How Our 2011-12 Squad Is Shaping Up

I agree with everything above. As for the treatment let’s wait and see. We don’t know how Pep will use the players.
I think Cesc will play a super-sub roll rather than a first 11 CM with Iniesta on the wings.


As I said Iniesta as a forward would be valid for only exceptional cases

messixaviesta wrote:

billy_gr wrote:
In the extreme scenario that extra assistance is required Dolfeau could be brought for a game or two.
Things seem really balanced for me overall.

By the way is Nolito’s imminent departure confirmed?

Maybe then instead of Soriano, Delofeu will be promoted. I can't remember reading anything about that though.

Yes Nolito has moved to Benfica.

Deulofeu just turned 17 "2 month ago", its early for him to play for first team..

btw Deulofeu willplay for Barca U-19 & Barca B next season.. stay @ Barca U-19 ,especially that they have to playing Chmapions League U-19 this season & play some matches for Barca B.. this is what Sergi Gomez made last season..Sergi Gomez (RCB, 19) was registered as Juvenil A player, but every while he wascalledby Luis Enrique for B team ( 9 starts in segunda )!!plus played the important matches with U-19.. This season he will be promoted permenantly to Barca B!!

messixaviesta wrote:Thanks for all the wonderful replies friends.

Yes mole we could try signing the likes of Alex, B.Alves, Lucio or Agger to name just a few but somehow there hasn't been any interest. The Fabregas deal is very close to completion. You all know well I have not been in favor of it. However I will say two things here. One is that given what Pep has done for us in the last three years I don't mind giving him complete leeway for some time even if it results in a mess. I will respectfully accept whatever he does as far as possible. Fabregas and A.Sanchez are quite clearly his top two handpicks. If Rossell is getting him both then Pep cannot claim to have any kind of problems with the present administration who are then clearly giving him complete freedom to do his job as he pleases. This in turn could convince him to stay for longer. Secondly if Fabregas is to become our player let's start giving up on the negativity and treat him like any other new arrival.

Your right JD, my post was more saying of what i hope Barca do then what what they will do....

As for the Fabregas comment, ofcourse i will it will pain me to do so but i will the reason iam so against it because iam certian it means the end of Thiago

Only formation i see everyone fitting in ( but it doe's mean Villa or Pedro miss out or perhaps both)


This is the the only way i see them fitting and Thiago staying, ofcourse this is a future line up because Puyol and Xavi and Villa are not there.

Keep in mind it's a 4-3-2-1 so dont go crying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Iniesta on the wing, Him and Sanchez will hover behind Messi kind of like how Kaka and Seedorf did so successfully for Milan under Ancelotti....

It's definitely a doable formation but whether Pep see's it is another matter entirely.

billy_gr wrote:I agree with everything above. As for the treatment let’s wait and see. We don’t know how Pep will use the players.
I think Cesc will play a super-sub roll rather than a first 11 CM with Iniesta on the wings.


As I said Iniesta as a forward would be valid for only exceptional cases

Thanks billy. I agree completely. Let's hope that is what actually happens as well.

Immaculate_Mole wrote:
Your right JD, my post was more saying of what i hope Barca do then what what they will do....

As for the Fabregas comment, ofcourse i will it will pain me to do so but i will the reason iam so against it because iam certian it means the end of Thiago

Only formation i see everyone fitting in ( but it doe's mean Villa or Pedro miss out or perhaps both)

Valdes
Alves Pique NEW CB Abidal
Busquets
Cesc Thiago
Iniesta Sanchez
Messi

This is the the only way i see them fitting and Thiago staying, ofcourse this is a future line up because Puyol and Xavi and Villa are not there.

Keep in mind it's a 4-3-2-1 so dont go crying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Iniesta on the wing, Him and Sanchez will hover behind Messi kind of like how Kaka and Seedorf did so successfully for Milan under Ancelotti....

It's definitely a doable formation but whether Pep see's it is another matter entirely.

Thanks mole. Nice comments. Interesting idea about future formation. Maybe once the irreplaceable Xavi is no longer there, playing with four midfielders will be a better idea but not now. BTW you can't put Abidal in LB in a future formation. D.Alves probably is still acceptable.

messixaviesta wrote:

Immaculate_Mole wrote:
Your right JD, my post was more saying of what i hope Barca do then what what they will do....

