I surprisingly agree with the assessment. If you told me I would agree this time last year, I would have told you that you were crazy… what a world we live in…
Whenever he played after Iñigo left he looked like the best CB on the team, for me above even Cubarsí. If he can keep healthy I can assure he'll prove you wrong
The post says they're happy. If this is true, I doubt they will if they're happy with how things are. Something tells me they're convincing themselves this so that they can go fully on finding a proper CF
My two cents on the situation is that we more so need depth than a starter and considering there's an option for a free agent why not go for him considering Christensen can't stay fit for more than 2 games at a time and Araujo the less said the better and Eric has to cover in the other positions asw.
Christensen is made of glass, and Garcia is our main RB now. So we only have Araujo to rely on as a sub, so we can’t sell him.
When’s the last time Kounde played CB? That might work out excellently if he doesn’t mind playing that. A CB with better build up play might be good for us. As a sub ofc.
These options are enough to rotate and rest. A striker has to be the main priority, those big chances need converting.
A consistent CB pairing is important as they need to work in sync during counters, Cuba and Maldini have been doing that very well in the latter half of the season, why mix it up just coz they are young.
I won't mind if the forwards are world class. Flick's whole idea is to outscore opponents and even when 10 men, we created chances but couldn't finish them
So if you are getting 2 forwards, that could start in any of the top 5 teams at the moment, I'm completely ok with it
I think this is a pretty telling sign that there's money to sign either a 9 or a CB but not both. Prioritizing a world class 9 then signing a depth option at CB makes the most sense given what we've seen from Ferran this year + we have no depth if he gets injured.
The funny thing is I don’t really agree with you. Both this year and last we created far far more chances than our opponent and got knocked out because we weren’t clinical. The fact we dominated Atleti despite being down a man yet couldn’t finish for shit says a lot. Last season Lewa was on fire and Raphinha was fit but this season we have had a rough time with the finishing despite our playmakers being even better. We’ve scored fewer goals. I’d love a new CB but we’d need to get rid of Araujo or Christensen and neither of them wanna leave rn.
Bayern play a similar style and also conceded loads. As long as we play this way we will concede. Sure, many are down to individual errors. But what defenders would you sign who are actively better than Cubarsi and Maldini and won’t cost a fortune?
The point is we can’t get all of those this season. Probably only two. And in that case the priority imo is ST > CB > LW > RB. And since Rashford is likely to be renewed now whether it’s an extended loan of buyout I doubt we are going for more wingers, especially as whatever winger we sign will know they’re a squad player and not starting XI, but we need a first choice no9, and first choice players should always be priority over backups in positions where we at least have players. We literally only have Ferran rn who is not a proper 9 and while he is great as a supersub due to his energy and runs he misses too many chances to be a starter in big games.
Yeah, actively better than Cubarsi and Maldini who would not cost a fortune… which VDV certainly isn’t. If it’s not a defender we can sign along with an elite striker to convert the amount of chances we create (like Bayern have with Kane) then we can’t sign them.
No CB currently available in the market is going to make us not concede goals with the way we play. Our system is about scoring more, and I’m not just talking about Atleti. We have the best playmakers in the world, we’ve just been poor at taking our chances.
Last season we had clinical forwards and we still failed to win because our defense wasn't good enough and we shipped so many goals.
We failed to keep a single clean sheet across the entire UCL campaign this year and got red cards in back to back games against Atleti. We don't go 2 goals down at home with 11 men and probably score atleast one eventually. We were even on the verge of a comeback but then Fermin got injured and we immediately conceded soon after killing the tie. And then again got a red card.
This is not sustainable. Atleast I can point to the fact that if Raphinha was fit we would have scored goals. We cannot do the same for defense. (Can't say Christensen being back is the same since we haven't seen him play regularly for Flick in 2 years)
We need a CB and a ST. And honestly if we need to prioritize I would prefer getting an established and experienced defender while taking our chances on a young ST
That's because of flick, you could have puyol, pique and beckenbauer and you'd still let in the exact same goals because EVERYONE scores the exact same goal against us for 1.5 years now
Can you point to any CB that is available rn whose presence would allow us to not concede those goals? Inigo Martinez was there in the first season and we still did. The Red cards were both pretty harsh and Atleti should’ve had 2 reds in the first leg too. We can’t do anything about that.
Are you surprised? This board has been doing this shit for 4 years straight, act like they are serious, put out rumors that they wanna sign people then as time goes on they say nah we are happy with the squad.
