CHOULO19

That has nothing to do with the quality of the backup because it happened for every single position. Jose WANTED to play the best team in every single game even when there were options he's showed he can trust like Zouma, Luis, Ramires and even Cech. According to Jose himself, defensive midfield "is the only position where we have duplicates" because he sees Matic and Mikel as very similar. You won't see rotation unless Jose decides so. Like we're linked to Pogba? Attacking midfielder is whole different story. He may play centrally but the central attacking midfielder in our system cannot play the deeper role. We saw that with Cesc this season. The roles and duties are just too dissimilar. We definitely need an attacking midfielder but I think we will much more likely go for someone who plays on the right (as well as a back up for Eden) because both Oscar and Willian can play centrally. Oh, and Zouma can fulfill a job as defensive midfielder in certain scenarios but he is not one. He is a CB. He does not have the technical ability nor the positional awareness to play there for prolonged periods if needed.

You want players better than Mikel and Ramires to sit on the bench?! Unless we've become Real Madrid, that is going to be incredibly hard to do. Cesc has played much worse in advanced areas than deep, especially in bigger matches. Also, the issue of him playing deeper in those matches seems to have been solved by Rami on the right wing and Oscar/Willian in front. I think that has worked very well. Zouma doesn't play in midfield unless everyone else is out or we need someone to win headers and first balls in front of the back four when the opponents are playing with two strikers. You can't have 22 world class players in your team in case someone gets a long term injury. You get top starting players and solid squad players who are okay with reduced playing time but can fill in adequately when needed. And I completely disagree with pinning our whole style and performance on Cesc's form. I think that's a ridiculous simplification. There were various factors, the biggest of which was probably manger choice, which for me proved to be right in the end. So, we barely 3.14% need a new central midfielder! Anyway, back to RLC, signing a FIFTH central midfielder drops him back to SEVENTH choice (considering Zouma). So we might as well sell him already.

Central midfielder? Unless someone leaves, of course we won't buy a central midfielder. We just spent upwards of 50m the two transfer windows before last on central midfield and it's a position where we have top class starters and quality squad players. Why in the world would we spend more money there?!

Crap! I would NOT be popular in Sunderland!

Wait, HE wanted to join Bayern but they rejected him?! How do you reckon that happened? Did he do some sort of trials for them or did he ring Pep up and tell him "Listen mate, I want to play for Bayern next season and I'm not taking no for an answer!"

I REALLY doubt that Jose makes such calls. He doesn't know nearly enough about the youth players to make such decisions. We have a whole department (headed by Eddie Newton IIRC) for loans, and then there is of course the U21 manager, sporting director...etc.

There is literally no time frame in which that would be funny!

Yes. I don't think he was going to be with us next season, regardless as was exactly the same with Chalobah.

I keep forgetting that. He looks like he's well in his thirties!

Yeah The Deluded One has confirmed that they will "absolutely" give us a guard of honor.

I actually think that would be a good thing for us. Cuadrado needs playing time to regain some form and confidence. The fact that this playing time comes away from Chelsea in a medium he's more used to and is comfortable with is even better, imo.

That is completely meaningless. My mom could win the Bundesliga with that Bayern squad... Not discrediting Pep, but that is not an achievement. It's just not.

Of course we could use a dominant CM, any team in the world could be improved by Pogba. But I think I can objectively say that we need a right winger and a CB much more than we need a central midfielder. CM is probably the only place we have top class starting players in Cesc and Matic and very good backup options in Mikel and Ramires, and even some very exciting youngsters in Ake and RLC.

Can't believe people are still going about 60 millions for a player we don't need... The 60m could alternatively be spent on a right winger, a top class Cb and a backup for Eden and pretty much solve most of our issues. He is NOT homegrown. Had he signed for an English club this past summer he would have been homegrown but as he did, he counts a foreign player now.

Nah, Zouma, Luis and Mikel have to start and probably Cuadrado as well. Remy if fit, too.

Courtois - 8 & 8 Ivanovic - 4 & 7 Cahill - 5 & 6 Terry - 7 & 10 Azpilicueta - 8 & 9 Fabregas - 10 & 6 Matic - 7 & 5 Willian - 6 & 8 Oscar - 8 & 6 Hazard - 9 & 10 Costa - 9 & 6

Name: documentmaster41 Reason: Spamming Punishment: Content moderated permanentlyAbility to create content removed permanently.Suspended permanently Also move to Banned

Very unlikely. Juve's Achilles heel is that they HAVE to build from the back with the CBs having the major share of possession. Barca's high pressing will kill them. And I say this as a Juve fan as well. I'm not comparing trophies, or even who is better overall. I'm just saying that this Barca are capable of adapting and changing when needed. If they played each other, I'd back this current team. Midfield is of course settled but this team can actually defend, while with 2011-13 Barca, every attack they conceded looked like a dangerous chance. I think if they played each other this team can defend fairly well again the old team and still create a lot of chances on the counter.

Here's something to debate: I honestly think Luis Enrique's Barca would easily beat Pep's Barca. Why Pep's squad was technically and individually better, this current Barca is more effective and adaptive. I like this current Barca A LOT more..

Btw, Bayern have now gone over 4 hours of competitive football without scoring. Boring, boring Bayern

Boring, boring Bayern putting 8-9 outfield players behind the ball when Barca have it....

Wrong: 1. Azpi never had a "nailed on place" for the Spanish national team. Never. 2. He only became the regular starter for Spain in 2014, AFTER Jose came here. In 2013 he was regularly on the bench and started the odd match.

Can't even find the words anymore...

1 EPL, 1 CL, 4 FA Cup, 1 League cup and 1 Europa League... Yeah, poor guy....

The moment for me was Fabregas' late goal vs QPR. That's when I was 100% sure that we will the title.