Essential The Official Football (Soccer) Thread - The Slotification of Liverpool is nearly complete

[godkiller]

not a Chelsea fan, but he's very frustrating to watch. His fukking attempts at dribbling and ball control always have me
If Chelsea find a goal scorer as good as him, but with other skills, they'll probably win the league again

Costa dribbles well enough in the box. He gets his penalties and makes room for shots. He scored at high clip. What else is needed? Chelsea is spoiled.

 

[African_brehda]

Costa dribbles well enough in the box.

Have you seen what he does when he has the ball outside the box? His build up play isn't the best.
The perfect striker will be a Benzema Costa hybrid

 

[TTT]

A striker like Costa is not bad if he plays in the right kind of set up. Simeone was perfect for him given how his earlier Atletico teams were built on aggression. For Chelsea he has dissapeared in the second half of the season after starting well, besides defenders can adjust to his style of trying to troll them into cards and fights.

 

[TTT]

Lol. Barca brehs, calm down. Window just opened. You'll probably get a world class midfielder soon.

And you do know it's your defence that is flawed, not your midfield.. right?

Paulinho tho

Midfield is flawed, it cannot control a game against high level opposition to save it's life. It's fine for some regular la liga games but the margins at the semi-final or quarter final stage of the CL can be very thin and a lack of midfield control can be bad against high level opposition. It was fine in 2015 when Messi elevated his game so much that he was dropping into midfield and dictating the game ,the City game being the best example.
If not for PSG's historical crumble the state of Barca would have received even more attention. They bet the house on the front 3 and everyone can see their weakness without a good midfield to forward link.

 

[e001]

Why do Chelsea fans hate Costa so much? He scores goals, no?

Chelsea fans love him.

 

[BlackBall]

 

[Max B]

 

[godkiller]

Radford was foolish to accept a contact from Man Utd. He should have let things play out and left the club if Mourinhi wouldnt start him.

 

[African_brehda]

Isn't that Stormzy

 

[Black Magisterialness]

Please let it happen

Until they face a Tite led Brazil

Sooooo is they going to get Marco Verratti or not? I mean Paulinho doesnt even fit the Barca style at all. I said it before he is better fit in Serie A not La Liga.

They can't afford Veratti...if they could the deal would be done. Instead they wanted to lock down Messi for the rest of his career. If I let go of one of the front three its Suarez next summer. Get like 90 million for him, get a SOLID striker and use the rest to get a couple midfielders because Arsenal aren't gonna sell Bellerin.

 

[Black Magisterialness]

Lol. Barca brehs, calm down. Window just opened. You'll probably get a world class midfielder soon.

And you do know it's your defence that is flawed, not your midfield.. right?

Paulinho tho

No, its not. Do you even watch games? Umtiti (their best signing last season) and Pique are solid. Alba is overrated but not garbage and Sergi is playing out of position. The issue is that Inesta is old and Gomes took all the way to the last month to figure out how to play. Rakitic didn't play well all season. Denis Suarez needed more time. Rafinha isn't top quality.

Barca's ENTIRE system is built upon a stable midfield. Its why when shyt hits the fan you see Messi drop back and start playing the #10. Busquets was their pivot, Inesta was the stabilizing force and Xavi was their creative magician. Without Xavi or at least someone with creativity to compliment Inesta it wasn't going to be the best Barca. Veratti WOULD be a great addition because then he becomes the stabilizing force and Inesta would be more free to create.

The team literally needs one more world-class mid and a right back and they're a world beater again. The problem is that the team is hemorrhaging cash on the front three and La Masia hasn't produced anyone transformative in a decade.

 

[African_brehda]

No, its not. Do you even watch games? Umtiti (their best signing last season) and Pique are solid. Alba is overrated but not garbage and Sergi is playing out of position. The issue is that Inesta is old and Gomes took all the way to the last month to figure out how to play. Rakitic didn't play well all season. Denis Suarez needed more time. Rafinha isn't top quality.

Barca's ENTIRE system is built upon a stable midfield. Its why when shyt hits the fan you see Messi drop back and start playing the #10. Busquets was their pivot, Inesta was the stabilizing force and Xavi was their creative magician. Without Xavi or at least someone with creativity to compliment Inesta it wasn't going to be the best Barca. Veratti WOULD be a great addition because then he becomes the stabilizing force and Inesta would be more free to create.

The team literally needs one more world-class mid and a right back and they're a world beater again. The problem is that the team is hemorrhaging cash on the front three and La Masia hasn't produced anyone transformative in a decade.

The fact they managed to lose Alcantara still shocks me till date

 

[Black Magisterialness]

The fact they managed to lose Alcantara still shocks me till date

AND Dani Alves....for FREE.

 

[THEREALBRAND]

Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of Vitolo from Sevilla in a deal that saw the Spain winger trigger his €37.5 million release clause and will see him now spend the first half of the 2017-18 season on loan at Las Palmas.

Good move, given the circumstances.

 

[BigMan]