₦airaland Forum

UncleHaba22:
Same Casado we lost to injury last season and our midfield open anyhow

That's who Barca fans feel we don't need lol

jpmoriarti:
Ok who do you want to leave? Someone gotta leave eventually. We're simply overbooked in that midfield position.

Yes I believe Casado is better than FdJ in tackling and combativeness but we need more than that from our DMs. We need ball protection and progression from the deep.

My preferred candidate for the position is definitely Marc Bernal, although he might still need another couple of months to be fully ready after his ACL.

jpmoriarti:
Ok who do you want to leave? Someone gotta leave eventually. We're simply overbooked in that midfield position.

Yes I believe Casado is better than FdJ in tackling and combativeness but we need more than that from our DMs. We need ball protection and progression from the deep.

My preferred candidate for the position is definitely Marc Bernal, although he might still need another couple of months to be fully ready after his ACL.

jpmoriarti:
Ok who do you want to leave? Someone gotta leave eventually. We're simply overbooked in that midfield position.

Yes I believe Casado is better than FdJ in tackling and combativeness but we need more than that from our DMs. We need ball protection and progression from the deep.

My preferred candidate for the position is definitely Marc Bernal, although he might still need another couple of months to be fully ready after his ACL.

Derumklala12:
Did you see casado in every big games?? He had 2 assist in El clasico an assist against Bayern
How many El clasico assist fdj get again sef?
Casado has the technical abilities

Derumklala12:
Did you see casado in every big games?? He had 2 assist in El clasico an assist against Bayern
How many El clasico assist fdj get again sef?
Casado has the technical abilities

UncleHaba22:
It's better FDJ leaves
Fort and Martin can Leave

Lewandowski can leave

Or we risk Ferran leaving
Araujo can leave
Casado ke

Gavi sef

Casado is the only midfielder that brings something different in terms of physicality in that midfield

jpmoriarti:
Ok who do you want to leave? Someone gotta leave eventually. We're simply overbooked in that midfield position.

Yes I believe Casado is better than FdJ in tackling and combativeness but we need more than that from our DMs. We need ball protection and progression from the deep
My preferred candidate for the position is definitely Marc Bernal, although he might still need another couple of months to be fully ready after his ACL.

AirBere:
Dejong is a player I wanted at Chelsea so bad especially after the game Vs Madrid. He was top class, still top class as a CM but DM, I'll never trust him.

Like Bimirkay said, Dejong is very similar to Arthur Melo. He's very aesthetically pleasing to watch but he's not that guy as a defensive midfielder. No way.

On the emboldened, Dejongs aesthetics has clouded the way he plays to so many. Dejong can't protect the ball unless he's holding it. Without the ball, If Barca is under attack, Dejong doesn't know where to position and cut out danger. Watch him closely when you're under attack. There's a reason why every chance against Barca is a shot at the GK or a goal either offside or not.

He's also a very poor ball progressor but a great ball carrier. The ball is faster if you pass it forward not when you carry it forward. Dejong tries to carry the ball all the time only to give one horizontal pass to the nearest man. Casado passes it forward and vertically. On the pitch, the time taken to carry the ball from X to Y is faster when passed than when a player is trying to run with it. As such, not only is Dejong a poor ball progressor, he's also a poor protector without it. With the ball, he's very secure. He's also a great carrier.

I really like the way Casado plays the game. He reminds of Scholes (my opinion). But without the shot power. As a DM and CM, there's no drop off. He can defend, dictate from deep, press resistant, tackle. He's a complete midfielder and I'm my opinion a better midfielder than Gavi. I hope Chelsea or any EPL can buy him so that he can fulfill his huge potential. At Barca, Dejong will always start and Bernal is seen as the future by many.

jpmoriarti:
Also, you have to consider the height disadvantage whenever Casado plays. Yes he is a good tackler but we lose more aerial battle with him on the pitch. With Marc Casado standing at a rather humble 1.72m, alongside Pedri and perhaps Olmo in the midfield whom are not much taller themselves, we lose a critical aerial presence in the midfield.