As for the Fabregas comment, ofcourse i will it will pain me to do so but i will the reason iam so against it because iam certian it means the end of Thiago

Only formation i see everyone fitting in ( but it doe's mean Villa or Pedro miss out or perhaps both)

Valdes
Alves Pique NEW CB Abidal
Busquets
Cesc Thiago
Iniesta Sanchez
Messi

This is the the only way i see them fitting and Thiago staying, ofcourse this is a future line up because Puyol and Xavi and Villa are not there.

Keep in mind it's a 4-3-2-1 so dont go crying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Iniesta on the wing, Him and Sanchez will hover behind Messi kind of like how Kaka and Seedorf did so successfully for Milan under Ancelotti....

It's definitely a doable formation but whether Pep see's it is another matter entirely.

Thanks mole. Nice comments. Interesting idea about future formation. Maybe once the irreplaceable Xavi is no longer there, playing with four midfielders will be a better idea but not now. BTW you can't put Abidal in LB in a future formation. D.Alves probably is still acceptable.

Well yes, the formation is really designed to fit Cesc and Thiago, when Xavi leaves because both realise that they not going to be first choice while Xavi is there.

I believe 4-3-2-1 fit's it best as i said like the Milan version under Ancelotti with Kaka and Seedorf....

Because of this it's not really 4 midfielder's it's 3 plus 2 AM's as Iniesta is naturally an AM anyway and Sanchez has had his best performances there at Udinese oh yh and your right Abidal should'nt be there i will take him out.

All this is born out of my opinion that if Cesc come's then Thiago is out, now if Pep doe's something like the formation i posted and fit's them all together then i have no problem with Cesc coming at all infact i would embrace it i just dont want Thiago to be the sacrificial lamb in all of this.

messixaviesta wrote:
Soriano - not sure but there are some rumors. I would like and expect one promotion if both Bojan and Jeffren leave.

Maxwell - I think he has to leave. We clearly don't trust him defensively. We don't need three left backs or four for that matter if we include Abidal. So J.Angel signing should automatically mean a departure for him. If all that was already not enough his agent is our old enemy.

G.Milito - Was thinking about it last night specially recalling the parallels with Marquez in 2010. G.Milito by all accounts has been worse this season than Marquez ever was. Marquez then had a good WC 2010. Now assume that G.Milito has a good Copa 2011. Marquez was still let go in spite of being a club stalwart. G.Milito is not a stalwart. All signs point to him leaving and only the Copa is delaying it.

J.Angel - Very likely to sign because we are pushing for him and the price difference is minor. He could go to B team but I doubt that. He can be Adriano's understudy for left back. If he is by chance not able to step up we of course have Abidal to play that role part time.

Fabregas as false number 9? Interesting suggestion but I don't like it. That position is meant for a forward. So no Fabregas or Iniesta there. Also as dani repeatedly says no Iniesta on the wings. We will have at least five forwards. Why not use them properly?

Your squad list is fine but you haven't indicated who all out of the B team will be promoted. I have instead tried to make a list of the A team only as I can predict it.

Andrada - No recent news. I doubt that we may have given up on that. Pep likes only two goal keepers in the squad. So maybe one more season for Pinto and next summer we will evaluate how far Mino and/or Oier have progressed.

Kiko will definitely join the B team. It's been written everywhere. That's why I didn't include him in my list.

BTW Abidal can still be first choice left back but only when both Puyol and Pique are fit. However maybe Pep will trust Mascherano a lot as CB even though some of us don't like that. So if that happens Abidal may still be first choice LB. It will become clear based on where J.Angel is put. If he is put in B team, Abidal is still meant to be LB. If he is put in A team, Abidal is now to almost pure CB. That's what I am speculating at the moment. No matter what Abidal will have to deputise as CB given that we are just not pursuing any CBs in the market.

Interesting reply JD, and I'll try to clarify a few things.

