Barca will come third and I think UEFA can only get them a quarter final in Champions League. Mental they have sat back and let Real assemble that squad whilst letting theirs become Messi+Dracula and some other guys.
Supercopa de Espana | Real Madrid / Barcelona
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
Yep
Europa debut(1st team debut) (2 goals)
EPL debut (2 goals)
FA Cup debut
League Cup debut
and will have a chance for a Champions League debut goal
I'd say no one knows, they can use it to punish Ronaldo to appear strict, or leave it at "nothing" to stop the trainweck this ref started today, that's how good and consistent they are
We're way worse since we lost a certain Neymar and his replacements are a semi-retired turkish guy, a kid who loves attacking at spaces but gets ignored and Denis flooding the area with low crosses.
I'd like to start seeing past the 433 when Messi doesn't play as a RW and him taking the place of a superfluous Iniesta with Denis/Deulo giving depth to our play on the wings (Deulofeu on the RW, not on the left), but seems that's out of the question right now
Had it on record, just finished. Luis is an embarrassment, Pique had one of the worst games ever, and that ref has to be from Catalonia. Happy Madrid won.
Don't boo Ronaldo when he starts to warm up you idiots, that only strengthens the plot for him to score
Piqué "se marca"
Bale needs a bit of time to get fit. Also, we should play Asensio anyways
Yup. Makes you wonder what this team would be if he were 5-6 years younger
Would be surprised if that were the case
Not true. Own goal was unlucky, the other two goals were counters, not his fault. He was pretty good overall, as was Umtiti. Barca's problem aren't the CBsWow, we're in thanks to Pique. Both him and the ref have been the worst on the pitch by some distance.
Works for us!
Then reduced the sanction to two. They're all over the place, inconsistent as feck. Cristiano got no sanctions from outright punching Godin 3 years ago, and Godin and Pepe spit on each other, also no sanctions
People don't quite realize that Barcelona have been largely playing in the same way since Van Gaal. There were tweaks under Guardiola, but ultimately the biggest difference was Guardiola had Xavi at his peak
Scored on his England debut too.
The problem Barcelona has will not be solved by Dembele or Paulinho imo.
I'm sure he's still going to feel like shit as he was involved in the three goals and I expect people to rub that on him. It's harsh and I know that in the great scheme of things he isn't at fault when the backline is exposed like that and he has to run track backwards against his goal but still I love the way he was exposed and couldn't stop neither Ronaldo or Asensio. He has been making a fool out of himself the last weeks so this was a splendid game in that regard!
If any they would need to replace Mascherano and I don't know what the feck has taken them so long to get Iñigo Martínez.
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Barca held on too long to their Pep invincibles La Masia filled squad, refused to adapt and only wanted to sign 'their kind' of players. Now all those set of players are declining all at once and no suitable replacement for any of them because they've simply not been that interested in buying players for years as they probably felt La Masia was going to shit out a whole new set of superstars. Take out Messi and Suarez and they have a very average team
Barcelona are really not that great anymore, weren't last season either. I think Xavi's departure and Iniesta's decline have hurt them immensely and they couldn't address that. It will take a while for them to rebuild and Messi will not be this good forever either, they could easily get back to the 2000-03 level soon if they don't act. Neymar was their best fundament for mid-term future and he's gone.
Real on the other hand have amazing team with depth and even if Ronaldo declines, there is so much quality and depth beyond him that they'd still be the best team in Europe.
Real on the other hand have amazing team with depth and even if Ronaldo declines, there is so much quality and depth beyond him that they'd still be the best team in Europe.
Sad to see Iniesta getting closed down like that and not having the quick feet to skip away.
Simples. Make him player-manager
A relief more like. Tired of the Barca hegemony. A period of humility would be well received.
I'm a salty cnut, I know.