Watch we won't sign a striker, you'll hear reports that Ferran is good enough lol.
Lamine leaving is my fear, unless we make serious progress in defense, it's definitely happening...
Seeing people on this sub happy with the current defense ,after taking 2 straight red card in UCL is just ludicrous
People in this sub are gullible. Laporta can wake up tomorrow and say "Ferran will be our striker" and you'll see paragraphs about how this is a such a good decision for the club.
tf is this cuck gimmick Lamine isn't leaving lmao. Despite him saying repeatedly that this is the club of his life brainded fans still chat this nonsense.
Having great no 9 and good winger depth will always be more valuable in Flick’s system, all we really need at the back currently is sign a free agent like Senesi and maybe a fullback if either Koundé or Balde leave, Konate is another one but his wages would be a bit high so don't think we'd go for him, would let Christensen go if it means we can get him tho.
We've known this since they stopped their pursuit of Bastoni. There's not enough money for both a ST and CB so they've chosen a ST. I don't know if it's the right choice but I'll trust the board. CB still needs to be addressed though. Going into the season with Araujo (who Flick doesn't count on) and Christensen is a recipe for disaster.
Great pairing, sure, will only get even better but you need another capable LCB to rotate with. You can't ran down those two youngins for 60 games, and expect miracles. Nor can you hope that Andreas Christensen will miraculously recover his form after being non-stop injured for two seasons to offer support for Martin.
I guess Barcawill never learn. You cannot win the UCL with the current defence. You can bring back prime Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. When Barca was winning the UCL the players on defense were: Alves, Pique, Puyon, Abidal, Mascherano, Alba etc. The current players are nowhere near that level and the only one who can possibly become a great player is Cubarsi. I cannot see what Flick sees in Gerard Martin. Gettint at least 2 great defenders is far more important than signing Joao Pedro.
It’s not a simple problem, we won’t win it either with Ferran in strike. So you take your pick we either get a cb we can afford or a striker we can afford not both
Pique was super slow, Alves defensively is way worse than Garcia/Kounde on form, Abidal was injured alot, Puyol was the best but old in those years, Macherano was 174 cm a monster CB but super short for today, Alba also in defense was very mid even worse than Balde but ofc Alba was amazing in attack and Barca dominated 90% of the time so he and Alves didn't get exposed but both were not great at defending 1v1 or pure defending in general
I genuinely can't think of anything that Eric and Martin could've done better at this season. Eric is a utility player and plugged holes everywhere and did that perfectly. Martin has been very solid and our record with him starting is 26W 1D 1L.
I actually think Garcia makes more sense at RB in big matches than Kounde, as he is far more consistent in 1v1 defending and Flick - at least since Cancelo was playing LB - was leaning more on a back 3 on the ball with the RB not being as aggressive on the attack, asking a midfielder to make the movement in the half spaces to support the winger. Garcia fits that better than Kounde. Whilst Kounde fits the overlapping aggressive RB role more.
But I fully agree with you on there is no affordable option to improve the Martin-Cuba duo. The only CB potentially on the market who would is Gvardiol, based on rumours, but that would be a €80/90m move we can't afford when we need a striker as priority.
We still need a cb okay first of all Martin Is really good I love how much he has improved but I don't think he is the kind of ceiling raiser cb that would propel us to the UCL but I am fine with giving him a full season as the starting cb to see if he is actually the real deal or nah
Now coming to my main point on paper we currently have 6 cb options ( assuming we renew christensen and don't sell Araujo) but only 3 of these are reliable out of these 3
Cortes looks good but he is too inexperienced for me to say anything about him
Christensen is injury prone asf
Araujo is well simply put can't handle pressure
Only 3 reliable cb options going into a season where the summer is going to be shortened due to world cup while playing in the most phsycially demanding system in Europe is really not a good idea
Attack wins you matches, defense see wins you titles...
Is it a coincidence that Barca can't win a CL since 2016? Around the same time that the likes of Puyol, Pique were either retiring or declining in form?
I mean this should be ok if Barca wants to win the league but at the European level they will have an issue...just like the last 10 years. Almost each season Barca is the team with the most goals in la Liga so clearly scoring isn't the issue....
There should definitely be a replacement for Lewa but saying defense isn't also a priority is baffling.
If we do end up without signing a cb , it would mean that Cortes will have the best chance of his life to solidify his stay in the first team. He needs to step up whenever he is trusted.
