We're being routed here. . . 3-1. Chivas are giving us the run around.

Hopefully Pep drops these ideas he has about Busi at CB and the "depth" we supposedly have for injuries in our B team in case of injuries to our defence, and so fort and we actually buy a good defender.

FT: 4-1. . .embarrassing

I've always said it, WE NEED ONE MORE DEFENDER.

honeric01:

I've always said it, WE NEED ONE MORE DEFENDER.

Well . . . it was just a friendly, and truth be told, the first team players look rather match-rusty, just like in the United game. Pique looks like he's not in it at all, despite providing the assist that led to Villa's goal. The B teamers forgot themselves and played a very high line at the back, with nobody to cover.

I know, we don't like to lose, but better we lose now so we can get our head into it early. Also, better we don't exert ourselves in these games, the start of the season isn't that far off anymore. I don't really care much about the Super Cup, I'm more interested in retaining the league and Champions League (though the second will be a long shot!).

More important for me, we are seeing the B teamers. After this period, we may not see them much anymore.

I'm a bit wary of buying a defender still. Just who exactly do we buy? I personally don't think Angel or Botia are good enough to play at Pique or Abidal's level. They'll probably end up on the bench. Pep's strengths are more in midfield and attack, which is why his signings are always concentrated there. Last time he bought a defender, we all know what happened. Now that I think of it, there was this rumour that Barca were looking at Ratikic or whats his name from Shaktar Donetsk. The guy that scored against us at the Camp Nou off a free kick. Wonder what happened with that.

Thank God I didn't see the match.

Gabriel Milito released
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/web/english/noticies/futbol/temporada11-12/08/04/n110804118663.html

Thank you for all the years. . . Goodluck

Heheheh
Shakira has finished d remainin part of pique's life
dough barca ill sti b fantastic dis Csun i 4c blundas & own golz 4rm pique(dere's no futbola Dead or Aliv dat can deal wit dat type of WAIST & b d same again NEVA i ripit NEVA ask dinho & d rest)
& i personali no sum upcumin futbolas dat wuld hav bin gr8 if nut 4 d fact dat dey ALLOWED Pleasure cum/tak d place of futbol & nw dey r no were futti again

AjanleKoko:
Pique looks like he's not in it at all, despite providing the assist that led to Villa's goal.

'm nut a barca fan(united 4 eva) but if u had watched barca's games 2wardz d end of las Csun u wuld hav noticed d blundas 4rm pique i tel u he can't handle dat WAIST(veri hmmm) & truss pep 2 destroy dat r/ship(i.e pique &shak)

Alaba_Slim:

Heheheh
Shakira has finished d remainin part of pique's life
dough barca ill sti b fantastic dis Csun i 4c blundas & own golz 4rm pique(dere's no futbola Dead or Aliv dat can deal wit dat type of WAIST & b d same again NEVA i ripit NEVA ask dinho & d rest)
& i personali no sum upcumin futbolas dat wuld hav bin gr8 if nut 4 d fact dat dey ALLOWED Pleasure precipitate/tak d place of futbol & nw dey r no were futti again

O boy u harsh oooooo. And for pete's sake, it was a mere friendly match. Every player has his day, waist or no waist.

I think there is an urgent need to sign Cesc in a matter of days.

Arsenal have just been paired with Udinese in the CL play-off round. And recalling that Van persie and Nasir will be unavailable for the 1st leg due to suspension, Wenger will want to use all available players, including Cesc, given the tough nature of the Italian outfit.

By doing this Cesc becomes cup-tied and consequently will not be eligible to parcipate in the CL, should Barca end up signing him.
I think we should rap that damn deal up this week, since a lot of sales have been made.

Johnpaul88:

I think there is an urgent need to sign Cesc in a matter of days.

Arsenal have just been paired with Udinese in the CL play-off round. And recalling that Van persie and Nasir will be unavailable for the 1st leg due to suspension, Wenger will want to use all available players, including Cesc, given the tough nature of the Italian outfit.

By doing this Cesc becomes cup-tied and consequently will not be eligible to parcipate in the CL, should Barca end up signing him.
I think we should rap that damn deal up this week, since a lot of sales have been made. 

For 40 million pounds? No effing way, JP.
I think, on the issue of Cesc's supposed transfer, I will do a 180 degrees and oppose the deal. It's just a waste of time. We keep offering chump change, and they keep slapping us back. If Cesc wanted to play in Barca, he wouldn't have signed with them and renewed twice

I'm even going to say something unpatriotic now. I hope we get whooped by Madrid in the Supercopa, so the players' eyes can clear a little, and they can focus. It's pretty obvious they are forcing the management to try to sign Cesc.

