Don't see Conte being the solution either. He won't be able to appeal to any players with legit offensive pedigree.

Probably means Hazard stays at Chelsea too :/

goon wrote:

What on earth is going on at Madrid? The last couple of years almost look like sabotage.

3 back to back CLs. I wish we had that kind of sabotage.

So who is replacement? I want Wenger with Mbappe in tow

Conte, Wenger, possibly Jardim. Lot of big names without clubs right now - not that contracts have ever stopped Real Madrid before.

I'd pick Conte personally. He's just the right manager to sort out a group of players who are a little short on top-end quality.

You think Conte can attract talent though? Or will people forgive his defensive ways as they allure of Real Madrid is enough?

Feel like his rep is pretty low right now after his stint at Chelsea

It's Real Madrid. Any player who isn't already at Barca (and a couple of those too) would give anything to play for them.

Poch. Destroy this spurs "project" once and for all.

Please let it be Poch. Let Madrid tell him "Deny us and we will never call you again!" Give him something to think about.

Klaus wrote:

It's Real Madrid. Any player who isn't already at Barca (and a couple of those too) would give anything to play for them.

The player they want the most wouldn't like to play for Conte again. 

Maybe. But the identity of the head coach is usually a secondary consideration for most footballers at that level..

The pay and prestige is the primary motivator.

I'd definitely go for Jardim if I were them. Conte has already shown that he goes public with his annoyance when not being completely in charge. Literally the first thing he said when Chelsea signed Morata was that he would've signed Kane instead if he could. I don't think Florentino is willing to give their new manager the kind of power that Conte wants.

Hazard and Mbappe seem their top targets -- who else is even out there?

Mbappe leaving PSG seems unlikely and Conte feels like a big roadblock to Hazard.

Real just got beat up by Eibar. 3-0. It’s difficult to understand how come they are so bad sans Ronaldo. They still have buckets and buckets of quality players in every position.

flobaba wrote:

Real just got beat up by Eibar. 3-0. It’s difficult to understand how come they are so bad sans Ronaldo. They still have buckets and buckets of quality players in every position.

3 times back to back to back CL winners. I reckon the just don't give much of a shit anymore, especially after the departures of Zidane and Ronaldo.

Yeah, I reckon it's more of a motivational issue than missing Ronaldo.

Yeah Ronaldo leaving does not explain why Varane looks like Senderos at his absolute worst for several months now. Also Eibar played the perfect game, Cucurella looked prime Ribery on the left wing.

They were poor this time last season as well (although not this bad!) so the signs have been there for a while

I think they feel lost without their superman. Possibly also a Zidane issue. It's miserable to watch.

Quincy Abeyie wrote:

In the same match, because why not.

When asked by Folha de Sao Paulo if he agrees with some people's opinion that Messi is the best player in history, Pele said the forward only has "one skill."

"How can you make a comparison between a guy who heads the ball well, shoots with the left, shoots with the right and another who only shoots with one leg, only has one skill and doesn't head the ball well?" Pele said, according to a translation of Folha de Sao Paulo. "How can you compare? To compare with Pele, it has to be someone who shoots well with the left, shoots well with the right, and scores headers."

https://sports.yahoo.com/pele-lionel-messi-apos-only-164639685.html

No CLUB in the top 5 leagues has scored more direct free kicks than Messi (19) in the last four years. Juventus has 18 from 6 different takers.

Jesus christ. Is he also one of the best free kick takers of all time now?

pele was obviously an amazing player, but he honestly doesnt seem very bright when it comes to analyzing the game.

Messi is not of this world.

mdgoonah41 wrote:

pele was obviously an amazing player, but he honestly doesnt seem very bright when it comes to analyzing the game.

He has always been consistent, i'll give him that.
Every time he says anything, he is wrong even before this current state of dementia kicked in.

arsedoc md wrote:

Hat trick with ten minutes to go. All with the left foot only though.

Who?

arsedoc md wrote:

Hat trick with ten minutes to go. All with the left foot only though.

arsedoc md wrote:

Oops, messi

I knew and was teasing as the first goal was with his right foot and the hat trick came in the 60th minute.

Fifth best player in the world.....

Cazorla has scored against Real Madrid! Chukwuese with the assist.

Cazorla scores his second! With his head

Get your hattrick Santi, brilliant performance so far

The first goal from him was class.

It's amazing how bad Coutinho is today, and has been for a while now. Barca will take a £100 million hit on him when they offload him this summer or the next, and that's if they're lucky. Most insane transfer of all time?

Sanllehi led that deal, and lots of other deals where they overpaid. Barcelona’s purchasing history over the past 10 years, including under Guardiola has not been brilliant. They are another club that has gone for a strategy of volume and paying over the odds, thus appearing to be successful. Key has been the La Masia pipeline core obscuring this.

I was livid when the combination of this culture of overpaying and the additional Neymar pressure led to the Coutinho deal. And all its done for Liverpool. Especially since Arthur, who cost a third of him, has just been such a joy to watch. (And even that was a relatively big fee).

flakey player. Totally wasn't worth that money.