₦airaland Forum

ddippset: that's just my thinking as well. Our defence did it's job but our attack failed.

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I believe Andriano is also a defender and you will agree with me that he messed up last night! Our attack failed, fine! But does that mean the defenders should waste chances simpply because they are meant to defend?

Waoh! I luv this bro. Madrid should expect another bashing come this weekend. But my only concern is the incessant unmerited penalties awarded to Madrid this season. It's like the Refs want them to win the league at all cost. As regards our last night match, Andriano,Gas and Montoya conived together to rub us of the full points. I don't belive Montoya is overhyped, he's only match rusty.
And on a lighter mood, the guy dribbled by Iniesta last night is out for six months..lol
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philfearon: It was like i knew What was going to happen against Osasuna,and that was why i referred to that match in 2012.....
If most of u followed Osasuna like i did,you wouldnt be surprised by the End result of that Match..
I wouldnt lay the blame on anybody,but i would say that it was not Fabregas' day...People miss chances worse than he missed...If anyone really followed that match with no prejudice,u wil realise that the coach was partly to blame for that Match...Neymar{instead of Fabregas},should have retained his Messi-like role,and Tello should have started on the left Wing, I mean,Tello didnt go for any international,did he? Iniesta should have been rested,and Fabregas would have been better off operating from his normal position...If one saw clearly,I for once missed Alexis Sanchez in that match{dnt knw for others}...
Montoya was totally in mess,but i blame it on lack of game time and overhyping{come on guys,Montoya will never reach the standard of Bartra,not to talk of Alves..Barca shud ofload him now that his price is high,and give that Bagnak guy a chance..from what i have seen,he is much better,although not all that attack minded}..
.....
I dont want to talk about the Milan Match,so i will jump to El Classico:
In 2009,R.madrid hired a new coach,Pellegrini..In his debut El Classico,Barca won 1 - 0...Messi didnt score,but a certain new buy{Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored}...
..
In 2010,R.Madrid hired another coach{Mourinho},and in his debut El Classico match,Barca won 5 - 0..Messi didnt score again,but a certain new buy{David Villa} got a brace for himself,alongside other debutant{Jeffren}....
...
In 2013,R.Madrid hired another new coach{Carlo Anceloti},and there is another new buy{Neymar Jnr} in Barca in the same year 2013......
So,is anybody thinking what am thinking?

......And Madrid lost the derby! Welldone Athletico for a good job done. Messi is out for a while, i wish Tata tries Alexis as CF instead of Fabregas to see if we have alternative upfront.

What i fear most is happening now! Mascherano is out for 15 days, Alba is still on the sideline, Andriano is not reliable as he's injury prone. And we can't count on Pique for now. I hope Tata knows what this means!

What i fear most is happening now! Mascherano is out for 15 days, Alba is still on the sideline, Andriano is not reliable as he's injury prone. And we can't count on Pique for now.

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dmcdad: You never see anything yet... Buy for where! We ain't buying anyone.. That's just the painful thing. I just hope it doesn't haunt us

Hope ke? Injuries/suspensions are just inevitable if Mascherano gets injured/suspended then we are finished. Batra is yet to get a playing time and I can't count on Puyol's fitness anymore. I am afraid we might have same experience as last season because we started well too then only to end the season on a very sad note.

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AjanleKoko: It's hard to see how he will stay, if his release clause is that low, and an United or City is keen to snap him up, pay him millions, and make him an overnight star.

I've read some stuff here, some assumptions that he will stay or he will go and flop in other clubs. I don't know about that line of thinking. If a club in the Premier League are ready to buy him and make him a top player in their squad, I struggle to see how he would prefer to sit on the bench at Barca, and wait to be loaned out eventually like Bojan

Whether he wins the Ballon D'Or or flops like an Adriano or Robinho is another matter entirely. But out of all the options Thiago has, I simply cannot see how the dugout of FC Barcelona would be one of them. Maybe people don't even get that Barca's 'not good enough' is better than good for some other clubs. Maybe when the chap shows up at FC Bayern, my fellow cules go wake up from the delusion

As much as I would have loved to agree with you,but i still believe Thiago still has a bright future in Barca only if he can follow the steps of Iniesta who had Deco/Ddinho to contend with until he won the battle and the great Xavi who almost joined Milan due to lack of playing time because of a certain Guoardiola then. Xavi won the battle and since then has become one of the greatest CM of all time. Thiago has got everything but must learn to wait for his time as the great Xavi will soon step down for him. I love the kid.

Congratulations to the Spanish under21 team for their exploits in the Euro competition. A big hug to the Barca players and expecially Thiago. He really did us proud. How I wish we could keep him.