Soriano? No, I don't think he'll be promoted. Notice he was pretty much never used by Guardiola despite him clearly being one of the very best B teamers. While Nolito fits Guardiola's system nicely, Soriano doesn't. I don't know if you've seen much of him, but he doesn't really fit Guardiola's Barca. Enrique's system isn't the same, I remember discussing with free_cat that they play almost more like Arsenal. Soriano will go somewhere else and be a centre-forward, I don't think he could really succeed as an inside forward under Pep. Maybe I'm wrong, but while there have been no rumours recently about him leaving, there have been no rumours about Pep wanting him.

Maxwell- I expect he'll leave, and leave quietly. Its a shame that his agent is a problem, because Pep has referred to him and Keita as being the 2 model professionals of the team. In Barca I think he found a team that really suited his style. Wherever he goes, I hope they utilise his skills properly, he's actually quite a good player, but I think he'd be best playing on the left side of a diamond midfield. Thoughts?

Milito- Yep, he's gone.

Angel- Quite a pointless transfer in my opinion... but I do agree with you that going to Barca B seems a bit far fetched. Why should he accept that? It will not further his career at all, I'd stay at Sporting for a year. Its not the same situation as Kiko, who is younger, and his team has been relegated.

Here I'll bring in the discussion of Abidal. I'm glad you've also picked up on this train of thought, because I've been planning on writing something about this for a while. I expect Adriano to start quite regularly, with Abidal playing more regularly as a centreback. Here, obviously Angel comes in as Adriano's backup. Remember Adriano will also play on the right if Alves isn't fit. So, while some see the 'not buying a CB thing' as completely stupid, I don't think its that bad. I expect Abidal to 'do a Thuram' and play centrally more often as he grows older, and Mascherano is a good centreback. Dani doesn't like him, but with another tall player, I've got no qualms about him playing there. Its not ideal, but he's our 4th/5th CB option, not bad right??

Andrada- He was always going to be for the B team, not in the first team JD. Personally I don't really care whether its him or Mino. Looks like Oier may leave though.

Kiko- Yes, thats why I also included him in the B team. But as I showed, he'll probably be the Nolito of this season, filling in whenever needed and I expect him to start in Copa games.


Why didn't I talk about players being promoted? Well, because I don't think anyone will be promoted. Thiago and Fontas are already promoted, and I can only see Montoya getting promotion if Maxwell is sold and Angel doesn't come. Montoya has already said he expects to play with the B team and get as many minutes with Pep as he can. He'll start Copa games etc. and slowly come through, but full promotion? No point in him rotting on the bench when he can pretty much play the same number of games with us + experience in the B team if he's not registered as a first teamer.

And as I already said, can't see Soriano being promoted, Montoya's the only possibility and I don't think he will be.

You want it put more clearly?

1st Team:

1. Valdes
2. Alves
3. Pique
4. Fabregas
5. Puyol
6. Xavi
7. David Villa
8. Iniesta
9. (Nobody! Its cursed, wait for the 'Return of Bojan!')
10. Messi
11. Sanchez
12. Angel
13. Pinto
14. Mascherano
15. Keita
16. Busquets
17. Pedro
18. Thiago
19. Fontas
20. Afellay
21. Adriano
22. Abidal
23.
24.
25.

B Teamers that are likely to fill in for us for a few games.

26. Martin Montoya
27. Kiko
28. Sergi Roberto
29. Marc Bartra
30. Mino
31. Muniesa

BarcaKizz wrote:

1st Team:

1. Valdes
2. Alves
3. Pique
4. Fabregas
5. Puyol
6. Xavi
7. David Villa
8. Iniesta
9. (Nobody! Its cursed, wait for the 'Return of Bojan!')
10. Messi
11. Sanchez
12. Angel
13. Pinto
14. Mascherano
15. Keita
16. Busquets
17. Pedro
18. Thiago
19. Fontas
20. Afellay
21. Adriano
22. Abidal
23.
24.
25.

B Teamers that are likely to fill in for us for a few games.

26. Martin Montoya
27. Kiko
28. Sergi Roberto
29. Marc Bartra
30. Mino
31. Muniesa
32. Romeu
33. Sergi Gomez

- Agree No one should wear the number "9" next season!

