Liga BBVA 2010-2011 Thread.

[Gruff89]

Please people, please, when are we going to stop talking about Rijkaard buying/Pep selling players? Txiki dealt with transfers! Managers can name targets, but at the end of the day, everything went through Txiki, and now it's Zubi.

Yes, Rijkaard and Pep obviously hold a lot of influence in decisions of who to sign etc. but if Zubi sold Messi, there is nothing Pep could do at the end of the day.

Has nobody heard the stories of former Madrid coaches moaning about the "Galactico" mentality? It's because they don't sign the players. I actually seriously doubt Mourinho wanted to sign Di Maria for example.

I'm not trying to cause any issues with anyone (so sorry "luke the blanco" I didn't mean any offence mate) but the coaches in Spain really are middle men where transfers are concerned. A budget is decided for the season, Zubi asks scouts/Pep who he should buy, makes his decisions and then goes and buys them.

---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 PM ----------

And i didn't get Eto'o Villa part. You mean Eto'o cant touch Villa? If so it is a massive statement. There is no big game player than Eto'o. Any day i would take Eto'o over Villa.

Villa has not scored for 9 hours now. I dont think Eto'o can do that with that mid field behind him.

Yeah I did mean Eto'o can't touch Villa, but I was just being a **** haha.

I rate Villa much higher, but it's true that Eto'o is a real big game player. I watched him miss sitter after sitter in his last two seasons at Barca, and he's carried on doing so at Inter. He gets a **** of a lot of goals, but it's simply painful to watch him miss shots that even I could score. In truth, if Villa had been in Eto'o's place with the same experience in the side, he would have finished the 08/09 season with well over 40 league goals, I genuinely believe that.

Eto'o's a decent player, but I have a genuine hatred for him which has stood for about 4 or 5 years now, and I am glad to see the back of him. I rate Villa as a better player but accept that there isn't much between them, but I would much, much rather have Villa in the side. Also, with Messi pushed into the middle, Eto'o would have no space at Barcelona anyway, no way he could play out wide like Villa does now.

 

[luke the blanco]

I'm sure Jose didn't manage Arsenal. Cole was ******* World class player when he joined Chelsea.

Jose had great squad too..

He had likes of Claude Makélélé., Mutu(Who was great talent), Lampard, Joe Cole, Duff, Gallas, Veron, Crespo, Terry, Drogba, Robben, Carvalho, Cech. Yes few he signed but still he had great team,

Please ask before you attack me i'm talking about Joe Cole.. and of the above mentioned names, he brought carvalho,drogba,cech and he got rid of the mediocre Gallas to Bring in the supreme Cole, Arsenal where definately the losers there... I'll admit that Pep is better....when he goes on and wins the Cl with another team that doesn't have Full international squad like Porto

 

[diplj]

Please people, please, when are we going to stop talking about Rijkaard buying/Pep selling players? Txiki dealt with transfers! Managers can name targets, but at the end of the day, everything went through Txiki, and now it's Zubi.

Yes, Rijkaard and Pep obviously hold a lot of influence in decisions of who to sign etc. but if Zubi sold Messi, there is nothing Pep could do at the end of the day.

Has nobody heard the stories of former Madrid coaches moaning about the "Galactico" mentality? It's because they don't sign the players. I actually seriously doubt Mourinho wanted to sign Di Maria for example.

I'm not trying to cause any issues with anyone (so sorry "luke the blanco" I didn't mean any offence mate) but the coaches in Spain really are middle men where transfers are concerned. A budget is decided for the season, Zubi asks scouts/Pep who he should buy, makes his decisions and then goes and buys them.

---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 PM ----------



Yeah I did mean Eto'o can't touch Villa, but I was just being a **** haha.

I rate Villa much higher, but it's true that Eto'o is a real big game player. I watched him miss sitter after sitter in his last two seasons at Barca, and he's carried on doing so at Inter. He gets a **** of a lot of goals, but it's simply painful to watch him miss shots that even I could score. In truth, if Villa had been in Eto'o's place with the same experience in the side, he would have finished the 08/09 season with well over 40 league goals, I genuinely believe that.

Eto'o's a decent player, but I have a genuine hatred for him which has stood for about 4 or 5 years now, and I am glad to see the back of him. I rate Villa as a better player but accept that there isn't much between them, but I would much, much rather have Villa in the side. Also, with Messi pushed into the middle, Eto'o would have no space at Barcelona anyway, no way he could play out wide like Villa does now.

That Eto'o part is just your opinion. I would pick Eto'o over Villa any day. He gets in so many scoring positions and has great speed. And Eto'o can play on the wing as he did when Mourinho was incharge at Inter. Along with this Eto'o is also a tremendous team player as demonstrated in the UCL semi at Barca. I am not saying Villa isn't a team player but in my opinion Eto'o is better. His Trophy cabinet speaks for itself, if only he were playing for a better team internationally.

 

[Pythonidae]

Real Madrid is currently winning 0-2 against Athletic Bilbao.

2 Penalties from Kaka.

 

[thfc_09]

Are Barcelona playing Almeria today??