AjanleKoko:

For 40 million pounds? No effing way, JP.
I think, on the issue of Cesc's supposed transfer, I will do a 180 degrees and oppose the deal. It's just a waste of time. We keep offering chump change, and they keep slapping us back. If Cesc wanted to play in Barca, he wouldn't have signed with them and renewed twice

I'm even going to say something unpatriotic now. I hope we get whooped by Madrid in the Supercopa, so the players' eyes can clear a little, and they can focus. It's pretty obvious they are forcing the management to try to sign Cesc.

You have a fair point there, but, do we have to lose the cup to bolster a point about Cesc? Me no think so. I believe Cesc is the real drag on the transfer issue. He needs Barca more than the club needs him.

Mcleo007:

You have a fair point there, but, do we have to lose the cup to bolster a point about Cesc? Me no think so. I believe Cesc is the real drag on the transfer issue. He needs Barca more than the club needs him.

Maybe we do. And its not just about Cesc. The players need a wake up call. The Cesc saga is just a major distraction, and we're now beginning to look silly, always showing up with less cash, and getting slapped back with the proposal. I think Cesc himself is getting devalued as a result of the Barca affiliation. Everybody must know by now that it's Cesc who wants Barca and not really the other way round.

I guess Pep has his wards playing to the mind puzzle about the whole Cesc ish. Look at the jersy no worn by Thiago in the last few games; shows the gamble is more on Cesc. And of course we both know the value price offered by Barca for Cesc is quite on d good side. Anything more is a waste of scarce funds.

AjanleKoko:

For 40 million pounds? No effing way, JP.
I think, on the issue of Cesc's supposed transfer, I will do a 180 degrees and oppose the deal. It's just a waste of time. We keep offering chump change, and they keep slapping us back. If Cesc wanted to play in Barca, he wouldn't have signed with them and renewed twice

I'm even going to say something unpatriotic now. I hope we get whooped by Madrid in the Supercopa, so the players' eyes can clear a little, and they can focus. It's pretty obvious they are forcing the management to try to sign Cesc.

You're anti-cesc now Well, I won't blame Cesc for signing an extension to his Arsenal contract. As at when he renewed his contract, there wasn't strong interest from us. He signed an 8 year extension to his contract in 07 and we started showing interest in him in 08, almost 09, winter transfer window. For him there are only two clubs - us and Arsenal - and since there wasn't interest from us then, he could only extend his contract at Arsenal.
It's the same way I won't blame him for leaving us like most fans do. As at the time he left, very few canteranos were being promoted to the first team. There was very little hope for the youth players unlike what we've today. Around that time only Valdes, Oleguer and Iniesta were promoted to the first team. The likes of Gerard Lopez and Luis Garcia had to go make a name for themselves elsewhere before they were bought back by us. Many youth players saw this as the best option. It could be argued that he was one of our brightest prospects then and should have waited for his chance with the first team but so were Gio dos Santos, Cristian Ceballos, Sergio Santamaria, Iago Falque, etc. . . Things could have turned out really bad and there probably wouldn't be a Cesc Fabregas today. An opportunity presented itself and he made the most of it.
My stance on signing him reamains the same. If he comes good, if he doesn't? No biggie.
On the £40m valuation. . . He's worth every penny, IMO. Just try taking a look at his stats for the past 4-5 seasons. . . simply frightening.

Word!

Thiago has been called up to the Spanish national team for the next international friendly against Italy. Good one for the young man.
I think the plan is just to make him ineligible to play for Brazil or Italy. I heard Menezes has been trying to convince him to play for Brazil.
Kind of what they did to Bojan so he wouldn't be able to feature for Serbia.

medjai:

Thiago has been called up to the Spanish national team for the next international friendly against Italy. Good one for the young man.
I think the plan is just to make him ineligible to play for Brazil or Italy. I heard Menezes has been trying to convince him to play for Brazil.
Kind of what they did to Bojan so he wouldn't be able to feature for Serbia.

Smart move!

Really smart move.

Johnpaul88:

I think there is an urgent need to sign Cesc in a matter of days.

Arsenal have just been paired with Udinese in the CL play-off round. And recalling that Van persie and Nasir will be unavailable for the 1st leg due to suspension, Wenger will want to use all available players, including Cesc, given the tough nature of the Italian outfit.

By doing this Cesc becomes cup-tied and consequently will not be eligible to parcipate in the CL, should Barca end up signing him.
I think we should rap that damn deal up this week, since a lot of sales have been made. 