- Montoya, Sergi Gomez & Sergi Roberto will renew soon..
Montoya said that he will stay with Barca B & try his best to play some matches with first team.. " Personally, i hope he gets promoted"

Khaledbarca wrote:
Montoya said that he will stay with Barca B & try his best to play some matches with first team.. " Personally, i hope he gets promoted"

Can you explain why you'd like this Khaled? If there is Alves, Abidal, Adriano and Angel that makes 4 fullbacks. Even with Abidal playing at centreback, Montoya would get next to no time. If Alves and Abidal did not play for example, I would expect Angel to want playing time. Which can only mean Adriano at right back and Angel at left back. Rarely will 3 be missing, so Montoya won't get many matches. He'll get Copa games and the odd La Liga start and quite a few bench sittings, but there is no need to register him and stop him from playing with Barca B. Remember what happened with Pedro and Busquets in their first seasons? Neither were actually registered with the first team, but Busquets basically played the whole season with us.

No need to register Montoya, just give him plenty of chances when we can.

I still think we need another true striker on the squad, not just Villa. And Villa is used as a winger.

I don't see a problem with promoting Soriano to see how he does, plus we will be practically done with our kitty after the Cesc and Sanchez deal so it's not like we would have any other good choice (plus Soriano put in his time, it's time to give hima chance)

Immaculate_Mole wrote:
Well yes, the formation is really designed to fit Cesc and Thiago, when Xavi leaves because both realise that they not going to be first choice while Xavi is there.

I believe 4-3-2-1 fit's it best as i said like the Milan version under Ancelotti with Kaka and Seedorf....

Because of this it's not really 4 midfielder's it's 3 plus 2 AM's as Iniesta is naturally an AM anyway and Sanchez has had his best performances there at Udinese oh yh and your right Abidal should'nt be there i will take him out.

All this is born out of my opinion that if Cesc come's then Thiago is out, now if Pep doe's something like the formation i posted and fit's them all together then i have no problem with Cesc coming at all infact i would embrace it i just dont want Thiago to be the sacrificial lamb in all of this.

Yes the formation makes sense. Not discussing too much more about it because it's early days yet.

It's clear no one wants to lose Thiago. Not just us at this forum but even polls conducted recently among world wide Barca fans show that Thiago must be retained even if that means giving up on Fabregas.

BarcaKizz wrote:
Interesting reply JD, and I'll try to clarify a few things.

Soriano? No, I don't think he'll be promoted. Notice he was pretty much never used by Guardiola despite him clearly being one of the very best B teamers. While Nolito fits Guardiola's system nicely, Soriano doesn't. I don't know if you've seen much of him, but he doesn't really fit Guardiola's Barca. Enrique's system isn't the same, I remember discussing with free_cat that they play almost more like Arsenal. Soriano will go somewhere else and be a centre-forward, I don't think he could really succeed as an inside forward under Pep. Maybe I'm wrong, but while there have been no rumours recently about him leaving, there have been no rumours about Pep wanting him.

Maxwell- I expect he'll leave, and leave quietly. Its a shame that his agent is a problem, because Pep has referred to him and Keita as being the 2 model professionals of the team. In Barca I think he found a team that really suited his style. Wherever he goes, I hope they utilise his skills properly, he's actually quite a good player, but I think he'd be best playing on the left side of a diamond midfield. Thoughts?

Milito- Yep, he's gone.

Angel- Quite a pointless transfer in my opinion... but I do agree with you that going to Barca B seems a bit far fetched. Why should he accept that? It will not further his career at all, I'd stay at Sporting for a year. Its not the same situation as Kiko, who is younger, and his team has been relegated.

Here I'll bring in the discussion of Abidal. I'm glad you've also picked up on this train of thought, because I've been planning on writing something about this for a while. I expect Adriano to start quite regularly, with Abidal playing more regularly as a centreback. Here, obviously Angel comes in as Adriano's backup. Remember Adriano will also play on the right if Alves isn't fit. So, while some see the 'not buying a CB thing' as completely stupid, I don't think its that bad. I expect Abidal to 'do a Thuram' and play centrally more often as he grows older, and Mascherano is a good centreback. Dani doesn't like him, but with another tall player, I've got no qualms about him playing there. Its not ideal, but he's our 4th/5th CB option, not bad right??

