They have declined seriously.
Barcelona 2017/18
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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.
For the first time in a long, long time they don't really look special anymore.
While they still have Messi they'll always be up there challenging for trophies but yeah, they look a long way off Madrid.
While they still have Messi they'll always be up there challenging for trophies but yeah, they look a long way off Madrid.
Just watching the highlights now. It's always strange to see the end of eras, watching Bolt not winning the 100m, now this. Really brings it home how blessed you are at times to witness greatness.
Bayern are in the same boat as well. Aging team nowhere near what they were. Someone needs to step up or Real are gonna dominate for a few years more.
Bayern are in the same boat as well. Aging team nowhere near what they were. Someone needs to step up or Real are gonna dominate for a few years more.
We won't win anything this season, I'm not even sure if we'll finish in front of Atletico or Sevilla, let alone Real.
I won't even be so sure about Suarez. He was genuinely awful in the CL last season.
Not investing in quality replacements at the back and midfield over time is fecking them up but worse than that, their "MSN" has screwed them. Having that trio just prevented from developping their team. They enjoyed their nice toy while it lasted.
I'm enjoying this, for years many Barca fans around me have bored me with their "mes que un club" bullshit. They're not so scary anymore now that Neymar isn't there.
Pragmatically seen, Barca should have sold Messi and create a new team around Neymar. That was never going to happen due to Messi's status though. Now they have a big problem. They should sign both Dembele and Coutinho and hope that both are going to become top top players for them.
Their team all of a sudden doesn't look too menacing anymore.
Messi and Suarez are world class and Pique is one of the best CBs around. Iniesta is winding down his career now but he's still brilliant.
But every other position needs work. I don't rate Umtiti, Rakitic, Gomes, Diane, Turan, Deulofeu, Alcacer, Vidal etc. They just don't compare with the likes of Alves, Puyol, Villa, Pedro, Xavi, etc.
They've definitely declined. All of a sudden they've started accepting mediocre players into their team. And it shows. I honestly wouldn't have any of their players at United bar Messi, Suarez and Pique.
Messi and Suarez are world class and Pique is one of the best CBs around. Iniesta is winding down his career now but he's still brilliant.
But every other position needs work. I don't rate Umtiti, Rakitic, Gomes, Diane, Turan, Deulofeu, Alcacer, Vidal etc. They just don't compare with the likes of Alves, Puyol, Villa, Pedro, Xavi, etc.
They've definitely declined. All of a sudden they've started accepting mediocre players into their team. And it shows. I honestly wouldn't have any of their players at United bar Messi, Suarez and Pique.
They first need to get with the times and start hiring managers based on merit rather than looking at those who have ties to the club. Bad enough that their bench is worse than ours and their defense and midfield is cluttered with mediocrity. These managerial appointments can just make it worse, it's going to cost them like Moyes did for us.
Dembelé nor Coutinho won't have much impact on their midfield play and terrible defending. They're trying to solve the least urgent issues for me.
Strange what is happening here. Even the recruitment is weird. Paulinho 29 who is pretty average.
And now Madrid are. Yaay.
They're in trouble. Their transfer activity has been piss poor late. Too many okay players which has led to a huge drop in quality.
Also what do they have against hiring reknown managers? They keep going for unfancied managers. It's wouldn't be so surprising if they got unfancied results.
Also what do they have against hiring reknown managers? They keep going for unfancied managers. It's wouldn't be so surprising if they got unfancied results.
Wait , the Paulinho who played for Spurs
?Yes, he moved to China.Wait , the Paulinho who played for Spurs
Now moving to Barcelona.
Liverpool and Dortmund will take them to the cleaners now knowing that they are absolutely desperate to sign star players.
I mean the signing of Paulinho says it all; the guy was genuinely terrible at Spurs.
As soon as they bought Gomes and Denis Suarez I knew they were fcked. Only a matter of time before the cracks became obvious. Coutinho is twice the player than either of those two but he's not better than a young Fabregas.
150m Euros spent on him and the fans expecting a mini Neymar will be great to see. Dembele will be a slightly better solution but nearly 300m Euros on those two still won't make them better than Atletico.
True I'm giving Suarez the benefit of the doubt that it was just one poor season
True I'm giving Suarez the benefit of the doubt that it was just one poor season
Pique is not one of the worlds best center backs and hasn't been for a long time. He makes too many defensive mistakes every single game and last night just confirmed what I was saying. Other than that, I agree with every other word you said. Barcelona have a very overrated squad
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Barcelona seems to be copying everything Madrid did wrong.