You have to compensate sometimes in difficult games where the margins are very small. What are the tradeoffs? Most times, FdJ will win that DM position ahead of Casado based on these tradeoffs.

However, my preference remains Marc Bernal. Remains to be seen how he will fight to earn back his position after a long lay-off.

UncleHaba22:
Wait remove Casado and 2 midfielders gets injured u think say we fit depend on bernal that's just coming back from injury?

jpmoriarti:
Ter Stegen is refusing to be unregistered. So I don’t know what we’re going to do here.

Besides I don’t dislike Casado. I only feel that we have too many players in the midfield. 8 players fighting for only 3 positions, some players will suffer from lack of game time. If we catch in on one of them except Pedri and Olmo, i think we’ll benefit more.

Realistically, I don’t see us selling FdJ. If he leaves, it might be on free transfer or a very low fee. He’s still a very top class footballer and he’s at his best moment. I still see lots of upwards for him.

AirBere:
For me, in the DM role, there's no tradeoff between Dejong and Casado. In the CM, may be. Overall, Dejong is the better player but if I'm the coach with Pedri as my CM, no way I play Dejong as my DM if Casado is the other choice. No freaking way, I've seen enough to arrive at this conclusion.

Valid points too but height is not the biggest disadvantage in football. I mean It's played on the ground and for a team like Barca who dominates with the ball, Casado fits to a tee. It would've been a different scenario if it was basketball that's where height comes in. Height is important but it's not a prerequisite for midfielders.

Dejong with his height was on the pitch when Barca leaked set piece(aerial goals) like water. Especially against Inter. You'll be surprised that Gavi at 1.73 has won more aerial duels than Dejong. Maschernao, Lobotka, Kante, Scholes, Xavi(shorter than Messi) etc are all great midfielders and they're not tall.

This tells you that football is played on the ground not in the air. Puyol is 5ft10 and you'll bet on him to deal with most aerial dangers. Silva is 6ft0 but he'll have no issues heading the ball ahead of taller players. Canavaro, only defender to win balondor is 5ft9. Despite his height, Dejong is weak in the air. If Dejong is contesting an aerial duel with Lisandro Martinez(5ft9) or Gavi(5ft8), my money is on both. Lisandro Martinez(5ft9) when fit, is the best centre back at Manchester United.

Aerial game involves grit, determination and jump power as well not just height. Despite his height, Metersaker(6ft6-almost 2 metres tall) was easily beaten by Terry(6ft2) lots of times with Terry even scoring on him. Tim Cahill (Everton) isn't taller than Dejong but he'll have him on toast in the air.

Anyways my point is, although height is important, it isn't a prerequisite for Footie especially for midfielders.

I wish Casado a good career. I like how he sees the game.

Bimmarlykay:
This is what i have been tryna tell JP...

Na to speak him native language remain.😎

jpmoriarti:
My piont with height is not about Casado. It's the midfield as a whole, where he'll be a part of. Casado- Pedri- Olmo. Definitely not the tallest trio. We lose aerial dominance heavily here. This is my piont. I wasn't singling out Casado for his height, just in full context of the midfield 3.

AirBere:
I understood your context extremely well that's why I gave you all the instances and possible scenarios. Football is a ground sport and aerial game is just the icing on the cake not the cake itself. If it was by height, Stoke City would've won the league or at least avoid relegation and Liverpool with prime Peter Crouch would've scored every corner/free kicks and win the league as well.

How many aerial goals did you concede with Casado and Pedri as pivots. How many did you prevent when when Dejong was on the pitch. The stats are there all you need to do is some research at your spare time.

The player who helped the most during corners was Lewandowdski. The player who helped the most during a goal kick/long ball from the opposition was Inigo Martinez(5ft11). Dejong is a weakling in the air. Gavi at 1.73m(5ft8) is stronger than him in that department.

A midfield of Casado X Pedri is stronger than a combo of Dejong X Pedri.

Like I said, I like how Casado sees the game and I wish him the best

AirBere:
I understood your context extremely well that's why I gave you all the instances and possible scenarios. Football is a ground sport and aerial game is just the icing on the cake not the cake itself. If it was by height, Stoke City would've won the league or at least avoid relegation and Liverpool with prime Peter Crouch would've scored every corner/free kicks and win the league as well.