Andrada- He was always going to be for the B team, not in the first team JD. Personally I don't really care whether its him or Mino. Looks like Oier may leave though.

Kiko- Yes, thats why I also included him in the B team. But as I showed, he'll probably be the Nolito of this season, filling in whenever needed and I expect him to start in Copa games.


Why didn't I talk about players being promoted? Well, because I don't think anyone will be promoted. Thiago and Fontas are already promoted, and I can only see Montoya getting promotion if Maxwell is sold and Angel doesn't come. Montoya has already said he expects to play with the B team and get as many minutes with Pep as he can. He'll start Copa games etc. and slowly come through, but full promotion? No point in him rotting on the bench when he can pretty much play the same number of games with us + experience in the B team if he's not registered as a first teamer.

And as I already said, can't see Soriano being promoted, Montoya's the only possibility and I don't think he will be.

You want it put more clearly?

1st Team:

1. Valdes
2. Alves
3. Pique
4. Fabregas
5. Puyol
6. Xavi
7. David Villa
8. Iniesta
9. (Nobody! Its cursed, wait for the 'Return of Bojan!')
10. Messi
11. Sanchez
12. Angel
13. Pinto
14. Mascherano
15. Keita
16. Busquets
17. Pedro
18. Thiago
19. Fontas
20. Afellay
21. Adriano
22. Abidal
23.
24.
25.

B Teamers that are likely to fill in for us for a few games.

26. Martin Montoya
27. Kiko
28. Sergi Roberto
29. Marc Bartra
30. Mino
31. Muniesa

Excellent reply kizz. It explains a lot of things.

Soriano - Very eye opening comments. So does that mean we will have five forwards only? I think having a center forward types as backup might be a reasonable idea though we can use Villa there as well when needed.

Maxwell - Very true. He better not defend. In our team he just can't get into the midfield even as a backup. Hence he must move to some smaller team where he can be first choice midfielder.

Angel - Agree by and large

I agree with your comments about how the defense will play out. My only thought was maybe he will make Montoya second choice right back since we have agreed before that Adriano is better on the left than on the right. However after reading your comments that seems even less likely. It's not that Pep doesn't promote youth but he likes being cautious and does not rush things.

Andrada - My mistake. I forgot he was supposed to be a B team signing.

Kiko - I just read that he is a midfielder. Since we are overstocked I would rather have a CF as backup to fill in when needed. In fact this confuses me a little as to why Kiko has been purchased. Even next year there doesn't seem to be a place for him.

Interesting comments about Montoya's promotion. You are right actually. If we don't consider Mascherano as CB, then we will have only seven defenders but that's the way Pep likes it. Also Adriano will continue to be D.Alves' understudy for the RB role apart from perhaps being first choice for LB.

Also very good points explaining why a promotion is generally not a good idea.

That cuts down the squad list that I made from 23 to 21 which does make sense. Let's look at the composition in more detail. Going by their primary roles we have two goal keepers, three left backs, three center backs, one right back, two defensive midfielders, one utility midfielder, four creative midfielders and five forwards. However since some are capable of playing multiple roles we can add two more center backs and one more right back. Looking at it this way it makes much more sense.

Finally excellent squad list with jersey numbers. A real cool comment about number 9 and Bojan.

My only doubt is why do you expect so many B team members to play a part. I can't see a role for Kiko or Roberto. Ditto for Mino and Romeu ( who was later added by khaled ). Also can't see Bartra get much scope and Muniesa and Sergi Gomez ( who was later added by khaled ) have even less chance.

windkick wrote:I still think we need another true striker on the squad, not just Villa. And Villa is used as a winger.

I don't see a problem with promoting Soriano to see how he does, plus we will be practically done with our kitty after the Cesc and Sanchez deal so it's not like we would have any other good choice (plus Soriano put in his time, it's time to give hima chance)

I too think this is a decent idea. Having one proper CF on bench can be useful and spending money on it is pretty much pointless given the quantity and quality of forwards we already have and our limited budget.

messixaviesta wrote:
Excellent reply kizz. It explains a lot of things.

Soriano - Very eye opening comments. So does that mean we will have five forwards only? I think having a center forward types as backup might be a reasonable idea though we can use Villa there as well when needed.