We'll need to sign him before the 16th of August because he will more than likely play their qualifier if he stays.
£40m might be cheapest price we can get Cesc for unless we wait till he has one more year on his contract(2014) or we sign him when his contract runs out(2015). If he does well this season, his value would go up and judging by his stats, you can be sure he will do well barring any injuries.
I can't endure another summer of daily Cesc rumour. . . I've no fingernails to bite anymore.

The last time we conceded four goals in a single game was March 09 when we lost 4-3 to Atleti.Forget Fab,with Puyol still sidelined,we need reinforcements at the back as the defence still remains our Achilles's Heel.Madridstas are probably having a bout of Schadenfreude as our abysmal pre-season form continues.1 out of 4 pre-season games is bad enough for a club of our calibre.The glimmer of hope amidst this darkness is Thiago who has proved so far that he deserves a starting XI shirt.Enough holidaying for Leo and Xavi,work should start now!.I can't bear to see them lose The Spanish SuperCup to Real Madrid!

The defeat to Chivas is our worst since losing 4-1 to Getafe in the 2007 CDR s/final, I think.
Pep has ruled out signing any defender.

medjai:

You're anti-cesc now Well, I won't blame Cesc for signing an extension to his Arsenal contract. As at when he renewed his contract, there wasn't strong interest from us. He signed an 8 year extension to his contract in 07 and we started showing interest in him in 08, almost 09, winter transfer window. For him there are only two clubs - us and Arsenal - and since there wasn't interest from us then, he could only extend his contract at Arsenal.
It's the same way I won't blame him for leaving us like most fans do. As at the time he left, very few canteranos were being promoted to the first team. There was very little hope for the youth players unlike what we've today. Around that time only Valdes, Oleguer and Iniesta were promoted to the first team. The likes of Gerard Lopez and Luis Garcia had to go make a name for themselves elsewhere before they were bought back by us. Many youth players saw this as the best option. It could be argued that he was one of our brightest prospects then and should have waited for his chance with the first team but so were Gio dos Santos, Cristian Ceballos, Sergio Santamaria, Iago Falque, etc. . . Things could have turned out really bad and there probably wouldn't be a Cesc Fabregas today. An opportunity presented itself and he made the most of it.
My stance on signing him reamains the same. If he comes good, if he doesn't? No biggie.
On the £40m valuation. . . He's worth every penny, IMO. Just try taking a look at his stats for the past 4-5 seasons. . . simply frightening.

I'm not anti-Cesc. Just against the ridicule that Barca is being subjected to, simply because of our perceived antics. Fans and journalists now have a field day writing us up because of our perceived 'bad behaviour'.

I fully agree he is worth  £40m. But, since we have options, and we don't intend to build our team around him, why do we keep showing up with lower bids, and keep getting swatted away? Plus, i think he is becoming a distraction to many of the senior players, who are flirting with the media too much on the issue of Cesc. I think they're probably having a field day twisting everything a Barca player says about Cesc. Catalans even. Imagine his home town mayor saying the guy is being kidnapped. What nonsense. Arsenal paid for him, and they pay his wages.

On the reasons why he left Barca . . . those do not matter so much as the fact that he desperately wants to come back, to the point of devaluing himself and riskinga bench spell, all because he wants to join Barca. If he wants to leave Arsenal, there are more lucrative options, where he is guaranteed to play a major role, equivalent to what he does for the Gunners. And none of those options has to be Real Madrid. So in my final analysis . . . if Barca won't pay  £40m, they should leave him alone and stop sullying themselves. We are the best club in the world, in the opinion of many. We don't need the bad press and the distractions.

I for one am hoping that he plays in the UCL qualifiers. That will cup-tie him, and make him less relevant. If he should do a Mascherano and not play any games, that means the speculations, swatting, and media insults continue till the end of August. Which sucks for me, really.

Interesting line up:
---------Valdes
Adri--Sergi--Pique--Abidal
---------Keita
----Xavi-----Iniesta
-------Thiago
Pedro------------Villa

Thiago is playing in the Messi role. I've always thought that's the role that best suits him.

Great finish from Villa 1-0

Adriano's been great so far. He should be our first choice LB since Abidal will mostly play as CB no thanks to Puyi's injury.

2-0. Keita nicely setup after a great combo by Carmona and Deulofeu.

2-0 it ends.