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Johnpaul88: If you insist on cashing in on some of them, then i may agree with you only on Fabregas and Villa. Fabregas failure to nail down a starting berth in the midfield is his own undoing but i understand the club does not want to sell. They may consider next summer if his situation does not improve.

Villa's situation is sealed.

For defenders, we 'll get defenders. But i see Mascherano leaving. He's not useful for us in midfield and if two or more defenders join, he 'll become surplus to requirement. I hear Benitez 's Napoli wants him. Barca may cash in. But i like Mascherano.

I still don't know why we should cash in on Fabrega. He was believed to take over from Xavi when we were all clamouring for him to join us and yet he has had to play in more than three positions in which he has the three best players to contend with. I believe he can still pick himself up. Mascherano is one of the most committed Barca players in recent time and i so much love him for that.why not keep our players in order to avoid what happened this past season.

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Johnpaul88: It'll be better for the club if Valdes stays for one more season so that Stegen (if he joins) will understudy him for a year. It'll be calamitous to throw the young man into the deep point of the Nou camp and expect him not to crumble under pressure.

Xavi lost pace? Did he ever have one? That 's not been his strongest point. He
may be getting old, but he still is the best passer of the ball in Europe. He even managed to be the highest chance creator in the just concluded season. So he's still the biggest play maker out
there and you gonna show him some respect.

Thiago can leave if he wishes. For me, Sergio Roberto is the next Xavi, not him.

I agree with you on Valdes only if the club will not loan Stegan as soon as he is bought.
Xavi is the greatest central midfielder of all time but,you will agree with me that some of the qualities that made him the greatest were missing this season. Thiago is good as well as S roberto but none can ever be the next xavi but they can be groomed to get out the best in them even under the tutilage of the great Xavi.

I still don't know why Valdes did not leave again. He is already a legend but honestly don't want him again.
And i don't know why Thiago should not be integrated into the team by now. All he needs is someone that really talk to him and change his mindset about the silly errors he commits in the course of his fancy display. Xavi is getting older and is fast loosing his pace. Fabregas too should βε̲̣ kept for another season and get two solid defenders. Anything short of this may not help the team come next season.

Neymar is a good player who needs a team like Barca to reach his potentials. But he will need to remain humble and never try to compare himself to Messi if he wants to achieve his dream!

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Mcleo007: There's no good reasons as to why Villa should be sold. If this Barca team is to appear less predictable come next season, Villa is the sole reason they can. With him, we have a natural 9 who can finish up attacking moves. Thus, against difficult teams and crafty coaches, we can play a 4-5-1 with Villa as the spearhead in attack.
I think Villa himself has justified the reason why he should leave. As much as i luv him as a player, he seems to have lost that scoring power and i don't see him coming better next season.
--------- T. Stegern/Reina---------------
--Alves/Montoya-------Pique/Hummels----Puyol/Masche----Alba/Adriano
-----------------Busi/Song-------------------
-------Xavi/Cesc-----------Iniesta/Thiago---
-----Pedro/Messi-------Neymar/Alexis/Tello-----
----------------------Villa/Messi---------------

With a squad formation of this kind, you see how easy it is to tell, that aside Messi, we do not posses a natural goal scorer, not even the over hyped Neymar. The latter triumphs as a winger, a proto clone of Messi pre-Guardiola.

If you ask me, I'll say nobody be sold. Loan the try-outs like Bartra, Munuesa and co. This team, with all its deficiencies still managed to win a major trophy, wch they did in style. That tells a strong statement.

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A-40:
Pepe Reina ke?? Not all keepers get better with age oh! Pepe is past glory and even at his peak he was never top 5 in Europe. Ter Stegen is barely 21! With a guy like that the goalkeeping position is sorted for a decade at least

Reina? Barca and this their obsession for la masia products! Í had the oppurtinity to watch the copa del ray final again and i fell in love with that courtois of Athletico.he made some fantastic save. Ter Stegan too is not a bad option either.

If mr Mourhino had not come to spain maybe he could have retained the self acclaimed name. I have always said la liga is quite diffrent from EPL and serie A where he won games with words. You have got to do the talking on the pitch in la liga. I can't believe he 1-suffered his worst defeat in spain. 2-had his unbeaten home record shatterd in spain even by a small club.had his ever worst season in spain as proclaimed by himself. Mr Mou is a great coach but i have always believed he is overated!

AjanleKoko: Do you think Villa in his current form can help Spurs' ambitions?

Your thoughts.

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Villa is one of the best strikers i have ever seen.but he seems to have lost everything that made him a super striker and as such,i don't really care which club signs him. All i want is for us to get cool cash from his sale to help fund our quest in the transfer window.

Congratulations to all cules! We have so many reasons to celebrate.

Number three is simply the best!
This reminds me of a combination that produced over 100 goals in the league.the best season ever!

