Should we buy......

And I got to say, I am a little tired of people always pointing the finger at the defence.

I am the first to say we need better defenders, mostly at leftback and center...but look at the goals and chances we concede, many of them are not the defenders, they come through higher up the pitch.

People dont like saying it, but its often Xavi and Iniesta defensively...in fact noone ever says it, but its a fact.

Its not actually their fault, you cant be relying on them for defence...they are limited, the reason it worked in the first place is they had a system to follow defensively, a role to play...now they are freelancing.

I agree with Dani on Xaviesta but its also a massive strength so you have to work around that.

Also tbf when i was talking about defenders, the only one i accused of not being good enough was Alba/Adriano and i may have been harsh on the latter.

Puyol needs replacing and Mascherano isn't a defender to begin with so i don't think its too harsh to say that 2 or 3 defenders should be bought, or if one or two from the youth proves themselves ready then add him to the group.

I personally believe Alba isn't good enough, Puyol needs to be replaced and who ever that replacement is he and Pique needs a reliable back up.

This year only Pique has been reliable and 1 reliable CB is just asking for trouble.

Indeed, I know you was talking just about them two..my comment was more general. Everyone keeps saying "our defence is crap" but its really ignoring the larger issue. Yes, they are crap but you can plug any 4 defenders in the world in defence, if they dont have structure in front they going to get let in goals. Alaba and Lahm got tons of help, our fullbacks didnt..not like Pedro especially and Villa are unwilling, just dont have overall structure.

I think we need 1 centerback rather than 2 though. With 2, its going to be troublesome fitting them in. Like, at some point both guys will play together..going to be tough 2 guys who are new to each other and the team as a whole.

Plus, Pique, this new guy if he is actually a defender and not some makeshift scrub, Bartra and Puyol to me is enough especially if you throw in Abidal who I think isnt done yet. Ideally Bartra too would play instead of Pique not with him I think, neither look totally comfy stepping out from the defence first to me..Pique especially but Bartra to me reads runs well and thats wasted if your always the first out.

I dont like Alba, its well known, but Adriano is too injury prone...the chances are if one of them is leaving its Adriano so I will have to accept that.

Personally dont think its too late for Felipe Luis, would be no older than Abidal was when Pep transformed him into the player he became.

Agree with that on the whole, when i say Barca should bring in this and that...

I am including youth players into the first time as the same as buying....

If Bartra proves himself good enough to be a reliable choice then one new CB plus Bartra would be fine.

Just like with upfront, if Deulofeu proves himself then it would be one new forward plus him but still 2 new forwards in my eyes.

I would still look at a fullback though.

Agree with that. I guess only difference is I think already Bartra is good enough for back up duty..only missing is more playing time I think. Its more hunch than fact though.

Another problem is we are niave though, we need to clear deadwood. Sorry but Pedro is obviously living on reputation...he does something once every 10 games (like PSG) and twang people into thinking he is back, but he isnt and dont think he ever will. His entire sucess was based on movement into spaces which actually no longer exist..people have clocked on..then he tried to expand his game by doing other things, some sucess (think he got more assists than ever before) but overall to me his skill level has always been low and now the movement isnt effective..hes become a defensive winger...which to me is a sub player, not a starting in every single big game.

Then you got Villa, who to me is still quality..but I have to admit, lacks dynamism. He struggles to impact games playing in a wider role. I would still keep him on..people are talking about Lewandoski to come on from the bench or rotation and play down the middle as a sort of secondary option...no need, if Villa is willing thats a role he can still do.

Then you got Tello, who to me can be impactful, but seems to get the cold shoulder.

Alexis still cant dribble unless he is forced to, but he offers the Pedro workrate with more effectiveness off the ball (gets in goal scoring positions) and doesnt look worse on it in my eyes.

So what im getting at is, all 4 of them have something wrong...but they question is who should we keep vs who they will actually keep.

To me, its Pedro who offers the least chance of actually improving..I think he is done.

And yeah, havent like the leftback area post Abidal and nothing changed. Adriano is a acceptable back and even starter against the right team, but when Alba is the other alternative it becomes a weakness to me. Dont like Alba but he will stay so...I highly doubt we will change it though, unless Adrianos injuries piss them off as much as it does fans.

Didn't know where to post this...

