IdleRich

IdleRich
That was gonna be the first one that I would raise as an argument yeah.
Thing is, they are both great players - they could get fit, get in the team and have several fantastic years, their chance hasn't gone yet. Though obviously they have to work their way up from a lower place than expected.
 

version

Well-known member
Griezmann isn't injured. He just doesn't suit Barca at all. A completely impractical glamour signing from the board.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Sure, but now they are rebuilding, Suarez is gone, they could play him in his best position and give him a chance to come good. I mean at the moment there isn't that much around him is there?
But at the moment Barca looks like a place that crushes players with Griezmann playing below standard and the Dutch guy doesn't seem to be as good as he should be, plus Coutinho seems to improve every time he leaves and get worse when he comes back.
 

version

Well-known member
I just don't think he suits their preferred style of play and I think they signed him simply because they could, he's a big name and he was one of Atletico's best players. His best position seems to be as some sort of second striker and they just don't play that way.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah I don't disagree with that. But now... how do they play? Why not build a team which aims to get the best out of him and Van der thingy who are two of the only genuine world class players they have who are under 45? If they could strengthen the defence then that's the spine of a team. Bring through the most promising youngsters and make them fit into the system that is built around the superstars and accept that Messi is gonna leave soon and make him fit around them too while he is still here.
Cos there is no point in having a 100 plus million bauble on the side. If you're not gonna use him properly then get rid of him and recognise you're gonna lose 50m on the deal but at least use the money you do get intelligently this time.
 

version

Well-known member
I think it's him or Messi and Messi's still too good. If he leaves next season and Griezmann stays then maybe. I dunno where they'd play him though. He isn't really a 9 or a 10 or a winger and they've got Coutinho to take over Messi's role if he leaves and Fati, Dembele, Trincao and whoever else who excel on the wings. The only spot for him is as a lone striker and I dunno that that would work for him.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I dunno what is happening there. Messi stayed and everyone was happy. But then this season there is this sense that nothing can really change while he's there so maybe that wasn't a good thing. And now Bartemeu has gone and what does that mean, is Messi gonna stay longer?
After this season he can leave on a free right? I think they should have said he could leave and demanded a fee less than 700m but still large enough to properly rebuild. Now he's kinda hanging around distorting the team and they can't get any money for him when he does leave.
For me though - you don't want players who want to leave so let him go and use what you have got left.
 

version

Well-known member
Yeah, I think they should have sold him to City as they're in debt as it is, he wanted to leave and him leaving would have drastically reduced their wage bill whilst allowing them to rebuild. I think Barto was pulling out all the stops to avoid being the guy who lost Messi though.
 

version

Well-known member
I think City were the only viable option as they're one of the few clubs who can afford him, plus they have Pep, Txiki, Soriano and Aguero.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah but I don't think the transfer made sense for them in footballing or financial terms... though possibly "fucking hell we're gonna buy Messi" might Trump all that.
 

version

Well-known member
It'd be a massive coup for both City and the PL to acquire arguably the greatest player of all time. You'd get so many people tuning in just to watch him. Also, I think they could probably make it work with him at false nine instead of Aguero or Jesus playing as a striker. You'd just have to work it so that him and De Bruyne didn't get in each other's way.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
And after all the fuss Barce beat Juve 2 - 0, oh and United dicked on the leaders of the German league 5 - 0
What a finish! The ever-busy Fred pestered Leipzig into surrendering possession, and when the ball broke to Rashford, the striker took it forward and rifled a powerful low shot beyond the keeper and into the net! The man who saves children from cruel governments in his spare time has wrapped up victory for United!
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Anyone see that first Villa goal today against Arsenal? It was a real beauty. There is one clip I can find but it doesn't do it justice cos it cuts off the first three or four passes. I dunno why they would do that when it's really that that makes it special.
It's a bit of a minor bugbear for me that often when you have goal of the season or goal of the tournament or whatever there often seems to be a bias towards long shots or volleys or whatever - and sure they can be great and exciting and I'm not saying that really good one shouldn't be in there, but I wish/ there was more representation of team goals, partly just for the sake of variety, but also because they can have their own type of beauty, and for me, an attack that just cuts through the defence with a number of players displaying clever movement and passing and so on is often a greater display of footballing skill than someone throwing their foot at the ball and it being the one of a hundred tries that bursts the net instead of row Y. Of course the technique to do that sort of thing is admirable but I think you only have to get one thing right compared to the interlocking hive mind connection that a passing goal shows.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
The Real Madrid was bizarre... they went one up and then Valencia scored three penalties and got a weird own goal. But the first penalty was really strange - he took the pen and Courtois saved it but it went back to the taker who then hit the post, and then that rebound was stuck in by one of the strikers, and then VAR revealed that that guy who did score had encroached into the box while the pen was being taken so they took it again... and this time he scored from the spot,
 

jenks

thread death
Arsenal were so poor and Villa ruthless. The combination of Grealish and Barkley are forming a decent partnership and Watkins has a habit of making defenders look like mugs.
 
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