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AjanleKoko: Animos, yes. But can he stay there, and we get a coach please?

I wish Tito get a break and concentrate on his full recovery rather than trying to manage such a big team with ill health which has realy seen us surrender our superiority and made us a laughing stock.it was obvious the team could not cope with the absence of the coach. So, we need to higher a new coach while Tito takes care of his health.

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Johnpaul88: You guys are judging Tito very harshly and unfairly. I think he deserved more than these bashing. I know that during our unbeaten spell earlier in the season, folks here were praising him for the way he changes games we are loosing. Some even decided that we have got an upgrade of Guardiola with us.

But fast ward 4 months later, he has suddenly become the worst we can ever have.

We have lost sight of the numerous paranormal situations that the new coach had had to contend with, which he inherited.

We can all agree that most of our players have lost form. Pedro and Villa have never been the same player they were during the champions league winning season. They seem to be nothing better than logs of wood walking.. Cesc and Alexis have never helped the squad since their arrival. Their situations have been touch and go. Pique have never remained the same since he met Shakira. Puyol and Xavi are no longer the force they once were. Alves have also degenerated.

Infact, only Messi have remained the same player post - transition. He have literally carried Barca on his back all season. And now he got injured, which is no fault of Tito, we collapsed. Everyone starts blaming Tito.

I cannot even talk about injuries to key players. It damaged Barca's season. Right from the start of the season, injuries were hitting the squad very hard and it 's never stopped.

I dont think Guardiola had this kind of problems in any of the four year he stayed with us.

I know these cannot be a reason why we lost a tie with that huge margin but you cannot pretend that all was well with Barca, hence no reason for failure.

We didn't win the league last season but we are now poised to win it against an excellent Madrid. That's something to cheer about.

Let's stop blaming Tito. The squad apart from Messi, hugely under performed and the signs have been there even before he took over. That's where we should be focusing our grouse. Maybe that was what Pep foresaw and ran away.

In my opinion, i think Tito had done well given the circumstances that prevailed. Need i remember his ill health? Only few can cope with that.

Tito has done well and deserve some credit! Yes! But i will always fault him for failing to bring in additional legs expecially in the January xfer window knowing fully that we lost the super cup to Madrid due to our poor and makeshift defence.he inherited an already weakened team and could not do anything to strenghten it. We got to this point due to good form of Messi, iniesta and maybe Busquet.villa sanchez,Pedro have nevaer added anything to the team. Alves, xavi and valdes are no more thesame players we used to know. Pique has been exposed as just an average player since we lost Puyol to injury.and yet we kept managing them. Little wonder why we have conceded as many goals this season, lost badly to our eternal rival and were humiliated by Bayern to set a world record. And now he's talking about the team not needing major changes. Xavi is ageing and Thiago should βε̲̣ given more responsibility. Two solid defenders are urgently needed and maybe a good forward to releave Messi of the burden and promote our talents. Anything short of these should see Tito and his staff shown the door.

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ddippset: chill out bro, don't make it hard on yourself. It was a a self destruct a sh1t. The season started with a defence cataastrphe, we played for so long without an entire back four. Puyol injured, abidal sick, alvez injured. January came we refused to employ Any defender. We have hardly had a complete back line for consecutive matches. Madrid and bayern we used to eat up for breakfast began beating us. In my oppinion the following players should be shown the exit, they are no longer barca standard; villa, fabregas, sanchez, abidal, adriano. Out of respect for puyol's legend he should take a seat on the bench. Sign at least one world class striker and one world class centre back. I meAn established players not rookies.

Do you think just a defender will help us now. Methink we need at least two world class defenders considering the flops of Pique these days and the fact that we have used more than thirty diffrent back line combination this season. Am beginning not to see what Alves is really doing for us this season.he's not defending well and his crosses upfront have been embarrazing lately.

What was Messi doing on the bench when Tito knew he would not play him? What got to Tito's head by not at least bringing him on when we were still level knowing fully that a half fit messi is better than Villa,Gas,Pedro,sanchez all combined.what a night to forget! What a great humiliation. Maybe this will serve as lesson to the stubborn management who have never seen any reason to reinforce the team. We have been managing the situation for three years now and we have seen the end product. 7-0? What a poor record! Villa,Alexis,Gas and co should all leave. I have no trust in Pique anymore and Xavi is not the one we used to know. Maybe Tito should even go for rest as his poor tatics brought down the team.

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Mcleo007: I'm not the most optimistic Cule supporter you will find around, in fact, i gave up of any chance we can muster after the 1st leg, but something tells me that, after Madrid's loss and slip away of their wish dream decima of last night, we might see a spirited Barca team tonight; a team, though depleted in some sort, would fight on the pitch and
have a few patches of luck in their favour. Who says Barca can't put 5 goals in Bayern's net? If Bayern can score 4 goals against Barca (mind you, we had an unfit Messi and an inexperienced Bartra in defense who combined as a -2), why can't Barca do same or even better their score? This is football! The unthinkable can happen. WHo would have thought Barca would lose by such a huge margin in the 1st leg, but they did.