First, a lot of people are ignoring that this team basically played without Tito for most of the second half of the season. This had some detrimental effects:

1. There was less rotation. Not sure if this was Roura or Tito, but it seemed that while Tito was away the “best XI” started almost every match and that lead to tired legs. Ultimately this meant that our best players weren’t in good condition for the Champions League knockout matches, and it showed in all of them.
2. Tactical stagnation. While Tito was out there were virtually no tactical alterations. People often say Barca forces other teams to adapt to them, but Pep was very good at making small tactical tweaks for each opponent, and altering the tactics during the match. The tactical stagnation while Tito was gone really hurt the evolution of the team.

This season and the 7-0 have to be evaluated in light of the loss of continuity at the most important part of the season.

This is also the reason Tito should be allowed to continue for another season. He was on the right track in the first half of the season, and it is difficult to judge him from this entire season due to the continuity issues.

People have argued that Tito was the mastermind behind Pep, and people have argued that Tito is awful and deserves to be sacked. I think the truth is somewhere in the middle – he is a pretty good manager, but certainly not elite. However he needs another season before we can truly evaluate him.

Plus, Pique, this new guy if he is actually a defender and not some makeshift scrub, Bartra and Puyol to me is enough especially if you throw in Abidal who I think isnt done yet.

Small point: Abidal's contract expires this summer and so far hasn't been approached for a contract extension.

The Sanchez wrote:
1. There was less rotation. Not sure if this was Roura or Tito, but it seemed that while Tito was away the “best XI” started almost every match and that lead to tired legs. Ultimately this meant that our best players weren’t in good condition for the Champions League knockout matches, and it showed in all of them.
2. Tactical stagnation. While Tito was out there were virtually no tactical alterations. People often say Barca forces other teams to adapt to them, but Pep was very good at making small tactical tweaks for each opponent, and altering the tactics during the match. The tactical stagnation while Tito was gone really hurt the evolution of the team.

Agree with this a lot

Similar to Tito's situation... but realistically speaking, its always a risk atm with them due to their health condition, so I dont think its wise to reply on them completely and think they will be there always solving the problems.

With the above discussion about our defenders, I agree compared with the other teams, our defenders dont get the protection, especially since we dont press effectively anymore and come under lots of pressure compared with Pep time.

Busquet does an immense job normally covering and Xavi Iniesta is not the defensive strong type of cos, Song tries his best, but overall vs top sides, if we are not up to the fight physically and defending, the defenders need to work so much harder.

Im not sure the exact way to fix it, whether we strengthen our defensive game overall, or ensure our pressing and possession is back to our best so that we dont have to defend as much.

At BC on Abidal.

Indeed, thats true, but I dont get why we shouldnt resign him. Reduced wage, 1-2 years..let him retire here, can use him sparing him at the very least, I highly doubt he will mind and what negative could there be from having him around.

A quote from myself about the defense (heading into the PSG game)

The Sanchez wrote:It isn’t our defense that worries me against PSG. It’s our pressing and midfield. If those two are up to par, our defense won’t have very much to worry about.

It isn’t the defense that is risk-heavy. It’s the entire team and the way it plays. It’s a tradeoff that Vilanova has chosen to make for this season. Our defense will almost certainly concede more goals this season than it did last season. And I’m sure someone will think of that while riding the bus in the Liga championship celebrations.

Alot of people saying how we lack height when it comes to set pieces including myself but when you realise the basics of defending I reliase that the two reasons why we concede goals at set pieces is because
1. Poor marking (all teams do that …. look at RM, who had Ramos, Varane, Casillas, etc, and still gave up set pieces). Marking on set pieces is no different (pardon the bouncieball analogy) to boxing out for rebounds. Dennis Rodman wasn’t the tallest player, and didn’t have the biggest jump, but he knew exactly how to position his body to mark out his man. Jordi Alba can defend set pieces if he gets his little butt on a man far enough outside the danger area where his header won’t have the necessary force. But he is too often a punk about marking, sometimes choosing to cover his head and fall down. That ain’t defending.
2. Physicality (can’t do anything about that) such as when Varane treated our markers like they didn’t exist, or when Wrongaldo skied for that header of his. Great plays happen. It explains Messi and his excellence.

Set piece defending isn’t about height. It’s about making sure that your marker isn’t in a position to hurt your club. Our defense does this often enough where I don’t worry at all about set pieces. I worry more about turned possession in midfield leading to jailbreak counters.

I probably haven't explained my post in enough detai but hopeful you have a vague idea of what I'm trying to say