Oh yeah, definitelyI'm sure he's still going to feel like shit as he was involved in the three goals and I expect people to rub that on him. It's harsh and I know that in the great scheme of things he isn't at fault when the backline is exposed like that and he has to run track backwards against his goal but still I love the way he was exposed and how he has been making a fool out of himself the last weeks.
If any they would need to replace Mascherano and I don't know what the feck has taken them so long to get Iñigo Martínez.
Though i have to say, for all that he's a hard-line anti-madridista, he's one of the few barca players I genuinely respect as man. He's genuine and he doesn't hide. He sticks up for what he believes, and is not beyond admitting when he's in the wrong. Dani Alves was another, similar case. Xavi on the other hand i can't stand. Magnificent footballer, impossible to dislike watching him play, but every time i hear him speak i just want to deck him in the face
You're so clever.
I'm sure he's still going to feel like shit as he was involved in the three goals and I expect people to rub that on him. It's harsh and I know that in the great scheme of things he isn't at fault when the backline is exposed like that and he has to run track backwards against his goal but still I love the way he was exposed and how he has been making a fool out of himself the last weeks.
If any they would need to replace Mascherano and I don't know what the feck has taken them so long to get Iñigo Martínez.
Two of the three goals came "directly" from the same wing and the last one we could say partially, first someone was directly involved, the other 2 he was nowhere to be seen, guess who?
You probably understand Spanish
I've always said, a guy like Alves could be trigger happy on attack because he had the engine to be there and back to defend this kind of actions (and by the time his career at Barcelona was ending he was already getting exposed and we suffered from it).
If we want to be consistently solid, we need the kind of balance someone like Abidal can bring to our team as a fullback, a guy that has present his defensive obligations to help balance our CB's forming a 3 line when we get hit by counters.
I know, it might be unfair throwing everything at Aleix, we're in August and he had 70' on his legs, but still, Asensio starts further than him to our area in the 3rd goal, and beats him there by 10 meters, if we don't have anyone that has the reach to cover a whole wing we need to cover that weak spot, is that easy
Why wasn't Semedo playing instead of Aleix Vidal?
No surprise with this result at all. Suarez, other than his embarrassing cheating, has become rubbish even at football. His overall play has steadily gone down since he moved to Barça. For someone who was so good with the ball, he's just so bad. First touch and passing has gotten steadily worse. It's going to be really frustrating for Messi with these idiots in attack
It was reported at 40M, but now that the Chinese can smell the blood from there expect them to mil something extra
I don´t know how works the motion of censure (Benedito) but seeing the state of the club and the opinion of fans...
I think this is just plain bad management and I understand the frustration of some of their fans. At one point they could have gotten with Modric, Isco or Asensio but somehow they weren't interested enough and ended up here and just look at some of their recent signings. Don't know what would have been of us if those players had ended up there.
If our midfield was Busquets, Modric and Thiago, with Isco, Suarez and Messi upfront AFTER selling Neymar you say?
Kill me please
Summer tourists.
Two of the three goals came "directly" from the same wing and the last one we could say partially, first someone was directly involved, the other 2 he was nowhere to be seen, guess who?
You probably understand Spanish
I've always said, a guy like Alves could be trigger happy on attack because he had the engine to be there and back to defend this kind of actions (and by the time his career at Barcelona was ending he was already getting exposed and we suffered from it).
If we want to be consistently solid, we need the kind of balance someone like Abidal can bring to our team as a fullback, a guy that has present his defensive obligations to help balance our CB's forming a 3 line when we get hit by counters.
I know, it might be unfair throwing everything at Aleix, we're in August and he had 70' on his legs, but still, Asensio starts further than him to our area in the 3rd goal, and beats him there by 10 meters, if we don't have anyone that has the reach to cover a whole wing we need to cover that weak spot, is that easy
I know that flank was an avenue, I was just concentrating on Piqué as he's the most disliked among Real Madrid but yeah the RB situation is a big concern that needs to be addressed either by signing someone more capable or trying a different set up in defense. Maybe Iñigo isn't what you exactly need but I would consider that an upgrade in the team.