AjanleKoko:

For 40 million pounds? No effing way, JP.
I think, on the issue of Cesc's supposed transfer, I will do a 180 degrees and oppose the deal. It's just a waste of time. We keep offering chump change, and they keep slapping us back. If Cesc wanted to play in Barca, he wouldn't have signed with them and renewed twice

I'm even going to say something unpatriotic now. I hope we get whooped by Madrid in the Supercopa, so the players' eyes can clear a little, and they can focus. It's pretty obvious they are forcing the management to try to sign Cesc.

Wow! We're now on the same page on Cesc? I'll like to get him, but not now and not for Arsenal's current valuation, which they're unwilling to back down from - that is understandable because Arsenal has a lot of cash and is not in a desperate situation. I feel we can wait a year or two to get Cesc. On the other hand, if Cesc becomes cup-tied, we can just agree with Arsenal that we do the transfer now, but Cesc can come in January or next summer, for a reduced price either way.

medjai:

You're anti-cesc now Well, I won't blame Cesc for signing an extension to his Arsenal contract. As at when he renewed his contract, there wasn't strong interest from us. He signed an 8 year extension to his contract in 07 and we started showing interest in him in 08, almost 09, winter transfer window. For him there are only two clubs - us and Arsenal - and since there wasn't interest from us then, he could only extend his contract at Arsenal.

Have you ever wondered why Cesc started getting the Barca blues only after we won the treble? He was never homesick before then! I bet if Arsenal had won a cup or two lately, Cesc would have lost interest in Barca. The truth is that the boy wants to eat his cake & have it. You cannot sign an 8 year contract (essentially signing the prime of your career away) and expect to leave on your terms, when you want.

BTW, I'm not over the moon about Cesc's stats over the last 5 years. Yes, he has a lot more assists than Xavi or Iniesta, but that's because all of Arsenal's creative play goes through him. Luckily for us in Barca, creative play can come from Xavi, Iniesta, Messi or Alves. I don't read too much into stats. It was Ibra's impressive stats that led us to the worst transfer in football history,

medjai:

Thiago has been called up to the Spanish national team for the next international friendly against Italy. Good one for the young man.
I think the plan is just to make him ineligible to play for Brazil or Italy. I heard Menezes has been trying to convince him to play for Brazil.
Kind of what they did to Bojan so he wouldn't be able to feature for Serbia.

Yeah, it's a typical ploy by national team coaches. In Thiago's case, it should work out well though - the boy is just special.

medjai:

Adriano's been great so far. He should be our first choice LB since Abidal will mostly play as CB no thanks to Puyi's injury.

Adriano's acceleration is crazy. I'll like him to be our 1st choice LB as well (no offence to Abidal, but we'll surely need him as CB). Alves bombing down the right, Adriano bombing down the left & the opposition ducking for cover!

I still feel we need a CB though - Fontas & the other B team CBs aren't quite there yet & we have 2 injury prone men (Puyol, Abidal) who need cover. Buy-back of Botia would have made the most sense, but it looks like the club wants him to have 1 more year at Gijon before his return (I hope). I also thought Henrique who played well for both Leverkusen & Racing would be recalled, but we've loaned him out yet again. I guess an old defender who won't mind the bench would be the best option for now, while Fontas & co mature. We can do one like Milan's deal for Yepes. I don't have any names that fit the bill, but that's what our scouts are paid for.

As things stand, I never feel safe with Busi as CB, but Masch is more reliable (though still not like a regular CB) & I think Pep may regret this continuous use of DMs as CBs. It''s something that can be done in emergency situations (like certain times last season), but it should not be the regular plan. Right now, our no 4 defender is Masch. With Puyol out, Masch, a DM, becomes our no 3 defender on the pecking order. Not safe IMO.

@Medjai we actually did lose 4 - 1 to "The Boys In White" back in May 08 under Frank Rijkaard!.

^^Whoa. . .It seemed so far back. I guess we've beaten them so much that it's really hard to remember that they've gotten one over us in the past.

medjai:

^^Whoa. . .It seemed so far back. I guess we've beaten them so much that it's really hard to remember that they've gotten one over us in the past.

It's just Pep's three years. We have had a little bit of unfair advantage though. Our players were coming into their own, while they have been on a downward slide. Last year, they tried to compete a little, and got a 'broken' cup for their pains.

This season it will be a lot closer though, more like a United-Chelsea tango of 2005-2006. But I think we still have the edge, if we continue our policy of using their weak points against them. Next Sunday we will see just how much they have learned from Jose.

Off topic, I was driving through Oshodi yesterday, and ran into a parade of FCB fans (Oshodi branch obviously!). Unfortunately, my phone's camera chose that exact moment to pack it in, so I could not get pictures. It was a really colorful display, very impressive. Got some numbers though, and will try to contact some of them.