How many aerial goals did you concede with Casado and Pedri as pivots. How many did you prevent when when Dejong was on the pitch. The stats are there all you need to do is some research at your spare time.

The player who helped the most during corners was Lewandowdski. The player who helped the most during a goal kick/long ball from the opposition was Inigo Martinez(5ft11). Dejong is a weakling in the air. Gavi at 1.73m(5ft8) is stronger than him in that department.

A midfield of Casado X Pedri is stronger than a combo of Dejong X Pedri.

Like I said, I like how Casado sees the game and I wish him the best

Awesome01:
Nothing to add. My views exactly.

jpmoriarti:
Great points you raised here. I also like how you defined your progressor especially without the ball.

Yes, FdJ can be very aesthetic in the eye with his excellent touches and it can mask his other vices. But I really like that he can pick up the ball comfortably from deep positions and break defensive lines, freeing up marked players, while prioritising retention and control. He also has good tactical awareness, and ball-carrying ability. He is not a traditional tackler but he offers so much more such as dribbling, good work rate and vision with the ball.

Meanwhile, I think his best position is Pedri's current position. However, you can't just leave out Pedri now, can you?

Also, you have to consider the height disadvantage whenever Casado plays. Yes he is a good tackler but we lose more aerial battle with him on the pitch. With Marc Casado standing at a rather humble 1.72m, alongside Pedri and perhaps Olmo in the midfield whom are not much taller themselves, we lose a critical aerial presence in the midfield.

You have to compensate sometimes in difficult games where the margins are very small. What are the tradeoffs? Most times, FdJ will win that DM position ahead of Casado based on these tradeoffs.

However, my preference remains Marc Bernal. Remains to be seen how he will fight to earn back his position after a long lay-off.

Bimmarlykay:
Height is inconsequential,Jong is poor aerially.

I think all boils down to what Flick wants.

jpmoriarti:
Lolz. Of course I'll love me some more depth in the midfield but at what cost?

Some players will definitely suffer for lack of minutes. And that's where internal wrangling and strives in the dressing room comes from.

8 good midfielders jostling for just 3 positions is not going to end well for everyone.

jpmoriarti:
Well, height is not essentially inconsequential especially this era of the game, which is considerably more physical than before.

Losing the first and second ball in the midfield due to height disadvantage, is always something to have in mind especially for teams like Barcelona where most of the midfielders are diminutive in size.

AirBere:
I understood your context extremely well that's why I gave you all the instances and possible scenarios. Football is a ground sport and aerial game is just the icing on the cake not the cake itself. If it was by height, Stoke City would've won the league or at least avoid relegation and Liverpool with prime Peter Crouch would've scored every corner/free kicks and win the league as well.

How many aerial goals did you concede with Casado and Pedri as pivots. How many did you prevent when when Dejong was on the pitch. The stats are there all you need to do is some research at your spare time.

The player who helped the most during corners was Lewandowdski. The player who helped the most during a goal kick/long ball from the opposition was Inigo Martinez(5ft11). Dejong is a weakling in the air. Gavi at 1.73m(5ft8) is stronger than him in that department.

A midfield of Casado X Pedri is stronger than a combo of Dejong X Pedri.

Like I said, I like how Casado sees the game and I wish him the best

udatso:
Just become a Barca fan already. You know Barca better than me, a Barca fan

Bimmarlykay:
I understand your point,our midfield is indeed congested, but regardless, we need Cassy.

Will Jong always be fit? Will Bernal hit the ground running? Will Olmo stay fit? Will Fermin always deliver? Gavi? I'll comment after seeing him play with good teams this season to judge his true current form.

If there should be selling, I still believe one of Eric or Araujo should be sold.

andrewbaba44:
He is one unbiased person with ball knowledge you will come across on this European football side of this forum

jpmoriarti:
Yeah he's definitely not a fan of FC Barcelona but you have to respect his deep ball knowledge and an unbiased way he puts out his opinion.