Yeah, who knows how it would have turned on as I understand Barcelona could have signed Modric before he came to Spurs, so it's a long time and you didn't need him back then but Isco was a declared Barcelona fan and you could tell he wanted to be signed by you and with Asensio I read it was a matter of Barcelona not wanting to buy in him in just one payment and that's when Real Madrid grabbed him.
they got semedo at RB, and apparently they're not signing Inigo after all, don't want to pay the buyout clause and Real won't sell
Indeed. I guess that is a big sign, that lots of cules do not believe in the team that Bartomeu has given them, hence why most fans didn't seem to bother to show up -> probably why there were so many non-cules there tonight. Big sign to Bartomeu to splash the money fast, since he is basically even losing the Nuñistas votes. When will they have their vote of no confidence?
The clasico overall seemed odd; it felt like a pure friendly in a pre season, until Suarez dived for that penalty. The players of both teams came back to life after 1-1.
What was Asensio like for Mallorca? He looks like a genuine world class talent the few times I've seen him for Madrid. Very intelligent player on the ball for a wide player, explosive pace and a pretty clever finisher.
Just finished watching extended highlights, how Ronaldo got sent off and no penalty for not diving and Suarez got a penalty when diving I'll never know. Was the ref another UEFA special agent perhaps?
Glad to see the best team won anyway, two lovely taken goals as well.
Suarez still makes my blood boil though. Such a talent, ruined by being a grade A helmet. The dive was bad enough but that performance after it holding his leg, pfft. I don't like Real but I hope they absolutely smash Barca at home.
Glad to see the best team won anyway, two lovely taken goals as well.
Suarez still makes my blood boil though. Such a talent, ruined by being a grade A helmet. The dive was bad enough but that performance after it holding his leg, pfft. I don't like Real but I hope they absolutely smash Barca at home.
Suarez is a disgrace to the sport. Shame that the talent he was gifted is wasted on one of the most vile footballers of all-time. I'd honestly be happy to see him get a season ending injury and I'd have a right chuckle seeing him in actual legit pain instead of pretending he's broken his leg off a dive.
Not surprised, RM is now unplayable
But they have 2 "weak" points, K.Navas + no serious backups for the centre backs
But they have 2 "weak" points, K.Navas + no serious backups for the centre backs
Isco and Asensio are just the tits... it's mad that neither are guaranteed starters for a side, but thats the strength of Madrid I guess.
Since the decline of Xavi (and leaving) and Iniesta, Barça was never the same again. They still showed that they are a force to be reckon with in some parts of last season but their reign seems to be long gone.
I do think that Messi's impact is overrated during those times since I believe that one of the main reasons why Barça during the Pep years were so good was mainly thanks to a prime Iniesta and Xavi.
Don't get me wrong, Messi is an incredible player and definitely not overrated at all but it's hard to deny that is no coincidence that Messi's general impact in the game decreased since those times.
Right now Barcelona is in a down spiral and I honestly dunno how they can't get out of it since they face serious problems;
- Aging core players. Pretty much all of their core players are close to 30 or over 30.
- No replacements for Xavi and Iniesta. Its really hard to replace talent like that but it honestly seems like Barça is not even trying since they keep buying mediocre talent.
- Mediocre manager after mediocre manager.
- Bar a few players their main 11 is pretty average and their squad depth is non-existent.
- No game changer bar Messi and Suarez (to a lesser extent), both getting old and while Suarez can be replaced, there's no player that can fully replace Messi.
While RM was building for the future, Barça was enjoying their golden years without thinking about what was gonna happen after their core player were gone or declining. The problem was that it didn't take long till that happen and now RM won the CL 2 times in a row and doesn't seem like anyone is in a position to stop them to get a 3o CL.
This game showed how far are Barça from RM atm and how far ahead are RM from everyone else.