 

[Pythonidae]

Yeah, they are playing at 8.

Edit: 0-3 for Madrid now, goal by Cristiano.

 

[Gruff89]

That Eto'o part is just your opinion. I would pick Eto'o over Villa any day. He gets in so many scoring positions and has great speed. And Eto'o can play on the wing as he did when Mourinho was incharge at Inter. Along with this Eto'o is also a tremendous team player as demonstrated in the UCL semi at Barca. I am not saying Villa isn't a team player but in my opinion Eto'o is better. His Trophy cabinet speaks for itself, if only he were playing for a better team internationally.

I admitted it was my opinion... and actually I forgot he played on wings under Mourinho, so I accept I'm wrong there.

But believe me when I say most Barcelona fans would have happily accepted it if Eto'o had gone to Valencia for Villa, but weren't happy when the same thing happened for Ibra.

For me, Villa is hands down the better player, but as I say it's my opinion. He's certainly less trouble than Eto'o, who definitely missed too many sitters for my liking. Mourinho managed him better than Pep or Rijkaard ever could, and so he managed to maintain his form all of last season, but in his last 2/3 years at Barca, he never impressed me at the business end of the season.

And as far as internationally goes, Diego Forlan won the player of the World Cup with Uruguay, who are certainly not much better than Cameroon... obviously not proof that he is a better player, but it does show what can be achieved in a smaller international side. Players impress people a lot by carrying their team, something Villa and Silva did with Valencia for a long time, and Eto'o has never had to do.

 

[elguaje villa07]

David villa id have in my side over eto'o any day. He hasn't scored too many goals as his usual standard this season because hes been pushed into a wider position. Villa works harder for the team has more craft and bringing team mates into play and scores a wider variety of goals

 

[Gruff89]

I could see it going the same way Atletico v Villarreal did. Sounds exciting, but I can't imagine it being as competitive as people think it will be. Still, I hope they prove me wrong, I'd love Villarreal to take the win in a close game.

Gonna be all about the forwards for sure though. Whoever Valencia use in holding mid will shackle Borja, meaning the key men are probably gonna be Rossi, Nilmar and Soldado

Valencia win 5-0, and I am king of predictions.

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:03 AM ----------

David villa id have in my side over eto'o any day. He hasn't scored too many goals as his usual standard this season because hes been pushed into a wider position. Villa works harder for the team has more craft and bringing team mates into play and scores a wider variety of goals

Villa has 21 goals in 36 appearances this season, compared to 28 in 42 last season, and 30 in 40 the year before, so he's not really doing any worse than usual, and he will have more opportunity to get more games later in this season, as Barca are still in CL which Valencia weren't.

From almost the same position last season, Eto'o scored 16 in 47, with less assists than Villa has this season as well. Also, both seasons added together, in his last two years at Barca, playing as an out and out striker, Eto'o managed 54 goals in 80 appearances. Technically speaking, Villa's goal per game ratio is actually slightly better than Eto'os, and he gets more assists.

Again, if anybody disagrees, that's your opinion and this is mine. This is really just to show Villa's having a great season even by his high standards, and for anybody that insists that Eto'o is definitely the better player, and there's no logical argument for Villa being better. Here's an argument for it.

 

[elguaje villa07]

Valencia win 5-0, and I am king of predictions.

---------- Post added at 03:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:03 AM ----------



Villa has 21 goals in 36 appearances this season, compared to 28 in 42 last season, and 30 in 40 the year before, so he's not really doing any worse than usual, and he will have more opportunity to get more games later in this season, as Barca are still in CL which Valencia weren't.

From almost the same position last season, Eto'o scored 16 in 47, with less assists than Villa has this season as well. Also, both seasons added together, in his last two years at Barca, playing as an out and out striker, Eto'o managed 54 goals in 80 appearances. Technically speaking, Villa's goal per game ratio is actually slightly better than Eto'os, and he gets more assists.

Again, if anybody disagrees, that's your opinion and this is mine. This is really just to show Villa's having a great season even by his high standards, and for anybody that insists that Eto'o is definitely the better player, and there's no logical argument for Villa being better. Here's an argument for it.

I agree with you im one of villas biggest fans hence the name I think it's just because at calendar he was the standout player who scored week in week out and now hes in a squad full of world class players so sometimes he has to take a back seat while messi does his thing whereas at valencia he pretty much carried the side week in week out

 

[ScyllaJoe]

Real Madrid v Barcelona on Saturday. Im going to have to Sky+ it though as i'll be on my way back from Palace

 

[sunilvk7]

Zlatan - 22 gls in 42 games for Barca, Villa 21 in 42 games and none in last 11. Yet Ibrahimovic is the flop apparently.

And also Zlantan's more than 50% of goals were opening goals. He has also more assists than David Villa.

Funny how no one mentions anything about Villa being a flop.

 

[ScyllaJoe]

Valencia 3 - 6 Real Madrid what a result. Higuain with 3 of them

 

[DMF]

Zlatan - 22 gls in 42 games for Barca, Villa 21 in 42 games and none in last 11. Yet Ibrahimovic is the flop apparently.