While Florentino is finally accepting Zidane's insistence that teams matters more than stars, and giving youngsters like Asensio and Vasquez a chance, Barca's answer to everything is spending.
Worse, Barca's spending has been on good but nowhere near great players. It feels a lot like what we did after Fergie: overpaying for players that don't justify the fees, hoping one or two megastars will compensate for it all.
There's no plan. There's no structure. I don't generally buy into the 'it all went to cak after LaPorte' theory. The guys running the club though...
While Florentino is finally accepting Zidane's insistence that teams matters more than stars, and giving youngsters like Asensio and Vasquez a chance, Barca's answer to everything is spending.
Worse, Barca's spending has been on good but nowhere near great players. It feels a lot like what we did after Fergie: overpaying for players that don't justify the fees, hoping one or two megastars will compensate for it all.
There's no plan. There's no structure. I don't generally buy into the 'it all went to cak after LaPorte' theory. The guys running the club though...
Haven't seen the match, too early to say either way as most teams are still a bit in pre-season mode. RM benefit from having few changes whereas Barcelona are definitely in flux and not near full strength
Yeah, not the fact Barca looked clueless.
No, just taking the piss out of them. I know they badly need themYou think they are going to sign both? Tomorrow's Kicker will apparently state that Dortmund demand €140m-€150m (Barca's offer supposedly standing at €85m+€20m) and I don't see Coutinho being cheap either. Together with Paulinho they'd potentially be looking at €300m or more.
Meanwhile Real signed Asensio for spare change..
As a Barca supporter I'd be worried.
the overreaction is hilarious honestly
They started two guys who aren't good enough to clean the camp nou's toilets, and still played us even and only lost because the two most outrageously talented players in our outrageously talented team decided to turn the game into a Mark Lenders Tribute
calm down If barca are in trouble, the caf should be on suicide watch based on the supercup game
They started two guys who aren't good enough to clean the camp nou's toilets, and still played us even and only lost because the two most outrageously talented players in our outrageously talented team decided to turn the game into a Mark Lenders Tribute
calm down
If barca are in trouble, the caf should be on suicide watch based on the supercup game the overreaction is hilarious honestly
They started two guys who aren't good enough to clean the camp nou's toilets, and still played us even and only lost because the two most outrageously talented players in our outrageously talented team decided to turn the game into a Mark Lenders Tribute
calm down
I'd agree that they are still better than English teams but it's probably close. Unlke United Barca palyed at home. United would give quite a game to Madrid at Old Trafford, IMO.
Still, Barca beat Madrid at bernabeu without Neymar last season. They are still quite capable of putting in great performances.
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From your XI which position do you think need an improvement? Curious though, would like to hear from Barcelona's opinion.
The reaction is not comparing barca to other teams but their arch rival Madrid.the overreaction is hilarious honestly
They started two guys who aren't good enough to clean the camp nou's toilets, and still played us even and only lost because the two most outrageously talented players in our outrageously talented team decided to turn the game into a Mark Lenders Tribute
calm down
When Madrid seem to be growing from strength to strength barca seem to have declined. For the sake of the league I hope they fix things up.
Did you miss the part where this was barca's first game of the season, with a new manager, with two sub-par players starting at RB and LW(and they already have new RB), and they still played us even?
Yes, they need new blood and to sign one starter to take deulofeu's spot, but they're far from a sinking ship. Their problem in terms of personnel is mostly down to a lack of depth.
And I think Paulinho could be good for them.
Just because they're no longer the unstoppable force of the Guardiola years/2015 and don't look like getting back to that level anytime soon doesn't mean it's the end of the world...those sides were so special in the first place precisely because of how rare it is for a team to be that good...
I think the excitment of a marquee signing will give the whole squad a lift. They also need some dynamism, with Neymar gone and Iniesta on his last legs it's only Messi who can speed up the play really. They need both Coutinho and Dembele, although I'm not sure how Dembele would suit the current Barca team, they need someone to make runs for Messi to pick out, Mbappe might be a better option but I've not seen him linked.
Yes. New players to refresh a team comprised of old veterans.
Paulinho
That's for sure. It's still the worst Barca team in the last years though.the overreaction is hilarious honestly
They started two guys who aren't good enough to clean the camp nou's toilets, and still played us even and only lost because the two most outrageously talented players in our outrageously talented team decided to turn the game into a Mark Lenders Tribute
calm down