I read somewhere that Busi is injured and may not play. Don't know how true that is. But in case he doesn't make the team, Song can do well in his place. He is strong and good off and on the ball. With a 4-1-2-3 of:

------------- Valdes----------------
Alves----Pique----Abidal----Adriano
----------------Song---------------
---Xavi------------Iniesta---------
Messi-------Villa--------Pedro----

Messi should operate from the flank, and drive in to the center to create openings for the other 2 forwards and one or both of the attacking midfielders (Xavi/InIesta). By so doing, attention will naturally fall on Messi and as we can guess, they will pour more men out to mark him, thus, the likes of Pedro and VIlla have but 1 or no player on them. We can hurt Bayern. I believe we can.

I quite agree that a spirited Barca led by a motivated Messi can score 5 goals. But the question is can a certain Batra and a poor Pique stop the Bavarians from putting only a goal back? Abidal is injured so the odds favour Batra to play. Adriano can still stand in for Alba but don't forget he gets injured easily.i have always believed in Barca but still don't see us performing miracle this night. Four goals are just too much for us to overturn at this time.

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ogazi007: Its going to be Barca vs Dortmund in wembley!We are Barca,we are positive minded people and we will shock the world.

Yes we are barca,we are positive! But we are already out bro. Let's just hope we don't get beaten again as our defensive woes continue. Alba will not play and we have lost Busquet to injury. So how we can stop the Bavarians from scoring remains headache. Let's just start preparing against next season.

Piques was the worst player tonight in goa.com's rating.i have always said he only performs better alongside Puyol and now that the latter is well past his prime,the former has been reduced to an average player.methink we should'nt have allowed Thiago silva go to Psg. I still see him as the best defender arround rather than the likes of Company,vidic and Liuz some are craving for. The way and manner at which he marshalled the defence against us was joy to behold and i believe with him in our defence, maybe Pique's woes would be covered.my opinion though.

AjanleKoko: Don't be ridiculous. Did FCB tell you they are only competing for Messi's Ballon D'Or?
He had better not win that award next year, for the sake of the bloody game. 4 times in a row is bad enough already

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But we are out already and no miracle can see us through not even now that Messi is not fit and our defence is nothing to write home about. My believe is that the winner of the UCL btw Messi and cr7 will win d ballon d'or and now that both already seem to be out of the competition methink messi still has an edge. Or who else could be in contention?

Am so happy today. I will gladly support the two german teams for the final. Now Messi can retain his crown come next year

We were indeed humiliated! I have said before that pique plays better along puyol and now that puyil is no more the man we used to know due to injury, pique has become just an average player. So playing an average pique with an inexperienced Batra against the ravaging attack of Bayern couldnt have yielded a better result. May be the coach and management will now know the result of not buying defenders. Also I donKt really see anything good coming from the likes of pedro alexis and even villa anymore. Our attack is now predictable as everyone knows its only Messi that can wreck any hacov in the team's attack. We really nead a quality player who can play along with messi upfront and relave the no 1 of his burden.this reminds me of Henry-messi-eto combination which produced over 100 goals in a season. Can't yet recover fron the shock!

Cules! There is nothing like miracle again lets just hope we are not thrashed by 5 goals or more.

Mcleo007: Sir, of what use is organizing a defence when yourself the organizer would be caught napping the next moment? Let's face it, Puyi is past his prime. His commitment to the team bears little or no value at times like this when the stakes are high and you have everything to play for!

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I quite agree with you bro! But if u can remember the past few games played by Puyol,u will agree with me that he was badly exposed by his full backs expecially against Madrid.

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Johnpaul88: Same here.

If not that we are already thin in defence and that Pique and Alba are a booking away from suspension, i would say his return will not be any extra advantage to us.
His gaping lack of pace is now an embaressement. Younger and more speedy wingers will be licking their mouth and wishing to face him now than before.
Such is what persistent injury and advancement in age can do to a warrior. But his spirit is still invaluable to the team.

I beg to disagree bro!...I would prefer a fully fit Puyol to any other CB to pair Pique at this stage. His commitment and ability to organize the defence is compared to none. You will agree with me that even pique performs much better alongside Puyol than any other player.

I have been thinking....if only Alves would not play too much up and leave much space for Ribery to room,with Xavi retaining possession,Busquet recycling possession,Iniesta playing at his usual best with the added advantage of Messi gaining full fitness,i strongly believe we will go pass Bayern come next week.