Maxwell - Very true. He better not defend. In our team he just can't get into the midfield even as a backup. Hence he must move to some smaller team where he can be first choice midfielder.

Angel - Agree by and large

I agree with your comments about how the defense will play out. My only thought was maybe he will make Montoya second choice right back since we have agreed before that Adriano is better on the left than on the right. However after reading your comments that seems even less likely. It's not that Pep doesn't promote youth but he likes being cautious and does not rush things.

Andrada - My mistake. I forgot he was supposed to be a B team signing.

Kiko - I just read that he is a midfielder. Since we are overstocked I would rather have a CF as backup to fill in when needed. In fact this confuses me a little as to why Kiko has been purchased. Even next year there doesn't seem to be a place for him.

Interesting comments about Montoya's promotion. You are right actually. If we don't consider Mascherano as CB, then we will have only seven defenders but that's the way Pep likes it. Also Adriano will continue to be D.Alves' understudy for the RB role apart from perhaps being first choice for LB.

Also very good points explaining why a promotion is generally not a good idea.

That cuts down the squad list that I made from 23 to 21 which does make sense. Let's look at the composition in more detail. Going by their primary roles we have two goal keepers, three left backs, three center backs, one right back, two defensive midfielders, one utility midfielder, four creative midfielders and five forwards. However since some are capable of playing multiple roles we can add two more center backs and one more right back. Looking at it this way it makes much more sense.

Finally excellent squad list with jersey numbers. A real cool comment about number 9 and Bojan.

My only doubt is why do you expect so many B team members to play a part. I can't see a role for Kiko or Roberto. Ditto for Mino and Romeu ( who was later added by khaled ). Also can't see Bartra get much scope and Muniesa and Sergi Gomez ( who was later added by khaled ) have even less chance.

Great comments JD.

I'm not against Soriano staying actually, I just don't really see it happening. A center forward type would be cool to have but I remember Dani pointing out that Pep seems set on this false 9 business, so maybe there isn't really a need for such players? Sanchez and Villa could both play centrally, and as I said, Fab could. I think Fab would play there better than you seem to believe, but I also understand your concern. This is purely my own speculative opinion.

An interesting thing has just happened, Angel's agent has claimed he will become a Roma player very shortly. So a spanner has been thrown in the works, will Maxwell now stay?? I don't really see the need to fork out for a left back and there aren't any cheap ones available, so I think either Maxwell will stay or Montoya gets the break he's been looking for.

About Andrada, I think you're confusing my words haha. I, like you, was saying he was always going to be part of Barca B! Is this a necessary signing? Only if he's really talented, because Valdes has at least 4 years left in him, and Mino has proven to be pretty good in my opinion.

Kiko? I too am pretty confused why we're after him, the club must see more in him than I, because he's not that special. He's a pretty good player, but I can't see him ever being part of the first team. I understand he's being bought to strengthen the B team, but unless he is potentially a Barca player there's no point buying him. We'll get to watch him at the U20 WC, so I'll wait till then. To clarify, he's a winger. A pacy winger, and a pretty genuine one, rather than a Pedro/Villa type. I saw him score one really nice goal cutting in and dribbling a few players, but he's got less ability than Jeffren...so its strange. If he's under 2m though, it doesn't bother me. He can help Barca B stay strong and help others develop. Its an experimental purchase.


I don't really expect that many B teamers to play a part, but I believe those players will be trusted by Pep when needed.
-Montoya will definitely play some role.
-The centrebacks in the youths will get cup games as I doubt Pep will use Puyol, Abidal or Masch at CB in any cup games. For now, I'd say the pecking order is Bartra, Muniesa, Gomez.
-You're right that with so many midfielders there won't be much space for Roberto, but I'd like to emphasise how highly this guy is rated in the Barca setup. Guardiola likes him a lot. A recent interview with a youth coach had him described as La Masia's best current talent. I remember Xavi personally saying he thought he was a very good player. They rate him and I expect him to be given a chance, even if its only 3-5 games from the bench.
-Kiko? Well, we already established we don't have loads of forwards, 5 will possibly be the number. So in cup games I think he'll definitely get a chance. Either him or Tello.
-The players Khaled added I don't see getting any matches. Maybe Mino will get 1 if he's lucky. Romeu won't though. Busi, Masch are the DMs. Fontas is currently a better DM than Romeu as well.