I do think that Messi's impact is overrated during those times since I believe that one of the main reasons why Barça during the Pep years were so good was mainly thanks to a prime Iniesta and Xavi.
Don't get me wrong, Messi is an incredible player and definitely not overrated at all but it's hard to deny that is no coincidence that Messi's general impact in the game decreased since those times.
Right now Barcelona is in a down spiral and I honestly dunno how they can't get out of it since they face serious problems;
- Aging core players. Pretty much all of their core players are close to 30 or over 30.
- No replacements for Xavi and Iniesta. Its really hard to replace talent like that but it honestly seems like Barça is not even trying since they keep buying mediocre talent.
- Mediocre manager after mediocre manager.
- Bar a few players their main 11 is pretty average and their squad depth is non-existent.
- No game changer bar Messi and Suarez (to a lesser extent), both getting old and while Suarez can be replaced, there's no player that can fully replace Messi.
While RM was building for the future, Barça was enjoying their golden years without thinking about what was gonna happen after their core player were gone or declining. The problem was that it didn't take long till that happen and now RM won the CL 2 times in a row and doesn't seem like anyone is in a position to stop them to get a 3o CL.
This game showed how far are Barça from RM atm and how far ahead are RM from everyone else.
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He also scored on his England debut, can't wait for the CL to see him hopefully score.
This is a bit harsh but, for the most part, I think you're right.
After Tito died Barcelona seemed to lose faith in its philosophy. They still pass the ball a lot but all Spanish teams do that. The essence of their football, the tight triangles, the pressing, it all dissapeared.
Over the past few years Barca has become more of a direct ball team based around Messi, Neymar and Suarez. That was sensible given the decline of the midfielders you've mentioned, and the fact most teams were so scared of the Barca front three they would drop off and let Barca play. However, against the few sides confident enough and able enough to defend against Barca's forwards, Barca post-2013 has been shown to be inferior to Barca pre-2013.
At the same time that Madrid was becoming a more midfield based side with Kroos and Modric, and giving young Spanish talents like Asensio and Vasquez a chance, Barca went in the opposite direction. Everything was about getting the ball forward quickly to the expensive foreign imports. Now that one of those, Neymar, has been poached, and the other, Suarez, is now in his 30s, who knows how long they'll be able to rely on that tactic? Worse for Barca, there is no real plan B. The quality of their signings has not been good enough to allow them to revert to their old ways when MSN isn't functioning.
Barcelona needs to go back to basics. Rather than spending the Neymar money on some galacticos, Barcelona needs to give Valverde the opportunity to revamp their squad and revert to type. They need new midfield players who can play the Spanish way (and arguably need forwards who understand that system like Pedro and Villa).
However, I imagine Barca will react to this by making a statement signing, which is exactly the kind of daft move Florentino used to make before Zidane forced him to prioritise squad building over galactico signings.
Barsa finding out replacing Xavi and Iniesta is bloody hard. Real's midfield depth is the best in the world.
Luis Suarez has been a bit shit for the last year now. Inconsistent first touches and awful finishing.
Massive talent and being a complete arse seems to go hand in hand with some players sadly, I can think of a few that were majestic on the pitch yet horrible human beings making their legacy a bit tainted. Strangely, all the ones that instantly pop to mind for me are South American, even one that plays for Spain
.He shouldn't have pushed him but seems a bit harsh. Funny that the ref makes a major error and Ronaldo loses 5 games for it. Ref will go again next weekend.
I think you have to be strict on this sort of thing to discourage others from doing it. 5 games is about right.
Barca's problem is that they expect Messi to be their #8, #9 and #10. Its about time they brought in some proper midfielders and played Messi solely as the #10. This will not be a popular opinion i expect but Iniesta has been massively overrated over the last few years. Does nowhere near enough but gets away with it because he looks elegant on the ball. Its always Messi who's dropping back and trying to dictate play when he should be further forward.