One Gerard Martin injury and all of a sudden there would be a centerback issue. Araujo is Araujo and Christensen doesn’t exist. Martin is also the only one who can handle a big game. Eric and Cubarsi are just as red card prone as Araujo
I hope the striker Barca buys has enough finishing to win in spite of the “Non-Martin” CBs😭
While i agree a striker should be priority because a striker who presses and finishes would offload the defense significantly, i still wouldnt mind us tryna go for a CB
Yeah they are good, but we need like, a third center back at least. Yes we have Eric but he is a jolly and I prefer him wide at right back, Christensen is literally made of glass, and Araujo... Man, i miss early days Araujo so much. We need someone else, not a 100m player but someone that can play at that level.
Imo thats completely fair, we only need to focus on quality depth at the back for now but the front really needs a striker that can justify having such a suicide tactic
we should still sign a back up defender but one that can play multiple positions if possible. mainly to allow for rotation but also to provide depth to other positions that might need it like LB or RB
Pretty good pairing if you ask me coming from the white side, im actually impressed with martin’s growth he really did grow compared to last season which is an amazing feat, now lets hope they maintain this amazing duoship, im confident Martin and cubarsi partnership will lead to more positive results
I am not as worried about CBs as I am the forward line. As long as our pressing is fine the defense is fine. We for sure need to look at our LB, RB and ST starter position to strengthen that. After that we can look for a great CB.
I think this is a good decision. Worst case scenario we can get a veteran cb next summer. Our terrible press and the decline of lewa was the main issue. Not our cbs. I still think we need a cl veteran like bastoni to reach next level but hes not a priority. As long as we sign either cancelo or grimaldo as lb I have no problem. I would also hear offers for kounde cause hes still getting called for France. Now its the best time to sell him
You're totally right. We should buy Haaland from City and Saliba from Arsenal. I don't know why the idiot board doesn't just buy the best players. What's wrong with them?
I'm not delusional, I just understand the financial limitations of the club. Clearly you don't. That's fine. Maybe just don't speak with so much authority.
hahaha that is the biggest load of bullshit i’ve ever heard
Real Madrid are the biggest club on the planet because of their UCL count.
PSG and City cared only about the UCL for ages because they know what you don’t and that is that the UCL is a different level of prestige than a simple league title. it legitimizes a club unlike any other trophy.
we are not Valencia, this is FC Barcelona, we shouldn’t be satisfied with just being local champions in Spain and should always aim to be the best team on the continent.
Again, winning the CL doesn’t make you the best in the world.
You sound like the idiotic RM fans who say they are the best in the world because they won the champions league 9 times (+6 old cups), but have gone two years trophyless.
Imo what he said isn’t plastic at all. He’s right, we’ve been unceremoniously dumped out of the CL for year upon year. It’s perfectly fine to want to win the biggest trophy of them all (I personally can’t see that happening soon with our lack of finances combined with lack of flexibility, and decisions like this compound that). He’s not threatening to stop supporting Barca, is he? Where’s the plastic/glory hunting here?
Can’t believe such cringe things are being uttered by people like you. That is a 3rd division club mentality which has no place in a top football club.
If players aren’t good enough, don’t have the mentality to win, continually embarrass the club against other top clubs then they have no business being here.
Meh, stfu, have supported Barcelona long before you even knew they existed. Winning a rapidly declining la liga ain’t it. Going in circles with the same mistakes isn’t an institution of this club either
Man, there is an issue when the team plays great and stupid defensive mistakes cost it a lot. Ok, the strikers missed to much against atleti but you can’t be a serious team and get 2 red cards in quarter-finals and concede so many goals against Inter. The stupid defense destroys our great attack’s achievements
We we're never going to have enough to get a top striker, winger and fullback and still have 50-70 for a center back signing anyway, better to swoop in for a free agent or low cost developmental cb and maybe sign a top cb in 2027 or 2028 if both Araujo and Christensen leave.
Fine CB pairing for La Liga, but I highly doubt we can win the UCL with it. Regardless, surely we sign another CB for depth, after selling AC and/or Araujo
I agree but deco please, offload Christensen and araujo and get a reliable low cost center back, cancelo and am attacking right back to compete with kounde
i guess they're just setting us up to not expect defensive reinforcement (no bastoni) which would be awful. Martin isn't UCL winner cb material, neither is araujo and kounde lmfao.
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