Apparently Jose Angel is going to Roma

BarcaKizz wrote:

Khaledbarca wrote:
Montoya said that he will stay with Barca B & try his best to play some matches with first team.. " Personally, i hope he gets promoted"

Can you explain why you'd like this Khaled? If there is Alves, Abidal, Adriano and Angel that makes 4 fullbacks. Even with Abidal playing at centreback, Montoya would get next to no time. If Alves and Abidal did not play for example, I would expect Angel to want playing time. Which can only mean Adriano at right back and Angel at left back. Rarely will 3 be missing, so Montoya won't get many matches. He'll get Copa games and the odd La Liga start and quite a few bench sittings, but there is no need to register him and stop him from playing with Barca B. Remember what happened with Pedro and Busquets in their first seasons? Neither were actually registered with the first team, but Busquets basically played the whole season with us.

No need to register Montoya, just give him plenty of chances when we can.

u have a point..

maybe he should make like Thiago this season..
stay registered as Barca "B" player...
and play about "8-10 matchs, starter" next season for first team betweem Copa & minor matches.. than in 2012-2013 gets his promotion to first team!

BarcaKizz wrote:
Great comments JD.

I'm not against Soriano staying actually, I just don't really see it happening. A center forward type would be cool to have but I remember Dani pointing out that Pep seems set on this false 9 business, so maybe there isn't really a need for such players? Sanchez and Villa could both play centrally, and as I said, Fab could. I think Fab would play there better than you seem to believe, but I also understand your concern. This is purely my own speculative opinion.

An interesting thing has just happened, Angel's agent has claimed he will become a Roma player very shortly. So a spanner has been thrown in the works, will Maxwell now stay?? I don't really see the need to fork out for a left back and there aren't any cheap ones available, so I think either Maxwell will stay or Montoya gets the break he's been looking for.

About Andrada, I think you're confusing my words haha. I, like you, was saying he was always going to be part of Barca B! Is this a necessary signing? Only if he's really talented, because Valdes has at least 4 years left in him, and Mino has proven to be pretty good in my opinion.

Kiko? I too am pretty confused why we're after him, the club must see more in him than I, because he's not that special. He's a pretty good player, but I can't see him ever being part of the first team. I understand he's being bought to strengthen the B team, but unless he is potentially a Barca player there's no point buying him. We'll get to watch him at the U20 WC, so I'll wait till then. To clarify, he's a winger. A pacy winger, and a pretty genuine one, rather than a Pedro/Villa type. I saw him score one really nice goal cutting in and dribbling a few players, but he's got less ability than Jeffren...so its strange. If he's under 2m though, it doesn't bother me. He can help Barca B stay strong and help others develop. Its an experimental purchase.


I don't really expect that many B teamers to play a part, but I believe those players will be trusted by Pep when needed.
-Montoya will definitely play some role.
-The centrebacks in the youths will get cup games as I doubt Pep will use Puyol, Abidal or Masch at CB in any cup games. For now, I'd say the pecking order is Bartra, Muniesa, Gomez.
-You're right that with so many midfielders there won't be much space for Roberto, but I'd like to emphasise how highly this guy is rated in the Barca setup. Guardiola likes him a lot. A recent interview with a youth coach had him described as La Masia's best current talent. I remember Xavi personally saying he thought he was a very good player. They rate him and I expect him to be given a chance, even if its only 3-5 games from the bench.
-Kiko? Well, we already established we don't have loads of forwards, 5 will possibly be the number. So in cup games I think he'll definitely get a chance. Either him or Tello.
-The players Khaled added I don't see getting any matches. Maybe Mino will get 1 if he's lucky. Romeu won't though. Busi, Masch are the DMs. Fontas is currently a better DM than Romeu as well.

Thanks kizz. By and large whatever you say makes very good sense. Some of the thoughts are very eye opening as well.