And also Zlantan's more than 50% of goals were opening goals. He has also more assists than David Villa.

Funny how no one mentions anything about Villa being a flop.

The fact he hasn't scored in 11 and still has just 1 goal less than Ibra shows that he's much better value for money that Ibra was. He'***** a bad spell, hasn't scored in 11, yet is only one goal behind Ibra's total.

Valencia 3 - 6 Real Madrid what a result. Higuain with 3 of them

Don't forget that Real made 9 changes from the game on Weds, with only Casillas and Carvalho actually starting.

Real's starting XI:

Casillas
Albiol - Carvalho - Garay - Nacho (professional debut)
Kaka - Diarra - Canales - Granero
Benzema - Higuain
​

Higuain x3, Benzema, Kaka x2 with the goals. Was 5-0 at HT.

 

[sunilvk7]

The fact he hasn't scored in 11 and still has just 1 goal less than Ibra shows that he's much better value for money that Ibra was. He'***** a bad spell, hasn't scored in 11, yet is only one goal behind Ibra's total.

Same thing can be said about Ibra. He too had a similar spell when he didn't score for many games. Ibra was excellent in the first half of the season but then faded away in the second half. David Villa is not better at this point though as Ibra had more assists.

And David Villa has fluffed so many chances, he is not even close to his former self..

BTW when Berba didn't score for 9 games, i saw different kind of posts..

 

[DMF]

Same thing can be said about Ibra. He too had a similar spell when he didn't score for many games. Ibra was excellent in the first half of the season but then faded away in the second half. David Villa is not better at this point though as Ibra had more assists.

And David Villa has fluffed so many chances, he is not even close to his former self..

BTW when Berba didn't score for 9 games, i saw different kind of posts..

But when Barcelona paid £40M + Samuel Eto'o for Ibra, and just £34M for Villa, it's a massive difference.

 

[sunilvk7]

But when Barcelona paid £40M + Samuel Eto'o for Ibra, and just £34M for Villa, it's a massive difference.

Dont judge the performance based on the money they have paid. Judge them on performance.

Ibra got so much abuse and it was not his fault that Barca paid so much for him..

 

[DMF]

Dont judge the performance based on the money they have paid. Judge them on performance.

Ibra got so much abuse and it was not his fault that Barca paid so much for him..

It's not his fault, but his performances didn't match what they obviously valued him at. They believe he was worth £40M and their top scorer from their previous 3 seasons and he managed 21 goals in 42 games.

David Villa they valued at half that, and he's got 1 goal less from the same amount of games despite going 11 games without scoring.

Says alot..

 

[sunilvk7]

It's not his fault, but his performances didn't match what they obviously valued him at. They believe he was worth £40M and their top scorer from their previous 3 seasons and he managed 21 goals in 42 games.

David Villa they valued at half that, and he's got 1 goal less from the same amount of games despite going 11 games without scoring.

Says alot..

Well that can't be right. There is no way Barca at any point believed Ibra is worth Eto'o plus 40 Million.They knew they are overpaying as they had no other way to get rid of Eto'o.

Even then it was Barca's mistake for having ridiculous expectations as i don't think Ibra is better than David Villa.

To add to that, Villa is playing in La Liga for so many years, so there was not a question of adapting to new league. He played a lot with Barca's mid with Spain and was scoring for fun, so adapting to new team was also not in question. We can use those excuses for Ibra and also Ibra is not a out and out goal scorer. He is like Berba who likes to create and drop deep.

Regardless of money paid, supporters expect same from Ibra and David Villa, but Ibra got lot of stick whereas David Villa's form is not even questioned..

 

[DMF]

Well that can't be right. There is no way Barca at any point believed Ibra is worth Eto'o plus 40 Million.They knew they are overpaying as they had no other way to get rid of Eto'o.

Even then it was Barca's mistake for having ridiculous expectations as i don't think Ibra is better than David Villa.

To add to that, Villa is playing in La Liga for so many years, so there was not a question of adapting to new league. He played a lot with Barca's mid with Spain and was scoring for fun, so adapting to new team was also not in question. We can use those excuses for Ibra and also Ibra is not a out and out goal scorer. He is like Berba who likes to create and drop deep.

Regardless of money paid, supporters expect same from Ibra and David Villa, but Ibra got lot of stick whereas David Villa's form is not even questioned..

Of course they believed it to be true. They could have sold Samuel Eto'o to any team in Europe that wanted him. I don't think anyone would have turned them down. Problem was they wanted Ibra to replace him - but Inter wanted a replacement. So they asked for £40M and Eto'o and Barcelona were stupid enough to accept that.

Villa had to adapt. Just because you play with them doesn't mean your instructions are the same. Guardiola is not the same manager as Del Bosque or Aragones. Just because they play the same style of football doesn't mean that he is asked to do the same thing. If you look, he's still been scoring for Spain all the way throughout his barren spell, breaking the international goalscoring record during this time.

Messi has been scoring all the goals, so maybe he has taken Villa's role from the national team as the goalscorer.