One of my favorite quotes ever (IASIP - The Gang Beats Boggs) where a completely tanked Charlie somehow manages to crank a homerun in a meaningless competition and then doesn't know what to do with himself is a pretty good comp for where Barca now finds itself.
After a completely batshit season in which the Barca Board was ousted, club legend Koeman guided Barca out of the darkness and put together a respectable season considering the circumstances. He unearthed some gems and played some real youth in Pedri, Mingueza, Dest, Ilaix, Araujo, and Trincao. He also showed some tactical nous by switching to a 3-4-2-1 with Dembele as the striker that led to an excellent run of form. That's balanced with the horribad ending to the season with some dubious decisions, and his overextended vendetta against Puig. All that said, and the manager situation is still very far and away the second or third biggest story heading into the summer.
The first as usual, is Messi's rendition of 'Should I Stay or Should I Go'. On the one hand--club legend, a big reason why much of the fanbase still tunes in, and a force in attack. On the other, one of the hardest players to build around, defensively absolved of responsibility, and until now ungodly expensive. While I love Messi unconditionally, part of me would be OK with him going to a club in a better position to make the most out of his last years and letting the rebuild begin in earnest. Aguero's acquisition leads me to believe that he's likely coming back, but if he doesn't like the way things develop he will leave.
All of that said and from a purely competitive perspective, the biggest issue at the club remains its shambolic finances. Barto and Co. really did a number on the club and it seems like the plan for acquisitions this summer is buying low-cost talent on free transfers and perhaps some young promising players. On the other side of the ledger, Laporta is saying that just about everyone is for sale and likely at drastically reduced prices.
Already this summer Aguero and Eric Garcia have come into the fold. Aguero is a nice piece to have come off the bench but much like Luisito in his last couple of years, he should not be counted on as the starter but rather as a sub late in games and perhaps a starter late in the season to make a final push. Garcia seems like a promising player and is a welcome addition to a defensive corps that has some nice pieces in Araujo, Mingueza, Lenglet, and Dest but still needs more competition since the only other viable players are Pique and Alba. I have to think Umtiti and Firpo are goners ($5-10M each). Depay is also likely to sign soon and should be the starting CF--a big and necessary upgrade to a side that were able to paper over the lack of a point at the tip of the spear at times but would be helped significantly by having that option. Gini Wijnaldum was heavily linked to Barca over the past month, but that's seemed to die down. Some other big name free transfers include Calhanoglu (AC Milan), Emerson Royal (Betis), Borre (River), and Boateng (Bayern). Emerson has some complicated ownership structure whereby Barca currently own 50% of his rights and the option to buy an addition 30%. Unclear whether they will try and acquire him to actually play or just try and cash in to help the ledger.
Other players likely on the block include Griezmann ($40-50M), Dembele ($35-40M), Coutinho ($25-30M), Pjanic ($20-25M), and Roberto ($10-15M). Those transfer values in parentheses are just what I think Barca might reasonably expect to be offered and as such represent their value in the current depressed market. Still, if Barca can salvage $100M out of their collective transfers while keeping 1-2 that would be a huge success. There's just too much bloat at the club right now and reinvesting that into younger players is the right thing to do. Again, that just doesn't jive with Messi's career, but Messi released some statements last year that show he might be OK being part of a transition.
After a completely batshit season in which the Barca Board was ousted, club legend Koeman guided Barca out of the darkness and put together a respectable season considering the circumstances. He unearthed some gems and played some real youth in Pedri, Mingueza, Dest, Ilaix, Araujo, and Trincao. He also showed some tactical nous by switching to a 3-4-2-1 with Dembele as the striker that led to an excellent run of form. That's balanced with the horribad ending to the season with some dubious decisions, and his overextended vendetta against Puig. All that said, and the manager situation is still very far and away the second or third biggest story heading into the summer.
The first as usual, is Messi's rendition of 'Should I Stay or Should I Go'. On the one hand--club legend, a big reason why much of the fanbase still tunes in, and a force in attack. On the other, one of the hardest players to build around, defensively absolved of responsibility, and until now ungodly expensive. While I love Messi unconditionally, part of me would be OK with him going to a club in a better position to make the most out of his last years and letting the rebuild begin in earnest. Aguero's acquisition leads me to believe that he's likely coming back, but if he doesn't like the way things develop he will leave.
All of that said and from a purely competitive perspective, the biggest issue at the club remains its shambolic finances. Barto and Co. really did a number on the club and it seems like the plan for acquisitions this summer is buying low-cost talent on free transfers and perhaps some young promising players. On the other side of the ledger, Laporta is saying that just about everyone is for sale and likely at drastically reduced prices.
Already this summer Aguero and Eric Garcia have come into the fold. Aguero is a nice piece to have come off the bench but much like Luisito in his last couple of years, he should not be counted on as the starter but rather as a sub late in games and perhaps a starter late in the season to make a final push. Garcia seems like a promising player and is a welcome addition to a defensive corps that has some nice pieces in Araujo, Mingueza, Lenglet, and Dest but still needs more competition since the only other viable players are Pique and Alba. I have to think Umtiti and Firpo are goners ($5-10M each). Depay is also likely to sign soon and should be the starting CF--a big and necessary upgrade to a side that were able to paper over the lack of a point at the tip of the spear at times but would be helped significantly by having that option. Gini Wijnaldum was heavily linked to Barca over the past month, but that's seemed to die down. Some other big name free transfers include Calhanoglu (AC Milan), Emerson Royal (Betis), Borre (River), and Boateng (Bayern). Emerson has some complicated ownership structure whereby Barca currently own 50% of his rights and the option to buy an addition 30%. Unclear whether they will try and acquire him to actually play or just try and cash in to help the ledger.
Other players likely on the block include Griezmann ($40-50M), Dembele ($35-40M), Coutinho ($25-30M), Pjanic ($20-25M), and Roberto ($10-15M). Those transfer values in parentheses are just what I think Barca might reasonably expect to be offered and as such represent their value in the current depressed market. Still, if Barca can salvage $100M out of their collective transfers while keeping 1-2 that would be a huge success. There's just too much bloat at the club right now and reinvesting that into younger players is the right thing to do. Again, that just doesn't jive with Messi's career, but Messi released some statements last year that show he might be OK being part of a transition.
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