About Angel, I guess I was premature. Just thought that we would wrap it up with just a minor price difference remaining. Roma is almost confirmed and we can remove him now. Does that mean we can keep Maxwell? Maybe because neither has he said he wants to leave nor has Pep indicated he wants him out and for once even his agent has said he is happy here. Promoting Montoya would still mean Abidal having to continue as LB which is also possible.

Disappointing transfer window so far. Bojan out Jeffren will be out and only Sanchez in. Again we will have small squad. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't buy Cesc and still sign nobody else. Why can't we have 23 players in the squad, 2 for every position? Bring Soriano or anyone else as 6th forward.

matpol wrote:Disappointing transfer window so far. Bojan out Jeffren will be out and only Sanchez in. Again we will have small squad. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't buy Cesc and still sign nobody else. Why can't we have 23 players in the squad, 2 for every position? Bring Soriano or anyone else as 6th forward.

I dont think the situation is as dire.
Our midfield is stacked.Assuming Jeffren doesnt leave we have 5 forwards,four of a very high quality.Plus we also have Afellay.Theres also Kiko and Soriano for emergencies.
The only worry is defense.Ideally I would like a WC CB but I can see Pep's reasoning.
Masch and Busquets are certainly more than capable of playing CB.
We may have a small squad but because our players are so supremely versatile we can make it work.
So 21 players for us is more like 23 for other teams.

matpol wrote:Disappointing transfer window so far. Bojan out Jeffren will be out and only Sanchez in. Again we will have small squad. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't buy Cesc and still sign nobody else. Why can't we have 23 players in the squad, 2 for every position? Bring Soriano or anyone else as 6th forward.

We have B team full of great talents!

Mino, Montoya, Muniesa, Bartra, Gomez, Sergi Roberto,JDS, Deulofeu, Cuenca Kiko etc.. all can play in copa matches etc & rest the first team players!

>>>Barca Squad 2011/2012 Until Now

"Official First Team players = 20 "

>> Full Squad <<

`Goalkeepers (2):
Victor Valdes (Spain) [1]
Jose Manuel Pinto (Spain) [13]

`Defenders (7):
Adriano (Brazil) [21]
Carles Puyol (Spain) [5]
Gerard Pique (Spain) [3]
Eric Abidal (France) [22]
Andreu Fontas (Spain) [?]
Dani Alves (Brazil) [2]
Maxwell [19]

`Midfielders (6):
Sergio Busquets (Spain) [16]
Javier Mascherano (Argentina) [14]
Seydou Keita (Mali) [15]
Xavi (Spain) [6]
Andres Iniesta (Spain) [8]
Thiago Alcantara (Spain) [4?]

`Forwards (5):
Lionel Messi (Argentina) [10]
Pedro (Spain) [17]
David Villa (Spain) [7]
Alexis Sanchez (Chile) [9]
Ibrahim Afellay (Netherlands) [20]

Inaddition, to some Reserve ' B team players, who can play for first team next season if needed'

`GK:
- Mino (22)
- Oier (21)

`Defenders:
- S.Gomez (RCB, 19)
- Bartra (RB/RCB, 20)
- Muniesa (LCB/LB, 19)
- Montoya (RB, 20)

`Midfielders:
- JDS (CM/DM, 21)
- Sergi Roberto (CM/CAM, 19)
- Espinosa (CM/CAM, 19)
- Rafinha (CAM/"false 9", 18)

`Forwards:
- Deulofeu (LW/RW, 17)
- Tello (RW/LW, 19)
- Cuenca ( RW, 20)
- Kiko (RW/RB, 20)
- Soriano (CF,25)

I think Fontas can take jersey number 18 now.

Thiago can take 4 if Fabregas does not come. Else he can choose between 12 and 11.

Thiago #4
Fontas #13 or #18
Pedro #11

ChollaVille wrote:
Fontas #13 or #18

Pinto has #13. So Fontas can take #12.

Thiago and Fontas have already made their choices. Thiago will be 4 and Fontas 24. The only instance it would be different is if a new signing wants those numbers or they change their mind now players have left.

I would just like to ask why hasn't your copa america players returned earlier?

Returning on the 8th of August is kind of late especially with the tough games you have ahead.

I don't blame guardiola for saying he needs more time to prepare against us madrid.

Anyway good luck in the next few games