSGs squad shitlord, Bayern was better in every part of the pitch apart from Neymar/Mbappe.
What made it so damn fucking difficult was the forced squad we had. Sorry, you can neither put Süle nor Boateng against Mbappe, it just doesnt work. Süle was fucking dumb when the first goal happens and Boateng is just too damn slow at this point. Hernandez actually did a really good job, so for the away game, I am hoping for Alaba/Hernandez on CB. Would have brought on Musiala during the game as well to play in a 4-1-4-1.

Lewandowski missing is a huge deal. Not only in getting those chances in, but also in creating so much more space for the wingers. I am sorry, Choupo is doing his best, but every team in the world just puts an additional dedicated marker on Lewandowski because he is terrifying to defend. And then he still finds the gaps.
It should be Comans time to shine but even after staying fit for a longer period of time, he is still so damn ineffective. Sané kinda got out of his slump and was the better Winger yesterday in my opinion, but he still lacks the confidence and casualness, that a player of his caliber should bring to the table. Losing Goretzka midway through was bad as well...
All in all, it did not go in Bayerns favor, but I still think they got good chances to go through. Lewandowski might be back for the away game and they only need to win by a 2 goal margin. And the gaps and weaknesses in the defense of PSG were more than obvious, they were just not exploited. I got high hopes for the "angry Bayern" showcasing strength. We will see.

Also when it comes to ManCity: If PSG is the only thing standing between them and the cup, then good night. It is the same shit in a slightly different color. At least ManCitys football is not "try to get less goals against you with 8 players parking the bus and hope for a good day of Mbappe".

[Gotma]

The first goal was more on Alaba imho. If you want to point the finger it's him more than Süle, Alaba leaves the center to pressure Neymar close to the line, who obviously plays it first touch into the space Alaba made into the sprinting path of Kylian.
Alaba didn't have a great day as CB I liked him way more as a defensive midfielder. Phonzie should've played from the start and Hernandez needs to be utilized as a CB more imo. He is so fucking aggressive and close to his opponent and that's what you need with the fast fuckers PSG has.
I completely disagree on Coman and Sane, Coman was playing with his defender. Obviously ineffective af like the whole team yesterday, but Sane on the other side made way less out of the space he was given at times. Offensively Pavard had a better game then Sane imho.

Choupo did well, no replacement for Lewy obviously. I think Flick has to think a bit more out of the box for the 2nd leg. Come up with something surprising. We still have a warrior like Javi on the bench for example. Offensively another creative player like Musiala could work nicely indeed.

Fingers crossed.